Several of my readers mentioned that Booth should apologize to Officer Dukes for his behavior in the last chapter. I hope this little epilogue will satisfy you.

"Here's your lunch." Brennan brought a plate laden with a sandwich and some chips and a glass of water out to her husband as he sat on the veranda's porch swing. "What are you working on? You've been quite involved in your project since we arrived home." She grinned as she sat in a chair opposite of him. "Are you still concerned about our ability to make payments on the condominium if we purchase it?"

"A little. I mean, even if we use that big check you got for your advance, those payments are still gonna be pretty hefty." He closed the laptop and put it on a nearby table. "But that wasn't what I was doing." He sighed slightly as he stared out over the horizon. "When I was on my way here yesterday there was a roadblock, and access to the town was limited because of all the storm damage." He swallowed slightly, grimacing before he continued. "I was really agitated with the Maryland State Police officer who told me I couldn't pass, and I basically threatened to have him fired if he didn't let me by."

"Booth! Why would you act in such an irrational manner? You're a law enforcement agent yourself! You know how difficult that job is...especially yesterday when the weather conditions were so poor…"

"Yeah, I know." Embarrassed at his admission, he shrugged slightly. "All I can say is that whenever I think you and the kids are in danger I don't handle it well, alright? I wasn't thinking straight. I was really worried about you, and I reacted badly, taking it out on Officer Dukes. I told him he was gonna end up working in the motor pool's garage putting air in tires of the patrol cars."

"Booth!" Brennan was obviously appalled. "I understand your concern for our safety, even though you should realize by now that I'm quite capable of taking care of myself and our children. However, to denigrate a man for simply doing his job...the job he was most likely ordered to do…"

"I know, I know!" Booth raised his hands in surrender. "I was wrong, so I'm trying to fix things, okay? I'm writing a letter to the State Police Commandant, recommending that Officer Dukes receive a citation for his outstanding service as he performed his duties yesterday. As a fellow law enforcement officer, I know when a guy's doing an exceptional job, you know? I mean, I raked that guy over the coals, yelling at him like a fool, and he never lost his cool. He was completely professional, even though I was being a goddamn jackass." Smiling at his wife, he picked up his sandwich. "I think that might be almost as good as an apology to the officer. it would be hard to find him, but I think if I go to the top, the kid will get the word from the brass. What do you think?"

"Perhaps, especially if you mention how much of a goddamn jackass you were being in your recommendation." Brennan chuckled at her husband's scowl. "Yes, that would be an appropriate conciliatory gesture. Is that what you were doing on the computer?"

"Yeah." He took a drink from his glass. "What are the kids up to?"

"They're watching Finding Nemo. Christine is quite fond of that movie, even though she was disappointed to learn that clownfish are not common in this area of the Atlantic Ocean." Brennan stole a few chips from Booth's plate. "Are you actually concerned about the cost of the condo?"

"Well...yeah, I guess so. I mean, 850,000 dollars is a lot for a vacation home…"

"True, although it is partially furnished…"

"With furniture from the Disco Era. I'm sure that'll have to be updated, unless you really like orange and brown floral velvet upholstery." Booth grinned at his wife. "And the view…you have to stand on the far end of the balcony to see the water."

"The view isn't as good as it could be. However, having only a partial view of the ocean would save us at least 100,000 dollars."

Chuckling to himself at his wife's effort to be frugal, Booth continued. "I'm also not sure you'd be happy with the kitchen in the long term. Those appliances look to be almost as old as I am."

"I agree...the kitchen might need some work. However, since we'll use it as a vacation home we won't have to replace them with the top of the line brands. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Booth was suddenly suspicious of the glint in his wife's eye. "How much is this idea gonna cost me?"

"I was merely thinking that we could refurbish the condominium with the idea that it would be our retirement home. After all, it is arranged all on one level, and it would be a fairly simple project to make the master bedroom and bathroom wheelchair accessible." She ran her fingers along the arm of her chair. "It's close to shopping, and with the concierge services, we'd be able to live there without much effort. And, as the realtor pointed out, if we did some repairs to the unit and then decided to sell it, we'd make a profit. It would be a good investment."

"If you could ever be convinced to part with it, that is." Booth smirked at his wife as she pouted a bit. "Look, I know you want the place, and seeing how you make a lot of money with your books, you ought to be able to spend that money however you'd like. So….I say we put in an offer, but let's offer lower than the asking price to start with, okay?"

"Are you sure, Booth?" Brennan smiled happily. "I know you still feel as if we should both contribute finances to our marriage equally, but having that unit would make me so happy…"

"Yeah, I'm sure. You remember what Pops used to say, right? Happy wife...happy life. If you're happy, so am I." He reached over to take her hand. "Call the realtor, okay? Tell her we want it before someone else buys it."

Brennan giggled as she picked up her phone. "Thank you, Booth."

"No problem, Bones. I'm glad you're happy." He sat back in his chair and took another sip from his glass. He knew she'd wanted that condo from the moment she'd seen it, and there was no way he'd be able to change her mind. All things considered, it really was a great place, and he'd had happy visions of enjoying his morning coffee on the condo's sheltered balcony when they'd gone to see it that morning.

Picking up the laptop he finished his letter to the State Police Commandant and hit send. Sighing with contentment, he watched his wife's glowing face as she discussed their offer with the realtor.

He turned his gaze back to the ocean. Considering where he'd been just a few months ago, it was truly miraculous that he was so truly happy now. He had a great job, good friends, and a wonderful family...and maybe now he'd have a nice beach condo as well.

As Brennan hung up the phone, she was practically bouncing with excitement. "Ms. Brill, the realtor, thinks that we can offer significantly less than the asking price since the unit has been for sale for several months. She'll write an offer for 725,000 dollars for us to sign and then present it to the seller. She hopes to get an answer for us by the end of the day."

"Good. I'm glad we can save some money on the deal…"

"So am I.", Brennan agreed. "We can use the money we save on the price to do the remodeling."

"Yeah." Booth rose from the porch swing and picked up his dishes. "I'm gonna go check on the kids. Coming?"

"Yes." Brennan sighed as she turned to enjoy the view from the porch. "I've really enjoyed our vacation, but I suppose it's inevitable that we return to our real lives, isn't it?"

"Yep. I'm going back to work next week." Booth walked over to stand next to his wife, putting his arm around her and drawing her close. "The good news is that we'll have so many good memories to take home with us. We've got lots of pictures and souvenirs, right?"

"True. It has been a wonderful month at the beach." She kissed Booth on the cheek. "And, when we have a vacation place, we'll have many more good memories to make, won't we?"

"Yes, we will, Bones." He smiled happily. "Yes, we will."

This really is the last chapter of my story. Thanks for reading. I hope you've enjoyed it.