A/N: I am a bad, bad ff user. I read and read and never update my own story. I'm a literary parasite! In order to make up for it, I shall attempt the death-defying Three Chapter Post this weekend. Here's the first, which is mostly a teaser for chapter 7, currently in progress on my computer.

Also, I really need to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed and read. I probably appreciate it more than I should. And who knew that there were so many closet Fuddruckers fans out there? To answer your questions, nope, not from Wisconsin (although I do say 'bubbler'), have only been to a few in the DC area while visiting family, Ed Debevic's is quite awesome as well but not as good, IMHO.

On with the fluffiness! -tc

-

"How long have you been here this morning?" asked a soft, deep voice.

Temperance looked up from her computer screen to find the FBI agent in the doorway of her office, sleeping child in his arms.

"I don't know. What time is it?"

He shifted his hold on Parker so he could look at his watch. "Almost 8:30."

She mentally calculated. Gave up on trying to concentrate on my manuscript at 11, tossed and turned until 12:30, slept maybe three hours, half hour for a cold shower, another half hour for the drive made it 4:30... "Oh, only about 45 minutes."

He didn't seem to be buying it but asked no questions. Instead, he stretched Parker out on the couch and smoothed back the boy's hair. "We stayed up a little late with the PS2 playing Katamari Damacy, so he'll probably be conked out for at least an hour."

"I don't know what that... never mind, I probably don't want to know."

"That's my girl," he said, chucking her lightly under the chin. Brennan fought the urge to stumble backwards from his touch. Stay calm, Bren. He'll be out of your office in two minutes and then you can be awkward and confused all day without him knowing.

"What time will you be home?" she asked, retreating as nonchalantly as possible as he pulled a small fleece blanket out of Parker's knapsack and spread it over the child.

"I'm not sure. It'll probably be after dinner again. Oh, I left some cash in an envelope with Parker's stuff. It should take care of anything you need."

"Booth, don't be silly; you don't have to do that."

"Don't argue, Bones. Besides, the boy will eat you out of house and home if you let him."

"Must have gotten that appetite from his father," she teased.

Booth seriously hoped that his son had not yet developed an appetite for the flavor that was driving him a little crazy with desire at that particular moment. Unprofessional thoughts about the attractive though often abrasive Dr. Brennan were strictly verboten, but it was too early in the morning to ignore the way her soft scent filled the office, had assaulted him at the doorway – how could something that was becoming so familiar be so enticing? - so that he'd paused, Parker in his arms, to watch her serious eyes focused singularly on the screen while her left hand fidgeted nervously with her hair. The dark circles under her eyes did nothing to detract from her soft, ethereal beauty. I wonder if she got as little sleep as I did he mused. Don't be an idiot, Seeley. Besides, it's just the case that kept you up. Not the image of your son with his arms around the woman you... work with.

Brennan decided that she must be imagining the confused and almost... hungry look she was getting from her partner."Well, thank you. Though speaking of house and home, would it be alright if I took him back to my place after work? He wanted to see it, and you could just swing by and pick him up there..."

"Sure," he replied with a wink. "Just don't let him get anything out of the fridge, okay?"

Instantly Booth knew he'd gone too far. All of the warmth and color were gone from Dr. Brennan's face and her jaw was set in a hard line. "I would never, ever put Parker in any danger," she said icily.

"Bones, I know, it was a joke, okay?" She didn't move, and he sighed. "A really shitty joke. Look, I'm sorry. You know that I trust you completely. I wouldn't leave my firstborn with just anyone. I know he's as safe with you as he is with me."

Firstborn. As in, one of many. "Booth... when that... the explosion... that was one of the worst moments of my life."

"It wasn't your fault," he said for what felt like the thousandth time. They'd had at least a dozen versions of this conversation since the accident, and never managed to make much progress.

"I know that, intellectually, I just... I don't like the idea that I can't always protect the people I... care about. These bones, these bodies that come in here... they're not people any more. Their families are real, and I do this job so I can give them the truth, closure, peace of mind. But I can't give anything to the ones who show up on my table. I know that my work is important, vital even, that it helps people. Since we've started working together, I've been able to help a few people before it's too late, and... I like that. But what if it's not enough? What if the people I can't save..." she let her gaze rest on Parker's sleeping form before returning to meet his father's eyes, "...are the ones who... matter?"

Booth let out a slow breath and stepped forward, running his fingers lightly up and down her arm. He hadn't allowed himself this kind of contact with her since that night in the hospital room. It was just too... risky. "Bones, I don't have an answer for you. But I know that you are..." how far was he willing to go? "...the most intelligent, most dedicated, most pig-headed person I know. And if I can't trust you to do everything in your power to keep my son safe, I don't know who else could do it."

His delicate touch was sending shivers across her back, and his wide, honest eyes drew her in. Brennan might have replied, but the sound of a door opening and Zach and Hodgins's bickering made her pull away instead. "Thank you. I'll see you tonight, then?" He nodded, then just as he had the day before, placed a soft kiss on her cheek before walking out of the lab.

-

"Dr. Bones?" called a sleepy voice a while later.

"Hi, Parker," she replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"I'm thirsty," he answered, ignoring the question.

"Do you want some-" coffee? diet coke? "-water?"

"I want a juice box," he replied petulantly, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Well, let's see what we have in your backpack," Brennan suggested, fairly certain she had no idea where to buy juice boxes.

Luckily, the backpack contained eight juice boxes, a package of granola bars, a large plastic container filled with orange fish-shaped crackers, and several tubes with the puzzling label "Go-Gurt". Parker selected a luminescent green one and an apple juice, then settled himself happily at Brennan's desk while she went in search of Angela and wondered whether Booth was merely an overprotective father or secretly meant to leave Parker with her for two weeks.

-

"Hey, Bren," her best friend said. "Was that a certain hunky FBI agent's progeny I saw sleeping on your couch again?"

"Yes. I think he'll probably be with me for the rest of the week unless Booth gets a break in his case."

"And yet you seem nowhere near as distraught as you did yesterday morning." Angela leaned forward, chin in her hands, and whispered conspiratorially. "Is his father providing some sort of special compensation that I should know about?"

"Ange!"

"Right, gotcha, it's one of those buy-now-pay-later arrangements. I'll check back at the end of the week."

"Angela Montenegro!"

"Ooooh, that was good. Use that tone on Parker if he's being naughty. Too bad you don't know his middle name, that's always pretty effective."

"Ange, I actually-"

"Speaking of naughty, I wonder what Booth's middle name is..." When Tempe didn't even dignify the comment with a response, she gave up. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm a little man-deprived at the moment, and vicarious sexual tension is all I've got. Did you need something?"

"I was wondering if I could send Parker to you in about an hour. I have a consult with an etymologist from the Smithsonian, and I don't want to just leave him in my office alone. He shouldn't be any trouble; he has this Nintendo game thing and about a million snacks, and I'll be right down the hall if you need me, and-"

"Relax, Bren, it's cool. I'm just going over some cranio-facial reconstructions. Send him in whenever."

"Thanks, Ange."

"No prob. I might even refrain from telling Booth how you went all soccer mom on me just now. I know, I know," she interrupted as Temperance opened her mouth. "You don't know what that means."

-

A/N: More of my comments on life: Katamari is possibly the best non-PC video game ever; Go-Gurt is scary. That is all.