A/N: Well, the rain from what's left of Hurricane Ernesto is seriously coming down here and I'm stuck in the house, but that means I have more time to write so I have a new "moment" for you :-) A quick note on this one: I read a fic a while back where Booth's little boy calls Brennan "Dr. Bones", and I've borrowed that nickname here. I can't remember which story it came from or who wrote it, but if it was you and you'd rather I didn't use it, just let me know. My work has been ripped off in the past--and used badly--and I don't want to do that to someone else.

Anyway, enjoy this and stay tuned for more!

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"Okay, that's it," Booth sighed tiredly at his desk, dropping the report he held and rubbing his eyes. "That's the last statement we're reading today."

Across from him, Brennan looked up from the folder in her lap, surprised. "But we still have four more to go, and then we have to…"

He held up a hand to stop her. "Nope, no more. It's nine o'clock on a Friday night, and we are both getting out of here."

She opened her mouth to protest again, but caught the determined look in his eyes and changed her mind. He's so stubborn sometimes, she thought. And he won't listen to reason when he gets like that. "Okay," she said instead, closing her folder.

"And don't think you're going back to the lab to keep working by yourself, either," he added with a knowing look.

Damn. "Booth, I don't mind…"

"That's not the point, Bones," he replied. "Everybody needs time away from their job. If you never get away from work, you burn out. You gotta take a break."

"I do, huh?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. He sounds like he working up to telling me something.

He caught the eyebrow and frowned. Does she know what I'm going to say? He shook himself mentally and nodded. "Yeah, you do. Parker and I are going to the Nationals game tomorrow, and I think you should come with us."

"The Nationals?"

"Baseball, Bones," he explained. "We have Major League Baseball in DC now."

"Oohh," she nodded. "But I know nothing about baseball."

"That's okay. I'll teach you the rules…it'll be fun."

"I have to learn the rules? I thought you said I needed a break," she smirked.

He chuckled. "Then come with us and enjoy the weather and the crowd and the stadium food. Have a hot dog and some Cracker Jacks."

"Hot dogs! Booth, do you know what's in those?"

"No, Bones," he replied quickly. "And I don't want to know. I just want you to come to the game, okay?"

Brennan pressed her lips together, giving serious thought to his request. "I don't know," she said quietly. "You don't get to see your little boy that much, and I don't want to intrude on the time you spend with him."

"You wouldn't be intruding," he told her. "In fact, it was Parker's idea to invite you."

That caught her off guard her. "It was?"

He nodded, a faint pink creeping into his cheeks as he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darting around the office. "I guess I talk about you a lot when he's around—you know, because we work together so much." He cleared his throat and forced himself to make eye contact again. "He wants to meet you, Bones, and I think it's a good idea."

"I don't know," she repeated. "I'm not good with children…you know that."

"First of all, you're better with kids than you think. Remember that foster kid we questioned a while back? He wouldn't talk to anyone else—clamed up tight." Booth lowered his voice and looked directly into her eyes. "But he talked to you." He let the statement hang in the air a moment, then smiled lightly and relaxed in his chair. "Besides, you don't have to be good with kids. You just have to get along with my kid."

"You really want me to come?"

"Yeah," he replied, his smile softening. "I want Parker to know you…and you to know him. It's important to me."

She didn't hesitate this time. "Then of course I'll go."

"Great!" he grinned. "We'll pick you up at eleven o'clock tomorrow morning."

He walked her out to her car, drawing protectively closer to her when they exited the building and moved through the dark Washington night, explaining to her the process of going to a baseball game so she would know what to expect.

The next morning, Booth was grinning excitedly as he guided Brennan and Parker through the gates at RFK Stadium.

The little boy clung to his father's hand, skipping eagerly around the concourse. "Come on, Daddy!" he urged. "Hurry Dr. Brennan!" He grabbed Brennan's hand and pulled her, along with Booth, toward the concession stand. "We have to get hot dogs before the game starts!"

The adults shared a look over his head and smiled, Brennan a bit uncertainly, Booth contentedly. They purchased the eagerly awaited hot dogs, along with programs and pencils, and found their way to their seats. Parker again situated himself between his father and new friend, distributing food as he saw fit and pointing out his favorite players warming up on the field.

As the day progressed, the two "men" showed Brennan how to keep score in her program, and taught her how to properly taunt the opposing team. They played off each other perfectly when they explained the events of the game by mimicking their favorite play-by-play announcer. And when Brennan caught a wayward fly ball—more out of awkward self-defense than actual skill—both Parker and Booth high-fived her proudly.

At the end of the day the three climbed into Booth's SUV, sunburned and tired and happy, fighting their way through the throng of traffic.

They rode along in comfortable silence all the way to Brennan's home before Booth spoke. "So what did you think, Bones?" he asked, turning to her and shifting the vehicle into park.

She opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Parker's voice from the back seat. "Your name is really Bones?" he asked with wide eyes, finally voicing the question that he had been aching to ask all day.

Brennan tried to answer, but not before shooting her partner a menacing glare. "No, my name isn't really Bones," she explained. "It's just something your father calls me…"

"It's a nickname," Booth jumped in. "Like when I call you partner or kiddo."

"You told me you call me that because you love me," the child continued. "Do you love Dr. Brennan, too?"

Booth blushed again for the second time in two days. "Well, I like her very much, bud. She's a good friend of mine." He glanced over at his partner apologetically, but was amazed to find her eyes shining, her lips curved into a soft smile.

"And that's why you call her Bones?" Parker persisted, oblivious to the adults' exchange.

"Yeah," Booth told his son, holding Brennan's gaze for just a moment longer than necessary.

"Then can I call her that, too, Daddy? 'Cause I like her a lot!"

"Parker, I don't think…"

"It's okay, Booth," Brennan told him quietly.

"It isn't very respectful," he worried.

Parker piped up again. "How 'bout Dr. Bones, Daddy. That's re'pectful, right?"

Brennan giggled at the little boy. "Right."

Booth relented and switched off the engine, climbing out of the car and instructing Parker to stay put while he walked "Dr. Bones" to her door.

"…because that's what a good man does for a lady."

"I want to be a good man, too!" Parker insisted. "Can I walk with you?"

"Sure pal," Booth grinned.

With Booth's hand on her back and Parker's hand firmly gripping hers, Brennan was escorted to her door and inserted her key in the lock. "I had a really good time today," she told her partner, leaving the key and turning to him.

"Consider this another lesson in your pop culture education," he grinned back, running a hand down her arm.

Parker threw his arms out, motioning for Brennan to lean down. When she did, the little boy hugged her tightly and planted a wet kiss cheerily on her cheek. "Will you come to the game with us again?"

Hesitating briefly, she slid her arms around the small body and hugged gently back. When she released him, she straightened up and ruffled his hair affectionately, her eyes meeting his father's.

"I think I'd like that."