Puppy Love

Summary: BB. Apparently, it runs in the Booth family . . . what happens when Parker has a little crush on Daddy's work partner?

Rating: K

Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. No money. Though believe me, I could use it.

(A quick aside - this story is best to read while listening to such music as Glen Miller's "Fools Rush In," standards like "My Funny Valentine," "How Long Has This Been Going On" and "Someone To Watch Over Me," or maybe "Dream A Little Dream Of Me," "You Belong To Me" or "Kiss To Build A Dream On." Just suggestions for soft, wistful love songs.)

Enjoy!

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February 14th, somewhere around 5 pm - quiet music floated through the lab from Angela's desk; it was her special "Valentine Luvvvvv Mix;" slow love songs, from Nat King Cole to Glen Miller. There was no case to occupy their time, so Brennan had grudgingly given permission for music in the lab on occasion of the holiday, so long as it wasn't loud. Booth fumbled through his pocket for his ID card, swiping it through the sensor before leading his son up the stairs and past the platform, across to his partner's office, where she was standing in front of a bookshelf, peering intently at something with tired eyes as he reached up to knock.

She looked up and her face brightened. "Come in." It was then that she noticed the small person beside him."I didn't know you had him during the week."

"His mom's at a conference. Said he could stay with me till she gets back on Sunday."

She nodded, looking down at the boy only a little awkwardly. She wasn't normally comfortable with children, but Parker was bright and well-behaved. "Hi Parker."

"Parker here has something he'd like to give you." With an encouraging nod, Booth let go of his son's hand. The little boy glanced up at him before stepping forward and handing Bren a garish red envelope.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Doctor Brennan," he mumbled shyly.

"Thank you." Opening it, she smiled at the pink construction paper, folded hamburger-style, with many, many brightly colored sequins and writing produced by holding several uncapped markers tightly in one hand. Not so much legible, but the effort was admirable.

She smiled at the boy, who squirmed shyly. "It's very nice. Thank you, Parker."

"You're welcome!" Delighted, the boy launched himself at her in an enthusiastic hug which she returned after a moment's hesitation, while across the room, his father tried not to laugh out loud.

"Hey, Bub, why don't you go say hi to Angela and Zach over there, and let me talk to Dr. Brennan for a second?" The boy obligingly ran off.

Booth grinned, watching him go. "Parker's got a little crush on you, Bones."

She glanced up, startled. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Bren smiled, a little bemused. "That's funny."

"Why? Does it surprise you?"

She shrugged. "A little."

"Well, it's perfectly natural." She regarded him skeptically. "Think about it. You're smart, you're pretty, you do all that super-science to help fight bad guys - Parker's just got a little case of puppy love."

She looked down at the bizarre, lace-and-glue-plastered card, with 'Docter brenen' written in shaky letters. The gesture was, admittedly, a sweet one. A sad smile crossed her face. He saw it. And was willing to bet that this was the only Valentine she had received today. She deserved so much better. He hadn't meant to go into such detail in cataloguing the reasons Parker liked her. It had been too easy. They were the same things he saw in her himself.

He paused and seemed to hesitate before cautiously taking her hand in his. "I know you don't normally celebrate, but for all it's worth, Happy Valentine's Day, Bones." She wasn't really sure why she let him, but for some reason she didn't mind as he gently pulled her against him, setting his son's card on the desk, and began to move in time to the music floating in from outside.

She slowly settled against him with a soft sigh. Booth was pleasantly surprised. Temperance Brennan did not celebrate Valentine's Day, did not let her guard down, and never danced with her partner in her office. But now she was doing all three, and she was so lovely, so soft and warm, her gentle body so very enticing pressed against him. His mind had gone blank. He couldn't hear the music and didn't care. They had danced before. But to Booth's mind, a little bar in the wilderness of Washington state didn't count. This was real, her head nestled on his shoulder, her breath warm on his cheek, her arms around his neck. It was perfect.

The music slowly faded as the song ended. She had no idea what song had just been on. And somehow it didn't seem to matter.

"Thank you," she murmured, face flushed, glancing down in confusion. He gently raised a hand to her chin, tipping her face up to his. She swallowed, her eyes never leaving his, her expression betraying surprise and a little nervousness. She hadn't meant to let it go this far.

He could tell. And he had no intention of pushing her any further tonight. So he simply leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the forehead, brushing a lock of hair back from her face. "Have a good Valentine's Day, Temperance."

She looked up at him, one hand still settled on his chest. "I will now."

He didn't want to leave. But he had to. With a final kiss to the back of her hand, he reluctantly left, gathering up a squirmy Parker from Zach's desk.

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Angela waved affectionately to the boy as he left with his dad, came into the office, and settled down beside Brennan, who looked up in surprise. "You're still here? No date? It's Valentine's Day."

Angela shrugged. "Not till later. You, on the other hand -"

"- alone, as you can see -"

"What do you call the two guys who just left?"

"Booth and Parker, why?"

Angela rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, I really wonder why I bother -" Bren smiled to herself; ever vigilant, Angela pounced on it. "What? What's so funny?"

Bren glanced at her with droll eyes. "Booth said Parker has a crush on me."

"Awwwwww -" Angela's eyes went all mushy and she smiled dreamily. "That's adorable."

"He even gave me a Valentine." Handing it to Ange, Bren watched as the simplistic card was inspected and coo-ed over. "I think he made it in school."

"It's cute." She bit her lip, a smile growing. Bren watched her warily. This meant Angela was calculating. This meant Bren was going to lose. "Sweetie, you do know how this looks, right?"

"Should I?"

"It just means that what they say is true." At her friend's blank look, Ange grinned. "Like father, like son."

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Author's Note: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. I luv ya all! - and since I celebrate Singles' Awareness Day on Feb. 14 (I don't even have a Parker to make me a Valentine sad face) . . . here's a cute story to assuage the loneliness . . .

Please review:-)