Nightmare by TempestJo

Chapter One:

A winding dirt road, a ditch. Corn silk white wheat waving in the breeze, looking like waves on the ocean, a cloudless sunny sky, pale blue.

There is no sound.

Why?

A glance up, someone is walking along the road, he glances down, he looks through her. She’s invisible. Not a nice looking man. Cold eyes. Cold jaw. Talon like hands.

He goes down a driveway, disappearing into the tall evergreens, she doesn’t know what kind they are, Hodgins would know.

Scrambling up the steep ditch, creeping down the driveway, why is she following him?

He glances back furtively and ducks into a shed with a stovepipe.

She sneaks closer, then gasps.

She is inside. She cannot move. She is hanging on a meat hook, watching through lifeless eyes, unable to turn her head. Her peripheral vision shows there are two other women there, beside her, hanging, meat hooks shoved through their skulls.

They are naked

Dead.

The man turns and smiles at her, opens the door of the handmade wood stove, at least five feet long, two and a half feet wide. The fire within pops.

What does he need such a big heater for? The shed can’t be more than a hundred square feet.

He walks over, touches her face gently, says something, but there is still no sound. The look in his eyes….. He’s crazy, taking revenge.

Revenge for what?

She’s screaming, but nobody hears. She’s dead.

He pulls her off the hook and stuffs her legs into the burner, shoving the rest of her into the hot flames.

The last thing she sees…. The door closing, shutting her in, she can’t move, she can’t scream.


Brennan sat up in bed, shaking, still seeing the man from her dream bending over her, his hands reaching for her throat.. Such talon like hands…

She reaches for the bedside light, and it floods the room. She is alone. It was a dream, a nightmare. Terror quakes through her, and she pulls her gun from the beside table, aiming it at the bedroom door.

She’s never felt so scared.

Her mind chides her for being irrational, there is nobody but her in the house.

But the images from her dream, so real, so lifelike. If she ever saw that road, that man… She’d recognize it instantly.

Those hands.

Her closet door is open. Did she leave it like that?

The floor creaks and she stifles a scream.

She needs to calm down.

A few deep breaths, a glance at the clock.

Four AM.

In three hours Booth will be here.

Only three more hours.

Booth opened the door and walked into Brennan’s apartment, putting her coffee on the kitchen table. He looked around, frowning. Usually she was awake by now.

He walked down the hall, he was a little early, maybe she was in the shower. “Bones?”

The bathroom door was open, he flicked the light on, then off again, it hadn’t been used yet.

“Bones?”

“I’m in here Booth, could you come here please?”

He paused for a second, his hand on her bedroom doorknob, his mind racing. He pushed open the door, and peeked inside.

She was sitting bolt upright in bed, her gun on her knees, pointed towards the door.

“Bones? Is that loaded?”

She looked down, seemingly surprised to see she was holding her gun. “Yes. It is. I’ll put it away.” She reached over and placed in the drawer of her bedside table.

Booth stared at her. She was wearing some kind of silky negligee, hot pink and black lace, but he wasn’t getting a ‘come hither’ vibe from her. In fact, she seemed terrified.

“Are you ok?”

She hugged her knees. “Yes, I had a terrible R.E.M. experience, and I admit I am reacting extremely irrationally, but my body is refusing to accept my brain’s assurance that there is nobody under the bed. Or in the closet.” She cast a worried glance at the half opened closet door. “Would you mind… What I mean to say is, can you check please?”

Booth shrugged and walked over to the closet throwing it open. “Nothing in here but clothes Bones.” He pushed the clothes along the rail, making sure. “And some very nice shoes.”

Brennan looked relieved. “And…… under the bed?”

He dropped to his knees and looked under the bed. “A dust bunny or two, and a pair of VERY sexy heels.” He sat up, holding one up. “You don’t wear these to work!”

“The height of the heel is not conducive to standing on the platform all day, but yes, they are quite alluring.” She pursed her lips. “Actually I was looking for those, thank you.”

He sat on the side of her bed, turning the shoe over in his hands. “So are you going to tell me about your nightmare?”

She shivered. “No, that is…. No.”

He nodded, still looking at the shoe. “Ok, maybe later. Are you gonna get out of bed now?”

She moved hesitantly. “Yes. Could you… My suitcase is in the hall closet, could you go get it please? Throw some apparel in it for me? I think I’ll stay at the lab tonight.”

“You can stay at my place if you want. Parker’s room is free.” He glanced at her pale face.

She gave him a tight smile and climbed out of the bed, heading for the bathroom. “I’ll consider it, thank you.”

The bathroom door closed and locked behind her, and he went and grabbed her suitcase, laying it open on the bed.

Must have been some nightmare.

He stared at the clothes in the closet and felt a sudden surge of mischief run through him. If he was going to pack her clothes, he might as well pack his favourites….

He pulled down a few skirts, some slacks, his favourite blouses., throwing in the pair of heels he’d found under the bed, before walking around to the dresser. The top door was full of socks and pantyhose, he threw a few pairs of each in. The next was bras.

He took a deep breath and grabbed a handful, throwing them into the suitcase.
The next drawer was underwear, and used the same tactic, just grabbing a handful. A pair fell to the floor and he picked it up carefully, using only his fingertips.
Whoa….That was definitely going in the suitcase.

He opened the last drawer and stared in surprise. So THAT was where his favourite sweatshirt went. He pulled it out, putting it in the suitcase too.

He zipped it up and smiled, carrying it through to the kitchen.

Not a bad start to the day.
Who knew she had such sexy underwear?
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Anybody reading?

good!! Scary. Scary good. Good and scary!!

Im reading liking it so far

yeppers reading it also keep it going I am liking it so far

Cool, I'm intrigued. Keep going!

I'm reading! Yay! Great writing, I'm excited to see whre this plot ends up leading, so as you can see, I'm hooked! Too many exclamation points!!!!! Keep it going please.I liked the packing, that was very entertaining.
~Sunnie~

Intriguing. I like the blend of drama and horror so far, and anything that pushes Brennan outside her comfort zone is a plus, even better when it pushes her and Booth together. Can't wait to see more.

RM

Booth crossed his arms and leaned over the railing, looking down on the forensics platform below. It was almost six o-clock, and Brennan had come up with excuses for him to stick around all day.
Whatever she’d dreamed about really had her freaked out.
Every time the guide brought a tour through, she’d disappeared into her office and locked the door behind her.

She looked up and saw him watching her, and felt minutely calmer. He’d worked from her office today, catching up on paperwork. He’d made motions to go to his own office a few times, but she’d managed to keep him there by requesting his help in translating old FBI transcripts relating to her current Limbo case. It was a poor excuse, she’d never needed his help before, but he had in fact pointed out a few things she’d missed. Apparently the FBI had some code phrases that meant more than what they seemed. If she had to admit it, he had in fact, been a great help.

She studied the bones in front of her, imagining the victim in her mind, the way they would have walked, moved. Danced.

She frowned, and looked again. Yes, there were several markers pointing to a life spent dancing. Hard to spot among the damage, but they were there.
She pulled off her gloves and flipped through the papers on her clipboard, searching, one of the possible identities was a dancer, no, wait, two of them.

She pulled the two bio’s from the stack and put them side by side on a tray beside the skeletal remains, cross checking height and weight markers, and medical histories.

Finally she had her answer.

A name.

She smiled.

“Almost done Bones?” He asked from behind her.

She jumped and spun around, her face panicked. “Don’t DO that!”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Do what?”

“Sneak up on me!”

“I didn’t. You were concentrating, like you usually are, and didn’t hear me.” He defended himself, his eyes studying her carefully.

“Oh.” She turned around and picked up one of the two pieces of paper. “I’ve identified this person.”

“Who is it?” Booth asked, reaching for the paper, after casting a cursory glance at the bones laid out on the table. It always amazed him how she could look at bones and see a whole person, with feelings and thoughts, and yet when she looked at a live person, she seemed to just see a walking skeleton.

“Adriana Reed, age 23, grocery clerk. At least in 1971 she was a grocery clerk. She also taught ballet.”

“What happened to her?”

“Strangulation. ” Bits of her dream flashed though her head, making her hands shake slightly for a moment until she got herself under control. “I suspect some kind of cord was used, and from the angle of the slice here,” She pointed, “I would say by someone around the same height as the victim.”

“5’2” Booth said.
“Yes. Probably female.”

“A jealous wife?”

Brennan shrugged. “That’s conjecture, I really have no opinion.”

Booth nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets. “So are you ready to go then?”

She stared at him. “Go where?”

“Dinner. You have to eat Bones. And you have to sleep too.”

“Is it dinner time already?” She checked her watch.

“Bones.”

She bit her lip. “How about pizza? At your place?”

He smiled. “Ok. Should I get your bag from your office?” She wanted to say yes, he could see her warring with herself. “We have an early morning session with Sweets tomorrow, it would save a lot of time if I didn’t have to come pick you up here first.” He offered her a rational out.

“True, it would. In that case yes, I accept your offer. You’re sure Parker won’t mind?”

He turned her towards her office. “He won’t mind a bit Bones. Now let’s go, I’m starving!”

can't wait for more. =]

They stepped in the door of Booth’s apartment, feeling the warmth cover them like a blanket.

“Chilly tonight.” Booth said, setting her suitcase down on the floor and shutting the door behind them. He took off his coat and hung it on a hook by the door as he kicked off his shoes and headed for the kitchen to find the phone. “What kind of pizza do you want?”

“Um. The vegetarian pepperoni one please.” She said, looking around as she unbuttoned her coat. His apartment was always so much homier than hers. A fuzzy blanket with a hockey logo on it covered the back of the couch, a Lego castle sat, a work in progress, on the coffee table, next to the remote and an empty beer can.

She hung up her coat beside his and placed her shoes by the door before going closer to inspect the castle. A diagram sat on the other side, instructions on how the castle was supposed to look. She sat down and studied the chart carefully. “Are you making this for Parker?” She called out, reaching for a corner piece and pressing it carefully into place.

Booth popped his head around the corner, phone to his ear. “What? Oh, yeah, Part of Parker’s Christmas present. I’m going to build the castle and then let him assemble the rest. What? Hello? I’d like to order delivery please…” He disappeared back into the kitchen.

Brennan scanned the table for the next piece, following the directions carefully.

A beer bottle landed in front of her a short time later, and she looked up at Booth. “My brother used to have Lego’s when we were kids. Nothing like this though.” She put another piece on and sat back, picking up the beer.

Booth sat down beside her and flicked the TV on. “Lego’s come a long way since we were young Bones. It’s kind of addicting though isn’t it?”

“Relaxing.” Brennan replied. “How long for the pizza?”

“Half an hour. What do you want to watch, hockey, or football?”

“National Geographic channel.”

He rolled his eyes. “Hockey it is.”

She leaned forward and started working on the castle again. “Pass me that piece please.”

Cuuuteee... Legos! I love those things.
"National Geographic channel"
"Hockey it is."
Sounds like my roomies and I fighting over what recording we watch first, Bones or Gossip Girl
Bones obviously being my choice.
Keep it going! It's awesome!
~Sunnie~

Booth stood up and stretched. “Well, I’m going to go to bed. Sweets is expecting us at eight tomorrow.” He picked up her suitcase, “I’ll go put this in Parker’s room, okay?”

She nodded, standing up. “I should attempt sleep as well.”

He led the way down the hallway, flipping the light on in Parker’s room as he entered it, placing the suitcase at the foot of the bed.

“There you go.”

She paused in the doorway, surveying the room. There was no closet, that was good considering her current state of mind. The bed was a single, with a bunch of drawers underneath, also good.

“Thank you Booth. For letting me stay here, I mean.” She picked up a stuffed monkey that was on the dresser next to the door. “This primate is not anatomically correct.” She studied it.

Booth turned around to face her. “His name is Bananas.”

“Bananas?”

“Yes.” He walked over to her and paused. “And he’s very good at keeping nightmares at bay. Feel free to snuggle him, Parker won’t mind.” He smiled then brushed past her, heading for his own room. “Goodnight Bones!”

She turned and watched him stride down the hall then looked down at the monkey in her hands. “I guess we’ll find out.”

She placed the stuffed animal on the bed and opened the suitcase, searching for pyjamas.

Nothing.

Lots of everything else, but no pyjamas.

She felt something at the bottom of the suitcase and blushed, pulling it out.

Booth’s sweatshirt.

Holding it in her hands, she shrugged. So what? He’d left it at her house, why shouldn’t she wear it? Especially since he had neglected to pack her anything to wear to sleep.

She shut the door and pulled off her clothes, putting them in a neat stack on the floor before pulling the sweatshirt over her head. It hung halfway down her thighs, and the sleeves completely enveloped her hands, but it was indescribably soft.

She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste from her purse, and opened the door, slipping out to the bathroom.

Booth opened his bedroom door and headed for the bathroom, he’d almost forgot to brush his teeth, he walked in and stopped suddenly. “Nice shirt Bones!”

She looked at him, her eyes wide, but continued to brush her teeth. He was clad only in boxers.

He stood beside her at the sink and reached for his toothbrush, giving her a grin.

She spit out her toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. “You didn’t pack me any pyjamas.” She frowned.

Booth’s mind went blank, and his eyes lowered to the waistband of his shirt. “huh.”

“Yeah. Well, Goodnight Booth!” She hurried out of the bathroom and into Parker’s room shutting the door behind her, turning off the light and getting into bed.

The first thing she noticed was that there was glow in the dark stars all over the ceiling. She hugged bananas to her and stared at them.


Booth was still standing in the bathroom, toothbrush in mouth. He hadn’t packed her any pyjamas?
Really?
Mental head slap.
How was he supposed to sleep, knowing that the only thing she was wearing was HIS sweatshirt?
Though it looked really, really good on her. And she probably had underwear on.
NOT HELPFUL SEELEY. He glared at himself in the mirror.


He put his toothbrush away and headed for his bedroom, and his bed.

He was going to get some sleep.

Because he said so.

And no one was more stubborn than him.

Except maybe the woman sleeping in his shirt, in his son’s bed.

It was going to be a long night.

Booth rolled over, looking at the clock next to the bed, it’s glowing numbers stating the fact that is was, still, 2:00 AM.

He buried his head in his pillow in frustration. He really needed to get to sleep, but his mind just would not shut up it kept saying he should go check on her, just once, make sure she was tucked in. Give her a kiss.

He turned on the bed sight light and sat up, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. A kiss. Yeah, right, like he’d be able to stop at a kiss.

An ear splitting shriek sliced through the air, and he heard Parker’s bedroom door slam open, and then she was in his room, jumping onto his bed, scrambling to get under the covers, pulling them up over her head.

He’d just had time to notice two things. She had Bananas the monkey clutched in one arm, and she was, in fact, wearing underwear. And judging by the fact that Dr. Temperance Brennan, the strongest woman he’d ever met, was now a shivering lump under his duvet, she was terrified.

Luckily, he knew how to handle this.

He slid down, pulling the covers over his head as well, holding one corner up to let the light into their little cave.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

Wide blue eyes stared at him.

“Nightmare?”

A tiny nod.

“Same one?”

Another nod.

“Well, I can hold you if you want, but you’re gonna have to tell me about this nightmare, in the morning.”

She blinked, considered, then gave another small nod.

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her, pulling the blanket down so their faces were exposed, and turned off the light.

Every once in a while, she would shudder, and make a soothing noise, and then finally, they both fell asleep.

If she wasn't so scared and this was less serious, that monkey would be a source of major blackmail for him.

Sorry. Absolutely couldn't resist a touch of levity.

"...not anatomically correct." Figures she'd notice that; right along with no closets and no space under the bed. Right now, she has much more in common with the little boy who usually sleeps in that room than she usually does. Though it's a much more intense and vicious dream than Parker probably gets.

The alarm clock clicked on, blaring Sex and Candy.

Booth rolled over, turning it off, instantly awake. The warm form next to him shifted closer, mumbling.

“What’s that Bones?”

Her eyes popped open and she stared up at the roof curiously. “I like that song. Your ceiling has a swirly pattern.”

“Yes, it does. It’s horrible when I’m hung-over.”
She nodded, and sat up, climbing out of the bed.

He reached out and grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?”

“Shower.” She shook his hand off. “We have an early morning meeting with Sweets, remember?”

He eyed her knowingly. “Bones. You ARE going to tell me about the nightmare right?”

She flushed and avoided his gaze. “Yes, but not right now. How about after our appointment with Sweets?”

He sat up, running his hand through his hair, blowing a deep breath out of his mouth. “Fine. After we talk to Sweets. Though it would make more sense to talk about it now, rationally speaking, while it’s fresh in your mind.”

She stared him. He was using her own arguments against her. And he would be right, if the thing most fresh in her memory wasn’t the feel of being in his arms, his naked legs against her own, his palm against her stomach, his breath on the back of her neck.
She blushed and backed towards the door. “I.. need to sort it out. After we talk to Sweets, I promise.”

“You really promise?”

She nodded.

“Fine.” He pushed back the blankets and got out of bed, ignoring his morning reaction, and opened the blinds, looking out at the street below. “I’ll make coffee.”

She nodded, her pulse racing. It had been a long time since she was with a man intimately, and her body was letting her feel exactly how long it had been.

She walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind her, leaning against it, listening for his footsteps to go past. When they did, she ran her fingers through her hair and turned on the shower, letting the steam fill the air with a cloudy mist.

She needed to shave her legs.

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“Dr. Brennan. You look very nice today. Special occasion?” Sweets asked, eyeing her black pencil skirt, heels, and blue silk blouse.

She pressed her lips together and shrugged. “No, no reason.” She shot a glance at Booth that plainly said thanks a LOT.

Booth grinned and folded his hands in his lap. He was wearing a black suit as usual, but both his socks and his tie had similar shades of blue as her shirt.

“In fact,” Sweets continued, “You two are quite co-ordinated today. Did you get ready together?” He probed.

Two blank faces stared at him. “No.” “Of course not.”

Sweets leaned forward and steepled his fingers together. “This is VERY INTERESTING.”

Booth cut in. “No Sweets, what is very interesting is that Bones has been having nightmares lately.”

Sweets turned his eyes to Brennan, momentarily distracted. “Is this true?”

She glared at Booth and crossed her arms across her chest. “Maybe. It’s not really any of your business.”

“But it is!” Sweets exclaimed, reaching for his pen and pad of paper. “Nightmares can be caused by any number of things, one of which is overworking. Have you been working too hard lately Dr. Brennan?”

She tapped her foot impatiently, crossing her legs. “No, I have not.”

Booth’s eyes followed her legs appreciatively.

“Eaten any strange foods lately?” Sweets asked.

“No.”

“What about that faux-chicken frittata you ate the other night?” Booth suggested.

“I’ve had it before Booth.”

“Looked like a nightmare waiting to happen to me.” He held up his hands in mock defence. “Just saying.”

Brennan rolled her eyes and looked away.

“It could be sexual frustration.” Sweets suggested. “There have been numerous studies which show a correlation between frequency of dreams and how much or little sexual gratification you’ve been getting.”

Booth and Brennan both stared at him silently.

He looked up from his notepad. “What? We’re all adults here.” He smiled. “Come on guys, in the interest of science, let’s discuss this.”

“What does science have to do with sex?” Booth asked in alarm.

Brennan sighed. “Sweets is right, this should be an avenue we explore. I’ve read similar studies.” She glanced from Booth to Sweets then stared at her shoes. “I will only answer if Booth does as well. And you Sweets, though I have no actual interest, I feel I would be more comfortable if we were all on equal grounds.”

“Absolutely.” Sweets nodded, “Agent Booth?”

Booth snapped his jaw shut and growled, but gave a tiny nod, mostly because he wanted to find out the last time Brennan had sex.

“You first.” Brennan said to Sweets.

“Ok.” He shrugged. “Last night.”

“Seriously?” Booth snorted.

“Yes. How about you Agent Booth? When was the last time you had sex?”

Booth swallowed. “Umm. Bones should go first.”
Brennan glared at him.

“Ok, fine. It was about eight months ago.”

Brennan raised her eyebrows. “Anybody I know?”

“No.”

Sweets narrowed his eyes at him. “You are discounting the physical intimacy from your coma I see.”

Booth’s hand covered his eyes. “I never told you about that, how did you know about that? It never happened Sweets, it was some weird four day hallucination, alright? It doesn’t count.”

Brennan’s eyes opened very wide and cut to Booth for a nanosecond before returning to study her shoe. He’d dreamed he was having sex with her. Now THAT was very interesting.. She’d known that they were married in his “Dream state” but she hadn’t realised that it had been so graphic. Though she should have, he did say she was pregnant, and …. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“It’s your turn Bones.” Booth repeated himself, a tiny smirk in his eyes.

“Eighteen months.”

“WHAT?” Booth and Sweets both stared at her.

“What? Booth said that I should be monogamous, that men didn’t like sharing, and I just haven’t had time to search out someone who interests me both physically and intellectually.” She bit her lip.

Booth’s eyes narrowed. She was lying, he knew it, but about what?

“Eighteen months.” He repeated.

She shrugged. “Yes.”

So she wasn’t lying about that. It was the other bit, not finding a man who interested her.

“I thought you were dating Hacker?” He asked.

“Wait.” Sweets interrupted. “Our Hacker?”

“Yes. But we didn’t sleep together, he was very charming and I’m sure I would have enjoyed myself, but..”

“But what?”

“He didn’t measure up, ok?” She stood up in agitation, smoothing out her skirt. “When did this turn into a gossip session. I have work to do.”

Booth stood up instantly. “Yes, we have a conference we need to attend. See ya Sweets.”

They left the room silently.

Sweets stared after them, a befuddled look on his face. “Hacker? Really?”


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They got into the elevator and stared silently at the door.

“So..” Booth started. “Measured up to who?”

“Who did you sleep with?” Brennan countered.

Booth coughed in embarrassment. “Nobody.”

“oh, so someone I know then?” Brennan nodded. “Angela?”

“No! God no! Why would you think that?”

“Well she thinks you’re hot.” Brennan pointed out. “You wouldn’t sleep with her?”

“No, I wouldn’t sleep with your best friend. I really meant nobody. I lied.”

“What?” Her head swivelled towards him. “Why?”

He shuffled his feet. “Well, It’s been a long time Bones, and for a guy, well, that’s not something we brag about.”

“But it was just me and the kid.”

“Yes, but the twelve year old had sex last night, and I haven’t had sex in I don’t know how long.”

“Oh. Yes, it is kind of embarrassing.”

“Gee, thanks Bones.”

She shifted awkwardly.

“So, you didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh. You.”

“What about me?”

“You’re the one I use as a measuring tool. If I don’t think that you will approve, I don’t date them. I haven’t dated anyone in ages.” She shook her head. “You have a very strict checklist you know.”

He smiled. “Yeah. I do.” He glanced at her. She was staring straight ahead. “So you haven’t found anyone that measures up to me, huh?”

“No, I have not.”

Booth smirked.

The doors opened, and he took her arm, leading her towards the SUV.

“Where are we going now Booth?”

“My place. You’re going to tell me about your nightmare.”

“Oh.”

Booth sat on the couch, flipping through the channels while he waited idly for Brennan to come out of the bathroom. She was stalling, but eventually she’d either give up or get hungry. It was just a matter of time.


Brennan stretched out on the bed, flipping through the pages of the men’s magazine she’d found in a shoebox in Booth’s closet. He really did keep his masturbatory aids with his shoes. She turned the page and inspected the scantily clad woman sprawled across the page. “Not very symmetrical bone structure,” she thought, “but I like the underwear set. I think I saw one of those in that online catalogue I was browsing the other day.” She turned the page, and started reading the Editor’s column. Her eyes widened in appreciation. There actually was writing in these things.

Very Interesting.

She flipped through the rest of the magazine, admiring a pair of shoes and a pair of sunglasses, before closing it and reaching for the next one, a Hustler. She’d heard about this one. Time to see what all the fuss was about.


Booth stood up and checked the clock. She’d been in there an hour, maybe he should go see if she was sick or something.

He strolled down the hallway, pausing when he noticed the bathroom door was open and the lights were off.

Where the hell did she go?

He checked Parkers room, the peeked into his own.

Brennan was sprawled diagonally on his bed, her shoes kicked off, reading a magazine. A shoebox lay empty beside her, a half dozen magazines were piled on her opposite side, she’d obviously already read them, they were stacked alphabetically by name.

Probably by month and issue as well, he thought, as he leaned up against the doorway, his arms folded across his chest.

“Having fun Bones?”

She gave a start, then looked at him innocently. “These are very interesting.”

“Uh-huh. Where did you find those?” He squinted at her.

“In a shoebox in your closet.” She turned a page and stared down at yet another naked female. “These women have some very nice accessories.”

“Accessories? I never noticed.” He frowned, stepping forward to look before catching himself. “Good one, you almost got me. So why were you in my closet?”

“I’m serious Booth.” She held up the magazine so he could see. “I really like those shoes, I’m going to try and find a pair.”

He stared at her. She WAS serious.

He sat down beside her. “So, you’re looking at my porn mags, which I’m pretty sure were on the top shelf, behind at least three other shoeboxes with actual shoes in them, and all you’re seeing is accessories?” He said incredulously.

“Yes, though some of the jokes are quite amusing, and there is an odd article or two which I found very informative.” She looked up at him. “What am I supposed to see?”

“Naked women.”

“I can look in the mirror if I want to see that. Though there is the odd picture which has a man participating in a sex act with the female lead, but I find they look…. Fake.”

“Fake.” Booth nodded. This had to be the weirdest conversation they’d ever had.

“Yes, in my experience, men don’t usually shine like that. The glistening effect is kind of distracting. Perhaps they wiped them with baby oil. It would produce a similar effect.”

“It’s called sweat Bones.”

She shook her head. “No, I’ve seen you sweat lots of times, and you never glisten like that, he’s almost reflective.”

Booth squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember why they were discussing skin rags.

The nightmare. Right.

“So, this nightmare you keep having..”

“This position must be very uncomfortable.” Brennan interrupted.

Booth looked. “No, it’s not actually, you use a pillow and…” He stopped and shut his eyes, a taking a deep breath. “Will you shut that thing and pay attention please? We have to go back to work sometime today, and we’re not leaving until you tell me about your nightmare.”

She blinked up at him, a calculating look in her eyes. “You’ve tried this position? I’ve never tried it. I’ve tried most of the others, but there is one, in that magazine,” She pointed, “which I would very much like to try one day, may I borrow it?”

“WHAT? NO, yes… I don’t know? God Bones, what are you trying to do to me? Look,” he said in frustration. “I’ll let you have ALL of them, hell, I’ll even show you how to get into the positions, but for God’s sake, would you just tell me about the nightmare!!!!”

She raised her eyebrows. This was an interesting development. “Well, I’d be an idoit to refuse an offer like that, and I’m not, I’m a certified genius, so, it’s a deal.”

“What’s a deal?”

“I’ll tell you about my dream, and then you’ll teach me those positions.”

“Oh hell, did I really say that?” He winced.

She nodded.
He put his head in his hands. He would have stood up and paced, but that would have been embarrassing. This was going to get messy. There was no way he could teach her those positions so she could try them with another man. He would have to make sure that he showed her so effectively that she didn’t even want another man. Was she ready for that?

He glanced at her, then rolled his eyes and gave himself a mental shake. She was lying on his bed, reading his magazines, which she’d had to search to find, having a frank discussion about sexual positions.

“FINE. Start talking Bones.”

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She closed the magazine and put her chin on her hands, focusing on the duvet cover as she prepared to tell him about the nightmare, obviously reluctant.

Booth stretched out beside her, his hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. She would find it easier to tell him about it if he wasn’t looking at her.

She cleared her throat. “It’s just a nightmare. But it’s the scariest nightmare I’ve ever had. It starts out, I’m laying in a ditch, watching wheat sway in the wind, but I can’t hear it. The entire dream is silent…A man comes along the road..”

“There is a road?” Booth asked, his voice purposefully low and mellow.

“Yes. I’m beside a road, looking up at it, there are trees on the other side, a driveway.” She frowned. “The man goes down the driveway, and I follow him.”

“Are you sure it’s you? Could you be someone else? Am I there?”

“I can’t be anybody else Booth, that’s impossible. No you aren’t there, it’s just me, and it’s like I’m invisible, it’s all so quiet. And then it all changes, I’m in a little shed..” Her voice cracked.

“It’s ok Bones, it’s just a dream. Talking about it will help, it can’t be that bad.” He soothed.

She swallowed and rested her forehead on her thumbs, closing her eyes. “I’m hanging on the wall. I can’t move, but I can see. There are two women beside me, naked, their heads are tipped foreword, there are big meat hooks threaded through the back of their skulls, holding them up. I think that’s how I was too. Their hair… It just hangs there, like a curtain around their face, but it’s not shiny and pretty, it’s kind of limp, sad looking somehow.”

Booth swallowed and closed his eyes. He was wrong. It was bad.

She continued softly. “The man is there, he opens the door on a big wood stove, it looks like a boiler almost, one of those old coal ones, like on the Titanic, though obviously not that large. I can see the fire, it jumps, and it throws shadows, his face is in shadows, but I can see his hands, they look similar to talons. He reaches for me, and he puts me into the stove and shuts the door.”

“Do you scream?”

“I can’t. I’m already dead. I was dead the whole time. I think he strangled me. The other two had bruises on their necks.”

He sat up partially. “That limbo case you were working on. She was strangled too. Could that have caused your nightmare?”
She considered his theory for a moment. “No, I’ve dealt with hundreds of strangulation cases Booth, besides she was strangled by a female, and there was no indication of being burnt.”

He lay back down on the bed. “Well, I’m not going to lie to you Bones, that’s a pretty horrible nightmare.”

She nodded, scrambling into a sitting position. “Ok, your turn.”

“What?”

“Our deal, remember?”

He grinned at her boyishly. “You don’t want to take a few minutes to compose yourself before pretending to have sex with me?”

She tilted her head, and something flickered through her eyes quickly. “I’m good.” Her smile was a little crooked, but it was more caused by the intense rush of heat that had flooded her body with his words. She reached for the magazine, finding the page she wanted, holding it up and pointing to it. “This one first please.”

He narrowed his eyes, looking at her, then took the magazine, studying the page.

He was going to approach this like she would, as an experiment. But the goal of his experiment was to see if he could get her to scream without taking off her clothes, or his. Though his shirt could probably come off, it kind of hampered his mobility. He smiled.

“Piece of cake Bones.”

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

He sat up, pulling off his shirt.

She gulped. “Is that really necessary?” She squeaked, her eyes glued to his pecs.

“Absolutely Bones, dress shirts are very confining.”

She nodded. “Oh, yes. Of course.”

He leaned over and pushed her gently onto her back, enjoying the way her eyes widened as he loomed over her, gently pulling her arms over her head in imitation of the girl in the photo.

He lifted her hips with one smooth movement and moved between her legs, whispering in her ear. “Are you sure about this Bones?”

She nodded dumbly, her brain focused on every touch, every muscle in his chest, the way his smell was wrapping around her, until she realized with a start that she was, in fact, being wrapped around him.

He glanced at the picture again, pulling one leg up over his arm, the other over his shoulder, then adjusting his pose slightly, till he looked down at her with a triumphant grin. “Told ya.”

She stared up at him, her chest heaving, and her body tingling where it was pressed against his.
She blinked, and opened her mouth. “I don’t know, it doesn’t seem plausible somehow.” She looked up at him hopefully.

He lowered himself onto her gently, and moved against her. “See how it works now?” His eyes were inches from her own, and fully dilated.

She could feel his chest rumble when he spoke, and it made her want to roll her eyes up in her head in ecstasy. “Oh.” She breathed, tightening her legs around him. “Now it makes sense.”

He pressed his lips to her throat, whispering “Which other one did you want to try?”

Her shudder of desire didn’t go unnoticed, and it took everything he had to stay in control. He’d always wanted her legs wrapped around him, and now they most definitely were.

Her jaw tipped towards his, her eyes smoky. “Page 34.” She replied huskily.

He adjusted her legs, pulling them around his waist so she’d be more comfortable, and then pulled the magazine over, resting on top of her like it was no big deal, while she tried to keep from squirming beneath him.

Page 34.…. He found it and studied the picture. “You’ve never done that? Really?”

“Is that odd?” She didn’t really care, she just wanted him to slide forward, oh about an inch, then he’d be pressed right up against her..

“It means I have a lot to teach you.” He smirked happily, before looking down and seeing her flushed face. He slid his hand down her thigh, under her skirt, which was already pushed up around her hips. “You alright Bones?”

She licked her lips and nodded. “How can you be so …. Unaffected?” she whispered.

He let himself pull forward and press against her.

She gasped, “Oh.”

“Nobody could be this close to you and not be effected.” He whispered back. “Least of all me.”

She pressed against him, and before he knew what was happening, his hand had somehow found its way to her butt, and was grasping it firmly, as he helped her.

She grabbed his head and kissed him, full on the mouth, a kiss that was overflowing with need and pent up desire.

He kissed her back, enjoying the sensation, enjoying everything.

He kissed her neck, and her shoulders, and continued pulling her against him, until she was staring at the roof and gasping, clutching his shoulders.

“Booth, please.” She begged, “it’s been so long..”

He shook his head. “I think we should take it slow Bones.”

She groaned and pulled him against her, “I’m begging Booth, please!”

He smiled into her neck, and moved his hand to a new location. “How about second best?”

Her nails left marks on his back as her eyes fluttered shut. “Booth!”
“Shh…”

She exploded beneath him, her eyes rolling up into her head, her chest shuddering against his.

“I can’t believe I just did that.” She finally hissed.

He raised up on his elbows. “Please tell me you’ve at least done that before?” He smirked.

“Not like that, I had no idea….”

His smirk turned into astonishment. “Seriously?”

Her eyes opened, and stared into his. “Teach me Booth, teach me everything.”

“Are you asking me to be your lover Bones? Your boyfriend?”

She felt like she was floating. “Yes.”

His kissed her again. “It’s a deal Bones. But we’re going to do this my way alright?”

She nodded wordlessly.

"Good." He smiled down at her flushed face. "It's lunch time, let's go out on a date."

"A date? Now?" She blinked at him, stupefied.

"Yeah." He stood up, adjusting his pants.

She raised up on her elbows, taking in the sight that was Seeley Booth. "But don't you want to.."

He held a hand out to her, a roguish grin on his face. "I never do that until the third date Bones.."

"But.."

"No, no." He smirked. "We're going to do this right, remember? No more loving till after the first date." He teased.

"You're serious!"

"Yes, Bones. Serious about you. I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you."

The look on her face plainly said she wished he would, and as soon as possible.

"Three dates." She repeated, sitting up, nodding, a plan formulating in her brain. "I think I can wait that long."

Booth leaned down and kissed her, his tongue sneaking into her mouth, dancing with hers.

When her hands clutched at his shoulders, he took a step back, breaking the kiss.

Her eyes were glazed again.

"I'm sure you can." He said in an "oh-you-think-so-huh?" tone.

She glared at him. "I guess we'll have to see if YOU can." She stood up and grabbed her shoes, then walked out of the room, her hips swaying seductively. "Let's go then, on our very first date. I think Italian would be nice."

Booth tilted his head, admiring the view. "Yeah."

A challenge had been issued.

They both knew they were going to pull out all the stops, to see who caved first.

Who's self control was the strongest.

The dance had begun.

Booth adjusted his pants again, putting his shirt back on, tucking it in, looking around for his tie before grabbing a new one out of the closet.

Three dates.

He could do it.

He wondered how many cold showers that would require.


```````````````

"Angela!"

"Bren? What's up? Why aren't you here? Do we have a case?" Angela asked.

"I'm on a date with Booth, and I need your help!"

There was silence as Angela collapsed on her chair, open mouthed.

"Angela?"

"Ok, you're on a DATE with BOOTH? Seeley Booth?"

"Yes." Brennan nodded vigourously.

"And you need my HELP?" Disbelief was etched in her voice.

"Yes."

"Oh, this is going to be good.... Shoot!"

"I'm in the bathroom Ang, if I shoot everyone will come running in."

"Brennan." Angela whined.

"Oh, too literal?"

"Yes, Sweetie. Tell me what the problem is."

"There is no problem, everything is great, well actually that is the problem. He gave me the most amazing sexual release, but he insists on not having intercourse until after the third date, and I don't want to wait that long!"

"Omigod! What did he do? Did he use his tongue? Were you naked? How did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Angela! No he did not, and no we weren't. How do I get him to cave in?"

"Beg."

"No, Angela, I want him to beg! I want him to loose control!"

"Oh, ok. Well, this might work....."

``

Brennan wound her way back to the table where Booth was sitting, drinking a glass of water.

"Sorry about that." Brennan said, sitting down, placing her phone on the table beside her plate.

"How was Angela?" Booth smirked.

Brennan opened her mouth to deny it, then smiled instead. "She's good, really good." She picked up her glass of water, slowly sipping it. "She said to say Hi to you."

Booth watched her lick her lips as she set the glass back down on the table. "I'm sure she did. Did she give you any tips?" He winked, and let his dimples appear.

She stared in appreciation. "Yes, she did." She reached down and, keeping her eyes latched to his, slowly began undoing her shirt, button by button, until a good bit of cleavage was on display. Then she casually leaned over the table, giving him an excellent view.

He leaned forward to see better, silently calling her bluff, pulling his tie loose, "Are you getting hungry yet?"

She froze, and blinked at him, as her brain debated whether he meant for food or him. Then she smiled, and let her eyes caress the angles of his face. "Yes."

"Well played." Booth chuckled, holding up a spoon and spinning it through his fingers.

"I know." She smirked, leaning back in her chair, pleased with herself, her eyes drawn to the skillful fingers manipulating the silverware.

She bit her lip, remembering exactly how skillfull they were, or HE was. Her body tightened in response to her thoughts.

Booth swallowed, knowing exactly what she was thinking by the pinkness in her cheeks, and the look in her eyes.

He hastly put the spoon down, and looked around.

The waiter hurried over. "Have you decided what you'd like to have?"

I still say Booth caves in before Brennan! I am really liking your story and try to tell the hubby be just turns and walks away lol

The sex talk (before and after the nightmare part) were hysterical! Magazines were a good touch. Very nice break, since I assume we'll come back to the nightmare?

Brennan slipped her shoe off, thankful that this was the type of restaurant with long tablecloths. It was time to try Angela's suggestion....

She slid her foot forward, brushing it against his ankle.

He froze.

She smiled and reached for her glass of wine, slowly sliding her foot up the inside of his leg, keeping her eyes on him, reading his response.

He raised his eyes to hers, his breathing seemed a little ragged.

There she was, talking about anthropology, smiling, normal Bones.... Except she was running her bare foot up his leg..... Booth's mind was completely paused. All he could think was, OH GOD YES.

And then her foot was in his lap, rubbing against him, right... about....there.

She took another sip, casually, nearly spitting it out when an iron fist clamped around her ankle.

"Bones. You're not playing fair." He whispered, voice thick with unspent desire.

She looked at him with suprise. "I didn't know there were rules! You never said there was rules."

"Well, in that case, I guess there are no rules." He decided suddenly, his thumb starting to massage her foot.

She closed her eyes and bit back a groan. She loved having her feet massaged.

Booth smirked, wishing it were a little darker in the restaurant, so he could have some real fun.

She opened her eyes again, just in time to see his smirk. It steeled her determination, and she stabbed some pasta with her fork, leaning across the table, holding it out. "Here, try some. It's very good."

He let her feed him the forkful, then chewed slowly. "Tasty. Not as good as mine though." He leaned forward, his voice dropping so only she could hear it. "My Italian sausage is.. Orgasmic."

She dropped the fork, and he picked it up and handed it back to her.

The smirk was back.

She took a shuddering breath. That was definitely one of those double entendre's Angela had tried to tell her about, and she'd never understood. Now she knew. "I'm sure it is." She hedged.

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Almost ready?"

"For what?" Her mind was oddly blank.

"To go."

She slipped her shoe back on and stood up. "Yes."

He paid, and then they walked out to the SUV where he opened her door for her as usual.

As she climbed in, she grabbed his tie and pulled him close, sliding her other hand around the back of his head, pulling him in for a scorching hot kiss.

His hands found her hips, and he leaned into her, forgetting where they were until a horn honked right beside them.

Brennan bit at his lips as he pulled his head away from her, causing a shudder to run through him. He stared at her, his eyes like molten dark chocolate. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Hanging out at your place."

"Good. If we rent a movie, will it count as a date?"

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Yes."

"Good." He repeated.

He stepped away and shut the door, jogging around to the other side of the vehicle.

He was in big, big trouble, and loving every second of it.

Booth lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, waiting.
Waiting to see if the nightmare returned tonight.
He'd done some research on nightmares during the afternoon in his office while he'd wiled away time until he could go pick up Brennan and take her back to his place for their second "date".
He snorted.
Second date. What a load of baloney he'd conjured up. He couldn't remember the last time he'd waited three dates before finding a bed.
But then, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a date.
Or met a woman he'd wanted to date for more than one night.
Right from the first day they met, his heart had belonged to Bones.
The bickering, the torturous vetting of her dates, the meaningless dates of his own... Nothing had changed the fact that he was, irretrievably, hers.
And now she knew it too.
He smiled.
And she was His.
He liked the way that sounded.
Almost as much as he liked the way it felt.
They'd come home, had some Thai takeout, and cuddled up on the couch with their rented movie.
Some French film, with subtitles.
He'd let her choose.
At first he'd been dubious, but it turned out to be an alright film.
Especially since half way through, they'd stopped watching and started making out like a couple of high school teenagers.
Groping, grabbing, grinding... And lots and lots of tongue.
It was great.
Only one more date to go.
Tomorrow was Saturday, he was taking her to the amusement park.
She'd never been on a rollercoaster.
He couldn't wait.... It was going to be perfect.
She seemed to be really getting into the whole "dates" thing.
Which was good. Because he was going to try his best to make sure he was the last man she ever dated.
And he fully intended on taking her on "dates" until they were so old they couldn't go out anymore.
By then, someone would have invented a system where you could just plug your brain into a computer and go on dates that way, to anywhere in the world.
That would be neat. But probably not as good as the real thing.
He sat up, hearing a sound from Parkers room, and swung his feet out of the bed, tiptoeing over to Parker's door, pushing it open.
She was curled up in a ball, twisting her head back and forth, her lips moving, but silent.
She was having the dream again.
He went in and knelt beside the bed, pushing her hair back away from her face, again and again, in a soothing motion.
"It's ok Bones, I've got you." He whispered.
She gradually calmed down, turning her face towards him, her breathing now deep and regular.
She was so beautiful.
He pressed a light kiss to her forehead, and stood up, heading back to his room.
Now he could go to sleep.

Great couple chapters, as usual.
Liked Booth's show of gentleness and concern in the last chapter. =]

Agreeing with Pimp, a wonderful pair of chapters and might I say my co-workers were tickled to hear me laughing out loud when I got to this line:

"My Italian sausage is.. Orgasmic."

I'm so taking that from you, and I can't wait to try it out in all it's endless varieties with my gf. How's "Try my schnitzel, it's...Orgasmic." sound?

RM

LOL. I don't know about schnitzel, but it would work on hot dogs. Bratwurst.. Cannoli.... tootsie pops...

Good luck with it!