This fan fic carries on from a scene in 4x11 The Bone that Blew which I thought should have been a little bit longer. I considered making this a one shot but decided it would be ongoing. It will be rated M for future chapters. I hope you guys like it and subscribe.

Can I ask you a question?

Sure

You… Are you, ah… Are you sleeping with my daughter?

No

Why? Are you gay?

No

Is she not attractive enough?

Bones is beautiful.

Is it because of me? Because I killed one man and we both know he deserved it?

Alright just cut it out, Max. Alright, I'll talk to her. Probably aint gunna get anywhere with her but, I'll talk to her.

You're a good man and I want that for her. And now I gotta go blow up some soda for some kids.

As Max started to walk away with his bottle of cola to do god knows what with it I couldn't help but think about what he had said. I want that for her…

"Hey Max!" I yelled after before I really knew why or what I was going to say to him.

He turned to look at me from the top of the platform stairs, a knowing look on his face. I began to walk towards him, a man possessed one might say.

"You know… when you… you said," I stumbled through my words. Had my partner's father just said that he wanted me to be with his daughter? Surely I had misunderstood him. "You said that you wanted a good man for Bones, you were just talking generally weren't you?"

Max's knowing smile took on a smug air as he watched me squirm under his gaze. He was different to Temperance, he was better at human interaction and reading people. He was a con man; he had to be good. I knew at that very moment he could see my cheeks reddening as I thought about the possibility of being with Temperance in various different ways right in front of her father, despite my conscious efforts to control my wayward thoughts. Max knew exactly what I was thinking.

Max stepped closer to me and leaned over the platform rail to watch Temperance who had her protective lab glasses on, leaning over the body of Cal Wilson, willing the skeleton to tell her its secrets. I joined him in watching Bones as I did all too often. She was beautifully oblivious to the fact that the two men who cared most about her were watching her every move with a quiet reverence.

"You know when her mother and I left her I was so worried that there wouldn't be anyone to look out for her. Russ was a good kid but he was still a kid and Tempe… well you know she isn't the easiest person to handle. Just think about how she would have been as a fifteen year old girl," I chuckled at Max's joke as he smiled affectionately.

"Now I know that my worst fears came true. Russ couldn't handle her and she ended up in the system thinking for years that no one cared about her. All I ever wanted, more than anything, was someone to look out for her."

"Don't let her here you say that," I piped up, knowing Bones well enough to be sure that a I-can-look-after-myself lecture would ensue if she ever heard her father or anyone else say that.

Knowing his daughter as well as I did, Max laughed. He was loud enough to stir Temperance from her work below and she looked up at us. She looked confused that we had both been watching her but she smiled and waved anyway. Max and I simultaneously waved back at her and she went back to her bones.

"You know she is stronger than you think Max," I said to him to try and lift some of the guilt he felt. "She is the strongest person I've ever known."

"Yeah I know. She's just like her mother." Max's eyes glazed over as he thought about his wife.

"Well if Temperance took after her mom, she must have been one hell of a woman." I said, hoping to lift the mood.

Max smiled widely at my words but the joy didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You have no idea," he said softly.

Slowly he turned towards me and I managed to tear my eyes of Bones long enough to turn and face him.

"You know Booth, I was talking in general terms before when I said I wanted a good man for Temperance. But the thing is; they don't come much better than you. You care about her, anyone can see that. As a father I've always thought that no one would ever be good enough for Tempe but you come close, Booth… You come close."

With those final words that flattered me more than any compliment or commendation had in my life, Max clapped one hand on my shoulder and left.