Brennan stepped closer to the display case, intent on getting a better look at the ring. She glanced up at Booth for just a moment, aware that his body language showed him to be incredibly tense. So, he did recognize the ring inside of the display case. Temperance scanned the display, looking for something that would tell her who owned the ring. If it was the museum, there wasn't really a chance that she could acquire it for Booth. He might not say it, but regardless of whom the ring belonged to originally, it was still a part of Booth's history.

"Hey Bones, what's so important about that ring," Parker asked as he peered into the case with her. To him, it looked like any other ring.

"That ring was given to Lucy Lambert Hale by her fiancee, John Wilkes Booth." Parker made a face as he looked at the ring.

"You mean someone actually wanted to marry him? He killed the president." The boy was unaware of the turmoil going on inside of his father. He didn't see the clenching of his hands or the way that his mouth drew up into a straight line. Brennan did notice however, and could feel his emotional state roiling in her own head. She glanced once at Booth and saw the minuscule shake of his head. He doesn't know Bones. Please don't tell him.

"Parker," Brennan began and turned him to face her as she dropped closer to his level. "You know that your father was in the army, right?"

"Well duh. He was like the best sniper ever." He beamed with pride at the statement, his adulation of his father obvious in the statement.

"And what is it that snipers do?"

"Bones..." Booth growled the word, but Brennan just looked up at him calmly. A moment passed between them before Booth sighed and sat down next to Parker. This was obviously something that he'd avoided talking to his son about, trying to shield him from the truth of his father's past. Parker looked back and forth between the two of them until Brennan's gaze settled back onto him. Once her attention was his fully, he answered her question.

"Snipers are people who sit in bushes or on rooftops and wait for someone that they are supposed to kill. When the person shows up, then the sniper shoots them." He glanced at his father as he said it, unsure of what Brennan was doing with her questions. His dad was obviously uncomfortable with the line of questioning.

"So would it stand to reason that maybe a sniper might be asked to kill someone who was a leader in another country? Maybe we agree with their views and maybe they don't, but that soldier was given an order to kill someone. Does that mean that person shouldn't be loved?"

"No, that's just silly."

"It is, and you have to realize something about John Wilkes Booth. Whether or not his personal beliefs were right or wrong, when he shot the president, he did it because he thought it was the right thing to do."

"But it was wrong. He wasn't told to do it. He just decided to shoot the president on his own."

"That's correct, but it doesn't mean that he was any less worthy of love than anyone else. I want you to remember that. He wasn't crazy and he didn't take pleasure in what he did. He did it because he felt it was necessary."

"Why should it matter what I think of him?" Again, he watched as his father and Bones shared a look. Once the moment passed, she turned to look back at him.

"One day it might hold more meaning for you than it does today." Brennan stood up and held out a hand to the boy, which he took immediately. "Now, how about we go grab some lunch at the Royal Diner before we take you home?"

XxXxX

"Thank you for not telling him. I'm not sure how he'd take it." Booth ran a hand up Brennan's naked back as they lay in bed together that night. Temperance turned her head to look at him, a questioning expression on her face.

"I don't understand why you wouldn't want him to know about his heritage. I understand that it can be difficult to be related to a criminal, but I'm unsure why it bothers you so much."

"Having a father who killed the Deputy Director of the FBI isn't quite the same as being a descendant of John Wilkes Booth, trust me on that one. There's a much greater stigma attached to it."

"Hmmm," was her response before she laid her head down onto her pillow and closed her eyes. Booth watched her for a moment, his eyes narrowing at what he could feel coming off of her. She was doing a great job at shielding her thoughts from him at the moment, but he could still feel that something was on her mind.

"Whatcha thinking about Bones? I can feel the wheels turning in there."

She opened one eye and looked at him before closing it again. With a mumbled response, she shifted against the mattress to get more comfortable for sleep. Booth just knew that she wasn't that tired and was trying to avoid his question. With a frown he took his hand from her back and rolled onto his own. He put his hands under his head and stared up at the ceiling.

"I was offered a promotion at work today." Booth glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Yep, that got her attention. She sat up in bed and turned toward him, waiting to hear more. He enjoyed the view of her uncovered breasts for just a moment before elaborating. "Assistant Director of Organized Crime. I said I'd have to discuss it with you before I gave them an answer."

"What do you want to do? I know that you enjoy the position you're in currently, but I think it would be a good move for you."

"Is that it? What about our work together? I know you don't like to work with other agents."

"If we were separated because of something bureaucratic then I would be very annoyed. I don't have to go out in the field as much as I enjoy working with you. If you feel that this is something you want to do, then I'll support that decision."

"I honestly don't know if I want it or not. I mean the advancement would be fantastic, but I do enjoy my position..." He sighed and closed his eyes. It was a lot to think about, and probably a fantastic opportunity, but did he really want to end up with a desk job? Jared always accused him of taking the safe route, of keeping his head down to avoid detection. That wasn't true, was it? Booth frowned, his brow knitting together. Jared was of the opinion that he was a loser. If he stayed in his current position, would that make him a loser, or would that make him dedicated? No, he shook his head, he wasn't some loser. He truly enjoyed what he did for a living, but if that meant passing up a promotion like this...

"Booth," Brennan murmured from her spot next to him, "stop letting Jared's opinion rule your decision. If you want the job then take it. Just make up your mind because I can't sleep with your thoughts in my head."

Booth smiled and rolled onto his side so that he could look at Temperance. She'd shifted onto her side, and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him. It didn't matter what he did for a job so long as he got to experience this every night for the rest of his life.

XxXxX

Seeley held Temperance's hand as they walked along the edge of the reflecting pool. There was a chill in the air, and snow began to fall around them, but the way he was feeling couldn't be suppressed. He loved her with everything he had, and as much as her answer terrified him, Booth was determined to ask her to marry him. This was what he wanted from the moment they met, and it was time to take the chance and ask. Sure, he knew her views on marriage, but maybe he could find a way to sway her to his way of thinking.

As they approached their favorite spot right next to a coffee cart, he sat down, pulling Temperance down with him. He wrapped his arm around her and leaned in to give her a kiss. As the kiss broke, he watched a smile bloom across her face.

"What," he asked as she continued to smile.

"I have something important that I want to tell you."

"Oh? Well I do too baby." He turned his full attention onto her, admiring the way that her beautiful ivory skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. Sometimes it took his breath away how beautiful she was. Temperance looked away from him for just a moment, and when she turned back, there were tears glistening in her eyes.

"I had a doctor's appointment earlier today, and was informed that I'm pregnant."

Booth stared at her for a moment, stunned. He was over the moon about the news, but it kind of stole his thunder. He reached into his pocket and reflexively closed his hand around the antique ring box there before he realized that Temperance was waiting for his response. She looked nervous, but it melted away as a smile broke out over Booth's face.

"We're going to have a baby?" She nodded and he pulled her to him, kissing her soundly on the lips. "That's amazing Bones!"

"I have to admit that I find I'm quite excited by the news as well. I know that we discussed my having a child before, but now that I'm gravid, I find my level of emotion about it is overwhelming."

"Sweetheart, you don't know how this makes me feel. We're going to have a family together." He placed a hand over her still flat belly and leaned in to kiss her again. When he pulled back, Brennan reached up to wipe a tear that escaped down her cheek. She let out a huff and blinked back the other tears before turning her attention back to Booth.

"You said that you had news as well?"

"It's nothing, and you kind of stole my thunder a bit Bones." He offered her a lopsided grin, reached into his pocket and handed the ring box to her. "I was planning to ask you to marry you, but now with you being pregnant and all, I don't want you to think that I was doing it out of a sense of duty."

Brennan simply looked at him, completely stunned at his words. She glanced down and popped open the ring box to look at the antique ring there. The cut of the stones was beautiful, and the stones sparkled in the soft moonlight, hinting at the fire that would shine in the day.

"It's beautiful," she murmured and looked up at Booth. He rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed by the way he'd presented the ring to Temperance. As their eyes met, he frowned a bit as he tried to read her expression.

"Come on Bones, that's all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say Booth? You told me that you were going to ask, but you've yet to phrase a proposal into a question. I can't very well give you an answer if you don't ask the question."

"Okay," he said, his heart beating faster and his stomach clenching in anticipation. "Temperance, I have loved you from the beginning and even though you feel that marriage would stifle your personal sense of independence, you know that I would never do anything to keep you away from the things that you want to do. I want you to be my wife, my partner in everything. With that in mind, will you marry me?"

XxXxX

Temperance sat up in bed, waking from a deep sleep to look at Booth. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, knowing that his dreaming of them together should be expected, and given his beliefs in marriage and family, the fact that he wanted to marry her was a given. Still, the experience of being in his head and sharing his fantasy was disconcerting. When he woke up in the morning, they would have to have a chat about their relationship expectations. She didn't want him going into this with any false hopes that they would ever get that far. She just wasn't the marrying kind, and Booth knew that. She just wished his heart would know it as much as his head did.