A/N: Okay, so my day brightened beyond sunshine when I saw the reviews once I got home and was inspired to continue right away. Thanks much!!
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On the ride home, Parker had woken up and began interigating his father about whether or not Bones was comming over to visit. Booth assured him that she was following in her own car. The answer satisfied the youger man, but Booth wasn't so easily won over. He kept looking in his rearview mirror to ensure that she hadn't gotten scared and turned without him noticing.
Brennan followed Booth into the driveway of his house. As she got out, she was quickly met with a small body coliding with hers in a fierce hug around her middle. She quickly recovered and let her arms snake around the small shoulders and sandy colored head.
"Guess what Dr. Bones?", said Parker enthusiastically.
"What Parker?" answered the anthropologiest still trying to understand how this little boy could be so friendly towards her. He had only seen her a handfull of times and helped his dad bring her the Christmas tree, but she had never really spent any conciderable time in his company. She hadn't wanted to intrude on the presious little time Booth got to spend with his only child.
"We boutght Alvin and the Chipmunks! And daddy says that we can eat junk food all night and watch as many movies as we want to. We're gonna have a party!" Parker almost screamed the last part as he grabbed Brennan by the hand and led her past Booth as he held the door open for the two most important people in his world.
Brennan glanced at Booth as she passed him. The charm smile was still in place, but a softness was added to his large brown eyes made her breath catch in her throat. It was just a few days ago that she thought she would never see those eyes looking into hers again. If it wasn't for the incesant tug on her hand pulling her into the house, she might have lost herself in his gaze.
Parker only let go of Brennan's hand once they had entered the living room. He began rummaging through the shopping bags and came out with the aforementioned movie with glee. With practiced ease of a child who can get into anything, Parker had the tightly sealed packing plastic off from the dvd and was already tearing at the security label. Booth grabbed the remaining bags and took them to the kitchen.
As the Booth men began setting up for a night of movies and junk food, Brennan was left to wander the living room. The last time she had been here, she had just ran through, straight up the stairs to confront Booth about not letting her know the details personally. Even after he assured her he would look into exactly why she wasn't contacted, she still could feel the anger in her. The anger didn't receed until after she confronted Sweets about his little experiment on the two partners. She had have a mind to actually tell Booth about it just so that she could see Sweets try to talk his way out of it, or to see how funny he would walk after Booth got done beating him up.
Booth meanwhile, began opening bags of chips, M&Ms and gummy worms into various cartoon character bowls collected from numerous outings with Parker to the local dollar store. He could hear Parker turning on the tv and opening the dvd player to start the movie. He wondered what Bones would say about singing chipmunks. Actually, he thought, I hope she doesn't spoil the fun for Parker.
Booth brought the snacks out and laughed as Parker dug right in. Knowing Rebecca would have a field day about his parenting habbits, it was a great relief to see his son so happy. He had plenty of long days and nights in the safe house to wonder how his son would handle his death if it ever truly happened. He had worried about his Bones too. By this time, Brennan had settled on one end of the couch. Parker sat next to her reaching into each bowl and stuffing his face long before the previews ended.
Booth sat on the other end of the couch silently wishing the movie would put his son to sleep sometime soon. However, after watching movie all the way through along with the extras and singing along with Parker, Booth got up to get the second movie for them to watch called Kung Fu Panda. As the movie started, Parker slinked down to the floor to lay on his belly while facing the tv.
This left the two partners on the couch with nothing baring them from staring at eachother without any intention of watching the movie. Without telepathic ability, neither of them new that the other was thinking of that evening, after gathering at the Jeffersonian, the silent moment they shared on the stairs. Emotions heavy on Brennans heart that once again had been thrown into overdrive while her brain took a back seat. Booth wishing he could just take all her pain away while her head rested on his shoulder. As he mentioned to Sweets, she couldn't be pushed and that was not the night to push her.
Booth shifted his position to lay his legs more across the couch in a lounging position. He held his hand out to Brennan to beckon her over. He wanted to hold her, to let her know yet again, that he would never betray her or leave her if it was ever in his power to do so. He saw her eyes travel to his hand and back to look at him again. He wasn't about to let her lose this and kept his hand reached out until she gave in.
Brennan couldn't decide what she felt. It was irrational to miss Booth as he sat just inches from her. But remembering how warm and alive he was while sitting with her on the stairs and all the not-so-much guy hugs, she missed him, his warmth. His charm smile glowing at a thousand watts did her in, however, and she shifted her own body to match his leaning against the other end of the couch.
Booth brought his arm around her while she rested her head on his chest. He rubbed her arm softly and slowly while she listed to his heart beat. She could remember the feel of his heartbeat beneath her hands and closed her eyes willing herself not to bring that memory back to life. Instead, Brennan opened her eyes and began to watch the movie that had long since started and had Parker enraptured.
Little did the two adults know, Parker hadn't been paying much attention to the movie himself. From his position on the floor, he could see the reflection of the two on the couch on the glass window doors that were on the bottom of the tv stand. He knew for a fact, since his mom told him so, that Dr. Bones and his dad were more than just friends.
Booth didn't have much longer to wait for his son to fall asleep. As the Kung Fu Panda ended, he looked at the young boy sprawled on the floor with his head cradled in the crook of his arm. Booth looked down at Brennan to try to get her attention as he needed to put his son to bed, but was greeted with a soundly sleeping Bones drooling on his chest. He shot a look skyward saying a silent prayer for this moment and to take a deep breath to keep from laughing out loud.
As much as he wished that he could never move, and that moment to never leave, Booth nudged at Brennan to wake her up. "Temperance, need to sit up babe. I need to put Parker to bed."
"mmm, kay," whispered Brennan as she sat up to let Booth rise from the couch. She was still extremely tired and groggy and didn't even register his endearment.
Booth scooped Parker up from the floor and carried him to bed. He changed his son into pajamas left in his bag by his mother and tucked him in. With a kiss to his forehead, Parker sighed happily in sleep as his father left the room.
Booth returned to the living room and began to gather the bowls of snacks to take back to the kitchen. He would worry about the rest of the cleaning up for the morning. He noticed Brennan slowly make her way down the hallway. He figured she would leave for her own home in just a moment, but that would not stop him from trying to convince her to stay. After checking all the downstairs windows and doors, Booth paused at the front door to wait for Bones. Even in sleep, she would have been done by now and ready to leave, but a check on the bathroom door, showed no sign of Brennan. Booth quickly looked out side to see her car still sitting in the driveway as it had been all afternoon and Bones no where to be found.
A stray thought entered Booth's mind and he shook his head at whether or not Bones would be there. He made is own way up the stairs to his room to see the lamp next to his bed on and a neatly folded set of women's clothing on the chair on the other side of the room. Bones had already changed into a t-shirt of Booths and was folding back the blankets of his bed to climb in.
Booth moved silently into the room, still unable to fathome how this event could have occured. He didn't want to push his Bones into bed, but he certainly wasn't about to push her out of it either. He grabbed a pair of pajama pants and changed in the small bathroom in the hall before entering his room again. Brennan was already laying down and covered with the blanket as he climbed in behind her. Booth had to reach over her to shut the light off, as Brennan had already fallen back to sleep. He settled in next to her and felt her shift to mould against him in her sleep. He cradled her small frame with his arm over her and followed her into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.