Doggy Daycare B N' B Style

Doggy Daycare B N' B Style

Chapter Two

3:30 a.m.

The curtains billowed softly from the light spring breeze blowing outside Brennan's bedroom window. The room was bathed in an amber glow from the full moon. She rolled over to look at her clock for what felt like the millionth time that night. Another hour had gone by and Brennan was still unable to sleep.

For some time after she and Booth went to bed, she could hear both Barney and her partner tossing and turning. Barney would occasionally scratch and she could hear him thump, thump, thumping. A few times she had shushed him. He had finally thrown himself down in his crate with a loud sigh.

As she drifted off to sleep she realized the strange noises she had heard were Barney and Booth snoring. The racket was so loud she swore they would be waking the neighbors soon. Well, isn't that just special at least two of us are sleeping tonight. With a disgruntled huff, she fluffed up her pillow, and lay down.

4 a.m.

Slurp, slurp, slurp…. Booth's tired brain wondered, what's that? He rolled over, trying to ignore the sound. Slurp…slurp…slurp what the heck is that? Right the dog. He managed to mumble, "Barney, knock it off, you're driving me nuts." He heard Barney get up and throw himself down. Thank God, he's going to be quiet he thought. A few minutes later he heard, Slurp…slurp…slurp…he jumped up and flipped the light switch on as he said, "What are you doing dog?" For heaven's sakes, stop licking your feet. You're supposed to be sleeping." he whispered angrily trying not to wake Bones.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm not playing games with you, its four o'clock in the morning dude," he said in exasperation.

Barney just sat there, leaning on one hip, those ears still crossing one over the other, and his bright orange eyebrows bobbing up and down as he watched his Uncle Booth talking to him. His tongue slowly slid out of his mouth as he began to pant softly. He twisted his head from one side to the other as if to say, Well, that's just too bad as I'm up now so that means you should be too.

"Look Bud, I'm not happy with that stunt you pulled last night. My nose is killing me. Thanks a lot for ruining my moment with Bones." Good grief, since when do I have a conversation with a dog, he wondered.

"I'd really appreciate it if you would let me sleep until eight o'clock, Bud," he told the dog as he reached up to turn the light off.

His feet were hanging over the arm of the couch and he found himself wishing it could be made into a bed. With a frustrated sigh, he pulled the blanket back up over his shoulders and tried to find a more comfortable position. This was going to be one very long weekend.

Within seconds man and dog were again sound asleep.

5:45 a.m.

Brennan was pulled from sleep by the sounds of a dog beginning to whine. Oh, my God! Russ said Barney howls occasionally. She bolted upright in bed, quickly pulling on her robe and slippers. She had to hurry or Barney would wake up Booth.

Suddenly the living room erupted in a loud mournful howl as Barney began to howl like a hound dog, Arrrrrohhh, Arrrrooohhhh! Shoot she was too late. She quickly darted out into the living room whispering in a loud voice "Shh, Barney!"

"What! I'm up!! Booth jumped up and turned the light on again, this time with gun drawn, wearing nothing but his boxers and hollering, "FBI, show yourself, now!"

He scanned the room looking for an intruder and wondering what had set the dog off into a fit of howling. "Barney, shut up! He bellowed.

They could hear sirens wailing in the distance, slowly getting closer and closer to the apartment.

Brennan quickly ran up to the dogs crate and opened the door to make sure he was actually awake. "Barney, its okay," she soothed. "It's just a siren." He reached up and licked her hand as she shut the door.

The light on the end table lit the room in a soft amber glow, illuminating his partners face, enabling him to see that she had the beginnings of a black eye.

"I'm so sorry Booth; I forgot to tell you that he might start to howl in the middle of the night. Russ and Amy told me he howls when the sirens go off. Sometimes he even howls in his sleep. If he keeps this up, I might get thrown out of my apartment," she said as she stifled a yawn.

"Yeah, I figured when I heard the siren, that was probably why he started howling," he said as he took a closer look at her face in the light from the lamp. "Gee, Bones have you looked in the mirror since we went to bed last night?" he asked with concern.

"Why, what's wrong?" she asked as she reached up to touch her face. She winced as she touched her right cheekbone just below her eye. "Ow that hurts!" she whined. "You didn't give me a black eye did you, Booth? She demanded.

"What? Why are you blaming me for your black eye?" He asked. "It's not my fault the dog freaked out when we were wrestling around last night. If you had put him away to begin with, none of that would have happened! That's what happens when you think you know everything," he added with a smirk.

Brennan went into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror as she assessed the damage. That's just great, what are people going to think when they see Booth and I looking like this? Here I am with a black eye and his nose is still swollen and black and blue. Oh, my God what if they think we got in some kind of domestic fight? Where did that idea come from she wondered. Crap, well Angela will just have a field day with this new development.

She leaned closer to the mirror. Booth appeared in the doorway watching her inspect the fresh bruise. She was leaning across the bathroom counter, her robe had fallen open exposing her chest and the top half of her breasts. Her skimpy nightgown was leaving little to the imagination. He stepped the rest of the way into the tiny room and engulfed her in his presence. She shivered and wasn't sure if it was due to the chill in the early morning air or his nearness. He reached out and touched her chin, turning her face towards him for a closer look.

"Yep, I hate to tell you this Bones, but you've got one heck of a shiner. One any guy would be proud of. Now you can brag you should see the other guy." He said with a husky laugh. He leaned a little closer and just barely grazed his lips over her right eye as it fluttered closed, and she let out a breathless sigh.

"See, I knew a kiss would make it all better." He murmured as he turned and walked back out into the living room.

It took her several minutes before she made another appearance in the living room. Booth was back on the couch, covered with the blanket. Barney, thank goodness had settled down, and was finally sleeping. She quietly left the room and went back to bed. As she closed her eyes she reached up and lightly touched her eye remembering the feather light touch of Booth's kiss. She was asleep in seconds.

8 a.m.

The early morning sunlight was streaming through the curtains in the living room, landing squarely in Booth's and Barney's faces. Barney began to fuss. After the first few whines went unanswered he let out an obnoxious yap.

"Alright Barney, give me a minute and I'll take you out," Booth grumbled on his way to the bathroom.

By the time he came out of the bathroom Brennan had Barney's leash. "If you take him out, I'll fix the coffee," she said as she handed the lead to him. "When he's done, you guys can play fetch with Mr. Frog." she said as she quickly snuck the frog into Booth's jacket pocket when Barney wasn't looking.

"I'd keep him out there for at least fifteen to twenty minutes before you come back in. He should be ready to eat his breakfast by then," she said on her way into the kitchen.

9:15 a.m.

Brennan had been busy while Booth and Barney were out for their morning walk. She went next door to Mrs. Winters, and asked if she could borrow a couple of eggs. She wanted to make Belgian waffles for Booth. She planned to top them with three varieties of fresh berries and cool whip. She quickly whipped up a batch of her favorite vegan crepes that she planned to fill with fresh sugar glazed strawberries and whipped cream.

When Barney and Booth walked into the apartment they were met with the smell of fresh coffee, Belgian waffles and something sweet. Barney looked up at Booth and licked his chops, and began to whine softly. "Sorry 'bout that Bud, whatever Bones is fixing, smells too good to share," he told the dog with a smile on his lips. "Let's see what she has for you to eat."

Brennan knew when the two returned as she could hear Barney whining. As the two made their way toward the kitchen Brennan called out to Booth, "I filled his dish it's on the washer in the laundry room. Please feed him by the back door."

"Will do," he said as he changed directions and headed towards the laundry room. Booth found the food and asked Barney to sit and stay before putting it down for him. He was amazed that he waited for him to say "Okay," before he began to eat. "Good boy." he said as he bent down and scratched him behind the ears.

Booth made his way back to the kitchen. He was beginning to feel a lot like Barney as his mouth was beginning to water from the delicious aromas wafting out into the rest of the apartment.

"So Bones, what's for breakfast?" he inquired. "Something sure smells awfully good. I'm not sure who was salivating more, me or the dog," he said with a laugh. I sure could use that coffee you promised me," he complained.

"Here," she said as she handed him his coffee. "Breakfast is ready now." She turned back to the stove and finished dishing up their plates before carrying them out to the dining room.

"You had time to do all of this while I was out with the dog?" Booth said in amazement as he followed her into the dining room. The table was set with a delicate white lace table cloth, fine china, crystal glasses, and a set of silver filigree candles that she had lit. Booth pulled the chair out waiting for her to sit down before seating himself.

"Really, there was nothing to it. My father, Russ, Amy and the girls were here for dinner on Wednesday. Most everything for the table was already set up," she informed him with a bright smile. "We had a really nice time."

"I'm glad you and your family are beginning to bond. I was worried you might not be able to handle all of this at once. It's nice to see you making a connection with your father and Russ."

"I know I wasn't sure for awhile if I would ever be able to forgive my Dad. There are still a lot of things we need to talk about but we agreed to take it slow."

"I can't understand why you think you need to have someone teach you how to cook. These are the best Belgian Waffles ever!" he said, licking his lips in enthusiasm. "I think you're doing just fine on your own." he added as he continued to rave about her cooking. "Where did you get the recipe? My mom used to make them for me and my brother Jared. Yours are even better than hers."

"I don't know where the recipe came from originally. I remembered when you took Barney out for his morning walk that my mom used to fix them every Sunday for Russ and my dad. They loved them. When Russ got to be a teenager she had to double the recipe because there was never enough for both of them if she didn't." she said with a laugh.

"I'm glad you like them," she murmured with a smile. She was secretly pleased that he was so impressed with her cooking abilities. She had only ever cooked one meal for him, her now infamous Mac and Cheese.

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the weekend?" her partner inquired. "Are we doing anything special?"

"No, I was going to catch up on some household chores, finish reading one of my anthropology magazines, maybe write some more on my new book. That was before we got stuck with Barney for the weekend. Since he's here, I guess we should take him to the park to get some exercise. I'll work on his obedience lessons; he needs to learn to mind, with and without distractions. Why, was there something special you planned on doing this weekend?" she asked him with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry if we ruined your plans, Booth."

"No you didn't. Maybe watch a game on TV. We've been so busy working lately I'm not sure who's playing. The park sounds fun. I'm sure Barney would enjoy a game of fetch. Does he know what a Frisbee is?"

"Yes, Booth he knows what a Frisbee is. He likes them. He also loves his ball and that darn frog he carries around all the time." She said with a smile as she picked up another forkful of her strawberry crepes.

Booth was watching her eat, and couldn't help the small grin that split his lips when she totally missed getting the forkful of food into her mouth. Somehow she managed to smear some on her right cheek and the rest was slowly dripping down her chin.

"Eat much, Bones?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Shoot." She murmured her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. "I can't believe I just did that." She tried licking it off. However, she was unable to get it all.

"Here, Bones, allow me," Booth said as he got up and leaned over her. He took his thumb and gently wiped her chin before sticking his thumb in his mouth to suck the strawberry and whipped cream glaze. "Mmm, good." He moaned. Brennan's eyes opened wide watching her partner, her tongue darted out in anticipation.

He reached up and very gently stroked her cheek and around her now black and blue eye. "I'm sorry about your eye Bones, I didn't mean to hurt you." He leaned forward and just barely grazed his lips over the tender skin, then slowly trailed gentle kisses down her cheek to her mouth.

"Booth, wait…she began. She reached up to touch his face and he took her hand and used her thumb to wipe the rest of the strawberry glaze off of her cheek. He brought her thumb to his mouth and gently sucked the syrup from her thumb. She groaned in pleasure. Her body flushed with heat, her breathing increased.

Booth turned and wiped a finger across her plate picking up more of the strawberry glaze; he brought it to her lips and gently spread the glaze over them. Brennan's tongue darted out to lick his finger but he quickly pulled his hand away. Instead he leaned in a little closer, his tongue darting out to lick the syrup from her lips. First he traced her bottom lip, gently sucking to get more of the sweet berry flavor, then up and around her top lip.

Oh my God, this is so hot, he tastes so good! Brennan thought. Who would have thought that Seeley Booth, strawberries and whipped cream would taste like heaven?

By now both of them were groaning in pleasure, his hands around her waist, stroking up her back, her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Finally she yanked him in for a full blown kiss, tongues dueling, and their breath coming in quick pants.

I'm kissing Bones! She's kissing me back! God is she kissing me, she tastes delectable. Booth moaned in pleasure. He continued to stroke his tongue with hers, both of them unable to get enough.

"Booth…Booth…"So, I take it this means you really must like my cooking?" she asked between kisses.

"Like it? I'd like to be alone with it!" he moaned. Oh, God did I really just say I'd like to be alone with her cooking? You're an idiot Seeley. "Um…yeah…I meant I'd like to be alone with you and you're cooking." He said with a laugh.

They continued to kiss, both so into each other they had totally forgotten about Barney. He had finished eating and began looking around the laundry room. He noticed Brennan's clothes basket full of dirty clothes waiting to be washed sitting on the laundry room floor. He began sniffing the dirty clothes in the basket when a red satin and black lace item caught his interest. He came prancing into the dining room ready to show off his new treasure.

Barney stood watching them kissing for several minutes. What's this, they are all over each other laughing, touching and stroking each other? He sat down with his prize still in his mouth, tail wagging slowly, his head turning from side to side, he whined softly trying to get their attention. Well, that didn't work. What do you do when no ones paying attention to you? Well, of course you just jump right in and join the fun.

Brennan thought she had heard something, but decided it must have been her and Booth making noises. She ignored the sound. Suddenly Barney launched himself into her lap, shoving his nose between her and Booth. He began licking them both feverishly. In the process he managed to send them all crashing to the floor in a tangled heap.

"Barney, stop, oh God that tickles!" Brennan squealed. "Get, off!"

"Bones, are you okay?" Booth asked. He was afraid when the dog knocked them to the floor that he had crushed her, since he had no clue Barney was even in the room with them. He was trying to get up off of the floor and pull his partner up with him. Barney continued climbing all over both of them, wagging his tail, panting and licking them.

"Barney! Enough!" Booth commanded. To both their amazement, Barney turned and walked away, however he hadn't gone far before they noticed he had picked something up off of the floor and was bringing it to them.

"What do you have, boy?" Booth asked.

Brennan's eyes were beginning to bug out of her head as soon as she realized what he had in his mouth. Oh my God, you didn't…Barney. NO! She screamed in her head.

"Drop it, Barney." Booth ordered. He promptly opened his mouth and out dropped a pair of his partners satin and lace underwear.

Booth swallowed hard, face beet red as he turned to Brennan and mumbled "I…um...think these are yours." He said as he picked them up and began to hand them to her.

Brennan jumped up, her face flaming with embarrassment; she yanked the underwear away from her partner. "Booth, why didn't you pick the laundry basket up off the floor when you fed him earlier? If you had he wouldn't be carrying around my dirty clothes," she complained.

"Wait…why are…now you're blaming me for the dog being in your dirty clothes? You knew they were in there and obviously you knew he liked to play in them, so why didn't you put them in the washer?" He demanded.

"Fine, it's my fault!" she grumbled as she stomped off to the laundry room in a huff. Russ and Emma so owe me, she vowed to herself. She glanced down at her watch, counting the hours before Barney went home.

Booth was standing with his hands on his hips and tapping his foot. He was glaring down at Barney sitting there looking at him with his head turned to the side, those bright orange eye brows slowly moving up and down. "What's with you?" he asked the dog as he glanced at his watch. "Twice in less than twelve hours. Way to go dude, your timing is unbelievable! You sure know how to ruin the mood!" he fumed.

11 a.m.

"Bones, you ready to go?" Booth hollered.

"Yeah, we're coming," she replied as she came into the living room with Barney at her side. Booth had taken Barney's crate out to the SUV so they could safely take him to the park.

"Did you remember to bring the bag with all his toys and treats? How about his bowl and a gallon of bottled water since it's supposed to be warm today?" she asked.

"Yep, everything's in the car. Let's go." He said as he gently guided her and the dog out the door. "If we don't hurry up all the good spots are going to be taken. Would you believe the weatherman even promised we wouldn't have rain today?"

"That would be nice," she said as they continued walking to the car.

They finally arrived at Rock Creek Park, and began looking for a good spot to camp out for the next several hours. Booth soon asked "This spot look okay to you Bones?" He had picked an area not far from the barbeque pits, under the shade of several oak and pine trees. There were also a number of daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths blooming nearby. Many of the other trees in the area were still blooming, so there were lots of bright spring colors and the smell of fresh flowers in the air.

"Yes, this is perfect. The dog area is right here. Oh, look there is even an area fenced in on three sides, so hopefully Barney won't get away when we're working on his obedience lessons," she said as she began helping Booth unpack all the things they had brought.

By the time they finally finished organizing their little area, several groups of young teenagers and families had begun to arrive. A number of them were beginning to set-up the picnic tables with food, paper plates, napkins and drinks. Before long a few people were barbequing hamburgers and hot dogs.

"You ready to go for a walk and then maybe start throwing the ball and Frisbee for Barney? Booth asked his partner as he reached in the bag looking for the dog's toys.

"Yes, if we wait any longer there will be too many people here."

The three of them began a slow walk around the area. They hadn't gone very far when a large group of children approached them. They were raving about how cute Barney was with his high set ears. Several of the young boys offered to throw the ball or Frisbee for Barney. For close to an hour everyone took turns throwing the toys for the dog. Occasionally they would stop and take a break so everyone could catch their breaths and grab a drink.

Barney was very good with the children he had no problems giving everyone tons of sloppy wet kisses. He in turn was rewarded with lots of petting and scratching which he thoroughly enjoyed, so much so that several times he had rolled over on his back, and was scratching his legs in the air because it felt so good.

Eventually they had to tell everyone that Barney needed to go work on his obedience lessons for a while. Brennan took him to the fenced in area and began working him on leash while Booth stood outside the entryway watching.

They continued practicing for about ten minutes before Brennan said, "Booth, would you do me a favor and call out some commands for me? I need you to ask us to go forward, halt, right turn, left turn, slow, fast and about face."

"Sure, he looks like he is really getting the hang of this," he said with a note of surprise in his voice.

"He is really being good despite all the kids, people and confusion going on." She added with pride.

For the next ten minutes Booth gave out commands for Brennan and Barney to follow. He was pleased to see that the two of them had developed a good rapport as the dog was watching her intently so he wouldn't miss the next exercise. Only a couple of times did his partner have to reach down and straighten a sit or use her thumb and index finger to pinch Barney's hips to get him to complete the sit.

Brennan took the regular leash off of Barney and connected a shorter one to his collar. "Booth, I need you to stand in the doorway just in case he decides to make a run for it. I left the shorter leash on him so he thinks he is totally off-leash but we at least have something to grab hold of besides his collar if he tries to get away," she explained.

She brought the dog to the center of the enclosure, put him in the sit position again, asked him to stay and then walked about six feet away from him. She then turned around and faced him. She waited for about twenty seconds and called him. He came running, right away, sat in front of her, his body quivering in excitement, his pink tongue hanging out.

"Barney, Heel." Again he returned to her left side and sat perfectly. "Oh, you are so good!" Brennan exclaimed to him as she patted him.

"Okay, let's do one more and then we'll call it quits," she informed the dog. She put him in the sit position, asked him to stay and increased the distance to twelve feet. She noticed as she turned back to the dog that they had drawn quite a large crowd of on-lookers. She was really surprised that so many people were watching her put Barney through his routine. Several people were standing there with food and she thought to herself, well this is going to be a good way to see if he will follow through on his recall.

He was halfway to her when he suddenly made an abrupt right turn and headed for the fence. To Brennan's utter amazement Barney sailed over the four foot high fence. He ran straight up to a five-year-old little girl wearing a pink polka dotted spring dress with curly brown hair. He stuck his long pointy nose right in her face and then gently licked her cheek, as she squealed "Eww!" and wiped her face off with the back of her hand. She laughed and said "Doggie!" He promptly grabbed her hot dog right out of her hand, and as she began to squeal in shock he turned around, sailed back over the fence and ran straight to Brennan. He immediately returned to the heel position and sat down, looking up at her with the hot dog still hanging out of his mouth.

Everyone stood in shock for a good ten seconds before several people began to laugh hysterically and began pointing at Brennan and Barney. The dog was still sitting in the heel position, tail wagging, ears pricked, head cocked to the side, those big brown eyes and bright orange eyebrows doing a little happy dance.

Brennan stood with her mouth hanging open and for the first time in her life she found herself speechless and nearly dying of embarrassment. Her face was bright red, and she glanced over at Booth who was now rolling on the ground laughing. She gave him a dirty look and was about to say something to him when she realized that the entire peanut gallery was now laughing and rolling around on the ground.

"Booth, stop laughing! This isn't funny! Barney's not supposed to jump the fence and steal a hot dog from that poor little girl." Brennan stood with her hands on her hips, stomping her foot in frustration as she fumed at her partner.

"I'm sorry, Bones," he managed to gasp. He had tears in his eyes and was holding his sides as they were beginning to hurt, from laughing so hard. "Oh God, I can't help it you should have seen the look on your face when he stole that little girls hot dog, then he jumped back over the fence and returned to you still holding his prize!"

"Oh my God, Bones, he still hasn't eaten it yet. You have to let him eat it. He did come back to you. He even sat at your side. That is what you wanted him to do, right?"

Brennan looked down into Barney's black and tan face, with those deep chocolate brown eyes so like her partners. She had never seen a dog have such an expressive face from his eye brow markings alone. His tail had begun to wag slowly back and forth, his head once again twisting from side to side as he looked up at her. His mouth had begun to water, and he now had a long stringy drool running down his chest and front leg. He was still holding the hot dog waiting for her to tell him it was okay to eat his treat. She could see him swallowing in anticipation.

Just then everyone sitting along the sidelines in the peanut gallery, as she had privately called them, began to chant, "Let him eat it! Let him eat it!" They began to whoop and holler with their fists in the air, "BAR…NEY! BAR…NEY!"

Brennan looked over at the now chanting and cheering crowd and rolled her eyes. She looked at Barney again, and couldn't help but smile. He was wiggling all over now and beginning to whine. When he lifted his front paw and placed it on her leg, with those brown eyes begging her to let him eat his reward, she finally gave in.

She reached down, extended her hand out to his muzzle and asked him to "Drop it." He did and the crowd behind her began shouting "Boo!" She jerked her head up and with a finger to her mouth she gave a "shhh" motion to the crowd. To her surprise everyone stopped hollering and jumping around. She returned her attention to the dog and asked him to heel. He followed her as she walked towards the fence. Once they reached the barrier Brennan stopped and Barney sat, his eyes glued to her and the hot dog she was still carrying.

"Hello, sweetheart, I'm sorry my puppy stole your hot dog. I can't believe he did that," she said with a smile as she bent down to eye level with the little girl. "What's your name?"

The little girl looked down and whispered shyly, "Allie."

"Allie, since Barney was a bad boy when he stole your hot dog, do you think he still deserves to get a treat anyway?" Brennan asked her quietly.

Allie turned away and tried to hide behind her older brother. He reached down and whispered to her. "It's okay, you can answer her." The little girl looked down at her feet and shrugged her shoulders as she murmured "I dun no."

Booth had finally pulled himself together and walked over to the rest of the crowd. He bent down to talk to little Allie. "Honey, I think it would be okay to let Barney have his hot dog. Would you like to shake hands with Barney?"

Allie looked up at him with her pretty blue eyes sparkling in wonder and asked "Can I pet him, too?"

"Sure why don't you come inside the fence. You can pet him and then ask him to shake your hand. After he shakes your hand, then you can give him the hot dog." Brennan said.

Brennan met Allie and her brother halfway and asked Barney to sit. "Allie, I want you to hold your hand out like this." She said as she showed her how to hold her hand, with the back of your hand facing the dog's nose.

The little girl held her hand out to him. Barney began to gently lick her hand. "Oh, that tickles!"

Booth leaned down and whispered to Allie, "Tell him to shake sweetie."

Allie commanded, "Barney shake." He promptly picked up his right paw and Allie reached out to grab it and pumped her arm up and down a couple of times. "He did it!" she said as she looked at her brother, Booth, and Brennan; her little body shaking in excitement. "Can I give him some of my hot dog now?" she asked shyly.

"Sure Allie," hold your hand out flat just like this. Allie held her little hand out and Brennan set a small piece of hot dog in the palm of her hand. "Barney wait." she said as she put the little girls hand in front of Barney and whispered in her ear "Tell him easy. And then okay. Then you can let him eat it." Allie did and Barney's tongue snaked out and very gently snagged the piece of hot dog off of her hand. The peanut gallery erupted in loud cheers.

TBC