Thanks for the reviews. I feel like I need to clear the air because a few people have asked me about this: those author's notes were not directed at any of the reviewers who criticised Booth or his decision to break up with Brennan within the context of the story. I don't expect everyone to agree with his actions (or Brennan's) all the time because fictional characters make mistakes too. They were aimed at a couple of anonymous reviews that insulted me as both a person and a writer (one said they had lost all respect for me as an author and as a woman and that I had "no self respect", the other called my writing "ridiculous" and accused me of "character assassination"), so if that wasn't you, then I have no issue with you.

Chapter 36.

When C.C. was three days old, the doctors pronounced her healthy enough to go home.

"Are you sure you're gonna be all right on your own?" Booth asked Brennan when he dropped them off at her place. He set the car seat containing their slumbering daughter down gently on the dining room table. "Because I'm happy to sleep on the couch..." He wasn't ready to let go of them yet, especially after the renewed closeness he'd developed with Brennan while their daughter was in the hospital. They still hadn't talked about the kiss they'd shared in the delivery room, although he supposed they could put it down to the intense emotions they'd both felt as a result of creating a new life together.

"I'll be fine, Booth," she assured him, shrugging out of her coat. "She's a baby, not a murderer. Besides, it's only for a few days, until my dad gets here."

Booth felt a stab of jealousy at the idea of Max showering his family with love and attention while he himself remained on the outs. "You've got everything you need?" he pressed, hoping to catch her out so that he could swoop in and save the day, and maybe prove to her once and for all that he was someone worth keeping around. "Diapers, wipes, powder…?"

"Yes, Booth," she agreed patiently. "Angela picked some things up for me so I don't have to go out."

"Why didn't you ask me?" he insisted, miffed that she'd sent her best friend to the store instead of him. "I could've swung by the supermarket on the way to pick you up."

"I didn't want to impose on you any more than I already have," she explained.

"You're not imposing on me, Bones," he told her. She could never impose on him; especially when it came to their daughter. How many times did he have to tell her that he was here for her before she believed him? "I like taking care of you and C.C."

He waited for her to offer to let him stay, but when she didn't, seemingly resolute in her belief that she could handle things without him, he said, "If everything here is under control then I guess I'll leave you two to get settled in. But if you need anything, you call me, okay? Any time, day or night. My phone's always on."

"Okay," she agreed.

She wouldn't, though, would she? She would try to take care of everything on her own, like she always did. "Promise me, Bones."

"I promise, Booth."

He couldn't think of any more reasons to hang around, so he unbuckled their daughter, who was beginning to stir now, from her car seat, holding her up in front of him so that they were nose to nose. "Bye bye, C.C.," he said, kissing the tip. "You be a good girl for Mommy, okay?" He kissed her one last time, on the crown of the head, before handing her resolutely into her mother's waiting arms. "Have fun," he told her.

Back at his own apartment, Booth cracked open a beer and turned on the TV, and tried to enjoy the return to normalcy after days spent eating hospital food and drinking crappy vending machine coffee while camped out by his daughter's crib in the NICU. The quiet should have been a relief, after the stress of the past seventy-two hours, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about Brennan and C.C., wondering what they were doing, and if they felt his absence as strongly as he felt theirs. He missed teasing Brennan and hearing her laugh, he missed the warmth of their daughter's soft little body snuggled against his, he missed being with the woman he loved and their child, living the life that he'd always dreamed about but could never seem to make work.

He wasn't that hungry, but he heated up a frozen dinner and ate it in the living room, and was contemplating getting ready for bed when his cell phone erupted.

"Hey, Bones," he greeted her, trying not to sound like he'd been waiting for her call. She said something in response, but he was distracted by the sound of C.C. screaming in the background. "Bones, what's wrong? Is the baby okay?"

"She won't stop crying," she told him.

He could hear the tears in her voice. "When was the last time you fed her?"

"Half an hour ago."

It was doubtful that she was hungry then. "Well did you check her diaper? Maybe she needs changing," he suggested, moving on to the next item on the checklist of obvious causes.

"Yes! I tried everything, Booth," she insisted. "I tried picking her up, I tried putting her down, I tried rocking her, I tried singing to her… She hates me."

If she wasn't so upset, he might have ribbed her about how irrational she sounded. Normally she would be the one to tell him how ludicrous the idea of an infant hating anyone was. "She doesn't hate you, Bones," he told her. "She's a baby. Babies cry – sometimes for no reason. Just try to relax, okay? I'll be over as soon as I can."

Finally, something he could help with; he disconnected the call and grabbed his car keys and a jacket from the hook and raced out the apartment.

He hadn't gotten around to giving Brennan back her key so he let himself in rather than disturb them. It wasn't hard to figure out where they were: he just followed the sound of C.C.'s cries.

"I don't understand," Brennan said when he came into the nursery where she was trudging wearily back and forth with their daughter, who was still howling at the top of her perfectly-formed lungs. "She wasn't like this at the hospital."

She hadn't been alone with her at the hospital. There was always someone around to answer her questions and give her advice. It was the kind of learning environment that she thrived in. "Babies are very attuned to their parents' moods, Bones," he explained. "She's just anxious because you are." He held out his arms out to her. "Here, give her to me."

She transferred the baby into them and he settled her on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered, rubbing her tiny back through her sleep suit in slow, soothing circles. "I know, baby. I know." He resumed pacing with her, while Brennan watched, babbling sweet nonsense at her until she began to calm down. After about ten minutes of this, she stopped whimpering and lay placidly against him with her little face nestled in the crook of his neck.

"How did you do that?" Brennan asked him, looking equal parts impressed and wounded. "She didn't do that for me."

"Practice," he explained. "Parker was a colicky baby. You want her back?"

She shook her head. "No. She'll just start crying again." She pulled the burp rag off her shoulder, sinking down into the rocking chair with it twisted in both hands. "I'm no good at this, Booth," she complained tearfully. "I can't even survive one night alone with my own child. How am I going to make it through the next eighteen years?"

For the first time since he'd arrived, he regarded her with his full attention. Her face was blotchy from crying herself, her ponytail was falling out, and the front of her shirt was stained with what appeared to be spit up. In short, she looked like any other new mom: tired, stressed, and scared out of her mind.

"Come here, Bones." He shifted C.C. so that she was cradled in one elbow, using his other hand to pull her up. "None of us know what we're doing at first," he told her, wrapping her in a fierce one armed hug. "Rebecca didn't. I didn't. It was months before I could be alone with Parker without panicking. You just need some time to get used to her, that's all. I know you're used to being an expert, but you're new at this – you can't expect to get everything right straight off the bat."

She clung back just as hard, burying her face in his shirt, and for a moment they just stood there like that, him rubbing her back the same way he had C.C.'s. "You're exhausted," he told her gently as he released her. "Why don't you let me take her for a while so you can go get some sleep? You're no good to her like this."

"You don't have to do that, Booth," she insisted.

"First rule of parenting, Bones – when someone offers you help, you take it," he told her, even though, if he was honest with himself, it wasn't just about easing her load. He was secretly thrilled at the prospect of spending some one on one time with their daughter.

"But I was the one who wanted this," she protested. "That makes her my responsibility."

"You might have asked for it, Bones, but I agreed," he reminded her. He could have refused, but he hadn't, because deep down he'd wanted this as badly as she did: maybe more. "I want to help you, but I can't if you won't let me."

She was silent as she considered this, then she nodded. "Okay," she told him. "I expressed some milk earlier. It's in the freezer. Her next feeding is in an hour."

"I got it, Bones," he assured her, before she could give him a detailed list of instructions. It wasn't like he was a rookie. He'd probably prepared more bottles than she had. "Now go, get some rest. We'll be fine, won't we, C.C.? We'll wake you up if we need you."

She nodded again, but this time, she smiled. "Thanks, Booth." She kissed their daughter's scalp, stroking the back of her neck. "Goodnight." She ran a hand down his arm as she moved past him to the door, closing it behind her with a soft click, leaving him alone with his daughter for the very first time.

"Looks like it's just you and me, kiddo," he told her.

He carried her over to the rocking chair and sat down with her. "I am so sorry we dragged you into this mess, but I'm gonna fix it, okay?" he assured her. "Tomorrow I'm gonna talk to Mommy and we are gonna figure this out, I promise." He hooked his little finger around hers. "That's called a 'pinky swear'."

Brennan would tell him that she didn't understand what he was saying and was therefore unlikely to take any comfort from his words, but he felt better knowing that they had an agreement.

"Maybe then we can introduce you to your big brother," he continued. "He's very excited to meet you. He's gonna teach you how to play Playstation as soon as you're old enough. You should know, he's pretty good, but with your mommy's brains and my lightening fast reflexes, you can probably take him. Just don't tell him I told you that, okay? It'll be our little secret."

She still looked wide awake so he brought her to his shoulder, rocking them gently with his heel. "Now how about you get some sleep too, huh? We don't want you to be in a bad mood tomorrow. Mommy's already at her wits' end so you need to go easy on her."

He pressed his lips to her hair when she started to fuss again. "Sshh, it's okay," he whispered. "It's okay, baby. Daddy's here. Daddy's got you."

Next chapter: Booth and Brennan talk about C.C. and make some decisions...