The heat wave which was plaguing the city for the past two days didn't seem about to let go. Sweat trickled down Booth's face as Parker and Booth stepped into the warm and humid air and made their way to the SUV, both holding sports bag filled with things they would need for their day out.

"We just need to make one quick stop before we hit the beach, okay Buddy?" Booth told his son as they packed the vehicle.

"Where are we going?" Parker replied, stuffing a big sports bag filled with food.

"We'll stop by Bones' apartment on the way and see if she wants to come with us."

"Cool!"

Booth smiled. At least Parker seemed to like his partner more than he had liked Hannah. The boy had even seemed relieved when Booth had told him they weren't together anymore. He hadn't inquired about Bones, but Booth was pretty sure it hadn't been too far from his mind.

"Do we have everything?" Booth asked his son as he shut the trunk.

"I think so."

Father and son climbed into the SUV. Pulling it into drive, Booth drove out of the parking lot and made his way towards his partner's apartment.

She wasn't expecting them, but Booth knew if he wanted to bring out to the beach with them, he would have to surprise her. He had called earlier pretending to be checking up on her before leaving for Virginia Beach. He knew she would be home, having told him she would probably be working on her next novel or reading a book.

Booth listened as Parker told his father about weird events that had happened at his summer camp the previous week. Eventually, his son's words turned into a blur as his own thoughts diverged. Booth wondered if it was time for him to tell Parker about his sibling. After all, if things went according to plan, Bones and him would be spending the day together, making the timing perfect.

He reached his partner's apartment in record time. Parking the vehicle in front of the apartment building, Booth unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes," he told his son as he opened the door and got out of the SUV.

He knocked at her door and waited. He hadn't seen her since the night she had slept over a few nights earlier. The next morning, she had told him about the baby kicking for the first time. As happy as he had been for her, he couldn't help but feel a little envious: he couldn't wait to feel it kick too, but he knew by experience that it could take a while before he could.

The door opened and there she stood in front of him. She wasn't wearing any makeup, her hair was still dishevelled and her pyjamas left not much to the imagination. Feeling his pulse quickening, Booth stepped forward and kissed her tenderly.

"Good morning," he said as he pulled away.

"What are you doing here?" Bones replied, confused. "I thought you were going to the beach with Parker."

"I am. And you are coming with us! I figured it would be something fun for us to do and we could tell him about the baby."

Sensing she was about to argue, Booth went on.

"I am not taking no for an answer. Come on, it'll be fun!"

Bones sighed, knowing fully well she wouldn't win that conversation.

"Fine," she replied, giving in to his request. "Give me a few minutes to get ready."

"I'll wait for you in the car."

Fifteen minutes later, Bones was joining father and son in the SUV. Parker, who had been facing away from the window, didn't notice the change of weight in his father's partner.

"Hello Parker," Bones said as she climbed into the backseat.

"Hey Bones."

"Please Parker, call me Temperance."

Booth looked at her through the rear-view mirror, brows cocked in surprise. Bones threw him a half-smile in response. She then listened as her partner and his son discussed the day's activities. Parker wanted to stop at a restaurant near the beach for dinner, Booth preferred to drive back to Washington and eat on the way.

In the backseat, Bones looked out the window, her hand resting on her stomach. Booth wanted to tell Parker about the baby. Even though she knew it was a good and inevitable idea, she felt nervous. What if Parker wasn't happy? He would probably ask them if they were getting married, which was a delicate matter on Booth's end. What could Booth reply? Were they even something?

"Guess what, Buddy? Temperance and I have something to tell you."

His voice brought her back to reality.

"Really? What?"

"Well," Booth replied, throwing a quick glance at his partner, "in a couple of months, you will be getting a little baby brother or sister. Temperance is pregnant."

Surprised, Parker turned around to look at the scientist sitting behind him. Now that he looked at her, he could definitely tell she was expecting.

"Really?" he asked, eyes wide open and grinning from ear-to-ear. "Cool!"

Parker turned back to his father.

"Does that mean you two are getting married?"

Bones could see her partner's tensed jaw.

"No, Parker, we are not getting married," Booth told his son.

"But is she your girlfriend?"

Obviously, the pre-teen wasn't about to drop the subject.

"Yes, she is. But we are not getting married."

"Awesome!"

The drive down to Virginia Beach took over four hours. When Booth finally parked the SUV at Sandbridge Beach, the three of them were more than happy to stretch out their legs. After unpacking the car, Bones followed the Booth boys down the bridge leading to the beach. She noticed the sandy strip was nearly deserted, a few families here and there. A soft breeze blew, a nice contrast to the hot and humid weather in Washington.

Stopping at their favourite spot, Booth and Parker dropped their belongings and began to unpack. Bones watched as they pulled plastic containers, beach towels, umbrellas, and swimming gears out of the multiple sports bags.

"Are you hungry?" Booth asked them as he spread a blanket on the sand.

"I'm starving!" Parker replied.

"How about you, Bones?"

Slightly uncomfortable by the new situation, Bones simply nodded. She hadn't spent that much time with Booth and her son in the past, especially during the "Hannah" phase. The way both of them acted as though she was part of their family made her feel a tad uneasy.

Better get used to it, her inside voice told her.

The trio sat down. As Parker began to pass out plates, Booth and Bones opened the different containers. They ate in silence, all three too hungry to talk. After lunch, Booth and Parker got ready to hit the water.

"Shouldn't you wait before you go swimming?" Bones asked as she took a book out of her bag.

"You go," Booth told his son. "Stay where I can see you. I'll be over in a minute."

Parker nodded before taking off towards the Atlantic Ocean. Booth turned to his partner.

"Are you coming?"

Under her tank top, Booth could distinguish the straps of the bikini she was wearing.

"I think I'll just stay here and read for a while."

Booth sighed, visibly disappointed by her reluctance to go in the water with them.

"I haven't worn a bathing suit in ages," she lied, embarrassed by her true feelings.

She couldn't tell him the truth: that she didn't like her new body with its round stomach, and its tiny red stretch marks.

"Come on, Bones, we've already seen you in a bathing suit. Parker and I go swimming in your pool all the time. It's not that scary; see, I'm doing it," he replied as he stripped himself out of his clothes.

Bones looked away, feeling warmth on her cheeks. The sight of his nicely-shaped body threw her pregnant hormones into a frenzy.

"You should really put some sunscreen on," Bones warned her partner. "You don't want to get sunburned."

"I'll be fine," Booth said as he crouched down and kissed her. "Are you sure you don't want to go swimming? It'll be fun."

"Maybe later," Bones replied, uncomfortable.

She watched as Booth made his way towards the water. Then, picking up her book, Bones turned her attention to the imaginary world of her favourite characters.

A shadow coming her way was made Bones look up from her book an hour later. Seconds later, Booth was stretching out on his towel beside her, a few drops of water still sliding down his skin.

"Are you checking me out?" Booth asked, teasingly, seeing her eyes on him.

"Where's Parker?" Bones replied, ignoring his question.

Booth chuckled.

"He met a girl."

"He met a girl?"

"Yeah, her name is Abigail something. He went off with her to build sandcastles. He must really like her if he agreed to build sandcastles."

"And you let him?"

"Bones, he's almost 11. Besides, she's here with her family."

Propping himself on his elbows, Booth stared at his son who was actively helping the construction of the castle along with his new friends. It suddenly hit him how tall his son was. Abigail stood a whole head shorter than him. Soon enough, in a few years, Parker would be as tall as him.

"I can't believe how tall he's grown. Soon, he'll be a teenager. Can you believe it? I missed everything about his childhood."

Then, flipping onto his stomach, he turned his attention to his unborn child.

"But that won't happen with my little baby boy, will it?"

Bones rolled her eyes.

"Still convinced it's a boy?" she asked, teasingly.

"Of course," Booth replied, matter-of-factly. "It has to be."

"What if it's a girl?"

"Then she will be daddy's little girl."

Giving the stomach a quick kiss, he ran his hand over the bump.

"I can't wait to feel it kick for the first time. Is it moving a lot?"

Bones shrugged. She hadn't felt it move that much since that first night but, every now and then, she would feel a faint nudge coming from inside her. She told her partner so.

"Soon, you'll be feeling it move all the time."

"I can't wait!" Bones replied, sarcastically.

Staring out at the ocean in front of her, Bones wondered if now was a good time to bring out the things she had on her mind. While Booth and Parker had gone out to swim, in between paragraphs of her book, she had thought about Booth's possible secret desire to get married. It had been mentioned several times that a wedding was not in the near-future, yet they hadn't truly talked about it before. The afternoon was perfect, so far; she hated to ruin it. But, she needed to know.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked, her eyes still fixed on the waves washing ashore.

"Sure, Bones. Anything…"

"Why did you tell Parker that I was your girlfriend?"

The question took him by surprise. Booth looked up at his partner.

"Well, aren't you?" he asked, feeling his heartbeat picking up its pace.

"I don't know."

"I want you to be," he ventured, unsure how she would react to his statement.

"Do you think it's a good idea? I mean, what if the FBI finds out? We won't be able to work together anymore."

"It's a possibility, but does it matter? You'll be staying at the lab from now on."

"I guess," Bones replied, not entirely convinced.

"Something else is bothering you."

Bones nodded. Sometimes, it frightened her how Booth could seem to read her mind when she had trouble understanding him.

"How do you feel about us not getting married?"

Again, her question caught him off guard. It was unlike her to bring up serious matters like this.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're the religious and marrying type. It must be bothering you that we are having this child out of wedlock."

A shadow swept over his eyes and Bones immediately regretted her question.¸

"It does bother me, Bones. I would like to spend my life with you, but I understand that you don't want to get married. I accept that."

"Does this mean you will never ask me to marry you? I just don't want to put you through rejection like Rebecca and Hannah did."

Anger boiled in his veins as he thought about those proposals. Twice he had been rejected for only following his heart's desires and his morals. And, here he was, stepping on them once again.

"Let's make a compromise here."

"Okay…" Bones replied, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"I don't ask you to marry me, but you let our baby get baptized."

Bones grimaced. The thought of baptizing her baby had never crossed her mind. Nonetheless, she had to agree that the compromise was a good one.

"Fine."

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask you a question. Do you think you'll ever be up for marriage?"

The way his eyes bore into hers, tender and vulnerable, made her uncomfortable. She had thought of marriage before, but she had never found a good reason to actually go through with the idea.

"When and if I do get married," she began, choosing her words carefully, "I want it to be for the good reasons, not just because I'm having a baby or already have one with that person. I'm not saying you can propose any time soon. I'm just saying that I am not completely closed to the idea."

Booth smiled.

"Tell you what… When you think you're ready to get married, drop some hints. I promise I'll pick them up."

"I don't know what that means."

Booth chuckled and turned his attention to his baby.

"Your mother is just the most adorable person in the whole world," he said to the stomach.

"Why? What did I do?"

Propping himself on his elbow, Booth looked up at his girlfriend and stared into her delicate blue eyes.

"I love you."

The words sounded like music to her ears as her heartbeat grew faster and louder. For so long, she had waited for him to say these words to her once again. Yet, she wasn't sure how to react. Did she love him too? Was she ready to lose that last tiny bit of imperviousness and tell him the same?

"You don't have to tell me yet, if you don't feel comfortable," Booth said, seeing the internal conflict displayed in her eyes.

"It's not that I don't feel that way, Booth. I just can't say it."

Booth leaned in closer and pressed his lips against hers.

"I know that, Bones. Don't worry, I'll wait for it."

Leaning in once more, he captured her lips with his own.

"Dad!"

Groaning, Booth looked up to find his son and his new friend making their way towards them.

"What is it, Parker?"

"Can I eat dinner with Abigail's parents?"

Booth sat up.

"I don't know, Buddy."

"It's okay, Mr. Booth," Abigail chimed in. "We are just going to Sandbridge Island Pizza. You are more than welcome to come, if you'd like. My parents won't mind. We will probably be meeting there around 4 pm. Is that okay with you?"

Booth couldn't help but smile at the politeness of his son's new friend. After telling Parker to come help them pack before dinner, the two kids took off in the same direction they had come.

Bones got to her feet and stretched.

"You know what? I think I'll go for a swim."

"Really?" Booth asked her, surprised.

"Yeah well, I've never been swimming in the Atlantic Ocean before."

He watched as she stripped herself of her regular clothing. Grabbing her hand, he led her towards the water.

"By the way, Booth, you have a sunburn on your back!"