A Lesson in Anthropology -- posted by Rosie [11/09/2007]

Posted 11/09/2007 19:30:58 (11/09/2007 10:30:58 AM) Rosie

Hello everyone!! Here is everything that I have so far from ALIA - I wanted to move it over here because I still really want to continue it! Nothing here is new, it's just everything that I've posted so far! I'll update soon, but definitely NOT in that other place
xoxoxo Rosie

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A Lesson in Anthropology

“Thank you, Dr. Goodman, I appreciate your support.” Brennan said as she stood and shook hands with the man in front of her.

“Dr. Brennan I trust that your expedition will be one of great benefit to the Jeffersonian’s research department and I eagerly await your findings.”

Temperance Brennan smiled contentedly to herself as she left Goodman’s office. She had just been cleared to go on a two month sabbatical to South Africa where she would be researching a large tribe known as the Effetis. Though it was a far cry from her usual work, Brennan had always been interested in the more general forms of anthropological observation that didn’t always require dead bodies and angry murderers.

In light of her Russ and her father’s disappearance, Brennan also decided she needed to get away for a little while. Not one to normally take vacations, she thought this was ultimate way to stay intellectually active and free herself from her true reality.

Sure, she would miss everyone. *But it’s only two months…* she reasoned to herself. She knew Angela would be disappointed that she’d be missing the hot summer months here in DC, but would eventually understand what a great opportunity this would be.

Booth, on the other hand… he probably won’t get it. He’d probably worry about her safety, complain about having to work with Zach, and do anything and everything in his power to get her to stay. *God, what an alpha male…* Brennan smiled to herself.

Her modest heels clicked across the hard floor of the Jeffersonian towards her office. She opened up the thick door and was surprised to find Booth already inside, sitting in her chair with his feet up on the desk.

“Booth.” Brennan said, creasing her eyebrows, “Why do you INSIST on sneaking in here? And why are you ruining my desk?” She asked, shoving his huge feet off the desk with her clipboard.

“Aww come on, Bones, I was tired.” He tried, but then got up from the chair with two hands in the air “Okay, okay… I surrender.” Brennan shook her head and sat in the recently vacated chair.

Booth continued to stand by the desk, staring at her as she pretended to be hard at work. He was sure that she knew he was staring, but continued to do so to see if he could make her blush. He was tempted to tell her how cute she was when she pretended to be angry, but decided that for his own personal safety he’d refrain from any such remark.

“So Bones… what’s new?” Booth said in a light tone, trying to steal her attention away from what appeared to be a slew of travel documents.

“Actually Booth, now that you mention it I do have news.” She replied, watching him take a seat on her big brown couch.

“I’m leaving in three days to go on a 2 month sabbatical in South Africa. I’ll be gathering information for the Jeffersonian Cultural Anthropology department as I live with one of the lesser studied tribes in the area.” Booth’s jaw dropped.

“You’re what? I mean, you’re trying to be funny right?” Booth said, trying not to sound too confused.

“Oh no, I’m quite serious. I was just cleared by Goodman, and he’s informing Cullen as we speak. Look, I’m sorry I didn’t mention it earlier, but to be honest I didn’t even think my proposal would be accepted. I mean, between my work here and the FBI… well, I keep pretty busy.”

*Busy. Ha, yeah. That kind of sums it up.* Booth thought to himself, dumbfounded.
Booth was surprised at her ambitiousness, but could feel himself become more and more disappointed by the second. *2 months with no Bones… 2 months with no Bones…*

That disappointment was quickly translated into worry.

“Bones, do you have any idea how unsafe it is there right now? There’s civil war brewing and all SORTS of violent acts occur each day. And you’ll be living with a tribe? –”

“Well, of course I’ll be living with them Booth. To gather the most unbiased data, I must fully immerse myself in their culture and accept all aspects of their lifestyle. Any good anthropologist –”

“Wait a minute, hold up.”

“Hold what up?”

“Figure of speech. Okay so what about all of your work here?”

*What about ME here?* Booth wanted to ask… but figured her work was a good place to start.

“Well, while I’m away Zach will be the appointed FBI liaison and will take over my projects here. I’ll catch up when I return.”

“So you’re actually serious about this?” Booth said after a moment.

Temperance sighed slightly. She could tell Booth was concerned and was restraining himself from asking her not to go. “Booth, I think this is something I really should do. I just… I just need to get away from everything and do something completely different.”

Brennan noticed his face fall slightly and then quickly corrected herself, “I don’t mean you, I just mean DC in general. After what happened with dad and Russ, and rushing to get everything done, I just think I need a break. Plus I think I can really learn a lot from these people, they live –”

Brennan’s train of thought was interrupted with Booth’s cell phone rang.

“Booth.” He answered, motioning to Brennan to just wait one moment. “Oh hello sir. Yes I am, okay I’m on my way.” Booth clicked his sleek phone shut and turned back towards Brennan.

“Sorry about this, but that was Cullen and he says it’s urgent. But – uh – I’m definitely not done this discussion. How about Wong Foo’s at 7?” Booth suggested as he put his suit jacked back on.

“Alright that sounds good.” She smiled slightly. She was definitely going to miss Booth.
“And Booth?”

“Yeah Bones?” He said, turning around in the doorway on his way out.

“Thanks for understanding.” She said. Brennan saw something flicker in Booth’s eyes and she couldn’t quite understand what it meant. He didn’t answer her, he just smiled strangely and exited her office.

Once she was alone again, Brennan sighed and sat back in her chair. Smirking to herself, she mimicked Booth’s earlier stance and plopped her feet up on the desk.

Yes, she was definitely going to miss Booth.

************************

Booth knocked on his boss’ door and entered slowly. “Sir? You wanted to see me?”

“Oh yes, Booth, come and sit down.” Cullen said, motioning to the large chair opposite his desk.

“I was informed today that Dr. Brennan will be leaving for South Africa for 2 months. I trust you have been informed of this as well?”

“Actually I just found out before I came here.” Booth said, silently praying that Cullen would object to her plans as well. Booth knew that his feelings of displeasure toward her impending absence were purely selfish, but they were strong feelings nonetheless.

“I see. Well, Booth, I’m sure you are well aware of the political tension currently in that area, are you not?”

“I am, sir. Are you saying that Bon – Dr. Brennan shouldn’t go?”

“No, not at all. Goodman made it clear that her pre-graduate work in cultural anthropology was impeccable and that the research would be indisputably beneficial.”

“Okay.” Booth said, clearly confused.

“What I am suggesting, Agent Booth, is that we send along an agent to act as a bodyguard – an assistant, of sorts. Brennan will obviously dispute the idea, but it is in the best interests of her safety. Booth, the FBI has no jurisdiction in South Africa, so that agent would have to go on their own free will. They would be paid, but it would also be considered a leave of absence.”

*Is he implying what I think he’s implying? Oh please…* Booth thought to himself.

“Sir, I think that that would most definitely be the best solution. Who do you have in mind?” Booth asked, trying desperately not to shoot his hand in the air like Parker in kindergarten.

“It would have to be someone trustworthy, someone who is able to follow Dr. Brennan’s instructions to the letter and not interfere. Someone who would put her safety first and foremost over everything.”

Booth rubbed his hands together and clapped them once. “Soooo… when does our flight leave?”

*************************************

Booth pushed open the door to Wong Foo’s, hearing the bells above the door jingle in their normal song.

He scanned the restaurant and finally spotted Brennan, who was sitting back-on to him at the bar. She was slightly hunched over and was reading a thick textbook while sipping a drink. She seemed completely oblivious to everything around her, as if in a world of her own. Booth smiled and made his way over.

He’d just come from the meeting with Cullen, and his mind felt as if it was swimming with information. Cullen had notified Dr. Goodman that Booth would be accompanying Brennan – now all Booth had to do was tell her.

“Booth, my man!” Sid called, which caused Brennan to turn around and smile at the man behind her.

“Hey Sid, hey Bones.” He greeted, plopping down in the barstool next to Brennan.

Sid continued to prepare drinks for the other customers, while Booth leaned into Brennan. “What’re you up to?”

“Just doing some light reading. How did your meeting go?” She asked, taking a sip of her drink.

Booth took a skeptical glance at the textbook, figuring it was anything but light reading, and then answered her, “Oh, it went well. Eventful, but well.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, Bones, there’s something I’ve got to tell you about your research sabbatical.”

Bones face fell a little bit. “Booth – what did you do?” she asked calmly, trying to hide any brewing upset. If he’d ruined her chances, she’d be extremely mad…

“Oh don’t worry, you’re still going.” Booth said quickly, noticing the redness in her cheeks. “It’s just, well it’s not safe for you to go alone. Cullen said.”

“Booth, that’s ridiculous! Of course it’s safe. They will accept me into their community, and treat me as one of them once I have proven myself trustworthy. Sure, there’s tension between two of the tribes, but I will be in the company of many –“

“Bones, I’m coming with you.” His words hit her like a ton of bricks.

She paused for a moment before speaking, “You’re what?”

“I’m coming with you to Africa.”

“No, no you’re not.” She said, shaking her head.

“Oh, yeah I am.” He said, his lips slightly curving into a smile but then quickly hiding it when he saw the shocked look on his partner’s face.

“Booth! No, this will ruin everything! How am I supposed to collect viable, unbiased data if I have some huge, hulking – no offense – man following me around everywhere I go?! You’ll disturb them and –“

“Hulking?”

“Booth, be serious. This means a lot to me, and there’s no way I can do my job if you’re around.” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m calling Dr. Goodman, this is absurd…”

“Bones, I am being serious. And Dr. Goodman already approved it. Look, please don’t be mad at me, but we all just want you to be safe.” He paused for a moment, watching as a look of defeat crossed her face. “I want you to be safe.” He added quietly.

She looked up for a moment, as if assessing him. “I don’t need protecting, but… thank you. I’m still not happy with this, but if I have no choice, then I will be professional.”

“Uh – thank you?”

“Booth, you have to do exactly as I say if I have any hope of learning anything true about their culture. The entire point is that they won’t feel imposed upon.” She said, as if teaching a lecture.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Do exactly as you say.” Booth said, feeling like his dear anthropologist might be taking things a liiiitle too seriously.

Just then, Sid came with two heaping plates of hot food and set them down in front of his two favourite clients. “So what are you two bickering about now?” Sid joked, looking back and forth from Booth and Brennan.

“Bones and I are going to Africa.” Booth said, picking up a hot French fry and sticking it in his mouth, motioning to Brennan.

Sid raised his eyebrows, “Africa, huh? Business or pleasure?”

Booth chuckled as Brennan replied, “I’m leaving on a two month research sabbatical for the cultural anthropology development. I’ll be living with a tribe… we’ll be living with a tribe…”

“Ha! I guess I don’t need the answer to my question then.” Sid replied, casting a teasing glance at Booth before getting back to work. Booth rolled his eyes, “Sid and Angela would make great friends…”

*************************************

“Sweeeeetie?! You’re going to AFRICA? By yourself? And you’re only telling me this NOW?” Angela said later that night in Brennan’s apartment. She had invited herself over and, just as Brennan had hypothesized, was very shocked by her sudden plans.

“It’s only for two months, and it’ll be a great experience, Ange.” Brennan said, then remembering one thing. “And I’m not going by myself…” she mumbled.

“What do you mean not by your--- oh my God! Booth’s going, isn’t he?” Angela said, her eyes widening in excitement.

“He was ordered to come, something about it not being safe…” Brennan’s explanation was drowned out by her best friend’s squeal.

“Bren that is the best thing I’ve ever heard! Shirtless, sweaty Booth in Africa? Welcome to HEAVEN –“

“Ange, this is an educational sabbatical. You know? Like learning?” Brennan said, crossing her arms. She did, however, have to work hard to keep a smile from exploding across her face. She was still slightly disappointed that Booth may undermine her research, but on many levels she was almost excited that Booth would be her travel companion… or, whatever he was.

“I know, I know, and I’m sure you’ll do great work. But Booth?! Sweetie that’s fabulous! I’m happy he’s going for more than just eye candy though, Bren. I think it will be good for you to have someone there to look out for you.”

“How many times do I have to say –“

“I know, you don’t need protecting. Which is probably true, but just think of it as an extra layer of security okay?”

“I don’t really have a choice.”

“Excellent. I can’t believe you’re leaving in three days! Now, let’s get you packed!” Angela said, grabbing Brennan’s arm and pulling her towards her closet.

“Bones! Do you have any idea how many needles some nurse just jabbed me with? FIVE. Five flippin’ immunizations – Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?” Booth said as he barged into Brennan’s office the next morning to find Hodgins and Zach hunched over a file with Brennan.

Zach snorted in laughter and Brennan rolled her eyes. “Afraid of needles, Booth?” she asked, her voice monotonic and clearly forcing back a laugh.

“Me? No way!”

“Hodgins, run the soil samples and send them to Zach – he’ll be taking over this investigation.”

“Yes, Dr. Brennan. We’ll be in touch.” Hodgins said as he headed towards the door. Before leaving, he absently slapped Booth on the shoulder “Have fun in Africa, dude.”

Booth groaned and pulled his sore arm away, glaring at Zach and Hodgins as they left the office. “Squints…” he muttered.

Brennan laughed and watched as Booth stretched his sore arm over his head. Maybe having an ‘extra layer’ of security wouldn’t be so bad after all…


***************************************************************



Temperance had snapped the lock shut on her suitcase moments before she heard the familiar sound of knocking from her door. Though it was morning, it was still quite dark out and not even the birds were up to sing their happy songs.

“I’m coming.” She called to the door, taking one more glance at her luggage. Both she and Booth would be carrying one duffel bag each of supplies, and each had a large camping backpack.

Brennan opened up the door to see Booth standing there with a tray of Starbucks in his hand. “Good morning” he said with a smile. She reciprocated and watched him enter the apartment.

“My stuff’s in the car. So you’re all packed?” he said as she graciously took a sip of coffee.

“I’m all set. We should probably head out now so we don’t get stuck in the lineups.” She said, lifting up her huge backpack and slugging it onto her back.

“Here, let me get that.” Booth said, thrusting his hand out for her duffel bag.

“Booth, it’s fine, I’ve got it.” She said, making it to the duffel before he could.

“Come on, Bones, humor me. Every now and then you’ve got to –” his words were cut off when Tempe stumbled backwards from the uneven load. Booth tried to steady her, but it was too late. She caught her balance just as the lid came off the coffee cup and the dark liquid splashed against her chest.

“Ow!” she shouted, along with a string of muttered obscenities. She flung the backpack off.

“Bones! Bones I’m so sorry, are you hurt?” Booth said, clearly very worried for his burnt partner.

“That’s so hot!” she hissed as she turned her back on Booth and peeled her t-shirt off. She walked to the bedroom to get a new shirt, clad only in her bra, and was completely oblivious to the shocked expression on Booth’s face gaping behind her.

“Yeah… hot.” He managed.

She emerged a few moments later, free of any Starbucks-induced stains, and saw Booth standing by the door with both of her bags. She rolled her eyes at his persistence and then smiled at him.

“You sure you’re okay?” Booth asked as they entered the elevator.

“I wasn’t burnt so badly, it’s nothing some SolarCaine can’t relieve.”

Booth chuckled and Brennan turned to him, “What’s so funny?” she asked.

“Oh nothing… it’s just, I was supposed to keep you from getting hurt and we’re not even at the airport yet and you’ve already managed to injure yourself.”

“Well if a certain someone hadn’t gone so alpha male…”

“Sure, Bones. Suuuure…” he said as they made their way to his black SUV. The sun was just rising up over the horizon and its warmth already danced upon their skin. They had a feeling that this would be one of many sunrises they’d be sharing together.

******************************************

“Gate 257. This is us.” Booth said triumphantly, setting his camping backpack down in one chair and sitting next to it.

“Good timing.” Brennan agreed, finding comfort in the not-so-comfortable seat beside him. The gate was quite full and there was no end to the diversity of people around them. A few children were running up and down the aisles near the windows, pointing at all of the airplanes. There were older couples sipping drinks, a few single riders with their beloved iPods, and a wide variety of other passengers who were seemingly buried in their interesting articles and books.

Booth put both of his hands behind his head and stretched out with a yawn. “So Bones, tell me about this tribe that we’re going to be ‘studying’” he said with air-quotation marks.

“Well, they go by the name Effetis and have been in existence for centuries. Their population consists of approximately 150 men, women and children and they are all governed by a man named Menihau – their leader. Their culture is inherently ritualistic and their customs are derived from other tribes in the area that have been in existence for even longer.”

“What kind of customs?”

“Religious rituals – they worship a variety of idols – feeding rituals, individual roles in society, that type of thing.”

“So you take notes on all of that stuff, and then we head back home?”

“Well, yes. But it will take time for them to adjust to our presence. I mean, how would you like it if a stranger all of a sudden came and watched your every move?”

“Yeah that makes sense. It’s actually kind of interesting…” Booth said quietly.

“Thank you.” She said with a smile. She loved having her work recognized as being interesting, especially by someone like Booth. She’d never been sure why she cared about his opinion, but to her it meant more than it probably should.

They stared at each other for a moment, before Brennan looked away when she heard a loud voice come over through the speakers. “Flight 257 to Cape Town, is now ready for boarding. Please present your ticket and passport to the agent at the gate, and have a pleasant flight.”

Booth was still studying her face, but was pulled back into reality as she stood up and picked up her bag. “You ready?” she said, motioning to the gate.

”Plane rides are nothing, it’s the 19 hour bus ride that’s got me worried.” He said with a smile.

Brennan lead the way towards their seats, twisting slightly to make sure her bag didn’t smack into any of the other passengers. When they reached the seat, Brennan felt two hands on her back. She turned her head slightly to see Booth coaxing her backpack off her shoulders, saving her from having to do so herself.

“Uh – thanks.” She said, sitting in the seat as Booth put his bag in as well and shut the overhead compartment. “Window or aisle?”.

“Welcome aboard Flight 257 en route to Cape Town. This is your Captain speaking, and I ask that you please draw your attention to the safety pamphlets located in….”

The captain’s voice crackled on for what seemed to be an eternity as Brennan stared absently outside her window in the large airplane. Luggage transporters moved back and forth with their large vehicles along the runway, and workers in reflective jackets motioned to pilots with their orange batons. It was still quite early, but the airport was buzzing with activity as if it were the middle of the afternoon.

She pressed her cheek against the cool plexiglass and closed her eyes in exhaustion. Brennan had been putting in extra hours at the lab in preparation for her absence, and with the added affect of this morning’s airport adventures – she was very tired.

Brennan glanced over at Booth, who seemed to also be feeling the mind-numbing affects of the purr of the airplane. Slowly making their way along the tarmac, Booth shifted his head against the polyester headrest and looked over at Brennan.

“Afraid of flying?” he asked as the plane started to slowly pick up speed for their ascent.

”Not really. Statistically speaking it’s 50 times more likely to die in a car crash than in a plane crash.” She replied mechanically, slowly taking her eyes of the window.

“Nice, Bones. Nice.” Booth said with a slight grimace. Their bodies jolted slightly as the wheels left the tarmac and tucked up under the plane.

“Well, it’s true. Did you know that the number of airplane related fatalities decreased 35% in 2005?” Brennan said. An elderly woman sitting on the other side of Booth looked over at Brennan incredulously with wide eyes. Booth just rolled his eyes and gave an apologetic look to the elderly woman.

“Hey Bones, wanna keep it down before you scare the nice passengers?” Booth said quietly to Brennan, slightly tilting his head in the direction of the woman beside him.

“Why would that scare passengers? I said the number of deaths decreased, not incre—” Brennan’s words were cut short as the plane shuddered and shook. Booth could hear Brennan’s sharp intake of breath at the unsettling movement, and watched as she gripped the armrests tightly.

“This is your captain speaking, it seems we have encountered some moderate turbulence. Please keep your seatbelts fastened.”

Just as the captain finished speaking the plane rocked again, resulting in the audible gasp from many other passengers. In an act of impulse, Booth pried one of Brennan’s white hands from the armrest and gripped it tightly with his own. He hated so much to see her frightened.

Brennan glanced down at their intertwined hands and then glanced back down at the floor. “I’m not scared.” Brennan said mechanically.

“Nope. Me neither.”

“Good.”

“Excellent.” Booth said with a smirk, clearly Brennan was anything but calm.

“Wonderful.”

The plane shuddered for a final time and then floated smoothly for a full minute before the captain’s voice thundered over the speakers. “We’re sorry, ladies and gentlemen, for that patch of turbulence. We seem to have cleared it, and the seatbelt sign will be turned off shortly. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Booth could feel Brennan’s grip loosen on his warm hand. They sat there awkwardly for a moment, before Brennan slowly retracted her hand and placed it back in her lap.

“Thanks for distracting me.” She said with a slight smile.

“I’m happy to be your distraction.” Booth said, waggling his eyebrows. Brennan rolled her eyes and rested her head against the headrest.

Booth leaned down and rummaged through his carry-on for a moment, resurfacing with a crinkly bag. He opened it with a pop and dug his hand inside. “Gummyworm?” he offered, extending the bag.

Brennan grinned and accepted his offer. “I didn’t really take you for the Gummyworm type, Booth.”

“Yeah well I didn’t really take you for the Foreigner type, and look how that turned out.” Booth pointed out, causing Brennan to involuntarily laugh. She popped a red worm into her mouth and looked out the window.

“So tell me again where we go when we land?” Booth asked, between bites of his green worm.

“The coach driver will be waiting for us at the gate, then we get on the bus to the village. That should take about 15 hours, so we’ll have to make a stop along the way.”

“Sounds good. A check was run on the driver, and he was clean.”

Brennan ignored his statement. “Once we reach the village, we’ll sit down with the Leader and then start the research –” In the midst of her explanation, Brennan let out a tired yawn.

“Sleepy, Bones?” Booth asked, noticing how adorable his partner looked when she was tired. He then quickly forced that adjective from his mind, certain that she wouldn’t be very happy with her ‘adorable’ image.

Brennan nodded her head against the headrest. “You should get some sleep.” Booth suggested, tucking his bag of gummies into the seat pouch.

“Not a bad idea.” Brennan agreed, propping the tiny white airplane pillow against the window. “Wake me if you need anything.”

“Oh I’ve got lots to keep my busy…” Booth lied as Brennan closed her eyes. He eyed the security pamphlet warily, extracting it from the pouch in an attempt to keep himself entertained.

What seemed to be ages later, when in fact it was probably only 15 minutes, Booth heard Brennan’s breathing become even. He looked over at her expressionless face and smiled to himself.

He was guided out of his reverie as he heard the scratchy voice from the elderly woman beside him. “Your wife can have this blanket if she wants. The attendant gave me two.” She said, handing the green blanket to Booth.

“Oh, she’s not my wife” Booth said quickly, “And thanks for the blanket.”

“Sure thing, honey.” The woman nodded knowingly.

Booth draped the blanked over Brennan and tucked it around her tiny form. Just then, Brennan’s head tilted downwards and her body swayed towards his. He sat in pleasant shock as Brennan’s head finally found its place on Booth’s shoulder.

Booth wasn’t sure whether or not to coax her back over to her own side, but ultimately gave into the pleasure that her close proximity gave him. Instantly comforted by her position he, too, closed his eyes and gently laid his head atop hers. Allowing sleep to overcome the two unlikely travelers, the plane continued on through the bright blue sky on its way to Africa.


Brennan slowly began to regain consciousness several hours later. Still groggy with sleep, she snuggled her face into what she thought was a pillow.

Enjoying the naivety of sleepiness for several seconds more, she slowly realized that it was not, in fact, a pillow, but her partner’s shoulder that her head was resting upon. Her body instantly tensed up as she realized her vulnerable position.

Feeling Booth’s warm exhale on her scalp, she realized that she was not the only one who had ‘shifted’ during sleep. Booth’s head was resting peacefully on top of Bones’; their bodies only separated by the unforgiving armrest.

Brennan knew that she should feel wildly awkward, but she found their position enthrallingly comfortable, to say the least. Rationality quickly took over, however, as Brennan started to pull away her head slowly – as to not wake Booth.

Removing her head from the crook of his neck, Brennan watched as Booth started to wake up. His eyes fluttered several times, as if deciding whether or not to join the conscious world. He rubbed a hand across his eyes and his head drooped again, lolling from side to side. Brennan had to literally almost stifle a laugh – who would have known that such a tough FBI agent would be such a childlike sleeper?

Booth’s head drooped to his right side, quickly finding its home on Brennan’s shoulder. Her eyes widened at the action, and quickly darted around to see if anyone else had witnessed the past few minutes’ events.

*Come on, Booth* she thought to herself, slowly putting her hand on his head to move it back on his own side. This act was successful for only a minute, before his head came back down against her shoulder. She could feel him mutter something against her arm in his sleep, which she found strangely endearing. Giving up, Brennan smiled to herself, enjoying the warmth of his close proximity, and gazing outside the window at the endless blue ocean.

A half an hour later, Brennan felt the familiar mumblings of Booth against her arm. She turned her head to look at him as he started to shift around. Though Brennan couldn’t see his eyes open, she knew he was awake judging by the way his body immediately tensed up. He sat there for a few seconds before prying himself off of her and wiping the sleep from his eyes.

“Whoa. Sorry about that.” He said, trying not to be too embarrassed at the amused look on Brennan’s face.

“You’re a pretty heavy sleeper. Impressive.” She said, finding his boyish self-consciousness rather charming.

“Yeah, you’re pretty cute yourself.” He added, waggling his eyebrows.

Now it was Brennan’s turn to feel embarrassed, “Oh, did I --?”

“Yup.” Booth replied, “Wouldn’t have taken you for the snuggling type, Bones.” Booth delighted in the shade of red that Brennan’s cheeks immediately adopted.

Brennan opened her mouth to make some kind of excuse or comeback, but found herself at a loss for words.

That is, until she glanced down at her shoulder to see a dark patch of fabric where Booth’s face had recently visited, “Wouldn’t have taken you for the drooling type, Booth.”

Several hours passed, and Booth and Brennan spent the time alternatively bickering, sleeping, and talking about their assignment. The flight was excruciatingly long, but both of them were very relieved to have someone to pass the time with – even if it was just someone to tease.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now beginning our descent into Cape Town. The attendants will be around shortly to pick up your headsets, and please gather all of your personal belongings.”

“Oh solid land, here we come.” Booth said, rubbing his hands together and glancing over at Brennan, who was reading a book about tribal languages.

“It’ll be nice to stretch our legs before we get on the bus.” Brennan agreed, putting a bookmark between her pages and tossing the book into her carry-on.

“Don’t remind me.” Booth muttered.

Brennan chuckled and the two of them sat quietly in their seats, randomly exchanging glances at each other.

Brennan cleared her throat, “So how is Parker?” she asked.

Booth looked at her strangely, and then his face broke out into a grin.

“Just – uh – making small talk…” she tried to explain.

“Oh no, no I’m glad you asked. He’s great actually. Well, he wasn’t really thrilled that I’d be gone for so long, but I told him that I’d bring him back a souvenir. His school let out a week ago and he’s starting camp tomorrow with one of his best friends.”

“He must be excited.”

“Yeah, yeah he really is. Nice to go on an adventure with someone that close to you.” Booth said, with a hint of a charm smile gracing his lips.

Not oblivious to the double meaning of Booth’s words, Brennan returned his smile, “I know just what you mean.”

Stepping off the plane and on to the hot concrete tarmac in Africa, Booth let out a low whistle, adjusting his large sunglasses. “Now that, Bones, is hot.” The sun pelted down in thick rays, scorching every surface it touched.

Brennan smiled and turned her face up towards the sky, letting the sun warm her face. They stepped down the rickety ladder and marched towards the ground, following a line of other travelers.

Not a baggage carrousel in sight, their luggage had been piled up at the base of the ladder and Booth and Brennan quickly claimed what was theirs. They loaded their knapsacks up on their backs and each swung a duffel under their shoulder and walked toward the Arrivals wing.

“So who exactly are we looking for?” Booth asked, scanning the diverse crowd of people in the waiting area, trying to spot a sign or anything familiar.

Brennan pulled a booklet out from her pocket and flipped it open to a doggy-eared page. “Salamanjaro Bus Company” she said, peering around as well.

“Over here.” Booth said, motioning to a short, balding man with a clipboard denoting their company name.

“Hello, do you speak English?” Brennan greeted, smiling slightly at the man.

“Yes. This is Salamanjaro Bus. You call me Leedo.” He said, extending his hand.

“My name is Temperance Brennan and this is Seeley Booth, we’re scheduled for your ride out to the Effetis reserve.”

“Ah yes.” He said, nodding happily, “We make stops before it, but you two stay on the bus, yes?”

“That sounds good.” Booth said, finding himself smiling at the man’s cheeriness.

“Yes, now let me help you with bag.” Leedo said, extending his free hand to take Brennan’s duffel bag. Brennan opened her mouth to refute his help, but Leedo was too quick for her. He took the bag off his shoulder and motioned at them to follow. “This bag is much too heavy for pretty girl like you.” He said, causing Booth to hide his laughter in a cough.

Leedo marched ahead of them, Brennan’s bag under his arm. She glanced over at Booth who was still laughing. “Shut up.” She whispered to him.

“See Bones? Some things don’t change from culture to culture. That’s my first lesson for you.”

Brennan rolled her eyes and Booth raised his hands in defense, “Chivalry ain’t dead yet, sugar.”

“Ow! Good one Bones, now my arm is going to bruise.” Booth muttered, rubbing the place on his arm where Bones had physically refuted his comment.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby.” She said, teasing her sunglasses out of her hair and sliding them on her face as they headed towards the bus. “If you ever call me sugar again it’ll be more than your arm that will be hurting.”

She walked past Booth and caught up to Leedo. Booth chuckled and followed her, “Yes ma’am…” he said, shaking his head.

“This is bus!” Leedo said, pointing up at the vehicle which looked suspiciously like a mini-school bus. It had at one point been painted white, but had long since been covered with years of dirt and dust. Trying not to sound too skeptical, Brennan asked “So this is… a trustworthy vehicle?”

”Oh yes! I have been diving bus for many years. She is old, but she drive well. Very bumpy though. Very bumpy…” He said with a smile, opening up the door and dropping Brennan’s bag on one of the seats. “You sit wherever you like.” He said, motioning to the empty bus.

Brennan entered first and chose to sit mid-way back on the bus, finding the old leather seats very hot against her legs. Booth entered after her, ducking his head to avoid smacking it against the short ceiling. “Room for two?” he asked.

Brennan smiled and motioned for him to sit in the seat opposite hers, so that they would both have more room. He complied, and sat back in the seat, resting his head against the grimy window. “So Africa… I can’t believe we’re here.” He said to Brennan, watching Leedo get the bus’ engine started.

“Mmm hmmm.” She agreed, digging for something in her bag. She pulled out a tank top and shorts and put the bag back on the floor.

“Bones what are you doing?” he asked as she got out of her seat and walked to the seat in the back.

“Booth it’s extremely hot on this bus and there’s no way I’m sitting in these clothes for 15 hours. Therefore I am changing. I suggest you do the same.” She said, ducking behind the seat and changing into the cooler attire.

Booth shrugged and unbuttoned his dress shirt, revealing a white muscle shirt which went nicely with his frayed jeans. “Haha no need, Bones, I dress in layers.”

The bus purred to life and Leedo began driving off the gravel parking lot. The bus bounced around and Booth heard Brennan swear under her breath as she lost her balance. Finished changing, she got back up and stumbled back to her seat.

She glanced at Booth for the first time. *Wow…* she thought to herself, allowing her eyes to linger for just a few seconds too long at her partners’ exposed upper body. She quickly chased all of these thoughts out of her mind and rolled up her other clothing and put it back in her bag.

Unbeknownst that Booth had had a similar reaction to her own appearance, she sat back in the seat and fought off the effects of jet lag.

“So why are you going to Effetis reserve? You not tourists?” Leedo asked, nearly having to shout over the loud engine.

“We’re conducting a study, we’ll be staying with the tribe for a while.” Brennan responded, equally as loud.

“They are expecting you? Effetis don’t like visitors.”

“They know we’re coming.” Brennan answered.

“Why don’t they like visitors?” Booth asked Leedo, although already anticipating his answer from the background check he had run on the area.

“There is dispute between Effetis and Melinou – they are the tribe beside Effetis. Melinou tortured one of Effetis tribe because they suspected theft. Now the tribes don’t communicate – some think that civil war may eventually happen.”

“See Bones? That’s why I’m here.” Booth said to Brennan, who had transfixed her attention to the scenery passing by them in the window. They were driving along a narrow road surrounded by lots of new and interesting trees. Branches scraped against the car, and Brennan could feel the heat of the sun diffusing through the windows.

The bus reached a clearing where there was a stone alcove which surrounded a number of people. One of them waved at Leedo and he pulled the bus over, “We just have to pick up more people. They are going to a stop before yours.”

Booth peered out of the window to look at the people, and was surprised at the number of them. They looked like they all belonged to the same family. There were a number of children who were laughing and running around the alcove, and a few adults who were talking animatedly to one another and waiting for the bus doors to open.

Leedo greeted the new passengers and told to them to pick a seat in a language that neither Booth nor Brennan recognized. They looked quizzically at Booth and Brennan, but then gave them a friendly smile.

Most of the seats had been filled as the new passengers filtered on the bus, and Booth couldn’t help but smirk when he saw a tiny girl of no more than 4 or 5 scamper up to Brennan’s seat and hopped up beside her.

Brennan looked surprised at the little girl, “Hello” Brennan said with a tentative smile. The girl looked up at her with wide eyes and smiled, showing off her three white teeth. The tiny girl kneeled up in her seat and raised her hands and gently played with Brennan’s hair.

Booth smiled widely at the sight, as did many of the other passengers. The little girl started to braid Brennan’s hair, and giggled as she threw hair in Brennan’s face. She continued to play with Brennan’s hair as the bus continued its way down the narrow road.

Brennan was laughing at the child’s playfulness and she quickly glanced over at Booth. They locked eyes for a few moments and grinned at each other. Booth was amazed at how at ease and carefree Brennan looked, she looked like she was truly having fun – something that Booth had wanted to witness for a long time.

The bus hopped its way down the road for another hour or so, and the little girl had long since finished playing with Brennan’s hair and was now curled up asleep on her lap. Brennan, too, had fallen asleep against the window, holding on to the little girl so that she wouldn’t tumble on to the floor. Booth looked over at the two of them and silently reached into his bag for his camera. He snapped a picture of them and then smiled to himself at how peaceful they looked.

The bus stopped again near a clearing and the adults started to gather their belongings. A friendly looking woman stopped at Brennan’s seat and gently tapped the little girl on the shoulder, trying to wake her up. Brennan woke up at the movement, and quickly realized it was time for the little girl to get off the bus. Brennan smiled at the woman and gently raised the sleeping toddler into her mother’s arms. The woman said something in a language Brennan did not understand, but nodded her head and watched the passengers step out into the sun one by one.

“You’re a natural, you know.” Booth said, sliding over to sit next to Brennan.

“What do you mean?” Brennan asked, knotting her eyebrows.

“That little girl loved you.”

Brennan smiled and looked out the window to see the girl still asleep in the woman’s arms. “She was very friendly, wasn’t she?” she said.

Their conversation was interrupted as a man with three large crates ran up to the bus, yelling something. Booth was immediately on alert, and assessed the situation carefully as he listened as the two men talked for a moment before the man with the crates stumbled his way to the seat opposite Brennan’s.

He plopped the crates down beside him and it was then that one of them started to move. Booth and Brennan looked at each other curiously.

The bus continued on its way, but suddenly hit a large pothole. The entire bus shuddered and Brennan was knocked into Booth’s shoulder. All of a sudden, the pile of crates was knocked of the seat, and the wood splintered against the floor.

When Booth saw the tell-tale feathers, he whispered “Oh. My. God.”

Brennan looked at him strangely and then peered over him to see what was of such interest on the floor. Her eyes widened as she saw three chickens flitting around – bawking at each other and rifling their feathers.

She stifled a laugh as the man bolted out of his seat and reached to grab one of the feathery demons. It jumped out from his reach and he quickly fell to the floor in a heap.

Booth was shouting at the man now, “Get the chickens! Get the freaking chickens!”

As if by fate, at that very moment one of the chicken fluttered up noisily on Brennan’s lap. Both Booth and Brennan jumped at the sight of it and each let out their own string of curses. Leedo quickly pulled the bus over and joined in on the action.

Booth stood and grabbed the offending chicken by the back and raised it in the air, holding it tightly. “Where do I put it? Where?!” he yelled at the man who was also rounding up the other chickens.

The man yelled something and ran towards the open bus door with the other two chickens. He jumped off the bus and Booth put the animal on the ground beside him. The chickens were screaming like crazy and feathers flew around in the open air.

Once Booth had detached himself from the evil chicken, he jumped back on the bus and yelled at Leedo “No chickens.”

Booth turned his head when he heard the tinkling of Brennan’s laughter. She was crouched on the floor of the bus, picking up the pieces of wooden crate and tossing them out onto the side of the road.

“Afraid of poultry, Booth?”



“Hydration, Bones!” Booth said as he chucked a water bottle at his partner, who was left with barely enough time to react.

“Ow!” she grumbled, picking up the jug where it had crashed on the seat beside her. Booth and Brennan had been driving for nearly nine hours and were thoroughly exhausted and were taking the time to fight with each other at every chance they could.

The bus was making its way North, near the central African planes, and thus thoroughly secluded from civilization. The familiarity of Cape Town had long since dissipated into long stretches of empty land. The sun had set a few hours ago, and the bus was lit only by its dim headlights and the clear night of the moon.

Leedo had pulled off the road about an hour ago to take a break, and the travelers had munched on pieces of dried bread, fruit, and bottle after bottle of water. Other travelers had hopped on and off the bus, but no one seemed to want to go as far as Booth and Brennan.

Brennan sipped from the bottle greedily and rolled her eyes at Booth, who was playing with a chicken feather – one of many which had been strewn around the bus. Booth put the feather down and sighed, utterly bored. “Let’s play a game.” He said, rubbing his hands together and turning his body towards hers. He was sitting in the seat in the row opposite to her own, and he pressed his back against the window so that he could see her better.

Brennan looked at him skeptically, “A game? Don’t you think we should be sleeping?”

“We’re stopping to sleep in an hour or so anyway. We’re playing a game.”

She took another sip from the bottle, “What kind of game?”

“Ever played ‘I Have Never’?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows. When he received a blank stare from Brennan in return he continued, “Didn’t think so…”

“How do you play?” she asked, finding herself partially intrigued – even if the feeling was only a consequence of being on the road for nine hours with nothing else to do.

“Okay. I say something random and revealing that I’ve never done, and if you’ve done it then you stick out a finger. First one with ten fingers out wins.”

“So basically this is a test of who, out of the two of us, has done more ‘random and revealing’ things? This sounds somewhat backward; it’s a well known fact that ---”

“Nope, no no” Booth said, putting up a hand to silence her. “No analyzing. This is a game. Okay, I’ll start.” He said, clapping his hands once.

“I’ve never had sex in the Pacific Ocean.” He said bluntly.

“Booth, is this some kind of a way to gain access to knowledge about sexual exploits, and in so doing ---”

“Ahh Bones, just stop! Let your fingers do the talking, alright?”

Brennan stopped talking immediately and stared at Booth. She slightly raised one eyebrow suggestively and her lips quirked into a grin. She stuck out a finger.

“Oh... I mean… okay.” Booth said, staring at her index finger. He cleared his throat, “Your turn.”

“I’ve never shoplifted.” She said.

“Do grapes from the grocery store count?” Booth asked.

“Grapes, Booth?” she said with a laugh, clearly the heat was getting to both of them.

“Yeah, you know. Like you’re in the grocery store and you want to buy grapes, but you stealthily eat a couple of them to see which ones are the sweetest. Grape-stealing.”

Brennan knotted her eyebrows in confusion, “I don’t think that counts Booth…”

“Fine.” He said giving up. “My turn – I’ve never cheated on anyone.”

“Me neither.” Brennan said, shaking her head. “I’ve never been to Antarctica.”

“Come on Bones, you’ve got the random part down but this has to be revealing. Wildly uncomfortable… you know.”

“So you’ve never been to Antarctica?”

“Well… uh no. Okay, my turn. I’ve never slept with my professor…” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Oh come on, you set me up.” Brennan grumbled, pumping out another finger. “I don’t like this game, it makes me sound easy…”

Booth let out a loud laugh, “Nice Bones, nice. Okay your turn.”

Brennan sighed, “I’ve never been in a serious relationship that lasted more than a year.”

Booth looked thoughtful for a moment, and then stuck out his index finger. I bet he’s thinking about Rebecca… Brennan thought to herself, judging his face.

Honestly, Booth was thinking that he wished he didn’t have to stick out that finger. What he had with Rebecca had, at the time, seemed serious but paled in comparison to what he wished he could have… with Bones? He pondered this for a moment and wondered if she would ever allow him to cross that line with her – ever take that leap and deal with the consequences later.

“Planet to Booth” Brennan said, waving at him. Booth returned to reality and shook his head with a smile, “It’s Earth to Booth…” he said, loving the expression Brennan had on her face.

“Okay, it’s my turn. I’ve never been on a sweaty, rickety bus in the middle of Africa with a beautiful woman before.”

He thinks I’m beautiful? Brennan said over and over in her head, trying to gain any shred of insight from his facial expression. He looked completely serious. She felt slightly uncomfortable under his stare, yet strangely excited. Rather than wrestling her inner feelings, she decided to point out the obvious, “You do realize that there’s no way I can reciprocate that statement since you are not, in fact, a woman.”

Booth let out a low noise somewhere between a laugh and a groan. “Remember what I said about analyzing?” he said, shaking his head.

“Fine, my turn. I’ve never had an irrational fear of chickens.” Brennan said coyly.

“Shut up.”

The game quickly dissipated mindless banter, which in turn dissipated into mindless bickering. Neither Booth nor Brennan really took it seriously, they were just looking for an outlet for their… energy.

About an hour later, the bus pulled off the road into the middle of a field. It was dark out and very difficult to see anything at all, but it was still quite obvious that there was no sign of life in sight.

“We stop here for night, yes?” Leedo said, cutting out the engine and stretching his arms over his head. “We leave again in 6 hours. Too many animals, so we sleep on bus.” He continued.

“Sounds good to me.” Booth said as Brennan nodded her head and fished inside her bag for her travel sized pillow and a blanket.

Leedo made his way to the middle of the bus and sprawled out on one of the seats, drifting off to sleep quite easily.

“Alright Bones, this is where I come in.” Booth said, getting out of his seat.

“What do you mean?” Brennan said, the lack of interest in her voice was quite apparent and it was clear all she wanted was sleep.

“I’m sleeping up by the door, and you go sleep in the back seat.” He said, pointing to the back and gathering up his stuff.

Brennan groaned “Booth are you afraid I’ll make a move on you?” she asked teasingly, closing her eyes and pretending to fall asleep.


Don’t I wish… Booth thought to himself, and then quickly chased those thoughts out of his mind.

“No, but I’ll watch out next time I’m near the Pacific Ocean…” he said without thinking, and then preparing to defend himself against her fury.

“HEY!” she shouted, flinging her travel pillow at him and smacking him in the side of the head. “Don’t even start with me!” she said, clearly annoyed.

Leedo, who was pretending to be asleep, curled his lips up into a slight smile. These two people had been, by far, the most entertaining passengers he’d ever had the pleasure of driving.

“But seriously, move to the back. I’m sleeping by the door. Secluded areas like this are prime territory for highway thieves and any number of people who’ll see a bus as a sure sign of –”

“Tell me you’re not going to be like this the whole trip…”

“Oh what? Like look out for you and protect you?”

Brennan rolled her eyes and then got up – deciding that she was too tired for more bickering. She deliberately brushed her body up against Booth’s as she walked past him in the narrow walkway.

Booth felt her brush by him and held his breath. He grinned at her stubbornness and then walked to the front of the bus. “Night, Bones…” he whispered as he lay down in the small seat.

Behind the mask of the seat, Brennan smiled to herself – basking in the thrill that came from Booth bidding her goodnight. She knew she shouldn’t feel this way, and she reasoned with herself that it’s most likely the jet lag making her pulse quicken whenever he smiles her way. Either way, these next few months were certainly going to be interesting.

“Goodnight, Booth.”

Booth awoke the next morning as a stripe of hot sunlight stretched across his face from the window of the bus. “Ugggghhnnn” he moaned, slowly shifting his back and opening his eyes. Between sleeping on the airplane and this bus, he certainly missed his comfortable bed at home.

He got up slowly as to not aggravate his already sore muscles, and ran a hand roughly over his face. His eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight, he turned his head toward the backseat.

“Hey Bones, you up yet?” he said with a yawn. When there was no response he frowned and walked to the back row. Brennan’s bag was neatly propped up by the window and a blanket was left splayed on the seat.

“Leedo” Booth called, shoving the sleeping bus driver awake. He stirred and immediately sat up. “Have you seen Bones?” Booth asked while looking out the windows of the bus.

“No Mr. Booth, I was sleeping… You think she leave?”

Booth didn’t bother answering the man, he just pulled the lever to open up the door and stepped out into the scorching heat.

“Bones!” Booth called as he squinted toward the horizon. He jogged forward a few feet, his footsteps kicking up dry dust that clouded around his shoes. “Bones!” he called again, this time much louder. “Temperance!” he shouted as he shifted his head around, trying to locate his missing partner.

“Booth why are you always yelling?” Brennan sighed as she made her way over from the other side of the bus with several articles of clothing in her hand.

Relief washed over Booth immediately as he saw Brennan walk towards him. She was dressed in a red tank top and denim shorts, and her auburn hair was pulled up into a loose braid. His relief at the sight of her presence was quickly turned into frustration.

“Bones what kind of a stunt are you trying to pull? I woke up and you weren’t there, and I specifically told you –”

“You didn’t specifically tell me anything Booth, you told me to sleep at the back of the bus! Forgive me for not kissing you good morning, but I wanted to change and stretch my legs, got a problem with that?”

Booth stopped mid-argument as the mental image of Brennan kissing him good morning clouded his mind… now there was an image. Focus, Booth. Focus. Be angry.

“Bones my job is to protect you, and that happens to imply the fact that I need to know where you are at all times.”

Brennan rolled her eyes and shook her head, walking towards the door of the bus. “Are we finished here? Because I also have a job to do, and it does not involve arguing with an overprotective sweaty alpha male who drools in his sleep.”

“Oh! Oh way over the line, Bones. Way over the line!” Booth yelled, taking another step towards Brennan.

“You want to talk to me about lines? Why don’t we just go right ahead and –”

They both whipped their heads to the front of the bus as they saw Leedo sitting in his seat and laughing out loud.

“Forgive me for laughing…” he wheezed, shaking his head. He raised his hands in apology and motioned for Booth and Brennan to keep going.

Brennan silently glared at Booth and then turned and marched up the bus steps. Booth shook his head and bit back a smile as she disappeared on to the bus. He took a deep breath and followed her, passing by Leedo who was still smiling at Booth knowingly. “You have your hands full, yes?” he said.

“You have no idea.” Booth said with a wary smile.


The bus chugged its way down the dirt path, kicking up clouds of dust in its wake. They had been driving for hours now, and Booth and Brennan had come to a silent truce and were seemingly at peace with each other for the time being.

“I think we need to set some ground rules.” Booth said, finally breaking the silence that had set only moments ago.

“Like what?” Brennan asked doubtfully.

“Rules that we both follow while we’re here, you know, like a code.”

“Alright…”

“You always have to tell me where you’re going, and know that most of the time I’ll be coming with you.”

“Booth, that’s so inherently unnecessary –“

“Bones don’t fight me on this one. That’s just how it has to be. But now you get to make a rule, deal?”

Brennan sighed, “Fine. You are to do exactly as I say, and never compromise our stance as observers.”

“Easy enough.” Booth said with a shrug.

“That means no teasing. No making fun of the culture, no whining about bugs or food or heat or anything. Quiet. Observer.” She said, trying to seem as stern as possible.

“Yes, Professor Brennan.”

All of a sudden a ball smacked against one of the bus windows and Booth and Brennan turned to see a number of small children running and laughing. A little boy caught the ball as it bounced off the window and he waved at Leedo. All of the children started to wave and jump around, and Brennan squinted to see a number of adults coming out of huts and walking towards the dirt road.

Leedo slowed the bus down and waved back at the playful children. “Welcome to the Effetis reserve!” he said broadly to Booth and Brennan. They turned to each other and immediately broke into smiles, they had finally made it.




Booth and Brennan slugged their hiking backpacks on and walked down the aisle of the bus. Brennan reached Leedo first, “Thank you for everything, Leedo. It was so nice to meet you.” Brennan said warmly, as she shook Leedo’s hand.

“Oh and you as well, Ms. Bones. You have a safe time!” Brennan smiled and stepped off the bus to meet the large group of people who were anxiously trying to see who was arriving.

“Thanks, man.” Booth said, shaking Leedo’s hand and patting him on the shoulder with an open palm, just like Brennan had showed him.

“You take care of her, Booth. You two must stay a good team.” He nodded.

Booth smiled and joined Brennan outside. He walked to her side and watched in fascination as she knelt down so that she would be at the same level as the children. They greeted her in their own language, to which she nodded with a warm smile that matched their own.

“Welcome” came a loud voice. Booth and Brennan turned around and watched as a large man walked toward them. He was very tall and muscular, and wore an intricately designed robe. “I am leader of Effetis. You must be Dr. Brennan.”

Brennan stood and walked toward the man. “And you must be Menihau” she said. The man opened his arms and reached for Brennan’s shoulders, giving her a kiss on each cheek. She responded with the same action and Menihau beamed. “Welcome to Effetis, word came of your arrival and we have been expecting you. And who is this?” Menihau said, glancing over at Booth.

Brennan took Booth by the arm and brought him over to Menihau. “This is Seeley Booth, he is my assistant.” Brennan ignored Booth’s reaction at being called an assistant, and she motioned for Booth to greet the man.

Booth awkwardly allowed the large man to kiss him on both cheeks, and Booth hastily did the same before stepping back and glancing at Brennan for approval. Brennan had to bite back a chuckle, knowing that Booth was likely holding back a large range of sarcastic comments that he would most likely save for later.

“Hello Seeley, we welcome you as well. You must be very fortunate to work under the guidance of such a wonderful young woman.”

“Yes sir, very fortunate.” Booth said, trying to channel his inner Zach.

Menihau nodded and faced the other Effetians who had flocked to where Booth and Brennan stood. The bus had long since left, and they remained in the same place. Menihau bellowed something in their native language and motioned to Booth and Brennan. The people nodded when their leader had finished speaking and they chatted amongst themselves.

“Follow me, I am sure you are tired. I will show you to your home.” Menihau motioned for the two foreigners to follow him. They walked towards a hut that was near the outskirts of the village. Brennan walked beside Menihau and they discussed several customs of the tribe and many other things that Booth couldn’t quite hear. He walked several paces behind Brennan and took in his surroundings, trying to adapt to the new environment.

Ever the protector, he scanned the area around their hut carefully before stepping inside.

“This is nice, yes?” Menihau asked, motioning to the rest of the hut. The hut was very dark in comparison to the intense sunlight outside, but their eyes quickly adjusted. The shade was a cool relief and Brennan smiled as she looked around. There were two planks of wood on either side of the hut, for their sleeping bags, and a tub of water with a cover over it. It was simple, it was understated, and it was realistic.

“Very beautiful.” Brennan agreed, and Booth shook his head in agreement. He was relieved that they would be sharing a hut, as this would undoubtedly make Booth’s job a lot easier.

“I will let you have some time to rest. The sun will be setting soon and we hope you will join us. We have a welcoming ceremony in honour of our new guests.” Menihau said proudly.

“We would be honored to come, Menihau.” Brennan said.

“And this is for you both, it is ceremonial wear that we hope you will adorn.” Menihau said, giving Booth a wrapped package of clothing.

“Thank you, sir.” Booth said with a nod. Menihau bowed slightly and left the two partners in the hut.

Booth sighed when Menihau left and shrugged his backpack off. “Home sweet home” he said to Brennan with a smile. She returned the smile and looked at him thoughtfully.

“What?” he asked her, as he opened up the package that Menihau had given them.

“Nothing. It’s just; well you did a very good job.” Brennan said slowly, with a hint of a smile in her voice.

“Anything for you, my Master Yoda.” Booth said teasingly. He held up a hand before she could respond “I know, I know. You don’t know what that means.” He laughed.

Brennan noticed Booth’s smile freeze on his face and it quickly turned into a look of confusion. “Booth, what is it?” she asked, puzzled.

He looked up at Brennan with wide eyes and held up a loin cloth from the package. “There’s just no way…” he began, holding up the garment and peering at it with a horrified and disgusted expression.

Brennan covered her mouth with a hand as she looked at the skimpy piece of clothing and had to nearly literally bite her tongue. *Oh this is just TOO good…* she thought wickedly to herself.

Booth muttered a string of curses and tossed the loin cloth down on the wooden plank. He handed Brennan her garments and rubbed a hand over his eyes.

“Bones. What happens in Africa, stays in Africa.”


See Part 2...

--Last edited by Rosie on 2007-09-11 10:33:07 --

Posted 11/09/2007 19:34:49 (11/09/2007 10:34:49 AM) Rosie

A Lesson in Anthropology -- CatchUp Part 2...

“Bones.” Booth groaned, placing a bare arm over his eyes. He was lying down on one of the two very uncomfortable wooden planks and trying to rest, but Brennan had some other ideas.

”Booth, just enjoy your little naptime and we can argue later. Some of us actually have work to do.” She muttered from her position on the dirt floor. She was sitting cross-legged and was scribbling furiously in a large black notebook. She pushed a twirl of hair back behind her ear and continued to write.

”I don’t have a naptime, Bones. This is called jetlag.” He said monotonically, but his words were muffled by exhaustion. “Let’s just keep the scribbling and talking to yourself to a minimum, alright?”

“Egocentric monologue is a common result of high mental processing, just so you know.” She said matter-of-factly.

”You’re a robot.” He muttered before rolling onto his stomach in defeat. Brennan looked up amusedly from her notebook and shook her head. Clearly the jetlag had hit Booth much more than herself. Recognizing the tingling feeling on her lips as the beginning of a smile, she rose to her feet in the tiny hut and laid her notebook on the other wooden plank bed.

“I’m going out. See, this time I told you. Now you can’t get mad at me.” She whispered as she headed out of the hut.

Once outside, Brennan stretched her back and let out a contented breath. The sun was in its early stages of setting, and the warm orange glow seemed to spread like fire over every surface it touched. Even in its last risen moments, the heat from it danced on her skin and warmed her in all ways.

Putting a hand near her forehead to block the light, Brennan glanced around at the rest of the reserve. Booth and Brennan’s hut was up a little bit on a hill, slightly removed from the rest of the tribe so she watched from a distance as two little children helped their mother carry a large bushel of water. There were men with large bundles of wood walking together toward a large fire, and a group of women kneading a batter that looked much like bread dough.

She looked closer as the women would occasionally pause from their kneading and smile or laugh freely at what her friends had said. They made broad expressions with their hands and talked animatedly to one another; seemingly unfazed by the world around them. These women were happy to be living in the moment and their optimism was contagious.

These women were free.

Brennan trudged steadily down the mound of earth toward the busy tribe. The children were the first to notice her attendance, and a few of them waved at her shyly. She waved back as she walked toward the group of cooking women.

The woman chopping large green leaves, furthest from the circle, was the first to notice Brennan. She murmured something to the other women and they immediately clammed up. Brennan was not surprise by the women’s caution at her intrusion, as it was merely to be expected. Undeterred, Brennan joined the circle and nodded her head at the women.

Brennan knew there was clearly a language barrier between her and the rest of the group, but this did not faze her. She smiled, and motioned for the woman to allow her to help by giving her the knife to chop up the rest of the leaves. The woman tilted her head questioningly and then allowed Brennan to take over.

Brennan knew that all eyes were on her, even a few of the children had accumulated to watch and see what the “intruder” would do next. Brennan smiled slightly and began to chop the leaves expertly into fine lines; just as the woman before her had done. Brennan could feel the cool moisture from the leaves against her fingertips, and the chlorophyllic pigments left a ghost of an imprint against her white skin. She looked up and saw the women glance around at each other and smile shyly at her.

The sound of her knife and the slicing of the vegetable was soon not the only sound to be heard around their circle. The women slowly, but surely, began to resume their conversation and talked animatedly amongst themselves. Trying to pull ideas together from the tone of their voices and their hand motions, Brennan knew that she had the potential to not be seen as an intruder, but one of them.

An hour or so later, Brennan walked back up the hill toward the hut to wake Booth up. To her surprise, he was already sitting outside and had his eyes closed as the sun slowly continued to disappear.

Brennan walked over and silently down beside him on the ground, hugging her knees near her chest.

“You really know what you’re doing.” Booth said with a smile, finally turning his face toward hers.

She paused for a moment and looked straight into his dark eyes. “Thanks” she said with a definitively subtle nod. They both smiled and then turned to watch the rest of the sunset. They were silent for a few minutes, and only the soft murmur of the bustle below filled the seemingly still air.

Brennan stretched her legs and leaned back slightly, still sitting on the ground beside Booth. “So what have you been up to?” she asked, pointlessly playing with a single blade of grass.

“Oh, just doing some observing of my own…” Booth said coyly with a charming smile.

“Oh?” she said, playing along. “And what conclusions have you reached?”

“Deductively or inductively?” he asked, playfully mocking her.

“Deductive, of course.”

“Well…” Booth said, drawing a bit closer to Brennan. “I have deduced that you are an amazing anthropologist, and that those people down there think that you are… that you’re wonderful.”

Brennan’s eyes danced back and forth between his own, and then her lips quirked into a flirty smile. “Actually, that’s an inductive conclusion.”

“Not everything can be deduced rationally, Bones.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“The answer is just no.” Booth said, flinging the skimpy garment across the tiny hut.

“Booth, you’re acting like a child. Now go pick it up.”

“Excuse me, but since when are children forced to wear LOIN CLOTHS?”

Brennan whirled around and whispered, “Would you keep it down? Remember on the bus when we made those rules?” she continued, taking a menacing step toward him, “I said that I would humor your overprotective alpha male ego, if you would not mock the community that I’m being paid to do detailed research on.”

Booth closed his eyes and then looked over to the clothing on the floor. Silence filled the tiny hut for a brief moment, before Booth studied Brennan’s face with slight amusement. He gave her an appraising look and then broke out into a full smile.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, slightly annoyed.

Booth cleared his voice and took another step toward her. “You know Bones….” He began. “If you wanted to see me in a loin cloth, all you had to do was ask.”

Brennan opened her mouth to say something, and then promptly closed it. She opened it again, “Booth don’t flatter yourself. I am merely salvaging any credibility I have left in regard to this study, and if you think for one second that –”

“You know you’re cute when you’re flustered…”

“Shut up.” Brennan huffed, stalking over to the outfit that Menihau had given her which was folded on top of her dusty duffel bag. She picket it up and held it up to her body, masking the lurking sense of embarrassment that she knew she would be feeling quite often that night.

All of a sudden a low male’s voice came from outside the hut, “Doctor Brennan”.

Brennan immediately stood up and pulled the flap of the hut open to reveal Menihau standing outside. He was dressed in a dark blue robe that reached his knees and revealed his dark muscular arms. On his head he wore an intricately beaded, yet understated, headpiece which uniquely caught the light of the lingering sun rays.

“Hello, Menihau.” Brennan said with a slight bow of the head. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk before dinner. I would like to learn about what you do.”

Brennan curtly nodded, “That would be nice.”

Menihau smiled and extended his arm for her to grasp. Before taking his arm Brennan turned around to talk to Booth, who was sitting and listening from the wooden plank bed.

“Booth.” She said simply, motioning slightly at the rumpled up loin cloth, “Don’t make me beg.” She said quietly with a teasing smile. Brennan looked back at Menihau and they walked out of the hut.

Whoa… Booth thought to himself after they had left. He glanced despairingly down at the loin cloth and sighed inwardly. I guess I can pull off the Tarzan look…


“Thank you for the walk Dr. Brennan, I am glad we had our discussion.” Menihau said as they approached Brennan and Booth’s hut. He grasped her hand with both of his and kissed both of her cheeks.

“Thank you for being so accommodating, my assistant and I look forward to tonight’s festivities.”

“Oh yes, all shall be ready soon. I will leave you now to get ready.”

After they had said their goodbyes, Brennan trudged up the tiny hill to the hut. Just as she had nearly reached it, the flap came open and Booth walked out, stopping Brennan in her tracks.

It was a rare occasion that Temperance Brennan was speechless but if ever there was a rare occasion, this was it. Booth stood clad in the loin cloth, his rippling chest muscles prominently protruding as if silently begging her to stare at them. He crossed his taught arms over his chest and her eyes finally made their way up his body towards his own.

“Hello.” She said finally.

“Hey there Bones.” Booth said casually, as if everything was normal.

But nothing is normal! Brennan yelled in her head. I’m in the middle of Africa, and Booth is wearing a leather loin cloth!

Brennan shook her head slightly as if to chase those thoughts away, just as Booth stepped out of her way and opened her path into the hut.

“So I guess I just got my answer.” Booth said coyly.

“To what?” she answered innocently as she accidentally let her eyes roam his body for another second.

Booth chuckled and then turned to face a group of children who were tugging at his arms. He let them lead him down the hill toward the main community and threw a smile over his shoulder at Brennan who stood watching them.

Brennan smiled and then snuck inside the hut to change. Two can play at this game… she thought to herself.


Booth felt the tiny warm hand of the little boy that was leading him down the hill and smiled. He reminded Booth so much of Parker, that it was incredible. Though the boy did not speak English, Booth longed to communicate with him.

A large group of people gathered around the large fire and Booth and the children joined them. The sun had set and it was nearly completely dark outside if it were not for the roaring fire. The flames danced around and sparks intermittently shot up into the sky like tiny fairies.

Menihau stood at one end of the fire and his voice boomed a message loudly in their own language. Booth felt remarkably out of place and glanced around at the other Effetis who watched Menihau and hung on his every word. Just then, Booth felt another warm hand grasp the back of his muscular arm.

“What did I miss?” Brennan whispered. Booth breathed a sigh of relief at her timely presence and turned to face her. As he did, he felt his jaw slacken. Brennan wore the ceremonial outfit that most of the other women were wearing: a midlength animal hide skirt matched with a small top that circled around her upper chest, leaving the creamy expanse of her stomach exposed. Her auburn hair lay tousled on her shoulders and caught the glimmer of the roaring fire as if by magic. She wore no jewelry but a gold band that was wrapped around her defined upper arm, just like the other women.

“You look… nice.” He whispered back, before directing his gaze to the fire before his eyes suspiciously lingered for any longer.

Brennan bit back a smile and then focused her attention on Menihau who was still talking to the rest of the tribe. Just then, with a wide smile, the man motioned to Booth and Brennan as the rest of the tribe stared at them. The men, women, and children kept their gazes focused on Booth and Brennan as Menihau continued to speak. Some of the people smiled at the two partners whereas some kept their attention solely projected at Menihau.

Once finished his speech, the leader clapped his hands together once and motioned toward the large collection of food that had been prepared that day. The people flocked around the food and immediately began talking animatedly amongst themselves. Booth and Brennan joined in the festivities and were soon caught up in the midst of the ceremony.

To the sounds of a group of men melodically beating a set of drums, the group finished all of the food and gaily mingled amongst themselves. Though obviously separated from the rest by language barriers, Brennan was fully immersing herself in all aspects of the tribe, and was thrilled when the people began to include her in their conversations through hand signals.

Slightly further away from the fire, Booth stood by himself and took in all of the sights around him. On his right there was a man telling a story to a group of children, one of which was the little boy that Seeley had met earlier. Booth redirected his gaze when he heard the unmistakable sound of Brennan’s laughter. He watched as she continued to laugh at two women who were telling her a funny story using hand motions.

Booth felt himself smile. For the second time in one evening he was surprised at how natural Brennan looked around the other people. For someone who claimed to only have meaningful relationships with bones, the vitality he saw in her right now surpassed any barriers of her own shortcomings.

Brennan must have felt his eyes on her, and she looked over at him from across the fire. Booth felt slightly self conscious under her stare due to his lack of clothing, but those feelings quickly dissipated as she returned his smirk.

It was a night of whirling colours, of roaring fires. Of loud people chattering, of unique music. Hours later, as the fire dwindled down, the crowd slowly became smaller and smaller as the people headed to bed.

Brennan and Booth expressed their thanks and bid the people goodbye before slowly walking up toward their hut. For once in a long time, the partners chatted animatedly without bickering and shared things they had noticed from the evening’s events. They slowed down as they reached the hut, which was difficult to see in the pitch blackness.

“You can head in and change first, I’ll get my stuff and change out here.” Booth said as he held the flap door of the hut open for Brennan.

“You just want to stay in that outfit of yours for as long as possible, don’t you?” Brennan smirked as she gave Booth a once-over one more time.

Booth groaned and rolled his eyes, enjoying her teasing glances. He picked up a pair of blue boxers and a muscle top and headed back out into the darkness.

The air, though still warm, had a refreshing edge to it as the sun could no longer provide the sweltering heat. He felt the coolness of the grass brush against his bare feet as he walked behind the hut and stripped out of the loin cloth.

He quickly changed back into his more comfortable clothes and rubbed the back of his sore neck with his hand. It had been an exceptionally long couple of days, and as Booth looked up at the star speckled sky he felt an odd sense of peace. There was something about this place that was so pure and just so tranquil.

His thoughts were interrupted as Brennan poked her head out of the hut. “Are you coming to bed, or do you just want to be eaten by mosquitoes?” she asked.

Booth smiled at Brennan before taking one last glance up at the sky and heading into the hut. Though thousands of miles away from DC, it was odd how much this place could feel like home.

Booth awoke with a start. His eyes darted open and his bare chest muscles flexed as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Lifting his wrist slightly, the glowing digits on his watch admitted that it was only 2AM. A noise had startled him, though he was unsure of its source. As the grogginess of sleep faded, he tuned into the steadily serene breaths of his partner who lay on the other side of the small hut.

Though the temperature had cooled remarkably in the absence of the sun, Booth could still feel the beads of sweat slip down his spine. Reaching for his water bottle, he could feel the creaky wooden board groan from beneath him. Just as he began to unscrew the top of the bottle, he heard it again.

A low grumble followed by an ominous series of crackling twigs immediately put Booth on high alert. Placing the bottle down silently, he reached for his gun. Cursing himself for not insisting that Temperance take the cot further from the entrance of the hut, he slowly moved past his sleeping partner.
A line of moonlight peeked around from the animal hide flap of the entrance, and it gracefully alighted Temperance’s expressionless face. Unfortunately, Booth’s attention was immediately ripped away when he heard the growl again, this time much more defined. Pausing for a moment, he debated whether or not to wake her, but then decided that she would be safer in the hut.

Squatting at the door with his gun drawn, Booth waited for a moment to gain his footing, and then drew the flap back roughly. His lips were drawn in a firm line, and his eyes fiercely scanned the area around him.

The air was anywhere but still, as Booth could hear the buzzing and flitting of an endless assortment of insects. Their music had long since ceased to both Booth, although now it seemed as if he could pick up on every little detail.

He reached back in the hut for Temperance’s flashlight when he heard the sound again. Without hesitating, he released the sharp beam of light and shown it over the land. All of a sudden, the light caught on something. Tracing the beam back, Booth’s grip tightened on the gun as a pair of eyes reflected back at him.

“Bones”. Booth whispered without taking his eyes or gun off of the unmoving creature. “Bones” he repeated, hoping that she would awaken quietly. A moment later he heard her slowly lean up.

“Booth what’s wrong?” she whispered, trying to mask the grogginess of sleep still impregnating her voice. Booth motioned his head at the unmoving pair of glimmering eyes. Just as he did so, the creature suddenly moved and began to crawl sideways. As it did so, the flashlight illuminated the rest of its body, revealing the tiny form of a monkey.

Booth immediately relaxed and lowered his gun to the ground. Her eyes having become fully adjusted to the darkness, Brennan finally appreciated the sight of boxer-clad Booth with a gun aimed at a monkey.

Foreseeing the spur of sarcastic remarks he was about to receive from Brennan, Booth raised his hand. “Bones, it could have been anything!” he whispered as he put the safety back on the gun.

Brennan groaned and leaned back on the creaky bed board. “Booth close the flap, you’re letting the mosquitoes in.” she said in a monotonic voice.

“Bones, this is the kind of stuff that makes me think I should have had that bed.” Booth said, bringing up an old argument as he settled onto his cot.

“Don’t start that again. I’m not moving.” Brennan mumbled stubbornly.

Booth sighed in defeat, as he simultaneously realized that there was no way he’d be getting back to sleep.

“Besides,” she continued as she leaned her face into the flat travel pillow, slightly muffling her voice. “I’ll ward off the chickens for you…”

In the darkness Brennan laughed as she felt Booth fling the flashlight at her foot playfully. “Go to bed.” She warned.


The next morning, Brennan awoke slowly as the sunlight spread across her face. Booth was stirring on the cot on the other side of the room, and she took a brief moment to admire his scruffy morning hair. Her gaze peeked down to his bare chest just for a second, before she averted her eyes to the floor as she looked for her shoes.

“Morning.” Booth said with a smile.

“Did you sleep at all?” Brennan inquired as she dug in her backpack.

“Not really. Light sleeper, I guess.”

Brennan nodded and grinned as she produced two energy bars from her bag. “Breakfast is served.” She said as she tossed the bar across the hut to Booth.

Munching on their bars in silence, she reached for a light cotton blouse and khaki shorts. She pulled the two on and rose to her feet, “I’m going to go for a walk and see who is awake.”

Booth nodded as he swallowed down the rest of the energy bar. She paused slightly at the door and turned slightly. “So I was thinking” she started, slightly hesitating, “if maybe later you wanted to go for a walk with me? Menihau showed me a really beautiful area just southeast of here and therefore –”

“That sounds great.” Booth said, the smile apparent in his voice. She returned the smile before exiting the hut.

“Just another day in Africa…’’ Booth said to himself as he glanced around the hut and drummed his fingers absently on his leg. He kicked the loin cloth away from sight and reached for his clothes – eager to see what the rest of the day had in store for him.

“Doctor Brennan, I hope you slept well.” Menihau’s voice boomed as Temperance made her way down the hill from the hut she shared with Booth.

“I did, thank you.” She replied, taking in the sight of the high amount of activity around her. Two small children were giggling teasing a slightly older girl, whom Brennan guessed was their older sister. Four women carried large woven barrels toward the fire pit, and were talking quickly and animatedly. She watched as an older man with his younger son sat on the dusty ground sharpening two knives with sharp looking rocks.

Brennan was startled and brought out of her anthropological train of thought when she felt Menihau’s large hand grasp her small one. “I am very happy that you have come.”

“Thank you.” Brennan said after a moment.

“You have such deep eyes.” Menihau continued, drawing a step closer. Brennan raised her eyebrows slightly, but stood her ground as she did not wish to offend the Leader. All of a sudden Brennan heard familiar footsteps barreling down the hill and she silently thanked Booth for his excellent timing.

“Hey Bones.” Booth said a tad too loudly, clearly making his presence known to Menihau. “Hello Menihau.”

Brennan observed as Menihau stiffened slightly and retracted his hand. He took a step back and gazed at Booth who had placed his hand on the small of Brennan’s back.

“Good morning. You will excuse me, I must be on my way. I shall see you both a little later.” Menihau said as he turned his back on the partners and walked toward his own hut.

“Booth” Brennan whispered, shrugging his arm away from her body. “You scared him away.”

“Well what was I supposed to do?” he whispered back with equal intensity. Brennan was quiet for a moment and then sighed, “You’re right, Booth. Besides, it’s normal for two strong alpha males to feel –“

“I’ll just take the ‘thank you’.” Booth said with a smirk. “But seriously, was he coming on to you?”

“I don’t know what that means. He merely complimented the depth of my eyes.”

“The depth of your eyes?” Booth laughed, but then stopped when he saw the thoughtful expression on Brennan’s face.

“You don’t think my eyes have depth?” she said carefully.

“Well yes… I mean sure… but – come on Bones.”

Brennan rolled her eyes. Her smile was wiped off her face when looking for a moment over Booth’s right shoulder she could see Menihau gazing at her intensely. She averted her eyes immediately, choosing not to inform Booth.

“Come on – you owe me a walk.” Booth said, motioning with his head for Brennan to follow.

Brennan took one last glance backward at Menihau, but frowned to see that he was no longer standing there.

“You coming?” Booth said, outstretching his hand.



“Remind me again how the hell you found this place?” Booth said as he swatted at what must have been the hundredth mosquito he had killed in the past hour.

“Menihau pointed out where it was once, but I have yet to find it myself.” Brennan said, concentrating on the ground and conscious not to step on anything harmful.

“Menihau, huh?” Booth said with a slightly edgy tone.

“Booth, stop it. You need to channel your alpha male tendencies into some other outlet, because I will not have you compromising our positions here.”

“Whoa, whoa. I didn’t say anything, I just think that our little alpha dog might be a bit of a hound dog.”

Brennan stopped in her tracks and gave Booth a confused look over her shoulder. Booth waved her on. “I think you just have to just watch it a bit, that’s all.”

“Watch what?”

“Don’t give off the wrong signals. I don’t want you hesitating to push him away because you’re afraid you’ll screw up your study.”

At that, Brennan whirled around “The only thing that will screw up my study is if you harass that poor man and make yourself look like the enemy.” She said tightly.

The two continued marching along in silence for another few minutes, though silence was hardly the word for it. Flies buzzed around their faces and bushes and leaves scraped against their legs as they walked. Though there was no forest exactly, this was clearly the geographic location of greatest vegetation.

“We’re almost there, I think.” Brennan said, breaking the silence.

“Famous last words.” Booth chuckled, and Brennan found herself thankful that she had not upset him. Never in a long time had Brennan cared so much about what others thought, but lately she found herself very conscious of Booth’s feelings.

Over the next few steps, Booth thought he heard something in the distance that sounded very familiar. “Is that?...” he began.

Temperance turned her head over her shoulder a little and gave him a secret smile. She pulled back the leaves from a tree and a large pool of running water connected to a short waterfall came into view. The water glistened and shown in the light, and whirled down a tiny little ravine which came close to the village.

“Bones, this is beautiful.” He said as he took in the view of the water, but also the look on his partner’s face. Though a layer of shiny sweat had collected on her face and a smudge of dirt ran beneath her right cheek, she was the picture of beauty.

“It is.” She agreed, setting down her water bottle and sitting down near the water’s edge.

“Do you think it’s clean?” Booth asked, slowly kicking off his sandals.

“Menihau said that this is the main source for the tribe’s drinking water, so I would have to think so. However, I once read a study that claimed –“ Brennan’s words were cut short when she looked up to see Booth stripping off his dusty shirt and dropping it on the ground at his bare feet.

“Booth. What are you…” she began as she watched Booth test the muddy bank around the side of the water. He began to wade into the water carefully until the water depth reached his knees.

“Come on in, Bones!” Booth said as he playfully smacked the water next to him.

With every ounce of mock-seriousness in her body Temperance delivered the next words that would frighten her favourite alpha male. “But Booth, what about the leeches?” she cried out.

The smile immediately was wiped off of Seeley Booth’s face and was replaced with a look of pure horror. He hopped out of the water as fast as he could; splashing the water up over his chest. Once he reached the shore, he patted down the backs of his legs and looked intently at the soles of his feet and between his toes. Once he had completed his near-frantic search, he became aware of the sound of laughter a few feet behind him.

“Sorry – I couldn’t help it…” Brennan began, but cut herself off with another bout of laughter. Booth was angry for just a second, before savoring the sound of this woman’s laughter. It had been a long time since Booth had seen his partner so relaxed as this, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to prevent it.

Feigning ferocity, Booth walked over to Brennan and scooped her up into his arms in a split second. Instantly her laughter stopped and was replaced with shock, “Booth! Seeley put me down!” she demanded as she smacked an open palm against his bare shoulder.

Booth laughed as she helplessly squirmed and continued to threaten him with the bodily harm that had given her such a ‘reputation’ at the FBI.

“Professor Brennan, I think it’s time you cooled off.” Booth said as evenly as possible as he raised Temperance away from his body and out over the water.

“No!” she laughed before he dropped her into the water.

Half an hour later both Booth and Brennan sat side by side in the middle of the shallow water. The section of water that they were sitting in was only 4ft deep, and the cool liquid lapped around their bare forearms.

“We should probably get back. I have to do at least nine more observation loggings before sundown.” Brennan said as she lazily lifted her small foot in and out of the water.

“Speaking of sundown, it looks like someone’s getting a sunburn.” Booth said as he lifted his hand and lightly rubbed it against the soft skin on the back of her shoulder. The physical contact sent a shiver down Brennan’s spine and Booth was also aware of the tangible electricity between them.

Her gaze caught his in that instant and she found herself unable to look away. Booth’s eyes darkened slightly and, though his brain protested adamantly, he continued to lightly caress the back of Brennan’s shoulder.

Temperance could feel her breath hitch slightly as Booth’s face drew slightly closer to her own. Her eyes darted back and forth between his, as if searching for the answers to the countless questions whizzing through her mind. Temperance felt her own body automatically lean into Booth as he lifted his hand from her shoulder and instead lightly trace her jaw line with two fingers.

Her lips parted slightly and she took in the passionate expression on his face. What were they doing? When did this happen?

All of a sudden Brennan snapped back to reality and turned her face away from his, causing his hand to fall from her face. With his hand still held in mid-air near her face he said huskily, “Temperance…”

At the sound of her first name on his lips, Brennan’s eyes flew back to his own. “We should go back, Booth” she said firmly, clearly ignoring the moment that they had just shared. She arose and felt the water drip down her thighs as she slowly walked back to the shore, leaving Booth still sitting in the water.

“Right…” Booth muttered to himself as he followed behind her.


The two partners walked back primarily in silence, as each entertained their own silent thoughts. Booth knew he had seen the same desire mirrored in Brennan’s eyes, but something in her had snapped before that emotion overtook her logicality.
As they approached the main tribal area, two little children ran up to greet them. The two little girls were much more interested in Brennan than Booth, and Booth guessed that she had met them at the Ceremony a few nights ago.

One little girl held out a smooth rock that had the letter ‘T’ etched into it and offered it to Brennan. Brennan smiled appreciatively and tucked a strand of hair behind the little girl’s ear. She admired the rock and held it up for Booth to see.

“Beautiful.” Booth said, without even looking at the rock and instead staring straight at Brennan. She took the unvoiced message in Booth’s tone, and then reverted her attention back at the girls. “Thank you” she said both in English, and also in their native tongue.

Brennan and Booth continued on their way up to their hut, but Brennan walked ahead much faster than Booth. Booth lingered slightly, as he noticed Menihau standing a few dozen feet away from them. Booth watched as Menihau’s attention instantly took a new direction when he saw Brennan walking past. Never once did he glance at Booth, instead hypnotically stared at Brennan.

Menihau wore a deep blue shawl which covered only half of his lean, muscular frame. His dark skin glistened slightly in the assaulting rays of the sun and he gleamed like a sun god. His hair was shaved short, which seemingly drew even more attention to his piercingly alert eyes. Booth guessed that the man was not much older than himself, and his broad frame could rival that of Booth’s.

When Booth reached the top of the hill, Brennan was already sitting outside the hut overlooking the main tribal area with her notebook in hand. Her sunglasses guarded her expression, and she scribble fiercely in her notebook. Booth stood there for a moment and watched her work.

Booth found it so predictable that Brennan would plunge back into work in the aftermath of their near-intimacy earlier. Gone was that carefree woman whom he had been splashing around with in the pond. Booth cursed himself for making her feel so uncomfortable, and he wondered if this were his own fault. But I know she wanted it too… he thought to himself.

“Bones, about earlier…” Booth began, mindlessly scratching the back of his head as he searched within himself for more words. An explanation? An apology? Booth wondered how he would ever break the steel walls his partner had up around her.

“Booth, you don’t need to –“ But her words were cut off when they heard footsteps coming up the side of the hill.

“Mary, mother of God…” Booth muttered to himself, not even needing to turn around to identify the man who was standing behind him.

“Doctor Brennan, how are you this afternoon?” Menihau said, choosing not to greet Booth.

“Fine thank you. Thank you for the idea to walk down by the water, it was truly beautiful.” Brennan replied, trying not to notice Booth rolling his eyes.

“I am so happy to have pleased you.” Menihau said, bowing slightly.

“Yeah, we had a great time.” Booth said a little too loudly.

Menihau disregarded Booth’s comment, and instead extended a hand to Brennan. “Dr. Brennan, I’m sure you would love to meet some of the elders here.”

Brennan’s eyebrows raised slightly, thrilled at the opportunity. “That would be wonderful” she said. Booth, however, was equally thrilled to see that Brennan refused Menihau’s hand as she got up. Same old Bones… he thought to himself.

“Booth I’ll be back a bit later. There’s food in my pack if you want.” Brennan said before following Menihau down the hill.

Booth, for the first time in a while, didn’t know what to do. He knew that this study meant a lot to Brennan and he should be happy for her that it was going well, but at the same time it drove him crazy that she was spending most of her time with Menihau.

“I’ll be here.” Booth said to no one in particular. It seemed as if it was only the dusty breeze that could hear his voice.

Seeley Booth was not a man to back down from a confrontation. It wasn’t really that he was possessive; truthfully he was just a man who would not tolerate the compromise of anything he held dear to him. He recognized the familiar choking emotion as envy, but would not admit to it as such. Until today.

It had been exactly three weeks since Booth’s thought-provoking encounter with Brennan at the water hole; three weeks of utter torture. He had started countless conversations with her in his head about their situation, but whenever he attempted to verbalize them she would dismiss him and change the subject. It was as if his feelings for her reached a boiling point in his body, but when he opened his mouth to speak they dried up like the dry African breeze. Though their lips nearly joined, their hearts were not yet there.

Temperance Brennan was a very smart woman, but Booth sensed her naivety even in the first days of their partnership. She analyzed aspects of life to such an extent that people and issues seem more like puzzles than real entities. Rationally, Booth knew that this was just one more factor in his seemingly life-long quest to protect his partner from the entities she tried so hard to understand. Menihau was a potential threat to Booth, but just a puzzle to Brennan.

Truthfully, Booth knew that Menihau meant no harm. He was just another in a long line of men that had fallen for Brennan’s steely gaze and smoky voice, and Booth knew he definitely led that line. Some things don’t change from continent to continent, but that didn’t mean that Booth couldn’t feel a twinge of envy every time Brennan left for hours on end and came back glowing with new anthropological observations and encounters that Chief Menihau had introduced her to.
.
They were sitting on their individual cots one night and alternatively talking about the day’s events and enjoying the silence of the muggy evening. One lantern was lit between the two cots, and the flame danced around madly for no obvious reason. Booth was entranced by this very flame until Brennan spoke up, breaking the spell of silence.

“Booth?”

“Mmhmm?” he responded lazily, glancing over at Brennan who was lying on her cot and clearly deep in thought. As he waited for her to respond, he reclined back into his cot as well and let out a soft groan as he stretched his sore back.

“Remember that day at the water hole?” she asked quietly, staring up at the top of the hut.

This question instantly set off a series of chemical reactions in Booth’s body that he could only recognize as anticipation. At long last, maybe they might get some where.

“Yeah, I do.” Booth said, turning his head to face her own. The lantern slightly blocked his view of her face, and the dancing flame caught the glimmer in her eyes like the water they had soaked in at the waterfall that day.

“I think we should just… forget about it. You need to stop bringing it up as if it was a big deal.”

She was lying, and both of them knew it. Booth’s feelings of anticipation swiftly increased to frustration. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the exhaustion, but Booth had finally had enough of this researcher’s antics.

“Forget about what, Bones?” Booth asked testily and rhetorically.

“You tried to kiss me. Unless, of course, you don’t recall it…” She said, matching his terse tone.

“Why are you bringing this up now? I’ve tried to talk to you dozens of times and you just brush it off as no big deal. I thought it meant something, Bones. Clearly I was wrong.”

Brennan rolled over on her side, leaving her back facing Booth. She needed a moment to think without having to face his burning eyes. Burning with anger? With passion? She couldn’t be sure. Given her relationship with Booth, she was pretty sure it was a mixture of the two.

The hut fell silent for a few painstaking moments as Booth eyed the back of his partner thoughtfully. It was her turn to talk, but he wasn’t going to give her that option.

“And you know what the worst part is?” he began, his voice beginning to grow louder as he sat up on his cot, “I know you wanted the same thing I did that day. I never doubted that. What I do have a problem with, however is how you never allow –“

“Booth, just stop it! This is exactly why I brought this up” she countered as her frustration level seemed to boil up at the same level as Booth’s, “this is exactly why I didn’t want you to come with me. I knew that this would eventually affect my work –“

“Your work?” he said incredilously, “Bones, for once in your life stop hiding behind that same old excuse. You know what? You put up a damn good chase, but you’re running from the wrong guy!”

“How dare you –“ Brennan said as she took a step toward Booth with a confusing hybrid of fear and disdain in her eyes. Her statement was cut off, however, when the echoes of a blood curdling scream followed by deafening shouting came from outside the hut.

Immediately Booth’s problems with Brennan dissolved into a fierce need to protect her. Moving quickly to his duffel bag, he pulled out a handgun and tossed it to Brennan who instinctively caught it. He took out a larger weapon for himself, and shoved his feet into his shoes.

“Take off the safety and hide between the cots.” He whispered fiercely as he checked the ammunition in his gun. The noisy screams and sounds of destruction continued from outside and Booth headed to the makeshift door of their hut.

“You’re not going out there alone!” she hissed back fearlessly, following in step behind him.

“Temperance, stay here.” Booth commanded again, this time with so much ferocity that she felt herself inadvertently step backward. “Shoot anything that comes near you.” He said before opening the flap of the door and peering around cautiously. Brennan busied herself by raiding Booth’s duffel for extra ammunition and loaded all of the guns she could find. She stuck a sheathed dagger into the back of her pants and quickly tied her hair back into a messy bun.

There was no way she was going to stay in this hut helplessly without knowing what was going on outside. Over the past month this place had not just become a source of valuable research, but rather a new home; defending it seemed like a primal instinct. Not to mention Booth…

That settled it. Brennan headed to the door just as she heard a familiar voice shouting in pain.

Brennan bolted outside of the hut to find Booth crumpled on the ground with his hands trying to shield his face. Three mysterious men kicked and beat him ferociously while he endured every blow nearly silently, as if waiting for the right moment to retaliate.

“Get away from him!” Brennan screamed as she pulled out her gun and shot one of the men in the right shoulder, causing him to crumple to the ground.

The gunshot echoed through the silent, black night like deathly fireworks. Booth reacted immediately and grabbed another man’s feet and tackled him to the ground, obtaining dominance almost instantly with his football-style take down. The third man lunged for Booth’s abandoned gun, but Brennan shot the man down without a moment’s hesitation.

The two injured men writhed in the dusty dirt while Brennan quickly scooped up Booth’s gun and tossed it into his outstretched hand.

“I thought I told you to stay in the hut.” Booth said, but couldn’t help a faint smile from etching across his battered features as he struggled to hold the man down on the ground.

“Good things happen when you finally let me have a gun.” She retorted, mirroring his faint smile. Their argument was over, but the issue of their intimacy was certainly not.

Booth’s face suddenly went slack as he saw a larger group of men bolting up the hill towards them. The crashing of pots, screams of children, and foreign shouting continued to escalate. This was a raid.

Booth smacked his assailant in the head and knocked him unconscious. “Bones, run!” he yelled as he yanked her hand and the two started running into the darkness.

They kept running without looking back, but the sounds of footsteps led their crescendo of panic. Suddenly Booth felt a series of sharp blows to the back of his legs and swore breathlessly in pain. Glancing at Brennan, he could tell she felt the same anguish by the way she was biting her lip, trying to focus on the task at hand.

They were pelting them with rocks.

The rocks would come in intervals for as long as it took for their pursuers to blindly grope at the ground for more. As hard as they were running, Booth and Brennan knew that they couldn’t help but slow down, they were no match for their experienced pursuers.

At that very moment, Brennan felt two rough hands pull violently around her waist and she started to shout and scratch the man’s steadfast arms. Booth reacted immediately by trying to break the man’s grip, but it was too late and the rest of the attackers caught up to the group. Booth started to repeatedly punch Brennan’s captor in the face, but was pulled off by the other men who were yelling and screaming in a language that neither partner had ever heard.

Everything happened in a blur, and fists were flying everywhere. Booth and Brennan’s guns were left abandoned in the darkness, and it was sheer willpower which drove them to keep fighting. Brennan knew that the knife she had safely tucked into the back of her pants was of no use to her at this point, since her body was restrained entirely by two of the men.

“Don’t touch her!” Booth yelled helplessly as he continued to be pummeled again and again in the stomach to keep him from escaping. “Bones!” he continued, his voice breaking.

The last thing Booth saw before losing consciousness was Brennan’s head lifelessly rolling back against the chest of her attacker.

And then everything went dark.

At first there was a buzzing noise – it was unlike the song of the insects that infiltrated their hut every night, but more of a constant hum that awoke her from her slumber.

Temperance Brennan was lying flat on her back, and the mixture of blood, sweat, and dust combined as a putty that covered her face and clothing. She tried to open her eyes, and did so very slowly so as not to aggravate her raging headache.

Booth.

This thought immediately brought Brennan to her senses, and she slowly sat up. Inspecting herself to ensure that no bones were broken, she strained her neck until she located his crumpled body on the ground next to her.

“Booth. Booth you have to wake up.” She managed as she crawled over to him, her voice dry and whispery. He was in the same condition that Brennan was in, but luckily nothing seemed to be broken. Nudging his shoulder and touching his face gently with her spare hand, Brennan breathed a sigh of relief when his eyelids slowly opened.

His eyes held a sense of confusion for a brief moment, but as he took in his surroundings and the battered face of his partner, Booth achieved the adrenaline push that he needed.

“Are you alright?” Booth asked as he sat up and inspected Brennan’s face thoughtfully. Immediately Brennan was reminded of the time he came to see her in New Orleans, and part of her wished she could go back to that day. Anything to be away from here…

“Nothing’s broken.” She replied, omitting the fact that she could hardly keep her eyes open with the pulsating pain coming from her head. “You?”

“Same.” He winced as he slowly got to his feet. Once he was standing he held out his hand which she grasped thankfully. She slowly rose to her feet, but then stumbled forward in response to an overwhelming surge of dizziness.

“Easy now… you’re okay.” Booth said into her hair as he supported most of her weight with his arms. Once she had regained her strength he slowly started to let go.

“Thanks.” She whispered gratefully, steeling one last glance at Booth before taking in her surroundings.

They were being held in what appeared to be a simple mud brick room with a dusty dirt floor which had soaked up small puddles of blood over the years. The only light came from the cracks between mud bricks, which illuminated the room with bright stripes and beam of light spurting from the walls. There was a bowl of cloudy water on the ground, presumably for them to drink.

After assuring himself that Brennan could stand on her own, Booth walked over to the door to inspect it. There was definitely no moving the door, and through a crack he could see a guard sitting on a chair with a shotgun. Booth turned to motion for Brennan to come and see, but she had already walked up beside him and witnessed the situation for herself.

Standing very close together by the door, their eyes met for a moment in silence. Booth pushed a strand of bloody, matted hair out of her face and looked at the large bruise forming on her forehead.

“That looks like it hurts.” He said.

Brennan shrugged slightly. “It could have been worse.”

Booth nodded and turned his back on the door to observe the room once more. “So it looks like we’ll have to get out of here some other way.”

Brennan nodded silently, deep in thought. She walked over to one of the walls to determine how hard it would be to break out, until she heard a sharp intake of breath from Booth.

“Bones, your back…” he said calmly as he walked behind Brennan and placed his hand on the pool of blood that seeped all over the back of her shirt.

Booth lifted her shirt slightly to reveal the sheathed knife, still tucked into her pants, that had somehow cut her white skin in several places. Booth could see that the cuts were not deep enough to require stitches, but they still looked very painful.

Brennan couldn’t see what Booth was doing back there, but the instant she felt his fingers on her back her body recognized the pain from the cuts. She had been so focused on the gnawing ache of her head that she’d barely felt them. The feeling of his hands barely caressing her back sent a tiny tingle down her spine, which she was sure had nothing to do with her concussion.

Booth chuckled as he removed the knife from the back of her pants. “Only you, Bones, can smuggle a knife into a place like this…”

Just then Booth heard footsteps approach the door and he quickly slid the sheathed knife into the back of his own pants, not wanting to injure Brennan’s back any further.

A man entered the room, and he reminded Booth very much of Menihau. However, there was something about this man that was much more sinister. Booth couldn’t place it, but clearly this was an extremely dangerous situation – the very kind of situation that he swore to protect Brennan from.

The man started speaking in a language completely foreign to Booth and Brennan, and Booth instinctively stepped slightly in front of Brennan. Normally, Brennan would have stepped out of his shield, but she was much too sore to argue.

“English.” Booth said, interrupting the man. The man stopped talking and looked at Booth curiously. It was evident that the man knew hardly any English, but the words he did know portrayed the severity of their situation quite well.

“Death.” He said, pointing at them both. “Morning.”

This automatically set Booth off and he walked toward the man quickly. “Listen here, pal, you have to let us out of here. I’m FBI –“

Suddenly the guard from outside stood and pointed his shotgun at Booth, who instantly raised his hands in defeat.

With one last vicious glance at Brennan, the mysterious man and the guard left the room and locked it as fast as they had entered it.

Booth slid down the wall slowly in a sitting position and looked over at Brennan. “You know what Bones? I really wish you’d taken my advice on taking normal vacations. Somewhere warm, but without death and creepy foreign guy with guns would be great.” He said sarcastically, trying to lighten to mood.

Brennan gave him a half-smile as she walked over at sat down beside him slowly. “And what would be the fun in that?”

Booth of them smiled and then individually stared at the ground. It must have been early afternoon by now, which meant they had just over 12 hours before they would be coming back to kill them. If they even waited that long.

“We could die here.” Brennan stated slowly.

Booth studied her for a moment before draping his arm around her tiny frame. She stiffened for a moment, before realizing the incredible calming effect he had on her. Booth didn’t answer, because in the case there was no correct thing to say. Obviously he would do anything in his power to prevent that, even if it meant giving his own life, but there was no way he could ensure Brennan’s safety. This drove him mad.

“Booth, about before…” Brennan whispered, suddenly aware of how close his face was from her own.

“Shhhh…” he said, quieting her. The slight tickle of his breath on her nose caused her eyelids to flutter twice. Leaning in ever so slowly, to make sure she felt no pressure, Booth brushed his dry lips against her pale cheek. Their gazes met instantly, and Booth saw no sign of hesitation from Brennan.

His gaze made its way across her face and his lips slowly grazed her nose, and then her other cheek. Brennan shut her eyes in anticipation for his lips finally upon her own, but they fluttered open when she felt him kiss her forehead. He lingered there for a moment, and Brennan exhaled against his neck – causing a sensation in Booth’s body that he had never experienced. Immediately, he realized he’d never gotten so much pleasure out of one breath in his entire lifetime.

At this, his lips finally made their way back down to find her own. Their kiss was tentative at first, as if they were testing each other to see who would break first. Booth continued to lay feather-light kisses on her lips; sweet, tender, and not the immediate ferocity that Booth had always imagined their first kiss would posses. This kiss was not between Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth, this kiss was between Temperance and Seeley.

As his lips lingered on hers for longer and longer, it was if something between the two of them just snapped. The dam had burst. The world had not ended because they crossed a line, rather, the world was made better because of it.

At this realization, the intensity between them increased to the point where neither of them could get enough. Though it had taken the threat of death to catalyze their new relationship, the only thing they could focus on now was each other.

They broke apart to catch their breath for a moment and Booth couldn’t help but grin impishly. The smile reached her own eyes just as he lowered his head to kiss the skin beneath her ear, and traced the outline of her faintly bruised jaw.

Brennan opened her mouth to speak, but then lost her train of thought as she gave herself up to the sensation. She knew in the back of her mind that they should be finding some way to escape, but for right now all she wanted was this.

“I wish we could go back to that day at the waterfall…” she whispered as he continued to kiss her neck and softly soothe her sore back with his hands.

“I’ll take you back there, babe. I’ll take you back…” he whispered.

Booth and Brennan sat against the dusty wall; Brennan’s head on his chest moving gently up and down with every breath he took. His arm was draped around her shoulders and his fingers traced imaginary circles on her shoulder. Coming to the decision that they should take their newfound relationship slowly, they were enjoying just finding the peace that they could offer each other.

Both were clearly lost in thought, but were comforted by their company. They still had no idea who was behind the raid that had thrown their lives upside down, but coming to terms with their sunrise death was something impossible for both of them. It just can’t happen.

All of a sudden it was as if a light bulb went off in Brennan’s head. She lifted her head from Booth’s chest slowly, so as not to aggravate her head further, and pushed her hair behind her ears.

Booth gave her a questioning look as her arm snaked around his back and took hold of the sheathed knife that he had taken from her and tucked into his own pants.

“I have an idea…” she whispered as she stood up and walked toward the furthest wall.

Grabbing the bowl of cloudy water with one of her hands, she splashed all of the water against the mud brick wall and pulled the knife out of its protective sheath.

Smiling at his partner’s resourcefulness, Booth leapt up and watched as his partner furiously stabbed at the mushy mud bricks. It might not work, but it was worth a try.

Booth grabbed the abandoned water bowl and started scraping it against the same wall, and was rewarded with a thick line of mud coating on the rim. Booth gave her a quick smile and then returned to his scraping.

Minutes passed, but it could have been hours. The pair continued to stab and scrape the merciless wall as fast as they could, but the muscles that burned in their arms screamed for them to stop. But there was no time to be weak, not now. Though the splash of water had helped the process of digging through, they were fortunate that the bricks were old and slightly brittle.

The light was dimming outside, which meant that the room was quickly darkening as well. Booth and Brennan never spoke a word to one another; they were too focused on the task at hand. Survival instincts kicking in, they knew that this was their only chance.

An hour passed, and the pair was rewarded with a tiny opening in the wall which was probably only large enough for their heads.

“Do you want a break?” Booth said breathlessly, the muscles in his bare arms protruding massively as he dug at the hole.

“No. You?” she replied, trying to shave the hole with the knife to make it larger for their shoulders. Booth shook his head in reply and increased his pace. They had to get out of here before it was too late.


“Do you think you can squeeze through that?” Brennan asked as she put down her knife and admired the ragged hole they had dug in the unstable mud wall. Both of them knew that Brennan was tiny enough to do so; it was Booth that she was worried about.

“If I can get my shoulders out, I’ll be fine.” He replied, sizing up the wall.

“Do you want to keep digging to be sure?”

“We don’t have time, it’s already dark.” Booth said as he tossed the bowl down and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “We have to get out of here before someone comes to check on us – there’s no way we could hide this.” He said, looking around at the otherwise bland room.

Brennan nodded in agreement stuck the knife back into her pants before Booth could protest. Even if they were lucky to get through the wall, they still had no idea where they were and a knife would be their only help while lost in the jungle.

Booth was quiet for a moment while he assessed the situation; trying to figure out which one should leave the hole first. Booth knew that getting through might be a struggle, but he didn’t want Brennan stranded alone on the other side either. Although, better she be out of the cell than inside stuck with him.

“Alright, you squeeze through first and when you get to the other side stay as close to the wall as you possibly can. If you hear anything at all, you need to run. I’ll be behind you.” Booth explained explicitly.

“Booth, what if you get stuck? You should go first so I can push you.” She resisted, crossing her muddy arms across her chest.

“I won’t get stuck and besides, I want you on the other side of that wall.” Booth could see her hesitancy, so he softly clarified, “Look, this is why I’m here. Just trust me on this one. I promise I’m right behind you.”

At this, Brennan nodded and knelt on all fours in front of the ragged hole. Poking her head out into the dark and muggy night she checked to make sure that no one was around. This was made very difficult since it seemed even the moonlight didn’t reach them. Satisfied that there was no one watching, she crawled silently out of the hole.

Following Booth’s earlier instructions, she pressed herself against the outer wall and quieted her breathing as much as she could. She saw the top of Booth’s head slowly protrude out of the hole, and she moved to give him more room.

After getting his head outside of the hole, he squeezed his arms through as well to help propel his shoulders out. He could feel the rough brick scrape painfully across his skin, shredding his shirt in many places. But Booth couldn’t stop, he knew he and Brennan had to get out of here before it was too late.

“You’re almost there” Brennan encouraged him in a breathy whisper as she grabbed his hands in an attempt to pull him further out of the whole. His shoulders were out now, and all was left was for him to wiggle out as fast as he could.

It was then that they heard the noise on the other side of the wall. “Booth!” Temperance hissed.

They were coming.

Booth immediately quickened his pace and squeezed his way through as fast as he possible could. The scrapes from the wall now stretched down both of his sides, but he could hardly feel them; all he could focus on was getting through that wall.

He debated ordering Brennan to start running, but he knew it would just be a waste of breath. They both knew there was no way she was leaving without him. This fact seemed to speed Booth up even more.

Though he couldn’t see it, Booth could hear the rattle as the door to their cell burst open. He was so close… so close.

Dragging the end of his legs through the wall, Booth thought they were finally home-free until he felt a hand grip his right foot and try to drag him back inside. Booth tried to kick the person back, but knew that from his position it was futile.

Brennan caught on to what was happening immediately and whipped one of her hands around to grab the knife from her pants. Booth’s eyes widened slightly; at her level of intensity at that moment, he would not have been surprised if she tried to cut off his foot herself.

Instead, Brennan raised the knife above her head and slammed it into the man’s forearm as hard as she could, which caused him to let go of Booth’s foot immediately. Booth slid out, and watched with a mixture of horror and pride as Brennan effortlessly yanked the knife back out of the man’s arm and back into its protective case.

The man’s screams could be heard echoing through the dark jungle, but all Booth and Brennan could focus on were their thudding footsteps against the mossy earth. They knew that this was their chance to get a head-start before the other tribe had a chance to retaliate, so they ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

With no idea of their direction, Booth and Brennan ran hand in hand into the dark jungle, with only the sound of their ragged breaths and the chirping of insects to guide them home.


TBC with the new stuff soon! xoxo

Posted 11/09/2007 19:39:05 (11/09/2007 10:39:05 AM) CheeseBK

ohhh that's great... i love this fic and now i can reread everything without skimming through the whole thread...

Posted 17/09/2007 07:08:35 (16/09/2007 10:08:35 PM) CaRiNeSs

I can't wait to see what happens next with this one Rosie.... I have been waiting for it! Please post more soon!

Posted 17/09/2007 08:12:03 (16/09/2007 11:12:03 PM) Switch

You better post soon Rosie!!! They gotta be safe...) Did i mention how much I LOVE this story....

Posted 17/09/2007 09:41:24 (17/09/2007 00:41:24 AM) redrider6612

Yay!! So, you got the next chap done yet? Hmmm? 'cuz I can't wait, this is such a terrific story.

Posted 18/09/2007 08:55:55 (17/09/2007 11:55:55 PM) fanofbones

bump bump sweetie...
this is amazing and requires your lovely attention please

a mob you say????
hurry I heard da ladies plannin a mob...

fab

Posted 18/09/2007 10:16:44 (18/09/2007 01:16:44 AM) Switch

I agree...a mob seems in order...get out the squirrels...

Posted 19/09/2007 09:36:02 (19/09/2007 00:36:02 AM) redrider6612

It's been a week and no new chappie. Hmmmm, let me see, where did I put those torches? *opens closet, starts rummaging around* Ahhh, here they are...oh, and here are the scythes and let's see...ewww, here's some old smelly socks

*starts marching around, waving smelly socks with one hand, torch and scythe in the other**

WE WANT MORE! WE WANT MORE! WE WANT MORE!

Posted 20/09/2007 01:07:09 (19/09/2007 04:07:09 PM) DBAngelfan

Yeah why haven't you posted again yet?

Posted 20/09/2007 15:59:52 (20/09/2007 06:59:52 AM) CheeseBK

*joins the mob*.... please more, please !!!

Posted 20/09/2007 16:20:46 (20/09/2007 07:20:46 AM) A2BOREANAZ

well guys...i would like nothing better than to join your mob so rosie would post.......but she is having wireless troubles at her house.......and they are getting fixed soon...plus she is in school........pre-med classes........so lots of work for our sweet rosie........so you could always just half-mob her...lol

a2b

Posted 21/09/2007 05:05:11 (20/09/2007 08:05:11 PM)ashangel45-boothsbaby07

EEEE!!! Its my all time awesomenest fav!! yay. im so glad you brought it here Rosie! pps!

Posted 02/10/2007 06:45:15 (01/10/2007 09:45:15 PM) BoothnBones9

noo!!! damn you computer problems!! i hope she gets it fixed soon......in serious withdrawal from not having any more of this fic. !!!!!!

=]

Posted 05/10/2007 00:05:10 (04/10/2007 03:05:10 PM) miller0259

doo de doo de doo do-WHA? no new chapter?? Rosie!!!! I hope your internet gets fixed soon!