I wanted to put warning for this chapter. We all know Seeley Booth is a devote Catholic and it is a strong part of his character. There is a scene in this chapter where faith, God, and the question, "Where is He?" are presented. With that, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed! You guys are awesome!

Chapter 3

Their hour spent in church was silent, apart from the occasional hymn and prayer. Parker was incredibly patient for a toddler, sitting quietly with his hands folded. Elle wished she had his sense of naivety and wistfulness. She wasn't as patient, not when it came to God, and it showed. The third reading happened to center around faith, a concept she was familiar with, yet she was not as keen on believing in the unseen as Seeley and many other Catholics. She was a hands on type of woman. Seeley liked to tease her and call her Doubting Thomas, a religious figure who failed to believe Jesus had risen from the dead, even though he was as tangible as the men and women who surrounded his rising. Having to touch, probe, dig deeper, and get dirty, was her way of life. Like Thomas, she wouldn't be convinced until she too could place her fingers in the wounds of Jesus' pierced hands and side.

Her year spent in Iraq, made her question God's existence in the world. All around her, the world was fighting, for what reason, it was a toss up. Holy Wars, which she frowned upon, because as Seeley tried repeatedly to convince her, God wouldn't be pleased with millions of men, women, and children, dying all for a reason unknown. She had to agree, who in their right mind, would smile upon something so evil, so inhumane? Oil, which came down to the greediness of both the Americans and the outside world, shamed even the innocent bystanders. He said, she said, bureaucratic reasons why they went to War in the first place. Preventative measures that could have been taken, but never were, fear, and, an overall sense of duty, called millions to take action, for better, or worse.

Where was God when I was being tortured, she often wondered, her thoughts biting and raw. Where was He, when they dripped acid onto my bare leg? Where was your God, Seeley, when they took a razor blade, rusty and used, to slice my thighs, small enough to keep me alive, but deep enough to bleed? Where was He when I took the lives of others, she shivered, would He condone self-defense? Did her God, did Seeley's God, believe in survival of the fittest? Her mind swirled with numerous questions, neither Seeley, nor a priest could answer. Her answers, the ones she sought, were few and far between. It was apparent that they had once again taken control of her, because Seeley had to clear his throat twice, to get her attention.

"Penny for your thoughts," he placed Parker in the back seat, strapping him in.

Elle looked over at Seeley, unaware that they had left the church. Shows how much I truly pay attention, she scolded herself.

"With the inflation these days," she smiled, "I'd be an idiot if I didn't charge at least a dime."

"Seriously, though," he prodded, "what were you thinking about?"

"God, existence, both ours and His," she bluntly responded.

"Ah, faith's quandaries," he nodded, "what can I clear up for you?"

"How can you be so smug about it," she stared out the windshield, noticing a slight drizzle.

"God fearing man," he shrugged, "you said so yourself."

"Do you fear His being itself," she pushed, "or do you fear that if you don't believe in someone, something, that it was all for nothing?"

Seeley, usually quick to quote a chapter and verse, or some commandment, sucked on his breath for a moment. Weighing which direction he should proceed in, he faltered for a minute, aware that something outside of his normalcy, had caused him to hesitate. The Devil, he shrugged off the idea, and spoke.

"I am your God, you shall have no other God's before me," he simply stated, quoting the very first commandment.

"If He didn't exist," he continued, "where did the Commandments come from?"

"From lonely men and women, who need to believe in something, to believe that there is someone, or thing, out there, that is in control, when we are not, a higher form of ourselves." She took a breath. "Something outside of ourselves whom we can place the blame on, when we commit sins."

"A whipping boy, Seeley," she was bitter, "God is our whipping boy."

Seeley had heard this argument before. He could imagine that what she had experienced had caused old, bitter, confusing, thoughts, to stir. He wondered what she focused on, if not God, when she was being held prisoner. He feared that what held her sane and intact, was not God, but something more sinister, like retribution, or worse, hate. A voice, tiny, and confused, spoke from the backseat.

"I'm hungry."

Elle had to chuckle. Here she was, in a heated discussion with Seeley, on the topic of God's existence, and Parker, unable to provide them with anything other than regurgitated wisdom, tackled the one topic, they could all agree on; food.

"How about burgers?" Seeley offered, knowing Parker would jump at the chance for one of those famous oversized burgers.

"Can Elle come too?" he innocently asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Elle squinted at Seeley, "don't you want to spend some time with Parker before he goes back to his mom?"

"Pwetty pwease," Parker pleaded from the backseat.

Seeley batted his eyelashes and aped Parker's sentiment,

"Pwetty pwease, Elle."

Throwing her hands up in mock surrender, she gushed that they were twisting her arm, and she could do nothing but agree. Parker clapped while Seeley gave Elle one of his gorgeous, you can't resist me, smiles, and winked. Seeley's ability to win her over, irritated the hell out of her, but she was genuinely enamored with the both of them. Was it that she was in love with Seeley, or the mere existence of him? The level of comfort and ability to be herself could be added to the Pros. Was it that she was easily head over heels in love with Parker, or the idea of a child all her own? More questions that she didn't have concrete answers to. Their's was an already made family, one that she fit into perfectly, which caused her to feel euphoric and morose concurrently.

They ate burgers, hers loaded with mushrooms and gooey Swiss cheese, Seeley's piled high with chili, cheese, and onions, while Parker's was hanging off his chin. Elle was unconsciously building a tower with the fries, while Parker was taking one from the bottom, causing it to collapse, and him to laugh. It was second nature when it came to Seeley and Parker. For her, she could multitask; compartmentalize her work, her social life, her loves. If only she could find space for the opportunity to move on.

Her reassignment came shortly after her reentrance into the United States. According to her psych evaluation, she wasn't stable enough to go incognito, but to be a plain suit, like Seeley suggested, required less bravado, but an equal amount of constancy. There wasn't any question in her ability to do her job effectively. She was to meet with her supervisor within the FBI tomorrow. They were to go over her reassignment, preferably not a desk jockey, which is what most unstable ex agents ended up becoming. She had a lot to bring to the table in her defense. A dual major in Psychology and Criminology, with her minor in Arabic, which was always needed when dealing with anti-terrorism, terrorist cells, and the like. She was top ranked in her training at Quantico, which catapulted her towards a life of false identities and undercover tactics. Elle didn't fear much, but tomorrow, her first interview, after her trials in Iraq, caused her burger to somersault in her stomach.

"I've got an early day tomorrow," Booth spoke with a mouthful of fries.

"You have anything planned?"

"I'm meeting with the big boss tomorrow," she rolled her eyes.

"Hey," he swallowed, "it's a bit early to be acting rebellious, don't you think?"

"I follow the rules, Seeley," she drew out his name, her tone, slightly off color.

Booth laughed, choking on his cola, "you deviate when it comes to the rules."

"I learned from the best," she teased.

"We can carpool," he suggested, "what time is your appointment?"

"Eight o'clock," she dipped a napkin in her water and cleaned the edges of Parker's lips. He stuck his tongue out at her and she crossed her eyes, making him giggle.

"Good, I have to be there around the same time," he pulled a few bills from his wallet and tossed them on the table.

"There's something I've been needing to do," she pulled Parker out of his booster seat and he planted a small kiss on her cheek, catching her off guard.

"Hey little man," Seeley rustled his hair, "where's mine?"

After Parker quickly pecked his dad on the cheek, Seeley picked up their conversation.

"What have you been needing to do," putting emphasis on the word needing.

Elle ran a hand through her wavy hair and smiled.

"The suit's obsolete if my hair doesn't meet their standards."

"When you wear your hair like that," Seeley put an arm around her shoulder, "it turns me on."

"Right, Seeley," she shook her head, "so do blondes, brunettes, and cheerleaders."

"Should I go on?"

"I like variety," he shrugged his shoulders as if to say what can I say, "then again, I always end up coming back to one particular woman."

Elle didn't say anything, she didn't have to respond. She knew he meant her. They were High School sweethearts, who later met up at Quantico, after a couple partners, and a few failed relationships. Keeping their relationship quiet through training, they found it difficult to remain close, when both were shipped off overseas. By serendipity alone, they rekindled their relationship, over a year ago, after Seeley and Parker's mom were no longer together. Then, like a slap to the face, Elle was hand chosen to go undercover as a Special Ops Agent, and they were separated once again. While she was incognito, Seeley had rebounded with Camille, whom she knew he still worked with, when he was working cases with The Jeffersonian. Even though she was undercover, Elle had the means to keep an eye on her life back in the states. If she was here to stay, did that mean they could finally settle down, or would one of them have to leave? Would she be able to handle another disappointment?