POOL PARTY- A Bones fanfic

It was a sweltering Washington morning and guests for Hodgins' impromptu pool party were beginning to show. Booth and Brennan were first to arrive, along with Parker, of course. Brennan wore three-quarter khaki pants and a casual white blouse, unbuttoned slightly at the front to reveal her low-cut black one-piece. Booth, on the other hand, wore board shorts and a casual t-shirt, his outfit almost identically mirrored by Parker, all but the shirt. Parker wore Ben 10 instead of Pink Floyd.

Angela greeted the 'partners' with open arms, as usual, and ushered them into the air conditioned foyer, weaving through the long corridors of the mansion before ending up at the garden. Zack and Hodgins were already in the pool, lounging on blow-up chairs in board shorts and attacking one another with foam noodles. Booth laughed, dumped his stuff, pulled off his shirt and bomb-dived in, Parker following soon after. Brennan rolled out a picnic blanket on the wide spread of grass covering the area, placed their bags on it and plonked herself down beside Angela who was sun baking.

"Tell me again why you aren't with him yet?" Angela asked, watching Booth throw Parker around in the pool from under her sunglasses.

"We're just partners, Ange. Friends, partners, nothing more," Temperance replied boredly, growing tired of that answer. Angela groaned, obviously feeling the same way. "Besides, Booth has that line that prevents us from getting together, even if we wanted to, which we do not," Brennan added. That line which I really wish was in pencil so I could erase it, she thought to herself, before quickly shaking the thought away.

Brennan stood up and shrugged out of her clothes, laying them next to her bag and kicking off her shoes before shaking out a towel and laying down next to Angela after applying sun lotion.

"He only made that line because he doesn't want you to get hurt, sweetie, it's obvious he wants you, look at him," Ange commented.

She was right; placing her sunglasses over her eyes she averted her gaze to Booth, while her head was facing the opposite direction. Sure enough, Booth was leaning on the edge of the pool, noticeably 'checking her out' as Angela would put it. His eyes almost popped out of his head as he took in the sight of his partner in a bathing suit which hugged all her curves, especially those above the waist.

When they turned back to each other, Brennan didn't need x-ray vision to see the raised eyebrows that were currently hidden behind the dark shades, followed by the sly smirk now gracing her best friend's face.

"What'd I miss?" Cam asked as she strolled into the yard, gracefully taking up a place on her towel, lying next to Brennan.

"Booth mentally undressing Bren," Ange replied automatically.

"That's nothing new," Cam commented with a laugh.

"Too true," Angela replied with a giggle, sipping her cocktail and returning to her magazine as her friends accepted the drinks the pool boy was handing out.

* * *

Brennan let out a loud squeal as Booth swam underneath her, ending up in her sitting on his shoulders. Angela shook her head from her spot sitting on the steps with Hodgins. They act like a couple; they look like a couple, why in the world can't they see that?? She thought angrily.

Parker laughed as Booth pulled him up too, before throwing him back into the water once more. Brennan giggled and tugged on Booth's hair, though we all knew she was perfectly capable of balancing herself. Before long, Brennan fell backwards with a squeal. Booth expertly whipped around and caught her before she hit the water, ending up in a very bride-and-groom looking stance. Each of them looked at each other lovingly. Angela grew extremely annoyed.

Seriously?! She thought, Is it not as obvious to them as it is to us?! I mean, 3 years and they haven't yet realized even the TINIEST spark between them?! They're meant for each other! Ange fumed to herself, keeping her eyes focused on the pair. Brennan and Booth played Piggy in the Middle with Parker, after Booth had to thoroughly explain the concept of the game to Temperance. They laughed and bickered, as usual. Parker's head turned from side to side as if he was watching a tennis match. Which, he sort of was. A verbal tennis match.

"Bones, you pretty much passed it right to him!" Booth insisted.

"I did not; it was your lousy catching abilities!" Brennan refused.

"Bones, just get in the middle!" Booth retorted.

"I don't want to! You boys will gang up on me!" she whined, very un-Brennan like.

Everyone in and around the pool laughed at the anthropologist's childish complaining.

* * *

"Hey everyone, sorry we're late!" Sweets exclaimed as he and Daisy joined everyone who were gathered around the barbeque for lunch.

Booth leaned in towards his partner and whispered in her ear, "And here I was getting all excited thinking they'd forgotten." Brennan laughed loudly, causing everyone to turn and look, to which the pair simply shrugged, showing everyone it was simply another inside joke.

After lunch, ice cream cones were handed out and promptly gobbled up, leaving Booth and Brennan to deal with a complaining Parker.

"Daddy, can I please go back in the pool now?" he asked sweetly, shortly after finishing his ice cream.

"Soon, Bub, let your food settle first," Booth replied, helping Hodgins clean the barbeque.

"But it is settled, Dad! Plea-e-e-e-e-e-a-a-a-ase?! He winged.

"Hey Parker," Brennan cut in, "Why don't you come play soccer with us?" she asked, motioning to the group around her, consisting of Angela, Zack and Sweets.

Parker happily obliged and the group formed a circle and began kicking the ball around, Hodgins and Booth joining them soon later.

It began to get dark, and Sweets and Daisy headed home. Thank God for that, Booth thought. At the same time, Brennan was thinking; Good riddance. Now I can do what I like without him psychoanalyzing every move I make.

* * *

"Cocktails?" Angela offered the girls as she exited the house, well, mansion. Cam and Brennan accepted eagerly, sipping the alcohol as they watched the boys having a bomb-diving competition.

A few more rounds of cocktails later, the boys exited the pool and Brennan couldn't help but ogle her partner as the water slid off his chiseled abs. Angela noticed this and sent Cam a knowing look, which Cam returned with a raise of her eyebrows.

Booth, Zack, Hodgins and Parker took their seats around the patio table where the girls were seated and munched on the leftovers from lunch.

"Guys, maybe we should go inside, it's getting cold out," Hodgins suggested.

"I should really be getting home, it's late," Cam replied, her voice slurred in the slightest.

"Don't be silly, you can't drive yourself home like that, you can stay here, there are plenty of spare rooms, right, Hodgie?" Ange insisted. Hodgins nodded, gazing at his girlfriend lovingly even after she'd turned away.

Brennan noticed this and her heart skipped a beat longingly. She didn't believe in love but how she wished someone would look at her like that. A certain someone, not that she was willing to admit that. What she didn't know was that a certain someone was already looking at her like that, only it just didn't click for her.

She snapped back into reality to hear Angela exclaim, "Oh, this is soo great! We can have like a big slumber party!!"

Brennan smiled at her friend encouragingly. What she really wanted to do was go home, take a hot shower and stew in her own loneliness, as she did in a lot of her free time. But the idea of spending the night with Booth seemed to appeal more than being alone with her laptop and a pint of ice cream.

"Come on, girls, there's plenty of spare PJ's you can borrow, your stuff's already in the foyer, let's go!" Ange said enthusiastically, bustling them back into the house.

As the girls left, Hodgins cracked open another beer and after taking a sip, looked around at the group of men... and Parker.

"Watcha's want to do?" he asked, looking around at the group of men, and boy, who were all staring into space.

"What is there to do?" Booth asked.

"Well..." Hodgins started, "We could play paintball... Watch a movie... Play pool... Go to bed... There's plenty to do," he trailed off.

"Paintball!!" Parker exclaimed.

"Okay then. This way," he said, leading them into the main house. After twisting and turning around corners and through hallways, they came upon a large room, resembling a school gym. Hodgins led them to the other side of the room and into a change room where lined up against the wall was black plastic suits with matching helmets and boots.

"Suit up, boys!" Hodgins exclaimed.

* * *

Meanwhile, upstairs, Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" was blasting the stereo, Cam and Angela were clutching hairbrush microphones and jumping on the bed, attempting to sing along but failing miserably considering they were both tone deaf.

Brennan sat in a bean bag chair in the corner watching amusedly and sipping a beer.

The song died down and the CD player became silent, signifying the end of the CD. All of a sudden, a loud BOOM BOOM BOOM came from beneath them.

Cam fell backwards onto the bed. "What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed after recovering herself.

"The boys are playing paintball," Ange explained, rolling her eyes. Brennan laughed and Cam let out a giggle too.

"THAT'S SO NOT FAIR!! I DODGED IT!!" they heard Booth exclaim.

"Didn't doge it too well then, did you?" came Hodgins' cocky reply.

"Shut up and PLAY!!" Zack and Parker yelled in unison..

Cam, Angela and even Brennan collapsed into fits of laughter, clutching their sides. After a few minutes, the laughter died down.

"What should we do now?" asked Brennan.

"Well, we could paint our nails, give each other makeovers!! Oooh, Let's play Truth or Dare!!!" Angela rambled.

"Maybe we could watch a movie?" Cam suggested.

Temperance nodded in agreement, ultimately stopping Angela's excited planning.

"Maybe a horror movie?" Angela grinned, laughing evilly.

"Do you have 'The Mummy'?" Asked Brennan excitedly.

"Well, let us make our way to the home theater... and we shall see," Angela answered, leading the group out of the room and downstairs. They crossed the foyer and entered a room a little smaller than your average theater. There was a large comfortable sofa and some recliners, along with a few beanbags and foot rests.

"Woah. You guys are lo-ded!!" Cam exclaimed.

"Not me. Hodgins," Angela corrected.

"Still," Cam mumbled, raising her eyebrows at Brennan who repeated the gesture.

"Oh-kay," Ange sing-songed, going over to the opposite wall which was lined with shelves, housing an extremely large collection of DVDs.

"Woah. It's like the Library of Congress for entertainment," Brennan commented.

"Yeah," Angela agreed, "Jack has his Godfather collection, every edition. Drives me mad. I know it by heart now"

"I once went out with a guy who watched it at least once a week. What is it with guys and that movie?" Cam asked.

"I watched a movie once where a petite little blonde woman asked the same question," Brennan commented.

"You've Got Mail!" Angela and Cam exclaimed at the same time. Brennan had a quizzical expression on her face, to which the two laughed.

"Here, we'll watch it," Ange decided, grabbing the DVD from its spot, knowing it from memory. She slipped it into a state of the art surround sound player and the movie started on the big screen.

The three girls sat on the long couch, watching intently. Angela hummed along to the beginning songs and they all laughed at the appropriate parts. Soon, they were halfway through the movie when they heard clambering down the hallway, heading their way.

"That was soooo much fun!" a young voice exclaimed.

"Sure was, Park!" Booth marveled, adding to the boy's enthusiasm.

The boys joined Brennan, Cam and Angela in the theater moments later and sat down to watch the last half of the movie. Before long, Parker had fallen asleep between Booth and Brennan, his head lolling on Brennan's shoulder.

Booth picked the young boy up and Hodgins showed him where to lay him down for the night. After Parker was tucked in, Booth made his way back downstairs where the rest of the group had put on a horror movie; Silence of the Lambs, Booth noticed. Angela was in Hodgins' lap, her face buried in the crook of his neck. Cam had her legs curled up to her chest and was biting her nails. Zack was watching intently, soaking up the movie with intense interest.

Booth took up his place next to Brennan, sliding closer than intended in the dark of the theater. Just as he was about to shift to the other end of the couch, she laid her hand on his thigh and rested her head on his shoulder.

At a particularly intense part in the movie, all three women screamed in unison, even Brennan, surprising her colleagues and partner. Angela cuddled tighter to Hodgins. Cam shoved her hands over her eyes, but couldn't resist taking a peek. Zack kept his eyes firmly planted on the movie, observing it interestingly, as any anthropologist would. The other anthropologist in the room, however, was currently clutching for dear life to her partner's hand. The clutching only got tighter as the movie progressed.

The movie soon came to a close. Angela yawned and leaned on Hodgins as they stumbled off to bed. A shaken Cam was shown to her room by Zack before he left for his unit, heading for bed as well. Booth also showed Brennan to her room before going to the room next door, where Parker was currently sleeping, to check on his son. Affirming that the little boy was still fast asleep, Booth retreated to his own room, on the other side of Brennan. Just as he was about to doze off, the door to his room burst open and a silhouette appeared. Booth shot up, the horror movie taking its toll in the dark, unfamiliar room in the middle of the night.

He felt for his gun, and then remembered it was on the floor, in his and Parker's pool bag. Booth quickly reached for the bed side lamp and turned it on, bracing himself for whoever was in the doorway.

"Bones?!" He exclaimed, catching sight of a dishevelled Brennan.

"Booth..." she whimpered, tears streaming down her face.

"Bones, what's wrong?" asked Booth softly, calming down.

"I.... I.... had a nightmare," she explained, her sobs getting heavier as she remembered.

"Oh, Bones, come here," Booth said, opening his arms to her.

She fell easily into his arms and bawled into his naked chest. After a little while, she slowed, and then stopped. His grip was tight around her as he rocked her in his lap. She sat up and sniffled.

"You okay now?" He assured.

"I think so. That was very irrational, I'm sorry," Brennan apologized.

"Bones, its fine," he cut her off, hugging her closer to prove a point.

They stayed wrapped up in the embrace for a while, sitting there in the weirdly comfortable silence.

Booth looked down at his partner, and was surprised to find her fast asleep, face shaped in a peaceful, far-off smile. He carefully laid them down, leaving her curled up on top of him. She felt so fragile; he felt he could break her with even the slightest movement. Both physically and emotionally.

* * *

The brightness of day was peering through the curtains the next morning when the partners opened their eyes again. Brennan was first. Opening her eyes, she recognized the room she was in. She panicked and turned her head. On her side, Booth was still fast asleep, his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly. Why did I not notice that? Brennan thought to herself. He was snoring softly, his mouth hanging open. Just as she was about to wake him, the door burst open.

Brennan's eyes widened and Booth awoke and groaned, sitting up and wiping sleep from his eyes.

"Am I interrupting something here? Cause if so I'll gladly leave and lock the door," said Angela, standing at the door with a knowing grin and hands on her hips.

"No. We were just getting up," said Booth.

"Sure sure," Angela mumbled, leaving the room.

Brennan groaned and held her head as she sat up, "I think those drinks last night were a bad idea," she commented.

"Come, on, let's go get you some Aspirin and a glass of water," Booth murmured, helping her out of bed and downstairs.

They entered the kitchen where everyone but Cam was sitting around the table eating pancakes.

"Hey guys," Booth said, "Where's Cam?" he asked.

"Still zonked out in bed," Angela replied.

"Just a tad hung-over then?" Booth laughed, "Do you have any Aspirin around here, Hodgins?"

Hodgins pulled the bottle out of the pocket of his hoodie and chucked it to Booth, who caught it expertly. Booth took two and handed them to Brennan with a glass of water poured from the jug on the table and took two for himself.

Zack stumbled in the door of the kitchen and slumped at the table, taking the Aspirin container and hastily swallowing some with a glass of orange juice handed to him by Angela.

"Good morning Daddy! Morning Dr. Bones! Hey Zack!" Parker exclaimed after finishing the mouthful of pancake he had in his mouth.

Angela served up two more plates and motioned for Booth and Bren to sit down. They did, and began their meal.

Several minutes later, Cam stumbled downstairs. She fell at the bottom with a thud. Booth rushed to help her up, ever the hero. He helped her balance and walk into the dining room. Cam looked terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair a mess. Her tight tank shirt and trackies were ruffled, presumably from tossing and turning.

She groaned and slumped into a chair, following the others and taking a few pills from the bottle before taking a drink and digging into her own breakfast silently.

After breakfast, Cam grabbed a taxi home, and Zack retreated to his apartment to work on his latest invention.

Booth and Brennan left with Parker just before lunch, having to return the small boy to his mother, and Angela and Hodgins went back to the bedroom.

Booth drove Brennan home after dropping Parker at Rebecca's. The ride was silent, both occupants of the SUV obviously not wanting to discuss their peculiar way of waking that morning. Or they wanted to talk about it, but were too scared to.

"Hey Bones, wanna go to the diner and grab some lunch?" Booth suggested, breaking the awkward silence.

"Sure. I am rather hungry," Brennan said, gaining her appetite again, not feeling like she was about to vomit whatever she swallowed.

Minutes later, they were in their regular table at the diner, Booth with a burger and fries and Brennan with her salad. They sat in a comfortable silence, yet again, munching on their food, Brennan as always feeling the need to steal most of Booth's fries. They left the diner an hour later, both full.

Booth drove Brennan home; once again silently. They snuck looks at each other, neither of them willing to address the tension between them.

At Brennan's apartment building, Booth cut the engine and walked her up. She turned away from him to open the door, and when she turned back to say goodbye, their eyes connected, a comfortable feeling washing over them, yet sending new and exciting tingles up and down their spines.

Cerulean met chocolate brown and it was like nothing before. Sure, they'd shared intense looks before, many times in fact. But this sparked something new inside of them. A wonton feeling of need that couldn't be denied any longer.

Their lips connected passionately, and the fireworks set off. Irrational and clichéd as it was, it was true. After a few minutes, they broke apart; the need for oxygen becoming apparent. They grinned at each other like teenagers on a first date.

"Angela and Hodgins should have pool parties more often," Booth whispered in her ear.

Brennan kissed him once more in agreement.

END

A/N: Okay, was it any good? Please let me know, that would be great (: