The Progeny in the Parting

Chapter 37 - The American Guy

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Disclaimer: I do not own BONES

A/N: Here we are! So this is a different take on Chapter One...100,000 words to come full circle. I hope that you find the depth, and detail, since you no longer have to be directed to Google 'coitus' to work out the 'how it happened' part.

This will start out with a Brennan perspective of the reunion and continue following the family through their first few precious hours together. I truly hope that this has been worth waiting for...there will be three more chapters that will hopefully tie up loose ends. Thanks to Rankor01 for the 'old saying' & the military beta advice :D

As I write this note, I'm looking at all the requests (& thinly veiled threats - Hahahaha!) around the issue of a sequel story (Yes, I adore Joey too & think that he has a promising and exceedingly cute dynamic as a character)...there is good and bad news here. The good news is that I have a plan and a working title 'The Progeny in the Partnership'...the bad news is that I'm going to write it all up first, then post at a future date in very frequent updates. For those of you reading Pie...it will happen around the time of Chapter 50 being posted...I have to finish Pie first! (...that's what Booth said, right?)

May 20th 2011 – The Mall, Washington D.C.

Brennan placed one foot in front of the other, drawn toward the tall man in Class A's who was looking down toward the Washington Monument. He was clearly deep in thought. Still reeling from her visceral reaction; that raw physical attraction that was so pleasurable that it was painful, she wanted to reach out and tap him on the shoulder, but she had to speak his name out loud, in his physical presence, to ground herself.

"Booth?" she said.

He flinched. He turned to face her.

Their eyes met and the emotional connection flooded back. Brennan held out her free hand to grasp his, just as they had when they parted at Dulles twelve months ago. When their hands met, she knew. She knew it had all been worth it, that she had achieved what she set out to do a year ago...to find that elusive drawstring connection that would pull her emotional fragments into something that could successfully hold and sustain love.

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Dragging her eyes away from his, she openly ran her gaze up and down his body, a smile playing at the corner of her lips as she noted that he did the same to her. She wasn't sure if she could hold back the passion and the tears that were approaching boiling point within her.

Brennan had to say something, so she stuck with objectivity for starters, trying not to let the tears emerge. "I can see that you stayed safe. No unnecessary heroism. I note a few new medals, which suggests that you were called upon to be a hero at some point," she offered.

He squeezed her hand at her words and reciprocated in kind, clearing his throat before speaking. "Bones...I see that you discovered many special things in the jungle. Would you mind formally introducing me to your Australian companion?" he asked with a small grin.

"Certainly. I assumed that you had not dressed in full uniform simply to meet me" she replied. Her eyes abandoned the roaming inspection of his body and met his.

Releasing their joined hands, she slipped her bag off her shoulder and lowered it to the ground. He stepped in closer, almost surrendering to the urge to kiss her senseless, but he glanced down at the baby sling...there was someone that he had to meet first.

"Seeley Booth, I would like you to meet Joseph. Joseph, meet Seeley," she announced with a small grin of amusement.

Unable to stop himself from touching her, Booth extended his hand forward, and she flicked her pashmina scarf away from where it obscured his view of their son, who was fast asleep, missing the reunion. Brennan gave a small roll of her eyes at the ability of her son to just take a nap; anywhere, anytime.

She gave a wide smile at Booth when he saw the sleeping face, knowing that the facial structure mirrored his own...there was pride in his expression. She teased him gently. "I would like to apologise for Joey's rudeness, Booth. It appears that ambulating across The Mall has induced a temporary state of somnolence. I assure you that he will awaken soon. He naps frequently and it is still the middle of the night for us."

"Do y'think if I was careful not to wake him, Joey would mind if I kissed his Mom?" teased Booth right back, as the heat of the chemistry between them became almost too intense to bear.

Her right hand grabbed the lapel of his neat uniform and she pulled him closer. "I believe that I speak for the entire family in support of that suggestion. Now shut up and kiss me Seeley Booth."

"Yes Ma'am!" he retorted smartly, before leaning in to place his lips over hers in welcome. Almost stumbling against him in an attempt to get as close as possible, his arm shot around her waist and pulled her body flush against his. It was a little awkward given the intrusion of a small sleeping human in the sling between them. Their lips released their hold on each other for a second, then as they adjusted and realigned, reconnected, returning for a deeper, more impassioned welcome. The tears of relief, joy and regret ran down their cheeks, some meeting and mingling, others running freely and missing their moment in a lacrimal life lesson.

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Joey chose that moment to squeak and rouse, finding himself sandwiched in his very first family hug. His eyes opened to see a pair of faces staring and smiling at him as he shifted a little to get comfortable; his face was calm, as if noting that one of those faces was in fact his Mommy, and that he was warm and safe. Joey self-pacified by placing his fingers in his mouth, hearing the familiar deep voice from his bedtime stories and feeling the comforting warmth of fingers brushing his head.

"He's pretty cute for an Australian, Bones," said Booth with a smile, his fingers wiping the tears from her cheeks, and then using the back of his hand to roughly remove his own.

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"Let's go home, Booth," she suggested. "Do you want to carry Joey back to the car? I can take your bag..." she offered.

He gave a laugh. "I can manage a baby and a bag, Bones. It's not as if I'm running six miles with a big green tick..."

She peeked inside the sling. "Your Daddy is obviously a tough guy, and I have no idea what a big green tick is...but you should try to avoid any regurgitation on his dress uniform," she advised her son.

"He's awake again?" he asked, leaning in to peer inside, finding a small gummy smile waiting for him. "Okay, pal...come to Daddy...whoa...you're a lightweight!" exclaimed Booth as he reached in and extracted Joey and swung him upward for a brief inspection. The baby squealed with delight and Brennan bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying over the moment. She unwound her scarf and lifted the cotton sling over her head.

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Booth saw the reaction and directed a knowing smile at her. "You can bet your ass that you're gonna get your own dose of 'Come to Daddy' when I get you alone..." he growled at her playfully.

She burst out with a laugh that made Joey chortle along with her. "I am looking forward to having sex with you too," she managed bluntly, as she placed the now folded lemon cotton sling to protect one shoulder of his Class A's.

"Mommy and Daddy are going have learn to stop talking about S-E-X in front of you, little guy!" he said to Joey as he was duly hoisted onto a shoulder and wrapped lightly against the breeze. "Eh, you're not regulation kid, but what the Hell..."

Booth glanced at the perplexed expression on the face of his son, it mirrored a certain 'I don't know what that means' look that he'd seen a time or two over the years. When Joey gave a small insecure pout at the new person in his life, Booth grabbed Brennan's hand again and pulled her in closer to him so that she faced Joey across his chest.

"Mommy's here, little man, we've just got to adjust to sharing, okay?" he said gently, pacing a kiss on the forehead of their son, who waved a hand toward his mother and cooed at her with a mini-charm smile.

"He wants raspberry phalanges..." she announced with a grin, capturing the small hand and blowing a raspberry against his palm, then holding the hand up for Booth's contribution to the game.

Brennan smiled as Joey quickly became distracted by ribbons and shiny insignia within grasping range on his father's chest. She hoisted the bag by its strap. It was surprisingly heavy. "What have you got packed in here?" she asked, when he took the bag and slung it over his empty shoulder.

"Six months worth of dirty laundry..." he quipped. "You do 'do' laundry, don't you?" he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows, slapping her on the rump before putting an arm around her waist.

They strolled in the direction of the parking lot. "You know I'm going to make you pay for that," she said conversationally.

"You know I'm counting on it..." he said before a tug at a shiny metal insignia attracted his attention. "What? You want 'more' raspberry phalanges?" he complained to Joey with a big grin, which was returned in a smaller, gummier iteration. A small hand was duly placed against lips for the combination of sound and tickling sensation that made the baby squeal and chuckle huskily. "I'm guessing that Mommy doesn't have any raspberry rationing in place..." observed Booth with a put upon sigh.

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The drive back to her apartment was similar in many ways to the one that they had taken a year and a day ago...except it was day time, she was wearing a traditional symbol of commitment on her left hand...and of course, there was a baby strapped in the seat behind them. There wasn't much that they wanted to say right then in response to having taken an almost surreal step forward into their future. Silent glances, touches and gestures featured over the background of a small cooing and gurgling child in the backseat.

Booth insisted on carrying his now sleeping son up to the apartment, and gamely attempted to kiss the mother of his son to within an inch of her life in the elevator on the way, knowing that they would have company when they arrived.

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Angela directed a knowing glance at her best friend, who was looking deliciously flushed with that 'just kissed' look. Booth gave a wave and a grin to Angela and Max, who had arrived to help set up for the gathering planned for a few hours hence. Making his way toward the portable cot that had been located next to the bedroom, he prepared to put the baby down. Brennan followed him through toting the car seat and baby bag, clearly unable to take her hungry eyes from the man walking in front of her.

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Booth, proving himself to be an old 'baby Pro' managed to put Joey in the cot without waking him, he spread his arms wide with a cocky grin. Angela sauntered over to check out his still sleeping handiwork.

"Gimme a hug, Sarge!" she demanded. He complied. "That uniform...is just...wow!" she added as she wrapped her arms around him and planted a fond kiss on his cheek.

When Angela pulled out the hug, she made exaggerating fanning motions against her face in Brennan's direction. She whispered (loudly enough for everyone to hear, bless her) "Sweetie, if you don't take that uniform off him soon, I will..."

Booth directed a brief but heated glance at Brennan. Max approached grinning widely, his right hand extended. "Good to see you home, Booth...I hope you don't mind taking a rain-check on a manly hug, but I've got this rule about hugs and men in uniform."

"Fine by me, Grandpa," quipped Booth, taking Max's hand in a firm...make that a very firm handshake.

Max winced and shook his hand to return circulation to his fingers. "Wow, you've been working out, son!"

Booth gave Brennan a look of mock concern. "Even your old man wants me out of my Class A's...that's just creepy."

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She smiled fondly at the ridiculous innuendo between the two Alpha-males. "We have guests arriving at six, so it would be advisable for you to change clothes at some point."

"Parker?" asked Booth with a big grin.

"Among others..." said Angela evasively.

"He helped Angela decorate the Nursery, so he's coming over with Rebecca for the official unveiling tonight," added Brennan.

Booth shook his head. "I spoke to him this morning, he didn't let on...I was gonna talk to Becca tonight..."

Angela laughed. "Parker's old enough to keep a secret, Booth!"

"So I'm discovering..." mused Booth.

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Max suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead and muttered to himself. "Crap!"

"What?" asked Booth.

"I completely forgot...Tempe, can I take your car to the store?" asked Max.

"Of course," she replied, removing the keys from her bag. "I thought that we had everything that we needed, I checked the list that we made...what did you forget?"

Max spread his hands and glanced meaningfully at Angela for back-up. "Well, it's a little embarrassing..."

Angela's eyes popped wide with inspiration and she jumped into the fray. "It's my fault, Bren...we bought Peanut Butter Cups...but I ate them all...just like your Hershey Bar thing...remember?" she asked with a wide winning smile.

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Booth did a double-take. "Wait, what? You're pregnant?" he exclaimed.

Angela patted her flat abdomen. "I know right? My Dad is still busting guitar strings over it...'the World just ain't ready for a Grand-Pappy like me, Angie!'," she drawled in imitation of her badass sire. "You know what? I'm craving those suckers so bad right now, I gonna need to eat some of them at the store...you got room for me to ride shotgun Grandpa Max?"

Max lifted the keys from Brennan's fingers. "Sure thing, Honey!" he said to Angela. "Let's go..."

Brennan frowned. "This isn't some kind of futile conspiracy to facilitate the conception of more grandchildren...?" she began.

"No, no, no...," said Max, grabbing Angela's hand and heading for the door. "We'll be back soon...besides, you've got sky high prolactin levels...and you're way too skinny, Tempe. Just hang out, get reacquainted, say 'hello' or something..."

"Say hello?" said Booth, as Max dragged Angela out into the hallway. Brennan shrugged thoughtfully, she didn't have a clue what her father meant.

Angela gave a naughty chuckle. "I'm not so sure about that, Max...after all, you know how the old saying goes,...'and the second thing I'll do is say hello'..."

The door clicked closed.

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Brennan finally worked through the logic and gave a smile.

"What?" asked Booth.

"I just worked out what we do before 'hello'," she said, pouting as she peeked at their sleeping son.

"Well that just saved us a five minute conversation," said Booth with a grin.

"You mean you don't want to talk?" she asked in mock innocence, turning to face him and reaching up to loosen his tie. "This uniform needs to come off..." she mused.

"I know how well you can multi-task..." The tie slipped off and through her fingers; he glanced around the corner through the bedroom door. "So do I have to drag you in there, or carry you?"

"You wouldn't dare...!" she protested, milliseconds before being thrown over his shoulder anyway. "What...?" Before she knew it, she found herself tossed onto her bed, looking up at 'Seeley Booth Fantasy Number 15', who shrugged off his dress jacket and placed it calmly over the back of a chair.

She propped herself up on her elbows and smiled. "I stand corrected. It appears that indeed you would dare."

He climbed onto the bed and loomed over her, pausing with his face a very short distance from hers; their breaths mingling. "Six months in a sandbox with only grunts and camel-jockeys for company?" he asked. "You bet your sweet ass, I dare!" he ground out.

"Then I dare you to show me how much you missed me," she challenged, making quick work of his shirt buttons.

"I don't think we have time to really do that one justice...but I can try," he said leaning down to nibble at the spot on her neck that he knew would drive her close to the edge. As predicted, within minutes she was writhing, hissing and bucking underneath him...he didn't expect the curse that exploded from her lips though.

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"Damn-it! I need a minute, Booth," she announced a little breathless.

He rolled away from her. "You okay?

"Absolutely fine," she said, planting a reassuring peck on his lips as she pushed herself up off the bed and backed away to the bathroom with a hand over each breast. He propped himself up on his elbows, it was then that he noticed the two dark stains spreading under her fingers.

"Oh, crap...Joey's dinner, I'm sorry..." he began.

"Don't be..." she said with a chuckle as she disappeared into bathroom. "It's a natural reflex...and there's plenty for Joey, whenever he needs it..."

By the time he reached the bathroom she was naked from waist up; a happy coincidence that she noted in the reflection of the bathroom mirror. He was propped casually up against the doorframe wearing only dress pants, a belt and regulation socks.

"So breasts are off-limits?" he asked her as she turned and approached him with a hand towel slung over one shoulder.

"Not unless the prospect of sex, or my nursing our son makes you uncomfortable," she replied as his eyes travelled to her chest. "Does it make you uncomfortable?" she asked.

His eyes snapped back up to meet hers. "No way...I might get jealous if you started producing root beer...but breast milk, no. You've only got to look at the little guy to see the effort you put in. You're amazing...you know that, right?"

"My ability to lactate is simply a normal manifestation of having breasts as a secondary sex characteristic," she told him, sandwiching him between herself and the doorframe and ran her fingers down his torso demonstrating as she elaborated. "It's no more amazing than the development of your musculature, the masculine ratio of your waist to your hips, the higher proportion of thigh muscle in front of your femurs..." she said, taking his hands and guiding them behind her. "As a woman, I have more thigh muscle behind my femurs..." she added before pulling his head down for a brief but aggressive kiss.

He pulled her hard against him. "Well, right now I can't decide whether you're my 'Hot for Teacher' or my 'Hot Mama' fantasy, but you're amazing to me, okay?"

"Take me back to bed and we can work out the answer to that..." she replied moving out of the bathroom, grabbing the waistband of his pants and dragging him along.

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Before he knew it they were skin to skin and falling together.

"Crap!" he muttered into her clavicle a couple of minutes later.

"I can still hear Joey snoring out there. Is there a problem?" she asked.

He ran his lips along her jaw. "There could be if we don't use protection...y'know, 'condoms and prayer'? I've got super swimmers, remember?"

She laughed softly. "I think we've already proven that 'condoms and prayer' are woefully ineffective, so I am unlikely to ever forget it. Trust me; it's all taken care of. Even if I hadn't already addressed the issue with Phil's advice, the probability of my conceiving another child would be extremely low...and as my father is continually keen to point out, I'm also underweight."

"So we need to fatten you up a little...but where were we?" he asked against her lips.

Employing the powers of her superior proportion of posterior femoral muscles, she reminded him.

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When Max and Angela returned an hour later, Booth was taking Joey on a tour of his new home, making up ridiculous stories about the history of artifacts and curios on the shelves around the apartment to amuse the baby. If Brennan had been present, she would have busted his balls. The bonding appeared to be going well, even though Joey had taken the opportunity to puke on his father's clean T-shirt, a diaper change had occurred without incident as his mother slept on unaware.

"You got Tempe to take a nap?" asked Max, nodding toward the closed bedroom door.

"Nope, I had nothing to do with it. It was all Joey," Booth lied with a laugh. "He had a snack, then we went into the kitchen to make some tea for Mommy, when we got back, she was out to it."

"Nice work, but shame on you for pinning blame on Mini-Booth!" commented Angela. "From what I've seen the past few days, the woman barely sleeps...or eats."

"Well, that's gonna change...isn't it Joey?" said Booth tickling his son, who gave a cheeky laugh and contributed a little more puke to the front of his father's shirt in approval.

A/N: Next up - a few visitors. Tell me if it was worthwhile my pulling an all-nighter to wrap this chapter up.