A/N: FINALLY, finally, this chapter and I resolved our differences. And then I had to figure out what to do after last night's episode, which was so bloody amazing I couldn't sleep and also brought out all of these things in the BB ship that maybe took it further than where I was coming from in this fic, but eventually I decided, screw it, I'm gonna keep going basically like I planned and see what happens. Also, I almost peed my pants when B&B were dancing to Hot Blooded. Just thought I'd share.

So for all of my reviewers who have requested it, here's a good-sized chapter that includes Parker being cute about Bones, Bones being cute about Parker and Booth, and Booth being totally f-ing hot. Um, I mean, being cute about Bones. Yay cute. Love you all. -tc

-

Parker was still sleeping when Dr. Brennan returned to her office, but a half hour later he was awake and hungry. Since Booth wasn't answering his phone, she figured he must still be out in the field. And probably ignoring her calls.

"All right, big guy," she said reluctantly. "It looks like you and I have a dinner date."

"Can I put on cologne?" asked an eager Parker.

"What do you know about cologne?"

"Daddy says cologne is only for dates, and that's why I don't need any until I'm thirty-five."

"I see," she said, trying to swallow a chuckle, and her curiosity got the best of her. "Does, ah, does your dad go on a lot of dates?"

"No, he's real busy with work," the boy replied, reaching for Brennan's hand as they left the office. The instinctive gesture startled her, but she had to admit that there was a part of her that was pleasantly surprised at Parker's unconditional affection. Especially since his father could be so guarded... but she had resolved not to think of her partner that way after the earlier fiasco with Angela. Right. No un-work-related thoughts about Seeley Booth. She could do this.

"How do you feel about burgers?" she asked Parker.

-

An hour later they were at Fuddruckers, where Parker had devoured not only his burger, but also all of his fries and half of Brennan's. He was currently working his way through a chocolate shake and simultaneously attempting to teach 'Dr. Bones' to balance a spoon on her nose.

"No, see, you hafta breath on it first, and then you put your head back like this..."

Brennan's spoon went flying, causing Parker to burst into uncontrollable giggles, which sent his spoon sliding into his milkshake. Temperance laughed as Parker pulled out the utensil to lick it clean. "Did your dad teach you that trick?" she asked, swabbing somewhat futilely at Parker's face with a napkin.

"Uh-huh. Daddy teaches me lots of things," he answered with an unmistakable swell of pride. "He takes me to see the planes and the spaceships AND one time we went in a submarine!"

"Sounds like you're a very lucky boy."

"Did Daddy ever take you to see the submarine?" he asked innocently.

"Well, no, your daddy and I just work together. We don't really do anything... fun."

Parker looked shocked. Apparently, Daddy was the most fun person in the whole world and any deviant behavior was unimaginable. "Not EVER?" he asked. "Not even Game Cube?"

Not having any idea what a GameCube was, Brennan had to assume it was more fun than its geometric moniker would suggest. "Nope, no GameCube."

"I thought you and Daddy were special friends," pouted an increasingly skeptical Parker.

"Well, we are friends, but we like to do... grownup things together." She shoved a few naughty thoughts out of her mind and hoped that her unintentional double entendre was lost on the four-year-old. "We, uh, go to dinner sometimes. With our other friends."

"Do you go to Mr. Sid's?"

"Yes, we do."

"Oh, okay," said a visibly relieved Parker. "I like Mr. Sid. He gives me chocolate milk. Do you have chocolate milk at your house, Dr. Bones?"

"Umm, I don't think so," she replied.

"Do you have toys?"

"No, but... I have a lot of books."

"The books you write?"

She looked up, surprised. "How did you know I wrote books?"

"Daddy told me. He showed me all of your books yesterday and I saw your picture too."

"He showed you the picture in the back of the books?" Temperance cringed at the thought of the staged, airbrushed glamour shot.

"And a different picture. Next to his bed," answered Parker, trying to reach the last few drops of milkshake at the bottom of his glass.

Next to his bed? Brennan couldn't even remember Booth taking a picture of her and had no idea where he would have gotten one.

"Is, um, is Angela in the picture, too?"

"No," he replied, licking his spoon. "Just you, only you're not old."

Not old? Then it hit her – her childhood photo, the one from the file on her parents' disappearance. What was he doing keeping it next to his bed? It was probably nothing. Maybe he had a desk next to his bed and that's where he kept the file. Maybe he was a lousy housekeeper, and had just left the folder right where he'd thrown it the night she'd given it to him. Maybe Parker didn't have any idea what he was talking about. How developed could a four-year-old's spatial-relational memory be, anyway? 'Next to' could mean, 'in the next room', and maybe he didn't mean 'bed,' he meant 'couch,' and seriously, Brennan, get ahold of yourself, you went through this already when you first caught him looking at the file, it's just a picture, it doesn't mean anything, she thought. And ignored the teeny, whining voice (that was most certainly Angela's and not her conscience) saying, but don't you wish it meant everything?

Fortunately, it was drowned out by another voice that couldn't be ignored: namely, Parker's. "Dr. Bones, I'm all done. Can we go play at your house now?"

"I just told you that I don't have any toys at my house," she replied, making one last attempt to remove ketchup and ice cream from Parker's face. "I don't even have a television."

"But we can read books and you can show me all the pictures of the bones you look at. And you can tell me the story of when you shot that man and Daddy said you couldn't have a gun and it's okay because I can't have a gun either because they're dangerous."

"It sounds like your father already tells you too many stories," she chuckled wryly, helping him into his jacket.

"He told me about how your mommy and daddy had to go away a long time ago and it made you really sad but then you got to be a scientist and you look at the bones all day and the dead people and sometimes they look scary but you're not scared of ANYTHING!"

Tempe had to smile at this brief biography. "Daddy said that, huh?"

"Uh-huh. And sometimes he gets scared when there are bad guys and he can't find them but then you look at the bones and you tell him what to do and it's okay."

That's it, thought Temperance, scooping Parker into an impromptu hug. I have to get rid of this kid before I turn into a huge pile of mush.

-

A half hour later, they were letting themselves into Booth's apartment. "Daddy!" squealed Parker, and Tempe looked up to see her partner emerging from another room in flannel pants and a t-shirt, his hair damp. Tying to ignore the voices in her head, which were keeping up a jarring chorus of run run run and TOUCH TOUCH TOUCH, she attempted a neutral smile and set Parker's backpack down on the couch. Father and son were deep in conversation, and she could hear Parker exclaiming, "AND French fries AND a milkshake!"

"Why don't you go play in your room before bath time," his father suggested, and Parker complied, but not before another hug for Temperance as he thanked her for "the best day EVER!".

When they were alone, Tempe noticed for the first time how tired her partner looked. "Tough case?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

He nodded. "Yeah. Nothing I haven't seen before, but... well, even experience doesn't make this job any easier sometimes."

"I know," she said simply and honestly, resting a hand on his arm before she could stop herself.

He smiled, weakly, but she thought she saw some of the tension drain from his shoulders. "I don't know what I would have done without you to take Parker. I know you didn't really want to, and you did anyway, and, well, that really means a lot to me."

She remembered his words from that night at Sid's. "You'd do the same for me, right?"

He understood perfectly, and grinned. "Yeah." They stood silent a moment longer, her hand resting lightly at his elbow, his lips curved, brown eyes considering her wide blue ones, until Brennan broke the contact.

"So, did you need me to take Parker tomorrow, too?" she asked, fidgeting with the edge of her jacket.

Booth was trying not to miss the gentle pressure of her hand. "Yeah, I mean, I hate to ask, but it would really help me out."

"Sure, no problem," she replied. "I mean, it's not... ideal, but, yes, you know I'll take him as long as you need me to."

"Of course, it might be hard to top the best day ever," he teased.

"Right, well, I think your son is just easy to win over," she said dismissively. Unlike his father. "Besides, it didn't hurt that you told him all of these ridiculously exaggerated stories about me and our exploits."

"I didn't have to exaggerate that much," he replied, tracing one finger along the faint scar on her forehead, a reminder of the night he had rescued her from the warehouse. And because that memory was too painful for both of them, he dropped his hand and tried for a casual smile. "He really seems pretty taken with you."

That's what Angela keeps telling me Tempe thought, suppressing a shiver at his delicate touch. "All I did was let the kid sleep in my office and buy him a milkshake."

"Bones, maternal instinct goes both ways. You can go on telling me that you have no desire to have children, and maybe you really believe it, but you can't fool a child. Parker likes you because he knows, instinctively, that you're someone he can trust. Someone who will take care of him the best she can – even if she doesn't have a TV. It's not something I had to tell him. It's just a feeling."

"So do the men in your family do all of their thinking with their guts, or do you employ another organ from time to time?"

He had to swallow hard and remind himself that the odds of Dr. Brennan making an intentional sexual reference were microscopic at best. "We've been known to use our brains from time to time. Delay judgement. Examine the evidence. Which is why I'm gonna let this drop now, because I'm willing to bet that by the end of the week, Bones, you'll have changed your mind and be dreaming about having a child of your own."

"No thanks," she laughed. "I'm more than content to have yours." This time, she did realize what she'd said, and her face flushed. "Your son. Parker. For the week. Um, I should go. Can you, um, tell him good night? Parker? I'll be at the lab early so just, you know, bring him by whenever, and we'll, um, he can, uh, right, I'll see you in the morning," she finished, hoping that if she left as quickly as possible, this moment would end up slightly less than excruciatingly awkward.

It was a good plan, and probably would have worked if she hadn't walked into the door on her way out.

-

A/N: Fuddruckers is real. They have the best burgers ever.