It was nearly seven in the evening by the time Brennan heard the familiar footfalls in the lab. It was nearly an hour after evidence from the crime scene had been delivered, and while he didn't call her to let her know when he would be there, she knew that he would show up as promised. She listened to the sound of his feet on the floor, and could almost tell his demeanor from how they slowed as they came close to her office. Her eyes moved to the sleeping baby in the portable playpen beside her desk that she had borrowed from the daycare, thinking back to the brief conversation she had with Cam when she returned to the lab. It was a bit awkward explaining to her boss that she was caring for the child of their murder victim, but with a little bit of forced aloofness, ignorance, and feigned confusion, and a lot of logical argument about some specific examples that only seemed to irritate Cam, Brennan was able to get to her office and find herself relative peace in the sanctity of her domain.

His feet stopped at the threshold of her office, and for a moment, she pretended she didn't hear him. He was well aware of the game, and waited her out. "Are you coming home?" He asked. The look on his face was unreadable. She couldn't tell if he was upset, or angry, or if he was just inquiring.

She looked up, her eyes squinting slightly. "I haven't had a chance to look over the evidence yet." She said, letting out a tired sigh.

He waited a beat, his eyes moving to the sleeping baby, and back to Brennan. "Do you intend on staying to look it over?" He asked.

Her blue eyes were focused on him, and her resolve was slowly melting the longer that she looked into his eyes. "I'm hungry." She said with nearly a whine.

"You're hungry?" He asked, his eyebrow lifted and a slight smile rose on his lips.

"Yes." She sighed. "I haven't eaten since lunch."

"Get your things, and we'll go to the diner." He said, reaching for the baby, she reached out and touched his arm. He turned to face her, standing straight as she watched him careful. "I'm not upset that you were in danger, and I'm not upset that I wasn't there to defend you from armed guerillas. I'm upset with myself that we both took needless risks with our lives to come to a conclusion that we should have been able to have figured out on our own." He said sincerely. "You never should have gone to Maluku, and I never should have gone to Afghanistan, Bones."

"We don't talk about what we experienced. You never told me that you had been in danger. Perhaps if I knew more, then my mind wouldn't be making up scenarios in my sleep." She whispered. She paused a moment and gave him a sad smile. "By the way, I have made an appointment for later this week to talk to someone." She said.

"I'm proud of you." He whispered.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore, Booth." She said, sighing seriously. "I don't want you to feel unsafe beside me at night."

"I don't feel unsafe, Bones. I feel helpless. I feel like waking you up before the terrors happen isn't actually keeping them from happening, they're just delaying it. And there is no way in hell that I'm sleeping alone ever again." He said, moving closer to her, he rested his forehead on hers. "I love you, and I hate that we lost so much time. I'm not going to lose another second."

"I understand." She whispered. "I feel similarly. I don't like that you had to put yourself in danger simply because we weren't brave enough to admit our feelings to one another. I took that out on you this afternoon, and it was unfair. I am sorry." She whispered.

"I like talking this stuff through, Bones. It feels so much better than holding it inside, doesn't it?" He asked.

She nodded against him, reaching her arms around for a tight hug. She pressed her face into his chest, letting out a gentle sigh. "Let's go get something to eat." She whispered.

"Sounds good to me." He said, kissing her head gently before pulling from her arms slowly, he turned and lifted the baby from the playpen, and she gathered her things, and they prepared to head for dinner.

Once the partners were in the diner with their food ordered, everything started to slide back into place. Booth glanced to the baby beside her in his carrier, his eyes closed in a gentle sleep. "You look a lot like his mother." Booth said suddenly, watching as Temperance's eyes flashed to him. She looked slightly alarmed, but it quickly melted into curiosity. "I saw a candid photo of his mother today, from evidence that they recovered from her apartment. You and our victim looked very similar. I think that's one of the reasons he likes you so much." Booth smiled.

"He is a very sweet boy." She replied, dropping her finger into the baby's hand. "I just feel so awful that he has to go through this." She sighed.

"Well, he's not going through it alone. He has us to look after him, Bones." Booth said reaching across the table for her hand. He watched her eyes for several moments, and squeezed her hand gently. They both looked up when their food was delivered, and reluctantly released their hand hold. Their dinner was spent mostly quiet, with the occasional comment on the case.

Booth watched a french fry disappear from his plate, and looked up at her smile. He smiled back at her, happy that things were starting to move back toward contentment. "I think we should tell Cam about us." She said abruptly. His head tilted in confusion.

"Cam? Why?" He asked.

"She just seems... confused and upset to be out of the loop. I've found that when she feels that she is being kept out of things, she can become quite hostile." She said. "We don't have to say anything about the engagement, but perhaps about our relationship. It might go a long way." She said, watching Booth consider it.

"But not Sweets?" He asked.

"Absolutely not." She said. "Just Cam." Brennan said, stealing another fry. "When I arrived at the lab with Michael in tow, I told her his connection to the case. She stated to me that it was improper to take in a victim's child as if it were a stray puppy."

"And I'm sure you reminded her about Michelle, and how she came to adopt her." Booth said, an amused smile on his face.

"Well, yes. It's an absolutely valid argument. I don't see how it's any different. She took in a child of a murder victim. She even went so far as to adopt Michelle. We don't know what will happen with Michael. We may find family members who could take him in. But it's important that he's cared for by people who not only feel that his well-being is important, but also his future." She paused, sighing slightly as she stared at her plate. "I shouldn't have left him behind with you." She said, looking up at Booth. She immediately saw a flash of offense on his features, and quickly spoke to rectify the interpretation of her words. "Not because you can't take good care of him. Clearly you can. I just... I felt incredibly guilty once I was out on the street without him. I felt as if I had abandoned him. I felt horrible." She admitted.

"You didn't abandon him, Bones. You fully expected to see him later, you were just frustrated with me. It's okay." He said, watching the baby smile up at Brennan. "And look at that, Mikey here doesn't hold it against you either." He said, grinning at the happy baby. "Besides, he got his revenge on me for you when you left." Booth said, shoving a fry in his mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Mr. soggy pants leaked on my favorite shirt." Booth said, watching the baby giggle from his seat. "Yeah, I bet you think that's funny." He said, looking into Brennan's eyes, he could see the happiness returning to them as she smiled a bit at Booth's misfortune.

"I was wondering why you changed your shirt." She grinned, letting out a joyful laugh when he stuck his tongue out at her playfully.