Rating: PG - PG13-ish
Pairing: BB
Author's Note: Yeah, so I forgot to mention in my last chapter that Tim Hortan's is in fact a real place (supposedly) and I owe thanks to my friend Ems who is in love with the place. That taken care of, this chapter got away from me just a tad. I'm worried it might be slightly OOC but I can't be sure. ::shrug:: Oh well. At any rate, I am currently working on Chapter Six so be on the watch. And I have a one shot I'll be posting on Valentine's Day most likely because of all the fluffiness.
Dedication: To Ems for worrying.
Brennan woke with a groan, turning over and burying her face in the pillow, trying vainly to elude the golden rays falling through the blinds. She wasn't exactly tired, but she wasn't ready to get up yet. She yawned, stretching, and pulled the covers over her head to properly cocoon herself in, if not darkness then dimness. It took her slow-functioning mind a moment to register the fact that the angle for the sun was different, the bed facing a different way than her own, and the fact that the pillow and sheets smelled differently.
Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, letting the sheets drop into her lap as she surveyed her surroundings. She could hear a faint whistling now, coming from somewhere outside the bedroom and she smiled, recognizing Booth's off-key vocals. She could remember last night, breaking down as soon as they had entered the house and her cheeks flushed at the memory. She was breaking down far to often lately for her tastes.
The glowing red numbers on the bedside clock drew her eyes and she groaned when she saw the time. Nine in the morning. She hadn't slept this late since...she couldn't remember when she had last slept this late. She mumbled something that even she didn't understand under her breath and fell back against the pillows with a muffled "oomph" that she knew he wouldn't be able to understand.
With another, this time resigned, groan she shoved the covers away from her and swung her legs over she side of the bed, stretching as she stood, enjoying the warmth from the sun after the week-and-a-half of rain they had suffered from. She made her way out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen, smiling when she saw him at the stove, pouring the contents of a bowl onto a pan.
"Good morning," he said, turning to face her with a smile.
"Hi," she replied, unsure of how she was supposed to act after last night.
She ran a hand through her hair nervously, noting that it had come undone during the night and wondering vaguely where the tie had gone too. He acted the same, like he wasn't surprised or unsure about how to act at having her there at nine in the morning wearing mostly his clothes, after spending the night and rambling about rainstorms and the case and how she hadn't wanted to be alone. She wondered if she should act the same.
"Smells good," she said finally. "What are you making, can I help?"
"I don't think there's much you can do, unless you want to rinse the strawberries. The pancakes will be done soon," he replied. She nodded, locating the box of strawberries in the refrigerator and finding a bowl in one of the cabinets.
"Thanks Booth," she said softly as they sat at the table. She reached over, pouring a more than healthy amount of syrup on her pancakes.
"No problem. What are you thanking me for this time?" he asked. He watched as she cut her pancakes, dipping the already soggy piece in more syrup before popping it in her mouth. He would have never suspected that she was a closet syrup fan.
"For breakfast, for letting me stay here last night. For letting me break down..." He reached out and grabbed her hand, ignoring the look she sent him, or the slight tension that appeared, rubbing small circles over the back of her hand with his thumb, trying to reassure her that everything was okay. "I'll help you clean up, then head home."
"You aren't going to stay?" he asked, surprised.
She gave him a small smile, withdrawing her hand to run it through her hair, pulling it back from her face. "I don't want to take time away from you and Parker," she replied.
"Bones, you are more than welcome to spend the day with us. Parker loves you, you know that. My greatest fear is that he'll idolize you and try and become a squint."
"Oh shut-up!" she exclaimed, throwing a strawberry at him. He laughed and ducked, grinning when he saw her cross her arms and give him a glare. "You really are infuriating. But you realize that, don't you?" she grumbled.
"Aw Bones, I was joking. I don't care what he does as long as he's happy." He offered her a charm smile and she continued grumbling as they finished their breakfast.
She examined her appearance in the mirror, vaguely wondering just what Angela would say if she saw her now. She was dressed in one of Booth's shirts, again, and the pants she had been wearing the night before. This time she had remembered to put them in the dryer, or maybe he had, before she, or he, had fallen asleep. Yes, Angela would have a field day with this. She shuddered at the image brought up by her musings. She knew that no matter what it was, it would have a lot of squealing in it. Just thinking about it gave her the beginnings of a headache and she rolled her eyes, erasing the mental image of Angela's ecstatic face. This would just be one of the things, the many things it seemed lately, that she wouldn't tell her friend.
She ran a hand through her hair, debating on what to do with it. She could risk a rubber band, Angela wasn't hear to lecture on how it broke the hair, or she could leave it down, pin it up with a pencil or the chopsticks she had seen in a drawer in Booth's kitchen? She frowned, and decided to just leave it down for now, though she did hook a rubber band around her wrist, just in case she needed it later.
The shower was still running when the doorbell rang and she checked the time on the clock in the living room as she exited the bedroom where she had been studying her reflection in the full length mirror. It was ten after eleven. She glanced over her shoulder, in the general direction of the bathroom but the water hadn't turned off so she figured that Booth either hadn't heard the bell or figured she would get the door. She sighed and looked through the peephole, seeing the woman outside with the boy in her arms.
"Hi," she said as she opened the door.
The Spanish woman looked momentarily surprised before smiling brightly. "Hello Doctor," she said. "Is Mr. Booth home?"
"He's...busy," she said finally. "I'll take him though, unless you want to wait for Booth?"
"Yes, that'll be fine. Won't it Parker?" Rosa asked the five-year-old. He nodded, grinning, still wearing the birthday hat from the party and clutching a goodie bag in his hand. "He's had a lot of candy, make sure Mr. Booth knows that, and he's been looking forward to this weekend, haven't you Parker?"
"Yes Rosa," he replied dutifully. Rosa smiled at him before handing him over to Brennan. "Hi Doctor Bones!" he exclaimed, grinning widely.
"Hello Parker," she replied. The nanny gave her a parting smile, ruffled Parker's hair, before turning and disappearing down the hallway. Brennan sighed, smiling at Parker, as she brought him into the apartment, closing the door behind her. "Did you have fun at the birthday party?" she asked.
"Yeah! Tony always has the best parties. It was Power Rangers!" he exclaimed, grinning and wiggling to get down. She released him, a smile crossing her face involuntarily as she remembered a different "Tony" that she was sure his father wouldn't care for him to know about. "They actually had two of the Rangers there!"
"Yeah? Which two?" she asked, not that she would actually recognize them. Russ had watched it when they were younger but that had been awhile ago and she was fairly certain they had changed over time. She didn't hear the shower when they entered the living room and gave a silent sigh, thankful that Booth would soon be here to entertain his son. Maybe it would be best if she had left, or did leave.
"The Red one and the Pink one," he replied.
"Ah..." She trailed off as she saw Booth coming down the hall. "I see you Dad," she told the boy.
She watched his eyes light up and couldn't help her own smile as he ran around the sofa, dropping the goodie bag on the coffee table, and raced to his father. Booth grabbed the boy, swinging him up into a hug and she continued to smile, watching the father-son interaction. Booth carried Parker into the living room, dropping him onto the sofa and smiling as Parker laughed, the cone-shaped party hat sliding to the side of his head before being removed by the child.
"So, what do you want to do today?" he asked, ruffling the blonde-brown hair.
"The park?" he asked carefully, smiling.
"Sure thing," Booth replied.
"Daddy? Is Doctor Bones going to come with us?"
Brennan made a mental note to yell at Booth later for what he was teaching his son to call her. But later, after Parker had gone to bed or wasn't around. That thought made her pause, because she wondered why she would assume she'd still be here then. She finally decided that it didn't matter since she would surely see Booth after his son went back to Rebecca.
Booth grins at his son, then at Brennan. "Yeah Parker, Doctor Bones is coming with us," he said.
They're sitting on the bench, relaxing in the bright sunshine, watching as Parker rides the carousel, waving at them each time he passes. He watches her, the way the sun brings out the red of her hair and warms her skin, glitters in her eyes. He can't help but smile when he still sees her wearing one of his shirts, though he can't help but think he'd rather she acquired it differently... His thoughts are broken when she glances at him, eyebrow raised, and he is reminded that she is his partner and friend, nothing more and she needs him now, even if she only admits it during late night thunderstorms, over bowls of melting ice cream.
"What are you smiling at?" she asked, head tilted to the side. He only smiled wider and rested his arm along the back of the bench, hand resting lightly, accidentally he told himself, on her shoulder. "Booth?"
"It's nothing," he replied, glancing up as he heard Parker's laughter and the music of the ride begin to draw to a close. His eyes located his son immediately and he smiled as the boy waved at him before dismounting the blue and green horse he had been riding and rushing over to them. Sometimes, especially late at night on a particularly grueling case, he'd wish for one-tenth of his son's energy.
"Daddy!" he yelled, throwing himself into his father's lap. Brennan laughed, trying to move out of the way but getting tangled up in the flailing limbs and pulled closer.
"Have fun?"
"Yeah." He paused, head tilting and smile widening as he heard the obnoxious song that all children learn to love at an early age. "Daddy, can we get some ice cream?" he asked, listening as the song got closer.
"Sure," Booth replied, standing and swinging Parker up onto his shoulders. He offered a hand to Brennan and she laughed, taking it and he pulled her to her feet. "You want any?" he asked.
"Yeah, I could go for some. Just promise me one thing?"
"What?" His eyes were guarded and he could tell wasn't going to enjoy her answer, especially by the growing grin stretching across her face. "Bones?"
"Promise you won't shoot it?"
"Temperance Brennan!" he yelled and she laughed, ducking away as he reached for her.
"What's wrong Daddy?" Parker asked, a puzzled look on his face.
"Nothing Parker. Just ignore whatever Doctor Bones says about ice cream trucks, okay?"
"Okay," he replied slowly, still uncertain about why they were laughing and glaring at each other.
Brennan smiled at Booth. "Why don't you get the ice cream and I'll go get a drink from the stand over there?" she asked, gesturing to the cart.
"Sure. Get me a water?" She nodded and he turned, walking toward the growing melody and following the other children, already on pilgrimage to the messiah of ice cream. She watched him for a moment and couldn't stop the smile from lingering on her lips before turning and heading to the cart.
"Ma'am? Ma'am!"
She stopped, turning to look at the woman hurrying to catch up to her. "Yes?" she asked, uncertainly.
"Your son dropped this on the ride. I think the chain broke or something," the woman replied.
"I'm sorry I don't..." she trailed off as the woman handed her the pendant. It was a Catholic one, with a saint of some sort on the front and she realized the woman had mistaken her for Parker's mother. She felt a blush creeping up her face at the implication. "Thank-you for returning it but..."
"You have such an adorable little boy. And husband. Have a nice day," she called before turning and heading back to her own family. Brennan stood there a second more before pocketing the pendant and resuming her journey to the cart, paying for two bottles of water.
Booth smiled as he glanced over at his partner, sitting next to him. Parker was curled up asleep, his head in her lap. He had fallen asleep during Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, one of his favorite movies. At least this week. She wasn't watching him, instead focused on the child next to her, running her fingers lightly through his hair and rubbing his back slowly. He had enjoyed listening as she laughed along with the movie and for once didn't cite inaccuracies or complain about the illogical factor of it, instead she seemed relaxed and carefree. He continued to watch her interact with Parker and he couldn't understand why she didn't want children because she really was great with children.
"We should put him to bed. I know for a fact your couch isn't all that comfortable," she said softly.
"Yours isn't either for the record," he retorted before lowering his voice. "You're right though. Here, I'll take him." He got up and lifted the boy effortlessly, noting that he was getting heavier, not to mention a dead weight when he was asleep. He carried him to the room he had set up for him and smiled when she got there first, turning down the Power Ranger sheets so he could lay him down easily. "Thanks," he murmured.
"Anytime," she replied. She brushed the hair off Parker's forehead before they retreated from the room, leaving the door half open and she sighed, going into the living room and collecting the dishes and glasses that had accumulated during the movie. "You have a great kid Booth, I don't know if I've told you that before."
"Thanks," he replies, helping her by grabbing the popcorn bowl and ejecting the DVD. He follows her into the kitchen and watches her, unsure of what else to say, or to do. It's too surreal, her standing in his kitchen, watching dishes after helping him put Parker to bed. It feels like there should be more, like they should be more. It almost feels like they're a family, a real one, though he reasons, he is her family. "You don't have to..." he adds as she reaches for the empty bowl, continuing to wash.
"It's the least I can do." She glances at the clock in the microwave secretly, noting that it's nine at night and she doesn't want to go home. She swallows, running a hand through her hair, not caring about the suds or the water clinging to it and he laughs as she leaves a soapy trail in the auburn locks. "What?" she asks.
"Nothing," he chuckles. She glares at him but resumes her washing and he grins. "Did you enjoy today?"
She gives him a smile, a true, genuine smile and he can't help but return it. "Yes, I did. Thanks for inviting me along."
"Anytime Bones, anytime."
They hesitated again and she reached for the towel, drying her hands an not meeting his eyes. He didn't want her to go, but didn't know how to phrase it right just as she didn't know how to ask to stay properly. He ended up deciding on shoving the thought of how to ask out of his mind, instead he gave her another smile before letting his hand stray to the small of her back, guiding her out of the kitchen.
"Come on Bones, we should get some sleep before he's up and bouncing and full of energy in the morning."
She let the "we" slide and kept the smile in check, not sure why she was so happy that he had decided she should stay, not sure why she wanted to. Instead she finally listened to what Booth and Angela had been telling her for months now, years in Angela's case, and quit analyzing everything, simply enjoying the moment.
"Yeah, I guess we should," she replied, this time failing miserably to hide her smile but it didn't matter because he was smiling too.