For PJ and Doc, who are joint Queens of the Bread Truck and who have to see these chaps in their raw stages. Love ya both!

Gum :)

Chapter 10: Bread and Butter

"It was a dark and stormy night," Booth's voice was deep, his words emphasized by the actual thundered that rolled in the distance.

Fortunately for Parker, the rain had waited until long after the game was over to come down this week and by then they were safe and sound in the townhouse. Since Parker was staying for the entire weekend he begged to be allowed to stay up until Brennan got home. She had called around five to let Booth know that the van was heading back to Baltimore, and at seven-thirty he'd gotten a text that she was getting in her car so he didn't figure it would take too long.

Now it was ten and he was trying to keep Parker entertained while simultaneously not envisioning his girlfriend in a mangled car wreck somewhere between Maryland and Virginia. He had already read more of The Hobbit to him, but it hadn't worked like it did the night before, and now he was on his third ghost story and was running out of material fast.

"Bones!" Parker flew off the couch and made a mad dash for the door.

It wasn't the forensic anthropologist, but rather the wind rattling the door and the boy shuffled back to the living room disappointed.

"Will she ever get here?" he whined.

"I hope so," Booth muttered under his breath, then went back to distracting Parker with the rest of the story.

B&B&B&B&B&B&B

The drive from Harrisburg to Baltimore had been uneventful and as it was Saturday, rush-hour traffic hadn't been heavy for the most part. It was once they got to Baltimore that the rain started in earnest, and by the time Brennan was halfway home it was coming down in buckets, pulling her average speed down to around ten miles an hour.

Visibility was at about zero as well, and at the moment the people in front of her did not seem to be familiar with driving in inclement weather. Her back was beginning to tighten, having been tensed up for the last half an hour and her legs were already sore from being on her feet for the better part of the last twenty-four hours. Knowing that there was a bathtub with jets and a man who was quite skilled in the area of back massages waiting for her at home was both a blessing and a curse.

A large tractor-trailer sped past on her left and she held on tightly to the wheel so as not to get washed off to the side of the road. Finally, the rain began to abate but the people in front of her were still going slow and she was never more glad to see their turn signal come on at the next exit.

She was just applying the gas to speed up when she caught sight of a pair of headlights bearing down behind her quickly, with no signs of slowing down or passing her. The rain clattered against her roof as the truck behind her moved closer and closer, but an attempt to speed up only left her tires spinning. Then the time to react was over and it was right up on her.

At the last possible second, Brennan aimed the car at a field on the side of the road and veered off, narrowly avoiding being sideswiped by what she now saw was yet another tractor-trailer. For a few micro-seconds there were mere inches between them, but then she was off on the side of the road, tires hydroplaning despite her attempts to avoid just that. The car bounced and bumped, jarring her until she finally stopped in the field; her car facing the oncoming traffic.

After assessing herself for injuries and deciding she had none, she stepped cautiously out of the car. Thunder sounded and the air around her crackled with electricity around her just before lightning flashed across the sky. The fine mist of rain wasn't helping her situation either, though in a matter of moments she was able to locate the LED flashlight she kept in her trunk for such conditions.

Fifteen long minutes later she determined that beyond some cosmetic damage there was nothing structurally wrong with her car. Getting turned around in the muddy field proved to be a bit more of a challenge, but once she got going in the right direction she was able to keep that momentum and move back onto the road.

For the remainder of the trip her body tensed automatically when a tractor-trailer would pass, though thankfully they were few and far between once she got off the main roads. She was never so relieved to see the sign for their neighborhood, or the soft glow of the porch light that Booth had obviously left on for her. It didn't even bother her to have to park a block beyond where she normally did due to the late hour, or walk through the steady rain that had begun in earnest once again.

She laid a hand on the knob, fumbling for her keys in her now-soaked clothes, and eventually just gave up and pressed the doorbell instead. Inside, she heard an excited voice coming quickly toward her as a deeper voice warned against opening the door to strangers. Heedless of the warning the door flung open and she was being dragged through the doorway by an exuberant Parker before she had time to register anything else.

Booth, on the other hand, had plenty of time to observe her and ignoring the fact that he was being completely upstaged by his nine year old, he shut the door behind them, eyes noting things like the clothes that clung to her frame like a second skin, the tension in her back and shoulders, and the mud that coated her shoes and the hem of her ankle-length skirt.

"Okay, Pal," he stepped in, ruffling Parker's hair affectionately, "let's give Bones time to wring herself out while you go get ready for bed."

"But, Dad-" the boy protested.

"Nope," Booth shook his head firmly, pointing Parker in the direction of the steps. "No 'but Dad-ing' me. Your mom's already gonna kill me if she finds out how I let you stay up. Now, if you go right up and get your teeth brushed and get everything else ready without anymore complaints you can come back down and see Bones for a few more minutes, got it?"

"Yes, sir," came the mumbled reply, and with a final smile in the anthropologist's direction, he tore off at full speed for the bathroom.

Booth wasted no time gathering Brennan gently into his arms and kissing her. He wasn't exactly expecting her to deepen the kiss, but he held onto her despite the fact that his own clothes were getting damp, letting her pour all of her anxiety, frustration, and whatever else she was feeling, out on him.

"Um," he said, pulling back when she reached for his belt buckle, "I know you probably need a hot bath, but Parker's been waiting up all night for you."

"And he's following your instructions quite rapidly," she nodded with a wry grin.

"Yeah."

"I'll go up and change into something more comfortable and less wet and come back down to tell him goodnight," was her understanding reply.

Booth smiled his thanks and headed out to the kitchen to start some water boiling and had managed to hunt down her tea and her favorite mug by the time Parker came back down. Brennan wasn't far behind and bestowed a grateful smile on both of them as she was handed tea, and a small piece of the baseball cake that had been saved for her.

Pushing away her fatigue, she concentrated on the young boy in front of her, doing her best to explain to him what her role in the conference had been. He commented on the bad weather and she agreed that it had been difficult to drive in, hoping that he would imply that as being the reason it had taken her nearly four hours to drive home. He did, though she could see that the elder Booth knew there was something else she wasn't disclosing.

When Parker began to yawn widely, Booth announced that he really did need to go to bed and Brennan stepped in and offered to tuck him in for the night. She was unsure why she had felt the need to do so and thought perhaps that might be overstepping her grounds, but the grin on Parker's face and the tender smile on Booth's told her she'd said the right thing.

The boy hugged his father goodnight and took her hand as they went up the steps, not letting go until he'd crawled into bed. He said a short prayer, thanking God for getting Bones home safe in the rain, then gave her a hug and a peck on her cheek before burrowing under the covers. Touched, Brennan thanked him and leaned over to plant her own light kiss on Parker's forehead as she did with her nieces when she'd tucked them in.

"'Night, Bones," Parker called as she was walking out of the room. "I love you."

She turned and looked over her shoulder, "I love you too, Parker."

A smile grew on her face as she closed the door softly behind her and she was not at all surprised to find Booth waiting patiently for her in the hall.

"I love you too, you know?" he teased.

"I've heard rumors to that affect, yes," she teased back, stepping all too willingly back into his embrace. "Though I've also heard actions speak louder than words."

He laughed as they walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind them, "And what actions might I interest you in tonight, Bones?"

"A back massage," she answered right away, shucking the sweatpants and oversized t-shirt she'd thrown own earlier, "but only after my bath."

"Would that be this bath?" asked Booth, guiding her toward the master bathroom only after he'd shed his own clothes.

She was immediately enveloped by the damp humidity, ears welcoming the sound of the jets stirring the water. Booth helped her in and she honestly didn't care if he joined her or not. With a groan she slipped beneath the water, letting it go to work on her tired and aching muscles. She came up for air a few times, but the feeling of weightlessness in the water was too good to relinquish right away.

When she finally did, Booth was beside her and he leaned out of the tub long enough to pour them each a glass of chilled wine. They tipped the glasses together lightly before sipping at them, and while she knew he still had questions, she was thankful he wasn't demanding answers; though she knew he would once she began the tale.

Somewhere after the third glass she finally related the entire story and true to form he had more questions than she answers.

"So you didn't see the guy's plates, huh?" he said as they got out.

"The weather obstructed the view, yes," she nodded, accepting the oversized towel, as well as the strong, steady hands that patted her dry with it. "All I could make out when it was right beside me was the large loaf of bread emblazoned along its side."

"Like Wonder Bread?"

She shook her head, "It wasn't brand-specific that I noticed; though again, I only got a glimpse of it and was more concerned with remaining in control of the vehicle."

"Right," he started toweling himself off. "And you're home safe now, so that's all that matters."

"Agreed," she nodded.

"Ready for that massage?" he grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

She didn't bother to answer, just hung up the towel, handed him a jar of cocoa butter, locked the bedroom door, and laid down on the bed.