Through A Glass Darkly

Glad you liked it. :-)

Those were the two lines that I had trouble with that redrider completely rewrote for me -- my idea, her words. Not a bad combo, eh?

Great combo, positively great.

RM

This one is a bit smuttier than the others!! Finally Bruce owned up to being a man around Brennan. He was playing it about as safe and slow as he could, but at least he was finally making a move. Sounds like all the right ones too!!

You can do another like that if you want. Maybe somebody else that they run into on the way home. huh??!!

AN: Thanks to labrat21 for reminding I was intending on doing from from Cullen's perspective (which you probably guessed from the title). As always thanks to redrider6612 for keeping on the straight and narrow of succinct instead of wordy. Next up will be Brennan's neighbor. Sorry DBCrazy, no smut for this chapter although I'll keep your suggestion in mind.

An Amused Director
"Bones, you can't say things like that to him!" Booth hissed quietly and angrily. "He's my boss. Are you trying to get me fired?"

"Booth, be reasonable. He's making the wrong decision. There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with him."

In less than a second, Booth was out of his chair and leaning threateningly over her. "It's not what you said, it's how you said it!"

"I am not one of your suspects and you don't intimidate me."

Deputy Director Sam Cullen stared at the pair in front of him. He wasn't sure whether he should be angry or amused. If the two of them arguing in a children's ward was ironic, he wasn't sure this would be – irony on steroids or just plain craziness?

The tension in the office suddenly shifted. Before it had been the tension of a fight brewing and two contestants preparing to duke it out. Now it was sexually charged – fraught with deep breaths and fighting attraction. He might not be a field agent anymore, but he could still read the signs and these two wanted each other badly.

He cleared his throat loudly. "Maybe we could get back on the subject before you two do something that I don't want to know about, and in my OWN office to boot?"

Booth jumped guitily then he slipped back into his chair.

Hiding a smirk, Cullen said, "What you do on your own time is your own business, but I'd hate to have to…"

"Sorry, sir!" Booth apologized sheepishly.

He listened patiently while Booth reframed and rephrased his partner's reasons why he should reconsider his decision.

"I'll keep that in mind, but there's a limit to what I can do. Now get out of my office."

Booth smirked at Brennan. "See, it's not what you say, it's how you say it."

She looked back at him with a murderous expression.

"Please wait to do… whatever… you're going to do to or with him until you're both far away from here. If I don't know about it, I can't be held responsible." He smirked at their puzzled expressions. "Scram."

Their arguing voices diminished as they walked down the hall. He sighed. The entertainment for the day was over; now on to the boring parts. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of wherever they ended up next. He might not want to know for legal reasons, but those two were just too interesting for him not to be a little bit curious.

Oh this is great. Poor Cullen knows it's itching to happen and he has to make them leave, when all he'd like to do is have a front row seat! LOL

For the life of me, I don't know why they don't bring him back on the show. I think he's been gone since the first season and he only showed up a few times at that, and he's way more prevalent in FF than Brennan's boss who left (name escapes me at the moment.)

saraluvzbonz wrote:Sorry DBCrazy, no smut for this chapter although I'll keep your suggestion in mind.

I better watch it or I'm gonna get a bad reputation.

OMFG!!! Those last two updates were utterly AWESOME!!!!

AN: Here's the next one. Thanks to labrat21 for the suggestion and to redrider6612 for keeping me in character on this one. DBCrazy and ScienceLove&Pie, thanks for the reviews. Enjoy.

A Nosy Neighbor
Nadine tightened her grip on the heavy sack, her hands shaking from the effort. She didn't want to drop it and get trash all over the hallway carpet. Getting old wasn't fun, she decided, as her hip twinged, but she was grateful that she was still self-sufficient.

As she walked, she wondered if Mrs. Guterman had finally kicked out her good-for-nothing son and when the management was going to do something about the college students upstairs who threw loud parties every Saturday.

The elevator door opened, and her neighbor and her… well, she wasn't sure what he was … exited.

"Hi, Mrs. Castleman," her neighbor said.

He handed the bag he was carrying to the young woman with a significant look. She sighed as she took it. "Fine, Booth. Go be a gentleman."

The young man turned to Nadine. "May I get that for you, ma'am?"

Oh, he had such a charming smile. She let him take the bag. "Thank you."

He offered her an arm and they walked down the hall together.

"How are you this evening?" he asked politely.

"I'm well. You?"

"It was a long day."

"So how do you two know each other?"

"We're work partners."

He tossed the bag in the chute. "May I see you to your door?"

"I'd be honored." She smiled up at him. She hadn't flirted this much in years.

He made polite conversation about the weather until they reached her door. As the door closed behind her, she felt like cursing. She'd only been able to ask him that one question and his answer had only piqued her curiosity further. Ear to the door, she listened to his footfalls retreating down the hallway. Finally she heard the snick of the door closing.

The next second, she opened her door and looked up and down the hall. Empty. She hurried down to her neighbors door and pressed her ear to the panel.

Nadine heard a loud groan. Not the kind of groan that she made when she'd hurt herself, but the kind when her Henry... ah, how she missed him.

Were they having sex? If so, he was her lover. What was her name again? Something Brennan.

After a few moments of silence, she heard the soft swish of fabric brushing against something.

"You want some more?" Brennan asked.

More silence. Then he moaned.

They were having sex! She wasn't so old she'd forgotten what that sounded like. Wasn't the Brennan lady some kind of celebrity author? Oh, Nettie wasn't going to believe this!

The man, Booth, had to be more than her work partner, no matter what he said. She saw the way he looked at Ms. Brennan. If she could figure out exactly what their relationship was, her day would be complete.

Voices interrupted her wild thoughts. "We are never going back to the old Thai place again. This food is to die for."

"Hm… only you could think that food was "to die for." I'd rather eat it. That was so good. Almost orgasmic."

"Bones!"

"Booth, you seriously need to get over your embarrassment about sex talk. Besides, we're alone in my apartment. Who's going to hear? I'm telling you, the food was more satisfying than some sex I've had."

"I did not want to know that! Wha'd'ya say we start on our paperwork?"

At the sound of the elevator doors opening, Nadine straightened and walked casually back down the hall, her mind whirling. Were they lovers or not?

Oh Sara, that is just too cute! You can so see that Booth was a boy scout, helping out old ladies, flirting with 'em just to make their day! I only hope my boys will turn out to be half the gentleman he is!! And Nadine was a kick!!

I had a lot of fun with this one. Originally she just saw them in the hallway while she was taking out her trash, but redrider pointed out that it was out of character for him not to offer to carry it for her. So I rewrote it to include that and it was much better! I think Booth flirts with every female he meets (in different degrees of course).

AN: I know it's been a while since I updated this, but don't worry, I haven't abandoned it. I was just having trouble taking good ideas and getting them onto paper. The idea for this one-shot (bed shopping) was suggested by labrat21 back in September. I immediately thought it was a good idea, but I had a hard time "seeing" the scene in my head, so I let it sit. Several weeks ago this popped into my head and now here it is. Thanks to labrat21 for the idea and to redrider6612 who edited it for me. Thanks to everybody who's reviewed. I hope you enjoy this.

A New Mattress
Paul rubbed his temples, willing the ibuprofen tablets he'd swallowed to take effect. His head pounded and the soft jazz coming from the store's speakers grated on his nerves.

He looked at the mattresses on display and wished for the hundredth time that he could just lay down for a quick nap.

The door chimed as a couple entered. His hand rode her back and she was turned toward him. The chemistry between them was so strong he wondered if it was possible to be singed by simple proximity.

"Bones, I don't know why we had to take the morning off work to do this."

He called her "Bones"? What a horrible nickname. At least he hoped it was a nickname.

"Booth, I've already told you. You need a new mattress. Your current one does not support your back properly."

"Yeah, but on a work day?"

"I'm not fixing your back again tomorrow. You're getting a new mattress today. Besides, you don't want to spend your weekend with Parker mattress shopping, do you?"

Paul approached, hoping that they weren't going to spontaneously combust in the store either from their argument or their chemistry. His head ached. Why couldn't they be a nice older replacing their mattress after 30 years of marriage?

"Hi! Welcome to the Mattress Emporium. I'm Paul."

'Bones' said, "For now, he's just going to look around. I'll let you know if he needs anything."

Paul nodded, relieved. That would give the pain reliever time to take the edge off his headache.

"Bones, it's rude to talk about me as if I'm not here," the man protested.

"Once we find a mattress that seems to be good, you need to test it for a minimum of 15 minutes."

The first few mattresses Booth tried, he got off right away.

He sank down into another. "This one is nice, Bones."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"It sinks under your weight. It will not provide you proper lumbar support."

"But it feels good."

"Am I or am I not the bone expert and trained in kinesiology?"

He pouted as he got up and continued to the next mattress.

The pair worked their way systematically through the store. As Paul's headache abated, the couple became more and more entertaining. Her reasons a mattress was wrong were practically incomprehensible, but Booth seemed to understand what he meant.

He took one look at the next mattress and shook his head. "There's no way I'm trying that one!"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Look at it! There's no way I can sleep on a purple mattress with unicorns on it."

"How it looks is irrelevant. With sheets on it, you'd never notice."

"No, that mattress is for six-year-old girls." He moved onto the next mattress.

They tried three quarters of the mattresses in the store before they found one that they both agreed on.

Bones looked at her watch. "It's 11:37. At 11:52, you can tell me how it feels."

He squirmed on the mattress. "Bones, this one is fine. Why do I have to wait fifteen minutes?"

"Because Consumer Reports says that's how long it takes your body to actually determine if a mattress is comfortable or not. Just try to get comfortable. Lay on it like you're going to take a nap."

He made a genuine effort. "Bones, I'm not sleepy in the least. Let's talk about something."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. You come up with a topic."

"Okay." She thought for a minute. "How was your last date?"

Paul's ears perked up. They acted like they were married. Why was she asking him about a date?

"Anything but my dating life."

"Um. I read an online article yesterday about the use of hormones in raising beef and chicken. A Dr. Thomas from University of Ohio is about to publish a longitudinal study of its effects on children. The article speculates that…"

"If you're about to tell me that it affects the male reproductive system in any way I don't want to hear it!"

What kind of people talked about scientific studies in a mattress store? Paul wondered. This not-couple was really strange.

"Why not? I'd think you'd be concerned about the impact it might have on Parker. You should really go organic Booth. Gene modified foods are likely just as problematic."

"Okay, we are not talking about my eating habits. Next you'll be telling me I should trade my burgers for tofu." He snaked out an arm and pulled her onto the bed next to him.

"Booth! What are you doing?"

He turned onto his side facing her, an arm supporting his head. "If I have to test the mattress, you can test it too."

She mirrored his pose. "That makes no sense. I am not going to be sleeping on it."

His eyes sparkled. "Who knows? Maybe you'll fall asleep at my place sometime. I would, of course, be a gentleman and give you the bed."

"In that case, you need to replace your couch," Bones informed him. "It's worse for your back than your current mattress. I don't have back problems, so the couch would be fine for me."

He rolled his eyes. She looked down at the mattress label and then started to laugh.

He glanced at it and frowned. "Absolutely not!"

"You have to admit that it's a little funny, Booth." She glanced at her watch. "Oh, look, it's 12:03. How did that one feel?"

"It was alright," he said grudgingly.

Paul approached them as they got off the mattress. At least they hadn't started making out while they waited. Those couples were the worst. "So, this mattress seemed to be the right one?"

The woman giggled and the man frowned. "Do you have any others similar to this one, preferably a different brand?"

Paul thought for a moment. "This isn't a very popular model. I believe the manufacturer is discontinuing it. The closest would be this one."

He led them to another mattress, but Bones shook her head the moment Booth was stretched out on it.

"It has to be the other one."

"No, Bones?"

What was he whining about? It was a perfectly good mattress by Sealy.

She nodded decisively. "He'll take one like that in a king size."

As Paul went to ring up the purchase, he tried to figure them out. Where they a couple or not? They argued and touched in a way that demonstrated they were completely at ease with each other. And he let her bully him into a mattress he didn't seem to want even though it was comfortable for him. What was wrong with the mattress?

"That will be $765.42 with tax. How will you be paying today? Check, credit card?" Paul asked. "I can have it delivered today at no extra charge. They'll haul away the old mattress for $25."

The man reached for his wallet reluctantly.

"I can get if you like Booth," she smiled sweetly. He whipped out his card and tossed it on the counter, trying to be casual.

When he handed it back with the signed receipt, Paul looked at the name on the card "Seeley Booth." He suppressed a smirk and compared the signature on the back to the back of the card. No wonder the man didn't want to buy a Sealy

Paul consulted the schedule. "Does between 2 and 4 work for you?"

"That doesn't give us much time for lunch!"

"Booth, it's fine. We never take that long to eat."

"I know, but I have the day off. I wanted to enjoy some of it."

"We can have a nice dinner."

"Okay, fine. Between 2 and 4."

Then they walked out bickering about where to eat lunch.

Paul laughed. Seeley sleeping on a Sealy. This day was turning out to be pretty good. Wait until he told his wife about this. And his headache was finally gone.

He smiled at the next customer that walked through the door. "Welcome to the Mattress Emporium. I'm Paul. How can I help you today?"

hehe! I'll go mattress shopping with Booth anytime!!!

Who wouldn't? But I doubt we'd be able to give him as good advice on which mattress to buy or amuse the salesman as much as Bones would...