I still don't own them, and I still don't make any money for this. And I still enjoy reading all your reviews :-)


Disagreements are soon sorted out, however, and can lead to a sense of well-being...

Saturday night

Brennan woke up suddenly, startled. Something was wrong, she knew. She listened carefully for whatever sound had awoken her. She could hear the sound of Parker breathing steadily. Outside, she could hear the faint sound of traffic.

There! Someone was moving around! She jumped out of bed, being careful not to disturb Parker, grabbed the bathrobe from the back of the door and padded barefoot along the hallway. She could see the kitchen light was on, and crept up to the doorway to look in.

It was Booth. Of course; she mentally kicked herself. He had said he might not sleep too well. He turned and saw her, and smiled, looking pleased to see her. He was wearing dark blue pajama bottoms, she noticed, and was bare-chested; his left arm rested in its sling, the white dressing on his shoulder standing out starkly against his lightly tanned skin. She swallowed hard at the reminder of his injury.

"Hi, Bones, sorry, did I wake you?" He looked sympathetically across at her.

She shook her head. "I couldn't sleep." It was only half a lie; she had been asleep, but only the light sleep that was not much more than a doze.

"I couldn't either, so I thought I'd make myself some cocoa. Want some?"

Brennan nodded. "That would be great, thanks. But I'll make it."

"No, Bones, you've done enough for me over the past few days. Please let me do something around here before I go completely crazy."

She nodded reluctantly. "Are you sure you can manage?" She passed him another mug from the cupboard and as he took it from her she noticed his fingers were icy. "You're cold, Booth!"

"Yeah, well, I would have put my robe on, but I didn't think to pick it up earlier." He gave her an amused look, and she realized she was wearing his robe, and blushed.

"Sorry, I just grabbed the nearest - mine's buried in my bag, I forgot..." she babbled.

He laughed. "It's not a problem, Bones. It suits you."

Brennan hurriedly undid the belt and slipped the robe off her shoulders. She held it out to Booth, who slipped his good arm into the right sleeve. Then she draped it over his bad shoulder and arm and tied it round his waist. She stood back to admire the effect. "There, that looks better."

He looked her up and down, amused. "I'd have to agree."

That was when she realized she was standing in front of him in his kitchen, wearing nothing but her lacy nightdress. She hurriedly folded her arms across her chest. "Uh - I'll just go find my robe. I won't be long." She fled, hearing his soft laughter follow her along the hall.

A few minutes later she was back, this time wearing her light blue silk robe, which suddenly felt a lot less comfortable and warm than it used to. Booth had finished making the cocoa, and she carried the mugs through to the living room. Booth followed, shifting his arm slightly in its sling. Brennan put both mugs on the coffee table in front of the couch, and sat on one side, while Booth sat at the other. The remote lay on the middle seat between them.

"Does your shoulder hurt?" she asked sympathetically, and he nodded.

"I slept for a while, then woke up and couldn't drop off again. I'd been sleeping without the sling, but I think that was a mistake. I must have moved it wrong in my sleep," he admitted.

"Haven't you got any painkillers?" Brennan was concerned. If Booth was complaining about pain it must be bad.

"Yeah, but they make me drowsy." Booth thought that over for a minute. "Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing right now," he admitted with a laugh.

Brennan fetched his pills from his jacket pocket and a glass of water from the kitchen, then stood holding the glass while Booth tossed the pill into his mouth. "Thanks, Bones," he said, looking up at her over the top of the glass with the smile she loved.

She smiled back, and sat back down on the couch. "I'm sorry about earlier," she said. "I didn't even say goodnight."

"What? Oh, that's okay, Bones, you were concentrating. I shouldn't have kept distracting you."

"No - it's okay. The trouble was, it's the first time I've sat writing when really I would rather have been doing something else. That was what made me so grumpy."

Booth thought that over for a while. He didn't ask what she would rather have been doing, she noticed, but just smiled to himself.

She looked over at him. "There's something else, Booth - you do realize what Parker's doing, don't you?"

He looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"When you said no to the training wheels coming off - he asked me. And when I said no to a cookie, he asked you."

Booth thought about that for a minute, then laughed. "I think I see what you're getting at, Bones," he admitted. "'If you don't like the answer you get, ask someone else.'"

She nodded. "What sort of response does he usually get from you and Rebecca?"

Booth sobered up. "Exactly the response he's after from us, I guess," he admitted quietly. "We don't like saying no to him, and if we think the other one says no..." He stopped and considered that carefully.

"So if he asks you something in future, I'm going to take your side," Brennan told him firmly. "We can argue about it later, if necessary, but I don't think it's fair on him to teach him to play us against each other."

Booth nodded, his face thoughtful. "I see what you mean, Bones," he said. "I'll try to do the same. I promise."

He smiled at her, a smile of genuine pleasure at her company, and she felt her heart leap with delight. She told herself firmly that they would be sharing Parker's care for less than two more days, but that wasn't enough to dampen the feeling of contentment she felt, sitting on the couch next to Booth, both of them wearing nightclothes and robes. Only one thing was bothering her. "Booth?"

"Yeah?" He looked across at her, looking sleepy.

"Do you think I've put Parker off his bike for life?"

He laughed. "Kids are like that, Bones, don't you worry. He'll be right back in the saddle tomorrow. He'll get the hang of it soon. And maybe tomorrow I'll feel well enough to help."

They sat talking quietly about nothing in particular over the mugs of cocoa, then Brennan noticed Booth was nearly falling asleep where he sat. "Come on," she said, "I'll help you to bed." She put the mugs in the kitchen, then came back to help Booth to his feet. He walked slightly unsteadily down the hallway to Parker's room, and she turned on the light and helped him take his robe off and climb into bed.

"I'll leave the sling on," he said sleepily, settling himself half on his right side, his left arm held protectively across his chest.

"Good idea," she said, watching him with amusement as he shifted his head around on the Big Bird pillow to get comfortable, and tried to pull the duvet up around his shoulders. He was very nearly asleep already, and she sat on the edge of the bed to tuck him in properly, arranging the covers gently around his bad shoulder to stop it getting too cold.

She sat watching him for a while, listening to his breathing catch slightly and then settle into a peaceful, sleeping rhythm. She bent forward and kissed him gently on the forehead, her hair brushing his cheek. "Goodnight, Seeley," she whispered, just as she had tucked Parker into bed earlier that night.

Her hand was on the light switch when she heard him speak. "G'night Temp'rance." She looked back sharply, but his eyes were closed, and his breathing was regular. She smiled to herself, flicked the light switch off, and closed the door softly, before returning to her own bed and the sleeping Parker.

So all's well in the Booth household. But how long will it last? More fun and games coming up!

Please let me know what you think. I live for your comments :-)