They took Parker to his karate lessons, staying to watch as he practiced. Parker's instructor looked slightly surprised to see Booth dropping him off. "Is Rebecca okay?" the instructor asked.
"She's fine," Booth assured the man. "But she's having some problems, so I'll probably be dropping Parker off from now on. And picking him up. Actually, I wanted to make sure you only release Parker to me from now on. Or Dr. Brennan." Booth gestured to Brennan.
The instructor glanced at Brennan, and his eyes widened. "You're Dr. Temperance Brennan?" He shook her hand enthusiastically. "I love your books. They just all seem so real."
"Thank you." Brennan was still unused to her position as a nationally-known author, and she did not know how to respond to fans.
"It's so exciting, meeting you like this."
"Uh-huh." Brennan wished he would release her hand.
"So you know who can pick Parker up, right?" Booth asked.
"Yes." The instructor finally released Brennan's hand and turned to Booth. "Is something wrong, Agent Booth?"
"It's nothing we can't handle. Thank you."
"Of course. I'll see you in a couple hours."
They sat in a couple folding chairs in the corner, discussing the case. From time to time, one of them would glance up at Parker. He usually did not notice when their gazes shifted to him, for his face was typically screwed up in concentration as he tried to execute a particularly difficult move. On one such occasion, Booth watched as the small boy leapt into the air, his foot forward. Unfortunately, he was still unsure of how to land, and he ended up falling to the mat as he came back down. As usual, he was back up in a matter of seconds, ready to try again. Booth smiled at his son's persistence.
"Did you know she was married?" Brennan questioned suddenly.
"Who?"
Brennan tapped the file. "Lola Rivera."
"Yeah. I figured we'd interview the husband first."
"You always think it's the husband."
"I didn't say it was the husband. I just want to hear what he has to say."
"I really don't understand this fixation of yours on husbands or boyfriends. I mean, statistically speaking, it's not-"
Booth stopped her lips with his. "I'm not saying it's the husband, okay Bones?" he said as he pulled back. "And I do not have a fixation on anything. Well, except for you, of course." He shot her a charm smile, that one that could make her anger melt away no matter how tenaciously she clung to it.
After practice, Parker ran over to Booth and Brennan. "How'd I do?" he questioned.
"You did great, Bub," Booth enthused.
"Your kicks should be somewhat higher," Brennan remarked. "A well-placed kick should be at the stomach or higher."
"Like this?" Parker kicked the air, bringing his foot to just below his waist level.
"Almost. Here, I'll show you." Brennan stood and motioned for Booth to do the same.
"No way, Bones," he protested. "I'm not letting you kick me."
"I won't actually kick you. I just want to show Parker around where his foot should end up on someone else's body."
"Fine. But if you actually kick me, you won't be going out into the field for a long time." Booth stood and faced Brennan.
"Okay. Are you watching, Parker?" The small boy nodded. "So you need to bring your leg above your waist and let it move straight out so that it ends up around the center of your opponent's chest." Brennan's leg shot up so fast that Booth barely had time to register what was happening. He backed up a couple steps automatically. "I told you I wouldn't kick you, Booth," Brennan said, her foot still in the air.
"I know. I was just reacting instinctively." Booth stepped forward again and grasped her foot between his hands. "You know, this move makes it quite easy for me to flip you. If we were fighting for real, of course."
"If we were fighting for real, you wouldn't have time to grab my foot."
"Oh yeah? Try me." He released her foot, and she placed it back on the ground.
"What?"
"Try to kick me. For real, this time. We'll see if I can flip you."
"Booth, this is ridiculous! I'm not fighting you."
"Oh, come on, Bones. I want to see those amazing karate skills."
"Yeah, Dr. Bones," Parker echoed.
"Fine." Brennan sighed and shucked her jacket, draping it neatly over the chair she had recently vacated before turning back to Booth. Once again, her leg shot out so quickly that he barely had time to react. He managed to stop its momentum just before she knocked the wind out of him, but he had no time to even consider trying to flip her. In less than a second, her body had returned to its original position, and she was ready to fight once more. "I told you that you couldn't flip me," Brennan said. "I have extensive martial arts training. There are very few people who can beat me in a fight." Booth knew she was not bragging; she was simply stating the facts as she always did. He suspected that she was right; few people could beat her in a fight. Still, he could not stop the next words from coming out of his mouth.
"I bet I could beat you."
"I doubt it, Booth."
"We'll never know unless we try."
"Booth, let's just go home."
"One match. First person to keep the other on the ground for ten seconds wins." He saw her wavering, so he added a final incentive. "The loser has to do whatever the winner wants for a week."
"Okay," Brennan finally agreed. "But for the record, I still think this is a bad idea." Brennan watched as he also removed his jacket before unknotting the tie and tugging it off his neck.
"Ready when you are, Bones," he declared, turning back to her. She came at him in a blur of movement, her hand reaching for his head. This time, however, he was ready for her celerity; he quickly deflected her blow before attempting to throw a punch of his own. She also blocked him, and they continued in that manner for a couple minutes, their arms moving so fast they blurred. They were equals in skill, and neither managed to land a punch.
Suddenly, Brennan's knee shot up between Booth's leg. He jumped away quickly, barely managing to keep his manhood. "You fight dirty, Bones."
"There's no such thing as fighting dirty. The point of a fight is to keep the upper hand no matter what it takes."
"So anything goes?"
"If you're fighting for your life, your natural instincts will tell you to do whatever is necessary to survive."
"But you're not fighting for your life."
"You said a real fight. A real fight is fighting for my life." They were slowly circling one another now, allowing their breathing to slow as they talked.
"Still, you might want to stay away from that particular area. It could prove useful to both of us in the future." He smiled cheekily. By this time, a small crowd consisting of many of the students and their parents had gathered around the two partners. Parker was clapping enthusiastically, unsure of whom to cheer for, but most of the others had taken sides.
"I still don't understand today's obsession with violence. It-"
"Bones, just shut up and fight."
With that, they rushed at one another again. This time, their whole bodies were involved, and arms and legs moved so fast that no one in the crowd could keep track of who hit whom. After nearly five minutes of furious fighting, Booth managed to knock Brennan off her feet with a well-placed kick. She fell hard, but they were luckily on the mats set up for karate practice, so she doubted that she attained any injuries more serious than a few minor bruises. She was lying on her stomach, so Booth crouched down over her, holding her hands behind her to pin her to the ground and prevent her from punching him. "One," he began, panting slightly. "Two. Three."
Suddenly, Brennan reared back, knocking him off balance. He released her arms to steady himself, and she immediately turned and moved to pin him down. Quickly, Booth jumped to his feet, and she followed suit. They began circling each other again. "Impressive," Booth remarked.
"You're not so bad yourself."
"Thank you."
"Are we done with this pointless fight yet?"
"No one's won." This time, Booth moved first, swinging his leg toward her unprotected side. She deftly deflected the blow before mounting her own attack. Her side hurt like the devil from an earlier blow, but she refused to surrender. Trying to remember everything her karate teacher had ever told her, she distracted Booth with a punch to the left before slamming her foot into his stomach. He doubled over, wheezing, and she quickly pulled his arms behind him and forced him down. He struggled valiantly, but Brennan was strong; she managed to hold on as she pushed him onto his stomach.
"One," she began, pressing her knee into his back to hold him down. "Two. Three." He started to sit up, but she pushed him down with greater force. "Four."
By the time she hit ten, most of the crowd was counting with her. Many of them clapped as Brennan moved off Booth's back and helped him to his feet. "I let you win," he grumbled as he stood.
"Why would you do that?"
"Never mind. C'mere, Bones." Before Brennan could fully process what was happening, he pulled her body flush against his and kissed her fiercely, heedless of the watching crowd. Brennan's arms snaked around his neck, holding him close as he plundered her mouth with his tongue. After a few seconds, he pulled back slightly. "I think it's sexy when you fight me," he said against her mouth, soft enough so that only she could hear. Surprisingly, she made no squinty comment; instead, she simply smiled.
"Daddy, you let a girl beat you!" Parker called, breaking the two apart. A few members of the surrounding crowd chuckled at the small boy.
"Yeah, but it wasn't just any girl. It was Bones."
"So?"
"So she's tougher than most other girls. She's allowed to beat me."
"You admit that you didn't let me win then?" Brennan questioned.
"I said nothing of the sort, Bones. Come on, let's go home."
Parker was still talking about the fight when they reached the apartment that night. Booth herded him into the bathroom to clean up as Brennan began to look through the food in his kitchen to find something to fix for dinner. Booth walked in holding Aaron as she began to dice the chicken. He watched her for a minute, his head cocked to the side, before Brennan turned to him irritably and asked, "What?"
"You're beautiful," he said simply.
"You've said that before."
"And I will continue to say it because it's true."
"Do you have any thyme?"
"Probably." Booth switched Aaron to one shoulder as he rooted through the spice cabinet. He pulled out a small clear bottle after a minute or so and handed it to her. He continued to watch her as she placed the chicken in the pan and began adding vegetables. Aaron gave a loud cry when he realized Booth was no longer paying attention to him, and Booth quickly turned to fix the baby a bottle.
After dinner, Booth helped Parker with his reading while Brennan worked on her next book. She had finally managed to overcome the mental block, so she was working steadily, rarely pausing to think but instead letting the story write itself. Her experience with writing had taught her not to force the story. It always turned out better when she allowed it to flow naturally.
After awhile, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Booth standing behind her. "Parker wants you to help me read his bedtime story," Booth announced. "If you're not too busy, of course."
"No, I'll come." Brennan closed the computer and followed him into the bedroom. In truth, she was busy; she needed to finish the last couple chapters of her book so it could be published soon. But she had learned that sometimes, finishing her work was not the most important thing on her to-do list.
