Brennan's lying on one of the couches in the living room with a blanket wrapped around her, her head resting on one of the small, square pillows. Her eyes are closed, but she's not sleeping. She shivers and curls up more, pulling the blanket tighter around her.

Booth walks in from the kitchen with a piping hot cup of tea and stops in front of the couch. He nudges Brennan's shoulder and then brushes her hair away from her damp forehead. "Hey."

She opens one eye and squints at him. She opens her mouth to speak, but coughs instead, a loud, mucasy hack. She swallows hard and clears her throat. "Thanks," she whispers, her voice hoarse and hardly understandable.

He sets the mug down on a coaster and sits on the edge of the couch. He presses the back of his hand against her forehead and smiles faintly. "You're still warm, but I think your temp is lower."

"I don't feel any better," she croaks out, attempting to sit up. Her head is pounding, she feels as if she's got three-hundred-plus pound weights attached to her neck, waist, wrists, and ankles, her throat is sore and scratchy, she's got a bad cough, which only makes her throat ache more, her body is covered in a thin film of sweat from her 101.3 fever (making her even more uncomfortable), and despite her elevated temperature, she's freezing.

He sighs and adjusts the blanket around her. "Parker called. He wanted to know what time we were heading down tomorrow. I told him you've been sick since Saturday, so I wasn't sure if we were heading down at all."

She tries to sit up again, but she barely lifts her head and shoulders an inch off the couch before she collapses again. As she settles back down, she takes in a breath and goes into a coughing fit. She closes her eyes tight to keep the fresh tears from spilling out and rolling down her flush cheeks.

He rubs her back gently. "Breathe, Bones. You're okay. Just breathe."

After about two straight minutes of coughing, they ease up and she relaxes again. She swallows and hugs the blanket closer to her. She groans, letting out a soft whimper with it. "We can go. Call Parker back."

"Oh, no. We'll see in the morning how you're feeling. If your fever is gone and you're feeling better, maybe we'll still head down there tomorrow. If not, we'll just postpone our vacation until you're feeling better. Being sick on vacation, Bones, is no fun. Plus, Parker and Cody are bringing Ollie and Gracie. Babies are more susceptible to germs and stuff. We don't want them getting sick." He shakes his head when she opens her mouth to argue. "There's no use arguing with me. You know I'm right. You're miserable."

She just nods, unable to fight with him on this, due to the fact that the energy she has left is quickly draining.

"I'll go warm up your tea. You need anything else?"

She shakes her head. "No," she mutters.

He leans down and drops a kiss on the side of her head. "Feel better."

She offers him a small smile and closes her eyes again.

He looks at her for a few seconds before heading back into the kitchen. After heating up her tea in the microwave, he returns to the living room with the mug and a cool, damp washrag. He helps her sit up and hands her the tea. He sits beside her and tucks her hair behind her ears before, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He gently brushes the wet towel against her clammy, hot skin of her face and neck, watching her sink into the cushions farther and farther. "Do you think you'll be able to walk up the stairs?"

She nods, sipping her tea slowly. When she can't stomach anymore, she leans forward and sets the mug on the coffee table. She coughs again, grabbing a tissue to spit the excess mucus into.

He stands and holds out his arm for her to grab hold of while she pushes herself up from the couch.

She attempts to stand without any help from her partner, but fails miserably. She's achy and her body feels like lead, so she just ends up sitting back down. She grabs his arm and pulls herself halfway, which zaps all her remaining energy. She wobbles, her knees buckling under her weight.

He takes a step sideways and hooks his arm around her waist, straightening her out and keeping her steady and upright. "Just lean into me and hold on, okay?"

She nods, resting her head against his upper arm.

"I've got ya, Bones. You'll feel much better in the morning." He guides her up the stairs and settles her under the covers before heading back downstairs to shut off all the lights and make sure the doors and windows are locked.

The next morning, Booth wakes up to find his wife and partner curled up against him, her head resting on his chest. He can hear her snoring, like he does most mornings, though today, the sound is much louder due to her stuffy nose. He presses the back of his hand to her forehead and smiles. Her fever is gone. He shifts and strokes her hair, stopping only when he feels her begin to stir.

Brennan stretches her stiff limbs and yawns before opening her eyes. "Hmmm," she mumbles against his shoulder and rolls onto her back, stretching once again.

"Good morning." He pauses. "How're you feeling?"

She rubs her eyes and coughs when she feels a tickle in her throat. "Better." Her voice is hoarse and a little nasally, but she's more understandable this morning than she had been the three previous mornings.

"Good. You've got some color back in your cheeks and your fever seems to be gone."

She closes her eyes and her head bobs as she sneezes three times in quick succession.

"God bless you." He reaches over and pulls out two tissues from the box on his bedside table. "Here."

She sits up and takes the tissues from him, proceeding to blow her nose. "Thanks."

There's a knock on the door and then it slowly opens. "Are you guys dressed?" Christine asks, hiding behind the door.

"Yeah, Princess, c'mon in."

The door opens fully and Christine and Henry walk in, both still in their pajamas, their hair a mess. The latter climbs right onto the bed and scurries up to the pillows, squeezing in between his mom and dad. "Goooood moooorning, mommy, daddy." He beams, clapping his hands.

Brennan winces, still battling a small residual headache. "Good morning, Sweetheart."

"Are we gonna go to the beach today?"

Brennan shrugs, giving Booth a quick glance. "It's up to your father."

Henry turns to Booth and clasps his hands together, giving his dad a pout. "Please, daddy, with sugar on top."

Booth laughs, messing up his son's hair and wrapping him in a headlock. He gives him a noogie while the little boy squirms and giggles, pleading for him to stop. He finally lets up and smiles.

Henry makes his eyes wide and he pouts again, clasping his hands tighter in front of him. "Pleeeeeease, daddy."

"I don't know, buddy. Your mom's been pretty sick for the last three days. I'm not sure going on vacation today is such a good idea." Booth looks at Brennan and sighs. "You sure you're feeling alright?"

She nods. "Yes. I'm feeling a lot better. I'm still a little congested, and I have a small headache and a lingering cough, but I'm not contagious anymore. Plus, my energy level is up and will continue to rise, and while my body is still achy and my muscles are stiff from disuse over the last few days I've spent either in bed or on the couch, I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

She rolls her eyes. "Booth."

"Okay, okay." Booth looks at his two kids, who have identical pleading looks on their faces. "Looks like we're going to the beach after all."

Henry squeals, bouncing up and down on his knees and clapping his hands. "Yay!"

Christine smiles. "Cool. Glad you're feeling better, mom."

Brennan nods. "Thank you. I am glad I'm feeling better, as well." She pauses. "Are you two packed?"

Henry nods. "Yep. Rissy helped me. She said I didn't do it right, so she did it for me."

"Well, you threw all your clothes in your suitcase and then zipped it up."

Henry sticks out his tongue and blows out. "Meany-head."

"Oh, shut up, Bird Brain. Thanks to me, all your clothes won't be a wrinkled mess now when you wanna wear them."

Henry turns to Brennan and pouts. "Mommy, Rissy called me a Bird Brain. Tell her to polagize to me."

"You called me a meany-head first, so you need to apologize to me too."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah—."

"Enough!" Booth raises his voice, startling both the kids and Brennan too. "Your mom has a headache." He pauses. "Henry, you shouldn't have called your sister a meany-head, and Christine, you shouldn't have called your brother a bird brain. Both of you apologize to each other and then go get ready. Bud, your mom or I will be there soon to help. We need to be on the road by 9:30."

Henry looks at Christine and sighs. "Sorry, Rissy. I still love you, even if you're a meany-head sometimes." He wraps his arms around her and hugs her tight.

"I'm sorry too, Little Alien. You're not a Bird Brain. Well, not all the time." Christine hugs him back, both kids now laughing.

After they separate, Henry and Christine get off the bed and head down the hall to their bedrooms to get ready.

Booth looks at Brennan and sighs. "I guess that's the best apology we're gonna get out of those two."

Brennan smiles. "I believe you are correct." She pulls away the sheets and comforter and takes her time standing. She staggers forward slightly, grabbing onto the corner of her nightstand to steady herself.

"Bones, maybe we should put off leaving another day."

"Booth, I told you, I'm fine."

He sighs.

She turns around and gives him a smile. "Really, I'm fine."

He nods. "You can take a shower first. I'll go help Henry get dressed, comb his hair, and brush his teeth."

"I'm fine, Booth. I've traveled when I was sick before. I can tell you that it was not fun, and I have no desire to do that ever again. It was a miserable experience."

He smiles. "I believe you, Bones. I'm just worried about you and I want us to have a good time."

"I know." She smiles back and disappears into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Just before he leaves the room, he hears his phone ring. He looks at his bedside table where his cell phone usually resides, but doesn't see the ringing device there. He looks around, finally finding the phone in the pocket of the jeans he was wearing yesterday evening. He answers the phone just in time, without checking the caller ID. "Booth."

"Dad, it's me, Parker."

"Oh, hey, Bub, what's up?" Booth sits on the edge of the mattress, trying to catch his breath.

"Something wrong? You sound out of breath."

"I couldn't find my phone. I was trying to get to it before it went to voicemail…which I did." Booth pauses, smiling a little at his small triumph. "So what's up?"

"How's Bones?"

"She's feeling better, so we're gonna head down there this morning. I'm hoping to get on the road by 9:30. We'll see how that goes."

"Awesome."

"When are you and Cody heading down?"

Parker sighs. "It turns out my boss needs me to come into the office this morning. It sucks, but whatever. I like the job. The boss is just a pain in the you-know-what. He only needs me until lunchtime, so it doesn't screw up our travel plans too much. I hope we'll get on the road by one, two at the latest."

"Bummer."

"Yeah. I'm only an intern, and I really need the money, so I can't really say no to my boss, you know? But Cody and I are definitely coming down, though, even if we have to leave tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good, son. I'll tell Bones. Call when you leave and drive safe."

"I will and I always do, Dad."

"Bye. Love you."

"Love you too."

Booth hangs up, setting the phone down on his nightstand.

"Daddy, I getted dressed all by myself."

Booth turns his head and sees Henry with two different pairs of sneakers, which are on the wrong feet, navy blue and orange plaid shorts, and a yellow and white striped shirt, which is on backwards and inside out. "I see that, Buddy. That's very good, but how about you let daddy help you out a little?" He stands up and walks over to his son, taking him by the hand and walking with him back down the hallway to his room.

At 10:15, 45 minutes past the time he wanted to leave, Booth pulls out of the driveway and heads for the highway.

Brennan's sitting in the passenger seat, resting her head against the window, with her eyes closed. She's exhausted. She hadn't slept very much the past two nights, so it doesn't take very long until she's passed out.

Christine's sitting on the right side in the backseat of the SUV, staring out the window with her iPod turned up to an ear-drum-killing volume.

Henry is playing a superman game on his Nintendo DS, taking short breaks to look out the window.

Booth looks at Brennan and then glances back at the kids through the rearview mirror. He lets out a breath. "Peace and quiet," he mutters.

Not even two minutes after Booth's observation, Henry puts his DS on the vacant middle seat and looks over at Christine. He scoots as far over as he can in his booster seat and reaches for his big sister's left ear bud.

Christine catches sight of him out of the corner of her eye and turns her head. She removes one ear bud, the one he was reaching for, and furrows her brow. "What are you doing?"

"I wanna listen to music." Henry points to her headphones and iPod.

"Well, I'm listening to music right now."

"But I wanna listen too. Give me a ear thingy with the squishy-me-bob on it."

Christine shakes her head. "The music doesn't sound right with just one earphone in. It sounds all low and tinny. To get the full effect, you gotta listen with both ear thingies in."

"Then give me both ear thingies."

"This is my iPod, Henry."

"Rissy, I wanna listen to music."

"Ask mom and dad to turn up the radio then."

Henry shakes his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "No. I wanna listen to your music."

"Too bad, Little Alien," Christine says, a little harsher than she intended.

"Rissy!" Henry reaches over and grabs hold of his sister's t-shirt.

Christine pulls his hand off and scoots closer to him, pushing his shoulder away from her. "Just play your stupid DS."

"It's not stupid!" Henry lunges for her again, but Christine's fast to react this time and grabs his wrist mid-air. "Let go. Ow, Rissy, you're hurting me!"

Booth, having been listening and hoping that the kids would settle this rather loud disagreement themselves, soon realizes that won't happen until one of them ends up in the ER, so he pulls over to the side of the road and puts on his hazard lights. He unbuckles his seatbelt and twists his upper body around so he's facing his two kids. "Cut it out, or I'm turning around and driving home. No vacation, no beach." He pauses. "Your mom is still not feeling well, so keep it down."

Christine and Henry both nod, looking downward into their laps.

Booth turns back around and opens the center console. He looks around inside the compartment and pulls two things out of it. "Can I see your iPod, Christine?"

"What? I'm being punished 'cause I won't let Henry listen to my iPod? How is that fair? He's the one that started the stupid fight."

"You're not being punished, Princess. Just give me your iPod. I'll give it right back, I promise."

Christine lets out a huff of air and angrily sets the device in her dad's open palm. She crosses her arms over her chest and grunts.

Like Booth promised, he hands the iPod right back to his daughter. "Now you both can listen to it." He pauses. "Look, we have a five plus hour drive ahead of us, so let's just try not tokill each other. Please. Just sit back, relax, and listen to some music. Your mom is trying to sleep, so keep your voices down."

Christine nods and turns to look at her little brother, whose tears have since fallen from his eyes. She undoes her seatbelt and scoots into the middle seat. She takes the extra set of earphones that Booth has added to the iPod with a small device and pushes the 'squishy-me-bobs' into his ears. She then slides back over, buckles herself in once again, and replaces her own ear buds. She presses play on her iPod and looks over her brother, who's now smiling and bobbing his head to the song.

Booth smiles and turns forwards again. Crisis number one…averted. He buckles his seatbelt, takes one last look at his kids through the rearview mirror, and then puts the SUV in drive.

Brennan stirs, rubbing her eyes before opening them. "Hmmm. Are we there?" She asks, slightly confused as to why they're stopped.

Booth squeezes her shoulder. "Shhh. Just go back to sleep, Bones. We're not there yet. Everything is fine."

Brennan nods in her barely awake state and rests her head against the window again, closing her eyes. "Okay," she slurs, drifting back to sleep.

Booth turns off the hazards and switches on his blinker, pulling back into the flow of traffic. Having settled the siblings' squabble earlier, the only sounds he can hear (besides the rushing cars outside) are his partner's snores and his daughter's soft voice as she sings in the backseat, both of which are music to his ears.