The Corpse in the Caribbean B/B, Angst, K+

This is a Sequel to [Only admins are allowed to see this link]
For a quick update, B&B are together and they're hiding their relationship.

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Prelude

A shot echoed throughout the island. Shearwaters and petrels took to the air, their wings spread as they fled from the frightening noise which reverberated from the trees and cliffs that surrounded the bay. Agent Booth fell to his back and clutched his shoulder. Blood pumped and flowed with every beat of his heart.

Booth held out his hand and stared at it. His hand was soaked in blood... so much blood! How could that injury produce so much blood? Temperance leaned over Booth and put pressure on his wound. Her face was moist with sweat, her eyes were already filling with tears. "Your brachial artery... he shot it. Oh, G*d where's the nearest hospital?" Temperance held Booth in her arms and his head on her chest. She only felt this fear once before... She never wanted to feel it again. She was able to tell herself before that she had lost a partner, but this time she couldn't make that distinction to herself. This time she was losing more than a partner. She couldn't lie to herself again.

The shadow of the man who shot Booth shaded the two as they huddled at the back of the sailboat. He loomed over them like a black cloud. He circled them like a hungry animal, pacing back and forth, deciding what their fate would be. He stood over Temperance and he aimed his gun at her head.

"Good-bye, Dr. Brennan." He growled.

He pulled the trigger.

Chapter 1

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**Flashback**

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Temperance Brennan leaned over a skeleton. In fact, she had been leaning over skeletons all day. At least thirteen sets of human remains had been brought into the Jeffersonian the night before. Three of which were laid out on stainless steel tables on the platform.

"Male. Eighteen to twenty-two years of age at the time of his death. Caucasoid features."

Angela was drawing on her notepad as Bones was doing her initial inspection. "It's just so sad. I bet he had a girlfriend or a wife. They never knew what happened to him."

Temperance looked up. "It's probably better if you try not to think about that, Ange. Try thinking of the victim as nothing more than a set of remains that need to be classified."

"Sweetie, I'm not like you. I can't just think of this man as a skeleton. He's more than that. He might have great-grandchildren by now."

Jack leaned close to Angela and kissed her. "My sweet angel," he looked at Bones. "Isn't she amazing?"

"Quite amazing." Temperance tried to hold back a sarcastic smile. She walked over to the next body. "Male, same age range, and same with the third victim."

"They were so young!" Angela sighed.

"Ange," Temperance tried to change her stream of thoughts. "I already put tissue markers on 1A. The skull is at your workstation. If you could put a face to the skull, that would be great."

"Anything but this. I feel like I felt after I visited the Catacombs."

"I've always wanted to visit the Catacombs. It's on my top 5 list of places to see. It would be fascinating to walk through and stipulate the causes of of death for each set of remains." Temperance took a minute to daydream about her gory dream vacation.

Booth had already scanned his card and overheard the last part of the conversation. He couldn't help but to laugh at Bones' macabre sense of fantasy. "Don't you just love her?" He blurted. Angela and Hodgins held still. Their faces searched Booth's. Booth searched theirs, Brennan's smile fell as she froze. "In a... in a merely asexual way." They still stared. "I was just saying... You people need to get a life!"

"You're telling me?" Angela murmured under her breath. She walked to her workstation where she began her work on the skull of 1A. Hodgins went to his station where he continued to sift through tubs of sand mixed with odds and ends: brass buttons, bits of glass, a brooch, and a glass bottle among other things.

Booth pulled up a chair next to Dr. Brennan which he straddled and rested his elbows on the back of the seat. "What do we have here?" He asked in a playful tone.

"These bodies are part of a find in the Caribbean off the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands. They found the bodies in a closed off part of a World War I era submarine, sealed from predators and scavengers. They believe it was part of a famous submarine battle. Exciting, huh?" Bones had a huge smile on her face. She loved working on these types of cases... older cases where she could take her time and learn a little bit of history in the process.

"U-Boats, huh?" Booth's smile grew wider. He and Hodgins made eye contact across the room and they shared a grin. Temperance saw the exchange of smiles and remembered the pirate case. They were like little children on that case.

Angela laughed. "Boys will be boys!"

Chapter 2

Angela watched from afar as Booth and Brennan talked to one another in Brennan's office. They sat very close to one another on her sofa. If Angela leaned to her left as she sat at her desk, she could see Bones and Booth chatting away. She watched as Brennan laughed at Booth's horseplay, tucked her hair behind her ear, touched his arm... Booth leaned close and bumped his shoulder against hers. Something was up. She knew it. Bren would not admit it. Whenever Angela tried to bring it up, to anyone, actually, they would all dismiss her. Hodgins called her Aphrodite and praised her love-matching skills. Cam would send her on another errand, make her reconstruct somebody's skull, or create something on the Angelator. Bren would tell her that there was nothing going on and to mind her own business. Not in those words, exactly, but they might as well have been, "Butt out, Ange!" She dare not bring up the subject to Booth. Something was up. Something HAS been up. It had been almost a year of this now. It was driving her crazy!

Cam watched Angela leaning over her desk, her neck craned so she could get a good view of Booth and Bones. "Eaves dropping, Angela?" Angela nearly jumped out of her skin. She threw her hands up to her face.

"Geez, Cam! You scared the crap out of me!" Angela saw Cam's disappointed mom look. "I'm sorry, Cam. I'll get back to work in a minute."

Cam smiled unexpectedly. "See anything good?"

"What?"

"Have you caught them yet?"

"Caught who?" She was playing dumb.

"Seeley and Dr. Brennan... What? I'm not blind, Angela. So have you caught them, yet?"

Angela smiled widely. "Pull up a seat!" Finally, someone to dish to!

Camille sat down beside her.

"Alright, here's the timeline so far..."

"Timeline? You've got a timeline?"

"Of course, sweetie. Every good best friend has a timeline."

"Huh. I guess I missed that in the BFF Handbook." Cam's voice was a little sarcastic, but she still listened intently.

"Nine months ago there was the mysterious day off--"

"The one where Dr. Brennan feigned ill?"

"That's the one. Bren was laughing in the background on that call. She came into work that evening. Why did she take the day off? And why was Booth there?"

"Then...?"

"Then they went on a little ice skating trip. Very romantic."

"Nice."

"Then a couple of weeks later, Booth called dibs on Bren on her birthday. Dibs for what, I ask? Whenever I asked a question about her birthday, she would give me a vague answer. And it seems that since that incident Bren has been touching Booth more."

"Touching?"

"You know... she laughs, touches his shoulder. Stuff like that."

"So you think they're together but not saying anything to us?"

"It's driving me crazy! If I could just prove it..." It was great to finally get that off from her chest and have somebody actually to tell it to... besides her fish.

Chapter 3

In the office, Brennan sat next to Booth on her sofa.

"Nice going this morning, by the way." She said to him.

"What?" He already knew her sarcastic tone.

"You said you loved me... for everyone to hear!"

"I did not say I loved you."

"What? You don't--"

"I said, 'Don't you just love her?'"

Bones tried to hide her disappointment.

"I think Angela knows." She said quietly.

"Did you tell her," Booth then whispered the rest of the sentence, "about us?"

"No. She keeps harassing me, though. This morning she cornered me and told me, 'I know what's going on, sweetie. It's just a matter of time before I can prove it.' It's beginning to make me feel very paranoid."

"Mm. I know what you mean. I feel like somebody has been spying on us for the past nine months." Booth looked down and noticed his tie was uneven. He untied it and began to fiddle with it. After a moment he began to get frustrated.

"Let me." Bones took the tie and wrapped it around his neck. She slid her fingers along the tie. For a moment, their eyes locked.

Booth reached up and took the tie, "Maybe I should do it."

"Yeah, perhaps you should." Brennan stood up quickly, just in time to see Angela and Cam falling to the ground. Bones ran to the door. "Are you two alright?"

Angela and Cam were scrambling on the ground, trying to stand up. "Yeah!" They answered in unison.

Chapter 4

Sunlight began to beam through the shades. It illuminated Temperance's bedroom. This would have been the time that Brennan woke up... if it were nine months ago. Booth lay in bed with her. They had been awake for over a half an hour fooling around.

Booth was kissing her neck, making Temperance laugh every time. Whenever he kissed her with his five o'clock shadowed chin, it would make her right leg tingle. Booth thought that was hilarious, so most of the morning was spent testing out how he could make other parts of her body tingle.

Bones' phone rang, so she searched blindly for it while Booth kissed away. She had to stifle her laughter when she picked up the phone. "Brennan," she answered.

"Dr. Brennan?"

"Who is--stop it!-- Sorry, who is this?"

"It's Hodgins." Jack wasn't dumb. He knew what was going on. "Who's there with you?"

"I, uh...**giggle** I don't know what you mean."

"Ohhhhh Kay. One of your grad students found something on one of the new sets of remains that were brought out this morning. He thinks you should see it... that is, if you're not busy." Hodgins, himself tried to stifle laughter.

"No, why would I be busy? I'll be right in." Temperance hung up the phone.

"Who was it?" Booth asked as his lips were kissing parts that are better off left unmentioned.

"Hodgins."

"What? Are you having a secret love affair with Hodgins, too?" Booth asked laughingly.

"No. You know I don't date coworkers." Brennan said mockingly.

"Let me guess? Too messy?"

"You're disgusting!" Temperance laughed. That joke had not been lost on her.

Chapter 5

An hour later, Dr. Brennan entered the Jeffersonian alone, so as to throw off suspicion.

Immediately upon entering her office, donning her lab jacket, and a pair of white rubber gloves, Hodgins had cornered her.

"Geez, Jack!" She breathed. "What is it?"

"I was just..." Hodgins grinned like a school boy. "Just making sure you got plenty of rest last night."

"Yes, I did. Thank you for asking."

"Where's Booth?"

Temperance was thumbing through files, trying not to make eye contact. She had learned that too much eye contact, or lack thereof, could reveal that she was lying. So as the thumbed, she would occasionally glance up at Hodgins. "I don't know. I called him this morning and told him to come in. He should be here soon."

"Either that... or he's waiting outside the Jeffersonian's front doors for five minutes before entering to throw off suspicion." Jack didn't know it, but he had hit the nail on the head.

All right, enough of this, Temperance thought. Very few people messed with Temperance Brennan and lived to tease again. She walked toward Hodgins, her finger pointed at his chest, her lips pursed, her eyes serious. "Let's just stop hitting the horse, Dr. Hodgins."

"What? You mean," Hodgins looked confused. "beating a dead horse?" Hodgins walked backwards and stumbled over a chair. Eventually his back was against the wall.

"Yes. It's an idiom." Her scowl returned to her face. "Listen up, you know and I know that you heard something this morning that you in fact DID NOT. I'm not going to lie, Dr. Hodgins, but if you, by chance, told anybody... Angela, Cam... that you suspected this thing that did not happen, then someone, meaning you, might end up dead. Capiche?"

"Uh... sure. Capiche." Hodgins' eyes were wide, but his face was quite amused as Temperance walked away. When she was out of earshot he muttered, "That... was HOT!"

Chapter 6

Temperance slid her card through the scanner. It beeped and she walked up onto the platform and up to the body that her grad student, James, stood over. A moment later, Booth walked onto the platform as well.

"Sorry I'm late." He muttered. Out of the corner of Booth's eye, he could see Hodgins covering a smile. Booth glared him down until Hodgins turned around and continued sifting through sediment.

"It's OK." Temperance said as she examined the body.

"This body," James nodded at the body known as 8C. "was brought in this morning. I noticed that it lacked pitting that the other sets of remains had. The texture of the bone, as well, is quite different. It's still--"

"Hard." Bones finished his sentence as she examined the bones. "This skeleton is in remarkably good shape. Especially compared to the others." She was silent for several minutes as she thought. Her eyebrows were scrunched and a line between her brows grew a little deeper. "In fact, I think they're in TOO GOOD of shape."

"Like, they're fake?" Booth asked.

"No. These remains are fresh."

"Fresh?" Booth took a step back. This was a little too freaky for him. "How old?"

"Six to eight months max."

"That's pretty fresh." Booth nodded.

After a moment of thought, a huge grin sprung to Booth's lips.

"What?" Bones asked.

"Do you know what this means?"

"No, I don't." Bones answered frankly.

"We're going to the Virgin Islands! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Booth shouted and threw his arms in the air triumphantly.

Cam, Hodgins, and Angela had gathered around as they followed the commotion.

"Why are we going to the Virgin Islands?" Angela asked. She shared the same goofy grin that Booth had.

"Don't you get it?" Hodgins asked. "Somebody's been killed. Now we get to solve the crime and run around in Speedos all in one shot! I love my job!" Hodgins rubbed his hands together.

Booth's smile disappeared. "Wait, wait, wait. Who's WE? There's no we here. It's Booth and Bones. Bones and Booth. Not Bones, Booth, and Hodgins."

"And Angela!" Angela spoke up.

"Or Angela." Booth retorted.

"Wait just one second, big guy!" Hodgins stepped forward. "This is a murder case, right? I'm the bug guy. Bugs, slime, and filth. I'm your guy. And last time I checked, there was plenty of that at the bottom of the ocean. And you're not exactly going to float that submarine to the Jeffersonian, right? Am I right?"

"What about me?" Angela asked. "You're going to need me there, too."

"And why's that?" Booth asked. He was beginning to feel very irritated. His dreams of an all expenses paid island vacation with Bones were quickly disappearing.

"You'll need somebody to... to draw." Nobody was convinced. "What if... What if somebody saw something? You'll need me to draw them." Angela answered matter-of-factly.

"No... nope. I'm not convinced. It's just Bones and me. Alright? Just us. Just Mom and Dad. No kids."

Cam had been listening objectively. "Hodgins and Angela are right."

"What?" Booth asked, exasperated.

"They're right. You can't exactly ship the sub or the witnesses back to the Jeffersonian. Guess what? You're taking the kids, Seeley." Cam patted his shoulder as she walked by. She tried to hold back her laughter as she walked away.

Chapter 7

Booth and Brennan waited at the Dulles International Airport. It was slightly past six in the morning.

Brennan, wearing a black knee-length jacket and jeans, stifled a yawn and looked impatiently at the front entrance for Angela and Hodgins.

“Where the h-ll is she?” Booth muttered, then glanced at his watch.

Within minutes, it was obvious that Angela Montenegro, Island Princess, had found her way to AID. She wore an extremely short black skirt and equally revealing hot pink top. Hodgins carried four bags and trailed behind her. Each arm had a carryon tucked beneath and each hand dragged large luggage bags.

Booth raised both eyebrows and muttered, “Woah.”

Bones rolled his eyes at his Neandertal utterings and then turned her assault on Ange. “What are you wearing? You realize that it’s December out there? It’s 28 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Angela lowered her Ray Banz and peaked over them. “Not in St. Croix, sweetie,” then she eyed Brennan. “Is that what YOU’RE wearing?”

Brennan looked down at herself. She wore black knee-high boots, jeans, a short sleeve blouse, sweater, and trench coat, all topped off with a scarf and faux leather gloves. “What? It’s freezing out there. You really should dress more appropriately, though, Ange. You could get hypothermia.”

“Doubtful, hun. Trust me, you’ll think twice about your wardrobe when we touch down in STX.”

On the flight, Angela made a point to sit next to Brennan so she could keep an eye on the pair.

Half way through the five-hour flight, Angela fell asleep with a lavender satin eye mask in place.

Brennan found her outlet and carefully climbed over her friend without disturbing her. Booth watched from afar and carefully let himself out of his seat and followed Brennan into a bathroom stall.

Inside, Booth and Brennan found themselves closed within the confines of a four-by-four room complete with potty and sink. Immediately, Booth was all hands. He began unbuttoning and kissing like he’d never left his teens behind.

“Booth.”

He continued kissing.

“Booth,” she whispered, a little harsher this time.

He continued what he was doing.

“Booth!”

“What?”

“What are you doing?”

“Joining the club.”

“What club?”

“The Mile High Club. I thought that’s what you were doing.”

“What’s the Mile High Club? Is it some sort of prestigious—Wait, if the initiation is this, then…”

Booth cut her off with a passionate kiss.

“What are you doing? Don’t you know that airplane bathrooms are among the germiest places on earth? It’s literally teaming with microbes. Do you want microbes on your…” She glanced down at Agent Booth’s little soldier.

Booth sighed and threw his head back. “Fine. Alright? You killed it for me.”

“Good.”

“What did you want then? Why’d you tempt me in here?”

Brennan smiled innocently. “I just wanted to talk.”

Booth raised a brow. Before he could say a thing, the stewardess was pounding on the door.

“Please return to your seat, the captain is about to land in St. Croix.”

They both answered, mistakenly, in unison. “OK.”

They looked at one another, eyes wide.

“Are there two of you in there? This is against FAA regulations. I’ll have to ask you to take your seats immediately.” All eyes in the cabin turned toward the stewardess, whose patience was running low. It wasn’t the first time she’d come across adventurous airborne lovers. It was really getting old. “Return To Your Seats!”

With that, Angela aroused from her slumber, noticed her missing friend, and turned toward the stewardess’s voice.

With that, a shamefaced Booth and Brennan retreated from the restroom. Booth said something snotty to her. She pointed. They returned to their seats.

Angela grinned wildly as Brennan took a seat beside her.

“Joining the club, sweetie?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ange.”

“Oh, please. I’ve been a card-carrying member of the MHC since ’88,” Angela gave Brennan an exaggerated eye roll.

Chapter 8

The 747 set wheels on the tarmac at St. Croix’s STX mid-afternoon. Although it was after four in the evening, the heat and humidity hit the couples the moment they set foot out of the air conditioned plane.

Angela was the only comfortable one of the lot.

After collecting their baggage, Booth and Hodgins immediately bee-lined for the nearest bathrooms and changed. Booth and Hodgins reemerged wearing shorts and muscle-hugging tees. Who knew that so much dead sexy could be squeezed into a hundred square feet of St. Croix International Airport bathroom?

Booth looked over at his partner. Brennan had removed her jacket, but the jeans, boots, and blouse were still too much for her.

Angela grabbed her bag by one hand, and Bren by the other, then kidnapped her friend into the bathroom stall. Brennan didn’t even have a chance to complain. When Angela got into makeover mode, there was no stopping her.

Angela materialized after several minutes, a grin stretching her cheeks, dimples digging deep into her cheeks.

“I’d like to introduce to you, Bren, Island Goddess.”

Angela waved a hand at the door.

Nothing happened.

“Bren, this is the part where you come out of the bathroom.”

From behind the bathroom door, the Island Goddess was quick to complain, “I’m not coming out, Ange.”

Booth and Hodgins exchanged curious glances, then watched the door.

“Why not, sweetie?”

“I look like I could turn tricks, Ange. I look like a two dollar hooker.”

“That’s not a bad thing, Bren. Just come out.”

“No.”

“I have your clothes, Bren. You can come out dressed in what I lent you, or you could come out naked. Either way, our G-Man here won’t mind.” Angela looked amusedly at Booth. Booth restrained the impulse to blush.

In a muffled voice, Brennan sighed, “Fine. I’m coming out. Just remember that I wouldn’t dare dress like this under my own volition.”

Finally, Brennan came out of the bathroom. Both sets of eyes, Booth’s and Hodgins’ eyes panned from her heel-clad feet, up long tanned legs, past jean shorts that really had no use other than to mold around her buttcheeks and curves, up bare belly button, and past the bikini top to her face.

Brennan stood akimbo with a look like an unwilling Miss America contestant. “I look ridiculous.”

Hodgins and Booth both shook their heads and muttered, “No. Uh-Uh.”

Angela was amused by the reactions of both men.

“Hodgins.” He looked up to Brennan’s face. “Stop looking at my breasts.”

Hodgins blushed, then grabbed Angela’s bag and led the way out to the curb to hail a taxi.

Booth trailed the group. On purpose.

Chapter 9

Night had fallen and they had come to what they hoped was their final destination.

"Just stop whipping that thing out," Angela snapped at Booth. "Every time someone sees that thing, they freak out and tell us to go away."

"You'd think they'd seen one before," Booth patted his pocket.

"Dude, you are power hungry. Leave it in your pocket, man." Hodgins advised.

Booth looked to Bones who had her nose buried in a book. She felt Booth's eyes burning into her face. "What? Ange is right, Booth. Stop flashing your badge to every hotel we come to. Apparently people here aren't very fond of the U.S. Government."

"This is the last place to stay in Christiansted. I'm tired. I want to lay my head down and get some much needed beauty sleep." Angela took a seat on her suitcase as Booth approached the front desk of the run down motel. It was nearly two in the morning and everyone was exhausted. It didn't matter where they slept as long as they did. Temperance sat down beside her friend, taking up half of her suit case, and rested her head on Angela's shoulder.

Booth approached the front desk and told the manager that they were needing a place to stay.

"How many rooms?" The man asked.

"T--" He was going to say two. "Three, right?"

"Sorry, sir. We have just two rooms left." Booth nodded and paid the man. He left his badge in his pocket where it belonged and they finally had a place to stay for the night.

"I haven't decided yet..." Angela thought aloud.

"What? What haven't you decided?" Temperance asked.

"I haven't decided whether Jack and I should shack up, or if you and I should shack up and leave the guys to their own devices." Everyone looked a little worried. Bones was worried that this would lead to everyone finding out her secret. Booth was worried that he would end up in an island paradise spooning Hodgins. Hodgins was worried that he wouldn't get to spoon Angela.

"I think you and I should stay in the same room. C'mon, Ange! I don't want to spend the night with RoboCop!" Hodgins pointed at Booth.

"RoboCop? Hey, I am offended!" Booth defended himself.

"Is that some sort of movie? I think I'm catching on more to your references to fictional movie characters." Bones scrunched her chin thoughtfully.

"It's a movie, Bones.” Then he turned his attention to Angela and gestured with a tattooed wrist. “Listen, I don't want to be shacking up with you any more than you want to be shacking up with me."

"Fine... Hodgins and I will take one room, you two lovebirds will take the other. Play nice, kids." Angela winked at Booth.

"I wish you'd stop winking at me. It makes me feel a little uncomfortable."

Chapter 10

The door swung open. Temperance threw her bags to the floor.

"Looks like the Bates Motel, Bones. Don't take a shower..."

"This is... quaint."

"Quaint is the nice word to use, Bones. Squalid is the more accurate word." Booth thew his things on the little bed in the middle of the room. The room was no bigger than eight feet by eight feet in dimension. A small twin bed was in the center of the room and a small window, not big enough for a cat to squeeze through, was the only light in the apartment.

"So how do we do this...?" Bones took a seat on the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"You take a shift, I take a shift?" She smiled playfully.

"Very funny, move over." Booth leaned in and began to kiss Temperance's bare shoulder.

Chapter 11

Angela and Hodgins were blessed with a slightly larger bed, but the room was just as crappy. Angela sat on the edge of the bed.

“Cozy,” she said with a disgusted tone in her voice.

“Yeah, about as cozy as the Bates Hotel,” Hodgins muttered, using almost the same phrase Booth had just used.

Angela was exhausted, so she quickly changed into one of Jack’s old tees and laid down in the bed with a sigh. Hodgins tore off his clothes and laid down, thankful to be spooning a woman and not man.

Their eyes drifted closed, the sound of the ocean crashing just a block away from the hotel against the shoreline lulled them to sleep.

After fifteen minutes, familiar squeaking sounds from the room next door tore their lids open.

Hodgins laughed. “We’ll ask them tomorrow and…”

“And they’ll blame it on the rats.”

“Those are some big, horny rats.”

Angela turned so she was facing Hodgins. “Wanna make some sound effects of our own?”

Hodgins kissed her. “Might as well, this mattress can’t get any dirtier.”

Angela strattled him. “We’ll see about that.”

Chapter 12

Morning came and, yes, Booth and Bones had somehow discovered a way for a six foot tall man and an almost equally tall woman to squeeze into a bed hardly large enough for just one of Santa's elves. Light came through the little window, waking Booth up. He bent his knees, trying to cover his feet, which hung almost a foot over the edge of the bed, in the blanket. Bones pulled on the blanket, trying to cover herself.

"Blanket hog," Booth laughed.

After a few minutes, Temperance's cell phone, which had been hooked up to a satellite receiver, rang. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" filled the room with music. Booth groaned. He was sick of that song. Besides, it brought bad memories to life. To Bones, however, it brought good memories, surprisingly. It reminded her of the first time she admitted to herself that she loved her partner.

Booth reached over and answered it, "Booth."

"I thought I called Dr. Brennan's phone." Cam replied.

"I, uh... you did. I just happened to answer it. What can I do for you?"

"After you left, I sent Angela's Three-Dimensional rendering of 8C's face to the Virgin Islands. I thought that it would take days, but this morning I received a call from Senator Black. They know who it is."

"Who is it, Cam?" Booth asked.

"Is that about 8C?" Brennan asked, resting her body on an elbow and facing Booth.

"Is that Dr. Brennan?" Cam asked, surprised. Angela was right, she thought, something is definitely up.

Booth sighed, "Yeah. Keep your mind out of the gutter, Cam. Who is it?"

"You're not going to like this... Hodgins will. Dr. Brennan, too, probably."

"Who is it?"

"Senator Alan Standahl. Missing since last August. From Cruz Bay in St. John."

"You're right. Happy Birthday Hodgins." Booth's voice was emotionless as he hung up the phone.

"Who is 8C?" Brennan sat up in bed, holding the sheet to her nude body.

"Senator Alan Standahl."

Chapter 13

Angela marched down the hall... actually the rooms in the little motel were next to each other, so needless to say it was a very gruff, yet very short, march to Brennan and Booth's room. Without even knocking, as this was part of the evil plot of hers, she turned the handle and swung it open with her cell phone held up at eye level and set to the camera feature. Booth was changing behind a curtain that hung in the corner just for that very purpose, and Bones was in a towel and looking through her suitcase.

"Angela! Don't you know how to knock?" Bones yelled.

Angela's eyes first scanned the room, then she asked, "Where's Booth?"

"In here!" Booth yelled from behind the curtain. Usually they wouldn't have done the whole curtain thing, but they suspected that Angela would be up to something like this, especially since the ‘locks’ on the doors were a short piece of rope staple-gunned to the wood frames and doors.

Booth came out from behind the curtain. He was dressed in his swim trunks and a tee shirt. "Born in a barn?" He asked.

"Actually, I was born in a hospital." Angela replied.

"Oh! That's sarcasm, right?" Bones asked. Ah... she was getting sharp!

Angela was looking annoyed. She had charged in the room hoping for something juicy... L*rd knows she heard plenty of juicy noises last night, but nothing could be proven. "Listen up, I have officially been an Island Princess for eleven hours and twenty seven minutes and the island sun has yet to kiss my tan, oiled skin. You two have fifteen minutes. I'll be waiting."

"That's where we're going, Ange." Bones replied as she stood up straight with a hairbrush in hand.

"Surprise, surprise!" Angela looked a little shocked. "What? No blood and guts? Is ten in the morning too early for blood and guts? I'm not sure what the guidelines are on that."

"Sarcasm again," Bones pointed out. "We've got to go to Cruz Bay and charter a sail boat." Brennan had a huge smile on her face. She loved her job! Oh, did she ever love it! And why did she love it? That question would be answered shortly.

"Why are we going to Cruz Bay? There aren't any more bodies, are there, sweetie? Because I don't think I could tolerate that. I haven't eaten breakfast. Nothing to throw up. You understand?"

Thanks to a little conversation post-Sully, yes, she did. "We're going to find the spot where the bodies were discovered by way of GPS, then we're going diving!"

"Diving?" Hodgins appeared from thin air. He heard the magic word. He loved his job, too... as illustrated by the huge goofy grin on his face. To be honest, maybe he loved his job a little too much... it was almost on the disturbing level of enjoyment... especially when it came to bugs and feces.

"Stop smiling like that. You're freaking me out," Booth warned. "Squints!" He whispered to himself as he rolled his eyes.

Angela had been looking Brennan up and down. "You're not going to wear that, are you?" Bones was wearing the shorts she wore the day before and her button up short sleeved shirt.

"I can't wear the gold bikini again, Ange. I'll just wear this." It was useless. Before she could even finish the sentence, Angela had disappeared and reappeared with a little mound of red fabric in her hand. She held it out to Brennan.

"What is it?"

"For you, honey. Now go change."

Bones obeyed. There was no point in arguing, really. And when she reappeared from behind the curtain, she was wearing a very short red halter dress. There were very specifically placed holes which revealed bits of pink skin: her belly button, side, and back.

"Nobody's going to take me seriously dressed like this, Angela. I am a forensic anthropologist, not stripper." Bones put her hands on her hips.

Hodgins was practically drooling all over himself. Angela and Booth glared at him. "Wh--What? I guess I'm just not used to seeing you dressed like that, Dr. B." Bones just stared at him. There was no helping the animalistic sexual drive of the male human. She understood it.... luckily for Hodgins, otherwise he would probably be unconscious in an alley somewhere.

"It looks like you got in a fight with a cat, Bones. A very, very nice cat." Booth laughed. Bones simply smacked his shoulder. As they walked out the main doors and into the parking lot, Booth leaned over and whispered, "Roxie!"

Chapter 14

Cruz Bay was a tropical paradise. The sky was so blue that it appeared to run seamlessly into the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean. The buildings surrounding Cruz Bay were classic white buildings, the majority being Spanish inspired with red shingled roofs. White sandy beaches lined the cove. Tourists and locals splashed through the water and built sandcastles in the sand. Little gray and white birds called petrels begged children for scraps of bread.

The first thing on the list was the search for the chartered sail boat. Angela and Hodgins did not care much for this part of the journey, so they spent quality time in the surf while Booth and Bones searched for their chartered boat.

Booth squinted at a sheet of paper that he printed from his email. "I'm not even sure if the Bureau actually booked a boat." Booth sighed. It seemed like the whole investigation was on their shoulders. The local government, though part of the United States technically, was quite independent and was not too friendly to people from DC coming in and trying to steal their thunder. Cullen, himself, objected to the whole investigation and wasn't too helpful when it came to travel expenses or finding resources. It was really becoming quite a headache. Booth reached up and massaged his temples.

Bones, wearing the gold bikini once again, this time without shorts, walked slowly beside Booth and peeped over his shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, though, she could see a shadow approaching them. At first she didn't look up, figuring the person was another tourist, but the body moved toward them directly. Bones looked up and saw a very familiar face. A face she thought she would never see again... a face she thought she would never want to see again, but her heart gave a little unexpected flutter that said more than she could ever say in words.

Brennan stopped and looked at the man who was walking toward her. Booth absently kept walking until he noticed that he had lost Bones. He looked back at Bones, "Bones, wh--" He saw her expression. Her face looked worried and stunned. Booth's eyes moved in the direction she was looking. "Sully!"

Chapter 15

Booth groaned under his breath as they continued to walk towards Sully.

Brennan stopped just feet from Sully. It was all so confusing, these feelings inside of her. It probably would have been different had Sully left under different circumstances, but the truth of the matter was that Sully was a good man. He was sweet and kind and he loved her with every bit of his being. At the same time, he didn’t love her enough. Otherwise, he would have never left.

But there he was. In front of her. And her stomach fluttered once again.

Sully grinned broadly, not once looking at Booth. “Wow. Tempe! Wow!” His eyes traced her form and then bounced back at her eyes. “You look… amazing!”

“As do you,” she scanned his sun-tanned body, her eyes doing whatever they pleased.

Booth tried not to act furious.

Back at their spot on the beach, Angela lowered her shades and looked in the direction of the group of three. “Holy hell,” she muttered.

Hodgins looked up. “Woah.” He raised his shades back over his eyes. “Your G-Man better get off his high horse and start screaming the praises of riding Dr. B to the stables and back.”

Angela scrunched her brow at the convoluted comment, then raised her self from the blanket and took off after the group. Knowing Brennan, she would need some moral support.

When she approached, she heard Brennan and Sully talking. Poor Booth felt like an outsider. His face looked a little hurt. Ange sympathized with him.

Sully ran a hand through his hair, “So, you guys need a charter, right? What are the chances, huh? That the FBI would charter me?”

“Maybe that’s why they did it? They knew that you would be a safe choice.” Brennan smiled.

For the first time since the whole meeting began, Sully’s eyes twitched over to Booth, who stood bare-chested and bronzed, with his hands in the pockets of his swim trunks, and an indescribable expression on his face. “Oh. Are you two—you know? Are you two together now? Cuz I know when we were together, Seelz here…”

Brennan’s mouth fell agape. Angela was standing beside her now. Booth to her left. Sully in front of her. She panicked. “No. We’re just partners.”

Booth’s lips tightened. He turned without saying a word and walked away from the couple.

Chapter 16

Later that night, Booth and Brennan fought for the first time. There was no mistaking that Angela and Hodgins would know that they were together. It was no secret.

And for the first time in their whole relationship, Brennan and Booth wondered what they were doing together—as partners, as friends, as lovers. They were such opposites. Their passions only ever intersected in the bedroom or at the crime scenes they investigated. They were opposites. And, unlike the usual expression that opposites attract, they also cause explosive chemical reactions.

Angela and Hodgins lay in bed overhearing the whole thing. It wasn’t bickering. It was out-and-out yelling. The tones of their voices were heated and full of anger and hatred.

After forty minutes, the door slammed. Bones marched out toward the beach. Booth sat on the edge of his bed and ran fingers through his hair. He loved her, yes. But they were too different. Maybe they were TOO different?

Temperance reached the beach. The full moon reflected on the sea, doubling the eerie, romantic Caribbean glow. She stood for several minutes feeling the waves tickle her toes. A sailboat drifted into the moonlight.

She thought about Sully. She thought about Booth.

The catamaran continued to sail by.

After a few minutes, Brennan found her way down to the dock. She walked among the boats until she found The Temperance. Sully was sitting on his deck drinking a Heineken. He looked up and saw the familiar, feminine figure walking toward him in the red dress.

Meanwhile, Booth was still thinking over the argument. He had been rash and thoughtless. He had hurt the one woman he had ever truly loved. He left the motel and ran to the beach—the one place he knew she would be.

Sully met Brennan before her feet had taken two steps onto the catwalk.

“Tempe!”

Brennan stopped mid-step. “Hello… Sully.”

Sully smiled fondly at her. “How have you been?”

She shrugged. What was she doing there? She was following her heart. She was following her hurt. She wanted comfort. She went to the first set of comforting arms she knew in Christiansted. And she knew she was being impulsive, a side of her she rarely listened to.

Sully took another step toward her until their bodies were millimeters from one another. And for a second, all of the warm memories of their relationship flooded back. It was the first time that she actually felt loved in a relationship, safe, cared for.

Sully lifted his hand and ran it through her hair. “I’m glad you came,” he murmured.

She drew in a breath and stepped back, trying to remind herself to be rational. “Sully, I—“

“Shh…” He drew her in for a kiss.

Booth watched from a distance, the two meeting lips. His cheeks burned. He turned and walked away as quickly as he could. There were no words for the pain that he felt.

Brennan pushed Sully back from the kiss. “No. I have something to tell you. Um…” She looked earnestly into Sully’s eyes.

“What?”

“Booth and I are an item.”

“An Item?” Sully raised a brow at the antiquated phrase.

“Yes. We are together now.”

He lowered his hands from her shoulders. “Oh.”

“I’m—I’m sorry that I came here tonight. I know how incoherent my actions must be.”

“Incoherent?” He scoffed. “Tempe, I thought—“

“And I led you on. I’m… I’m sorry for that.” She sat on the edge of the dock. Sully took a seat beside her. “I’m just so confused,” her voice cracked. “Booth and I argued tonight. It’s just—I saw you today and all of those old feelings.” She looked up at him, her blue eyes glistened with tears that never fell.

“I understand, Tempe. What I did was stupid. I shoulda never let you go, but I did.”

They were quiet for several minutes before Sully spoke again.

“Seelz is a great guy, Tempe. He’s the smart one, here. He’s never left you. He’s here, right?”

She nodded and a tear escaped down her cheek and fell into the sea.

“I can’t blame you,” he said softly. Brennan looked up. “I can’t blame you for feeling confused. I didn’t exactly—you know—leave you with closure. I just left.”

She sniffed. “Yeah, well. As it turns out, I’m alone once again.”

Sully shook his head. “I know Booth, Tempe.”

“I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“He’s always loved you. I thought it was just a thing at first, but—he loves you. When a guy loves someone like the way he loves you, a fight can’t tear him away from you that easily.”

“Yeah?”

Sully nodded and stood up. He offered her a hand and she stood.

“Wednesday?” Sully asked.

She let a smile trickle onto her lips. “Yeah. Wednesday. Scuba diving.”

Chapter 17

The following day was spent in tense silence. Booth was boiling beneath his cool exterior. Brennan didn’t know what to say. She wanted to tell him she was sorry for the fight, but his coldness kept her from opening her mouth every single time.

They had followed two dead end leads and talked to the Senator Standahl’s secretary with no avail. The whole day felt off. The rhythm was out of balance between the two partners.

They eventually found themselves at the Capitol building in Senator Black’s office. The new secretary, a woman with blond hair and black eyes—an odd combination—regarded them nonchalantly. They were let into the woman’s office after several minutes. Senator Black was a large woman, obviously decendent of the native islanders, with a perpetual tan and almond eyes.

She coldly gestured towards the seats. The partners sat across from her.

The conversation that ensued consisted of open-ended questions on the part of Booth and Brennan, and two-to-four word answers on the part of the senator. She obviously did not care for foreigners exercising their stately rights on the lowly island peasants.

“Where were you on the nigh that Senator Standhal disappeared?” Booth asked.

The woman pushed her seat back furiously, “I think that this interview is over, Agent Booth. And, I hope that if you walk away with one piece of information about my people, I hope that you walk away with the feeling that we are an independent people. We are not marionettes to the puppeteer named America. Now if you please,” she gestured at the door.

Booth and Brennan stood.

“Do you have a card, Senator?” Brennan asked.

The woman scowled at her, then reached for a card from her desk. She held it out for Brennan, who missed it in the handoff. The little white card fluttered to the ground and settled among dark blue carpeting. Brennan dipped and picked it up, tucking it into her purse as the partners left.

“Oh, and…” the partners turned in the door jamb. “You have seventy-two hours, or until the first flight leaves to the states, Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan. That’s three days, then you are no longer welcome and your jurisdiction no longer has power over my people or their rights.”

The two left the Courthouse, feeling thoroughly jilted. Neither said a word to one another as they drove away. Neither found solace in a spirited conversation. The rest of the day was spent in unnatural silence.

Angela kept her eyes on the two the entire time. Even her pains to catch the two in the act of makeup sex had been set on the back burner. Instead, she and Hodgins kept out of their way the whole day. They swam in the ocean and sight-saw in Christiansted.

Booth and Brennan limited their eye contact to under two seconds, and their conversations to under three words max.

At lunchtime, the two made their way to a nearby diner. Gertrude’s looked like it the exact same set used for the Royal Diner and that other diner in Louisiana, except the décor was slightly different, and bikini-clad patrons walked around outside the windows.

They sat quietly on opposite sides of the window table. Brennan picked at her salad, Booth nibbled at pie.

Several times, Bones tried to initiate her conversation. She wanted to bare her soul to Booth, although it went against her nature to feel so obligated to a single human being.

At last, Booth rose from the table and laid down several dollars wordlessly. Brennan jumped from her seat and followed him out. She felt like a wild animal on the prowl, trying to decide when to pounce on her prey.

When they got back to the rental car, Booth opened the door for her to let her in. She stuck one foot in, then spun around placing her hands on Booth's chest.

"I went to talk to you last night. But I ran into Sully. Before I knew what happened he kissed me. I didn't want to kiss him and I didn't kiss him back. Please Booth. I'm sorry. Sully's in the past, and… I want you to be my future."

Booth silently considered what Brennan had just said for several intense seconds while Brennan awaited her judgment.

Then his face softened and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"I want to be your future Temperance."

Chapter 18

“And then what did he do?” Angela leaned forward, gathering Brennan’s hair, piecing and separating it before running a large barreled curling iron through the strands.

“He said he wanted to be my future, too.”

“Oh my G-d,” Angela breathed. “Then what?”

Brennan shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Angela laid the curling iron down.

“Well, we kissed.”

“And then…?”

“And then Parker called.”

“Oh.”

“Well, it was a sweet conversation, of course.”

“Yeah?”

“Parker misses his father. I think he has a crush on a girl in his class, from what I overheard.”

Angela laughed. “Funny how that works out.”

“What’s that?”

“Falling for people you work with.”

Brennan smiled. Angela laid down the curling iron and held up a hand-held mirror.

“Ange, it looks fantastic!”

“I think so, too. Very pretty.”

Brennan leaned down and kissed Ange’s cheek, then left for her room. When she reached it, she did not find Booth, ready for their dinner date, as she had expected.

She walked into the room and found only a little note pinned to the pillow.

“Meet me on the beach,” was all it said.

What was that man of hers up to?

On the beach, she could see a familiar silhouette standing with his back next to her. The broad, muscular shoulders were practically ingrained in her head.

“Booth?”

He turned around, holding a peach-colored hibiscus in his hand. She walked close until she held it in her hand.

“I tried to find daffodils or daisies,” he grinned.

“This is much better.”

“I try to be unpredictable”

“You do well,” she smiled, lifting the flower to her nose and breathing in its tropical scent.

“Look, Booth, I’m, uh…” she lifted the blue-green eyes he loves so much to meet his. “I’m sorry about this whole Sully business.”

“Don’t be. I will say one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

A war breeze drifted in off the ocean, salty and warm with the fragrance of the islands on its wings. Booth tucked away a runaway strand of hair from behind her ear, causing her to thrill from head to toe.

“Sully did one thing right, Bones. And one thing wrong.”

“What’s—What’s that?”

“The thing he did right, was that the didn’t hesitate. And the thing he did wrong was… he let you go.”

The tide had become to come in, the waves danced around their knees and glistened in the moonlight. He pulled her in for a deep kiss, a kiss that deepened with passion.

He let his hands fall to the hem of her dress, then he pulled it over her head and let it drift away in the cool frothy waves.

The buoyancy of the sea made certain maneuvers exceedingly easy. They were two figures in the ocean, making love in the sea as the world danced around them in the surf. He let his hand slide down her thigh, then he lifted her onto his waist. She tugged at his shorts until they disappeared into the ocean along with the shed dress. Neither cared how or when they would get back to the motel. All they knew were one another.

Sully walked onto the deck of his catamaran to grab his jacket from the seat. From there, he could see the two creatures intertwined passionately. “Dang,” he exclaimed, not recognizing either one.

Chapter 19

Hodgins, Angela, Booth, and Bones all sat around a little table at Gertrude's Diner the next morning.

Angela was using her dark powers to read Bren's mind from across the table. Bones sat quietly next to Booth as she read the menu and sipped tea. Booth, who ordered early, was eating a sausage on a fork.

That's it. If she's not going to tell me what happened, then I'll get it out of her! Being as blunt as she possibly could, Angela spoke up, "You two rolled in the hay."

Hodgins thought he would like this game. "Set the salmon free," he added with gleaming eyes.

"What?!" Booth's fork dropped from his mouth.

"You know, danced around the maypole." Angela smiled.

Booth looked at Bones whose eyes never moved from her menu. How could she be so calm?!

"Walked the dog..." Hodgins grinned wider.

"Spanked the monkey." Angela took a bite out of a strawberry.

"Excuse me?" Booth pointed his fork at Angela and Hodgins. "If you two don't knock it off I'm going to duct tape you two to the wall."

Bones looked up from her menu, "He knows special forces moves." Then continued to read her menu.

Angela thought quietly for a moment and watched Booth take a bite from the sausage on his fork. "Ever hear the Kielbasa sausage song?" She grinned evilly.

Booth dropped the fork along with the sausage to his plate. "Don't make me get the duct tape, Angela. And did you have to dis’ the sausage! C'mon, I won't be able to look at a sausage for a month now!"

Bones smothered a laugh.

"The one thing I can't figure out," Angela thought aloud... not only to herself. "Is why I didn't hear the joyous sounds of love making last night..."

"And why would you hear that?" Booth asked, trying to concentrate on his breakfast.

"Dude, we could hear you two the first night we got here.... Sounded like a Japanese anime por-" Hodgins was cut off by a threatening glare from Booth. "Never mind..." Hodgins concluded.

"Sweetie, tell me everything." Angela finally was able to get Bones to look up from her menu by pressing two fingers on the edge until she met her eyes.

"What? I'm not going to tell you--" Bones answered with a sarcastic laugh in her voice. She returned to her menu.

"I'm here, Angela." Booth reminded her. There was no way he wanted to hear this conversation. Why would he want to hear this?

"And this should be good..." Hodgins said, which received yet another threatening glare in return.

Angela ignored Booth. "I'm not quite sure what the mechanics are. I mean Hodgins isn't exactly six feet tall, so we were able to figure it out in a jiffy on that small bed, but Booth is a pretty big guy. What are you, Booth? Six-one?"

Booth couldn't believe he was hearing this! Why would he help her out with this conversation? Why?! Booth shook his head at her.

"And you two... it's a small room, thin walls..."

Brennan who was reading her menu once intently, answered absently. "There was no room." She looked up, wide eyed, as soon as the words left her mouth.

"What?" Angela asked with a wide smile. "Beach sex, you say!"

"I've never tried that..." Hodgins said. He looked a little disappointed.

"There was no beach." Booth cut in. "No beach sex. Why am I even trying?"

"Listen to your gut, G-Man. Just tell me everything. I'll just find out in the long run." Angela sat back with a satisfied look on her face.

Booth nudged Bones. "What?" She asked.

Booth motioned towards Angela with a look that seemed to say, "Make her stop!" but Bones took it as "Just tell her!"

"Fine. We had beach sex." Bones said calmly.

"Wow!" Angela breathed. She had truly taught her friend well. And then to hear it from Bren's own mouth! Just, wow!

"It was... nice." Bones added, then looked back down at her menu.

"Waaaaaaaaaait! Just NICE?" Booth asked.

Bones looked up. Hadn't she given enough details already? "What?"

"It wasn't just nice, right?"

Angela had done it again. Gotta love that Ange. She knew how to fish for details like nobody could. And the best way to do that with Booth and Bren was to get them arguing.

"Booth!" Brennan blushed.

"It was hot!" Booth looked at Angela and Hodgins. "It wasn't just nice."

Seeing how upset he was, Bones surrendered and set her menu down. "It was..." She smiled at the memory. "It was very... sexy. It was the best night of my life... aside from the first night, of course."

Booth smiled at Temperance and they shared a moment. Then he looked up, "Told you."

Angela smiled and pretended to look like she had lost the argument. "Yup, you told me."

Chapter 20

When they arrived back at the motel, Bones noticed she had missed a call from Cam, so she gave her a call back.

"Cam." She answered.

"Hey, Cam. I saw you called."

"Dr. Brennan! How's the vacation going?"

"It's going fine. But it's not vacation, it's work."

"Tropical breeze, sandy beaches, sexy FBI agent... I call that a vacation. And the best kind."

"Why'd you call?"

"Before we handed the body over, your grad student James noticed something very interesting that I thought I ought to tell you about."

"What's that?"

"Blue carpet fibers imbedded in the skull."

Brennan was quiet.

"Did that help your investigation?"

"Yeah." Bones hung up the phone.

"Was that Cam? What did she say?" Booth asked.

"Blue carpet fibers."

"On Standahl? How does that help things?"

Brennan sat thinking hard for a moment. Her mind was moving too quickly to answer Booth. Then she turned toward Booth. "We have a crime scene."

"Where?"

"The Senator's office. I remember that there was a blue carpet in there." Brennan jumped to her feet and slid on her shoes then tore out the door. Booth grabbed the keys and ran after her.

Chapter 21

Temperance ran up the white stone steps of the Capitol building, only to be met by security guards.

"I need to talk to Senator Black. This is important. It is in regards to Senator Standahl's disappearance."

"I'm sorry." A tall man answered. "We have specific directions not to let either of you inside the building."

"But we are assisting in a homicide investigation. We need inside."

"I'm sorry. I can't let you in." The man crossed his arms.

Temperance turned around with a thoughtful serious face.

"What are you thinking, Bones?" Booth knew that face and to be quite honest, he was a little afraid of it.

"Sully." Brennan ran down the steps, grabbing Booth's hand on the way down and dragged him along with her.

Chapter 22

Temperance ran... well, as well as one can run in the sand. Booth was beside her the whole time, not quite knowing what was going on.

"Why Sully?" Booth asked between breaths.

"Strength in numbers." Temperance said. The whole local government was trying their hardest to get them off the island. And they were succeeding. And now it all made perfect sense why they were meeting such opposition. Temperance hopped onto the wooden deck and walked the length to where Sully's boat was anchored.

Sully saw them coming and immediately felt like he should find the nearest helmet. He was still afraid of Booth. He remembered what it felt like when he hit. It didn't tickle. Let's just say that.

"Sully!" Temperance yelled.

"What?" He yelled back.

"We need your help." Temperance climbed aboard. Booth climbed aboard as well and followed Temperance below deck to where Sully had run for cover.

"For what?"

Temperance quickly gave an overview of the case, then added, "And we need your help. I think that the new senator might have killed Senator Standahl."

Sully stood up and put out his hands, "Look. I'm on sabbatical. I sail boats for a living. I give private tours of the island. And occasionally I cook a meal or two. I've been considering setting up a shirt cabana on the boardwalk. What do you think of the phrase, "What Happens on the Island, Stays on the Island" Eh? Eh?"

Grow a set! Temperance thought. Now she was reminded why she didn't exactly run after Sully. "Sully," she said with a straight face and a sweet smile. "I'm not above kicking your a$$."

Booth smiled. "She looks harmless, but trust me, she hits hard!" Yeah, he had nothing to worry about when it came to Sul.

Sully's shoulders relaxed. He knew he'd lost. "Fine. What do I do?"

Chapter 23

"I'm not going to let Senator Black get away with this if she's guilty. Which I think she is." Temperance said aloud.

They were at Senator Black's estate. It was a large Spanish-inspired house on the sea. Sully had gone around the back. The plan was to sneak in while Booth and Bones distracted her with questioning while he snooped through the house looking for evidence. They weren't quite sure, yet what they were looking for, though, so perhaps this was entirely pointless, but without even an interview with Black, they wouldn't be able to even imagine what they were looking for. It was a Catch-22.

Senator Black's housekeeper came to the door and led them to the front room where she was seated comfortably on a chaise lounge. As soon as she saw Booth and Brennan walk in, she stood up defensively.

"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan, I thought you two were ordered off the island." She crossed her arms across her chest.

"True," Booth began. "But we still have twenty-four hours before our flight leaves and before we are supposed to leave."

"Where were you when Senator Standahl disappeared on August 12th?" Bones asked, once again bringing up the conversation had been truncated at her office..

"How am I supposed to know? It was months ago."

"You know, Bones, I bet a smart woman like Senator Black, here, has a log of her daily meetings and appointments."

"Mmm... good thinking, Booth. Perhaps you can let us look at that log, Senator Black?"

"You have about five minutes before I call security." Senator Black's face pinched.

"Isn't it funny how guilty people always avoid questions like that, Booth?" Bones asked.

"Yeah, funny."

"I'd let you two see it, if you had a warrant. Good luck getting one from my government, Agent Booth."

"Perhaps, then, you would let us look around?" Bones asked.

"It's not going to happen, Dr. Brennan. Besides, I don't have anything to hide."

"Then why are we beating around the bush, Senator Black? Just let us take a peek around." Booth smiled.

"I have a right to my privacy, Agent Booth. You two may leave."

"I'll leave when I'm satisfied, Senator Black." Booth stood up and walked over to a bookshelf near the fireplace. He started to thumb through books.

"What are you--What is he doing?" She asked Bones.

"It's in plain sight. You invited us in."

"You two are infuriating. If you two don't get out of my house, I'm calling the police." Senator Black stood and walked over to the phone and picked it up.

Booth and Bones started to walk slowly to the door. "FINE! I GUESS WE'LL GO NOW!" Booth spoke loud enough for Sully to hear from the other room.

Bones caught on, "Right... WE SHALL LEAVE NOW. GOOD-BYE, SENATOR BLACK!"

Booth closed the door behind them. "That wasn't obvious." He said to Bones.

"And you weren't obvious?" She glared playfully at him. Booth smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Bones wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I can't be mad at you when you're this cute." Booth whispered then began kissing her again.

Sully came around the corner just in time to catch a good long look at the two of them. "Get a room!" He said. He still wasn't used to the sight of Temperance with another man, let alone she with Booth. It was just too strange for him.

"Can we borrow yours?" Booth smiled.

Sully looked disgusted.

Chapter 24

The Temperance bobbed in the blue water. A cool salty breeze blew Brennan's hair which curled around her ears. She tucked it back behind her ears gently, in a way that Booth loved. He loved how she could be so feminine and yet she could pound a guy's head in at a whim. What a crazy, sexy combination.

Nothing of importance had been found in the Senator's house, with the exception of her daily log of appointments. Temperance, in an almost skin colored bikini, was sitting at the edge of the boat and thumbing through it. She flipped to August and read through it carefully.

The water was shallow in this part of the ocean, so Angela and Hodgins were snorkeling. Booth sat near Sully, but his eyes were on Temperance the entire time. He kept thinking about their night in the ocean and then a goofy smile would spring to his lips. .

Sully stood and walked over to Bones and sat beside her. Booth, for a moment, felt like throwing him off the boat, but restrained himself, knowing that he was basically harmless.

"See anything yet?" Sully asked.

"Not yet. I noticed a few missing logs around the twelfth and some crossed out appointments..." Bones looked up. Her eyes were tired and the natural light was maybe a little too bright. She blinked hard, then looked back to the book in her hands.

Sully leaned close to try to look onto the book in her hands. Then Temperance saw it... there it was. In red pen, the name Kane and a phone number... could this be something to do with the case? Nothing else in the entire book mentioned Kane. This man might be a hitman, perhaps? Her mind raced, then she whipped her head up to call out Booth name. Unfortunately, Sully's nose was in the path of her head. Sully fell back, grasping his nose. "Ooooooh! My nose!" Blood sprung between his fingers.

Sully fell back against the cabin of the boat. Bones jumped up. "Apply pressure to the lateral cartilage of your nasal bridge," she ordered. Sully squeezed as he tipped his head back.

"I'm so sorry." She said. Yes, a part of her was sorry. She hadn't meant to head-butt Sully's nose, but a part of her... a very small part of her, felt gooooooood. That part of her had wanted to head-butt him since the day he sailed away. Call it payback, if you will, but Temperance would never admit to that.