Spoilers/Timeline: Reference to 3x05 Mummy in the Maze/Set in the future; Booth and Brennan are in an established relationship
Disclaimer: Nope, Bones does not belong to me. Title from John Denver's song Aspenglow
A/N: So I write winter fic in October and autumn fic in the cold of February; don't ask, I can't explain it myself. Many thanks to Jess (Cupcakebean) for continued feedback and support.
"Tell me again why we had to drive four point five hours to go to a pumpkin patch." Brennan tugged at her gloves as Booth settled on the hay next to her.
"Jared and I always came here and I always bring Parker. It's an odd tradition, but a tradition nonetheless." She watched as his eyes drifted up the aisle to where nine-year-old Parker sat chatting with his "best friend, nothing more" Lauren. "Besides, it's much more than just pumpkins."
The tractor pulling them came to a stop and, as they climbed out, she saw he was correct. In fact, he may have understated it to a degree. There were several small food stands directly in front of them; to the left there were games and rides for small children and, to the right, a giant corn maze.
"Dad, Lauren and I want to go in the maze!" Parker called, bounding towards them. He seemed utterly unfazed by the bitter wind encircling them; Brennan flipped the hood of his sweatshirt over his head.
"Hey, you know the rules."
"Fine, but hurry up before the line gets long." And, with that, he grabbed Lauren's hand and pulled her toward the entrance of the maze.
"Wha-"
"I have to do this first." He stepped into the short line, motioning for her to follow.
"Food? Really, Booth?"
"Hey, you never know how long it's going to take in the maze." He turned his attention to the window, quickly placing his order. "Besides, it's a long drive."
"I'm willing to concede that point."
He chuckled and handed her her coffee before picking up his own and the white paper bag that was waiting. "Let's go before my son runs out of patience and we lose him before we're even in the maze."
She took a sip of coffee (perfect) and shook her head as he raced to the entrance. Like father, like son.
"There must be some logical way to get out of here. If only, we had a completed map..."
"Ah, but we don't." He held up the map to illustrate what she already knew: several boxes had been filled with a square of paper detailing the part of the maze it was found in; many were still empty. "That's not any fun anyhow."
"There's no telling how long it could take them-" She nodded towards Parker and Lauren, who were several feet in front of them leading the way. "to stumble onto the correct path. The mathematics alone-"
"Bones, just enjoy it, ok?" He rummaged in the bag, pulled out a warm cider donut, and waved it in front of her face. "Come on, you know you want one."
"Fine, but only so you stop bothering me." He laughed as she took her first bite and a look of sheer joy settled on her face.
"You're lucky I love you; that was the last one."
A companionable silence descended and, as they made a left and ran into a dead end, he couldn't help but think of the corpse they'd found a similar maze several years ago. At least, there weren't any mummies or cowboys in this one.
That case had been rough. Not only had the victims been scared to death, but there'd been snakes and a killer clown, too. Seeing Bones in her Wonder Woman costume almost made up for it. Almost. He hated that he'd found himself, once again, ending a life. Yet, he knew he'd do it again if he had to. No question.
"Booth?"
"Huh?"
"What were you thinking about?" She pulled her hat down further. "I've been trying to tell you that you were right - that those donuts are amazing - for the past five minutes."
"Oh, it was nothing important, Wonder Woman."
"You know," Her voice dropped to a whisper though, as far as he could tell, the only people around were Parker and Lauren still some ten feet ahead of them. "I think I still have that somewhere..."
"Let's go!" She chuckled as his eyes darkened and his hand fell to her hip, pulling her close.
"Booth, it'll take hours to get back to our apartment and you didn't even get a pumpkin yet. Isn't that the whole point of the trip?"
"Not entirely." He stopped mid-step, turning to face her. "We could go anywhere in D.C. just to get pumpkins, but this -" He took a deep breath, the crisp autumn air filling his lungs, his eyes darting to Parker, then, back to her. "this..."
She nodded, her head falling to his shoulder. "Also, we have Parker for the rest of the weekend."
"Fine." He made a show of sticking out his bottom lip. "I'm not forgetting about this though." The look on her face as they turned right, following Parker and Lauren's lead, and discovered the exit told him she wouldn't either. The wind rustling the leaves was the only noise for a long moment until,
"Hey, Booth, let's just enjoy this, ok?" Her hand slipped into his and he grinned, warm for the first time all day.