It was raining heavily as Booth pulled his SUV up to the curb at the airport's Delta terminal. "Well, Buddy...here we are…"

"Yeah." Trying to be stoic as he unbuckled his seatbelt, Parker furtively ran a knuckle under his eyes. "I had a great time at the beach, Dad. I hope I can visit again soon."

"Me, too." Climbing out of the car, Booth hurried around to the back and pulled out his son's backpack and suitcase. "So Atlanta, and then on to London, right?"

"Yup. The departure times worked out better that way." Shouldering his pack, Parker grabbed the handle of his suitcase and pulled it up onto the sidewalk. "It's a long trip home either way."

"I remember." Booth patted his son's shoulder. "So we'll all skype soon, alright? I don't know how Christine and Hank will handle the time difference...it may be hard to figure that out, but don't worry. We'll get it taken care of. I know you miss talking to them."

"Yeah, I do." Sniffling slightly, Parker tried to smile at his dad. "Does saying goodbye ever get easier?"

"Nope, it doesn't." Booth pulled the young man into a bearhug. "Not when you love someone like we love you. Take care of yourself, okay? Now…" Booth pointed to the doors that led into the terminal. "...you better get a move on so you don't miss your flight. We'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Okay." Parker nodded as he shook his father's hand. "I love you, Dad...tell Bones I love her, too...and Christine and Hank..."

"You got it." Booth wanted to linger a few more minutes, but the traffic patrol officer was anxious to have him move his SUV out of the way. "Bye, Parker."

"Bye, Dad." Turning quickly so his father wouldn't see his tears, Parker quickly walked through the building's sliding doors and was gone.

Booth climbed into the SUV and slowly drove away, blinking back his tears as he pulled onto the highway leading away from the airport. Sighing softly, he tried to concentrate on the drive to Maryland instead of thinking about how much he was going to miss his eldest child.

Oooooooooo

Booth drove along the highway in the pouring rain, singing loudly with the oldies station on Pandora. He grinned as he tapped his steering wheel to the beat of My Sharona. Reaching over to the dashboard, he cranked up the sound a couple of notches. They don't make music like that anymore...too bad, too. That's a great song. My my my… my Sharona…

He did a few dance moves in his seat as George Michaels sang Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, but his mood grew more pensive as he listened to the Bangles' An Eternal Flame. He nodded as he listened to the words. Say my name, sunlight through the rain...you take my hand and ease my pain…

Those words fit his beautiful wife perfectly. He wondered once again how he could ever make her understand just how much her steadfast belief in him had sustained him over these last few months. Of course, Bones would say that she was merely fulfilling her office of spouse by supporting him in his time of need, but it was so much more than that. Once again she had saved him...not just his life, but his heart as well. He was a very fortunate man…

He was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed how much heavier the rain had become as he neared Ocean City. Soon his car seemed to be engulfed in a deluge of almost Biblical proportions. Man, look at it rain...I'm glad I'm almost there…

What little traffic there was had slowed to a crawl and then finally to a stop, as the road to Ocean City was blocked with a barricade. Moving his SUV around the line of cars, Booth pulled up next to a Maryland State Patrol car and rolled down his window. "What's up, Officer?"

"Road's closed into Ocean City. They've had a pretty bad storm...power's out...trees down...cell service disrupted...stuff like that." The young man scratched his chin as he looked at Booth. "You can't get in there right now. Might as well turn around and go back the way you came."

"What? A bad storm? What kind of storm?", Booth began frantically as he pulled out his phone. "No cell service?"

"Nope...no services at all." The officer waved at another patrol car as it drove past the barricade. "The Weather Service said it was a microburst, whatever the hell that is…"

"Look, Officer...my wife and kids are in Ocean City…"

"I understand, sir. Lotsa people are stuck there. It doesn't seem like there were any injuries, however. I'm sure your family's fine." Officer Dukes shrugged as he turned away from Booth. "The utility guys said they wanna go check the place out and make sure there aren't any live wires down or stuff like that before people go traipsing through the town. They've asked the people there to shelter in place for a bit and for everyone else to stay out…just until the gas and power companies do their thing. It's a safety issue, you know?"

Booth was impatient to see his family, and he was not about to let some baby faced state cop stand in his way. "Listen, Officer Dukes...I'm a federal agent. FBI, okay?" He flipped his badge open to his ID photo. "I have national clearance, see? You can let me through…I can help with the clean up."

"Nope." The officer offered Booth a bland smile. "My orders are that no one gets through...nobody, no how. Not even the President of the United States...not even the Pope." Seeing Booth's angry scowl, Dukes chuckled softly. "Sorry, Buddy…"

"Sorry, Buddy? Is that all you've got to say for yourself?" Booth got out of his car and slammed the door loudly. Now thoroughly irate, he ignored the pounding rain as he chewed out the young man. "You listen to me, okay? Get your supervisor on that radio now before I kick your ass from here to the Atlantic Ocean! Tell him that I'm going into Ocean City, and there's nothing that's gonna stop me!"

"Except for maybe getting arrested by the Maryland State Police." Officer Dukes listened to the walkie talkie as it squawked, holding up a finger as he nodded at an aggravated Booth. "Right. Okay. Thanks." Putting his radio in his pocket, Dukes shrugged again. "Cap'n says to be patient. He says to give it thirty or forty minutes and they'll be through with checking out everything in Ocean City. Can you wait that long, Agent Booth?"

"I suppose, but there's no way I'm gonna be patient. I'm not happy about this at all, okay?" Wiping his wet hair away from his face, Booth glared at the officer. "I'm gonna write a letter to your superiors, Dukes...you hear me? They're probably gonna bust you down to mechanic ultra junior grade. You'll be stuck in the garage airing up everyone's tires…" Muttering angrily to himself, Booth opened the door and climbed into his SUV. "I mean it…I'm gonna make sure they teach you a lesson on how to deal with people."

"Yes, sir. I know, sir." Officer Dukes sighed softly and braced himself for another unpleasant barrage as another angry driver approached him. Maybe my wife was right...maybe I ought to be a first responder...it sure would be easier than working for the highway patrol…

Oooooooooo

Booth was shocked at the amount of destruction that had been done by the storm. As he drove through the resort community, he had to maneuver his car around downed trees and power poles. Several of the beach houses had lost parts of their roofs and there was broken glass, tree branches, and torn shingles everywhere.

Trying to quell his panic as he drove to the lot where their home of the last three weeks stood, he breathed in deeply. Dukes said no one was injured...they're gonna be okay… Still, he wasn't sure he could believe it until he saw his wife and his children with his own two eyes.

After parking the car, he gave the house a cursory inspection before racing up the front steps. Satisfied that things were okay for the time being, he threw open the front door. "Bones? Where are you? Are you okay?"

He heard Christine's giggle coming from under a pile of blankets. "Shhh, Bunny...let's see if Daddy can find us!"

Hardly in the mood to play childish games, her father grabbed the top blanket and threw it aside. "There you are...come here and give me a hug. I was so worried about you!"

"Aw, look, Daddy...you tore up our fort." Christine's bottom lip stuck out in a mock pout as she held up her stuffed rabbit for his inspection. "Now me and Bunny have to build it all over again."

"That's alright, Christine." Brennan came down the stairs with Hank balanced on her hip. "Daddy likes to build forts out of blankets, don't you, Daddy?"

"Bones! Oh, my God." Booth rushed to the foot of the stairs and embraced her tenderly. "There you are! Jesus, I was so scared when I heard about the storm! Are you alright? Is the house okay? How long has the power been out?"

"You're all wet. Have you been standing out in the rain?" Brennan chuckled as she handed him the squirming baby. "We're fine. It doesn't appear as if the house sustained any major structural damage, although one of the guest room windows was broken out by flying debris. I've boarded it up with some plywood I found in the garage. The power has been out for a couple of hours, since the approximate height of the storm."

"The highway patrol officer I talked to said it was a microbust, or something like that." Booth grimaced as he realized that he probably owed Officer Dukes an apology. "It looked like there was a lot of damage as I drove through town."

"When the hurricane passed by this section of the coast, it spawned several large thunderstorms. A microburst often occurs when a thunderstorm develops a sudden strong downdraft. They can be quite destructive. Fortunately, we were warned of the impending severe weather by the radio, so we were able to prepare for any problems that could've occurred." She smiled as she picked up the device. "I was quite impressed by its efficiency. We need to get one for our home."

Rolling his eyes at his wife, Booth sighed with exasperation. "Nice to know, I guess. But you're okay?"

"Of course." She kissed her husband on the cheek. "We've been without power, but other than that, we're fine. I found some flashlights and battery operated lanterns in the garage, so we'll be able to see what we're doing this evening."

"It's been fun having no 'lectricity, Daddy. We played like we were settlers in the American colonies! They didn't have 'lectricity, or computers or things like that, you know." Christine took on her mother's teacher mode as she continued her lecture. "The colonists had to do without luxuries like air conditioning and running water, and they didn't have a lot of things to eat, but they survived and developed the land, and soon the population grew."

"I see." Booth grinned as he ruffled the little girl's hair. "So are we gonna have to cook our dinner outside over an open fire tonight?"

Brennan grimaced slightly. "The officer that came to check on us said that he wasn't sure when power would be restored. It could be as late as tomorrow afternoon."

"Well, then, I guess we can have some colonist sandwiches, okay?" Booth exhaled softly, smiling with satisfaction as he once again embraced his family. "I don't care what we have for dinner, as long as we're together."

Oooooooooo

It was late, and the darkened house was quiet except for the soft chirrup of insects outside the windows. The bedroom curtains were wafted gently in the breeze that filled the room. A lantern flickered softly from the dresser, casting shadows that danced merrily across the room.

Booth lay in bed with his wife in his arms, both happy and very well satisfied from their time spent making love together. Heaving a contented sigh, he stroked her hair as she snuggled against his chest. "I think it was a good idea to leave the air conditioning off even though the power came back on. It's kind of fun to play 'settlers', isn't it?"

"I suppose so, but I'll be happy to have the electricity back when I do the laundry tomorrow. I don't think I'd like to wash all of our clothes by hand." She giggled as he pulled her close. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm getting ready for round three." He twitched an eyebrow at her. "After all, the doctor released me from care, and you promised that we'd engage in some rambunctious behavior together…"

"That I did, and I'll keep my promise, but I want to enjoy the peace and quiet for a few more minutes. We'll have to go back to our regular lives soon, and I want to remember what it feels like to be perfectly relaxed." Brennan hummed softly as she traced circles on Booth's chest. "I want these memories to last a long time." Propping herself up on her elbow, she looked into her husband's eyes. "I was wrong, you know...taking a beach vacation was an excellent idea."

"Wow...did you just admit that you made a mistake?" Booth chuckled as she pretended to glare at him. "Well, I'm glad you can finally agree that it was a good idea."

"So…", Brennan began quietly. "...do you think we should look for our own beach house? Would you like to come to the beach every summer and stay for a couple of weeks, or maybe even a month?"

"Oh, I don't know." He caressed her curves gently. "I mean, it sounds like fun, but there'd be a lot of upkeep if we had a house on the seashore. Besides, I think it might be kind of like a story I read when I was a kid. It was called Christmas Every Day. In the story, a girl loves Christmas so much that she wishes that every day was Christmas, and her wish comes true, but then, by the end of the story, she ends up hating Christmas because she's so tired of celebrating it every day. I don't want us to hate coming to the beach, or to make it seem like taking a family vacation together is no big deal. This trip has been really special to me, and I'm gonna remember it for as long as I live. I don't want anything to ruin it. I wonder if we'd be disappointed if we tried to recreate it again."

"Perhaps, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I've enjoyed the quiet and solitude that living at the beach offers. We haven't been hounded by people who are constantly demanding our time or our expertise. We've been able to reduce our stress levels, and we've bonded as a family. I'd like to think that we wouldn't take those things for granted."

Booth gave her a cautious smile. "So I guess this means you want a beach house…"

"Not necessarily." Brennan grinned as she ran her hand down her husband's muscular arm. "However, while you were back in DC, the children and I took a tour of a condominium development in Bethany Beach, Delaware…"

"Hmmph." He laughed softly. "I wasn't even gone that long and you were out running around, trying to spend a lot of money. How did you get up there without the car?"

"The realtor who is representing the seller came and picked us up. Anyway, we looked at a three bedroom condominium, and it was very nice. There would be very little upkeep because it's in a building with a full time concierge and maintenance staff, and, if we wanted, the covenants of the building allow owners to lease their units to people who want to stay a week or two."

"I see." Booth grimaced as he lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "I bet it was really expensive, too."

"It was expensive, but it was partially furnished, so that is something to take into consideration. Besides, your wife is a best selling author, remember? I've received a nice bonus that we can use as a down payment on a place at the beach." She bent over to give him a kiss. "What do you think? Can we go look at it tomorrow?"

"I guess so...but I'm not gonna promise anything, okay? It may be cheaper to buy a timeshare…"

"But with a timeshare, we wouldn't always get to choose when we wanted to visit, whereas if we owned the unit we could visit whenever we wanted."

"We can talk about it tomorrow, okay?" He reached up and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Right now, I think we need to get busy on round three. We're running out of vacation, and I want to spend some more quality time with you."

"Oh, okay. We'll talk about it tomorrow." She ran her fingers over his firm jaw. "I love you, Booth."

"I love you, too, Bones." He chuckled as he pulled her over closer to him. "Now, let's get down to business. I need to take some more vacation time."

"Booth?" She stroked his cheek before kissing him again.

"Hmm?" He arched an eyebrow at her suggestively. "What?"

"I want to spend a lot more vacation time with you. We need a beach house...or a beach condo..."

He groaned softly. "What happened to talking about that tomorrow?"

She pointed over his shoulder at the clock on the nightstand. "It's after midnight. It is tomorrow."

Knowing he'd been beaten, he nodded. "Oh, okay. We'll go buy one later today. Good enough?"

"Yes." She grinned broadly as she wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you…"

"Now can I use my vacation time the way I want?"

"Definitely."

"Good. C'mere..."