.

Zach ambled to the front door, eating from a large bowl of cereal as he went. He pulled it open and stared for a moment at the older boy standing beneath the glow of a lamp that captured the glimmer of artful highlights in hair that was carefully styled to fall haphazardly over a wide forehead. With one raking glance he catalogued the shiny, freshly polished shoes, the sharply creased slacks and soft knit shirt worn under a dark blazer.

"Yea?" He leaned casually against the door frame.

The visitor's eyes flashed but he responded just as casually. "I'm here to pick up Christine." His wide smile showed off perfect teeth.

Humor glinted in Zach's dark brown eyes. "Oh, this oughta be good." He stepped to the side and gestured the boy inside. "Mom! Dad!" he yelled over one shoulder. "Christine's date is here!"

Aeden stepped inside, hiding his grimace behind the younger boy's back. Smart ass little geek. Everyone knew Christine's younger brother, the 12-year old genius jumped four grades to be in their class, and who was already taking college courses. He quickly replaced the sneer with a bright smile when Christine's father stepped out of the kitchen.

His hair now more silver than brown, the passing years had otherwise touched Booth gently. His waistline was a little softer but his shoulders maintained their straight, wide line, and were emphasized now by the straps of the shoulders holsters he hadn't yet removed. His eyes narrowed fractionally as he performed a more caustic appraisal of their visitor's perfect spit-and-polish appearance and toothy grin than his son had. On guard immediately, he nonetheless managed a smile.

"You're here for Christine?" He took the hand Aeden offered.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Booth." Aeden tried not to wince at the strength of the older man's grip. "I'm Aeden Walker."

"Aeden Walker." Booth committed the name to memory, then stepped back, crossed his arms over his chest and gave the kid a slower, more obvious head-to-toe once over that had him shuffling uncomfortably in place. "Well," he said suddenly, his tone boisterous, "you know girls, she's not ready yet so come on in and have a seat. Zach," he looked at his youngest son, "go tell your sister her date's here - and I don't mean stand at the bottom of the stairs and yell," he added sternly.

Aeden did his best not to wince when Booth slapped him on the back as he lead the way to the family room. He took note of the weapons secured in the holsters with an inward roll of his eyes. What's he gonna do? Threaten to shoot me if I cop a feel of Daddy's little princess? Please.

"So," Booth waved the boy to a chair before taking a seat himself. "What do you have planned for tonight?"

Aeden plastered the wide smile on his face again. "Well, sir, it depends on Christine, obviously, but I thought we'd go for pizza and then see the new James Bond movie that came out last week."

Booth's eyebrows rose. "James Bond? Huh."

Zach entered the room and perched on the arm of Booth's chair. "She said she'll be down in about five minutes which," he snorted, "is a big fat lie." His half-smile matched his father's. "You've probably got about 30 minutes to wait."

Booth threw an elbow into his son's hip. "Don't you have somewhere else to go?" he asked pointedly.

"Nope." Zach continued to spoon cereal into his mouth while keeping an amused eye on Aeden. "I'm good."

His father pushed him none-too-gently off the chair. "Well then, at least find your own seat, pal."

" 'k." Zach sprawled out on the sofa opposite Ruth's date and balanced the bowl in his lap. "So where are you going tonight?"

Nosy brat. Aeden offered a tight smile but mindful of Booth watching, played nice. "Pizza and a movie. I thought we'd check out the new James Bond movie."

Zach's mouth froze mid-chew; a brief glance at his father caught the smirk that flashed across his face. He looked at Aeden. "You're taking Christine to a James Bond movie? Why would you do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Despite himself, Aeden couldn't resist asking. "What's wrong with James Bond?"

"Nothing but," the young teen shrugged and spooned up more cereal, "she'll just talk through the whole movie about how he's holding his weapons wrong or aiming wrong or what's wrong with the fight scenes. It's not much fun, believe me."

Aeden just laughed. "Well, she's a girl. Bond will take his shirt off and then she'll be distracted and forget about that stuff."

The smile slid off Booth's face.

Zach choked on cereal he'd swallowed unchewed. "I wouldn't say that to her," he said, when he could speak.

"You wouldn't say what to whom?" Brennan appeared in the entrance to the family room, her glance casually sweeping the occupants.

Aeden jumped to his feet as Booth stood up. "Bones, come meet Aeden. He's here to take Christine out. Aeden, my wife, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

Wearing the same wide, insincere smile, Aeden held out his hand to the tall, dark haired woman who entered. He considered mothers his personal specialty.

"I can see why Christine is so pretty," he commented, as he sandwiched her hand between both of his. "She takes after her mother."

Brennan smoothly withdrew from his hold. "Yes, our daughter is beautiful." For the third time, the teenager was examined from head to toe. "You're dressed more formally than Ruth's other friends. Is this for Ruth or to impress us?"

Aeden's head emptied. "Uh . . ." he blinked uncertainly. "No. I mean . . ." He struggled for the correct response.

"No? You don't wish to impress us?" Brennan looked at him curiously as she perched on the arm of the chair in which Booth had reseated himself, a move that mimicked Zach earlier. This time, Booth didn't object.

"No. I mean, yes. Yes, of course, I wanted to make a good impression." Aeden stammered uncomfortably and wondered what he'd done wrong. This meeting wasn't going at all the way he expected.

Booth enjoyed the boy's squirming for a moment longer before he looked up at his wife. "So, how are you getting rid of the body?"

Her eyes narrowed on his for a split second before she flashed a quick glance at Aeden. "Drain cleaner," she announced promptly. "I've decided to use drain cleaner."

Zach leaned forward to place his empty bowl on the table in front of the sofa. "Drain cleaner? Kinda old school, Mom. Will it work?" He peeked at Aeden and bit back a smile when he saw the teenager's suddenly wary expression.

"Oh, yes," Brennan answered immediately. "It would take a large quantity but as it is commercially available, buying the amount necessary would be an easy task, with the added benefit that the purchases would be difficult to trace after the fact."

"If it's so easy," Zach argued, "why don't more murderers use it to get rid of their victims?"

Booth wrapped one arm around Brennan and idly caressed her leg. "Most murders are unplanned, spur of the moment things. That's why most killers get caught."

"Yes,' Brennan agreed. "Committing the perfect murder and avoiding capture after the crime would require careful planning."

"I would still catch you." Booth tilted his head up at her and smiled.

She shook her head before leaning down to capture his lips in a brief kiss. "No, you wouldn't."

"People know I'm here," Aeden blurted out suddenly.

The Booth family looked at him in surprise; before anyone could respond, Christine's cheerful voice preceded her.

"Hi, Aeden! Sorry I took so long!" Her hair hung in a smooth shimmer of chocolate silk, shining against shoulders left bare by the pretty red sundress she wore. She came to a complete stop when she saw her mother, father and youngest brother sitting opposite Aeden. "I see you've met my parents." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Yea, we've been having a nice little talk." Zach smirked at his sister, who glared at him in return.

"Yes, we have." Booth rose and put a hand beneath Aeden's elbow to help the suddenly boneless teen to his feet. "Haven't we, son? How 'bout we continue it after you bring Christine home tonight?"

"Uh . . . " Aeden swallowed nervously. He searched Booth's gaze, looked at Brennan and then back at Booth. "Uh . . . I think . . ."

"Something wrong? Aeden?" Booth's smile showed his teeth.

"I don't feel very well." He did, in fact, look pale.

Christine took in the slightly green tint of his complexion and the sweat beading on his brow. When she lifted a hand to touch his cheek, he backed away abruptly, and crashed into the wall behind him. "You don't look so good either," she admitted as she dropped her hand. "Want to do this next week instead?"

"Yea." He nodded quickly and began to edge his way to the door. "Next week, yea, let's . . . next week . . ."

"Are you okay to drive home?" she asked solicitously. "Mom or Dad could -"

"No!" Aeden fumbled at the handle of the door until it finally opened and he could stumble out. "No, that's okay. I can - I'll just go straight home and . . ." As he spoke, he backed his way down the steps. "I'll just go home . . . I'll see you at school, okay?" He tripped once, then turned and ran toward his car.

"Bye!" Christine called out. "I hope you feel better!" Her voice trailed off in confusion as he sped away. She watched his tail lights fade into the distance, then slowly closed the door. Brow furrowed, she walked back into the family room. "That was so weird. I wonder what . . . "

Her words died unspoken at the sight of her brother and father exchanging a high-five. Her mouth fell open in shock, before it snapped shut. She stalked into the room. "What did you do this time?" she demanded. "And don't tell me you didn't do anything because I know better!"

Zach grinned impishly. "We merely discussed the possibility of using drain cleaner to dispose of a corpse. It was purely hypothetical, right?" His innocent glance swept over his mother and father. "I don't know what lover boy's problem was."

With one hard shove, Christine sent him tumbling to the sofa. "Why?" Her jaw jutted forward as she turned to her father. "He wasn't even here five minutes! What did he do?"

Booth crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't like him."

"Of course you don't like him," she wailed. "You don't like anyone with a penis around me!"

"That's unfair, Ruth," Brennan interrupted. "Zach and Parker . . ."

"Yea, I definitely have a penis." Zach folded his arms beneath his head and watched the show from his prone position on the couch.

Christine sputtered. "Stop it! This isn't funny!" She stomped her foot and stared at her parents. "You guys do this all the time!"

"I don't like him," Booth repeated stubbornly.

"Your father is a very good judge of character." Brennan slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow.

"Ooooh!" Christine stomped her foot again. "If I wait to find someone you like, I'll be in college before I have my first date!"

"Speaking of college, have you thought about Wellesley?" The question was only half in jest.

"No!" Her eyes shot sparks. "I'm going to a real college! With boys! And I'm going to go out with them! And . . and . . ." She leaned in close to her father. "I'm going to have sex!" she hissed.

Booth winced.

"She probably will," Brennan whispered, "if not before. The average age for . . . "

"Bones!" She left the rest of the anecdote unsaid.

Zach sought to allay the sudden tension in the room and spoke again, quietly. "Aeden's a jerk, Roofers."

Hearing her brother use his childhood nickname for her took the wind from her sails. "I know he's a jerk," she admitted grudgingly. "But it's Saturday night and I wanted to go out. I can handle him," she insisted, when she caught her father's gaze.

"Well, now you don't have to." He offered her a crooked smile. "We handled him for you. And come on, how stupid is he to think we were actually talking about him?"

"I didn't say he was smart," Ruth admitted. "Just cute." Her shoulders drooped. "I got all dressed up for nothing." One hand brushed the front of the pretty red dress she wore.

"Well, I can't let that happen." Booth pulled her into a hug. "How about I take everyone out to dinner?" He winked at Zach. "Maybe we could go see that new James Bond movie."

Christine, her head settled against her father's chest, snorted. "James Bond? That's not funny, Dad."

Booth laughed. "Okay, no James Bond. We'll pick a movie over dinner." He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. "You can choose where we go, too. Zach's been eating all night so -"

"Hey, I only had cereal!" he protested immediately. "I can eat! I'm still hungry so don't pick . . ."

"Indian," Christine said definitively. "I want Indian."

"No!" Zach's shuddered "I don't like Indian, it's too spicy." He pleaded his case to the one person who could influence his father. "Mom?"

Brennan shrugged. "Your father said Ruth could choose." She pretended she didn't see her daughter stick her tongue out at her brother. "Go and change your shirt," she instructed instead.

"I'm going to get a sweater," Christine said, racing her brother to the stairs.

Booth watched them run up the stairs then pulled Brennan close to him. "You think we can talk her into Wellesley?"

"No," she answered simply.

"No," he repeated, shaking his head. "I didn't think so."

.

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(In case you don't know, Wellesley College is a private, all-girls college in Massachusetts.)

(Also, I love the Sean Connery/Daniel Craig "James Bond" movies. Yummy.)

Thanks for reading!