AN: Okay, okay, I know it took a long time. But this chapter is really long to make up for it. Most of this chapter is Tempe/Booth fluff, and Booth/Tempe/Parker interaction. Also, this chapter took so long for two reasons. 1.) The story kind of ran away with me for a while (you know how it is), and 2.) I had a really had time writing to last part (you'll seewhy you get to it). Anyway, enjoy!
CHAPTER FIVE
When Booth opened his eyes the next morning, he had to smile. Both Tempe and Bones seemed to think that he was more comfortable than the bed. Tempe was laying more on him than the bed, and Bones was snuggled up under her arm, and his weight on Booth's chest was starting to interfere with his breathing. That damn cat was going to have to move. As if sensing his thoughts, the huge gray cat lifted his head and stared at him with huge, bright green eyes. Booth scowled at him, a scowl that usually had suspects cowering. But Bones just blinked at him, entirely unconcerned.
"Move furball." He growled. Bones stared at him, unblinkingly, than began nonchalantly cleaning around the edges of his bandages. "I mean it fatso. Move." Booth ordered. Bones continued to ignore him, moving onto his shoulder. "Now fatso. Move, or I'll skin you for a rug." The cat blinked slowly, then twisted around and started to clean his haunches. "A bathroom rug." Booth tried. Tempe stirred.
"Booth, stop threatening my cat." She mumbled. Booth grunted.
"He needs to get off my chest. I'm having trouble breathing."
"Quit being a baby. He's not that heavy."
"Bones, that gray furball has to weight at least twenty pounds!"
"Twenty three." Tempe corrected and Bones meowed in agreement.
"Oh shut up you." Booth said, glaring at the cat. Bones hissed at him half-heartedly, but didn't move from his spot. Tempe finally lifted her head from where it had been resting on the pillow, her face turned into his neck.
"Booth, are you trying to tell me that a big tough FBI agent like you can't handle a little bitty kitty cat lying on his chest?" She teased.
"Bones, twenty three pounds is not a 'little bitty kitty cat'."
Tempe giggled. "I can not believe that you actually said 'little bitty kitty cat'."
"You said it first."
"I'm allowed, it's my cat we're talking about." Tempe teased. She yawned suddenly and slid down Booth's chest so that she could rest her head on Booth's shoulder. She scratched Bones's side, which caused the tom cat to roll over on his back, his paws waving in the air, purring loudly. Booth sighed in defeat and placed a hand on Bones's stomach. The cat bit him, playfully, not even breaking the skin, but Booth tried to ham it up.
"Ow! That mountain lion you call a 'little bitty kitty cat' just bit me!" He complained. Sighing the sigh of the truly victimized, Temp slid off of Booth's chest to sit up.
"Here, let me see." She grabbed Booth's wrist and examined the small dents that Bones's teeth had left. "You big baby! He didn't even break the skin!" She was tempted to fling his hand away, but she didn't. Instead, she raised it to her lips and gently kissed the 'injury'. "There. All better."
"Hmm." Booth's hand twisted in hers, and the next thing Tempe knew, she was sprawled across Booth's chest, which knocked Bones off, to which he loudly protested. Booth grinned.
"It seems like we've been in something resembling this position before."
"You are positively infuriating." Tempe sounded annoyed, but she wasn't making any attempt to push herself up or away. She smiled and touched his check. "And for the life of me, I can not figure out why you drive me crazy." She kissed him soundly, ignoring the fact that an irritated tom cat was head butting her side.
Tempe pulled back first and sighed as she rested her forehead against his.
"I don't want to get up." She admitted.
"I kinda figured that." Booth admitted, sliding a hand into her hair, something he found himself doing a lot. He couldn't help it; he loved her hair.
"You wanna talk about it?" He asked. Tempe closed her eyes and forced herself to focus. But it was damn hard. She loved the way his hand felt in her hair. But she sighed and opened her eyes to meet his gaze.
"It's just that, last night was horrible. Some creep was there, at my house! He was watching me, he broke my window, he hurt my cat, and, honestly, he scared me. As bad as all that it, I can't shake the feeling that something . . . worse is going to happen. And there's this feeling that if I don't get out of bed, then that awful thing that's going to happen won't happen."
"Bones, nothing is going to happen." Booth used his hand in her hair to force her to look at him. "You know how the FBI feels about its agents . . ."
"But I don't work for the FBI." Tempe interrupted.
"Shh." Booth used his free hand to lay his finger against her lips. "Shh Bones. You are my partner. That makes you part of the FBI. You're one of us, and nobody threatens one of ours and gets away with it. The lab is going to go over that brick and note atom by atom if it has to. We will get this guy Bones, I promise."
"Thank you." Tempe leaned down and kissed him. But as soon as his hand slid out of her hair and he tried to deepen the kiss, she broke away and rolled off the bed, somehow managing to also scoop up Bones and take the cat with her.
"Come on Booth, up and at 'em. I don't want to be late." She said. Booth rolled onto his side and stared at her incredulously. When she saw his look of utter disbelief, she gave him a cheeky smile that threatened to melt his bones. "You did such a good job to comforting me that I can't wait to go to work today. So get up, we don't want to be late." She disappeared out the door, the sound of Bones's purring fading as he and Tempe vanished down the hall.
"Damn that woman and her work ethic." He growled, rolling over onto his stomach and burying his face in his pillow for a few moments before groaning and rolling off his bed to shower, shave and dress. "Damn that woman and her work ethic." He repeated. Despite his words, he couldn't stop a huge, goofy smile from spreading across his face.
BONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONES
Tempe made her way to Booth's kitchen, still carrying Bones, who had his front paws draped over Tempe's shoulder, purring as he nuzzled the side of her face and neck. Tempe giggled when his cold, wet nose invaded her ear as Bones explored the side of her face.
"Stop that." She scolded him lightly, pulling out a chair and gently depositing him on the seat. Rearing up on his back legs, Bones put his front paws on the table and watched as Tempe moved towards Booth's refrigerator, just like he did at home. Tempe was glad that the move hadn't affected him. She had heard that older cats often reacted badly to a move, and Bones was getting on in years. Angela had given Bones, then a six week old kitten with eyes that seemed to big for his face and paws just big enough to make him adorably clumsy, to Tempe on the day she had received her PhD and the right to call herself 'Doctor' Brennan.
Tempe had been absolutely delighted, snatching up the kitten and hugging him and Angela at the same time. Bones had been with her ever since, even traveling to other countries with her on occasion. Bones had hated Pete from the moment the man had first set foot in the apartment, in fact, hated every man in Tempe's life except Zack and now, Booth. But Bones adored Sandri. When she was born, Bones had lain on top of the baby's dresser for hours, watching over her. When Sandri had began crawling, and, later, walking, she would chase after Bones for hours, eventually falling asleep on top of a happily purring Bones. All of these memories passed through Tempe's mind as she tenderly scratched behind Bones's ears, smiling as he tilted his head back and purred.
"Sorry about all this Buddy. Now, what should we have for breakfast?"
Tempe usually just had cereal, and let Bones have the milk, but she felt like something more that morning.
"How about an omelet?" She asked. Bone tilted his head and meowed, like he was agreeing. Tempe laughed. "Hmm, glad you agree." She suddenly became aware of a sound cutting off in the background and realized that Booth must have just shut off the shower. "I wonder if Booth would like one?" She looked at Bones, half expecting a response, and he obliged her with a loud meow. "Oh, you think I should ask him, huh?" She teased her cat. Bones silted his eyes and began purring loudly. Tempe shook her head. "Sometimes, I think you and Angela are working together behind my back." She grumbled as she left the kitchen.
She found the bathroom easily: the door was open and steam was drifting out. She poked her head in and smiled when she saw Booth, in his suit pants and boxers, but bare foot and bare chested, shaving.
"Hey." He said, spotting her out of the corner of his eyes.
"Hey yourself." Tempe came up behind him, then slid past him and hopped up on the bathroom counter so she could see his face.
"What's up?" Booth asked, continuing the shave.
"Would you like an omelet?"
"You offering?" He asked, tilting his head back and lifting his chin to shave the bottom.
"Yes actually, I am." Tempe plucked his razor out of his hand and shaved the underside of his chin for him.
"Hmm." Booth splashed water on his face, patted it dry with a towel, then splashed on a bit of aftershave. Tempe inhaled the scent. God, she loved that smell. "I have a better idea." He flashed her a roguish grin that made her knees weak; if she had been standing instead of sitting, she would have fallen. She raised her eyebrow at him instead.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. How about I make the omelets and you take a shower."
"Hmm." Tempe grinned. "I like that idea."
"Cool." Booth wrapped his hands around Tempe's waist and lifted her off the counter and set her on the ground in front of him.
The sudden movement startled her, and she shrieked as she grabbed his shoulders. As soon as he set her on the ground, she smacked his chest.
"Don't do that!" She scolded him. Booth chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. When she came in contact with his upper chest, she gasped and he sucked in a breath. Tempe looked up at him, suddenly intent on studying his features.
"What is it?" He asked, unwrapping his arms from around her waist to rub her upper arms.
"Nothing." She grinned. "You're just living proof that first impressions aren't always right."
Booth laughed and reached up to cup her chin. "You know what Bones? I've known you for all this time, and I still don't understand you." He trailed his thumb across her cheekbone. "But I don't care. I think that half the fun of knowing you is trying to understand you." He chuckled when Tempe's jaw dropped and she gaped at him. Finally, she picked her jaw up off the ground and regained her ability to speak.
"I don't know whether to kiss you or kick you."
"Since I was giving you a compliment, I'll take the kiss please." He grinned. "Besides, I've never been on the receiving end of one of your kicks, and I never want to be, not after what I saw you do to Ortez."
"He deserved it." Tempe grumbled good naturedly.
She suddenly leaned back to look him in the eyes. Booth saw the look on her face and groaned teasingly.
"Oh boy, I know that look." Booth shook his head at her. "No more talking right now Bones. You take your shower while I make us some breakfast."
"But. . ." Tempe's protest was cut off by Book pulling her close and kissing her. She started to struggle, then realized that she didn't want to struggle. She relaxed against him and put her hands on his chest, admiring how his muscles felt. When they both pulled back, Tempe suddenly frowned and punched Booth's shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You made me lose my train of thought!" She scolded. "Now I can't remember what I was going to ask you!"
"Good." Booth teased. He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "Go take a shower. I'll go make breakfast."
"All right." Tempe finally gave in.
"That's my girl." Booth said over his shoulder as he left the bathroom.
"That's the second time you've called me that. I am not a girl, and I am not yours!" Tempe yelled after him.
"Shut up and take your shower Bones!" Booth yelled back. For some reason, Tempe couldn't stop a goofy grin from spreading across her face.
BONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONES
When Tempe emerged from the shower, she felt more awake and refreshed. And the smells coming from the kitchen made her mouth water and her stomach rumble. She quickly replaced the butterfly bandages on her head wounds, then dressed quickly in jeans and a red and black camisole, leaving her red blouse on the bed to put on later. She made her way to the kitchen, still in her bare feet. She had to laugh when she entered the kitchen to find Booth standing at the stove, having a staring contest with Bones, who was sitting upright in the middle of the table.
"Hello baby." She cooed. Booth look startled and Tempe rolled her eyes. "I was talking to the cat."
"I knew that." Booth mumbled, turning back to the stove to check on the omelets. Tempe laughed and crossed to him. She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed Booth on the cheek.
"You really need to stop sulking every time I call my cat by some endearment." She teased.
"I'm not sulking." Booth sulked. Tempe's eyes widened and she took a step back, a huge smile on her face.
"Oh my God, you're jealous."
"What!"
"You're jealous of my cat!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you are . . ." Tempe's teasing of Booth was cut off by Booth grabbing her waist, pulling her close and crushing his lips against hers with bruising force. She gasped at the force he used, but then she gripped his shoulders and kissed him back just as forcefully.
When they pulled back, endless moments later, they were both gasping for breath. Booth touched his tongue to his lip and winced.
"You bit me." He said with a grin.
"Hmm." Tempe tilted her head to the side and grinned. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"Nope." Booth grinned. "Not at all." He winked at her, then turned back towards the stove and deftly slid two omelets from two pans onto two plates. He set both plates on the table.
"Go ahead, dig in." He said. Tempe slid into her seat and followed Booth's advice. She dug in, occasionally feeding tiny bits of egg to Bones, who purred in appreciation. The three of them ate in silence, then Tempe suddenly froze with her fork halfway to her mouth. Her eyes suddenly light up and Booth groaned.
"Damn it Bones, you've got that look on your face again." Booth pointed his fork at her.
"What look?"
"That look that says 'I've got a question, and I'm not going to give up until I get an answer'. That look."
"I remembered what I was going to ask you."
"I was afraid of that." Booth said with a sigh. He leaned back in his seat. "Go ahead Bones, ask away."
"What you said about Ortez earlier reminded me; why did you miss the funeral? What was so important?" She asked. Booth sighed and set down his fork. He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, collecting his thoughts. Then he slowly looked Tempe in the eye.
"You."
Tempe's eyes went wide in shock.
"What?" She whispered. Booth rubbed the back of his neck.
"After you beat up Ortez, word got back to his gang. Ortez was humiliated, and he decided to put out a hit on you." Booth winced when he saw all the color drain from her face.
"He was going to have me killed?"
"Yeah." Booth sighed. "As son as it went out, a member of the Gang Unit rushed to tell me. He found me just as I was leaving to go to the funeral."
"What did you do?"
"I found Ortez and followed him into an alley. I pinned him to the wall, put my gun in his mouth and told him to call off the hit. He tried to tell me that you weren't my partner because you weren't FBI. I told him that didn't matter, that you were my partner and if anything happened to you I would kill him, and that he wouldn't even see it coming."
"So he called off the hit."
"After I stuck my gun practically down his throat and cocked it to prove I meant it despite the fact that I'm an FBI agent, yeah, he called off the hit."
"Oh my God Booth!" Tempe slammed her hands down on the table as she stood up and stalked toward him, anger making her eyes a bright burning blue. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was?" She got right next to him and started poking him in the chest. "It was more than stupid, it was dangerous and idiotically protective and chauvinistic and . . . and . . ." At this point, her anger seemed to rob her of her ability to speak because she sputtered before suddenly smiling as the anger drained out of her eyes. "It was also incredibly sweet."
Booth stared at her in shock, then scowled and reached for her.
"Why you little . . . get back here!" He growled. Tempe grinned as she jumped back out of his reach.
"You should have seen the look on your face!"
"Yeah, well, you're scary when you're angry." Booth responded, getting up from his chair and stalking towards her, a predatory smile on his face. "Come here."
"No." She staid stubbornly, backing away from him.
"Bones, stop being stubborn."
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"Then get over here."
"You're still trying to tell me what to do!"
"You know you like it." Booth leered playfully. Tempe's eyes flashed and she stood her ground, hands on her hips.
Booth grinned and stepped towards her. Without warning, Tempe reached out and hooked her fingers through Booth's belt loops and pulled him towards her.
"You come here." She whispered, pulling him close. He grinned.
"Now who's telling who what to do?" He teased.
"Shut up Booth." Tempe wrapped her arms around Booth's neck and moved to kiss him, but Booth pulled back before their lips could touch.
"No." He teased.
"Stop being stubborn."
"Pot calling the kettle black."
"I don't know what that means." This time, Tempe didn't allow Booth to pull away. She yanked his hand down and kissed him, hard. Booth just knew that the small bite on his lip had reopened, but Tempe deepened the kiss just then and Booth suddenly had better things to do than think.
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"Bones, you are not bringing that mountain lion."
"Yes, I am."
"Bones. . ."
"Shut up Booth. I'm the boss, I can bring my cat to work if I want."
"Dr. Goodman's the boss."
"Over the Jeffersonian. The lab and my office are mine." Tempe shrugged on her jacket, then scooped up her cat. "Besides, I already called Goodman and cleared it with him."
"When did you do that?"
"When you were finishing getting dressed and complaining about your lip. I called Angela too."
"Bones, you're killing me here." Booth groaned, following her out the door. Tempe laughed and shifted the cat so that he was looking over her shoulder at him. Booth made a face at him, but Bones just purred, then began to clean around the edge of the new bandages that Tempe had replaced that morning.
Tempe cradled Bones like he was her baby, so Booth opened the car door for her, which earned him a quick kiss. She climbed in and settled the purring cat on her lap as Booth closed the door, the made his way around to the driver's side. The fifteen minute ride was spent in comfortable silence except for the purring of Bones, who was curled up in Tempe's lap, pressed up against her stomach and purring so loud his body was vibrating.
Booth finally broke the silence as they pulled up to the Jeffersonian.
"What time should I pick you up?" He asked.
"You're not going to come in with me?"
"I'd like to, but I can't. I have paperwork that has launched an attack against me for control of my desk. I have to go beat it back."
"Right." Tempe laughed. "Pick me up about six, okay?"
"Six is fine." Booth agreed. He leaned over and kissed her gently. "See you later. You too cat." He added, scratching Bones's ears affectionately.
"Bye." Tempe opened the door and slid out. Booth watched until she and the cat had disappeared inside. Then he sighed and pulled out of the parking lot and head towards the Hoover building.
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Tempe entered the lab, holding her cat like a shield, and was almost knocked flat by Angela.
"Oh sweetie!" The beautiful artist descended on her best friend and favorite cat and wrapped her arms around both of them in a tight hug. Tempe sighed and hugged her tightly in return.
"I'm okay Angela, really." Tempe assured her. Angela pulled back and ran her eyes over Tempe's face, gasping at the cuts on Tempe's hairline, which were covered with butterfly bandages.
"Are you sure sweetie? Those cuts look painful. Oh, and poor Bones!" Angela bent her head to examine the cat. "Oh baby, your poor paws."
"He'll be fine Angela." Tempe assured her.
"Are you okay Dr. Brennan?" Zach asked shyly, coming up to the group. Tempe smiled at her student.
"Of course I'm okay." She assured him. "And Bones is fine."
"I'm glad." Zach gave her another smile then went back to his lab area. Angela followed Tempe to her office, closing the door behind her.
"Okay sweetie." Angela settled herself on the couch while Tempe sat in her desk chair and Bones made himself comfortable on her desk. "I want you to tell me everything, especially about your date with Booth last night."
"Well, I told Booth about Pete and Sandri."
"You did! You never tell anyone about Sandri and that dirt bag she calls a father! The only reason Hodgins and Zach even know about her is because they were here when you used to bring her to the lab."
"I know. But I told Booth."
"And?"
"And he thinks that Sandri is adorable and Pete is a bastard."
"Go Booth!" Angela cheered. "What else?"
"Well . . ." Tempe couldn't stop the grin that threatened to split her head in two. "He kissed me."
Angela's delighted squeal was so loud that Zach and Hodgins both looked up and then at each other.
"Well." Hodgins said. "It sounds like Angela is finally seeing all her match making efforts come to fruition."
"Well, Dr. Brennan is staying at Agent Booth's apartment."
"What! Who told you that?"
"Angela called me this morning." Zach said smugly before moving away from Hodgins and going to feed his beetles.
Tempe had jumped nearly three feet into the air when Angela had squealed, and Bones had fled to the top of Tempe's bookcase faster than Tempe would have thought possible.
"Angela!" She scolded, getting to her feet and crossing to the bookcase.
"Sorry." Angela said sheepishly while Tempe began trying to coax Bones down from the bookcase. "So, what else happened? Come on sweetie, you can't leave me hanging!" Angela grinned as Tempe sighed, yet started at the beginning while continuing to try and coax Bones down. Angela couldn't stop a few more squeals from escaping, especially when she found out about Tempe and Bones spending the night in Booth's bed.
"Oh my God!"
"We just talked and slept Angela."
"That's all?"
"Well, we kissed . . ."
"Ah hah!"
"But that's it!"
"Uh huh." Angela said with a smug smile. Tempe rolled her eyes, but continued her story as she finally managed to get Bones down and back onto her desk. Angela practically melted when she heard about Booth making breakfast, and gasped when she learned about the reason that Booth had missed the funeral.
"Oh sweetie." Angela got up and sat on the corner of Tempe's desk. "See? He is completely head over heels for you. Remember when he saved you from that corrupt FBI agent?"
"Of course I remember! It was only a few weeks ago!" Tempe said. She remembered it like it was yesterday . . .
She had never been more scared in her life. And the man who was about to take her life disgusted her. He was actually trying to rationalize everything. If she wasn't so scared, she probably would have laughed in his face. Or thrown up, one of the two.
"I'm not like him though." Kenton insisted. "The things I have to do to you, you'll be gone first. You'll never know a thing. I never expected anyone to find out." He took out his gun, holding it by the barrel. He was going to hit her with the butt. Tempe began to sob and she attempted to scream from behind the gag. 'Booth!' She thought desperately. 'Someone, help! This can't be the end!'
Kenton drew back his arm, but before he could hit her, there was a gunshot and the corrupt agent screamed as he fell, clutching his arm. She looked up as FBI agents poured into the room, with Booth in the lead, still holding his gun. He was the one who had shot Kenton and saved her. He was also limping and holding his ribs. Tempe couldn't believe her eyes. The man should have been in the hospital. Instead, here he was, saving her yet again. He headed right for her and removed her gag, then tried to lift her off the hook, but the effort was to much for his injuries. Undaunted, he stuck his head between her arms, wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her free that way. Then his strength left him and he fell to his knees.
Tempe hugged him tightly as she sobbed, shaking from her close encounter. Booth held her close.
"It's okay. I'm right here." He said, rubbing her back. "It's all over. You're okay. Shh, I'm right here." He soothed her gently, hugging her close. "All right. It's all over." She pulled back slightly as something occurred to her.
"How did you get out of the hospital?" She pulled back so she could see his face, her arms still around his neck.
"Hodgins gave me a ride. Maybe you can give me a ride back though, huh?" He said. Tempe laughed softly and nodded. "You can?" He asked. Tempe nodded again as he moaned in pain. He rested his forehead on her shoulder as she pulled him in for another hug.
Tempe smiled at Angela as she scratched Bones's ears. But Bones seemed to be in a bad mood: he shook her hand off and stalked to the far side of the desk.
"Look Angela, this thing with Booth, I just don't know yet, okay? I just wanna take it slow for right now."
"Well, you have let him know you're interested, right?"
"Oh yeah." Tempe said with a grin. "He definitely knows I'm interested."
"Well, then you're good." Angela said with a grin.
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Booth hadn't been lying about his paperwork. It had already taken over his desk, and if he let it go any longer he'd need a snow shovel just to get to his desk. He'd been at it for four and a half hours. It was twelve thirty, and he was more than half down. He sighed off on one file, closed it and reached for another.
When he opened the folder, he sucked in a breath. It was the file on the Kenton case. It was all there, especially pictures and descriptions of his and Tempe's wounds. Booth felt anger bubbling up inside him at the picture of the bloody cut on Tempe's forehead, and the bruises the ropes had left on her wrists. He had come so close to losing her. If they had been to late, if Kenton had killed her, he wouldn't have been sitting in jail right now, he'd be dead. Booth would have killed him. Suddenly, he was overcome with the desire to hear Tempe's voice, see her, touch her. He reached for his cell phone and punched in her number.
"Brennan."
"Hey."
"Hey Booth. What's up?"
"Just wondering if you're free for lunch."
"Sure."
"Great. I'll pick you up in half an hour."
"That'll be great. I'll see you at one."
"See you then."
"Bye." Booth closed his phone and grinned as he renewed his attack on his paperwork.
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Tempe was guiding Zach through a spine reconstruction when she felt Booth enter the lab. She still didn't know how she could sense his presence, but she had gotten used to the tingling sensation on the back of her neck that told her Booth was nearby.
"You're late." She called without turning around. Zach jumped slightly, then spotted Booth and shook his head as he returned his attention to trying to put part of the spine back together.
"I know, I know." Booth called back, swiping his card to allow him access.
"You said one o'clock. It is now," she checked her watch, "one forty seven."
"I know Bones, but I have a good reason."
"And what is it?" Tempe reached out and gently rotated the bone fragment in Zach's hand so that it smoothly fit with the other. He smiled at her in thanks.
"Dr. Tempe!" A tiny voice yelled in delight. Tempe turned just in time to see a blur racing in her direction.
"Parker!" Tempe looked at Booth as his son hugged her waist.
"Rebecca asked me to take him for a few days." Booth explained. "She wanted to drop him off at my office and was late. That's why I'm late."
"Oh." Tempe scooped up Parker with an ease born of familiarity. Ever since Christmas, Tempe had seen Parker as much as Booth had. They were pals now. "Well, I like Parker, so I'll forgive you." She teased. She turned back to the table, Parker settled comfortably on her hip. Parker's eyes went wide when he saw the skeleton that Zach was putting back together.
"Oh wow!" He exclaimed. "Hi Zach!"
"Hi Parker."
"I thought we were going to lunch." Booth protested.
"We are." Tempe assured him. "Are you fine by yourself now Zach?"
"Yeah. Thanks Dr. Brennan."
"You're welcome." She turned her attention to Parker. "Do you like cats?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, there's one in my office you can go see. His name is Bones."
"Cool!"
Tempe smiled as she set Parker on the ground and he took off as a run. As soon as he was out of earshot she looked at Booth.
"Are you sure about this?"
"What?"
"My stalker Booth. Is it safe for Parker to be around me?"
"Bones please calm down. With both of us looking out for him, Parker couldn't be safer. And this stalker won't be after you for long. I got a call from the lab."
"And?"
"Well, you may be a genius, but your 'admirer' is an idiot."
"For God's sake Booth, tell me!"
"He didn't wear gloves. The lab pulled a complete set of prints from the brick and the note."
"You're kidding."
"Nope. The lab is running them now."
"That's terrific!" Tempe looked so happy, that Booth couldn't resist. He curled his hand around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She kissed him back, enjoying the feelings of warmth and safety that she had whenever Booth kissed her. They broke apart when Angela squealed excitedly. Booth chuckled as he rested his forehead on hers.
"I think we just made Angela's day."
"Hmm." Tempe kissed him again. This time they broke the kiss when a light flashed.
"Angela!" Tempe yelled, pulling out of Booth's embrace to glare at the artist. Angela shook her head in denial and pointed at Hodgins, who was standing next to her, holding a digital camera.
"Hodgins, give me that!" Tempe demanded, holding out her hand.
"Oh no you don't!" Angela snatched the camera out of Hodgins's hands and popped out the memory stick before shoving the camera back into his hands and darting away. Hodgins grinned and placed the camera in Tempe's hand.
"Here you go Dr. Brennan." He said. Tempe growled and ran a hand through her hair, resisting the urge to throw the camera to the ground. Instead she shoved the camera back into his chest, and scowled as he walked away, smirking.
"Sometimes I want to kill both of them." She told Booth. Booth laughed and slid his arm around her waist.
"I'm kind of liking Angela right . . . OW!"
Tempe extracted her elbow from his stomach as he bent almost double, holding his stomach.
"You're infuriating." She informed him stalking away from him and making a beeline for her office. He caught up to her just before she reached her office door.
"Oh come on, you know you're crazy about me." He flashed her a charming smile. Tempe rolled her eyes at him.
"Knock it off Booth. You owe me and your son lunch." Tempe smiled at him to take the sting out of the scolding. She opened the door to her office and found Parker sitting cross legged on the floor, leaning back against her couch and giggling. Tempe had to smile when she saw why.
Bones was in Parker's lap. He was reared up on his hind legs, with his front paws resting on Parker's chest and he was sniffing his face, his whiskers tickling Parker's cheeks.
"Hey Parker, let's go." Booth said. Parker stood up and ran over to his dad, Bones hanging from his arms. "Whoa, that mountain lion is not coming with us." Booth protested. "Wait, haven't I already said that today?"
"Yes, you have." Tempe retrieved her cat from Parker. "And, actually, yes, Bones is coming with us."
"Why?"
"I want to take him back to your place."
"But this morning you wanted him with you!"
"Don't yell at me!"
"Then start making sense!"
"You're still yelling at me!"
Booth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Neither one of them noticed that Parker was staring at them with an amused look on his face; they were to busy glaring at each other.
"Fine, Bones, I'm sorry. Now, will you please explain this to me?"
"Bones has been acting weird. He's been irritable and he keeps pacing. I think there's something in the lab that irritating him. I should get him out of here."
"All right!" Booth threw his arms up in the air. "Fine, I guess the cat can come."
"Yes!" Parker jumped and punched the air, which startled Booth and Tempe. "I like the cat." He ran over to Tempe, who smiled and let him take Bones. Parker held Bones against his chest with one arm and reached up to take Tempe's hand. She smiled down at him.
"Dr. Tempe?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going?"
"Well, you and I have a lunch date." She grinned and ruffled his hair with her free hand.
"Just you and me?"
"Well, we're going to let your daddy come too, okay?"
"Well . . ." Parker shifted Bones and bit his lip as he considered it. "Okay, Daddy can come. Just this once."
"Just this once . . ." Booth chocked out. Tempe had to laugh at the look on his face. His eyes looked like there were going to pop out of his head. "Parker!" Booth scooped up his son, who giggled. Tempe rescued her cat and Booth tickled his son.
"Come on, move it." Temp encouraged, herding them towards the door.
BONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONES
"All I'm saying, Bones, is that you attract more trouble than a normal person." Booth insisted.
"You're exaggerating." Tempe scoffed. It was seven o'clock, and Tempe and Booth were getting a few groceries from the car. Booth had already opened the door of the apartment for Parker, who had gone right to his room to play. Earlier, after dropping off Bones at the apartment, Booth had taken Parker and Temp to lunch. It had been fun, and Booth had blown off the rest of his paperwork to spend the rest of the day with Tempe and his son at the lab. Tempe loved having Parker at the lab. Despite his young age, or may because of it, Parker was fascinated by everything Tempe showed him, and remembered everything she told him. But it had been a long day, and she was glad to be home. It was funny how Booth's place was starting to feel like home after only one night.
"Besides, what are you going to do about it?" Tempe teased quietly. "Tie me to the bed?"
"Don't tempt me, I've got handcuffs." Booth growled. Tempe laughed, especially when Booth came up behind her and growled playfully in her ear. But her laughter died on her lips when she entered the kitchen and saw the grisly offering her stalker had left on the table for her. The shopping bags fell from her suddenly shaking hands. She felt a scream rising and building in her throat, and she covered her mouth with her hands to muffle it. She didn't want to scare Parker. The tears gathered in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Swallowing her screams, Tempe took a step towards the table, reaching out in denial and desperation.
"Bones." She whispered. "Oh no, Bones, Bones!"
The large gray tomcat lay on his side on the table, in a pool of his own blood. His thick fur, so soft and silky, which Tempe loved to bury her nose in, was matted and streaked with blood. Suddenly, Bones's huge, bright green eyes snapped open and Tempe's sobs increased when she realized that despite his wounds, her loyal friend wasn't dead. Not yet, anyway.
"Oh my God." Tempe sank into a chair. Bones let out a pain filled meow and started struggling to push himself up. He got his front legs under him, but his back legs refused to move. But the stubborn cat didn't let that stop him.
Bones dragged himself across the table toward Temp inch by agonizing inch, intent only on reaching Tempe. Even though Tempe's heart ached at seeing him in pain, she didn't reach for him, sensing he needed to do this by himself. Finally, with the last of his strength, Bones collapsed into Tempe's arm. With a sob, she held him close, ignoring the blood that was soaking into her shirt as it flowed out of Bones's body in greater amounts.
"Bones, I'm so sorry." She sobbed, wetting his fur with her tears as she pressed her face against his. Bones purred and nuzzled against her face, licking the tears off her cheeks.
"Tempe." Booth came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. She was so upset, she didn't even register the fact that he wasn't calling her 'Bones'. "Oh Temperance, I'm sorry." He dropped his hand, carefully to Bones's head. "You poor cat. I'm sorry. God, Tempe, I'm sorry. God, Tempe, I'm sorry."
"Bones, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Tempe whispered, holding him close.
Bones stopped purring and closed his eyes. He took one last breath, let it out and, finally, quietly, slipped away. Bones faded away into a warm, sunlit place where there was no pain, no blood, no weirdo's who liked to cause pain. There was only Bones, with Tempe and Sandri, where they played and laughed, together. Forever.
AN: Well, there it is, Chapter Five. I cried when I wrote the last part, I really did. As always, read and review and tell me what you think. They'll get closer to getting the stalker in the next chapter, as well as some 'Tempe hurt, Booth comfort'. See you later!