Chapter 2

The past four hours were the longest hours of his life. Soon it would be over, at least that's what Paterson had kept telling him. Boot pinched his eyes shut as the baby behind him bawled yet again. He was most certainly contemplating killing Paterson.

"Here mate, have this," said Paterson placing a warm coffee in front of Booth's face. "Sorry about this."

Booth threw his hands up in frustration. "How do you not know that there's been a huge storm dumping feet of snow on your hometown? Hell a storm like that heading to the east is going to be all over the news!"

"Booth, calm down. You're just cranky."

"Attention passengers. Flight 501 to Helena is now boarding at Gate 7C." Booth was one his feet in a flash and navigating his way to the gate. Paterson was in tow, smiling at the frustration of his friend.

"Paterson let's go," announced Booth as nudged Paterson in the ribs. The man simply nudged into Booth's shoulder harder. Booth rolled his eyes and shouted, "Michael!"

Paterson jolted awake. "Huh? What? No change for a twenty?" Booth chuckled lightly and Paterson wiped the sleep from his face. Booth rolled his now liberated shoulder.

"Man, you drooled on me!"

"Sorry."

"Whatever. We've landed though." Paterson nodded and they grabbed their items form the overhead storage area and left the plane.

It was late afternoon by the time they had headed for Paterson's home. Paterson drove, one-handed, while Booth sat in the passenger seat beside him.

"So the drive to my place is about an hour. We'll spend the night at my place and head to the complex tomorrow morning and go from there." Booth nodded in understanding.

Within no time Booth was snoring softly as Paterson stared at the boring white terrain in front of him. Over time he noticed that Booth was muttering something under his breath. It took a few tries but he finally caught the word: Temperance. With a mischievous smile he turned up the radio to max volume and picked a rock station. The sound immediately jerked Booth awake.

"What the hell was that for?" queried a very cranky Booth.

"Sorry, but I was getting very bored. Besides you were running your hand up and down my leg murmuring the name 'Temperance.'"

Booth immediately turned pale and gulped. "Re…Really?"

"No, I'm yanking your chain. Well you were saying the name Temperance over and over. So spill it, who is she?" Boot looked somewhat relieved and then Paterson made realization. "She's that one you call Bones right? Your partner?"

Booth was saved from replying as the Paterson house appeared. It was white, two floors and absolutely beautiful. The house stood in the middle of nowhere surrounded by pine trees. Booth could see a playground in the back. "Ah we are here. Welcome to the Paterson household."

"Sounds like the title of some crappy horror movie," muttered Booth as he exited the car. He helped Paterson unload the bags and just as they were at the front door of the house the front door opened and a little ball of energy jumped out and landed in Paterson's arms.

"Daddy you's home!" shouted the little boy. He was wearing a Colorado Avalanche jersey and hockey gloves. His hair was a mass of brown curls, which reminded Booth of his own son.

"Hey sport. Andy, meet a good friend of mine, Seeley Booth. He works for the FBI."

"Cool!" He jumped from his father's arms to shake Booth's hand.

"You like hockey?" questioned Booth as he entered the home.

"Yep. Daddy and I used to play everyday until he got hurt. Now I just play by myself."

"Tell you what. If it's okay with your dad maybe we can go out and play in a little bit." Andy looked up to his father expectantly; Paterson just smiled and nodded.

"Clean your room first." Andy nodded, quickly removed the hockey gloves and ran up the stairs. Booth got to look over the interior home for the first time. It was enormous and cozy with at least five bedrooms by Booth's estimate. It was beautifully decorated and added a comfortable feeling. The crackling fireplace added a warm gentle heat that Booth enjoyed.

"I thought you had twins?" voiced Booth to Paterson.

"He's somewhere." There was a sound of clattering pots from the kitchen. "Honey is that you?" A woman entered the living room holding a young boy in her arms, a bloody towel held under his nose. He looked exactly like his brother, but his hair was short and spiky. He too was wearing a hockey jersey, but one from the New York Rangers. "What happened?" asked Paterson, worry evident in his voice.

"He was playing goalie again. Six year olds do not need to be playing goalie," she scolded.

"He's got a helmet!"

"Well he thinks he's Superman and that he's immune to things." She checked his nose and found that it finished bleeding. She wiped it one last time and sent him off to play upstairs. Afterwards she turned to Booth. "I'm sorry about that, but they are going through this whole play hockey phase and Andrew doesn't like that James is a Rangers fan and they get all…sorry for rambling, my name is Jennifer."

Booth chuckled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Well Mike, why don't you show him to his room and wash up. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Yes ma'am," replied Paterson with a salute. Jennifer rolled her eyes and returned to the kitchen. "Anyway Seeley you'll downstairs over here." He led Booth down a hallway and into a room. The room was larger than his living room at home. The large bed looked extremely comfortable and Booth couldn't wait to stretch out. "The bathroom is through that door." He pointed to the back of the room. "Feel free to watch the telly too."

"You really went all out didn't you when you got this place didn't you," said Booth as he threw his bags on the ground.

"Yeah well nothing but the best for my family."

"DINNER!" All four boys in the home ran to the dining room where the food was ready. A beautifully prepared chicken dinner complete with rice and vegetables was served before them.

"That was the best dinner ever," claimed Booth as he leaned back in his chair. "Well you could at least give my mother and grandmother a run for their money."

"Why thank you Seeley." Both young boys had cleaned their plates and looked at their mother.

"Mommy, can we go play hockey with Seeley now?" they asked in unison.

"Go ahead, but dress warm and James, you better wear your helmet if you are playing goal!"

The sun was down already in Montana and the temperature was around twenty five, but that did not seem to affect the Paterson men, or Booth. Mike had built a lighting system for the kids so they could play night games when the pond froze and that's where they started to go. The older man carrying the equipment hovered back while the two energetic boys bounced their way to the pond.

"So why does James like the Rangers of all teams?" questioned Booth.

"I wondered the same thing, but apparently he loves being a goalie and the Rangers' goalie Lundqvist. He asked for the jersey and some equipment and he's been playing with his brother since." They arrived at the pond and laced up. Booth and Paterson were the same size and there was a pair of skates for Booth.

They played straight through for nearly two hours, leaving all four of the boys extremely exhausted. Booth found that he didn't lose much of the skill he had from playing during high school and that James was a young aspiring goaltender. They skated until their bones ached and then began the trek back home. Booth retired to his bedroom after bidding everyone adieu and took a relaxing hot shower. He was lying on the bed watching Sportscenter when "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls. He had that ringtone dedicated to only one person simply because he felt it reminded him of her.

"You miss me already," he stated as he put the phone to his ear.

"Quiet Booth. I just wanted to tell you that Rebecca came around here looking for you."

"Oh, why? She has my cell number. Oh I had it off on the plane. What did she want?"

"She wanted you to look after Parker for the afternoon because she had to do whatever. I told her that you were on a case and she muttered something about irresponsible before leaving."

Booth swore aloud, angry that he missed an opportunity to be with his son. "Thanks for letting me know Bones."

"Of course." There was one of those awkward silences before Brennan spoke. "So how is your trip going?"

Booth relayed the day's events to her. She would laugh or simply acknowledge that she was still listening every so often. She then told him of her day with events such as Cam sending a memo banning public displays of affection from the workplace, which led to Hodgins being grumpy all day. They were talking for over half an hour until Booth's phone's battery started to die.

"Sorry Bones, but my phone is dying. I'll call you tomorrow if I get the chance or something like that, okay?"

"Okay Booth. Good night." And then Booth's phone died. He got out of bed to search for the charger and after plugging it in he climbed into bed thinking about the beautiful wilderness ahead, free of murder and skeletons.