Here't the next chap, thanks for the reviews! It's a bit of a weird story, but hope you like it regardless.

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Booth looked at his watch. 2:30pm. He took in a deep breath as he looked around his office. A picture frame with three pictures on his desk reflected the evening sun, drawing his attention to it. He looked at the pictures that had occupied his thoughts so regularly. They were of him and Temperance two years after they had started dating. Booth remembered the day like it was yesterday, even though it was a good fifteen years ago. Meg had been born, but Angela and Hodgins were looking after her that day and Booth had decided to take Tempe out on a picnic. They had stayed in the gardens for hours, lying on a picnic rug in each others arms as they basked in the presence of each other. They had gotten an elderly woman to take a few photos of them, leaving Booth the pictures he had now. They were all close-ups, one showing Booth with his arms around Tempe's waist and her arms around his neck, looking up at the camera with an open-mouthed smile. Both of them held expressions of overwhelming happiness. The second picture was of them lying on the rug entangled in each other, looking in each others eyes. The third was Tempe resting her head on Booth's shoulder, content. Booth's arms were wrapped protectively around her and he was smiling equally as contently as Tempe.

There was a small picture next to those pictures, a picture of them at least a year ago. It was of Angela, Hodgins and their little girl Bella, Zach, Booth, Tempe, Meg, Lucy, Katie, Parker and a very young Ollie.

'Agent Booth?'

Booth looked up to see the director of the FBI, Charlie Hawkins standing at his door.

'Yes, sir,' Booth answered, sitting up quickly and turning his attention away from his family.

'Are you alright, Agent Booth?' he asked.

'I'm fine,' he answered. 'Just thinking.'

'I need you to go to the Jeffersonian,' Hawkins said with a nod. 'You have a new case, your partner Dr Addy will need to be informed.' Booth nodded, standing up and taking the file off Hawkins.

'I'll be over there as soon as I can, sir,' he said, taking his jacket and walking out of the office.

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Booth arrived home at half-past seven. He opened the door to the delicious smell of lasagne. He took in a deep breath, walking into the lounge room to find Parker and Meg sitting on one couch and Katie on the other.

'Hey dad,' they said in unison as they looked up to see him.

'Hey kids,' he replied, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it up next to door. 'Where are Lucy and Ollie?'

'Ollie's in bed,' Parker said without looking up from the TV.

'And Lucy?' he asked, no-one replied. They looked everywhere but at him. 'And Lucy?' he repeated, more sternly, turning to look at Meg, who had met his eye-line. 'Meghan Christine Brennan-Booth, where is Lucy?'

'She's out with friends,' Meg muttered. Booth walked over to the front of the couches, switching the TV off. He looked at the three of them and couldn't stop the rising feeling of emptiness in his stomach that he felt every time the six of them were apart.

'Why don't I believe you?' he asked Meg, looking her directly in the eyes.

'Well, I better get going,' Parker said, standing up.

'No you don't, Parker!' Booth replied, pushing Parker back down. 'Do you know where Luce is?'

'I have no idea,' Parker replied, his face unreadable. Booth looked at him, trying to find some sign of the truth. 'Dad, you taught me everything there is to know about staying unreadable. Do you really think that I'm going to snap with just you staring me down?'

'Dad, don't panic,' Meg began slowly. 'But she's out with this guy from school. It's Friday night and she just wants to get out.'

'Where'd she go?' he asked, standing up straight.

'Dad, please don't go after her,' Meg begged.

'I can't have my daughter roaming the streets at thirteen years old with some boy!' he yelled.

'How about this, dad,' Meg suggested. 'How about I call Luce and get her to meet me out the front of…where she is at nine o'clock. Then she won't hate you for weeks and you can sleep well not thinking about where she is.'

'Alright,' Booth sighed, sitting down next to Katie. He really didn't feel like arguing with anyone.

'I've got to go and finish some stuff for work,' Parker sighed, standing up. 'I'll see you guys in the morning.' Booth looked at his son, eyeing his grown up appearance. Parker worked part-time as a graphic designer at an advertising company. Booth was glad that his son didn't want to go into serving for his country as he couldn't stand seeing Parker's kind nature being torn apart by war.

By quarter to nine, Booth was curled up on the couch with Katie lying beside him, his right arm wrapped protectively around her, both fast asleep. Meg stood up, grabbing her jacket and walked out of the door unheard.

Thirty minutes later Meg and Lucy returned, Lucy slightly sour about having to cut her date early. They both looked towards the lounge room as they heard their father talking. After a couple of seconds they realised he was sleep talking.

'Luce, go to Parker's room and grab him, I'll put Katie to bed and meet you in my room in a while. Dad needs to be softened up first,' Meg told Lucy and she nodded, walking down the hallway.

Meg walked to the side of the couch. She gently plucked Katie out of Booth's arms and carried her to her room, putting her into bed and closing the door behind her. She walked back to the lounge room and sat in the empty spot that Katie had occupied.

'Temperance,' Booth mumbled in his sleep, shifting restlessly. 'Don't leave me, baby. Please, Bones, don't leave me…'

'Dad,' Meg said, nudging him awake. 'Wake up, dad.' Booth sat up, gasping before looking around to see Meg.

'Sorry, sweetie,' he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. 'Was I talking in my sleep?'

'Yeah, you were calling for mum,' Meg said quietly.

'I know,' he whispered. 'I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning.'

'Dad, please talk to me,' Meg said as he stood up. 'I need someone to talk to about this and I know that you miss mum, but I do too. And so do Luce and Katie, we're all hurting. You have to talk about it someday.'

'Not today,' he said dismissively as he turned to head to his bedroom. He spun around when he heard a sob. Meg had her head in her hands, her back shaking with great sobs. He rushed to her side, wrapping her in his arms instantly. She turned into his shoulder, tucking her head in the nook of his neck and wrapping her arms around him. Booth felt his shoulder grow wet as he held his eldest daughter close to him, placing a kiss on the top of her head. Despite his best efforts he felt a tear run down his cheek and into her hair.

'I'm sorry, baby,' he whispered into her hair. 'I've been a lousy father.'

'No, you haven't, dad,' she sobbed. 'You lost mum, I know she meant everything to you.'

'You kids mean everything to me,' he replied softly.

'But before us, all you guys had was each other and now you don't have anyone,' she reasoned.

'I have you,' he said as Meg pulled back, wiping her eyes.

'That's not the same dad, and you know it.'

'I miss her everyday,' he admitted. 'I see her in you…' he took a deep breath before continuing. 'And Luce and Katie…even Ollie. I see things that remind me of her everywhere, like at work, at home, the diner, even streets and monuments remind me of her. I can't escape the fact that I feel like a piece of my heart has been ripped out. I loved her so much, so, so much. For so long she was my life, even when we were just partners I could barely live two consecutive days without seeing her.' He looked down at his hands, not believing that he had admitted that to his seventeen year old daughter. He felt her cup his cheek and lift his head to look at her.

'I know how much you loved her,' Meg said. 'But that love doesn't have to be taken away from you. You can take as much time as you want to grieve. No one expects you to move on so quickly, but you need to be able to talk to us about her. Mum would have wanted you to move on eventually and you've been a great dad to us, but you have to be able to relax.'

'You've talked about this with Lucy?' he asked.

'Yes,' Meg replied bluntly. 'We've talked a lot. Parker, Luce and I talk about it all the time, sometimes with Katie, but obviously not as in depth.'

'I didn't realise,' Booth murmured.

'It's really good talking about it,' Meg smiling slightly. 'We talk about her, what we remember; you know the good times and sometimes the bad. She was a great mum.'

'And a great wife,' Booth agreed, nodding.

'Would you be happy to talk about it with us?' Meg asked. 'Cause we sometimes feel like we're tip-toeing around you when talking about her.'

'Don't feel like that,' he looked into her eyes. 'If you want to talk about it, you can talk with me.'

'This isn't about us, dad,' she begged him to understand her. 'This is about you. We want you to be alright.'

'I'm fine.'

'You're not fine! Parker's room is right next to yours remember? He hears you calling for mum at night, sometimes even I do. You talk a lot in your sleep. Sometimes Katie comes to sleep in my bed when you're being too loud. We just want what's best for you dad.'

'I'll try,' he said quietly. 'I'll try to talk about it with you guys. You have to understand though, losing Temperance was the hardest thing that's ever happened to me and I'm still recovering.'

'Dad, you're a great man and there are a lot of people to support you,' Meg said, a sparkle in her eye. She stood up, holding her hand out for him to take. 'Luce and Park are waiting in my room, if you want to talk now. Take your time.'

Booth nodded, standing up and following Meg to her room, before stopping out the front.

'You go in, I've just got to get something,' he said, walking to his room. He walked to the bookshelf, pushing past numberless science books until he got to the photo albums. He pulled out an old black album, clutching it in his right hand as he walked to Meg's room. He heard Lucy's voice from inside the room.

'…and then dad said "Are you warm?" and mum said "as snug as a bed in a rug", remember, when we were camping?' hushed laughter echoed throughout the small room as Booth gently pushed open the door to find Meg, Parker and Lucy sitting cross-legged in their pyjamas on Meg's double bed.

'Can I join you?' he asked. They all looked up at him with a look of somewhat surprise. He guessed that they thought he tried to avoid it again. They all nodded, Parker and Lucy scooting over closer to Meg to make room for him. Booth tucked his legs under him, feeling content with spending time with his three eldest children.

'What's with the tie?' Lucy asked with a small smile. 'You're home now.' She reached over and tugged the tie over his head, throwing it to the corner of the room. They all laughed and looked down at the thick leather album he held onto in his lap.

'What's that?' Parker asked.

'It's something Angela made for Tempe and I last year. I Just wanted to show you guys something,' Booth replied. 'I don't really know what you guys talk about here, but I thought you might want to see some pictures of before Luce and Meg were born. The album's pretty out of order, but you'll get the idea.' All of their faces lit up at the thought of seeing pictures of their mother when she was younger. Booth opened the first page, the cover landing with a thump on the bed. The first page had two pictures. One was of Booth and Tempe over eighteen years ago. They were both sitting in what looked like a desert, Booth's jacket askew and his tie hanging loose around his neck. His shirt was dusty, but it was nothing compared to the dust-covered image of Tempe, her hair embedded with dirt and her face a light brown. They were looking into each others eyes while clearly laughing. All four of them looked at it as they passed it around the small circle.

'Were you two together then?' Meg asked.

'No,' Booth chuckled. 'We were just partners then, but I already knew that I was falling in love with her. That was when Bones and Hodgins went and got themselves kidnapped by this guy we nicknamed the 'Gravedigger'. He buried them alive in your mum's car. It was so hard trying to find them. I thought I'd lost her, but Hodgins and her thought of an idea to cut open the air bags and seats to get more air. Then, using some squinty thing, they blew the windscreen open. As they were doing this we'd just arrived at the area, but it was so big, we thought we'd never find them in time. Then I saw this puff of smoke,' a grin overcame Booth's face. 'I ran as fast as I could towards it and dug until I found her. After pulling her out we just lay there and started laughing. I don't know why, relief I guess.' He looked up to see all three looking at him intently. Lucy traced the outline of Tempe's face with the tip of her thumb.

'She loved you too,' she said quietly.

'She'd never admit it though,' Booth replied with a grin.

'Would you have?' Meg asked.

'Nah, course not,' Booth said, the grin remaining on his face. 'Partners and nothing more was pretty much what we lived by for three years before we finally accepted that it was time.'

'Is this your wedding?' Parker asked, intrigued as he pointed to a picture of Booth in a suit and Tempe in a long dress hugging each other at an altar. Booth couldn't help but laugh out loud.

'This is Hodgins and Angela's first attempt at a wedding,' he said through a chuckle. 'I admitted that I'd helped her father and she…just hugged me in front of everyone. Then we pulled apart and Hodgins and Angela were waiting for us to move so they could get to the priest. We were so worried that people would think that we were more than partners.'

An hour later Booth was leant up against the pillows of Meg's bed, Katie tucked under one arm and Meg under the other. Parker was lying on his side next to Katie.

'This is when we got married,' he said quietly, knowing that the three of them were asleep. He kissed Meg and Katie heads before stroking Temperance's cheek on their wedding photo.

'Goodnight, my love,' he whispered. 'Look after Parker, Ollie and our girls for me, baby.' He then closed the album, putting it to the end of the bed before lying down and allowing himself to fall asleep.

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Awww! Cute little BB love. There will be actual BB fluff next chap, so hang in there! Review if you want!