A/N: Hi there! I am sooooo glad I already had this chapter ready, since I feel like I am coming down with something, again. This is the final part of Taking Care of Parker. After this, we'll go back to a little more story instead of just fluff, at least; that is the idea XD.
Thank you Kareneb for reviewing the previous chapter.
Booth was exhausted. This was their first out of town case since they had been dating, so it was also the first time they had shared a hotel bed together without it being for a case. Naturally, that meant that there hadn't been much time for sleeping. With previous girlfriends, Booth was certain this phase of ditching sleep for quality time hadn't lasted as long, but then again, Bones was and had always been special to him.
After a, frankly way too, short night for the day they had today, Bones had gotten everything from the body she needed. They had made the drive home with barely taking breaks so he would be home in time to relieve Lilly. When Bones and he had left, Booth still had hopes of being home in time tuck Parker in. Unfortunately, there had been an accident on the highway that had delayed them for hours. It was midnight when he had dropped Bones off at her apartment and with regret, he had continued his drive to his own apartment.
So now it was about 00.30 am as he stepped through his front door. This was one of those times his sniper training came in handy as he silently walked across the floors to check on Parker. It was a habit that Booth had formed after Epps had spooked Parker in the park years before. Every night that Parker was with him, Booth would check in on his son right before going to bed himself. Quietly opening the door to Parker's room, Booth peaked inside. Instead of the bouncy curls, he saw long strands of hair on the pillow. He smiled as Lilly made a grunt in her sleep.
It was a smart choice that Lilly was sleeping in Parker's bed, otherwise, Booth would have had to sleep on the ground or wake Lilly up to tell her that she could go home if she wanted to. He did wonder though how they had come to that arrangement. Closing the door, he went to the master bedroom. Parker was all stretched out over the bed. How could a 10-year-old take in so much space? Booth smiled at the sight. Too bad it was too dark to take a picture. Shedding his suit, he crawled into bed, gave Parker a kiss on his forehead and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Parker woke up to get to the bathroom. He got up from bed, turned around and saw his dad lying beside him. "Dad! You're home!" Forgetting about his pressing need to go to the toilet he threw himself onto the bed to hug his father.
"Morning bub," Booth said, his voice raspy from just waking up.
"When did you get back?"
"Like way past curfew", Booth said. "There was a lot of traffic otherwise I would have been home by your bedtime."
"I missed you," Parker said.
Booth smiled sadly. "I missed you too. I am sorry I had to leave so suddenly and that we missed the movie. We could go tonight if you want?"
"Maybe we could go this weekend? Lilly and I watched the Smurfs the day before yesterday."
Booth nodded. "Really? And what about yesterday?"
A broad smile appeared on Parker's face. "We all played twister, I won once and Lilly won once. Wendell didn't win at all." Parker sounded especially proud at beating Wendell.
"That is great Parks. So you did enjoy yourself in the last two days?"
"Yes, Lilly is very nice and funny. Did she go home already?"
"No", Booth said. "Unless she snuck out during the night, she should still be sleeping in your bed. Why is she sleeping in your bed anyway?"
Parker shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but she said sleeping in your bed was uncomfortable. She didn't say why though and she looked uncomfortable talking about it, so I backed off."
"Aha", Booth said. "How about we go and make some breakfast? You can wake up Lilly when it's done."
"Okay!" Parker said cheerily.
Booth and Parker enjoyed their quality time in the kitchen. It was a little earlier than usual for Parker, but the boy was wide awake and happy his father was back in town. When a giant stack of breakfast pancakes stood tall on the table Booth told Parker to wake Lilly up. Parker used the opportunity to wake up Lilly by jumping on the bed.
"Huh-uhhhh", Lilly grumbled as she was awakening from her slumber. As she turned in her cocoon of sheets she saw who was the cause of her rude awakening.
"Good morning Parker. Is everything okay?" Parker was getting a little out of breath but Lilly was able to decipher a no shake before he quit jumping altogether.
"Yes, but dad is back and breakfast is ready."
Lilly smiled at his enthusiasm.
"So, are you coming?" Parker asked as he looked at Lilly for an answer.
"Yes, give a minute and I'll be there."
"Okay". Parker jumped off the bed and practically run out of the room.
It actually took Lilly a couple of minutes to get out of bed. "Morning."
Booth turned around, chuckling at Lilly's sleepy head. "I see you're still not a morning person."
Lilly smiled as she tried to get her hair to cooperate. "Nope, I'll probably never be. When did you get back? I was awake until about midnight."
"I came in at one. Did Wendell... stay until late?"
"He went home at about 11," Lilly informed Booth.
"Alright. Well, breakfast is ready, so how about we eat it while it isn't cold yet?"
Parker went to the bathroom to get ready for his day. As Lilly and Booth cleaned up the dishes from breakfast Booth continued the conversation. "So how was yesterday evening?"
"It was fun. Wendell came by to have dinner. We had wraps. Oh, I did manage to restock your fridge. You're lucky I know your grocery habits."
"I noticed. Thanks. So nothing shocking happened?" Booth teased.
"No, I already told you that before nothing could have happened."
"You sure? Because Parker told me you didn't find my bed comfortable."
Lilly wrinkled her nose. "What?"
"I asked him why he was sleeping in my room and he told me that you said my bed isn't comfortable."
Lilly grinned. "Ah, I get it. You're still worried that you have to buy a new bed, isn't it?"
Booth shrugged. He wasn't going to deny it since it was still on his mind.
"I told Parker I was uncomfortable sleeping in your bed. I never said that your bed is uncomfortable. It's the idea of sleeping in your bed that feels a tad weird. Because... You know... That is where the magic happens."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Booth cringed.
"Your magic, not mine," Lilly added with a giant smile, enjoying Booth's discomfort. "I could use some magic though, but I'll wait another two days. Wendell is too busy working on finding a doctoral project right now."
"I didn't really need to know that..."
Lilly smirked. "On no, I disagree. Apparently you did. Oh, look at the time. I better start getting ready for work," as she walked back to her temporary room to get her clothes. Revenge was a dish better served in person.
A/N: Okay, so Lilly was being a little mean to Booth, but then again, he started it XD. Thank you for reading and I'd love to know what you think about this chapter :).