This is about as fluffy as it gets. I blame Parker. That little guy is just way too cute.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon on a Saturday and Booth was sitting on his couch watching a documentary about the mating habits of sea horses. Brennan was sound asleep, her head resting against his shoulder, her soft snores punctuating the ambient music drifting from the speakers as two sea horses danced around each other on the screen. She had fallen asleep about ten minutes into the production, but Booth had kept watching—something that he would never, ever admit to her. He would only tease her mercilessly for dozing off during a film she had only convinced him to watch after promising to perform every sexual favor in the book.

He turned away from the sea horses and glanced at her sleeping face, deciding to move her to the bed so she wouldn't wake up with a crick in her neck. Plus, this was his weekend with Parker, so it wouldn't hurt to catch some alone time with the little guy while Bones finished her nap. He might even begin to broach the topic of siblings. Brennan said she wanted to be there when Parker found out, but it couldn't hurt to test the waters.

With that thought, Booth clicked off the TV and eased himself off the couch. He turned and scooped up Brennan in his arms easily. She sighed in her sleep. Turned her head into his chest, her hand resting over his heart. But she didn't wake up. He was halfway to the bedroom when he heard the doorbell. He paused, torn between tucking Brennan in and saving Rebecca and Parker from standing in his hallway for too long. With a sigh he turned and walked over to the door. "It's open," he called softly, hoping Rebecca would hear.

She did. The door swung open and Booth grinned at his son, who beamed back, before frowning at the sight of Bones, unconscious in his father's arms. "Hey, you guys," he said, flashing a smile at Rebecca who was looking just as confused as Parker. "Come on in. I'll be right back."

He left them standing in the doorway and hurried into the bedroom, Brennan still cradled in his arms. He placed her on the bed and pulled the covers up around her. "Mmm, Booth," she mumbled, opening her eyes and focusing a bleary gaze on his face. "Is Parker here?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, but don't get up," he said, reaching out to brush the hair out of her eyes.

"You sure?" she murmured, her eyelids already sliding shut.

"Positive," he told her. He smiled and kissed her cheek, before heading back out into the living room.

As soon as she spotted him, Rebecca walked over, leaving Parker on the couch, happily engrossed in an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. "So I'll be back to pick him up tomorrow at five, okay?"

He nodded. Smiled. "Sounds good. Thanks, Becca."

She nodded and turned. Grabbed her purse and left. Booth made his way over to the couch and plopped down next to his son. "Hey, bud," he said, ruffling Parker's curls.

"Hey, dad," Parker said quickly, barely glancing away from the television.

"Can we talk?" Booth asked.

Parker glanced from Booth to Spongebob and back to Booth. "Okay," he said, sighing mightily and clicking off the TV. "What do you want to talk about?"

Booth shrugged. "Anything you want."

Parker was quiet for a second, thinking. "Can I ask you something?" he finally asked, fixing Booth with a gaze that was almost suspicious.

"Sure. Anything."

"Is Bones okay?"

"Bones?" Booth repeated, surprised. "Yeah, bud, she's fine. Why?"

"She just looked pretty tired is all," Parker explained. "The only time I've ever seen anybody that sleepy was that one time when you were really sick and threw up for like three days straight and then you slept for forever and wouldn't wake up for anything. Do you remember that?"

Booth winced at the memory. "Yeah, Parks, I remember."

"So," his son continued, sounding disturbingly similar to Brennan when she was about to draw some convoluted conclusion about some convoluted theory he couldn't even begin to understand, "is Bones sick?"

Booth hesitated. "No," he finally said.

"You paused," Parker declared as if that proved something.

"So?" Booth said.

Parker gave him a look. "Sweets says that when people pause it means they're lying and he has almost as many degrees as Bones so I think I'm gonna believe him."

Booth sighed. This wasn't exactly how he'd hoped this conversation would go. "She's not sick, okay, bud? I promise."

"Then what's wrong with her?" Booth hesitated again. "Look, dad," Parker said, all seriousness. "I can just go in there and ask her myself, so why don't you just tell me?"

Booth eyed his son. "Okay, fine. Just wait here for one second."

Parker looked extremely pleased with himself when he said, "Okay."

Booth shook his head and got up from the couch, hurrying into the bedroom. Brennan was sound asleep, curled up on her side under the covers. He walked over and crouched beside the bed so his face was level with hers. "Bones," he whispered. She sighed. "Hey, babe, I know you're tired, but you gotta wake up for a second."

She sighed again and mumbled something indiscernible. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and each of her closed eyelids. "Bones," he said again.

She finally opened her eyes and peered at him. "What's going on?" she asked softly.

"Parker is kind of catching on to the whole pregnancy thing and I knew you wanted to be there when he found out, so…"

Brennan smiled. "So you want to tell him now," she said. It wasn't a question. She understood.

He nodded. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," she said, but he could tell she was still exhausted. He loved her for her patience. "Bring him in."

"Okay," he said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips, before running to fetch Parker.

In the four seconds it took Booth to get Parker, Brennan fell asleep again. Parker was the one to wake her up this time. He tiptoed over to the bed and poked her shoulder. "Bones?" he said.

She opened her eyes. "Hey, Parker," she said, managing a smile even in her sleep-hazed state.

"Are you awake?" the little boy asked.

Brennan nodded and pulled herself into a sitting position. "Yes," she promised, rubbing her eyes and stifling a yawn.

"So," Parker began once he was satisfied that she was conscious, "what's wrong with you?"

She smiled. "Nothing, Parker. I'm fine."

"Then why are you so sleepy?"

Brennan glanced at Booth, then at his son. "Because," she said, "my body is supporting another life."

Parker looked stricken. "You mean like an alien?"

Brennan frowned in confusion and Booth decided this was a good time to jump in. He walked around his son and sat beside Brennan on the bed, slipping his arm around her waist. "What Bones is trying to say, Parker, is that she's going to have a baby."

Parker still looked worried. "No aliens?"

Booth shook his head. "Nope. Just a baby."

"So I'm going to have a brother or sister soon?"

"In about seven and a half months," Brennan said.

The look of horror brought on by the prospect of alien invasion was quickly replaced by a grin. "Really?" Parker said.

Brennan nodded. "Really."

"So my brother or sister is in your stomach right now?" he breathed wonderingly like it was the coolest thing he'd ever heard.

"That's right," Bones said simply. "Right in here." She rested her hand over her stomach and Parker whispered an awe-struck wow. He gently placed his little hand over hers and Booth found himself grinning like a fool because he couldn't remember the last time he was this happy.

—BB—

Parker woke up just as the sun was beginning to rise. He hated when he woke up at this time. The half-light of dawn made everything look a lot more shadowy and a lot more scary than normal. He pulled the blankets over his head and closed his eyes tight. He knew he was nine and wasn't supposed to be scared of shadows anymore and he wasn't, really, he wasn't. But sometimes the shadows were shaped like things that really were scary. Like monsters, or aliens, or evil clowns.

One such shadow was currently flickering across his dresser and try as he might, Parker couldn't fall back asleep. He threw back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He landed on the ground with a quiet thud and tiptoed out into the hall, pausing outside his dad's bedroom door. He reached for the handle and pushed it open, hoping that his dad and Bones weren't kissing. It was gross when his dad kissed Bones, but as he surveyed the situation from the doorway he was glad to see that there was absolutely no kissing happening. His dad's face was really close to Bones', they might kiss at any second, but they weren't. They were just talking.

His dad said something that made Bones smile. He smiled too and leaned in to kiss her nose, which Parker thought was kind of nice. His mom kissed him on the nose sometimes and he liked it. Then Bones kind of sighed and rested her head on his dad's chest. She got that tired look again and Parker thought that it must be a lot of work to make a whole other person inside of you.

Parker pushed the door open a little further and this time his dad saw him. Smiled and said, "Hey, Parks. You okay?"

Parker was feeling a lot better so he said, "Yes," but followed that up quickly with a "can I get in the bed with you for a while?" because he didn't feel quite ready to go back to his own room.

Booth smiled. "Sure, bud, come on up."

Parker grinned and leapt onto the bed, wedging himself between Bones and his dad to prevent any lip contact. Bones smiled and shifted onto her back to make room. "Are you still tired, Bones?" he asked.

Brennan smiled. "A little," she lied. The truth was she felt like she could sleep for a week and still be ready to take a nap.

Booth seemed to sense this, because he quickly suggested that he and Parker go watch cartoons in the living room, but she quickly nixed this idea.

"No, it's fine," she said quickly. "Stay here."

Parker watched as Booth caught Bones' eye over his head. He hated when grown-ups did that—talked to each other without saying anything. It was frustrating because he never knew what was going on. "Booth, it's fine," Bones finally said, an answer to some unspoken concern. "I want you guys here."

Parker turned to his dad, who still seemed doubtful. "See, dad? She wants us to stay." And with that he flopped back against the pillows, grinning at Booth triumphantly. Brennan smiled at him and then at Booth as he settled in beside his son. "Hey, dad?"

"Mmm?"

"When the baby comes, will I have to give up my room?"

Booth smiled. "No, Parks. You won't have to give up your room."

"Will I have to share it?" Parker asked curiously, not looking opposed to the idea.

"Well," Booth said thoughtfully, watching as Brennan's eyes drifted shut. "For a while, the baby will sleep in here, with Bones and me, but when it gets older, it'll need its own room."

"So we'll share?" Parker prompted again.

"Probably not, bud. By then, hopefully, I'll have a bigger place so both of you can have your own room." What he really hoped was that he and Brennan would be living together, but he wasn't going to push it just in case she was still awake and listening.

Parker nodded seriously, a hint of disappointment flashing across his face. "Oh, okay," he said softly. He was quiet for a minute, his eyes narrowed in thought. He turned to glance at Bones, who was now sleeping soundly. "Wow, dad. Bones is really sleepy."

Booth smiled and ruffled his son's hair. "She is, Parks."

Parker glanced at Brennan's stomach. He tentatively reached out and rested his hand on it. She barely stirred at the touch. "Because of the baby?" he asked.

"Yup," Booth said. "Her body is used to only having to take care of one person, so it's kind of worn out right now."

Parker nodded. "That makes sense."

Booth smiled. "C'mon, bud. Why don't you head out to the kitchen and start getting out the ingredients for pancakes. We can make Bones breakfast."

"Cool!" Parker exclaimed, bounding off the bed and out the door.

Booth turned back to Brennan, who had barely opened her eyes at the commotion. "I'm going to make breakfast for you," he whispered.

She smiled lazily and he leaned down. Kissed her softly. "Thank you," she said simply, her lips brushing his.

"You're welcome."

—BB—

"Dad! You got pancake batter on the floor!"

Booth laughed. "Sorry, bud. I'll try to be more careful."

Parker sighed and took the ladle from his dad. "Like this. See, dad?" He gave Booth a meaningful look before carefully demonstrating how to swipe the bottom of the ladle against the rim of the bowl so as to prevent any dripping.

"Got it," Booth said, unable to conceal his grin.

"Brent showed me how to do that," Parker said casually and just like that, Booth's grin was gone. He was glad Parker was focused on the pancake sizzling in the pan, because it took him a few seconds to rearrange his face into a neutral expression.

"He sounds like a nice guy," Booth said, schooling himself to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. Yesterday, he took me to the park and taught me how to—" Parker's sentence trailed off into a yelp as he felt a thick, cool liquid slide through his hair and down his back.

He spun around to find Booth holding the ladle over his head, a devilish smile on his face. They stood facing each other for a moment, before Parker grabbed the bowl of batter and took off after his dad.

Booth sprinted around to the other side of the counter, ladle still in hand. Parker paused, lunged to the right then to the left, before dipping his hand into the bowl and flinging a glob of batter across the counter, right in Booth's face. Booth retaliated by spraying a ladle full at his son.

"You are so dead!" Parker declared and with that, he climbed onto the counter and jumped onto his dad's back, turning the entire bowl of batter over onto his head.

That was the scene that Brennan walked in on: Parker clinging to Booth's back, his arms around his neck. Booth laughing and choking on the batter that was dribbling down his face from the bucket overturned and resting like a helmet on his head. "What are you boys up to?" she asked, eyeing the batter stains on the walls and floor.

"We're making pancakes," Parker said innocently, his curls drenched in floor, eggs and milk.

"I see," she said and in that moment he could picture the mother she would be. It made him want to kiss her.

"We just got a little sidetracked," Booth said, walking over to her, Parker still on his back.

"Dad started it," Parker said.

Brennan laughed, her eyes locked on Booth's. "I'm sure he did."

Booth smiled and moved closer. He reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Hey, Parks?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"Do me a favor, bud, and close your eyes for a second."

Parker eyed them suspiciously. "Are you guys gonna kiss?"

Booth smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "That is exactly what we're gonna do."

"Gross," Parker groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, hiding his face against his dad's back for good measure.

Brennan reached up and wiped the batter from his cheeks and lips, before drawing his face to hers. He kissed her deep and long, pulling her tight against his batter-stained shirt. She smiled into the kiss. Tasted the flour and milk. "These are the best pancakes I've ever had," she murmured into his lips.

He smiled too. Wiped a splotch of flour from her cheek. "I am known for my cooking."

—BB—

"Hey, Parker, your mom is going to be here soon. We should head to the food court."

Parker nodded and jogged over to his dad and Bones who were waiting for him by the exit to the arcade. "She's meeting us there?" he asked.

"Yup. I just called her," Booth told him.

They walked in silence for a while. Past teenagers on their cell phones, a mother carrying a baby on one arm and half a dozen bags on the other, a father chasing after his toddler, a young couple holding hands and smiling. Without really thinking about it, Booth reached for Brennan's hand as they walked, slipping his fingers through hers. She glanced at their interlocked hands and for a second he thought she might protest, but she simply smiled and kept walking.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking."

"About what?"

Parker sighed. "Well you know how you said that me and the baby would probably have separate rooms?"

"Yeah, I remember," Booth said, looking down at his son.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe our rooms could be right next to each other so we could visit a lot. And maybe if she got scared in the night or something I could go over and make sure she was okay and check the closet for any monsters." He shrugged, looking almost shy at his confession. "I don't know. I was just thinking."

Booth smiled down at his son, feeling his love for him rising in his chest. "That sounds like a great idea, Parks."

Parker glanced up at his dad and grinned. "And maybe I could give her my old teddy bear, because I remember when I was little he protected me from the monsters under my bed."

"That would be really nice, bud."

"Hey, Parker?" Brennan suddenly asked from beside Booth.

"Yeah, Bones?"

"I noticed you keep calling the baby 'she'. Do you think it's going to be a girl?"

"I know it is," Parker said.

"But the sex of the fetus cannot be determined until the eighteenth week—"

"Bones," Booth said quietly, giving her hand a squeeze. She glanced at him and he raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"Oh," she breathed, realizing she had once again slipped into her habit of lecturing. "Sorry." She paused and turned to Parker again. "How do you know it's going to be a girl?"

Parker shrugged, unfazed by her impromptu speech. "I just know," he said mysteriously.

Brennan gave Booth a bewildered look, but he only smiled and she squelched the urge to point out that it was impossible to know such things without an ultrasound. "Are you looking forward to having a little sister?" she asked him instead.

"I think it would be cool," he replied. "I could teach her stuff. Like how to ride a bike and play baseball and football. I think it'll be fun."

"That sounds like fun," she agreed.

When they reached the cafeteria, Rebecca was sitting at a table reading a magazine. Parker immediately sprinted over to her and by the look on Rebecca's face, Booth guessed that he had already spilled the beans about the baby. He and Bones reached the table a few seconds later and much to his surprise, she didn't let go of his hand. Rebecca looked up at them and smiled. "I guess congratulations are in order," she said, looking genuinely happy for them.

"Thanks, Becca," Booth said.

"And I hear it's a girl?" she said, glancing at Parker who nodded astutely.

"Parker is sure it is, but we don't know for sure yet," Brennan explained, smiling warmly at the little boy.

"My niece was sure Parker was a boy," Rebecca said. She shrugged. "I guess some kids have a sixth sense."

"No, children have only five senses, the same as adolescents and mature adults—"

"Bones," Booth said quietly. "It's a saying. She didn't mean it literally."

"Oh," Brennan said. "I see."

Rebecca laughed good-naturedly and reached for her purse. "Well, we should get going. Parker has soccer practice."

"Right, okay," Booth said, bending down to draw his son into a quick hug. "I'll see you soon, okay, buddy?"

"Okay, dad," Parker said. He turned to Bones and wrapped his arms around her middle. "Bye, Bones." He looked up at her, his chin resting against her stomach. "Thanks for having a baby so I can get a little sister."

"It's my pleasure," she replied.

He nodded and pulled away, taking his mom's hand as they headed towards the exit. Booth watched them go, feeling the pang in his chest he always felt when he watched his son walk away. "You'll see him soon," Brennan said, sensing his sadness.

He smiled, a little forlornly, and turned towards her. "I know."

She moved closer, her lips turned down in a sympathetic frown. "You'll never have to watch our child walk away. I promise."

"I know. Thank you, Bones."

He pulled her against him and she slipped her hands inside his jacket, wrapping her arms around his waist. He rested his chin against the top of her head and closed his eyes. Breathed her in. Felt her relax against him, her body soft and warm. Felt the world fall away, replaced by the familiar calm her presence gave him.

And that's when he heard it. A jostling, the shuffling of panicked bodies. A whimper. A scream. A clear bang, loud and distinct, shattering across the silence like a bad dream. A gunshot. And everything went black.

TBC.