I bet you know what Archbishop Wallace decided...

Father Silvestri was an innately cheerful man. Throughout his twenty years in the priesthood, he'd been happy wherever he'd been assigned to serve as a parish priest. All he needed to be content was a roof over his head, a few basic household furnishings, a place for his books, a place for his computer, and, of course, a cat or two. Those things were the necessities of life. Everything else was a luxury.

The rectory at St. Vincent's was little more than an abandoned two car garage that had been converted into a tiny apartment, but even with the general benign neglect it had received from the previous tenant, it was in much better condition than the church's parish hall, and Father Silvestri considered himself lucky in that regard. He'd lived in many worse places during his career. He knew that with a little paint and perhaps the addition of some flowerbeds in the Spring, it'd be a lovely place to live.

He liked his current assignment very much, and had soon found himself becoming attached to his parishioners, which presented somewhat of a problem for him, especially since Archbishop Wallace had asked him to come to the diocesan offices the following week.

"I bet that means we'll have to move again, Cecilia. I can't imagine why else the Archbishop would need to see an ordinary parish priest like little ol' me.," Father Silvestri said to his cat early one Saturday morning. As he filled her food bowl, he sighed sadly. "I was just getting used to this place, too. It's a great location, and the little grocery store down the street has everything I need. I don't have to do much driving, either. I can walk down the path to the church so that saves time. It's a beautiful place to worship, too, and I love the people here. Sure, most of them are elderly, and a few of them are cantankerous, but oh, the lives they've lived...the things they've seen...their memories...their wisdom..." He shrugged, rinsing out his coffee cup before placing it in the nearby drainer. "But that's the way it goes, right? I should've known that might happen. It's part of the deal, you know. I have to go where they send me, even if it's not my first choice."

Unconcerned with those mundane issues, the cat swished her tail as her owner nattered on. "Meow…"

"I know...the whole 'obedience' thing is no fun, but don't worry, Ceci. I'm sure the next rectory will have a nice sunny window sill for you to sleep on, just like this one does." He reached down to scratch her ears. "Now, I've got to go open the church so I can hear confessions. You know Mrs. Barnes is going to be here first thing this morning, in a hurry to tell me all about the scandalous dreams she's had about that 'handsome actor' on her favorite detective show. I keep telling her not to watch it, but I think she believes the penance is worthwhile, since the dreams are so much 'fun'…" He chuckled as the purring cat rubbed against his leg. "I know...she's eighty, so let her dream, right? Be a good girl, Cecilia. I won't be gone very long."

Closing the door behind him, the priest walked down the winding stone path that led to the front of the church. As he neared his destination, however, he began to grow alarmed as he realized there was a commotion coming from the street that ran in front of the old building. "What on Earth?" He picked up his pace, jogging around the corner and then stopping in his tracks.

There was a loud beep...beep...beep as a large truck backed up next to the parish hall and unloaded a dumpster. Cars were parked on both sides of the narrow street, and several people were milling about, talking and laughing as they greeted each other.

"Hello?," Father Silvestri called out to the crowd. "Hey! Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Oh, hey, Father." Smiling broadly, Booth walked over and shook hands with the priest. "There's someone here I'd like you to meet." He waved at a man, who joined them. "This here is a friend of mine...Phil Salazar. He's gonna be in charge of the renovations on the parish hall."

"Renovations? What renovations? What are you talking about?" Father Silvestri's eyes narrowed as he regarded Booth with suspicion. "It's not nice to play practical jokes on a priest, you know…"

"Look." Booth handed the priest a set of papers, pointing to a line on the bottom of the front page. "Here's the official contract for the work, signed by Archbishop Wallace. It's ready to go. The parish hall is going to be completely redone from the studs out...plumbing, electrical...new appliances...lighting...furniture...everything."

"Oh my…" Feeling his knees go weak, Father Silvestri grabbed Booth's arm to steady himself. "But…I'm not sure I understand." He handed the papers back to Booth. "What does this mean for my parish?"

"Well, the first thing it means is that me and all my buddies here…" Booth pointed to the crowd behind him. "...we're gonna do the demo of the old parish hall, and then Phil is gonna start the renovation so that eventually you'll have what amounts to a brand new facility."

"But that'll cost a fortune.," the priest began sadly. "I don't mean to appear ungrateful, Agent Booth, but this congregation can't afford that…"

Raising his hand to interrupt, Booth shrugged slightly. "You don't have to worry about that. It's all been taken care of, okay? Phil's gonna do the work at cost, which will save the diocese a bundle, and as far as the cost of materials…" He smiled as Brennan walked up. "This is Dr. Temperance Brennan...she and one of her colleagues, Dr. Jack Hodgins...they're gonna foot the bill for that stuff. Your congregation won't have to spend a dime."

Shaking his head in disbelief, the priest regarded the anthropologist with wide-eyed surprise. "You're Temperance Brennan? The author? Oh, dear Lord!" The priest blessed himself before reaching out to shake her hand. "I love your books! They're wonderful...so entertaining." Seeing Booth's raised eyebrow and ornery smirk, he rushed to explain. "When a new book comes out, my sister reads it first and marks the spots where Kathy and Andy get frisky, so I can skip those pages…I just read the mystery parts..."

Winking at Booth, Brennan nodded. "Of course. That makes perfect sense."

"Anyway…it's so nice to meet you." Somewhat embarrassed, Father Silvestri grinned sheepishly at Booth and Brennan. "So, um...not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Agent Booth, but can I ask why you're going to all this trouble for my little church?"

Clearing her throat, Brennan spoke up. "We believe that St. Vincent's would be an excellent location for a food pantry and soup kitchen, and since that sort of program is lacking in this area, we decided to correct that issue. All that's needed for this location to be successful is to bring the parish hall up to code. Your congregation will be able to use the space as well, of course. And I believe…," She glanced at Booth, who nodded slightly. "...I believe Archbishop Wallace wants you to be in charge of the facilities once the renovation is done. You'll be able to stay on as the administrator, even if this congregation has to be combined with St. Martin's."

"Oh my goodness! That's amazing...more than amazing, it's miraculous...an answer to prayer! A new parish hall? And a way for St. Vincent's to serve our community? And the church building is saved? And I get to stay on and work here? It's...it's a perfect solution." The priest grabbed Booth's hand and shook it. "Thank you...thank you so much, Agent Booth! Thank you, Dr. Brennan!" He pulled out his handkerchief to wipe away his happy tears. "Bless my soul...miracles still happen, don't they?"

"Miracles do still happen, Father, but I think this is more an example of thinking outside the box, with a dash of using the resources I had at hand." Booth grinned as the priest continued to thank him. "Really, it's no big deal…"

"But it is...it is a 'big deal'. This way we can keep St. Vincent's alive, even if the congregation has to transfer, and this beautiful building can still be useful. I knew it...I knew the Lord wouldn't let anything happen to St. Vincent's, and he used you to make sure the church would be saved, Agent Booth!" Wiping away more tears, Father Silvestri sniffled quietly before continuing. "Listen, I have to go hear confessions this morning, but later on, after I change clothes, can I help with the demo? I want to be a part of this project!"

"You bet, Father! The more the merrier!"

Watching as the priest jogged up the steps to the church's front door, Booth turned to Brennan with a smile. "I guess we made him really happy, huh?"

She smiled and gave him a hug. "It certainly seems so. And that makes you happy, too?"

"Yeah, it does." He gave her a quick kiss. "Okay, Bones...let's me and you get to work."

Oooooooooo

As they sat in the SUV later that day, Booth smiled as he glanced at Brennan. "So...are you tired yet?"

Rubbing the back of her neck, she groaned softly. "Yes, I am...and sore, and sweaty, too, but I think the effort was worthwhile."

"Yeah, me, too." He pointed to the overflowing dumpster. "With all the help we had on hand, we got all the demolition done in a hurry, didn't we? I tell you what, Father Silvestri can swing a mean sledge hammer. I think he enjoyed knocking holes in those walls. And the good news is that we didn't discover any nasty surprises when we did the tear down. Phil says it's pretty much what he expected, so that's gonna make the renovation a lot easier."

"Father Silvestri told me that he worked on various construction projects to put himself through college.," Brennan said, taking a drink of water. "And he seemed to enjoy contributing to the project."

"Yeah, I think so. You know, guys like him make good priests because they can relate so well to the people they serve. They don't mind doing hard work and getting dirty, and I'm sure his congregants respect that about him." Sighing happily, Booth reached over to pat Brennan's knee. "Thanks, Bones. I'm not sure this project would've gotten off the ground without your help…"

She shook her head as she gazed out of the SUV's windshield. "It's not just me. Hodgins is helping, as is your friend, Mr. Salazar…"

"Yeah, but you got the ball rolling. When Phil and Hodgins realized you were putting up a big chunk of change for the project, they knew that a crazy dream could become a reality. You're a force of nature, you know? No one's gonna bet against that big heart of yours…and with your financial backing, so many hungry people in this area are gonna be helped..."

She waved off his compliment. "I was just doing what I thought was necessary for the good of the community…"

"Maybe you feel that way, but your willingness to help others? That's part of why I feel the way I do about you…because you're always thinking about doing good things for other people." Suddenly feeling bashful, Booth cleared his throat. "Say, are you hungry?"

She nodded slightly. "I could eat…"

"Well, why don't we pick up some Thai for dinner? I've got some beer at my place...and maybe we could watch some old movie later...if that's okay with you…"

"I'd like that very much." She gave him a coy smile. "So...will this count as our second date?"

As he started the car, Booth couldn't help but grin. "Do you want it to count as our second date?"

"Yes, I believe so…"

"Then, yeah...it's our second date." He waggled an eyebrow at her. "Are you keeping track of how many dates we have? Is there some sort of magic number I need to get to? Do I have a goal to reach?"

She giggled softly. "That's for me to know, and you to find out…"

"Hmm...for me to find out? So I've got some research to do?" He winked at her as he pulled the car out of the parking lot. "Okay...challenge accepted."

Brennan offered him a sexy smile. "Good. I'm looking forward to your efforts in search of the truth, Booth."

He grinned happily at that thought. "Yeah, Bones...me, too."


I appreciate your kind reviews. I'll post another chapter soon. Laura.