A/N- Sorry it's taken so long… not sure it's worth the wait, but here's some more fluffy stuff from the Brennan-Booth household. I will make sure the updates come in a more timely fashion. You know what to do….love those reviews!
Chapter 4
Booth sat in what would soon no longer be his office. His belongings had been packed and were sitting by the door. Someone would move them upstairs as soon as Hacker completely vacated his new office.
He reflected on his time in this office. He'd been so proud when he made SA and moved out of the bullpen.
It was just outside this office that he'd first heard of Dr. Temperance Brennan. He smiled at the thought of Cam suggesting that he ask for her assistance. Little did any of them know then just how far they would come together. It was the Gemma Arrington case that put him on the fast track with the Bureau.
He smiled ruefully when he realized that it was largely because of Bones that he'd gotten noticed, was offered promotions and it was because of her that he'd turned them all down, up until now.
As much as he loved field work, he'd loved working with Temperance more. But it was time to move on, for both of them. He wasn't getting any younger and he knew if he turned down many more promotions, eventually they'd stop offering them. And with the Maluku project still fresh in her mind, he knew that Bones was relishing the idea of stepping back from investigating murders and getting back to her pure science.
"Find anything, Chief?" Hanson said, sticking his head into the office.
"No," Booth answered, closing the file in front of him. "Have Charlie run the financials again. There has to be something we missed."
"Will do," the agent answered.
Hanson was a good agent, and Booth knew he could handle the department. He was sure he could handle this case. Sure, they'd run into a couple of roadblocks, but it wasn't anything that required Hanson calling in the big guns on the day before Christmas Eve.
"Then grab a cup of coffee and come back here," Booth said.
"Sure thing, Chief," Hanson replied. "You want anything?"
"Nah, I'm good."
He leaned back in his chair and waited for Hanson to return. He motioned for Hanson to take the chair across from his desk and sat silently for a few moments after the agent sat down. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward and looked the other man in the eye.
"What's going on Steve?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Hanson replied.
"I mean," Booth answered. "You didn't need me here today. You could've handled this by yourself. What's going on?"
"I don't know, sir," Hanson said.
"Sir? Really? Hanson, we've worked together, what five years now? Side by side. Just 'cause I'm moving into the big office doesn't mean I expect you to call me 'sir.' At least not yet," he added with a smile.
"Taking over the department is a big thing," Hanson said. "You're leaving pretty big shoes to fill, Chief."
"You think you're not up for the job?"
"No," he said. "I do. It's just a little daunting."
"I don't know why you think so," Booth said, sincerely. "You did the job for a year when I was gone."
"But that was different," Hanson said.
"How?"
"You were coming back. It was kind of like keeping your seat warm…"
"But you did a fantastic job," Booth told him. "And I'm not the only one who thinks so. It wasn't me who suggested you for the job, although I would have if given the chance. When I asked, Cullen had already decided to offer it to you."
Hanson simply nodded in silent recognition.
"You can do it," Booth said. "But you have to believe it. If you show any doubts, they're gonna eat you for breakfast."
"No pressure there," Hanson replied, smiling. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Booth answered. "Seriously, you wouldn't be here unless a lot of people knew you were the right man for the job, but if you don't know it then it's not going to work. C'mon, let's go. It's Christmas weekend and my family is at home. I'm sure you've got someone waiting for you, too."
BnBnBnB
Booth arrived home to a quiet apartment.
"Bones!" he called out. "Parker!"
He wondered where they had gotten off to. Thinking back, he realized that he hadn't seen Bones' car in the parking lot. He had just pulled out his cell phone to call her when he saw a note on the kitchen island.
Booth-
Parker and I have gone to do the grocery shopping. Hope everything went well with the case. See you soon.
Love, Bones
He smiled and put the note back down on the table as he walked over to the refrigerator to grab a soda. He took a bag of sea salt flavored pita chips—living with Bones was going to wreak havoc on his eating habits—and sat down in his recliner. He flipped on ESPN and sat down to watch the week's highlights.
BnBnBnB
"That was really cool, Bones," Parker said as he followed her into the apartment. "That guy almost nailed us, but you were too quick."
"Shh," Brennan signaled the boy by putting her index finger to her lips. She nodded toward the recliner where Booth was sleeping soundly, and Parker followed her into the kitchen. "I'll put these away," she said, hoping to change the subject. The last thing she needed was for Booth to wake up to his son enthusing over their near miss on the icy street. "Why don't you take the movies we got and put them in by the television?"
"Okay," Parker answered.
"Try not to wake up your father," she told him. "We'll let him sleep until dinner is ready."
Parker took the bag full of Christmas movies and carried them into the living room. He went into his room and grabbed a book off the shelf before stretching out on the bed.
Brennan put the groceries away and then set out the things she'd need to make dinner. She went into the living room and turned off the television, carefully watching to see if Booth woke up. When she was sure he was still sleeping, she went over to the stereo and turned it on with the volume on low. Soon, the sounds of Christmas songs filled the apartment.
She set about chopping vegetables and putting them on to cook, and then quartered the fresh loaf of sourdough bread she and Parker had picked up at the bakery. While the ingredients were cooking, she set the table. Soon, everything was put together, dinner was in the oven and she walked out into the living room.
She smiled as she looked down at Booth sleeping in his recliner. He looked so right there, in her living room. She walked down the hall to check on Parker and found that he'd fallen asleep as well. She walked into his room and took the book from where it rested on his chest, marked the page and closed it, leaving it set on his nightstand.
She decided to use the remaining time while her dinner was cooking and her boys were sleeping to work on her manuscript. Before long, she'd finished her latest chapter and the buzzer was going off in the kitchen. She saved her document and went out to the kitchen.
She turned off the timer and opened the oven. She took out the covered dish and put the bread in to warm. As she closed the oven door, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist.
"Mmm, something smells good," Booth said into her ear, his voice rough with sleep.
"I think you'll like it," Brennan answered, leaning back into his embrace. She closed her eyes as he softly kissed the side of her neck.
"I already do," he said. "Who said I was talking about the food?"
She laughed as she turned around to face him, never leaving the security of his embrace. She placed a quick kiss on his lips.
"How did it go at the office?" she asked.
"Fine," he said. "Hanson's a little nervous about the promotion. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to hold his hand for a while. He kissed her again.
"Is that a good idea? I would think that it takes a lot of strength and confidence," she paused, smiling up at him as she tapped on his 'cocky' belt buckle, "to properly do the job."
He smiled at her insinuation and winked as he answered, "It does, but Hanson's got it. He did a great job last year while I was gone. He'll do fine. How was your day?"
"It was nice," she answered. "Parker and I played the video game for a little while longer after you left, and then we went out to run errands. I finished the shopping for Sunday and we picked up a few movies to add to your collection."
"You and Parker picked out movies?" he asked. "Together?"
"They are Christmas films," she answered. "I thought maybe we could start a new tradition of watching them together."
"I love that idea, baby," he said.
"As much as I'm enjoying this," she said, squeezing him around the waist to emphasize her point, "dinner is ready. You want to go wake Parker?"
"In a minute," he answered. He leaned down to cover her lips with hers and gave her the long, passionate 'hello, how was your day?' kiss he'd been waiting to give her since he woke up.
After rousting his son from his nap and both of them going to wash up, the Booth boys made their way to the dining table. Brennan was serving food on to their plates as they sat down. She sat quietly and Parker folded his hands and bowed his head as Booth said a blessing.
"Looks great, Bones!" Parker said, sitting down.
"Shepherd's pie?" Booth looked over at his partner quizzically and she nodded as she sat down.
"I love shepherd's pie," Parker said.
"So does your father," Brennan answered.
"Thanks, babe," Booth said with a smile, digging in to his meal. "This is great. But what are you gonna…"
The question fell from his lips as he watched her take a bite of the shepherd's pie.
"…eat?"
She raised her eyebrows and smiled as he realized she was eating the same thing as he and Parker.
"There's no meat in this?" he asked.
Her smile grew wider as she shook her head.
"What it is it?" Booth asked warily.
"Lentils," she answered. "You like them."
"This is really good, Bones," Parker said, seemingly oblivious to the conversation at the table. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, Parker," she answered. "I'm glad you like it."
"I do, too," Booth said. "It's really good."
They enjoyed their meals over lively conversation, mostly about their day, until the moment Brennan had been dreading…but had forgotten about.
"Dad, Bones is an awesome driver!" Parker said enthusiastically. "We almost got killed, and she saved us with her lightening fast reflexes!"
"It wasn't that exciting," she said, giving Parker a scolding look. "I think you've been reading too many of those graphic novels that your father likes."
She knew Booth wasn't going to let it go at that, and her thought was confirmed by the raised eyebrow and the look he fixed on her as he dropped his fork on his plate.
"We were on our way home," she said with a sigh. "We were sitting at the intersection at Oak Street, and as I began to proceed through the stop sign, an oncoming car slid into the intersection…"
"It was so cool, Dad! She swerved and banked like those guys in Tokyo Drift!"
"It really wasn't that exciting," Brennan answered calmly. "I was able to maneuver out of his trajectory and avoid a collision."
"Are you guys both okay?" Booth asked.
"We're fine," she answered. "I told you, I avoided the collision."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I would have," she answered quietly. "Later. We haven't actually had much of a chance for conversation since we got home."
BnBnBnB
Later that evening, Parker was sleeping soundly in his room and Booth and Brennan were cuddled closely in their bed.
"I love this," Booth said softly as he traced circles on her arm.
"What?" she asked.
"This," he repeated. "Being here. Home. Having my family under one roof. It's nice."
"It is," she agreed, snuggling closer against him,
They lay quietly for a few minutes, no words needing to be said. After a while, it was Booth who broke the silence.
"Were you really going to tell me about the accident?"
"There was no accident, Booth," she answered, stretching to look up at him. "But yes, I was going to tell you."
"It must have been scary," he said, frightening himself with images of what could have happened to the two most important people in his life.
"It was," she admitted, "but only because I was afraid for what could happen to Parker. I don't think it would have affected me as much if I'd been alone. It just made me realize that having him in my life is a big responsibility."
"Welcome to parenthood, Bones," he said with a soft kiss to her temple. "Are you ready for it?"
"But I'm not…"
"Yes, you are," he said. "You're my partner, not just at work but in life… in everything, and that includes Parker. I expect him to respect you just as he does me, or his mother, or Drew. You are an authority figure in his life, and when he's with us I expect that he listens to you just like he does me. Just like everything else, baby, we're in this together. Are you okay with that?"
She nodded, pausing to force the words around the lump in her throat.
"Are you sure?" she asked quietly. "He's your son. I don't want to overstep my boundaries…"
"Yes, he's my son," he answered tenderly as he pulled her to him. "And ultimately Rebecca and I make the big decisions, but since she married Drew he's been a big part of those decisions and he and Rebecca decide the rules in their house just like you and I decide the rules for our house."
Our house, she thought. I love the sound of that.
There weren't words to express what she was feeling, so she reached up and kissed him. It was a long and loving kiss, full of the emotions that were threatening to overflow from both of them.
