A/N: I'm still having trouble with this section. But that's what I get for just diving in without planning the whole endeavor. Still, I think I have a handle on the upcoming plot points.

If you'd like to read a few more pages I wrote this week, please check out my one-shot, set in season 7, with the mouthful of a title, 'Accustomed to Irrevocable.' It's a little angst and sweetness about the B/B baby. Yay!

Part 25

"So, what are the rules for swimming?"

Parker rolled his eyes from the passenger seat. "No running, no splashing, no peeing in the pool. I know, Dad. I'm not a baby."

It was Sunday morning. They'd just come from church, and were now headed toward Brennan's apartment. Booth watched the road, debating whether he should even mention the next part. But Parker was sure to find out sooner or later.

"And what's the other rule, about Bones' pool?"

Looking bored, he recited, "Just because we get to use her pool doesn't mean she's your girlfriend."

"Yeah, but… as of a couple days ago, she is my girlfriend."

Parker turned to look at him, and he couldn't tell what the kid was thinking.

"That's good. I didn't like Hannah."

Booth tried to phrase a response, to say that Parker had barely even met Hannah, and that he shouldn't be rude.

"What took you so long?" Parker asked. "I told you that was a stupid reason."

"What was?"

"When Bones said she couldn't be your girlfriend because you work together. I said that was a stupid reason." He shook his head sagely. "You should have listened to me."

Great, Booth thought. I'm getting relationship advice from my kid. He considered trying to explain about taking risks, or FBI rules, or knowing yourself. But instead, he started to smile.

"You know what, buddy? I really should listen to you."

-.-.-.-.

Brennan sat on a lounge chair at the side of the indoor pool, enjoying the humid warmth and the chance to wear shorts during the cold season. An anthropology journal and some plans for her novel rested on her lap, but she wasn't reading them. She was too occupied with watching Booth and Parker.

"Watch this!" Parker yelled to her, then dove under the water and swam through a plastic hoop that Booth was holding just below the surface. He came up grinning and pushing the hair out of his eyes. "I didn't touch the edges at all. Now you, Dad."

"I don't know, this looks pretty tricky."

"Come on, if I can do it, you can."

"Okay… hold it nice and steady for me." Booth slid under the water, and Brennan craned her neck to see what was happening.

After a slight delay, he surfaced, and Parker criticized, "You totally touched the sides. You almost got stuck!"

"Yeah, I'm a little bigger than you, okay?" He shot Brennan an amused look, before turning back to listen to Parker's advice: how to hold your arms and how to kick, in order to pass through the ring in a straight, neat line.

Brennan glanced around at the other lounge chairs and the tall potted plants by the windows. It was unexpectedly quiet for a weekend; the few other swimmers had left for lunch, and for now, they had the pool to themselves.

Parker was devising a game with a beach ball, and he felt it only natural that she be included. Booth seemed to hesitate, perhaps about to warn her that she shouldn't overtax her muscles, but the ball was light and she didn't want to sit this one out. She put her reading aside and listened to Parker's ideas for the game. One of them could toss her the ball and she could throw it back, aiming to the side so that they could lunge dramatically to catch it before falling into the water.

They threw it back and forth several times, Brennan getting showered by drops of water whenever she caught the ball. Then she saw Booth sneak up behind Parker and duck under the water. Parker yelled like he was being attacked, then shouted with laughter as Booth lifted him up on his shoulders. They kept up their game that way, Booth and Parker trying to guess what direction she would throw the ball. Once, when they guessed wrong, they lunged to the side, but overbalanced and splashed into the water. The ball bounced away over the surface, while Booth and Parker came up spluttering and laughing.

"I still caught it, did you see?" Parker held onto the side of the pool, shaking his head to get the water out of his eyes. Booth, next to him, was doing the exact same thing. They looked like a pair of cute, wet dogs, and Brennan started to laugh. She laughed until her side throbbed and tears came to her eyes, and Booth decided he'd better check on her.

She watched him, his arm muscles bulging as he lifted himself out of the pool. Water streamed down his body and his swim trunks clung to his hips and thighs. She caught her breath and stopped laughing.

"Are you okay, Bones? Don't hurt yourself." He nodded at her waist with a hint of teasing, but his voice was soft and deep. She couldn't have said if her eyes were tearing from mirth or something else. He sat on the chair next to her, and they watched Parker together.

"I'm okay, Booth. I'm more than okay."