Chapter 12: Nocturnal Emissions
Parker had a mid-week playoff game on Thursday night and this time it was Brennan who sent text message updates and pictures to Booth, who got stuck in a late meeting. He did, however, sneak out to the bathroom to congratulate Parker when Brennan texted that he'd driven in the winning run in the last inning.
"It was awesome, Dad!" Parker told him, compounding Booth's guilt. "But you know what's even better?"
"What's that, Bub?"
"We get two weeks off and then our next game's in Virginia!" Booth could picture the huge smile on his son's face. "And Bones says it's not far away from you guys at all and Mom said I can stay with you if it's okay."
"Sounds like a plan, Parks," he grinned. "Look, Pal, I gotta get going but I'll call again later, okay?"
They said goodbye and Booth headed back to his meeting. Chris elbowed him and smirked when he slipped back into his seat but nobody else seemed to notice so he was good. Toward the end, a few of the higher-ups asked him how his classes were going and he told them fine, then outlined his plan for the partners demonstration in the firearms class. Permission was given based on Booth and Brennan's performance record in the past, provided adequate safety measures were taken each time and they also asked if he and Brennan would be available to speak at the end-of-summer conference in August. Booth said he'd check their schedule, but made no promises given all of the upcoming trips he knew Brennan would be making.
When the meeting finally let out, Chris gave Booth a hard time about his long "bathroom" break, but he grinned at Parker's good news and said that he and Annie would try and make it to the game. They talked about what they were going to do for their last day of classroom instruction in the morning, agreeing that starting the practical application part of the class next week would be much more enjoyable for both students and instructors.
Booth was walking back to his car alone when he heard a noise behind him. He whirled around, hand unconsciously moving to his sidearm and squinted into the darkness but saw nothing. The parking lot lights cast eerie shadows, making it difficult to see. He turned toward his car again and again thought he heard something behind him.
This time he caught sight of something, then breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was a raccoon skittering along with something in its mouth. Shaking his head, Booth hopped in the SUV and headed out.
"Honey, I'm home!" he called as he walked through the door.
"Honey?" she arched an eyebrow as she walked over to greet him.
"Yup," he gave her a quick kiss. "How was you night?"
"The game was fun!" she said with a grin.
"Glad you enjoyed it," he smiled back, not quite ready to let go of her yet, "and thanks for taking Pops."
"It was no trouble at all," she assured him, hugging him one last time before leading him into the kitchen. "Sit," came the order as she opened the fridge. "Hank and I had a wonderful time. I think he's enjoying getting to spend extra time with Parker too."
They talked about Parker and Hank and the game while she puttered around the kitchen building him a sandwich. To his relief she'd called Parker when it had gotten late and Booth still wasn't out of his meeting to let the boy know what was going on and assure Parker that Booth would call him sometime the next day. She'd also called Marcie and told her she would be taking the afternoon off in two weeks for Parker's next game and she asked Booth what he thought about hosting a cookout in their backyard afterward.
"Sounds like a great idea, Bones," he took the plate she offered him, "and this looks like a great sandwich."
They sat in companionable silence as his ate and she nibbled at the chips she'd given him. When the food was all but gone, they started talking again, this time about their work schedules. Brennan was happy to hear that their request had been granted and eagerly began looking at her Blackberry calendar to see when she was free. It was decided that Tuesday would work best for her for the current session, though for the following one she would need to come in during the first week of class on a Thursday because of her schedule restraints coupled with the days Booth had been about to reserve the urban training field.
It didn't get any easier to plan the further they got into the summer months, but by the end of the night they'd worked out which days she would come in for all five sessions and what day would work best for them to speak at the FBI conference. Booth wasn't sure whether to be shocked or appalled by the number of conferences, symposiums, and formal dinners his girlfriend had been booked to speak at already; and not just on weekends either. They talked about which ones he could attend with her, but it was clear he wouldn't be able to make all of them, and Brennan assured him that wasn't necessary.
This coming weekend she had two appearances scheduled; a dinner tomorrow night in Richmond and an afternoon lecture at Georgetown on Saturday. After coming so close to burning herself out that first week, Brennan had informed Marcie that she would be unavailable for any meetings or other work-related activities on Sundays so that she was guaranteed at least one day a week off.
It was later than Booth would've preferred when they got to bed, but the alarm clock dragged them out of bed at the same time it always did. Neither one of them was up for a long run and Booth managed to persuade her to head out with him for doughnuts instead. They sat at a corner table in the little doughnut shop, sipping coffee and discussing what time they needed to leave work to get ready and drive to Richmond. Brennan reminded him that Marcie had hired Hugo to drive everyone again but Booth nixed the idea, saying this way they could leave when they needed to instead of waiting for everyone else.
The day plodded along for Booth in the morning, then picked up steam just before lunch, and was going at a breakneck pace by the time five o'clock rolled around. When he got to the lab, Booth found himself in the midst of organized chaos and after quizzing a few people discovered that a major find had been unearthed at the dig site while the stateside team had slept. It had immediately been cataloged and shipped overnight to Brennan and her team.
Consequently, the dinner in Richmond had been canceled and moved to the next night, much to the disgruntlement of the event's organizers. Booth also found out that Bones had spent an hour on the phone attempting to placate them, only to end by telling them they were scientists, and the science would always come first and they could either accept that or cancel the dinner altogether. They'd moved the dinner.
After checking in with Bones, who told him it could be after midnight before she was free to leave, he went home for a while to change and call Parker before taking her to dinner. She was still busy, but finally caved to taking a break to eat after he threatened to haul her physically off of the platform. He grinned and told her that on the bright side at least she got to have edible food tonight.
"Did you pick up your tuxedo?" she asked between bites.
"Yes, Dear," he teased. "Fits great too, but are you sure you're okay with paying for the whole thing? You could feed a small village for a month for what it cost and I don't mind getting the rentals, or going halves on it with you."
"I don't mind," she said firmly. "It's something that you need if you're going to continue to attend these events with me and it's ridiculous for you to keep renting them. I may even order you a second one given your propensity for dripping condiments on yourself."
"Say that a little louder, Bones," he complained, looking around the thankfully empty break room.
"Besides," she smirked, "you shouldn't be worried about the cost. I'm your village, remember?"
He smiled back and stole a quick kiss then stood and stretched, "I should get going. I've gotta run by the office and grab my lesson plan book before I go home. You okay getting a ride home?"
"Jill offered to take me, yes," she stood up too.
"Alrighty then," he gathered up all of the plastic containers and shoved them into the cloth bag he'd brought them in. "See ya later."
They kissed again and he was halfway to the door when her call made him turn around.
"Watch out for killer raccoons!"
He stuck his tongue out at her smirk and grumbled about not telling her anything ever again, then escaped from the lab before anyone noticed his beet red cheeks. There were no bumps in the night as he tossed the dinner leftovers in the back seat and drove over to the office. Waving to the security guard as he passed, he jogged into the building and found the lesson book buried under a stack of papers he'd been grading. Scooping everything up now that he had plenty of time to finish them he snapped off the light and headed out.
Just like the night before, the parking lot was barren, but this time he ignored all of the nighttime noises that seemed amplified to his jumpy brain and drove off before anything could make him feel like even more of an idiot.