Temperance leaned over the table as her daughter poked at her cereal. "Eat, you need your nutrients in order to have a successful day at your first day of pre-school." She said with a smile as Antonia looked up at her mother with a very annoyed expression.
"Why do I got to eat the brown cereal? Daddy's cereal has loops and is colorful."
"Because daddy enjoys having dangerously high levels of sugar in his system in order to get him through a day, while in reality he generally crashes at ten in the morning, and barely makes it through the day. Your cereal is good for you, and it will ensure you…"
"She's just trying to get you used to the taste of paste." Booth said as he walked into the room, straightening his tie.
"Booth." She said with an exasperated sigh.
"Where are my frooty loops?" He asked, looking through the cupboard, he pulled down a box and two bowls, poured himself one, and one for Antonia, sat down and poured milk in them as Antonia pushed the bowl of shredded wheat toward her mother and grabbed the bowl Booth was offering and looked up at Temperance's look of shock. "What?"
Temperance simply glared at him and turned to walk out of the room.
"Mommy is mad at you now." She said, taking a big bite of the sugary cereal.
"Yeah, maybe you should eat the other stuff…" He said, nodding toward the other bowl. "I have to work with her all day." He whispered. She nodded her head and pulled the bowl of shredded wheat toward the front of her, shoving a big spoonful in her mouth, she pushed the other bowl toward Booth and smiled, dropping bits of cereal into her bowl. "Don't waste…" She said, letting milk roll down her chin as Booth grabbed the bowl and gave her a grossed out look.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." He said as he wiped her chin and lifted the second bowl and began eating the cereal. "And don't worry… these won't go to waste." He winked as the little girl giggled.
After a moment, Temperance walked into the dining area with two brown paper bags and her bag slung over her shoulder, she noticed immediately that Antonia was eating the shredded wheat, and looked to Booth with a confused look.
"Mmm…" Booth said as he winked at her, his smile as charming as ever, as the same sentiment was echoed from the little girl beside him.
Booth finished up his cereal and stood up, grabbed his two bowls and Antonia's just as she finished slurping the rest of the milk from the bottom of the bowl with a satisfying 'ahh' sound, just like Booth. He walked over to the sink and rinsed the bowls out, knowing full well that he was being watched. He smiled and turned off the water as he turned his body to face his admirer, and he was met with an extremely amused, yet suspicious expression.
"How did you do that?" She asked.
"How did I do what?" He asked, walking past her, she grabbed his tie, and stopped him from walking past, he grinned and turned to face her.
"You know what." She glared, tugging at the tie, she gave him a scrutinizing glare and he just laughed and shook his head like he didn't know what she was talking about.
"I guess she just wants to be in your good graces today." He shrugged as she tugged him closer with the tie, his lips inches from hers when he felt resistance, and his eyes lifted to hers.
"You two have some sort of pact, don't you? Some kind of bet or tally, or gamble on which one of you is going to drive me crazy first, don't you?" She whispered as he just laughed, his innocent smile was the one that adorned his lips now, and she simply glared. "Oh, don't you give me that look, Seeley Booth… I am on to you."
"Mm… So many responses to that." He said, tipping his head he leaned in and gave her a tender kiss on her lips, just as both of them felt hands on their legs, attempting to push them apart.
"Okay, Break'em up… Time for school." She said, pulling at Booth, who snuck in one more kiss before stepping back, Temperance took a moment to fix his tie. She caught his eye and watched him smile at her as she shrugged shyly, and lifted the little girl up.
"Alright… who is ready for pre-school?"
"ME!" Antonia exclaimed as she grabbed a paper bag from the counter and handed it to Antonia.
"Here is your lunch…" She said, watching the little girl try to open it, she held it closed. "No peeking until lunch time…" She said with a smile, knowing full well that the bag would be opened in the car on the way. She handed Booth his bag and held the top closed. "This is your lunch… no peeking…" She said, watching his eyes narrow as he grabbed the bag and tipped his head.
"What, no diner?" He asked.
"You can decide between the diner, and the lunch I made for you." She said as she grabbed her bag and Antonia's bag and headed toward the door.
"Hey, hey… wait for me…" He said, grabbing his suit jacket, he swung it over his shoulders as he rushed after them and grabbed her keys at the door before she could, smiling at the glare he received. "Good tie choice." He said with a smile, as he reached out for Antonia and smiled as she climbed into his arms, and they were each out the door and headed for the car, to start their big day.
Just walk her into preschool and drop her off…That is exactly what Temperance thought she was doing with Antonia. She could compartmentalize, she could do this, she could hand her child off to complete strangers and go about her day normally.
She stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Mama?" Antonia asked when she realized that her mother stopped walking, and her daddy and she were still going.
Booth could see the look in her eye and knew exactly what she was thinking. "Bones, you can do this."
Temperance looked down at her little girl, wearing her blue, green, white plaid skirt and her pristine white blouse with the school's emblem on it, her brown curls light and breezy, and the little bow in her hair that matched the skirt. "I'm not so sure that I can." She whispered. "I think my dad is available." She whispered. "He can watch her."
"Bones." Booth said as he lifted the girl into his arms and faced her head on. "I didn't say anything when you decided that she should go to preschool… I didn't say anything when you enrolled her into this hoity toity preschool… and I didn't say anything…because I thought you were ready for all of this."
"This isn't a hoity toit school." She argued, her brow knitted in annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Bones…" Booth whispered, reaching for her hand, she let him take it as he leaned forward resting his forehead on hers. "You can do this."
"She's my baby." Temperance whimpered.
"I know, but you can do this…you've faced down serial killers, Bones… this is Elmo we're talking about here. I know… he's intimidating with his eyes popping out of the top of his head, and the way that he convulses into fits of maniacal laughter." He said with a smirk on his face as he noticed she was beginning to cave. "But you can handle this… we can handle this."
"I can handle this." Antonia said, sighing. "Can I go to preschool already?"
Temperance looked at her daughter's sincere expression, the one that matched Booth's exact expression and she sighed. "Why am I the only one having an issue with this?" She asked.
"Because she's your baby… and you don't want her to grow up."
"Of course she's going to grow up." Temperance said, looking at Booth desperately. "It's normal, it's logical… she's going to grow up." She whimpered, trying very hard not to cry. "I mean, she needs to get older, and experience new things, and… and…"
"Bones…" Booth said softly as he watched tears roll down her cheeks.
"Mama, don't cry… I'll be brave." Antonia said, watching her mother's lip tremble, hers began to tremble. "I love you, mama…"
"I love you, baby…" Temperance said as she took her daughter into her arms and hugged her while she cried. Booth stood by the two of them, looking around the hallway to see if anyone was watching, he blocked the view of his two girls from a gawker or two as he listened to their crying start to wane, and he turned around and lifted Antonia from her mother's arms.
"Okay, you two… it's enough with the mushy stuff… You are going to pre-school… and you are coming with me… let's go…" He said, lifting the little girl to the floor, she wiped her face with her sleeve and looked up at Booth as he put his arm around her mother, and kissed her cheek. Temperance regained her composure quickly, wiping the stray tear away as she took a deep breath and gave Booth a grateful glance. Antonia then reached up and gripped his hand as the three of them made their way to her classroom, and her first official day of pre-school.
The drop off went smoothly, and before they knew it, Temperance and Booth were back in the car, though it was now eerily silent. They sat for a moment in the parking lot, and Temperance looked to Booth. "It's so quiet without her." She said, that soft tone in her voice was an indication of the deep emotions she was feeling at that moment. He could tell that she was just moments away from crying.
"We will go get her together after work, take her to a nice dinner… and it won't be quiet anymore once she gets jabbering about her first day." Booth said, trying to make things light, though he could tell she wasn't in the mood, her eyes were focused out the window, and her head was tilted, and she sighed. "Aw, Bones… what's gotten into you?"
"Nothing." She sighed. "Let's just get to work, we're already running behind, and Cam has to show you your new work space, get your ID renewed…" She trailed off as he furrowed her brow and sighed.
"So what is this new job that they made up for me at the lab, Bones? You never really explained it." Booth said as he pulled into traffic.
"Chief Forensic Ballistics Expert… and it's not a made up job." She explained, her voice back to its normal, clinical self. "You're in charge of testing and backing up the programs that Angela has created for Ballistics pathology. She doesn't have a background in ammunition training, and having you on board would be helpful as an expert witness to any cases involving gunshots, firearms, or explosives."
"So what do I do when there isn't a case involving guns and ammo?" He asked as he turned his head and looked at her as she looked into his eyes. She gave him a sheepish grin and shrugged. "What is that?" He asked, his brow furrowing, her silence making him nervous.
"You're my personal security." She said, watching a playful smile play about his lips as he shook his head in disbelief.
"You're kidding."
"What? I have a partner for the crime solving… but I may need extra protecting… another gun… one that I can rely on to watch my back. It's not unreasonable to think that I will be put into dangerous situations, Booth, and with Harding as a virtual rookie, I'm going to need someone to watch my back at all times. Someone that I know that I can trust with my life." She said with a shrug as she looked out the window with a slight smile that she tried to hide from him as he pulled into the parking garage and flashed his ID for the attendant.
"And what did Harding think of that?" Booth asked, knowing that her request for extra security would not be good for his friend's ego. He pulled into Temperance's parking spot, and shook his head, putting the car into park.
"He doesn't get a choice in the matter." Temperance said as she jumped from the vehicle and grabbed her bag. "I get my choice of backup… and if I can't carry a gun myself, then I want someone who I know for a fact knows how to carry one, backing me up." She said as she watched him smile at her for a moment. "Let's go, Booth, chop chop…" She said with a smile, and she closed the door to the car and started walking toward the elevator, his laugh following close behind her, as he jogged up along her side.