Cannonball!
By EvangelineLongbottom
Brrring! Brrrrringgggg! Dr. Temperance Brennan's cell phone was going off and the loud, shrill noise caused her to jerk awake from the lovely dream she'd been having. Rolling over in her comfy bed, she begrudgingly picked the phone up off her nightstand and flipped it open. Seeley Booth said her caller ID. She groaned. It was Saturday, and she felt like sleeping in. She really hoped they didn't have a case. That would mean work all day and possibly into the next night. Right now, the lab was the last place she wanted to be. Hitting the Accept Call button, she put the phone to her ear. "Hey, Bones," said Booth's cheerful voice. "What are you doing right now?" She felt herself smile at the sound of his voice. "Well, I was trying to sleep in, but I'm up now, I suppose. How will you be spending your day off?" Booth answered, "Sorry if I woke you, Bones, but Parker's over for the weekend, and he was just wondering if we couldn't go for a swim. That is, if you don't mind?" His voice sounded so eager and hopeful, she couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't the one who'd suggested the swim. She laughed and said, "Of course not, I'd love to see Parker again. We could get some lunch too, make a day of it." Booth said, "Sounds good, we'll be there in twenty minutes," and hung up. Brennan couldn't hide the spring in her step as she got up and headed for the shower. The prospect of Seeley Booth in a swimsuit was a good one indeed, and a sight she couldn't wait to spend the day enjoying. Not that she'd ever admit it, of course, but she was as excited as a fifteen year old before her first date as she danced around the apartment getting ready. It isn't a date; you're just friends and he's bringing his son, she reminded herself. But that didn't stop her from putting on her most flattering swimsuit a few minutes later, and singing Taylor Swift at the top of her voice all the way down to the lobby.
Seeley Booth was excited too. He got ready a little faster than usual and actually grabbed Parker and carried him out to the car the moment his shoes were on his feet. The eight year old giggled as his daddy scooped him up and deposited him in the car again. "You wanna see Bones, don't you Daddy?" he asked, teasing. "Not as much as I want to have fun with you on our weekend, buddy," Booth told his son, who grinned and stuck his blue goggles on his head. "I have four eyes!" he crowed, and Booth laughed along as, moments later, they pulled into the parking lot of Bones's building. It was a beautiful, if hot, summer day, and father and son raced each other to the glass double doors and hurried into the cool, air-conditioned lobby. Sitting in an aged reddish lobby chair, decked out in denim shorts, a thin white cotton tee shirt, and big brown sunglasses that matched her dark hair, was Bones. "Good morning Booth, Parker," she greeted them. "The swimming weather is exceptional today. It's a good thing the pool's indoors, since the ultraviolet rays the sun gives off could cause skin cancer with repeated exposure." Parker, looking confused, simply grabbed his pool noodle from his dad and called, "Cannonball time!" before running down the hall towards the pool. "Hey, Parker, come back here a minute," called Booth, and his little boy came tearing back down the hall again. "First of all," Seeley said once he was back, rumpling Parker's sandy hair, "no running in the halls, okay?" Parker rolled his eyes, but nodded as his dad continued. "We were going to order some lunch first, okay? What do you have a taste for, buddy?" Parker grinned. "Pizza please!" Brennan pulled out her cell. "Sounds good to me," she said. "What kind do you like?" After ordering a medium cheese pizza for herself and Parker, and a meatball sandwich for Booth, she followed the boys down to the pool. They were already soaked and splashing about with glee by the time she got there. Brennan smiled to herself as she watched her partner acting like a little kid, and enjoying some time with his son. Then he noticed her. "Come on in, Bones, the water's fine!" he called, just before taking a humongous splash of water to the face from Parker. "Oh, this means war, little man," said Booth teasingly, splashing Parker back. Soon they'd forgotten all about Brennan as their water fight became a full-fledged water battle. She didn't mind, though; they were so funny to watch, and very interesting anthropologically. Males and their aggressive natures, she thought wryly as a sopping-wet pool noodle flew past her head. Besides, this was affording her a most excellent opportunity to covertly stare at Booth's very admirable abs. Just then, her phone rang. "Jensen's Pizza, your order's ready for pickup," said the bored-sounding teenage boy on the other end of the line. "Hey, guys, the food's ready," Brennan called to the soaking wet, still splashing Booth and Parker. "I'm gonna go pick it up!" They nodded acknowledgement of this plan and went back to their splash fight. Brennan rolled her eyes and left the poolside.
When she got back, things had calmed down considerably. Booth was helping Parker to float, holding him up in the water as he lay on his back, looking at the ceiling. "Hey, guys, I'm back," she announced, and Parker turned upright again and hung onto his father as he swam to the water's edge. Booth climbed out of the water and then reached back down and helped Parker out too. Booth made a beeline for his meatball sandwich, but Parker pouted. "I wanna swim some more!" Brennan, who had been admiring Booth's chest again (You're just friends, Tempe. Stop staring at him. But he does have a very good physique, and his symmetrical features are quite pleasing to the eye… Cut it out, Bren!), tore herself away from the sight of the impossibly attractive FBI agent nearby. "I'll swim with you for awhile, Parker. I haven't even gotten in the pool yet anyway!" Parker beamed. "Yay! Watch what I can do, Bones!" He ran over to the diving board. Drying off, Booth shot Brennan a thankful glance as she turned to follow Parker. Watching them go, Booth took a seat at a picnic table next to the diving board and started unwrapping his sandwich. He was about to take a big bite when he saw her. Bones had removed her jeans and t-shirt to reveal a bright red bikini that complimented her figure quite nicely. He could see every one of her curves, and he marveled once again that someone as straight-laced as Temperance Brennan could also be so…. sexy. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. He had forgotten all about his food, but he found that he didn't really care about eating. Not while she was around.
Bones, for her part, was applauding Parker's perfect cannonball. "Did you see? Did you see?" the little boy asked excitedly. "Yes, I did. You're a pretty good diver, Parker. That splash was huge! Can I try?" she said. "Go, Bones!" cried Parker as Tempe climbed up the ladder. Booth, meanwhile, was still staring at his partner, transfixed. Brennan reached the end of the rough blue diving board and jumped, curling her legs in to her chest as she fell through the air. "Cannonball!" She crashed into the water with an enormous splash that got the whole pool area thoroughly soaked. Booth was brought sharply back to reality as the cool water crashed over him, soaking him through. "Good one, Bones!" he called, impressed. Even he couldn't make that big of a splash. Then, he realized his fingers were clutching something slimy and gross. Looking down at his hands, he saw a soggy mess: the remnants of a completely untouched meatball sandwich, which was now saturated with chlorinated water. He groaned. That's what he got for staring at Bones at the pool, he supposed. Seeley, get a hold of yourself, you're just friends! Oh well, he thought as Tempe's laughter at his predicament echoed through the pool area. He could still have a piece of the pizza for lunch instead.
Once fed and toweled off, Parker and Booth got ready to go. "Hey, thanks for having us, Bones, we had a lot of fun," Booth told her as they hugged. "I also found today very amusing. You and Parker are welcome anytime." She bent down to hug Parker too. As her partner and his son walked out the door, Brennan gazed wistfully after them, and made a silent wish. One more chance. A heartbeat later, Booth stopped, one foot out the door, and looked back. But Bones had already turned away.