A little bit of fluff since this story has been lacking in it :)))

Booth strode briskly through the bushes and bramble that covered the trail in Rocky Creek Park. He had no idea getting to a soccer field would take so much work. He sighed, stopping for a second as he watched Parker sprint up the inclined path ahead of him.

He stopped once he realized his dad wasn't behind him any more, turning, and putting his hands on his hips in annoyance.

"Dad! Hurry up! You told Dr. Bones that you would meet her at 2, and its 2:07. We're late, and you're going slow!"

Booth covered the ground between he and his son in a few quick strides, ruffling his hair much to Parker's irritation.

"Sorry buddy, I'll try and walk faster."

"Dad! Don't do that, you made it all messy."

Booth laughed at his son's vanity. Parker shook his head, his mop of curls covering his eyes. He continued to sprint up the hill, and Booth wished he had his son's constant liveliness.

He followed close behind, grabbing Parker around the waist much to his protests which were followed by bursts of laughter, and ran the entire way up the hill to the field, just to prove to his son that his father wasn't old yet.

As the got to the top of the hill, Booth was almost breathless at carrying his 70 lb son up the steep hill. He let Parker down, and leaned over, catching his breath.

He looked up to see the sprawling field in front of him. He couldn't believe that he hadn't been here before. He had lived in DC for years, and never once had he taken Parker to play here. Booth made a mental note to ask Brennan how she had discovered it.

Speaking of Brennan, Booth spotted her at the far sight of the field, and so had Parker as he set off running the length of the grass to catch up with his favorite doctor.

She was definitely a sight to take in. Her long legs ended in a pair of short black shorts, her red t-shirt tight in all the right places. Her dark hair was thrown up in a ponytail, and was blowing gently against her face in the warm March breeze.

He smiled widely, as she dribbled the soccer ball with a dexterity he didn't know she possessed, and wound her foot back to take a kick into the goal.

Booth watched curiously, wondering if Brennan actually could play soccer. He couldn't imagine her playing, as she usually stayed in the confines of her lab. Bones and competitive sports weren't a combination that he thought would mix well.

She sent the ball flying straight through the air, and swooshing satisfyingly into the left corner of the goal. Booth's eyes widened. She had taken that shot from at least 40 feet from the goal. That wasn't the type of shot that someone who didn't know how to play could muster. Brennan seemed quite satisfied with herself as she jumped up and down, smiling.

Chloe and Sam only reached Brennan as the ball had sailed into the goal, and they seemed quite annoyed that their mom had made a shot on them. He guessed it probably wasn't the first one of the day. She laughed as she stuck out her tongue at them, and they had to laugh along with her.

Booth hadn't seen Brennan so happy in a long time. She looked so free. He realized that was what had changed. She wasn't worried about the bones in the lab, or the next case, or whether or not she had to be at work on time. She was living in the moment like he had always told her to.

Chloe retrieved the soccer ball from the net, and kicked it to Sam whose face lit up when he saw Parker. Parker hugged Brennan, and then ran off to pass with Chloe and Sam as Brennan watched, smiling.

Booth approached her, yelling across the space between them.

"Nice shot."

She turned abruptly, smiling when she saw him.

"Thanks."

As the distance between them was covered, he noted to himself how good she really looked in the shorts. He stood next to her, watching as Chloe, Sam, and Parker squabbled between each other about who was the better dribbler.

She turned to look at him, a soft smile playing across her lips. "Hi."

"You never told me that you played soccer."

She smiled mischievously. "How do you know I played soccer?"

Booth gestured to the goal, grinning at her. "You just sunk a corner shot from almost half field. It's easy to tell that this isn't your first time out."

She smiled, shrugging nonchalantly as if the shot she had just made wasn't as great as he made it out to be. "Beginners luck?"

Booth scoffed. "You? Yeah right."

Brennan sighed, digging her cleats into the ground. Another sign this wasn't her first time.

"I was starting center forward and the MVP in my soccer league 5th through 8th grade."

Booth's eyes widened in surprise.

"You?"

She bumped her shoulder into him playfully standing on her tippy toes as she dug her cleats into the mud.

"Hey…is that so surprising?"

"I just never expected you to be a soccer player. I mean you're Bones. All logic, all science."

"Soccer is logical."

"Soccer is a sport. As much as you want to rip it to analytical bits Bones, you can never predict what's going to happen on the field."

"Yes you can. Players have different strategies; they favor different moves and plays. It's easy to predict what's going to happen."

Booth shook his head, laughing softly.

Leave it to Bones to turn everything into something logical.

"Ok Bones."

She could see he was laughing at her. "What?"

"Nothing. Let's just play soccer ok?"

She glared at him, walking towards where Parker and the twins were playing. She turned as she jogged off, smiling.

"Ok, but get ready to loose!"

Booth raised his eyebrows at her, jogging after her.

"Oh really?"

She nodded, as she approached Sam who was trying to pass the ball, before Brennan stole it away from him, kicking it into her hands.

"Mommy! I was twing to kick it!"

"I know, but we have to make teams."

"Teams?"

"Yes, teams. There are 5 of us, so I thought we could actually play."

Chloe and Sam caught sight of Booth, and jumped up and down waving enthusiastically.

"Hi Boof!"

"Boof do you wanna be on my team?"

Sam glared at his sister. "No, Boof be on my team!"

They ran towards him, crashing into him as they wrapped their small arms around his legs.

Booth was surprised, but he leaned down hugging them, wishing that he hadn't missed so much.

"Whose team do you wanna be on Boof? My wight?"

Booth was about to reply to the little girl when Brennan beat him to it. "Listen, you both can be on Booth's team. Me and Parker will be a team."

They jumped up and down, as Brennan smiled down at Parker who looked ecstatic to be on Brennan's team. Not only did he want to spend time with her, but he had seen that she was definitely good at soccer.

She draped an arm around Parker's slim shoulders, smiling down at him. "Is that ok Parker?"

"Yeah Dr. Bones, I wanna be on your team."

"Good." She turned back to Booth and Chloe and Sam who seemed to be whispering about play strategy. Booth obviously was underestimating her skills, and she knew she could play soccer in circles around him. She hadn't been named MVP for 3 years for nothing.

This was definitely going to be fun.

"So we'll play on this goal. First one to 10 wins."

Booth could see her eyes sparkling, as she grinned at him. He had a bad feeling that she was definitely as good as she said she was.

"Ok, but we get the ball first."

Brennan tossed Booth the ball. "Fine by me."

She leaned down to Parker. "So Parker, you can cover Chloe and Sam, and I'll take you dad. I'll get the ball away from him, and you stay open and then we can score, alright?"

Parker nodded. "Ok Dr. Bones."

Parker jogged off to cover the two twins who were enthusiastically waiting for Booth to pass to them. Brennan strode confidentially towards Booth, guarding him as he tried to dribble past her.

"Oh you're guarding me?"

"Do you think I was going to guard Chloe and Sam?"

"No, I just didn't think you could handle being beaten. I mean with all your 'predictions' and stuff."

She raised her eyebrows, grinning cockily at him.

"Predict this."

For a second he took his eyes off of the ball, and in that split second she had stolen it away from him, and was dribbling down the field towards Parker who was running away from Chloe and Sam who were pursuing him.

"Dr. Bones, I'm open!"

She kicked it to Parker, who wound up, taking his shot which landed perfectly in the middle of the goal.

Booth swore under his breath, as Brennan strode towards him and the smile across her face drove him crazy and made him want to kiss her at the same time.

"So….was that enough humiliation for you, or do you want some more?"

"I can take you; you just caught me off guard, that's all."

She nodded. "Sure."

"Ready?"

"Of course Booth."

Booth kicked the ball to Chloe, who dribbled half way down the field before trying to pass to Sam, except Parker got in the way, he kicked the ball to where he thought Brennan was, and it rolled and stopped 10 feet from the goal.

Brennan and Booth looked at each other, grinning, realizing that it would be a mad dash to get to the ball. They set off running, Brennan pulling ahead of Booth. She was so close to the ball, and as she moved to kick it, she tripped over it, falling completely face down on the grass. Booth tripped as he was right behind her, falling next to Brennan.

She could hear Chloe and Sam's giggles, from across the field, as they rolled on the ground laughing at their mom and Booth who were sprawled across the field.

That was humiliating.

She sat up, laughing at Booth who was rubbing his head which had hit hard on the ground next to her.

"Ow."

"Sorry, the ball. I misjudged it."

"That's ok Bones. You were always clumsy." He laughed, as she playfully swatted at him, falling into him. She looked up, realizing how close their faces were for the second time today.

She swallowed, her breath becoming rapid, as she pushed the hair out of her eyes. Kiss him. Don't kiss him. What the hell was she supposed to do? She stood up abruptly, trying to be logical.

"I'm sorry."

He stood up, disappointed that she had pulled away from him again. Maybe she really didn't want things to go back the way they were. Maybe they were destined to be just "partners". He hated the way that sounded.

"It's ok Bones."

The wind whipped her hair into her face, and she could see the clouds looming far away. She knew they had a few hours left before the rain came again. She stared at him, biting her lip, as he turned away from her, beginning to walk across the field.

The feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to let him go. She ran up to him, standing in front of him, and before she had even time to think about it, she crashed her lips against his.

He slid his hand behind her neck, pulling her closer to him, and deepening the kiss, letting their tongues mingle together as he opened her lips to his.

It was the best kiss, because everything was in that kiss. The loneliness and the anxiety, and the lies. She never wanted it to end. She finally had Booth back, and she wasn't letting him go anytime soon.

She pulled away, leaning her face into his chest, as he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned up, whispering in his ear.

"I missed you."

Awww...