So I had some more angst ready to post, and then I realized, "Hey, I just don't want to post that on this gorgeous day." So I took an idea I had and this is what happened. And yep, it's more baby stuff, but fast-forward about 24 years from the time of the present season.

Side note: If you'd like to think that the Andrew in this story is the one in razztaztic's lovely story ("Roots and Wings"), you can think that; however, I have another chapter (nearly finished!) that has both Andrew and Christine in different vocations from razztaztic's story. I honestly picked the name Andrew because I like it. (Having said that, you should totally go read razztaztic's story and get a healthy dose of happiness, and not just with Andrew and Christine tales. It's good stuff, but chapter 7 happens to be magic, in my humble opinion.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

"Andrew doesn't want to find out the sex of the baby."

"But you do."

Christine nodded as she reached for the glass her mother had placed in front of her. "Oh absolutely."

"I assume you've argued about it."

"God, yes." Christine groaned. "We're both so stubborn."

"I agree."

"Not helping, Mom. Seriously, I don't know what to do. We could barely talk about it last night."

"Well," Brennan paused as she sat down on the couch by her daughter, "your father and I were the same way with Adeline."

"Really?"

"Yes, but of course I talked him into it. That, and it just drove him crazy after a while not knowing."

"Well, Andrew is really sticking to his guns on this one." Christine sighed as she rubbed her hand over her well-established bump. "I mean, we could have found out the sex weeks ago. I just want to find out, you know?"

"Then find out."

Christine hesitated. "You think so?"

"Yes."

"But Andrew …"

"But you're the mother. And you have to go through labor." Brennan gave a knowing smile. "Have you reminded him of that? I recall it working fairly well with your father."

"Yes, but I've failed miserably. He's refusing to budge, even after I got belligerent about the fact that I'll have to deliver a baby who has half of his huge genes." Christine sipped her water. "Last night, he did cave a little. We debated the pros and cons of me finding out and keeping it from him."

"Do you really think you could do that?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah. I'm not a big fan of it because I'd really like him to know, but if that's what he wants, I'm OK with it."

"And he's OK with you knowing?"

Christine shrugged. "It was his suggestion."

"I'm with Andrew on this one," Booth entered the conversation, startling Christine as he rounded the corner. "Some things in life need to be a surprise."

"Like you sneaking up on us? That kind of surprise?" Christine accused, giving Booth a slight grin.

"Sniper senses," he reminded with a laugh.

"Those sniper senses are rusty," Brennan noted. "I heard you coming down the stairs."

"Well, live long enough with me and you pick up my strengths, huh Bones?"

"Live long enough and you're old, therefore, you're not as quiet as you think," Brennan rebutted with a sly smile.

"Hey now. I can't stay young forever." Booth plopped down in the armchair across from the couch and propped up his feet. "So what's this I hear about an argument or something?"

"Christine wants to find out the baby's gender. Andrew doesn't. I believe that summarizes it."

"I want to be able to tell people what to buy us," Christine reasoned. "We've got at least two baby showers, and it's so impracticable not knowing."

"But if you let them buy gender-specific clothes and items, Andrew's going to see them and figure it out," Booth stated.

"Ugh," Christine groaned, settling back against the couch as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What?"

"You sound like Andrew, Dad! That's exactly what he's been telling me!"

"You could hide the clothes and items in the nursery," Brennan suggested. "As long as Andrew knew they were back there, he wouldn't go in. Or perhaps most of the items would fit in the nursery closet."

"Nuh uh," Booth shook his head. "The husband's job is to put together the crib and move the furniture and paint and all that good stuff. Andrew will see everything and he'll know within five seconds."

"But I've already picked gender-neutral bedding and we're not repainting the nursery," Christine explained. "I've thought this through. I could even put everything in the room and cover it with a big blanket or something so he doesn't see. And I've told Aunt Angela no pink or blue decorating – I want more neutral colors anyway."

"It seems that Andrew really and genuinely wants this to be a surprise," Brennan mused, "though I'm not sure why. It's much more practical to know."

"Right?" Christine huffed. "Men."

"I wish we had kept one of ours a secret."

Raising an eyebrow, Brennan turned to look at Booth. "Really? After all these years, you tell me that one should have been a suprise?"

"Yup." He nodded. "Surprises are fun, Bones."

"But the gender of our firstborn?"

Booth shrugged. "Didn't have to be Christine. We could have done it with either of the other two. We didn't, and that's OK, but surprises are a good thing. I know you two aren't really fans of surprises, but they're few and far between here in life. Why not take advantage of one?"

"I just want to find out. And if that's selfish, I'm sorry … I guess I'm selfish." Christine sighed. "But if I do find out, I'm going to want to tell someone. And if I can't tell Andrew, I'm worried it'll kill me." She glanced at her mother. "Metaphorically speaking, of course."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "I got that."

"If you do find out the baby's gender, I know who you could tell."

"Oh?" Christine looked at Booth curiously. "And who might that be?"

He pointed to Brennan silently, a smile crossing his face.

Neither Christine nor Booth missed the brief but delighted expression that crossed Brennan's face for a split second before she returned to her composed demeanor.

"Lord knows the woman can keep a secret," Booth remarked, reaching for Brennan's water glass. "She's kept all mine for years." He gave Brennan a small smile, which she immediately returned. "Christine, your mom won't tell a soul. The secret's safe with her."

"Yeah, I know that. But that means she'd even have to keep it from you, Dad. Wouldn't that drive you crazy?"

"Nah." Booth shook his head. "I'm with Andrew on this. Keep me in the dark until you deliver. Like I said, surprises are a good thing."

Turning towards her mother, Christine gave a hopeful smile. "What do you think, Mom? Want to keep a secret from everyone for the next eighteen or so weeks?"

"I am so sorry." The door opened and closed quickly as Brennan slipped into the darkened room. "I completely lost track of time at work, and traffic was uncooperative."

"No worries – just getting started here," the ultrasound technician assured her. "We were running a bit behind ourselves."

"Good." Brennan let out a relieved sigh as she held out her hand to the technician. "I'm Temperance Brennan, Christine's mother."

"It's very nice to meet you," the technician returned the handshake. "I'm Alexa."

"Nice to meet you, Alexa. Again, I'm sorry for delaying things."

"Not a problem at all. I promise, you didn't keep us waiting."

Brennan sat next to Christine, who offered her mother her hand with an eager, "Hi." She was practically giddy, a grin spread wide across her face. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too." Brennan squeezed Christine's hand and returned the grin.

"All right, ladies. Ready to find out?"

"Oh yeah." Christine nodded. "Absolutely."

"You know the drill … this is going to be a little cold." The technician applied the gel and began to spread it. "But I'm going as fast as I can … you look pretty eager."

"Yeah," Christine admitted. "Been waiting for almost four weeks!"

"I know!" The technician laughed. "After the last appointment, I was convinced you and your husband were just going to keep arguing."

"Well, we compromised … oh." Christine stopped as the sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the room. "Gosh … I love that sound."

"Never gets old," the technician agreed, glancing to check her monitor. "Right on target, Christine. Baby's doing great."

"Good." Christine squeezed Brennan's hand again. "Alexa … my mom's here because Andrew doesn't want to find out the sex of the baby."

"Ah." Alexa nodded. "That happens sometimes."

"But I'm finding out and I wanted to tell someone."

"Good for you. You should definitely share this moment with someone. And don't worry – I won't tell Andrew when he comes back for the next appointment."

"Thank you."

Moving the wand around Christine's abdomen, Alexa tapped the monitor screen with her free hand. "Well, looks like baby's ready for a reveal!"

"Really? Oh good." Christine let out a relieved sigh. "I just thought after all this, we might not be able to find out."

"Nope, definitely able. Baby is absolutely in full cooperation mode today." Alexa glanced at Brennan, who was studying the monitor closely. "I hear you're a doctor … want to do the honors?"

"Oh, I only examine bones – I'm a forensic anthropologist," Brennan began. "While I'm familiar with them, ultrasounds aren't exactly my specialty. In fact, I can't tell you the last time I studied one."

"So?" Alexa shrugged. "That may be true, but I'm pretty sure you can read one."

"Mom?" Christine looked up at Brennan eagerly. "Can you see anything? Can you tell what I'm having?"

Hesitating, Brennan peered closer at the monitor, squinting her eyes just slightly. "Well, I …"

"Mom, if you know, just say it!" Christine blurted out. "Please!"

"You're having a son," Brennan murmured, looking at the technician to confirm her reading.

"Definitely a boy," Alexa agreed with a nod.

"Really? Definitely?" Christine asked.

"Yep … definitely and totally a boy, unless that kiddo's growing a third short leg," Alexa winked at her patient as she moved the cursor around a section of the screen. "See right there? All boy."

Laughing gleefully, Christine leaned over to awkwardly hug Brennan. "Oh God … Andrew is going to be beside himself! We're having a boy!"

"Yes," Brennan returned her daughter's happy smile. "Your father will be, too."

"He's getting a grandson … gosh, you're both getting a grandson!" Christine gazed at the screen. "I can't believe we're having a boy!"

"Are you excited?" Alexa asked facetiously with a laugh.

"Thrilled … so thrilled. Andrew really wanted a boy, and I just wanted to know. I knew I'd be happy either way." Christine settled back against the examination table. "Oh wow."

"Pretty great feeling, huh?" Alexa moved the wand around just slightly to change the view.

"Yeah." Christine shook her head. "Only one problem."

Startled, Brennan looked at her daughter. "What's the matter?"

"We have no boy names. Like none. Zero."

"You've got plenty of time," Brennan assured her. "We didn't officially finish Adeline's full name until a week before she was born."

"Yeah, that's not the only problem."

"What else?"

Sighing, Christine answered, "I want to shout this from the rooftops. How on earth am I supposed to keep this from Andrew for another four months?"

"Hah," Alexa laughed again. "That's why you got your mom here, sister. You two are going to be thick as thieves waiting for this baby boy to make his appearance."

"Good." Christine gave her mother a happy smile. "Glad you're willing to keep this secret with me."

"I'm glad you're willing to share it with me." Brennan leaned to kiss Christine's cheek. "Congratulations on a son, sweetheart."

So you don't think Brennan would call her daughter "sweetheart," do you? Hey, that's OK – you're totally allowed to think that. I'm just operating on the premise that after 25+ years with Booth, some of his more endearing elements (like nicknames for those he loves) might rub off on Brennan. (One can only hope, right?)

Special shout out to Matt, who graciously brought to my attention that I had a typo in my last chapter. (Matt doesn't have an account or wasn't logged in, so I'm thanking him publically.) He caught that I had Marianne saying "Booth" when I really meant to type "Seeley." (Duh. Of course Marianne wouldn't call her son "Booth." What was my tired brain thinking?) I tried to correct it, and thought it had updated, but when I went back last week, I noticed it was still there. Oops. It's corrected now. Thanks, Matt! (And while I'm on it, shout out to all my reviewers without accounts. I appreciate you! If you had an account, I'd gladly message you back and answer your questions/respond to your reviews. I make every attempt to respond to each review!)

And another shout out to my friends Liz and Ryan, who are the unofficial inspiration for this chapter. They have three girls, and found out they were pregnant again (due last month). Liz wanted to know the sex while Ryan wanted a surprise. Unlike Christine and Andrew, they didn't fight over it - they quickly agreed that Liz would find out, tell her best friend, and they'd keep the secret. Both of them kept quiet! Ryan told me, "She didn't slip once! She even waited for me to yell, 'It's a boy!' in the delivery room before she laughed and said, 'I know!'" Sweetness, huh? See, surprises are a good thing.

I apologize for the updating delay. Due to a series of extremely unfortunate/comical events (which just continue to feed my angst monster), we are still without Internet here at the house. Join me in hoping/praying/doing your best Internet service rain dance that technician #6 (coming tomorrow) can fix it for good. Reading/reviewing stories and responding to messages is no fun on an iPhone! (And again, I'm mooching off the neighbor's wifi tonight to post. Oops.)