I still don't own them. I'm still making no money, although I'm revelling in all the reviews!

We're on the home run on this story now.

Vacations provide an excuse to sit and relax...

Lazy Sunday afternoon

They went back to the apartment for the afternoon. Booth was starting to look distinctly uncomfortable, and Brennan suggested he take one of his pills, so once again she found herself holding a glass of water and handing him a pill to swallow. He pulled a face at the taste, finished off the water, then kicked off his shoes and put his feet up on the couch, wriggling his feet with pleasure. Brennan could not resist looking. He had his "horny little devil" socks on, with an evil looking face on them. He saw her look and grinned. "I was disappointed you didn't pick these ones out for me yesterday, Bones," he said, and she felt herself blush. Even so, she could not avoid the drift of her eyes, and he grinned even more broadly. "Red hot lover," he announced with glee. Brennan shook her head in despair and desperately wished the hot flush away from her cheeks. Booth just grinned at her, enjoying her discomfiture.

She pulled out her laptop and sat down in the chair, where she could keep an eye on Parker, who was pushing a train along the track that was still set out on the floor. Booth hit the remote and found a children's movie to watch, and when she next glanced across at him, she saw that he had closed his eyes and looked as though he was asleep.

A couple of hours later Brennan had managed to edit and revise part of her novel and had started to plan out the rest of the plot. Parker had broken up and reassembled his train track several times and was now building a lego bridge to put over the track. Booth finally stirred and woke, stretching and then wincing and rubbing his shoulder. "I keep forgetting," he said ruefully, as he caught her glance. "Still, I should be able to leave the sling off from tomorrow. It's a lot better than it was."

Brennan felt her heart sink at the mention of his appointment. She kept forgetting that there was such a tight timescale on this weekend. There was less than a day now until she had to go back to her normal life. Parker went over to Booth and whispered in his ear, and Booth smiled and nodded.

"Bones," he said, "Parker and I will cook dinner for you tonight, if you'd like."

"Oh, okay." Her pleasure at this gesture was moderated by the thought that it showed she would not be needed for much longer. Booth and Parker disappeared to the kitchen, and she tried to concentrate on her writing and ignore the noises coming from the kitchen. An hour later she was called through. Parker had set the table up with a lacy tablecloth and candles, and it looked very attractive, almost romantic, apart from the third place at the table. He looked proud of himself, and she complimented him on his table laying skills.

"Sit down, Bones," Booth ordered. She sat, and he poured her a drink. "Only lemonade, I'm afraid," he said with a smile. He had slipped his sling off while he worked, and now he produced plates of food, pulling a face as he carried one in his bad arm. "Beef lasagna. Parker loves helping me make this."

The food looked good, and Brennan congratulated the chefs. Parker beamed. "I like cooking," he said proudly. "Mummy lets me help her cook meals for her boyfriend, but we couldn't cook lasagna for Tessa 'cos she's a vegetable."

Booth cleared his throat, fighting back a grin. "That's vegetarian, Parker," he corrected his son.

Parker shrugged, not knowing or caring about the difference between the two words. Brennan could not prevent a broad grin spreading across her face, and as she caught Booth's eye they both tried their hardest not to laugh.

"Tessa's not your girlfriend any more, is she, Daddy?" Parker inquired as he shook Parmesan onto his lasagna.

"No, son, she isn't." Booth suddenly seemed a little wary of where the conversation was going, and Brennan sympathized with him.

"Is Tempe your girlfriend instead?"

There was a sudden silence. Brennan held her breath, wondering just how Booth was going to answer that. She stared down at her plate, not daring to catch his eye. What did she want the answer to be?

"Ah, no, not exactly..." Booth mumbled, obviously not sure himself how to answer the question.

"But she's a lady, and she's your friend, so that makes her your girlfriend, doesn't it?" Parker persisted, seemingly unaware of how uncomfortable the adults around him felt.

"It's not quite as simple as that," Booth answered awkwardly.

"But why?"

"Parker, just eat your dinner, okay? We'll talk about it later." Booth began eating, and Brennan followed his example, encouraging Parker to talk about his bike instead. Parker was not easily distracted, but eventually the taste of his food and the determination of the adults to change the subject were enough to keep him off the topic of girlfriends.

Later, when Booth went to put Parker to bed, Brennan found herself creeping down the hallway again to listen, but this time she was hoping that she would hear more than a story. Her eavesdropping was rewarded when she heard Parker say, "But why isn't Tempe your girlfriend, Daddy?"

"It's complicated," she heard Booth sigh.

"But if you love her, Daddy..."

"Yeah, but I don't think she loves me, Bub, or if she does she's not willing to admit it. So we're just good friends. Maybe one day she'll feel she wants something more. Until then, there's nothing I can do. And you asking about it doesn't help, okay?"

"Okay." Parker sighed, and then she heard the turning of pages, and guessed Booth was looking for the start of the story in Parker's book. She crept back to the living room, and started putting the train track and lego back in their respective boxes, thinking deeply. Did he love her? And how did she really feel about him?

Please let me know what you think - comments always welcome!