A/N: time for some silly fluff...

"Bones?" Booth threw his overcoat aside gingerly as he walked in the front door one afternoon. "Hey, everybody! I'm home!"

"Daddy!" Christine ran to find her father, holding out her arms to give him a big hug. "I want up!"

"Just a minute, Sweetheart." He groaned as he stooped to embrace her. "I don't think I can pick you up right now."

"Christine, Daddy's shoulder may still hurt." Brennan followed closely at her daughter's heels, balancing a fussy Hank on her hip. "He may not be able to pick you up yet." She smiled at her husband as she reached out to gently touch his upper arm. "What did the orthopedist say?"

Booth grimaced as he tried to rotate his right arm in its shoulder joint. "According to the X rays, there isn't any structural damage to the bones in the joint…"

Brennan rolled her eyes in irritation at her husband. "Yes, I already knew that. I saw the films, remember? I also insisted that the technician take additional views so that the doctor and I could get a better look at your acromion."

Sighing softly at his wife's annoyance, Booth continued. "Anyway, based on what Dr. Riva read on the MRI report, she doesn't think there are any major tears in the shoulder muscles. Instead, she thinks maybe I have some deep bruising, or some bursitis, or possibly a minor strain. She gave me a cortisone injection to reduce the inflammation in the joint, and I'm supposed to keep taking the naproxen. If that doesn't relieve the pain after a couple of weeks, I have to go back to see her for more tests." Craning his neck from side to side, he flinched slightly as he tried to raise his arm. "It already feels a little bit better…"

"I see. Well, I still think this situation could've been avoided completely if you had used some moderation during your time at the gun range." Brennan shook her head as she put Hank in his highchair before walking into the kitchen to fix dinner. "The overuse of your arm and shoulder as you did target practice with your pistol last week definitely contributed to your injury."

"Yeah, but you're the one who said I needed to practice to keep up my sharpshooting certification, remember? You're the one who said that as I age, I lose my skills, right? And I need to keep those skills up to keep my job, so I need to keep working on them." He followed her to the kitchen and sat down with Christine at the kitchen counter. Picking up an apple and a knife, he grimaced sheepishly. "Anyway, I don't think it was my extra time at the gun range that injured my shoulder. I think it was something else." He began slicing the apple, pausing as he offered his daughter a piece before giving the baby a small bit of fruit on his highchair tray.

"Remember when I went out to that crime scene with Aubrey, and the weather was so cold?"

Brennan's brow furrowed slightly as she chopped some vegetables by the kitchen sink. "Yes, I believe so...that was approximately three weeks ago, correct? The air temperature was well below freezing, and there was sleet, correct?"

"Yeah." He popped a slice of apple into his mouth and handed another piece to Christine. "Well, what I didn't tell you was that I fell flat on my ass while I was out there, and I banged my shoulder pretty hard at the same time."

Brennan turned with her hand on her hip and shook the knife at her husband. "Why didn't you tell me? You should've gone to the emergency room immediately to have your shoulder and your hip checked! You might have acquired permanent damage! Falls can cause all sorts of serious injuries"

He shrugged as he studied the kitchen counter. "I was too embarrassed, I guess." Grimacing as he tried to move his shoulder into a more comfortable position, he continued quietly. "We were walking in some high grass by a pond, and I wasn't really paying too much attention to where I was going. I hit an icy patch hidden by some reeds, and I went down hard." Remembering what happened, he shook his head. "I just lay there for a few seconds, with the wind knocked out of me, hoping I hadn't broken my leg. I'd landed on my back, and it hurt like hell for a few minutes, but not enough at the time for me to worry about going to the emergency room." He chuckled softly as he got up to put the apple scraps into the composting container. "I was more worried about Aubrey. I thought he was going to bust a gut laughing at me."

"Why would he laugh at you? That doesn't seem to be a very professional way for your partner to handle things if you've fallen." Brennan shook her head as she ran some water in the sink. "You could've been severely injured."

"Well, I wasn't hurt, and it was funny at the time. Besides, that's what guys do. They laugh when their friends fall down. He knew I hadn't really hurt myself." Booth reached out with his left hand to rub his wife's back. "I don't see what the big deal is. The Bureau's gonna pay for my medical treatment, so it's not like we're gonna be out any cash…"

"The point is that you're supposed to tell me these things. Otherwise, I may think you're hiding things from me, and I don't like that at all." She began to stir fry some chicken with the chopped vegetables. "You might've been seriously injured…"

"But I wasn't, okay? And there was no reason to go to the ER…", he grumbled as she moved away from him. Exhaling audibly, he knew he was in a little bit of trouble. "Okay, I tell you what. Next time I fall on my ass at a crime scene, I'll be sure to call you. Will that work?"

"Perhaps." Brennan's expression was grim as she pulled some plates from the cupboard. "Did the doctor say anything else about your pain?"

"She said that maybe I should try sleeping on the other shoulder for awhile, so I was thinking maybe we should switch sides of the bed for a few weeks. Will that be okay? It's only temporary…"

Nodding as she set out the flatware, Brennan quietly agreed. "That will be acceptable."

Oooooooooo

Except for the chattering of his daughter and the babbling of his son, it had been a very quiet dinner, and Booth had felt a chill in the air for the rest of the evening. He knew his wife was still annoyed with him, but he felt certain he'd be able to make her forgive him shortly.

After his shower, he rearranged the pillows so that he'd be able to sleep on the opposite side of the bed than normal. He put his wife's pillows in his usual place, and fluffed them up, propping them against the headboard so she could read as she normally did almost every evening before she went to sleep.

He cringed slightly as he climbed into bed. Even with the medication and the injection, his shoulder still ached a little bit, but he didn't want to hear anything that even remotely sounded like an 'I told you so' scolding from his wife since he had chosen not to get treatment for his injury in a timely manner. He quickly settled into bed, doing his best to get comfortable on the part of the bed he wasn't used to, lying on his side facing away from her side of the bed.

A few minutes later, Brennan came into the bedroom to get ready for bed. She nodded at him primly as she refluffed her pillows before picking up her nightgown and walking into the bathroom.

"I guess she's still peeved at me.", he muttered to himself. "Well, I bet I can fix that."

She soon returned and settled in to bed to read one of her journals, loudly turning the pages to let her husband know that she was still annoyed with him. Finally, after a few minutes, she turned off her lamp before reclining and pulling the blanket up around her shoulders.

Glancing over his shoulder, Booth wore a sly grin as he rolled over and began to gently caress her back and arm with his left hand. "Bones?", he crooned. "You're not still mad at me, are you?"

"Yes, I am, as a matter of fact." Her tone of voice gave her away, however. She tried to stifle a giggle as she pretended to pout. "I'm your wife. You're supposed to tell me things like that...you know, about possible injuries. Your shoulder injury might present a long term problem. You might even need surgery."

"Aw, c'mon. So I didn't tell you that I took a tumble at a crime scene. What's so bad about that?" He scooted over closer to her and let his fingers play gently across her abdomen. "Nobody got hurt…" He leaned over and kissed her back at the base of her neck. "...and I'll be good as new in no time."

She grinned as she turned to face him, running her fingers across his chest. "Really? How good will you be?"

"Let me show you." His left hand soon found its way under the hem of her nightgown, and he moved his hand up her thigh toward her hip. She moaned softly, closing her eyes as he ran his palm across her smooth skin.

Then her eyes flew open. "Why did you stop? I was enjoying that…"

"I don't know...something's not right." He grimaced as he sat up in bed. "It just doesn't feel right…"

"So you're telling me that after all this time together, making love with me doesn't feel right?" Brennan glared up at her husband. "I think you have some explaining to do!"

"No, not that." He smiled as he rolled over to lay on top of his wife for a minute, laying nose to nose with her as he caressed her cheek. "It doesn't feel right to use my left hand to make love to you. I need to move over there."

"But doesn't that defeat the whole purpose? I thought we'd switched sides so you'd be more comfortable.", she protested, giggling as she looked up into his warm brown eyes. "How will you sleep on a sore shoulder?"

"I'm not planning to sleep right now anyway. I gotta switch sides, though. It doesn't feel natural over there." He moved so that he was laying on his left side. "There, that's better, don't you think?"

"I don't know. You haven't done anything…oh, my…" She breathed out a sigh as he began to gently stroke her breasts. "Yes, that's very nice...but I don't want you to injure your shoulder while we engage in foreplay..."

"Oh, don't worry about that." He chuckled as he leaned over to kiss her. "I think this is better for my shoulder anyway because I'm not supporting all my weight on it, see? I'll just wrap this arm around you…" He reached around and pulled her over on top of him so that she was straddling his narrow hips. "...and now I don't have to use my shoulder much at all. See? Pretty smart, huh?"

"Very smart." She smiled down at him as she ran her hands down his perfect acromia. "However, I do think we need to be careful so you don't injure yourself further. Perhaps we should practice so that you're comfortable using both arms when we make love. After all, there is something to be said for being ambidextrous."

"Oh, I don't know. After all these years together, It's kind of hard to break the habit of using my right arm to hold you close to me." He ran his right hand down to the bottom of her nightgown and pulled it over her head. "Although I can see your point. It might not hurt to practice using both arms. I wonder if that counts as physical therapy?"

"Well, I have studied kinesiology…"

"True." He reached up to brush the hair away from her face. "But that's not what I want to talk about right now." He clasped his hands behind his head as he lay back on the pillow. "Let's see how much practice we can get in."

"I'll be glad to assist in that endeavor, Booth." She gave him a naughty smile as she ran her nails across his chest. "In fact, I think we should start now." She bent down to kiss him and then licked her lips. "You may look, but not touch. Do you understand?"

Nodding happily, he moaned softly as his wife began focusing her attentions on him. "Oh, yeah...wow…" Without thinking, he tried to stroke her back.

She shook a finger at him, smirking at his little boy grin. "What did I say?"

"Sorry. I forgot." He shrugged as he lay with his arms at this side. "Okay. Look, Ma...no hands."

"That's better." Her talented fingers began to tenderly knead his pectoralis major muscles. "Perhaps soon you'll forget your shoulder hurts at all."

He chuckled as he studied her studious expression. "Or maybe I'll decide I need to get another bruise so you can help me feel better."

"I suppose this means you're feeling better?"

"Oh, yeah…I feel great. I tell you what, though...remember, I fell on my ass while I was out there. Maybe you should massage that part of me, too…"

Brennan smiled at her husband's transparent attempt to be sly. "That might be a good idea, but then I'd be rewarding you for making poor decisions." She ran a finger down his abdominal muscles. "Besides, you might injure yourself deliberately just so I'll make love to you."

"Oh, I don't know. It seems like I'm doing well without doing something that drastic."

Brennan pretended to glare at her husband as she straddled him. "I see. Just how well do you think you're going to do tonight?"

Booth reached over with his uninjured arm to turn off the light. "Let's find out."

Thanks for reading. If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it.