AN- Just another little peek into Booth and Brennan's world at this point... mostly set up to see things "propel" toward their goal. Hope you enjoy...and as always, I'd love to see your reviews. :-)

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Chapter 11

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Booth walked in to the lab just in time to hear an excited "Whoop!" coming from Wendell on the platform. He had left the office early, figuring that it would take a while to lure Brennan out of the lab and he wanted to be sure they weren't late for Parker's game.

"Booth," Brennan said as he swiped his card and walked up the stairs. "You're just in time. Mr. Bray has just determined cause of death."

"That's great," Booth replied, glancing down at his watch. He quickly calculated the amount of time before he had to be at the rink. If he stayed to work on the case, they may not make it to dinner before the game, but the rink had great hot dogs. "Talk to me."

Wendell held up the skull and showed Booth a fracture along the back with matching blood stains on the inside. He went on to explain how they had first thought that the damage had been from the body being tossed into the dumpster, but with Dr. Brennan's help, he had determined that there was actually blunt force trauma prior to the body dump.

"You got a weapon?" Booth asked.

"Not yet," Wendell answered.

"Keep working then," Booth replied. "You're doing a great job, Wendell." He turned back to his partner. "Come on, Bones," he said. "It's dinner time."

"Booth," she protested. "I really think I should stay here and assist Mr. Bray in determining the murder weapon…"

Booth gave her a look she didn't quite understand as he tried to remind her that they had plans without giving anything away to Wendell.

"Wendell's doing just fine," he said. "I bet you didn't even eat lunch. You're not going to be any help to anyone if you pass out from malnutrition…"

"Booth, I'm hardly malnourished," she protested.

"Humor me," Booth said, finally getting her

to look in his eyes.

Wendell held back a chuckle as he watched Booth lead Brennan down the stairs and toward her office.

"Did you forget we had plans?" he asked when they were alone behind the closed door of her office. He smiled and shook his head as she looked at him, seemingly not understanding. "Parker's game?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Parker's game… and we were going to dinner… I'm sorry, Booth," she said. "I forgot. I got so caught up in working on the case…"

"I know," he said with a smile. "But we've got to get out of here if we're going to have a chance to eat and still get to the rink in time for the game."

"I'll get my things," she said. "I just need to check in with Wendell before we leave."

This time, she caught the look he was giving her as he helped her on with her coat.

"What?" she asked.

"You just called him Wendell," he said.

"That's his name, isn't it?" she replied with a knowing grin.

"Well, yeah. But… you always call the squinterns by their last names…"

"I do," she said. "Ever since Zach, I feel that it's even more important that I maintain a professional distance from my students… but right now, it's just you and I here in the office…"

He nodded, understanding. Once again, she shocked him with her openness. He was really looking forward to getting to know the side of her that he'd missed seeing develop.

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They had enjoyed a nice dinner at an organic restaurant near the rink. Brennan was impressed that Booth chose the restaurant, but was skeptical that he would be satisfied by the meal. Her suspicions were confirmed when he stopped off for a hot dog as soon as they arrived at the ice rink.

He took her hand and led her up the steps and into the stands. They took the seats behind Rebecca and Brent and sat back to enjoy the game.

Booth was surprised at how much his partner seemed to enjoy the game. He didn't have to explain much of anything to her, She was on her feet, cheering at all the appropriate times. At one point, she ended up standing in front of Booth and he held her in place with his hands on her hips when she started to move away. He moved his hand to her shoulders and leaned in to talk into her ear. The rink was loud and he'd have to shout if he didn't speak directly into her ear.

"When did you learn so much about hockey?" he asked, as he felt her shiver beneath his fingers.

She bit her lip as she felt that involuntary shiver run down her spine when she felt his warm breath against her ear in conjunction with his hands on her shoulders. This was becoming a familiar feeling and she really had to learn to control her reactions to him. She turned so he could hear her reply.

"After I started going to your games," she said, stopping when she realized how long it had been since she'd actually gone to see him play.

He saw the cloud that seemed to pass behind her eyes and knew she must be thinking about all the time they wasted.

"Go on," he said.

"I found that I very much enjoyed watching you on the ice," she admitted. "So I felt that I should learn the rules of the game so that I could understand what was happening."

"Why didn't I know this?" he asked, more to himself than to her. They had just gone to game together not two weeks ago, and he'd spent most of the game watching her. How had he not realized that she was actually enjoying the game?

"I don't know," she answered. "I was actually surprised we didn't have this discussion in Florida."

"I was a little distracted in Florida," he said, and felt her shoulders sag. Realizing that she thought he was talking about being distracted by missing Hannah, he leaned in a little closer and whispered in her ear. "I couldn't keep my eyes off you…" he said.

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss just below her ear and quickly stepped back before anyone realized what he'd done. He moved down to stand next to her and took her hand in his as they sat down.

They sat that way for the rest of the game.

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Four adults stood waiting for Parker Booth as he came barreling out of the locker room, each of them greeting him with a proud smile. Parker ran past three of them and came to a crashing halt in front of the fourth.

"Bones!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her waist. He hugged her tightly before letting go and looking up into her face, beaming with pride. "I'm so glad you came to my game! Did you like it?"

"It was great, Parker," she said. "And I'm really glad I got to come, too. Thank you for inviting me. "

"I didn't, really," he said. "My dad said you would like to come, but I wasn't sure. It's been so long since you hung out with us…" He let his voice trail off and Brennan looked down to see that he was looking down at his shoes.

"What, Parker?" she asked.

"I didn't think you wanted to hang out with us anymore," he replied quietly.

Brennan looked to Booth for guidance. He nodded his head for her to tell Parker the truth. He was looking forward to see her response. He had faith in her open heart, and he knew it was important that she see he trusted her judgment with his son.

She knelt down in front of the boy.

"Parker," she said. "You…" she paused, looking over at Booth and then back to his son. "You and your father are very important to me. I always enjoy spending time with you."

"But when Hannah was here, we hardly ever saw you."

"I know," she said. "Because your dad and I are… friends, but sometimes… sometimes it's difficult for a man and a woman to be friends… when one or both of them is involved in a romantic relationship…"

She paused again, faltering. She was unsure of what to say and unaware that Booth and Rebecca thought she was doing a great job.

"Grownups are weird," Parker said, shaking his head. "I'm just glad you're here. You're not going away again are you?"

"No, Parker," she said, shaking her head and reaching out as the boy stepped into her embrace. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Cool," Parker replied, matter of fact. He turned back to his parents. "Can we get pizza?"

"We can stop and pick one up on the way home," Rebecca replied. "But it's a school night and you've got to get home."

"Can Dad and Bones come with us?"

"Maybe another time, Bub," Booth replied.

"I think your dad and Dr. Brennan might have other plans, buddy," Rebecca said, ruffling her son's hair. "Besides, it's nearly your bedtime."

"We'll see you soon," Brennan told the boy. "I'll make sure to stop by the children's center when you're having your lesson on Friday."

"Awesome," Parker said. "Max said we're gonna make something explode."

"Well, we wouldn't want to miss that, now would we?" Brennan replied

"Let's go, Parks," Rebecca said. "Say goodbye to your dad and Dr. Brennan."

"Okay," Parker answered as his mother ushered him into his coat.

He walked back over and hugged them both and then walked back to his mother.

"Bye Dad," he said, waving as they walked toward the door. "Bye, Bones. See you Friday."

Booth and Brennan followed the three of them out into the parking lot, exchanging goodbyes again as they all made their separate ways to their cars.

"Did you have fun?" Booth asked once they were in their seats in the SUV.

"Yes," she answered, "You know I did."

"Then why the face?" he asked, noticing a questioning look on her face.

"I was just thinking. Why did Rebecca think we had plans?"

Booth chuckled as he answered.

"She was just trying to get Parker moving," he said. "These weeknight games are tough. He's so wound up, and then he has to get in bed at a decent hour for school… she probably didn't really think anything of it. She just had to get him in the frame of mind to go home."

"Oh," she said, nodding slowly. "That makes sense. Do we have plans?"

He smiled, enjoying the thought that she treasured their "after hours" time as much as he did.

"It's still early," he said. "Wanna go to Founding Fathers?"

"That sounds good," she answered as he reached over to take her hand.

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The rest of the week went by quickly. Wendell had come up with the murder weapon, with a little help from Hodgins and one of his experiments. They had an arrest by Monday morning.

It was late in the afternoon when the partners walked back into the lab.

"How did it go, you two?" Angela asked as they approached the platform.

"It was a little sketchy there for a while, Ang," Booth admitted.

Their suspect had bolted when they showed up at his door and Booth had to chase him through the woods. But his perceptive partner had the great idea to jump in the truck and drive it around to the other end of the park, effectively cutting the guy off at the pass.

Booth smiled, thinking back at the proud grin she had displayed as she stood leaning against the side of the truck as came running out of the woods, knocking the killer to the ground.

"Bones' quick thinking saved the day once again," he went on. "Instead of following me into the woods, she went around the park and cut the guy off. It was perfect timing, I don't think it could have gone better if we'd planned it."

"That's why you two are the best in the business," Angela replied with a wink, glancing over at her best friend. "Good thinking, Sweetie. You could have done some serious ankle damage running through the woods in those shoes."

"That was my thought, Angela," Brennan replied. "With the trees barren for winter, I could see Booth the whole time as I drove around. I hated leaving him without backup, but it seemed the best way to stop the suspect."

"You did great, Bones," Booth confirmed. "Everybody's fine and the dirtbag is safely in lockup. And that's another one for the record books." He punctuated his point by exaggeratedly wiping his hands against each other.

"I, for one, am ready to call it a night," Angela said. "I didn't think this kid was gonna kill my social life until after it was born," she added with a laugh. "Hodgins!" she called out to her husband who was still at his work station. "You ready?"

"Coming, dear!" he called back with a laugh.

"Wendell's already gone," Ang said, turning back to the partners. "Cam let him go so he could work on his doctoral thesis project, and she's gone for a date with Paul. But you two should go celebrate."

"What do you say, Bones?" Booth asked.

"Wong Fu's?" she asked in reply.

Booth agreed and they went to her office to gather her things to go home for the night.

Angela stood on the platform, shaking her head as she watched them walk out. Not for the first-or last- time, she wondered if those two would ever get their heads and hearts together.

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The next several weeks saw things moving forward and falling back into a comfortable old rhythm at the same time.

With the blooming of the cherry blossoms, spring had found the partners right on schedule as far as Booth was concerned. They were working together better than ever and their friendship was finally back on terra firma. Things were definitely looking up.

Things at the lab were going better than ever. Booth and Brennan had found their groove as partners again…cases were being solved quickly… and soon things around the lab were feeling the way they used to. Angela would say there was a "rightness" about it all.

She couldn't know how "right" things really were.