It was after dinner and the whole family was in Booth and Brennan's bedroom, tired from the lack of sleep they encountered by sleeping in the tent. Christine was snuggled in between Booth and Brennan, fast asleep, Brennan was typing on her laptop and Booth was re-watching the game he and Christine had attended on the TV.
"Yesss!" Booth yell-whispered with enthusiasm at the TV. Brennan looked up from her laptop.
"I don't understand why you are excited if you already know what happens." Brennan said to Booth, the confusion obvious on her face.
"Because, Bones, it's an exciting thing." Booth responded, not looking away from the TV, "and also a little rugrat was asking me questions half the time, so I missed three quarters of it." Booth laughed.
"Assuming that you are referring to Christine when you say rugrat, what made you miss the other quarter of the game, Booth?" Brennan asked Booth, attempting to understand.
"What?" Booth looked away from the TV and stared at Brennan, confused.
"You said Christine was talking to you for half the time, and that you missed three quarters of the game, meaning that something else occurred for a quarter of the time in which you were not watching the game or talking to Christine." Brennan stated in a matter-of-fact way.
"Oh" Booth said, understanding what she was talking about, "No. I was just exaggerating, Bones. I wasn't being literal." Booth replied. "Although now I have missed half the game again." Booth said, picking up the remote and rewinding through the part he missed while talking to Brennan.
"No, Booth. That was most definitely not half of the game." Brennan said. Booth gave her the look does when she misses social cues or is being too literal. "Oh." She said. "You were exaggerating." Brennan nodded, understanding.
"Yes. There we go, Bones." Booth said, laughing.
"Okay, well, continue." Brennan said, returning to her laptop.
"Woah-oh! Bones, look! It's me and Christine!" Booth said excitedly, pointing at the screen.
"Christine and I." Brennan corrected him, "and yes, Christine will be very excited when you show her." Brennan said, smiling.
"See, Bones. If I hadn't watched the game again, I wouldn't have seen this. Everything happens for a reason." Booth said.
"Well, I agree that the reason you saw Christine and yourself on the TV was because you watched the TV." Brennan began, "although I disagree with what I believe you are implying, that you watched the game because of some 'fate' that led you to see you both on the TV." Brennan explained.
"Yeah, okay Bones." Booth replied. "I regretted the last part as soon as I said it." He said. Both of their gazes fell to their daughter, wedged between them, deep in a peaceful slumber.
"She really will be very excited." Brennan smiled.
"I'm sure it is all she will talk about for a week." Booth agreed, both of them laughing.
Booth, Christine asleep in his arms, carefully opened the door to his daughter's bedroom and walked over to her bed. Booth gently placed his daughter onto her bed and pulled the covers over her tiny body. He lent over and kissed her sweaty head, making sure not to wake her. He then retreated back to his bedroom, where Brennan was asleep, her laptop's screen still lighting up her face. Booth removed the laptop from the bed, shut the lid and plugged it in to charge. Before pulling the covers over Brennan's sleeping body, Booth gently kissed her stomach, making sure he didn't wake her. After Booth had pulled the covers over her, he ran his hand gently through her hair and kissed her forehead, whispering "Goodnight, baby" into his ear as he did so. Booth wasn't tired, he had slept like a baby in the tent. Being in the army, he had to sleep whenever and wherever he could, so he was used to sleeping in crowded and uncomfortable places. Booth walked downstairs and checked everything was locked and safe, trying to waste time until he felt tired. Wandering around the house aimlessly, Booth decided he would just try to sleep. Getting under the covers, Booth wrapped his arms around his sleeping girlfriend who snuggled into him in her sleep. Booth wasn't sure how long he had dazed off for when he felt someone gently shaking him, he looked over to see Christine standing beside the bed, crying softly.
"Daddy." She managed to get out, her bottom lip dropping. Booth lent over and picked up his little girl, bringing her into a hug.
"Baby, what's wrong?" He asked her, stroking her hair.
"I don't remember going to bed." She said sadly. "And I'm not in my pajamas." She said, softly whimpering.
"Honey, you just fell asleep on Mommy and Daddy's bed, that's all." He reassured her. "I carried you to your bed." Booth said, Christine burrowing her head into his chest.
"I don't like not remembering, daddy." She said. Booth wiped the tears away from her cheeks and kissed her on the forehead.
"It's okay, baby." He said. "You can sleep in here with me and Mommy, and if you forget, we'll remind you." He said, moving over to create a gap for Christine. Christine lay down next to him and wrapped her arms around her mother's. Booth lay down too, kissing the back of his daughter's head. It were times like these that reminded him how young she really was. It was easy to forget with her, but he was glad to be reminded how much she needed him every now and then.
