A/N: this one is set in Season 8. I dashed it off in a hurry, so I hope it makes sense! The words I used were cookout, coerce, and coconut.

It was a summery Saturday evening at the Mighty Hut. As he sat in his lawn chair with his daughter on his lap, Booth sighed in contentment, gazing at his shiny new grill with what could best be described as intense love. "Yep, Christine…Mommy was right…baby girls need grills, don't they? And the one I got for you is a dandy, too…extra large propane tanks…a charcoal box…finely tuned temperature controls…a smoker attachment…and all the bells and whistles you could think of…everything Daddy needed to make sure we'd have a great cookout tonight." He bounced the baby on his knee, much to her delight. "Yeah…me and you got to have some grilled brats for dinner…on whole wheat buns, of course…while Mommy had her grilled veggies and Seitan, whatever the hell that is. We know what's good, don't we, Sweetheart? No yucky vegetarian stuff for us, right? Baby girls need real meat to grow up big and strong…"

Brennan rolled her eyes as she sat down next to her partner. "It's a proven fact that children can grow up strong if they eat vegetable protein instead of animal protein, Booth. I think it's important that we allow Christine to experience a wide variety of foods while she's growing up. That way she can make her own choices."

"Yeah, okay…whatever, Bones." He grinned as he noticed the plate she was holding. "So, is that our dessert?"

"Yes. I made s'mores on the grill." Placing the plate on the small table between them, she smiled. "I hope you like them…"

"I love'm…" Holding Christine on his lap with one arm, he reached over and grabbed one, smiling in anticipation before he took a big bite. Gasping in horror, he looked at Brennan with a shocked expression. "Omigod, Bones…what did you do?"

She regarded him in astonishment. "What's wrong? I thought you liked s'mores…"

"BUT YOU PUT COCONUT AND ALMONDS ON THEM!"

Still confused, Brennan shrugged slightly as she studied the confections on the plate. "Well, the basic recipe is quite simplistic, so I decided to try something different. I sprinkled some flaked coconut and some slivered almonds onto the chocolate before I added the roasted marshmallows…"

Booth couldn't believe that she didn't grasp the epic proportions of her heresy. "Bones…s'mores are made from graham crackers, Hershey bars, and toasted marshmallows…that's it…"

"I actually found several variations of the basic recipe online," she sniffed. "Besides, you're the one who says that recipes are mostly general ideas, and that cooks should be allowed to improvise, so I don't understand why adding things to s'mores is a problem. You like those candy bars that are made of chocolate, coconut, and almonds. This is just a melted version of the same thing…"

"Bones, there are some things that just shouldn't be messed with, okay? S'mores are an American tradition! They're absolutely perfect when they're made the original way! They don't need anything else!" He shook his head in disgust. "I don't get it! Why would you want to screw up a fabulous combo by adding extra junk on top? I mean, that's like me adding chow mein noodles to my marinara sauce, okay? Some things are better left the way they are!"

Rolling her eyes at Booth's histrionics, Brennan heaved a sigh. "Why do I always have to coerce you to try new things?"

"What? You have to coerce me? No way! I don't need to be coerced! I just know what I like…and this ain't it."

Arching her eyebrow at him, Brennan wore a sly grin. "If I remember correctly, I had to spend several minutes last night engaging in coercion when I tried to convince you to engage in a different version of our normal 'cops and robbers' role playing sex game…"

"Bones!" Booth was scandalized as he tried to cover Christine's ears. "Not in front of the baby!"

"Well, even though she's quite gifted, her cognitive ability has not progressed to the point where she can understand our conversation, Booth." Brennan reached over and gently rested her hand on his thigh. "The point is…after much coercion on my part, you tried the suggested variation…and you certainly seemed to enjoy it…"

"Well…yeah. Of course I did. I mean, after all, you're incredibly hot…and I won the game." Hearing her sultry chuckle, he gave her a sidelong glance. "Wait a minute…if you think I'm gonna put up with weird s'mores just so we can play 'cops and robbers, version 2.O'...well, I don't think so…"

"Fine. Christine and I will enjoy this version of s'mores, and you can either do without, or fix it yourself." She broke off a tiny corner of one of the treats and fed it to the baby. "And I suppose that ultimatum could also be applied to satisfying your biological urges as well…"

Grumbling under his breath, Booth picked up another one of the s'mores and took a bite. "Hmm…I guess these aren't that bad, after all…although I do prefer the old fashioned way better."

"I see." Smirking at him, she took a bite of her s'more, licking a stray bit of chocolate from her lips. "So does that apply to lovemaking, too?," she giggled.

He waggled an eyebrow at her. "Maybe later on this evening, we can do an experiment to find out…"

"An excellent idea." Brennan wiped Christine's hands and mouth with a damp paper towel. "Perhaps we should begin the after dinner clean up process immediately."

"I think so, too. Let me wipe down the grill, and then I'll load the dishes into the dishwasher while you get Christine ready for bed."

"Agreed." She gave him a flirty wink. "Perhaps I should take some of the leftover s'mores upstairs…so we can invent a new role playing game…"

He grinned happily. "Good idea, Bones. I'll be up in a few minutes."

Booth smiled to himself as he watched the love of his life take their beautiful little girl into their comfortable home. Maybe the s'mores she made were really weird, but he was still a very lucky guy. After picking up the dirty dishes from the picnic table, he paused, admiring his shiny new toy once again. "Yep, Bones was right…baby girls definitely need grills. Since Christine is still a little too young to use her new grill, Daddy gets to use it to make dinner while Mommy gets to relax for a little bit. That's a nice thing for Daddy to do for Mommy…" He chuckled as he walked into the kitchen. "...especially if it means Daddy gets s'more loving from Mommy for dessert."

Personally, I love coconut!

If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it. Laura