Away Isn't Far Enough

13. One, Two, Three...

"Three females... Caucasians, 70 to 80 years old..."

"Three old ladies on a park bench," Cam said.

"Where's the flasher?" Booth asked under his breath. Camille heard him and cracked up.

"What?" Brennan asked, looking mostly at Cam. "Why are you laughing?"

"Three old ladies on a park bench... Then came a flasher...?" Cam tried to explain. But then she remembered who she was talking to. And said, "It's an old joke. Never mind."

"I can laugh at a joke," Brennan said, offended.

Cam shot a look at Booth.

"You won't think it's funny," Booth said.

"How do you get to decide what I find funny or not?"

"Fine," he said, giving up. "Three old ladies are on a park bench. A flasher walks by and flashes them."

Cam looked at Booth. She couldn't believe he was actually telling Dr. Brennan this sex joke. And his tone... was more bored and monotonous than anything.

"The first old lady has a stroke, the second one has a stroke, the third one... can't reach that far," he finished.

Cam laughed again, sharing a smile with Booth. But of course, Brennan didn't laugh.

"I told you you wouldn't get it," Booth said.

"I get it. Two of the ladies performed manual sexual stimulation on the flasher's genitalia."

Booth wanted to dig a hole and crawl in it.

"But you're tone of voice, the way you told the joke, wasn't there to carry the punch line," she continued, refocusing on the remains.

"Whatever," he muttered.

Cam watched the two of them. Something was off.

"I'll need the remains to..." Brennan ordered.

"I know," Booth interrupted her.

"And the..."

"Park bench, got it."

"You wanna do my job?" she snapped at him.

Cam took a step back and followed the exchange from afar.

"Geez, Bones, relax."

"Okay! That's it. What's going on here?" Cam interjected.

"Nothing," they both mumbled at the same time.

Cam put her fists on her hips.

"This is not nothing. You two have barely exchanged a word since we got here. And when you did, it was to bark at one another."

"I can't talk to Booth, he's mad at me," Brennan stated.

Booth's head spun towards her.

"What? I'm not mad at you. You're mad at me!"

"I'm not mad at you!" Brennan retorted.

"Enough!" Cam said. "Neither of you is mad. I get it." She studied them a second. "Will I have to send Sweets after you?" she suggested.

"No."

"Not necessary."

They both looked down at their feet, like children caught by their mother.

"I'll be at the lab," she said, getting off her knees.

"I drove you here, remember?" Booth told her.