CHAPTER 13:

Booth walked out of Brennan's office and went straight to his SUV. How could things have gone from so good this morning to so horrible this afternoon? This morning he had woken up to Brennan's very skilled mouth caressing his body. Now they had just had a fight. It was the last thing he had wanted to happen the day after they had finally gotten their act together. It took everything in him not to turn around, walk back into Brennan's office, and argue his case some more. Bones could be so damn stubborn. She shouldn't be so confidant in her ability to protect herself. Sure, she could hold her own and take care of herself-most of the time-but she shouldn't have to. He just wished that she'd realize his concern for her safety comes from his love for her, not out of a need to control her.

Mostly, he just wished that she would realize that she sure as hell shouldn't be walking around "psycho heaven" without him there to protect her. She should realize that it isn't safe for her to be walking around in the midst of where people are being abducted. Sure, so far it has only been students who have been kidnapped and then murdered. And, sure, there have been no direct threats on her life. But, that doesn't mean she's not in danger. People know that she's investigating the murders, and that she's the best in her field. The murderer could see this as a prime opportunity to ensure that he'd never get caught.

Before he knew it, he was pulling up outside of Rebecca's house. After parking the car, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Brennan. When her voicemail came on, he left her a message saying, "Bones, please answer your phone. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that. God, I shouldn't be doing this over the phone. Please call me."

He knew that she was probably still upset with him and was ignoring his call. Before getting out of the car, he typed out a text to her: Bones, I'm sorry. I'm just picking up Parker now. I'll tell him about us during dinner. Please be careful.

When he was sure that the text was sent, he closed his phone and shoved it into his pocket. He took the keys out of the ignition and hopped out of the car to walk up to Rebecca's door. Before he got halfway up the sidewalk, the front door flew open and Parker came running out to greet him, holding a closed box in one hand.

"Dad! Guess what!"

"What is it, little man?" Booth replied, his mood immediately lightening upon seeing his son's excitement.

"This kid at school, Jason-who I never really liked much because he beat up Kathy Sadaris at lunch once and made her cry-anyway, at recess, he got bit by a humongous spider! His arm swelled to twice it's size and he broke out in what teacher called 'hives'!"

"Is the kid alright!"

Parker grinned at him. "Yeah, though he had to go to the doctor. He said he's allergic to spiders!"

"Did somebody kill the spider, so it didn't bite anybody else?"

Parker's grin grew wider at the mention of the spider's fate. "Yep. I did. Everybody else was scared of the thing. All the girls were screaming. I stepped in and saved the day, dad. Just like you would've!"

Booth let a proud smile grace his face. His son wanted to be a hero, like him. "We Booth men aren't afraid of no spider, are we, Parks?"

"Nope," he replied before continuing his story. "I asked the teacher if I could bring it home with me to show the bug man where Dr. Bones works, and she let me!" Parker showed Booth the box and then opened it to reveal a very large, dead spider. "See! Can we go show the bug man sometime this weekend! Can we, dad?"

"I dunno, bud," Booth replied. "He might be kind of busy this weekend."

Parker gave him his best puppy dog eyes. "Please, dad! I know he'd wanna to see it."

"We'll see. Why don't you go run in and grab your things. Then we can head over to the diner." Parker ran back into the house, nearly knocking Rebecca over and he ran through the front door.

"Parker, no running in the house!" Rebecca called after him. "Hi, Seeley."

"Hey, Beccs," Booth replied. "Thanks for letting me have him this weekend."

"Yeah, no problem. He misses you," she said. "It's all he's been talking about all week. That, and hoping that he'll get to see some girl named Morgan, who apparently works with Dr. Brennan. I think he's got a little crush on her."

"Yeah," Booth laughed, "he sure does."

"I do NOT have a crush on Morgan," Parker said as he came running back down the stairs, his bag of clothes in one hand and the box with the spider in his other. "I just think she's cool, that's all."

"Sure you don't," Booth said with a smile.

oOo

A good 40 minutes later, Booth and Parker were seated at the diner, waiting for their food to come. On the ride over, Booth had tried to call Brennan two more times, to no avail. It was still early, just barely 6 o'clock. Booth figured that she and Angela were just getting started on helping Morgan get ready for her date with the Brit.

"I meant what I said, ya know," Parker said, breaking Booth's train of thought.

"About what, bud?"

"Morgan," he stated matter-of-factly, like Booth should've known all along who he'd be talking about.

"That you don't like her?" Booth guessed.

"No!" Parker exclaimed. "I do like her. Just not how you like Dr. Bones."

"And how do you think I like Bones?"

"Dad, I'm almost 10 years old. I'm not a kid anymore," Parker explained. "You want her to be your girlfriend, to sex up."

Booth spit out the water he had been stupid enough to take a drink of. And just his luck, the waitress had chosen that exact moment to bring them their food.

Parker laughed at his dad. "Why'd you spit your water out at the waitress, dad?"

"I'm sorry," he said to the waitress, whom had a very amused look on her face. Obviously she'd overheard his and Parker's conversation.

"Ain't nothin' to be worried about, hun," the waitress replied as she set the food down in front of them. "Though if it would've hit me, that would be a whole 'nother story," she joked as she walked away, though Booth was sure that she wouldn't be wandering out of earshot.

Parker was laughing during their whole exchange. Booth had no idea how he was going to respond to Parker's statement. Heck, he was still trying to get the embarrassment to stop showing so brightly on his face.

"Parker," Booth started as he was trying to decide the best way to address the situation. Thinking back on the time Parker was asking the women he worked with to be his girlfriend, and Bones' idea to just be honest and ask the kid, he decided to settle on honesty. "Do you even know what 'sex up' means?"

Parker thought for a moment, before he confessed, "Not really. I just know it's something boyfriend and girlfriend do. And you and Bones are always spending time together. I know you like her. You should be boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Okay," Booth said. "You're right, I do like Bones. How would you feel if she were my girlfriend?"

"That'd be cool," Parker said. "I like Dr. Bones! She's really nice, smarter than everyone else in the world, and she lets us use her pool!"

"Well, good," Booth said. "I'm glad you approve, because Bones and I...we're dating."

Parker nodded as he took a bite out of his hamburger. "If you two are dating, why isn't she having dinner with us?"

"She wanted to give us some time to talk," Booth said. "Plus she's over at Morgan's right now." Booth decided not to let Parker know about Morgan's date. He can deny it all he wants, but Booth knew that Parker had a thing for Morgan and would be crushed.

"Can we invite her over tonight to watch movies with us? I want to show her my spider. She can stay the night like Brent does and then maybe she can take us to see the bug man tomorrow!"

"Sure thing, bud," Booth replied with a smile. "We'll ask her."

"Can I call her?" Parker asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Booth said as he pulled out his cell phone. "She might not pick up though because she might still be busy. If she doesn't answer, hang up and I'll send her a text."

Parker rolled his eyes as Booth dialed Brennan's number. He handed the phone to Parker, watching Parker pick at his fries as the phone rang. After a few moments, Parker handed him the phone because she didn't pick up. Booth typed up a quick text: I just told Parker about us. He wanted me to ask you to come over tonight.

"Parker, why don't you go into the bathroom and wash up while I pay," Booth said once he put his phone away. "Then we can stop to rent some movies."

When Parker got up to go to the bathroom, Booth quickly pulled out his phone and dialed up Hodgins.

"Hello?" Hodgins' voice said as he answered his phone.

"Hey Hodgins," Booth said. "Listen, have you heard from Bones or Angela tonight?"

"Oh. Hey there, G-Man," Hodgins replied. "No, not since they left the lab. Is everything okay?"

"Damn," Booth swore. "Bones won't answer her phone. Listen, if you hear from either of them, give me a call." He hung up with Hodgins and got up to pay for their meal. When Parker came out of the bathroom, they made their way out to the SUV.

When he was making sure Parker got in okay, his cell phone rang. He looked at his phone and saw that it was his boss calling.

"Booth," he answered. "Hold on a sec-Parker, stay here while I go take this call." Booth walked a few feet from the car, leaving Parker to watch him with curiosity. Booth returned a few minutes later, no longer in a good mood. "Hey, Parks, I gotta make a few more calls. I'm sorry. It'll only take a few more minutes, I promise."

He took a look at the clock, it was getting close to 7. He knew that Bones should be done soon. He called her a few times, frantically trying to reach her. She still didn't answer, so he settled on sending her a text: Bones, something happened. I need you to call me. After sending the message, he realized that it could be misinterpreted, so he sent her another: It's about the case. I don't want to make you worried, but please call me. I need to know you're alright.

Before getting back into the car, he called Hodgins again.

"Hey G-Man," he said as he answered.

"Hodgins, have you-"

"No, Booth. I haven't heard from them yet. You just called a few minutes ago. Had I heard from them, I would've called you. You really need to relax, G-Man."

"Hodgins, another girl was reported missing from Georgetown."

"What! When?"

"She was last seen about 41 hours ago, when she left a local bar. She was walking back to the dorms."

"Shit!" Hodgins replied. "I'll try calling Angela. You keep calling Dr. B."

They hung up immediately, and Booth decided to try calling one more time before him and Parker left to go rent a movie. Of course she didn't answer. He decided that he'd call her when they got to the video store, and if she didn't answer that time, he'd leave her another voicemail.

oOo

"Okay, bud," Booth said as him and Parker walked into the store. "Go pick out a couple movies that you'd like to see. I've got a few more calls to make."

Parker ran off to the 'family films' section. Booth pulled out his cell and tried calling Bones once more. She still wasn't answering. He was beginning to panic. Something had to have gone wrong. He could feel it. Something wasn't right. When her voicemail came on, he left a message saying, "Bones, Temperance, where are you? Why aren't you answering. I'm really worried about you. It's after 7 and I still haven't heard from you. Please call. If for nothing else, just to let me know that you're alright."

Parker came running up a few minutes later, bringing two films with him. They went and purchased their movie rentals before returning to his apartment, where he called Bones a few more times while Parker changed into more comfortable clothes and got the first movie ready.

oOo

Brennan pulled up to the apartment building at about quarter to 8. She felt guilty about not calling Booth, but she didn't want to get into this over the phone. Plus, he had Parker. He didn't need to get into an argument with her over the phone when he should be having a good time with his son. One of the texts that he had sent her informed her that Parker approved of their new-found relationship. Parker wanted her to come over tonight. And quite frankly, she wanted to go see them.

The problem was that she was still somewhat angry with Booth. They'd only been together for one day, and it felt like he was trying to control her. Angela had said that wasn't the case, that Booth was just so much in love with her that he wanted to make sure she was safe, that she didn't get hurt. But it felt an awful lot like controlling. If their relationship was going to progress any further, then they needed to have a serious talk.

In one of Booth's texts, he had mentioned that something had happened, having to do with the case. She felt guilty about not calling Booth right away to ask what happened, but if it was serious enough she'd have gotten a call from Cam. But she didn't. So obviously whatever happened wasn't an emergency and could wait until she was face-to-face with Booth.

She sat in her car for a few more moments before unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out to walk up to the building. She got in the elevator and pressed the number for the correct floor. The ride up seemed to take forever, but when the doors finally re-opened and she walked to the apartment door, she found herself wishing she was still inside the elevator. She took a deep breath before knocking.

The door flung open a few seconds later. She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to gauge his reaction. He stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

"Bones," Booth said, silently thanking God that she was safe and standing there in his doorway. She looked nervous, and he could tell that she was still upset with him. "I'm so sorry. About everything."

She nodded. "We'll talk about it later. Right now is your time with Parker. I came here to watch a movie, that is, if you still want me here tonight."

He didn't verbalize an answer. Instead, he closed the distance between them and pulled her into a kiss. It was heated from the get-go. Both saying what they were unable to say with words. He backed her up against the wall, not letting her escape. His fear of losing her and his desire to feel connected, to be one with her, controlled his every action.

She was the one to break the kiss. "Booth?"

"Mmmhmm?" he mumbled as he attempted to prolong their kiss.

"You never did give me an answer."

He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. It was a serious question, but he laughed anyway. "Do I still want you here? Oh hell yes. I wouldn't want it any other way." He pulled her into an embrace.

"I'm sorry I worried you," she muttered into his chest. She stayed in his arms for a few more seconds before pulling back and saying, "We should probably go inside."

He nodded, grabbed her hand, and led her into his apartment.

"Bones! You're finally here!" Parker exclaimed as he paused the film. "Come sit down next to me. I'll tell ya what you missed, so far."

She followed Booth to the couch, sitting in between him and Parker. Booth never let go of her hand. Parker explained the plot of the film. The film shared a name with a book she read in school about some girl who follows a rabbit down a rabbit hole, however improbable/impossible that might be. Apparently the film was based on the book, but this film's world was completely distorted. Whoever heard of mushrooms bigger than trees and a person whose head is much bigger, proportionately speaking, than the rest of her body. Clearly that would be physically impossible in real life, which she made sure to inform Booth and Parker about.

Despite the strange visual effects of the film, Brennan found herself enjoying the social commentary. Throughout the film, she would repeatedly lean over to Booth and explain all the ways this film was about a utopian society. When the film ended, Brennan seemed to get fairly upset with how the story played out.

"That's completely ridiculous," Brennan said as the credits began to roll. The entire film was about creating a utopia through positive, humane social changes. Not one character was slain, except for the Japperbocky-"

"Jabberwocky," Booth interjected.

"The White Queen spent the entire film transforming the kingdom into a peaceful place, a utopia, but the ending undermined it all! Alice chose to go home to a capitalistic society, and it emphasized that the most important thing in life is not humane change, but rather the potential for personal and financial gain."

"Jeez relax, Bones!" Booth said. "It was just a movie. It's a form of entertainment. You're reading way to much into it."

Sometime during her rant, Parker had chosen to get up and go make some popcorn. He came back into the room and put the second film into the DVD player. He sleepily walked back to the couch and sat back down next to Brennan.

Brennan decided that it was pointless to analyze that film any longer and decided to reposition herself on the couch. She had long since lost her shoes, and she pulled her feet up onto the couch. She curled up into Booth, letting him wrap his arm around her shoulders. She let her head rest against his chest.

The second film was a Disney film about a robot whose job was to clean up Earth while the humans lived a comfy, albeit lazily unhealthy life in a spaceship. This film was filled with social commentary about the environment and shopping centers, but Brennan decided to keep most of it to herself in order to let the two Booth boys enjoy the overall story line of the film. About halfway through the movie, Parker fell asleep with his head resting on Brennan's waist. Brennan must've dozed off too, because the next thing she knew she was being woken up by Booth and the credits were rolling.

"Hey, Bones," Booth said as he poked her in the ribs. "Pst...Bones, wake up!"

"Boo-ooth," Brennan whined, "stop poking me."

"I can't help it that you fell asleep," Booth smiled down at her. "Come on, wake up. I gotta get up so I can carry Parker to his bedroom. By the looks of things, he definitely won't be waking up til morning."

Brennan tried her best to sit herself up without jostling Parker too much. Booth got up and picked up Parker, carrying down the hallway. Brennan stood up and started cleaning the living room. Now that Booth had woken her up, she found herself to be wide awake. She carried the bowl of half eaten popcorn and their left over drinks into the kitchen. She emptied the popcorn bowl and started washing it in the sink.

Booth came into the living room after tucking Parker into bed. He saw that Brennan wasn't there. He heard her moving around the kitchen, so he walked over there and stood in the doorway watching her doing dishes. He walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and placed his head on her shoulders. He felt her shiver at the contact.

"Hey there, Bones."

"Hey, Booth," she replied. "Is Parker in his room?"

"Yep, and sleeping like a log," he replied.

"I don't know what that means, but there is a definite flaw in that statement," Brennan explained. "Logs are not conscious beings, therefore they do not sleep."

He smiled and moved her hair from her neck to give him better access. He began placing soft kisses up and down the length of her neck. When he got to the spot just below her ear, he heard her sharp intake of breath. She set the bowl on the counter and turned around to face him. She pulled his head down to meet hers, their lips locking in a sweet, passionate kiss.

Before things got much further, Brennan pulled back from the kiss. They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments searching for answers, but neither one wishing to speak. She broke the silence first, "Booth, we need to talk."

He nodded as he stepped back, motioning to the table. She shook her head, grabbed his hand, and led him back out to the living room. They both took a seat on the couch.

"So..." he said, trying to ease the awkward tension. "I guess we never really talked about what happened."

"No, we didn't," she agreed. She found an invisible flaw on the bottom of her shirt and began picking at it. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Last night...Last night, I don't regret it. Not in the least. But the problem is that we never-"

"Never got around to talking about how this'll affect our partnership," Booth finished for her.

"Yes, but not just that, Booth. This...it affects everything. It changes everything."

"I know," he said, grabbing her hand. "But in a good way."

"How can you say that?" she asked, getting more upset by the second. She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears. "The FBI won't let us work together if we're in a relationship."

"We'll figure it out, Bones. We'll figure it out. Besides, we've been in a relationship for years. I know that I've been in love with you for a very long time. The only thing that's changed is that we now have a physically intimate relationship. It doesn't change how I feel about you, so it won't change the way we work. We just need to make the FBI see that somehow."

"Okay, say that we can still work together, what if something happens. We get into too big of an argument that causes our relationship to crumble. Or you get tired of me and leave. Or I can't make as big of a commitment as you would like, so you decide you can't love me anymore."

"We just take things one day at a time, Bones. But I can promise you that I will always love you. Just the way you are. I don't need you to change. I know your views on marriage and commitment, and I accept them. So long as I have you in my life, that's all I need. And I would never get tired of you. And we've gotten into huge arguments before and everything has worked out just fine. I love you, Bones. That's it. That's enough. And so long as you love me, and want to be with me, we can make it through anything."

By now, the tears were freely falling from her eyes. She didn't bother to try to hide them or wipe them away. "Booth. I do love you. I do. And I want this relationship with you. Know that. No matter how much I fight it or try to run away from it. Just remember, please."

Booth nodded. That was all he needed to know. That she was willing to give this a try, a serious attempt to make this work. He couldn't stand to see the sadness or the tears in Brennan's eyes any longer, so he pulled her into an embrace. She melted into his strength. For a few moments, everything was peaceful.

"But we still have to discuss the matter that happened earlier today, Booth."

"I'm sorry about that, really," he said. "How many times do I have to tell you that? And in how many ways? Look, I was scared, concerned for your safety. I overreacted."

"Angela said that you acted like that because your in love with me. I believe that is true, but you need to realize that I am an independent woman. I can, and do, take care of myself. I won't let myself be controlled by others. And you were trying to control me."

"Bones, I-"

"Let me finish, Booth. Sure, it came from your 'heart', as you so put it, but you were still trying to control me. I am my own person, and I won't stand for that."

"I'm sorry. I know that I can't tell you what to do, that I shouldn't tell you what to do. But I just want you to be careful. I don't want to lose you. Not after I just got you."

"I know, and after recent events, I have decided to try to be more considerate of your feelings. Now, about how many times you called me..."

Booth's face flushed with embarrassment at that. "Yeah, sorry. I was worried. I wanted to make sure you were okay. And after the call I got from Cullen-"

"What call?" Brennan interrupted.

"Oh right, you don't know," Booth said. "Another Georgetown girl was reported missing today. Last seen 2 nights ago."

"Booth-" she started to apologize.

"Bones, don't worry about it. You're here now. I know you're safe."

They sat there quiet for a few moments, his hand still holding hers.

"Are we okay, Bones?"

She nodded. "Yeah, we're okay." She smiled a sultry smile at him as she pulled him close, capturing his lips with hers.

"Come on," Booth said in between kisses. "We should get you to bed. It's been a very long day. And Parker wants us to take him to the Jeffersonian tomorrow to see Hodgins." He got up off the couch, pulling Brennan up along with him. They walked hand in hand to his bedroom. One they got inside, he shut the door and began peppering her with kisses once more, pressing her up against the door.

"Booth," Brennan said, more as a moan than as anything else. "What about Parker. He's asleep in the next room."

"We just lock the door, see," he said as he reached behind her and locked the door. And like you said, he's asleep. He'll probably be out til sometime tomorrow morning." He put his hand back onto Brennan's waist.

"What if he wakes up and hears us?"

"We turn on the TV or the radio to drown out the noise," he said as he walked over to the stereo and turned on his favorite station. "He'll never suspect a thing. And it's not like he can just walk in and catch us in the act." He walked back to Brennan, his hands moved to cup her face, brushing her breasts along the way. He pulled her lips to his, effectively ending all conversation. Clothes started piling up on the floor, in a trail that went from the door to the bed. He laid her on the bed, climbed in with her, and kissed every part of her body that he could find. He was still learning exactly what spots drove her crazy. They spent the next few hours in bed, appreciating each other's body.

AN: Let me know what ya thought. It was my longest chapter yet, I hope you enjoyed it. YAY for Thursday! I can't wait for the premiere! It's only a few days away! Next chapter should hopefully be up sometime next weekend, unless I find time to write before then :)