A/N: As promised, a little more substance with this latest installment. I hope you enjoy it. As always, thank you for reading and also, I don't own these characters. I'm just borrowing them for a while and I promise to return them when I'm finished, so please don't sue.

Chapter Eight -

Temperance fumbled with her keys as she attempted to balance her packages and open the door to her apartment. All week, Jack and Angela had helped her pick out a few gifts for Parker. If anyone had questioned her sudden change of heart on the commercialization of Christmas, they didn't give voice to their opinion. If they had, she would have explained that she felt obligated to fill the void that Booth had left in Parker's life. She knew that he was confused by his father's absence. She knew that he felt abandoned by him. She knew that a few presents wouldn't change either of those facts, but she thought that they couldn't make things any worse for the young boy.

A groan of frustration escaped her as the keys slipped from her fingers in a jangle of metal and hardened plastic. Shifting her packages in her arms again, she balanced them precariously while bending to retrieve her lost keys. The sound of metal on metal came from above and she looked up from the floor in time to see the door to her apartment open.

"How much longer are you going to keep me waiting on the other side of this door?"

"Booth!"

Her packages and keys forgotten, she jumped to her feet and rushed through the door and into his arms. Their warm, muscled strength surrounded her and she thought that it was the most incredible feeling she had ever felt. Never one for romantic notions, she had to admit that being in the midst of one was a surprisingly pleasurable experience.

"Mmm," his chest vibrated with the sound against her ear. "I have been waiting to do this for a long time."

"How long have you been here?" she asked. Pulling back from his embrace briefly, she continued: "How did you get in here?"

"I flashed my badge at the super."

"I don't have a super," she laughed, pushing playfully against his chest.

"Don't you remember? You gave me a spare key," he laughed with her and the sound seemed rusty, as if it was something that he hadn't done in a while or very often. She remembered his easy laughter and was saddened to find that that had changed in him.

"I don't think that I gave you that key so you could hide in my apartment to scare me when I came home from work. You made me drop all of my gifts."

"Gifts, Bones? What are you doing with gifts?"

"Well, I thought that I should make sure that Parker got enough gifts. I knew you were coming, but I didn't know how much time you would have to shop and I didn't want him to think that he didn't get enough this year. It's been a tough enough year for him already."

"Ouch, Bones. Why don't you just throw a little salt in there after you pull the knife out of my back?"

"Pull the knife out of your back? I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound good." She thought that she noticed the hint of a smile twitch on the corner of his mouth and it confused her. "I don't understand. I just wanted to make sure that Parker had a good Christmas. What's wrong with that?"

"It's not the 'good Christmas' part that hurts. Actually, it makes me happy that you care enough about my son to want to give him gifts even though you don't believe in gift-giving. It's the 'tough enough year' part that hurts. I know that this is hard on Parker. I don't need you to remind me of what this is doing to my son."

Booth ran a hand through his hair and paced away from her in frustration. She cursed herself and her thoughtless words. Booth had come home for just a couple of days and she couldn't offer him a little peace and happiness. Instead, she had flung in his face the suffering of his son. Turning away from him, she began collecting the packages that she had discarded at the door. As she rose with the first stack, his big hands covered hers and relieved her of her burden.

"I'm sorry, Bones, it's just that… it's been tough… being away from…"

"No, Booth," she interrupted. "You don't have to be sorry. I should be sorry. I can't imagine how hard it's been for you being away from Parker for so long."

"Not just Parker, Bones. I've missed you, too."

His voice had lowered an octave and it washed over her. She felt her face flush as her heart beat increased slightly and more blood flooded her cheeks. He dropped the gifts on the kitchen counter and stepped before her.

"I just realized something." He stepped even closer and tangled his fingers in her hair. "You haven't kissed me yet."

His fingers curled against the nape of her neck, silently encouraging her to cover the remaining distance between them. Rising to the balls of her feet, she met his lips with hers and his free hand pressed her against his chest. She slid her hands along the expanse of his back, lengthening their kiss, enjoying the taste of him. She wasn't sure how much time passed before they separated, but she was breathless when they did.

"Hey, Bones, how long do you plan on leaving the rest of the gifts in the hallway?"

"Oh, right. The gifts."

She retrieved the rest of the packages and her keys and closed the door to her apartment. She arranged the gifts on a table in the corner of her living room. She might have given in to the commercialization of Christmas, but she couldn't bring herself to go so far as to decorate her apartment and put up a tree. She wasn't even sure if Parker would be coming to her place or if she would just be giving the gifts to Booth to give to him. Moving the poinsettia plant to the corner of the table, she piled the gifts around it. Satisfied with the results of her brief foray into Christmas decorating, she turned back to the man that she'd spent the last four months missing.

"I was really surprised that you were coming home. Isn't it a risk to your cover?"

She took in his appearance as he lounged on her couch. He was dressed in his weekend uniform of jeans and a long-sleeved grey t-shirt with a darker grey, short-sleeved shirt over it. His casual repose and attire belied the rigid set of his jaw.

"Bones, please, I don't want to talk about any of that, okay? I just want to spend the next couple of days with you and Parker and forget about that while I'm here."

She dropped to the couch next to him, angling herself so she could face him.

"So, what's your game strategy?"

"Game strategy? It's game plan, Bones. Come on, even you should know that." He laughed and this time, the sound seemed less rusty. "I'm picking Parker up tomorrow after dinner. Rebecca's letting him spend the night with me and then I'll drop him off. After that, I'll have to go."

One night. That's it. That's all I get.

"You know, I have a spare room. You can bring Parker here if you want."

"I was hoping you would say that, Bones. I have to admit - I haven't even been to my place yet. It's not really ready for me to bring Parker for the night."

"I don't mind. In fact, I think I would like it. Besides, it would give me a little more time with you."

He smiled and she was glad that she had risked telling him her feelings. They had only had one weekend together before he had left, but she felt as though they had been a couple for a long time before that first night. How long before she wasn't sure. Their relationship had been developing since the day they had first met.

Reaching out to caress his stubble darkened cheek, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his in a soft, but demanding kiss. He answered by opening his mouth to her and pulling her closer until she straddled him.

"So I know your game plan for tomorrow," she said, breaking their kiss briefly, "but do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Hmmm," his lips found her earlobe and shivers chased down her spine. "I have hundreds."

His hands gripped her hips and she ground herself against him. This elicited a groan from him and caused a tingling in her belly. Her lips found his again while his hands moved to cup her buttocks. Without any warning, he rose and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to her bedroom.

She woke to the cool air on her naked back and rolled over, shifting, searching for his warmth. The emptiness that greeted her caused her to come fully awake. She rose, pulling the sheet with her and wrapped it around her as she padded quietly from the bedroom.

She found him in the living room, standing with his back to her, facing the window. He had pulled on his jeans, but she could tell by their fit that he had left them unbuttoned. His back was bare and as she reached him, she laid a hand against the gentle curve of his spine. His arms were held crossed and close to his chest, effectively closing her off from him and he didn't move to acknowledge her presence. She allowed him his silence, but not his space. Standing beside him, she pressed a kiss against his shoulder and slid her hand along his forearm until her palm rested against the back of his hand. She turned her head and rested it against his shoulder and stared with him at the night lights.

"I'm here you know, if you need me. I'm right here."

"I know."

When he answered, his voice rasped with emotion, but he still failed to turn to acknowledge her presence. She waited. She waited for him to say that he needed her or that he might need her, but just not right in that moment. She waited for what seemed like hours, but in reality was probably less than half of one. She waited in silence, respecting his need for this quiet night. She waited until she felt that she might be intruding and was about to leave. As her weight shifted, his hand turned and captured hers. He made no other sounds or movements, but his meaning was clear to her all the same. He needed her to stay with him. She stayed.

A/N: So, a little BB in the mix. What did you think?