A/N: like everyone else, I have some fun vacation memories to share, and I've incorporated some of them into this story.

After much hullabaloo and a lot of planning, it was time to get the SUV packed to go to the beach house. Booth stood out in the garage next to the SUV, trying to figure out how to get everything into the back of the truck. He'd badly underestimated how many things his wife would think of as necessities for a month at the beach. Lawn chairs, umbrellas, coolers, towels, linens...it would've been much easier to pack for a trip to the moon.

Brennan brought out another box of food and peered into the back of the vehicle. "It appears that we're running out of room. Perhaps we should rent a trailer, or one of those clam shell carriers to put on the top of the SUV."

"We don't need some stupid clam shell carrier on top of my SUV!" Booth bit his tongue to keep from venting any more of his frustration at his wife. After all, he was the one who'd insisted that they rent this beach house, and while he'd thoroughly enjoyed convincing her that it was a good idea on that pleasant evening a week ago, he knew better than to push his luck at the moment. "Bones, I'm not sure you understand, okay? We're renting a furnished house in a resort community. It's not like we're going on a dig to the Makipulu Islands. We don't need to take all this crap. They even have an organic grocery store, for God's sake…"

Brennan eyed him primly as she set the box next to the truck. "That may be true, but I want to be prepared in case the selection of fruit isn't as good as what we have here." She pointed to the back of the truck again. "Don't forget to leave room for our luggage."

"Yes, thank you. I'll remember." Booth took out the lawn chairs and tried to rearrange things in the truck again. "I think maybe some of this stuff can ride in the floorboards of the backseat. It's only a three hour drive, and with the kids in car seats there should be plenty of room on the floor."

"I suppose, but remember the children will have their backpacks with them. I told them they could bring some books, and each of them have selected two movies to bring with them." Brennan stood on her toes so she could look over Booth's shoulder. "Perhaps you should move the life jackets. Why are we taking life jackets, anyway?"

"To wear when we ride the jet ski. Gotta have life jackets." He squeezed them into a corner of the cargo hold. "I know you think it's gonna be bad for my belly wound, but Dr. Granger said I could use some gauze and then cover it with some waterproof tape, like duct tape, and that since it'll be under my life vest, it should work okay." Seeing his wife's irritation, he chuckled. "You just didn't want me to bring that thing, did you? Now you'll have to ride it with me…"

"You know that won't be possible, Booth. One of us will need to constantly watch Hank around the water." She moved the lawn chairs out of the way. "Make sure you pack both of the umbrellas."

"If you've put them in the pile, I'll pack them, okay? Are the kids' bags packed yet?"

"Yes, they're right inside the door, sitting next to the washer. I'll bring them out shortly." Brennan turned away from him to answer her phone. "Yes, Ms. Warren. You're available? Excellent. When can you come by and get the key? Yes, we'll still be here. Good. I'd like to go over everything with you before we leave. Alright...see you then...goodbye."

"What was that all about?" Booth stood with his hands on his hips. "I thought this was going to be our trip, right? Just for our family?"

"It is, but Ms. Warren is going to water my plants. I don't want to return after a month at the beach and find my herb garden is ruined." Brennan rolled her eyes at her husband. "I've stopped the mail and your paper, but it won't hurt for Jessica to come by and check on the house while we're gone."

"But that's the thing, see? Jessica will tell Aubrey what she's doing, and he won't want her to come here by herself to check on our house because...well, just because, and so he'll raid my snack stash while he's waiting for her to finish the watering. Anyway, they might decide they want to come visit us at the beach for a Saturday or something, and I'm not sure I want that. I wanted this to be a "what's ours is ours thing, you know? Just for my family."

"Oh…" Brennan grimaced as she turned to go back into the house. "I see…"

"Oh? Oh, what? Bones...there's something you're not telling me…" Booth watched her turn and move in a hurry to go indoors. Normally, she'd stand next to him to tell him he was packing the truck incorrectly. Suspicious, he quickly moved between his wife and the door leading from the garage to the house. "Okay...spill it…"

"Well, Angela and I were talking about our vacation plans at work Friday, and I sort of invited her family to come spend a weekend with us at the beach house, and I think Ms. Warren and Aubrey are going to come that same weekend."

"Seriously? This is supposed to be our family time, right?" Booth gritted his teeth and exhaled slowly. "I wish you would've discussed this with me first before you invited them."

"It just sort of popped out, you know? I wasn't planning to invite them, but it just happened." Brennan shrugged as she reached out to rub Booth's arm in an effort to placate him. "Angela and Jack are like family to us, Booth. You know I consider her to be like a sister to me. And the way Aubrey stood by me while I was looking for you when you were missing, not knowing if you were actually still alive...he deserves to be considered family, too."

Booth finally nodded in agreement. "Okay, okay...I guess you're right...but just for one weekend, right? We're gonna be busy, you know? Ocean Pines is centrally located close to the coast, so we can go to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware one day, and then to the Assateague National Seashore to see some dolphins, and we can spend some time at the Ocean City Beach, too. They have a huge boardwalk. It's gonna be fun…plus we'll need time just to hang out and relax...the resort has miniature golf and regular golf, and racquetball courts and all sorts of stuff."

"Yes, they're all just coming for one weekend, which amounts to about ten percent of our vacation time. We'll have plenty of time left for all of those other activities." Brennan pulled Booth close and smiled. "And as far as 'what's ours is ours' goes, Booth, I think between what's mine and what's yours, we'll be able to find time for 'what's ours', don't you?" She rubbed the back of his thigh and then pinched his butt as she gave him a sultry smile. "I find I'm looking forward to that very much…"

"Yeah…" Booth exhaled slowly, a little breathless at his wife's suggestion. "Maybe we ought to go soon, huh?"

Brennan laughed as she arched her eyebrow at him. "Ms. Warren will be here in an hour or so, and Hank and Christine are napping. Can you take a break from packing the SUV? I want to show you my new bathing suit. I'm going to try it on in our bedroom…"

Booth jogged over to slam the tailgate of the truck closed. "I'll be right there…"

Oooooooooo

Three hours later, they were on the road, ready to make the three hour drive to Ocean Pines, Maryland. Because it was Sunday afternoon, the traffic wasn't as bad as it normally might've been, but there were still plenty of cars on the highway. However, it was a pleasant drive from DC to the Atlantic Coast...for the most part.

"Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom." Christine wiggled in her car seat. "I don't think I can wait."

Booth glanced at the rearview mirror. "I can't stop now, Sweetheart. We're on a bridge crossing the Chesapeake Bay. When we get over the bay, we can stop if you still need to, okay?"

"But Daddy…" Christine whimpered. "I have to go…"

"Well, think of something else, okay? Don't look at the water out there. I know. Why don't you sing Mommy that song from that movie you like so well. What's it called?"

"You mean Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid?" Christine bit her lip. "I have to go to the bathroom now!"

"I'm sorry, Baby. What's another movie you like? Besides Finding Nemo?" He glanced at Brennan. "A little help here, Bones…"

"Oh, yes...help. Christine, don't concentrate on your bladder's sphincter muscles. Think about something else. Let's see...I know. What's the capital of Maryland?"

The little girl thought for a minute. "Annapolis?"

"That's right. Very good. Now, here are some interesting facts about Annapolis. Listen carefully, and if you can tell me all five of these facts later, I'll give you a quarter, okay? Wouldn't you like Mommy to give you a quarter?"

"I'd rather have a dollar, Mommy." Christine twisted in her seat. "I have to go…"

Booth was appalled. "Are you really bribing our daughter to make her learn something?"

"No, I'm trying to keep her mind from lingering on bodily functions." Brennan turned slightly to smile at her daughter. "Okay, Christine, if you can tell me all five facts later this evening, I'll give you a dollar. Are you ready? Here we go: Annapolis was the capital of the US for a short time. It was named for Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway. It's the closest state capital to Washington, DC. It has a humid subtropical climate, and it's the home of the Naval Academy."

"What's the Naval Academy?", Christine asked.

Booth smiled at the rearview mirror again. "That's where they train people to work on those big aircraft carriers that travel far across the ocean. Some of them even go deep under the water in submarines.

"DADDY! I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!

Ooooooooooo

Dusk was settling over the Ocean Pines Resort as Booth pulled up to the house where they'd spend the next month. It was an imposing white clapboard structure with lots of windows, standing two stories high with a wraparound porch facing the street. "Well, here we are. This is gonna be our home for the next month.", Booth crowed, obviously pleased with himself. "So whad'dya think, Bones? Nice, isn't it?"

"It does look nice. Do you have the key? I'd like to look around inside." Brennan stood on the porch impatiently, waiting for her husband to find the house key. "You have it, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course I have it. I just have to find it." He rummaged around through the glove box and the console of the SUV. "It's gotta be around here somewhere."

"Are you sure you brought it with you?" Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Brennan listened as her husband grumbled to himself.

"Yes, of course I'm sure. Oh, here it is…" He held up his prize. "It was in my wallet. Okay, let's see now…" He unlocked the door, and they walked into the main living area of the house.

"So Hank and Christine will sleep in the rooms on that side of the stairway…" Booth pointed off to his right. "...and me and Mommy will sleep on this side." Nodding toward the stairway, he continued. "There are some more guest rooms upstairs, but when Hodgins and Angela come, we'll just have the kids bunk together and they can have a downstairs room. Here's the kitchen…" The kitchen and the veranda had a view of one of the branches of the estuary that led down to the Atlantic. "Pretty nice."

"I must admit, this is much better than I expected. I suggest that we bring in the cooler and make some sandwiches for dinner before we unpack the rest of our things."

"Sounds like a plan." Booth grinned as he kissed his wife. "Thanks, Bones."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks for what?"

"For being okay with coming to the beach. I know it's not your favorite thing…"

"Normally, that's true, but I was just thinking about how nice it will be to sit out on the veranda with a cup of tea in the morning. I'm looking forward to that."

"Yeah, me, too, only with a cup of coffee." Booth looked down at Christine, who was shivering slightly. "Are you cold, Sweetheart? The ocean breezes can be chilly in the evening."

Brennan rubbed her daughter's back to warm her up. "Christine, I packed a lightweight sweatshirt in your bag. Why don't you go get it and put it on?"

"Okay, Mommy." Christine walked out to the car as her parents got the evening meal ready. She soon came back in wearing a frown instead of a sweatshirt. "Mommy, I can't find my bag."

"That's strange. I know I took it out for your father to put into the SUV. Just a minute...I'll come look." Wiping her hands on a paper towel, Brennan went out to help Christine look, but they came back empty handed. "Booth? Do you remember seeing Christine's Hello Kitty duffel bag?"

"Well, yeah...I put it in the SUV…" He paused as he realized what had happened. "...and then I took it out to rearrange things, and I guess I forgot to put it back in. It's sitting in the garage as we speak."

"So Christine has no clothing to wear for a month at the beach." Brennan was not impressed.

"What's the big deal? Just go get her a couple of pairs of shorts and some tee shirts at the local shops. I'm sure you can find her some panties and a bathing suit, too." Squirming a bit under his wife's glare, he tried to shrug off his mistake. "I'm sorry, but it's not the end of the world, is it?" After acting suitably contrite, Booth threw in some sad puppy eyes for good measure. "C'mon, Bones...it's no big deal…is it?"

Shaking her head at her shamelessly charming husband, Brennan finally offered up a small smile. "No, I suppose not. I'll take Christine first thing in the morning to get some new clothes." Bouncing a fussy Hank on her hip, she brought the sandwiches and some fresh fruit to the dinner table. "Here we go. Our first meal at the beach."

"Yeah." Booth took a big bite of his ham and cheese on rye. "The first meal of a wonderful beach vacation."

Are we having fun yet?