A/N: Some of you asked if we were going to do an Easter story. sputters in disbelief. Well of course we are going to do an Easter story. What kind of moral-less, smut-less heathens do you think we are? Jeesh. A little faith, people.
Hee. We loves you. Happy Easter-to-come, folks. This one'll have plenty of chaps for you. Hope you likes.
Seeley Booth had asked lots of tough questions in his life. He didn't get to be one of the top homicide investigators in the FBI by being a candy ass. So now why in the hell was he so scared to ask the most amazing woman in the world two very simple questions?
"Bones. Will you come to Pennsylvania with me for Easter? To meet my parents? And maybe go to church? And oh yeah, maybe we could get married someday?" he sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "And maybe listen to me end every sentence in a question? Like a seventeen year old girl?" He took a deep breath, faced himself in the mirror and began again. "Temperan--"
"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" Seeley jumped at the sound of Jack's voice behind him.
"Nothing."
"Were you practicing to ask Dr. Brennan to marry you?"
"What makes you think that?" Booth asked defensively.
"Because I've been standing here watching you practice for ten minutes."
"Shut up."
Jack apparently took Booth's gruff response as permission to enter the FBI agent's office. Booth moved behind his desk and flopped into the large leather chair, sighing heavily. "What do you want?"
"Can't a guy just come visit his buddy at work?"
"Not unless that guy is a girl," Booth growled.
"This marriage thing's really got you worked up, doesn't it? I don't think I was half this nervous and I got turned down the first two times."
"Well considering I'll probably get turned down the first twenty-two times, I'm sure you can understand my hesitation. By the way, if this conversation or what you think you saw me doing ever leaves this office…"
"You'll shoot me. Got it."
"Good."
"So did you get her a ring?"
"Seriously. What are you doing here?"
"Angie is making some big huge dinner on Sunday, wanted me to see if you were dragging Brennan to Pennsylvania to meet your parents," Jack shrugged.
"How does she do that?" Booth questioned.
"I don't know, man. It's a gift."
"Well, I haven't actually asked Bones to go with me yet."
"I know, I saw you practicing, remember?"
Booth silenced his buddy with a pointed glare, "but I'm going to."
"Okay. I'll let Angie know. Any idea when you're going to get up the cajones to ask her to meet the fam?"
"Tonight. Now get out."
Jack laughed and turned to go, but turned back to face Booth once more. "Seriously man. Just ask her. And uh, good luck."
Booth glanced up with a smile. "Thanks."
After his only half-drunken revelation on St. Patrick's Day, when he had decided that his foray into the jewelry store hadn't been a fluke, Booth had decided he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. No matter how antiquated the whole idea was. He'd gotten up the nerve to wander back in to the downtown jewelry store, and the sweet saleswoman he'd probably scared the hell out of the last time he'd been there had generously agreed to sell him a ring worth a paycheck or six. The thing had been burning a hole in his bottom dresser drawer for a week now (he'd moved it from the top one after the first time Bones had gone in search of "her" Pink Floyd tee shirt and nearly discovered the little black box). Part of him was nervous as hell, but part of him was eerily calm. The odd thing about the calm part was that it was the part that was convinced she'd turn him down. He looked up with a grin as the perhaps-wife-to-be knocked on his open door. Damn, he wanted to marry her.
"What's up, beautiful?"
"Well, when you haven't seen me all day, what do you usually do?"
"Drag you to dinner?"
She smiled. "Indeed. So, diner? Or Wong Foo's?"
"So Cam told Hodgins that we couldn't have a roach running loose in the lab, no matter how well-trained it was. I tend to agree with her…while I'm not as versed in entomology as Jack is, I can't imagine that an insect would have the intellectual capacity to limit itself to one room. Not when its nature is to cover as much territory as possible." She paused to take a bite of Sid's famous eggplant parmagian. "Jack was disappointed, but even with cockroaches being more fastidious about cleanliness than traditionally thought, they still exacerbate asthma symptoms. We don't need to get charged on health violations."
Booth usually had no shortage of opinions on Hodgins' bug-loving habits, but he seemed unimpressed today. "Mmm." While gazing at her with the most velvety brown eyes. She squirmed a little.
"Luckily for Cam, he's pretty easily distracted right now by wedding talk."
Her partner paused mid-swig of beer. "Did you talk to Hodgins today?"
"I always talk to Hodgins."
"Did he say anything?"
"He always says things." She looked at Booth curiously. What was up with him? He didn't respond to her, and she decided to try again. "I was thinking maybe we should have a party for them…not a shower, per se, since they already have everything, but just something relaxing after all the difficulties they've had with…"
"Come home with me," he interrupted her.
She nearly burst out laughing. So that's what was on his mind…he wanted sex. "Booth, we've been together for months now. I think you can wait another half-hour until we finish our dinners." The stamina of the man amazed her sometimes. Not that she was complaining. But she needed fuel for that kind of marathon.
"No…not tonight."
"You don't want me to come over tonight?" Now she was a bit hurt…she always spent the night at his place on Tuesdays. Why not tonight?
"No, I mean…yes, tonight, but not that home." His face was red now, and he was twisting at his napkin.
She set down her fork. "Okay. Can we start over here? Without talking in code? Do you want me to come over tonight, or not?"
His sigh sounded frustrated. "Yes, of course I want you to come over tonight. But I meant…well, this weekend is Easter, and it's kind of important to me and my family, and I was thinking that maybe…if it wasn't too soon…I mean, they've been wanting to meet you and…"
She hadn't heard him ramble like this since…well, since he asked her to be his girlfriend. "You want me to go home to Pennsylvania with you for Easter?"
"Yes. That's it." His face looked relieved at having the words verbalized…even if it wasn't from him.
Going home with him? Home home? As in, meet the parents and all of that? She supposed she knew it was going to come to this…family was important to Booth, and she was important to Booth, and it had only been a matter of time before he'd want these two areas of his life to merge. But she had gotten so comfortable with the way things were…him, her, and Parker. It all fit so well. Adding more to the mix just seemed…well…complicated.
It was easy to see his anxiety in the face of her hesitation. "Bones…you're killing me here." He smiled, a nervous expression that tugged at her heart. "It would really mean a lot to me. But…if you don't want to…"
"No, it's not that," she quickly interjected, surprising even herself. "I…I want. It's just…" Now she was the one red-faced and stammering. God. She hated that. And no one was better at doing it than her sex-on-a-stick, too-sweet-for-words partner. The bastard.
"Yeeees?" he supplied helpfully.
"It's just…I don't usually care what people think of me, you know?"
"I know. Your stunning disregard for social niceties is the reason I fell in love with you."
She shoved his shoulder from across the table. "Mean."
"I'm serious. It's got a certain charm." He emphasized 'charm' by giving the smile to go with it.
Sighing, she gave him a look. "And I don't like having to worry about what people are thinking of me."
"And you are worried about what my parents are going to think of you."
She looked away from him. Got her there.
"Because you loooooove me. And you want them to think you are the right woman for their baby boy," he teased.
"You are not making this easier for me, Booth," she said, blushing furiously. Now she was regretting pressing him earlier.
"I'm sorry. Listen." He reached over and took her hands across the table. "We'd pick up Parker and go on Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning the kids hunt for eggs, then we go to church. Afterwards we have a family brunch and exchange Easter baskets. It's all pretty low-key. I know it's not what you are used to, but Park and I will both be there to make things a little easier. You'll be just fine, as long as we keep you away from the green beer."
She gave him a sideways, considering look, and he grinned.
"And if you do come, I have a great big old chocolate bunny with your name written all over it."
"Chocolate bunny, huh? Is that what they are calling it these days?"
He groaned. "I'm going to take that as a 'Yes, Booth, I'm going to come home and meet your parents and eat your chocolate bunny.'"
"Take it as you will," she said, meaning to sound enigmatic, but she knew that he knew he had her. But that didn't mean she was confident about the decision. Chocolate bunnies, she knew she could handle. But meeting the parents of the man she was desperately in love with…that was something a little bit different.
A/N: So you know we love every single person who takes time to review and give us feedback, right? But just a little favor: If you notice something misspelled or grammatically incorrect that you want to comment on, please be specific so we can fix'er up. We are obsessive peoples and if we hear a vague allusion to bad spelling, we'll lose hours of sleep trying to find it. Sad, but true. So help a couple o' fanfic writers out, ks? Thanks:-D
Loves!
