A/N Howdy kids! This is another F-OFF (future one-shot fanfic for those of you not familiar with the term) – I got such an AMAZING response to the last one I decided to do another! Thank you so much for the reviews for 'Wrapped Around My Finger', they made me happier than is appropriate, really. But anyway, this is a prequel to that story, but it also works as a stand alone piece – maybe one day I'll do some more and put them all into one story. But for now, this is it. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Temperance always enjoyed it when it was Booth's weekend to have Parker to stay with them. When she and Booth were just partners, she enjoyed spending time with his son because he was always cheerful and always seemed glad to see her. When they were more than just partners, she realised she liked to be with him because he reminded her a lot of Booth. She sometimes felt like she was imposing on the little time that they actually got to spend together, but she was always reassured that she was more than welcome. Booth had actually noticed that when she didn't tag along on their weekends together, Parker invariably asked when she would be joining them. It made him happy to see them get along so well, especially when he knew her track record with children.

Tonight, they had decided to have a movie night, and consequently let Parker stay up long past his bedtime. Once the movie was finished, they quickly took him to bed, where he jumped right in since he was already in his pyjamas, even though he protested that he simply wasn't tired.

"Alright, Bud, I want to tell you a bedtime story. Bones can be my glamorous assistant," he added with a wink.

Parker scrunched his face up and looked at his father incredulously. "But I'm too old for stories!"

"You're never too old for stories, kid, now scoot up so we can tell you one." He and Temperance squeezed themselves onto the bed on either side of the boy, and settled down with him. "OK, this is a story about a princess…"

"Yuck!"

"… And her knight in shining armour. Now, this wasn't any old boring princess, who sat up in a tower all day brushing her hair and getting little birds to do stuff for her, this was a butt-kicking, world-saving princess. She always knew what was right and virtuous, and she would fight for the rights of those who couldn't fight for themselves. She was no bimbo who was after a rich prince to sweep her off her feet – she was smarter then every prince in the land, and tougher, too. She had to be tough, because an evil villain had taken her parents, the king and queen, away from her when she was just a little girl. And her brother was kind of a slobby knave and didn't really step up to take care of her. Anyway, one day, the most handsome prince in the kingdom came to her for help, because he knew she was the only one who was skilled enough to catch the biggest, meanest dragon who lived at the top of a huge mountain."

"Why couldn't he catch it himself?"

"Because he had a bum leg. And asthma," the voice from the other side of the bed interjected.

"Bones! It wasn't because of that, it was because sometimes, if we are trying really hard to do something, we get too focussed and we lose perspective, so we need someone else to help us out because they may see things that we can't. Like when we help you with your homework, right?"

"OK."

"OK. So anyway, the princess didn't really think much of the prince to begin with – if I'm being honest, the princess was kind of snooty…" He saw the look his girlfriend was giving him, and quickly backtracked, "but once they got to know each other, they became really good friends, because the princess had some redeeming qualities that weren't obvious at all. But like I'm always telling you, if you dig deep enough, everybody has something good about them. But back to the princess – once she agreed to help catch the dragon, she and the prince had to karate chop and shoot their way to the top of the mountain…"

He was interrupted by Temperance again. "As well as solve a series of challenging arithmetic puzzles and riddles. Mental acuity is just as important as physical ability."

"… and once they got to the top, where the dragon lived, they engaged in a battle of wits with the dragon. They asked him a bunch of questions to try and confuse him, then BAM! They cut off his head, and all the villagers rejoiced and held parades and parties, and the prince and princess were declared national heroes. But their work wasn't done – there were still plenty of ogres and witches who ate children out there, and they wouldn't rest until every last one was slain and the townsfolk were safe. And then…"

"Booth, I think he's asleep," Temperance whispered, gesturing to his sleeping son's peaceful face.

"Well, don't you want to hear how it ends?"

"What?"

"The story. It's got a twist ending, you wanna hear it?"

"It's just a fairytale."

"Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway. So this princess, even though she's really tough and smart, the prince thinks she's beautiful and the most amazing person he's ever met. And he falls in love with her, and since she practically lives in his castle anyway, he figures 'hey, why not make it official?'. But even though he's slain countless ogres and witches, and even been smacked around a little by hobgoblins, he's scared because this princess is so damn independent and doesn't really need a prince to protect her. In fact, sometimes the prince feels like he needs her to protect him. You know what I mean?"

"Given the princess's background, it's not unreasonable to think she would be independent. She sounds like she can take care of herself, don't you think?"

"I do. But sometimes, even the smartest princesses can confuse independence and loneliness. And this isn't the kind of princess who wants to sit alone up in a tower playing with a microscope for the rest of her life – if she did, she would never have agreed to help the prince. And that's why the prince wants to marry the princess."

She assumed he was waiting for a response from her, but she didn't say anything for a moment, instead she just looked at him. "You're not telling me a story anymore, are you?"

"No, I guess I'm not. What I'm trying to say, Bones, is that you are a princess to me, and you deserve to be treated like one. You deserve a happy ending. You deserve to live happily ever after with a prince who would slay a million mythical creatures for you."

"I find it very hard to believe in happy endings, given the job we do. We know first hand that they don't exist!" she added with exasperation.

"It's not that they don't exist – they just don't happen to everyone. So, if we have the chance to live happily ever after, together, shouldn't we take it?"

"Who says we'd be happy? Who says it will last forever?"

"Well… I do." He took her hand and gently turned her face to look at him. "I promise to always do everything I can to make you happy, and I promise to love you for the rest of my life. Is that good enough?"

"You can't possibly know what will happen in ten minutes, let alone ten years from now. How do you know you'll still love me and want to be with me?"

"The way I feel about you doesn't just go away, Temperance. Just like in all good fairytales, love lasts a lifetime and heroes never die."

She felt a tear slip down her cheek, and she reached up to brush it away, feeling self-conscious. "Have you ever thought about writing children's books? I could set up a meeting with my agent for you?"

"Don't try and change the subject. If I can promise you forever, will you take it?" He had just laid his soul completely bare to her, and she was looking at him like he's grown another head. He'd blown it, he was sure.

"Yes."

"Really?" His voice came out muffled, as she had clamped her hand over his mouth – they were still sitting on his son's bed, after all.

"Yes. I realised, I don't want a wedding, with all the formality and paperwork, but I do want a marriage. And if I have to marry anyone, I'd quite like it to be you."

"Well, gee, thanks!"

"You know what I mean."

He leaned over Parker, still asleep and unaware of this new turn of events, and kissed her. Pulling back to look at her, he laughed, "It's a good job this prince isn't easily offended."

A/N2 Did you like it? I hope so! I don't normally write such sappy stories, but I think I may be ill because this is the second in one week. So, this was partly inspired by the Fiona Apple song 'Pale September', and I always think of Bones when I hear it (the chorus is: 'All my armour falling down/in a pile at my feet/and my winter giving way to warm/as I'm singing him to sleep'. Don't you think it's such a perfect Brennan song? About her letting Booth into her heart and no longer being the ice queen hiding behind walls that she has put up?) So go and legally download it, I think you'll love it! Thanks for listening to me ramble on!