Friday, August 29th – 12:30pm-

Booth escorted Brennan from the lab, and with an unspoken decision, they skipped the car and made their way for the exit on foot. It was a nice warm day, and Booth was happy to have his Bones on his arm where she belonged once again. Instead of holding her hand, he placed his hand at the small of her back and they walked together toward the diner. He knew for a fact that one never knew when Sweets would come around a corner, or slide into the seat next to them, so they were very careful about public displays of affection. It was normal for them anyway to walk a little closer to one another without actually touching.

Booth could feel the tension radiating from her body. "Hey." Booth said, moving quickly in front of her as they approached their lunch venue. She nearly ran into him, looking up into his eyes.

"What?" She asked, her nose a bit higher in the air, her eyes focusing on his.

"You okay?" He asked, moving forward slightly, there was but a sliver of light between the two of them.

"I'm fine." She said, narrowing her blue eyes just a bit. "I'm hungry." She said, her lower jaw jutting out slightly, she sucked in a breath and let it out quickly. "I'm fine." She said again.

"You're nervous." He replied.

"Yes." She stated clearly. "And you know why I'm nervous." She said, taking a step back. "You rushed me out of my office. I should have read that e-mail." She started to turn away, and he took her arm gently in his, careful not to grasp it too tightly, for he knew her wrath if he took a misstep, and sincerely wanted to avoid it. She turned and faced him. "What?"

"I missed you, Bones." He said, watching her eyes narrow slightly, her head tilt.

"You know something." She said, not as a question but almost an accusation, and when she saw his eyebrow lift, her suspicion was confirmed. "What do you know, Booth?" She said, taking a step out of his grasp, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Let's go get lunch, and we'll talk." He said, trying to keep his tone friendly, and not as humored as he clearly seemed to be. "Come on, Bones." He said, nodding toward the diner.

"It's bad, isn't it? Or did they find his family? Are they into drugs or something? What do you know? They're nice, aren't they? Model citizens?" She said, letting out a sigh, her lip started to tremble a little. "That's good, right? I mean, he needs his family. He'll be happier with his family than he would be with us, people who he belongs with and…." She shrugged, her eyes starting to look far away.

"Woah, woah, Bones… are you guessing?" He asked, quirking his lip up a bit in good humor. "You never guess."

She darted her eyes back to his and scowled. "I'm postulating." She said with a grunt. "Because you're not talking." She let out a sigh. "I'm hungry." She said, and pushed past him, turning toward the door of the diner. She could sense him right behind her, and feel his warmth when his arm reached past her to push open the door before she could. She glanced back at him and could see the smile in his eyes. It was inexplicable, how he could be so happy when something so important was hanging in the balance. And with the knowledge that he may be keeping something from her, it only succeeded in making her mood just a little bit worse.

She stalked through the diner toward their typical table, sliding into the seat without looking up. Her eyes focused on the menu that was already sitting on the table, and she slid it slightly away from her view. She continued to stare at the table, her fingers tapping lightly on the formica. She saw his hands coming for hers, and swiftly moved them into her lap, looking up into his eyes, she challenged him with her gaze, and he placed his palms against the table as a peace offering. "Hey. I missed you." He said, tipping his head with a slight smile, he watched her gaze become a bit more disarmed. When he saw that, his smile became a little brighter.

"You've said that already." She said, sighing slightly.

"Listen, I was going to have Parker come over this weekend. School starts up in a little over a week, and I thought maybe we could spend some time with him before he's busy with homework and sports, and science projects." He said, watching her shrug slightly. "If you have things to do, I can always just hang out with him at my place. I just thought that it would give us an opportunity for him to meet Michael and…"

"That would be unfair to Parker." She said, a bit of fire flickering in her eyes. "To introduce him to Michael and then have him go off with his family. It would be confusing and…" She noticed he was watching her with raised eyebrows as if he were trying to stifle an interruption. "What?" She said.

"Would you let me finish my sentence?" He asked, tipping his head. He watched her hands slide back up onto the table. She was twisting the ring on her finger, a nervous tick that seemed to have taken over for her earlier tick of clasping her necklace.

"Fine." She sighed. "Go on."

He reached forward and took her hand in his, gently running his finger over the ring, focusing on the big blue eyes that were staring across at him expectantly. "I thought it would give us an opportunity for Parker to meet Michael, and discuss the next steps in his care." He said, watching her take a deep breath, ready to defend her stance. "I got a phone call this morning. That's what the e-mail in your box is about. Michael has no next of kin, no family to take him in. He's a true orphan. So, you and I have things to discuss, decisions to make, and Parker should be part of those decisions and discussions, don't you agree?"

Brennan released that held breath, but found that her throat was dry, and her voice wouldn't come. She glanced up as the waitress stepped to their table, and still found that her voice was lost. Booth grinned brightly at the waitress, in that way he smiled at other women. It wasn't flirtatious or charming, but polite, with a hint of curiosity. He gained the waitress' full attention and ordered their lunch, and when he turned back to Brennan he noticed that her eyes were closed. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes." She said, finally finding her words, her eyes popped open and he could see that there was a trace of wetness within them. "I'm okay." She gave him a wobbly smile, and sighed. "I'm just a little overwhelmed right this minute, that's all." She said, swiping at the stray tear that was making its way from the corner of her eye. "I'm okay. I promise." She gave his hand a squeeze and sighed. "I missed you, and I am feeling extremely overwhelmed about my appointment this afternoon, and all of this with Michael… I just… I feel like I'm spiraling. I feel like I'm falling."

"You're not falling, Bones. I promise. And even if you felt like you were, you're not going anywhere without me." He said, tipping his head. "Nothing is set in stone right now. We are going to sit down and have a serious conversation about all of this tonight, and this weekend." He said softly. "We have custody of him until we make a decision. He's not going anywhere, and you and I are solid." His supportive smile stayed in place until he saw her eyes sparkle, and a slight smile lift her lips. "We are the ones in the driver's seat here, Bones."

"I don't know what that means." She all but whimpered back.

"It means that you and I are the ones that can make the decision for our future. We're not waiting on someone else to make a decision for us, and that's not something we're used to, but it's a good thing." He looked up as the waitress delivered their lunch. He looked across at Brennan again, and watched her eyes focus on him. He could see her shoulders straighten slightly, and she smiled and thanked the waitress. She looked across at Booth as she sat back, pulling her fingers from his hand, she looked at her lunch plate as a slow grin raised on her lips. "What?" He said, not able to help his own smile from appearing.

"I'm just imagining the look on Sweets face when he finally realizes what has been going on between you and I." She said, reaching across for one of his fries. He pushed his plate toward her as he let out a laugh.

"The boy's head is going to explode." He said, imitating his head exploding with his hands. He smiled at Brennan's grin, which only widened at her throaty laugh that tamped down to a giggle that invaded his senses. "I love you, Bones."

"I am well aware of that." She winked as she took another fry. "And while I am terrified of what comes next. I know that if I start to fall, you're right there with me."

"Every single second, Bones." He said, smiling back at her. "Without fail."