Pieces of a Week
A Bones Fanfic
By Amanda
Sequel to Falling to Pieces, Picking up the Pieces,
Putting the Pieces Back Together, Bits and Pieces,
Pieces of My Heart, All the Little Pieces,
The Date, and Pieces of a Case
Spoilers for all four seasons (I think), but most are vague.
No copyright infringement intended. I only own the story line.
*~BONES~*
Saturday
When Brennan woke the next morning, she couldn't help but smile when she noticed the now familiar weight of Booth's arm draped around her waist and his faint, occasional snore. Normally, she preferred her space in the mornings, and when she was sleeping for that matter. She was not a cuddle-er by any stretch of the imagination. She was an independent woman and didn't need a man close by for her to feel secure and safe. Then again, as she had realized the previous night, nothing about her relationship with Booth could be categorized as 'normal'. Whatever the reason, when she was with him, she could do the typical girly things and be a … softer version of herself without feeling at a loss. He never made her feel less competent or strong or independent even when he was being the alpha male and taking charge of the situation. Sighing, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and gently maneuvered out of his grasp to get some coffee. It was far too early for that kind of internal contemplation without copious amounts of caffeine.
As she slid out from under the covers, she shivered in the chill of the early morning air. Looking around, she saw Booth shirt from the night before strewn across the footboard of his bed. She easily slipped into it and inhaled the scent of his cologne, aftershave, and sweat that lingered in the fabric and held the shirt tighter around herself. Stealthily making her way to the kitchen, she scoffed at herself. As the coffee brewed, the strong aroma revitalized her and she returned to her earlier introspections. Since when was she the kind of girly girl that swooned at the mere smell of her man's cologne? What in the world was Booth doing to her? No, that wasn't fair, whatever changes she was experiencing, they weren't really Booth's fault. It was more about her finally letting the walls she had built around herself fall. No, that wasn't true either; the walls were still very much intact. She had spent far too long and put in far too much effort to let them simply fall away. She was still very guarded around most people and still a bit emotionally closed off, distant. It was more like Booth had found a hidden door and over the years he had been making steady progress opening the door until one day, without her even realizing it had happened, he had thrown the door wide open, walked in, and made himself at home.
Pouring herself a large cup of coffee, Brennan made her way back to the bedroom and crawled back into bed next to the man that had stolen her heart. Having had enough soul searching, if you could call it that, for one morning, she once again got out of bed, this time to retrieve her laptop. When she returned to the bed, she couldn't help but be amazed that Booth was still asleep. Having previously been a sniper and army Ranger, generally Booth was a fairly light sleeper. She had seen him fall asleep from pure exhaustion in her office when they stayed late working on paperwork only to wake suddenly if she dropped a pen or even coughed too loudly. If he took a nap in the middle of the day on her couch, he would wake practically the moment she, or anyone else for that matter, walked into the office. Suddenly, he was able to sleep through her getting in and out of the bed, shifting his arm from her waist, and the smell of coffee she was sure was wafting all around the room. Taking another long sip of the warm brown liquid, Brennan powered up the computer and opened up the most recent draft of her novel. Closing her eyes and taking a deep cleansing breath, she began reading over the last few pages before blocking out everything around her and focusing on the lives of Kathy and Andy.
Booth woke slowly and very confusedly. He had had the weirdest dream. As he became aware of his surroundings, he could smell coffee and hear the steady breathing and rhythmic clacking of keys from the woman next to him. Before he opened his eyes, he simply took the time to enjoy the domestic bliss of it all. It was nice and comfortable to wake with her there, he had spent too many years waking alone and if he had it his way, he would never have to again. It felt right for her to be there simply working as he slept, almost unbidden Angela's words from the night before sprang to his mind – "an old married couple". If he thought about it, they really were. In no time, they had fallen into a comfortable routine with one another. On mornings they both got ready at the same time, they moved easily around each other without conscious thought. Nights they made dinner together they worked together seamlessly. Then again, they had always worked well together – no, that's not true, not always, not at the very beginning, but they worked well together now.
Opening his eyes, Booth took in the sight before him – Brennan lounging in his bed, wearing his shirt, completely absorbed in her writing – he could definitely get used to this. He noticed that her forehead creased as she hit a mental wall with the writing and her hands stopped their steady flow over the keyboard. Without removing her eyes from the screen, she reached for her coffee as she read over what she had written trying to find a new route, a way to fix it. As she moved to replace the cup on the nightstand, he reached out and took hold of the cup, removing it from her hand and bringing it to his lips.
"Booth, you're awake" she stated surprised that she hadn't noticed before now.
After taking a second long drag of the coffee he responded with a "Gee, it's no wonder you work with the FBI."
"Isn't it a little early for sarcasm? You haven't even had a full cup of coffee!"
"Speaking of which, is there any of this left?" he asked lifting the cup slightly.
"Of course" she replied as she started to get out of bed yet again.
"You stay put; you looked like you were on to something. I can get my own coffee. You use too much sugar anyway" he said handing her back her half empty cup with an exaggerated grimace.
When he returned, she was once again immersed in her 'fictional world' and barely acknowledged his presence. Unfazed, he made himself comfortable next to her and attempted to read over her shoulder. He had only gotten through a paragraph before a pointy elbow made contact with his toned stomach. "Ow, what was that for?" he cried indignantly.
"Who said you could read my manuscript?"
"Well I thought that since –"
"Have I ever let you read any of my manuscripts before they were published?" When he shook his head in the negative she continued, "Than what makes you think I would change my mind now?"
Booth opened and closed his mouth a couple of times as he cast around for some rebuttal. The truth was, he knew she wouldn't knowingly let him read it, but she had been so focused, he thought she wouldn't notice. Finally he remembered something that might just save him. "You let David read your manuscript when you were dating."
"Yes I did. I also changed the title even though he said it was fine because you didn't like it – if you remember."
"So what, I'm not allowed to read it because … my opinion means too much to you?"
Rather than answer, she turned back to her computer and returned to writing. Booth had gotten his answer though, so he just sat back with a triumphant smile and sipped his cooling coffee.
Sometime later, Brennan had written and rewritten the chapter so many times that she was ready to throw the computer across the room. Sensing this, Booth decided to distract her with the thoughts that had been distracting him all morning. "You know, you look good in my shirt."
"What?" Brennan asked startled by his intrusion into the bubble she had created around herself. When his words finally registered in her head, she looked confused for a moment before remembering that she hadn't taken the shirt off. Blushing so slightly that most wouldn't even notice she decided to explain it away with a "Thank you, I was cold this morning."
Booth just smiled. He loved seeing this side of Bones. She kept it hidden so well most of the time behind her shell. But even as close as they had been before, he was seldom permitted to see her flustered or without her protective wall. Now, here in the privacy of their bed – his bed – she was comfortable enough, secure enough to let him all the way in. "So I had a really weird dream last night" he informed her.
"Really?" she asked setting her computer aside. "What about?"
"Well, you were in it" he teased.
"And?"
"And we had a knife throwing act in a circus."
"That really was fun, aside from the black eye. You were so mad at me though."
"How do you know? I'm pretty sure it's not possible to share dreams."
"It wasn't a dream Booth, it was a memory. We went under cover a month or two ago to solve a case. After the performance, you were so mad at me for … I think it was because I made it too dangerous."
"I could have seriously hurt you Bones! Especially with the clown nose."
"I trust you Booth. Besides, you have excellent aim. I knew you wouldn't hit me."
*~BONES~*
Sunday
"Brennan."
At first all she could hear on the other end of the line was a very distinct laugh. "Sweetie, you do realize you just answered Booth's phone right?"
"Yes Ang, I am perfectly aware of what phone I answered. Why?" the scientist returned.
"It's just that … you know what, never mind Bren. What are you and your hunky FBI agent doing this afternoon?"
"Nothing that I know of, why?" Bren asked not even bothering to react to her best friend's description of Booth other than an eye roll. She was used to hearing things like that from Angela by now.
"Because I want to go shopping! And I need a shopping buddy" Angela said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Ang, if this is another ploy to get 'juicy details' out of me, it's not going to work" Brennan warned.
"Fine, but it will still be fun. We haven't gone shopping in forever."
"It's only been three weeks Ang" Bren replied with a breathy laugh at her friend's exaggeration.
"Like I said, forever! So are you going to come with me and keep me from buying out the whole store or aren't you?"
"Just a sec Ang" she said as she walked into the living room to talk to Booth. "Hey, Ang wants me to go shopping with her this afternoon. You didn't have anything planned did you?"
"No, go and have fun Bones. It's still only the first quarter. I'll be here for a while" was his easy response.
Turning her attention back to the phone, she walked away from Booth "I can be ready in half an hour."
"That's sooo sweet Bren. You had to check with your boyfriend first" Angela cooed.
"Shut up, Ang! Why did you call me on his home phone though?"
"Because your cell's dead or turned off."
"No it's – ok, yes it is" Brennan stated pulling the device in question from her pocket. "I guess I better go put this on a charger" she said more to herself than Angela. "I'll see you in half an hour Ang. Are we meeting somewhere or are you picking me up?"
"I'll come get you. Besides, it'll give me a chance to see your little love nest" Angela teased before hanging up.
Half an hour later, precisely, there was an excited wrap on the door of Booth's apartment. Moments later, Brennan answered the door and Booth could hear her trying to hurry their friend out the door. Angela's voice drifted through to him. "Booth, you have a nice place. It's a lot 'homier' than I pictured."
"You pictured what my apartment looked like?" he asked with a hint of amusement.
"I am an artist. It's kind of what I do."
"Uhuh, and how exactly did you picture my apartment?"
"More 'bachelor pad' less 'Mr. Mom'" she said with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders.
"Mr. Mom? I don't know what that means" Brennan interjected.
"Of course you don't Bren. It's a movie – I'll explain later."
"What do you mean 'Mr. Mom'? It's not like I have Parker's toys strewn around" Booth objected.
"True," she answered slowly, "but everything is very kid friendly – worn couch, no sharp edges on anything, children's artwork but not many breakable things" she observed. "I expected more of a … a neo-modern look. You know, leather and metal and clean lines."
Booth and Brennan could only laugh at how ridiculous Angela could be some times. "So, now that you've analyzed Booth's apartment, are you ready to go? I thought you wanted to shop" Brennan spoke out to try and get back on track.
"Just a minute. I still need to look around a little closer" Angela complained.
Brennan rolled her eyes exasperatedly and Booth smiled reassuringly at her before turning his attention back to the game he had been watching. Deciding that the quickest way to get Angela going would be to control her explorations, Brennan offered a tour. "There's really not much to see. You saw the entry hall and living room. Then there's the kitchen, Parker's room, the bathroom, and Booth's room" she explained as she ushered the curly headed artist passed the rooms allowing her to briefly poke her head in each.
The urgency with which Bren was trying to get her out of the apartment piqued her interest, especially since Booth didn't seem to particularly mind. She knew the rush was not inspired by Bren's desire to get to the mall, because unlike herself, Bren didn't necessarily enjoy shopping. Regardless, Angela played along with Brennan's rush and only briefly looked into the rooms as they passed by. With her artist's eye for details, however, she was still able to catch several things to store for later contemplation. The entire place was tidy – not something she would expect of a man's place – but despite her earlier teasing, she could tell that Booth had been responsible for the decoration. She was also able to pick up several small signs that Bren was already making herself at home here. Her keys lay on the entrance table next to Booths, her favorite coffee mug had found a place on the kitchen counter, the jacket she had worn to work Friday was hanging from one of the kitchen chairs, her toiletries were not in the guest bathroom – implying that they resided in the en suite with Booth's – and the brief glimpse she had gotten of his room revealed some of her clothes in the closet, a shared bed, her computer resting on a bedside table, and their dirty clothes intermingled in the hamper. She hadn't realized how spot on her teasing jab at the bar had been until now, and she marveled at how comfortable both of them seemed with this new situation. Generally speaking, Bren was not the type to give up her space, yet she had for all intents and purposes moved in with Booth. Heck he was even letting her drive his precious car.
"Sooo?" Angela began as they walked around the mall loaded down with bags and picking at their pretzels.
"So … what?" Bren countered.
"So… how are things going with Booth?"
"Great, why?"
"Just curious. Normally you are a lot more forthcoming with information about the men you date."
"It's just that … we all work together and … it's, it's different, ok?" Bren said flustered. Really she wasn't exactly sure why she was less open about her relationship with Booth, other than that it was simply different. She wasn't embarrassed, it was just … she wasn't exactly sure how to mix her personal and professional lives like that. Yes her colleagues were her friends – her family – and Booth was a part of that family too. But to share intimate details about her and Booth with them didn't seem right somehow, and to share with Ang meant sharing with everyone.
"So, have you had sex yet? Is he good? I always thought he would be great in bed" Angela continued on as if she hadn't heard Bren's stumbled explanation.
"Angela!" Brennan half chided half yelled. She really should have been surprised, but she wasn't. Ang had made comments about Booth's physique ever since they had first met him and this whole abstinence thing she was going through had been doing funny things to her.
"Sorry Sweetie, but you know that I have to live vicariously through you. So have you?" Angela asked unfazed.
"No" Bren said quietly, almost embarrassed – not that it was anything to be embarrassed about. "No, we haven't had sex yet."
"What? Why?" Angela asked shocked. "You have been sharing a bed since –"
"How did you –"
"I saw the bed Sweetie. It's kind of obvious. But back to the point. You have been sharing a bed for what? Two weeks? And you have been dating at least that long. So why haven't you? You usually don't wait longer than a week to have sex with a guy. So why are you waiting with Booth?"
"Like I said, it's different with Booth. Every relationship I have ever had has been based primarily on sex. Not that that's a bad thing. But with Booth … I don't know Ang. I don't think I could stand it if it didn't work out, so we are taking our time. Does that make any sense?"
Angela grudgingly had to admit that it did make sense, especially for these two. She had always had the feeling that it Bren and Booth ever got together it would be forever, so maybe taking it slowly was the way to go.
*~BONES~*
Monday
"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan, Director Cullen can see you now."
"Thank you Celia."
"Good morning Director Cullen" Booth greeted as he and his partner walked into the office.
"Booth, Brennan" Cullen greeted as he motioned for the chairs in front of his desk. He watched silently as they took their seats almost simultaneously. It was amusing, bordering on downright funny, how in sync this pair was. He had noticed that even before the recent events that had necessitated their almost constant companionship, they rarely did anything without the other. He had even noticed that they tended to do their paperwork together, even when their paperwork was completely unrelated. From everything that he had heard and observed himself, they were one of the strongest, if not the strongest, teams the Bureau had. When they had settled into the chairs, he continued with the matter at hand. "You've met with the doctor this morning?" he asked looking at Booth.
"Yes. Dr. King said that I was fit to return to duty. My memory is almost back to what it was before the surgery, and all of the damage to my memory is retroactive. He doesn't see any reason why it should affect my work. Physically I'm fine."
Cullen could see that Dr. Brennan wanted to contribute, probably by filling in all the boring scientific details, but she held her tongue after sharing a look with Booth. He never would have thought that Brennan could be controlled or reined in by anyone, especially after that second case – the first she worked out in the field. Back then she blatantly disregarded regulations and procedure to blindly follow her hunches and get her evidence. Now, at least, Booth was able to keep her from making the type of mistakes she had then.
"Good, I'm glad to hear it. You are back to work then. That'll be all," he dismissed. The partners rose from their seats and walked to the door, Booth's hand in its customary place at her back. "And please don't go getting shot or anything anytime soon" Cullen called after them as they reached the door.
"Yes sir" Booth answered with a small smile on his face.
"Can I have my keys back now?" Booth asked as they made their way to the SUV an hour later.
"Why?" Brennan asked stubbornly.
"Because, Bones, it is an FBI issued vehicle and I am the FBI agent."
"But I'm your partner, and a good driver."
"Yes you are, but you do not work for the FBI – as you have readily pointed out several times in the past" he rebutted.
"You know, sometimes I think I liked you better when you couldn't remember" she shot back lightly, taking hold of his hand to lessen the sting.
Booth glared at her momentarily before giving in and smiling. When they reached the car, he led her around to the passenger side and held out his hand. When she just looked at him defiantly he decided to change tactics. Glancing around to make sure they were alone in the parking lot, he slowly leaned into her. Right before their lips touched, he snatched the keys from her hand and pecked her lips lightly.
"That's cheating!" Brennan cried as he opened her door for her.
Giving her his best charm smile, he responded with "Yes, well life's not fair. Now get in please."
*~BONES~*
Tuesday
"You needed to see me Booth?"
"Yes sir. I should have mentioned it yesterday, but it slipped my mind. Um, I'm going to need to leave early Friday."
"How early Booth? You just got back to active duty."
"I know that Director Cullen, but I'm taking my son on a trip this weekend."
"This weekend? It couldn't have been a couple of weeks from now?"
"No, sir it couldn't. We're going for a birthday" Booth responded deciding to keep whose birthday to himself for now – he really didn't need any trouble about him and Bones' relationship just yet.
"You never did tell me how early you have to leave" Cullen informed the agent after a couple of minutes of silence.
"Right, about 3:30."
"Fine, you can have the time" Cullen granted with a single nod. "Have fun with Dr. Brennan and her family" he tacked on as Booth walked through the door of his office. Booth practically stopped in his tracks at that. Sometimes it shocked him exactly how much Cullen knew without him saying a word.
"Let's go Bones, we got a case" Booth announced loudly from the foot of the stairs to the platform.
"Booth, I cannot just leave in the middle of an examination. You should know that by now."
"Vincent can handle this guy, we've got to get to the scene. You wouldn't want anyone to contaminate your evidence" he countered coming up behind her and escorting her away from the exam table. "And you know that you want to work on a case with me" he said suggestively waggling his eyebrows.
"You are absolutely impossible" she laughed as she finally stopped resisting and began walking willingly towards her office with his hand at the small of her back. "So what do we know?"
"Oh, come on Bones, I didn't mean it like that!" Booth called as she slammed the passenger side door, drawling looks from nearby metro cops.
"Don't give me that crap Booth. You didn't have to say anything to me at all. Or you could have come up with a better answer for her than that" she hissed back as he walked around the car to meet her.
"Look, can we just drop it for now?"
"Yes, I need to focus on the remains anyway" she said before walking off in a huff.
"Trouble in paradise?" a cop that had worked several scenes with them asked but was quickly shut up by a dark look from Booth as he walked across the clearing to where his partner was kneeling by the remains of a young man.
*~BONES~*
Wednesday
"So isn't this great?! It's been over a week since we had a session with both of you. So is there anything you want to talk about?" When the partners continued to stare blankly at him he decided to ask slightly more specific questions. "Have any problems arisen since you're dating now?" No response. "Any difficulties getting back to work after everything that's happened?" Booth simply looked at his phone, whether checking for messages or the time, Sweets wasn't sure. "Oh come on guys! You have to have something you want to talk about. There is always something going on between you two. … Any fights or disagreements lately?" Although neither gave any obvious signs that he had hit on something, he had spent enough time observing them that he was able to pick up the subtle indications that he had.
With a new objective for the session in mind, he sat back and just watched the two in silence for a while. Usually people would grow tired of the silence and decide to talk just to fill the void. But these two weren't normal. Instead of becoming uncomfortable, they both simply sat back in their chairs, mirroring Sweets' stance, and waited him out.
After five minutes of complete silence, he tried again. "Dr. Brennan, what was the fight about?"
"It wasn't a fight" she responded not thinking about her choice of words.
"Ok, so it wasn't a fight" the young man stipulated. "Then what was it?"
"It was nothing, ok Sweets" Booth answered defensively.
"What was the nothing about?" Sweets persisted.
"He's just going to keep asking us isn't he?" Brennan asked Booth.
"It looks like it. Should we tell him now or make him wait a little longer?" Booth asked back.
"You guys do realize that I can hear everything you say, right? Talking about me like I'm not in the room is a defense mechanism the two of you use to keep people from prying into your lives. The only problem with that is that it only works for so long and until the people you are excluding recognize it for what it is. I'm not going to get distracted from the point."
"You just did, Sweets. So technically I think we won that round, didn't we Bones?" Booth prodded with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
"I think that it definitely counts as a win" she answered with a matching gleam in hers.
"What was the … disagreement about?"
"My ex" was Booth's simple answer.
Sweets sighed internally. They were not going to make this easy for him. He found himself almost wishing this was like their last regularly scheduled session, with Brennan blurting out random life changing information in her detached way. Steeling himself for a painfully long drawing out process, Sweets took a fortifying breath. "Which ex?"
"Rebecca" Brennan answered with a little more contempt in her voice than he had heard her use with that woman's name before.
"Ok … what about Rebecca?"
Brennan simply huffed, so Booth decided to take this one. "When I talked to her the other night about our trip, she said she wasn't sure she liked the idea of Parker becoming too attached to Bones' family."
"Because she's worried they'll be a bad influence on him" Brennan spat. "Like I would put him in a position that would be bad for him! Let alone Booth!"
Sweets had to admit that he didn't expect this. Waiting a moment to make sure they were done sharing, Sweets decided to leave the issue of Rebecca's opinion aside for the moment – the last thing he needed was for Dr. Brennan to attack him. "I can understand why that would upset you, but why did that cause problems between the two of you?"
The room was once again cast into silence. Finally Brennan stated "There aren't any problems between us."
"Dr. Brennan, the two of you had a fight – ok, a disagreement over that conversation, so obviously it caused some kind of problem."
"We worked it out already. On our own. So there is no need for us to talk about it with you" Booth said definitively.
Sweets sat back a moment just taking the two in. There didn't seem to be any residual tension between them, and if possible, they were sitting even closer to each other than in previous sessions. Suddenly realization struck him and he started to smile.
"Why are you smiling? Booth, why is he smiling?" Brennan asked, clearly thinking she had missed something. Booth just shook his head.
"It was your first fight as a couple" Sweets stated.
"And that's funny to you?" Booth asked incredulously.
"No, not at all it's just –" but he cut himself off.
"Just what Sweets?" Booth asked.
"Nothing, just nothing."
"That's not what you were going to say" Brennan accused.
"Fine" Sweets gave in since it looked like he was in danger of bodily harm either way. "I was going to say that it's just … cute, you know, like a regular couple."
*~BONES~*
Thursday
"Bones, I'm going to talk to Daniel Adams' business partner again. You want to come?"
"Yeah just give me a minute to grab the most recent reports. I'll fill you in on the way. Are we going to him, or is he coming to us?" she asked as she striped of her latex gloves and grabbed some folders from a nearby table.
"He's coming to us this time. He knows more than he's telling and it'll be easier to get him off balance in an interrogation room."
"What makes you say that? Your gut again?" she asked amused.
"So what if it is? It's almost always right" he countered.
Sitting across from Mark Hampton, Booth was more and more convinced that he was involved in Daniel Adams' death. "What was the fight about Mr. Hampton? Was he going to sell the business out from under you?" he questioned.
Brennan watched the interchange quietly. At the moment she had nothing to contribute to the interview, but she was waiting on a call from Hodgins. When she had left with Booth, Hodgins had been running a test that would narrow down the murder weapon significantly. And she had learned that having the right piece of information at the right time, even if the information was incomplete, could make a great difference in a murder's story. When her phone vibrated in her pocket, she stood and walked to the corner of the room so that Hampton couldn't overhear. "Brennan" she answered quietly. "Yeah, Hodgins, did you finish it? … And? … Are you sure? … Ok, thanks Hodgins, bye."
Striding back over to the table she resumed her seat casually and waited a moment longer before leaning forward in her seat. "Tell me, Hampton, how exactly does one go about cleaning blood from a million dollar antique sculpture without damaging the value?" she asked innocently.
"A … Wha – what are you talking about?" he stammered.
"That call I just took," she said motioning to the corner she had been standing in, "was from my lab" she informed him. "A colleague of mine just confirmed that the murder weapon used to kill Daniel Adams was a very expensive antique sculpture, like the one I saw in your office the other day."
Hampton went pale and his eyes went wide. He was caught, he just knew it. "If I were to confess, what kind of deal could I get?" he asked playing his last hand.
"That's up to the DA" Booth informed him.
"Then I want to talk to the DA before I say anything else."
"Fine, Mark Hampton, you are under arrest for the murder of Daniel Adams. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say …"
I'll meet you at home, alright? I still have some paperwork to put together and I want to do it while it's still fresh."
"Sure, Bones, I've got some of my own to finish. I'll see you at home" Booth agreed with a quick kiss.
He was sitting at his desk immersed in his own paperwork a short time later when there was a knock on the door. "Can I come in Seeley?"
"Sure Cam, what's up?" Cam took a seat across form Booth but didn't say anything, she couldn't even really look him in the eye. "Come on, Camile, you can talk to me. What's wrong?"
"Are you sure about this?" she asked suddenly.
"Sure about what? Talking to you? Of course I am" he told her.
"No, Seeley, about this thing with Brennan, are you sure?"
"Where is this coming from Cam?" he asked hesitantly, just bordering on defensive.
"It's just that … you've been under a lot of stress lately and I know that she was there for you while you were still lost trying to remember … and are you sure?" she asked again. "It's not just some kind of post traumatic thing is it?" she asked, and he could almost hear a hint of hope in her voice. "I mean … just over two weeks ago she was asking you to father her child and have nothing to do with it, and now … well, now it's like you skipped the whole early dating step and jumped straight to living together and taking family vacations."
Booth was stunned for a minute, still trying to figure out where Cam was coming from. Was she just worried about him, or both him and Brennan? Was this about work? Was she jealous? Shaking his head, he decided it didn't really matter why she was questioning him, the answer was the same regardless. "Yes Cam I am sure about this. I love her and it's not just a reaction to the amnesia or tumor or anything else. I've been in love with her for a long time now, and was just too … scared of scaring her off to do anything about it. It's the real thing Camille" he said solemnly.
She studied his face intently for a few minutes, and apparently seeing what she was looking for there, she decided to take her leave. "That's good Seeley. I hope it works out. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Probably. Parker and I are picking Bones up from the lab." Then she was gone and he still didn't know why she had asked.
*~BONES~*
Friday
Booth's attention was drawn by the loud "Dad!" coming from his son across the room. "Hey, Bub, you ready to go? We need to go pick Bones up from the lab and get going."
"We have to leave already? It's still early" the smaller Parker announced.
"Yeah it is, but we have a long drive ahead of us. Go get your stuff so we can go."
"Dad," Parker called from the back seat five minutes later, "can I hang out with Max when we get to the lab? He said that he knew this really cool experiment we could do."
"Max isn't there today Bub, but you'll see him tomorrow. He's going to Kings Island with us" Booth informed him.
"Really?! Why is he coming?" the inquisitive boy asked.
"Max is Dr. Bones' father, remember? And we are going with Bones' family."
"Oh." Then all was quiet for all of about three minutes. "Where are we eating dinner?"
"You can't be hungry already" Booth said casting a glance at his son in the rearview mirror.
"No, but I will be. Can we have pizza?"
"Maybe, we'll see. How was your day?" Booth deferred. The rest of the ride was filled with Parker's animated tales of his day and Booth's occasional word or two of acknowledgement, when he could get them in. As he pulled into his normal parking spot a funny thought occurred to him. This weekend would be a really good test of Bones' recent resolve to have a kid. She would be spending six hours in a car with an energetic eight year old tonight, followed by an entire day with three youngsters at an amusement park tomorrow, and another six hour trip home with his son.
"Dr. Bones! We have to go! Come on, come on, come on!" Parker called running into the forensic lab and drawing the attention of several people. Fortunately, even in his excitement, he remembered about the security of the forensic platform itself and stopped at the bottom of the steps.
"I'm coming Parker, just give me a minute. Where's your dad?" she asked as she walked up to him to slide her ID and allow him onto the platform.
"Back here Bones" Booth called as he walked through the glass doors.
"Nice of you to join us" she teased, holding her hand out to his son. "I just have to grab my bag from my offi –"
But she was cut off by Angela's entrance. "Parker, my man! How are you?" she asked nodding to Booth as a hello.
"Hi Angela. I had an ok day, but tomorrow is going to be better!" he announced walking off with the artist.
"Hey, Bones. You ready for this?" Booth asked as they entered her office.
"Why wouldn't I be? It's just a weekend spent with my dad and Russ" she answered sarcastically.
"And Amy and the girls and Parker and me" Booth added.
"Yes, and Parker and you" she smiled leaning in to kiss him.
Cam cleared her throat from the door. "So, Dr. Brennan, I assume you are getting ready to leave?"
"Yeah, we should get going. It's a long drive" she responded slightly embarrassed to be caught kissing Booth by her boss and his former lover. Yes, she thought, some aspects about their relationship were going to take a while to iron out. At the moment, things like this were still just a little awkward. "If you need me, I'm taking my phone and laptop with me."
"Go and have fun, don't worry about work for once" Cam admonished walking away from the couple.
"Dr. Bones? How much longer before we get there?" Parker asked for the tenth time since they had left the Jeffersonian.
"Another four hours, Parker" she responded calmly. "Do you want to play a game on my computer?"
"Sure. What do you have?" Parker asked enthusiastically.
"Not much, unfortunately. Do you like solitaire?" she asked the boy as she dug her lap top out of its case.
"Yep, but I like spider solitaire better."
As Bones passed her computer back to his son, Booth couldn't help but smile. She was doing a lot better than he had thought she would. He knew that she liked Parker and vice versa, but a road trip with a kid could be trying, even for the kid's parents, let alone someone with limited experience with kids. Interlacing their fingers, he brought her hand to his lips.
"What was that for?" she asked surprised by the act of affection.
"Nothing," he responded, "I'm just glad you and Parker are getting along."
"We always get along, Booth" she stated as the confusion clearly made its way to her face. "Why wouldn't we now?"
Glancing at her he had to consciously keep himself from laughing at the genuine confusion on his girlfriend's face. "Because, Bones, he's an energetic kid trapped in a car for six hours. In my experience, traveling with kids for any length of time can wear on the nerves."
A small "Oh" was the only answer he received.
*~BONES~*
Author's Note: First, ten points to whoever catches my unintentional One Tree Hill paraphrase, LOL. Second, I tried a bit of a new style to get to the trip quicker. I didn't want to skip the entire week, because I think that there were a lot of things that could have been covered in that time and I wanted to include interactions with other main characters. As for their 'fight' – I hope that it turned out ok. I thought they needed a fight for two reasons, 1) they really aren't perfect and 2) I love when they have their little spats on the show. It took me forever to think of something for them to argue about.
Important Question!!! Does anyone know the name of Brennan's other niece? I only remember Haley and I don't want to spend an entire story calling her the sister, niece, etc. if not, that's ok, I'll make something up.
Lastly … as you have probably figured out, the next story will be the family trip to Kings Island. So, this is your last chance to share any stories or favorite rides you would like to see included. Thanks ahead of time.