Dr. Temperance Brennan had spent the better part of the hour kneeling in the center of a large clearing, surrounded by swaying pines and scuttling autumn leaves when, with a sudden wince, she straightened and shifted jean-clad legs to sit down. She came to rest in a more comfortable position, her hiking boots leaving behind scuff marks on the dry, packed earth. Her upper body was hovering carefully over the partially revealed skeleton, and she leaned in closer to review the area surrounding the embedded remains. Now concentrated on her task, she once again sat unmoving except for wisps of her hair that had come loose from its sloppy ponytail. Most of the strands were blowing off to the side, but a few stubborn pieces insisted upon blowing across her face; and with her hands occupied, she simply shook her head, hoping the wind would catch and move them out of the way. Her careful study of the bones led to some decision, and she braced one hand against the ground to keep steady, while the other picked up a trowel. Her movements as she scraped the trowel against the earth were slow, precise. However, the dryness of the area still created a fine dust cloud that floated away in the breeze.

Standing off to the side, Special Agent Seeley Booth swept his gaze over the clearing while keeping a watchful eye on his partner. Shifting his chilled feet, he contemplated her movements and thought, Maybe deliberate is a good word. He shook his head. Nah. It doesn’t imply emotion…doesn’t allow for her passion. He noticed a local officer glance at Brennan before giving him a sidelong look, and Booth flipped his shades into place before going back to observing his Bones as she worked to uncover the victim's bones from the dusty soils of the old-fashioned, mining town.

Little by little, she used the trowel to move dirt and stones away from the perimeter of the remains. If he hadn’t been paying attention, Booth would have sworn that she wasn’t even breathing as the trowel moved slowly forward, parallel to the ground, before she would lift it gently to move the accumulated dirt aside into a waiting bucket. Then, just as carefully, she would move her hand back down, ready to slide it gently through the next layer. Over and over she repeated this action, until he finally saw a slight smile grace the corners of her mouth. At that point, he watched as she shifted her position and knew that she felt confident that she could attempt to uncover the remains themselves without damaging them.

He walked over to her then, proffering a bottle of spring water with one hand. Smiling, she took the bottle from him, while also accepting the silent offer of his free hand which was held out to help her up from the ground. As always, Booth admired her lithe form as she untwisted her long legs from their seated position and used his hand to steady herself as she rose to her full height. While she dusted off her jeans in a no-nonsense manner, he realized that it still amazed him that this woman, who had trouble walking steadily in the high heels commonly found in most women’s wardrobes, could show such undeniable grace in this type of setting. Most women would be uncomfortable here, but not Bones. As Booth turned to look over the perimeter of the scene, he realized that she didn’t even recognize that she was the sole focus of attention for at least two dozen or so other agents, officers and forensics technicians…all of them male. She was completely oblivious to their stares as she tilted her head back to stretch, baring her midriff as she bent slightly backward, her arms raised high overhead. Booth smiled as she brought her arms down and took another sip from the still open bottle.

“Why are you smiling, Booth?” Brennan looked over her shoulder to see what was behind her.

Maybe not so oblivious to everyone. Booth shrugged. “There’s nothing back there, Bones. I just like to watch you work. Is that a crime?”

“Officially? I don’t think so.” She graced him with a confused frown before continuing, “However, it does raise the question of why?” She looked at him appraisingly before screwing the bottle’s cap back on and placing it between her legs so that her hands were free to fix her ponytail.

Watching as she once again raised her arms, Booth quickly turned to glare at the local officer who was now pursing his lips in a low, admiring whistle. “Don’t you have something to do Officer….” He quirked a brow in question.

“It’s Smith, Agent Booth. Officer Rusty Smith,” the man said as he continued to slowly rake his gaze up and down Brennan’s body.

Turning casually, Booth managed to block the man’s view, thereby gaining his full attention. Taking a few steps in the officer’s direction, Booth raised his sunglasses to rest on his head before meeting the other man’s eyes in a forceful glare. “Well, Officer Smith, I’d recommend that you find something useful to do. You do actually understand the term useful, don’t you?”

Stepping sideways, Smith took another long look at Brennan. “Oh, yeah. I can do plenty of useful things.”

Taking four brisk strides, Booth stopped just inches from the obnoxious officer. “Alright, buddy, that’s enough. I would highly suggest that you get out of my crime scene, before I – “

“Booth.”

Without taking his eyes off of the man in front of him, answered over his shoulder. “Yeah, Bones. Can you give me a minute? I’m having a chat with Smith, here.” Booth tensed when he felt something touch his arm, but the shifting breeze carried Brennan’s familiar scent to him, causing him to instantly relax his guard, if not his stance against the other man.

Brennan stepped up to stand beside her partner, her gaze flicking over Smith before dismissing him with a careless shrug. She turned her attention up to Booth’s face, watching his familiar profile as his jaws clenched and the vein in his temple throbbed. Turning slightly, she kept one hand on his arm while moving the other to rest against his chest, effectively catching his attention. She was amused by his questioning look and rewarded him with a brilliant smile. She winked at him before dropping the hand on his chest and tossing a question over her shoulder. “Officer…Smitt was it?” She didn’t turn around to face him, but smirked as the man responded to correct her a moment later. “I think your time would be best served if you would make arrangements with the CSI’s to transport the evidence into town so that it can be shipped out to Washington for delivery first thing tomorrow morning. Can you manage to do that?”

“But, I – “

Still not turning around, Brennan rolled her eyes and interrupted him, “I’m sure your superiors won’t have any objections to my request. My lab in D.C. will need to start their analysis as soon as possible, and I believe that the last pick-up time is within the hour. Oh, and don’t forget the bucket of dirt. Hodgins would be disappointed if it didn’t arrive.”

Booth’s face broke into a smile. “Hodgins does like to play with the dirt.”

Brennan’s grin matched his. “That he does. It makes him happy.”

Ignoring the sound of muttering as the local officer walked away, Booth took a step back, surprised when Brennan didn’t drop her hand from his arm. “And what about you, Bones? What would make you happy?”

She slid her hand down to lightly tug his sleeve in the direction of the partially exposed skeleton. When Booth complied with her unspoken request to walk back to the crime scene, she dropped her hold on him and answered, “I think a nice start would be answering my original question, Booth.”

He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, she asked again, “Why do you like to watch me work?” At the quizzical tilt of the head, she prompted, “That’s what we were discussing before we were interrupted by your display of Alpha-male superiority.”

Booth stopped walking and placed his hands on his hips. “I was not being superior.”

Brennan reached the remains and, turning to look at him, laughed. “Don’t be so touchy Booth. After all, you won your little competition. I didn’t even try to interfere by pointing out that I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

Booth found her carefree humor to be infectious and gave a rueful chuckle. “I’ll grant you that last point, Bones. That had to have taken some pretty serious self-control on your part.”

She nodded. “It really did.”

Allowing his smile to die down, Booth took a step closer to her. “Just so you know, your efforts are appreciated.” Pointing to the ground, he asked, “So, are you going to try to finish this tonight or should I start having the guys cover and secure the scene? I, for one, am ready for some dinner.”

Brennan ran her eyes over the remains and then looked up at her partner. “Well, I would really like to finish, but the lighting that I need won’t get here until tomorrow. So, you might as well have them cover the remains. But, I want to make sure we’re here first thing in the morning.” Her voice dropping, she crouched down, “Her family deserves to know what happened to her. I want to make sure they get answers as soon as possible.”

Nodding, Booth turned and called to a nearby agent. After giving the man careful instructions, he once again held out a hand to his partner. She raised a brow, but accepted his offer. As she took his hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze as he said, “We’ll get here first thing. You have my word.”

Her only response was to intertwine her fingers with his and squeeze back.

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The November Challenge: "Action!" - An action or sequence. It can be a chase sequence, a bar fight, or whatever you can come up with, but the story should focus on the characters being in some kind of motion.