A/N: Wow… I never expected so many reviews, or that I would love the attention so much. I guess I'm just an adoration junkie after all! Thanks for the feedback - especially to everyone who told me their favorite lines. I hope to update every few days with short chapters.

Seeley Booth watched as Dr. Brennan led his son around the lab, pointing out equipment with her free hand while the other remained in Parker's grasp. She lifted him up to examine a skeleton, and Booth saw Parker's eyes go wide with delight as he pointed to the bare, grinning skull and asked Temperance a question. She laughed and smoothed his hair absently away from his face as she answered, and Booth smiled, wondering where this relaxed, affectionate Bones had come from. Now Parker was on his tiptoes watching Dr. Brennan explain the workings of a high-powered microscope, and Booth tried not to groan. Just what I need, a squint for a son, he thought, but he couldn't hide his own grin at Parker's bubbling excitement. When his cell phone went off, he turned away reluctantly. "Booth."

Across the lab, Temperance watched Booth pull out his phone, and saw the pleasure on Parker's face evaporate in an instant. "What's the matter, big guy?" she asked.

Parker fidgeted with the lining on his jacket. "When that phone rings, it usually means that Daddy has to go do something for the FBI. And he can't take me with him, even though he wants to, 'cause it would be real dangerous."

Tempe nodded seriously and pulled the child into her lap on one of the lab stools. "You're lucky to have a daddy who works so hard to catch the bad guys."

"That's what Mommy tells me." Parker's fingers played with Dr. Brennan's silver necklace. "But sometimes she looks real angry when she says it."

Smart kid, she thought. "You know, Parker, when I first met your daddy, it was hard for me to understand his work with the FBI. And sometimes he made me very, very angry." She smiled at the memory of those early days, then continued. "Then I found out that he is the bravest, kindest man in the whole world, and I feel so lucky that I get to be his partner." She considered for a moment, then added, "But sometimes I miss him when he has to do FBI stuff, too."

Booth hung up just in time to hear his son ask, loudly enough for the entire lab to hear, "Do you have a ring in your belly button like Daddy's other girlfriend?"

"Okay, Parker, I think we should thank Dr. Brennan for the tour now!" Agent Booth was at his son's side in four steps, trying to cover his embarrassment with a casual laugh. "How about we go get some chocolate milkshakes?"

"But Daddy…" Parker gave Booth a plaintive look that Temperance recognized immediately, and she smothered a chuckle. Like father, like son.

"Parker," Booth said, regarding his son evenly, "Remember how I said that B- uh, Dr. Brennan is a special friend of mine? Well, I didn't mean like a girlfriend. She's… my partner."

"Well, she's prettier than Tessa," replied Parker with a four-year-old's candid honesty. Booth considered strangling his son, or at least investing in a roll of duct tape, but Brennan intervened.

"Your daddy's right, Parker," she said. "We're just … special friends." She leaned closer so she could stage-whisper in his ear. "But you were right, too. Wanna see?"

Parker nodded and Booth tried not to let his jaw hit the ground at the sight of Dr. Temperance Brennan, serious-minded, straight-laced, world-renowned forensic anthropologist, raising the hem of her shirt to reveal a delicate silver butterfly charm in her navel. "Cool!" pronounced Parker, his eyes glowing with unconditional adoration. Brennan met Booth's eyes over his son's sandy hair and he turned away abruptly. Bones didn't need to know he had been having seriously un-partnerlike thoughts about her abdomen with his son only a few feet away.

"Parker, why don't you go talk to my friend Zack for a minute," Brennan suggested. "Ask if you can see his bug collection."

Suitably distracted, Parker scampered off, and Temperance returned her attention to his father. "Pretty smooth," she murmured. "He's gonna be a handful when he hits puberty."

Booth laughed. "That, Bones, is why they make excellent all-male boarding schools in Switzerland."