{Thanks for the encouraging reviews, everyone! Your support gives me muse and I'm happy to present the next two chapters so quickly. I really tried to keep the pace going and not let the story lag. Hope you enjoy!}


The ringing of her doorbell was expected, but she was so engrossed in her writing that she did not even notice it the first time. The soft, rhythmic clicking of the keys as words trailed after her flying fingers was the only thing she was aware of. The thoughts dripped out of her and onto the screen, line after line, page after page. Kathy and Andy were delving into unbridled passion in the back of his SUV; despite being the author, Brennan was transfixed.

Finally, the ringing became more insistent and demanding. She looked up, startled to have finally heard it, and immediately snapped down the screen of her laptop. He needn't see what she was writing yet. After the book was finished and ready for proof-reading, perhaps.

Booth and Parker stood at her door, bare-chested with towels around their necks. Brennan smiled when she saw them. "Have a nice swim?"

"Yeah!" Parker said enthusiastically. "I beat Dad in a race!"

"That seems unlikely," she laughed, glancing at Booth, appreciating the opportunity to view his spectacular build again.

"Parenting, Bones. Sometimes the kids win, despite physics." He peered past her. "What took you so long to come to the door?"

She moved to the side to let them in, noting their slightly wet footprints. As long as they didn't drip everywhere or sit on her couch, she was alright with footprints. "I was distracted working on my new book."

"Okay, Parker, you remember where the bathroom is?" Booth set down a backpack and began unzipping it. He glanced curiously toward his partner's laptop.

"Yeah, I do. Are you sure I gotta shower?"

"Your hair is light, Parker. Lighter than your dads," Brennan explained. "If you swim very often without washing your hair, the chemicals in the pool will turn it green. Besides, you smell like chlorine."

"Cool!" Parker cried, his eyes growing wide. "Green hair!"

"No, not cool." Booth pulled a set of clothes out of the backpack for his son. "Not cool. Pops doesn't want to see you with green hair. Go wash up."

"Come here, Parker, I'll get you a towel." Brennan led him down the hall.

He sighed reluctantly and followed. "Are you coming to dinner with us, Dr. Brennan?"

"Yes, your great grandfather invited me."

"My dad will like that."

It was stated so quietly and matter-of-factly, as if he was simply stating a known truth rather than something which took Brennan by surprise as it did. She glanced at him, pausing at her linen closet. "Why do you say that?"

"Because he likes you," Parker explained, giving her an expression as if he thought she was a little dumb for not knowing the answer. "You're his friend."

"Oh, right." She took out a towel and walked him down to her bathroom. "Do you think it's okay that I'm coming with you tonight?"

"Yes," he answered immediately. "My dad likes you, and I like what my dad likes, so I like you too. Besides, you let us use your pool! And your dad showed me some cool experiments."

She smiled, marveling at how easy it was to please children, and how pure their logic was. "I like you too, and I'm glad you liked the experiments."

They entered the bathroom and she set the towel on the toilet. "Shampoo is here, conditioner if you need it is this one, and you can just yell if you need anything. The water gets pretty hot, so be careful. And remember to wash really good."

"Uh, wait, Miss Doctor Brennan?" he asked nervously as she retreated towards the door.

She paused and looked back.

He looked down at his feet quickly, then back up at her again. "Did you mean it when you said my hair might turn green?"

"If you don't wash it, yes," she replied carefully.

He looked at it shampoo uncertainly. Sometimes his expressions were so close to Booth's. They tugged at her heart. She smiled and walked back towards him. "Do you want me to help you wash your hair?"

His smile illuminated his face. "Yeah! Cause sometimes Dad says I don't wash it very good on my own."

"Okay, but keep your swimming shorts on, okay? I don't want you dad to think I'm being inappropriate." Brennan smiled in response to his infectious grin. She urged him into the tub and turned on the spray. It was inevitable she was going to get wet in this process too, but strangely, she didn't mind.

Brennan was never very good around children. She didn't know how to communicate with them, and her own memories of childhood did not provide very good references to lean on. For some reason, though, Booth's son Parker was different. She still said awkward things sometimes that he did not understand, but he never grew frustrated. He usually just laughed at her big words. Maybe it was because Booth was always around to buffer the interaction, or maybe it was because Parker had inherited something of his father's people-skills. Either way, Brennan found it much easier to get along with him than other children.

Booth, meanwhile, had called his grandfather to confirm the time they were meeting and was about to get a shower of his own in Brennan's bathroom. He knew her apartment all too well and felt licensed to go and do as he pleased there.

After he was done on the phone, however, his gaze caught on the smooth white rectangle of her laptop. Within that little device lay the secrets of her mind, and the buried treasures of her new book. Still, he didn't know how soon she'd be back and he didn't want to incur her wrath now. Another time, I'll peek, he promised himself.

As he was going to get a towel from her closet, he suddenly heard a peal of laughter down the hall that made his heart warm. It was Parker's laugh. Then it was joined too by a second familiar laugh. Bones?

She shrieked playfully (a sound he didn't know she could make!) and there was another, more exuberant round of laughter. He snatched the towel quickly and approached the bathroom. What was going on in there? Of course, his curiosity did not stop him from appreciating the moment. The two laughs he loved best in the world were sounding together.

He saw his partner lathering his son's hair, giggling and trying to duck out of the line of spray Parker was directing from the shower overhead. It was a scene so endearing that it seared itself into his memory. He stood there, trapped by the overwhelming joy that arose out of this moment. Brennan wasn't good with kids, this was no secret to him, but right now she looked so… so maternal!

Eager to escape before being noticed, he hurried off toward her bedroom and shut the door. Any longer witnessing that interaction and he might revisit the topic of her having a baby himself. Fortunately, these thoughts didn't last long. They were trumped by the realization of where he was.

Her room smelled of her, felt of her. He turned around and let his eyes adjust. The shades were drawn so it was darker in here. He did not look too long at her bed or night stand or anything else, but merely made his way to her bathroom. This was going to be a difficult place to try and keep his thoughts in check. Just seeing the bed, her bed, in his peripheral vision caused his imagination to leap into gear. Thoughts like this he tried every day to avoid, but now they assaulted his mind with purpose.

He turned the water on cool before he got in. Ever since his coma, it had been harder and harder for him to keep his wits about him around her. When they had a case, it was easier. They could focus on the work and he could get lost in their old routine. Times like this, after a case was over, during the down time until another came up… that was when it was dangerous. Maybe tonight wasn't such a good idea after all. Having her there with his grandfather and his son would seem so family-ish. It made him ache inside.

He grimaced at her shampoo. It wasn't the girliest scent out there, in fact it seemed pretty generic, but it wasn't his. He squeezed some into his hand. It smelled like her hair. He was overwhelmed. Wearing her scent all night wasn't going to help. He thought about just leaving the chlorine in, rather than battle his own senses all evening. But there was a part of him that thought otherwise. Some irrational part of him reasoned that if he carried her scent, it meant he belonged to her, and she to him.

"Stupid." He muttered. But instead of tipping his hand, he rubbed it into the other and lathered his hair.

It was a difficult shower, no matter how quickly he tried to get through it. A dark side of him wondered, with masochistic viciousness, how many of her various physical interests had also showered in here. It made him seethe with ugly jealousy, the kind of jealousy he wasn't willing to admit, even to himself. She was so willing to bestow her favor on anyone she reasoned was compatible with herself. What was wrong with him? They were completely compatible. Weren't they?

And then he remembered once, two years ago, when under force of blackmail she had shown him that degree of affection. He tipped his face into the water, remembering clutch of her hands on his collar, her breath mingling with his for half a second, and the press of her lips…

His hand shot out and grabbed the temperature, sweeping it to icy cold. His body shuddered under the frigid stream and he quickly rinsed out the rest of his hair. The truth settled over him, as cold as the water. They were not compatible. They were complete opposites, and no matter how well they got along, there was still the matter of their working relationship.

Turning off the water and grabbing the towel, he heard Brennan's door shut. That meant she was in her room. He sighed.

"Booth?" she called.

"Yeah, Bones. Don't walk in, please."

"I don't know why you'd be concerned." He heard the sound of her opening her dresser. "It's not like I haven't-,"

"HEY!" he cried, startling her into silence. "Careful. My kid's in the house."

"He's finishing his shower, he can't hear us."

Booth rolled his eyes, deciding not to reply. He dressed quickly, swiping his hand over the mirror to check his hair. "What are you doing out there?"

"Well, Parker wanted help washing his hair. He was worried about the chlorine, and I-,"

"Yeah, okay, Bones. You got a little wet and need to restyle your hair or whatever. I don't need the full explanation." His excited thoughts made him feel a little irritable. He opened the door of the bathroom and stepped out quickly, only to freeze at the sight before him.

She turned and gave him a cold look, but he was oblivious to it. She was just putting on a different shirt and hadn't yet buttoned up the front. Her smooth, creamy skin was exposed more than he was used to seeing. The flat plane of her stomach, interrupted by her black bra, and then continuing again was like a blank canvas, inviting the right artist to seize it. Inviting him to explore those pale slopes.

He swallowed, once, twice, and a third time. His mind was blank.

"If you would have given me two seconds, I was going to explain I was changing," she sighed, apparently unperturbed. Her fingers deftly flew over the buttons.

He was filled with teeth-grinding regret at each button that quickly fastened together until the unexpected sight had disappeared again beneath a rather attractive white blouse. Still, it seemed plain and unsightly compared to what it concealed.

His throat cleared awkwardly as he shuddered back into his senses, just glad she'd already changed her pants. "Uhh," his voice sounded shaky and he couldn't remember what to say.

"Are you ready to go? Have you spoken with Hank?"

Thankfully, as always, she was completely oblivious. She sat down on her bed to slide on her shoes.

"Yeah." He swallowed again. "Uh, yeah. Pops wants to go to the, uh, the Founding Fathers. Good?"

"Yes." She was giving him an odd look. Maybe she wasn't so unobservant after all. "Are you alright?"

"Parker?" he called, striding quickly out of her room.

"All done, Dad! Bones helped me wash my hair!" said Parker, bouncing out of the guest bathroom.

"That's good." Seeing his son helped Booth get his concentration back. He fixed the boy's hair and gave him knuckles. "Ready to go see Pops?"

"Yeah! Swimming always makes me hungry."

Brennan emerged from her room as well, giving the boy a surprisingly affectionate look. "Would you like a snack bar to hold you off while we drive there?"

"No, Bones," Booth said quickly. "He doesn't have a big appetite as it is. Don't want to spoil it."

She shrugged, exchanging an apologetic look with the eight-year-old. "Let me just get my purse."

"Since when do you carry around a purse like that?" Booth asked, ushering the group out into the living room so he could put their wet suits in the backpack.

His partner drifted off to her kitchen table, grabbing the sheik black clutch with a slim strap he referred to. "Angela and I went shopping yesterday. She assured me that every girl needs a purse like this. I'm not sure why."

"It's feminine," he explained. "Girls think they look better with it. Honestly, most guys don't even notice or care about the size of a woman's handbag."

"Lucy Withers has a cool backpack," Parker remarked. "It has Transformers on it!"

"Who is Lucy Withers?" Brennan asked. Her clear eyes had that glint of curiosity in them.

"A girl in my class." A shy smile stole across the young boy's face.

"Is she your friend?"

He shrugged. "Lasky says boys and girls can't be friends. Says Lucy is weird because girls don't have that kind of backpack. Lasky says girls have a disease, and if you get it, you become gay."

"What?" Booth interjected sharply, wheeling around to look at his boy. "Listen to me, Parker. Lasky is feeding you a bunch of garbage. None of that is true, okay? How do you even know what gay is?"

He blinked innocently at his father, looking to Brennan for an explanation as to why that question would even arise. "Everyone knows, Dad."

"Well, look, don't worry about that. You can't catch any disease from girls. Just ask Bones, she's a doctor."

"Not a medical doctor, Booth," Brennan scolded lightly. But seeing Parker look at her again, she sighed. "But you're father is right. Girls do not have any specific disease that will make boys more effeminate."

Parker wrinkled his nose, this time searching for an explanation from the adult he could easier understand.

"Being friends with girls wont make you gay, son," Booth sighed. "Besides, there isn't a law that says girls and boys can't be friends. Bones is my friend, and she's a girl, isn't she?"

Parker considered this for a minute. Meanwhile Brennan quietly reminded her partner of the time and he was instantly impatient again. He zipped up the backpack, located his keys, and urged them out of the apartment. Parker was quiet the whole way down the elevator to the parking garage.

Booth's SUV awaited them, as it always did, silent and confident. It's presence dominated the garage, imperiously overshadowing even the most luxurious residents of the structure. Cars spend most of their lives waiting, but his looked as if it were just crouched for the kill.

Granted, it wasn't all that impressive. A standard-issue government SUV, a generic suburban painted jet black with tinted windows. There were meaner cars parked in the lot. Brennan lived in an up-scale apartment complex, of course, so her neighbors had quite the array of luxury vehicles, including a new Audi R8 which lurked in the background like a silent predator of its own kind, sleeker than Booth's bulky titan. But the SUV dominated because it was parked skewed across three spaces and it had those lights, embedded in the grill and hung from beneath the mirror. Those lights that meant everything to this car, that gave it its status. This was a car of authority.

Brennan preferred the beauty of bones over the smooth, curvy physique and purring engine of a well-designed car, but even she couldn't help but feel a stab of affection for the black beast awaiting them. It had taken her so many places at the side of her partner, brought them to so many crime scenes, to so many homes and work places, and to so many courtrooms. It held many fond memories, and many unhappy ones too. She felt the warmth of comfort sweep over her as they approached. This was her element, as familiar to her now as the brilliantly-lit platform of her lab.

Booth opened the door for her and the other for Parker before climbing in himself. He started the car, his eyes flicking over to the R8 with the gleam of lust. "Man, Bones. What I wouldn't give for one of those. You live in a real ritzy place, you know that?"

She frowned, following his gaze to the prowler. "I like your car."

He laughed, throwing the SUV into reverse and driving out of the gloom. "I do too, but she's no Audi."

"I fail to see the impact of the name."

"So…" Parker said softly, speaking for the first time since the apartment. "So girls and boys can be friends?"

"Yes, that's what I said." Booth seemed slightly surprised his son was still working through the logic. "Like me and Bones."

"But I thought when boys and girls were friends then they would someday get married." Parker seemed puzzled.

"What? Why did you think that?"

"Well…" he explained slowly, as if he too were just considering it for the first time. "Mom and Brent were friends, and now they want to get married. Lasky's dad was friends with his girlfriend, and now they are getting married. Uncle Jared was friends with Padme, and now they are getting married too… "

"Well, your father and I are friends and we're not getting married," Bones explained, turning in her seat to face him. "A lot of people are just friends."

"Well would you want to?" he asked, his eyes wide with a curiosity that mirrored the kind she sometimes wore.

"Get married?" She was taken aback.

"Yeah."

Booth cleared his throat uncomfortably, his mind flashing back to that quick glimpse of her smooth body. Married was a whole other playing field, his mind wanted something else first. "Bones and I are partners, okay, Buddy? That couldn't ever happen."

"Well, would you want to?" he repeated, "If you weren't anymore?"

A peculiar trace of color warmed over Brennan's cheeks and she couldn't help but slide a glance in her partner's direction. He wasn't looking at her, his gaze fixed determinedly on the road before them. "Bones doesn't believe in marriage," he replied dismissively.

Brennan thought this was a rather unfair summery of herself to make to the boy, without further explanation or reasoning. She didn't want to be depicted to the child as a heartless anti-cupid who destroyed love with murderous beliefs. But when she turned to better explain herself to Parker, she saw a distant look in his face. He was already thinking of something else.

"I think I'd like to marry Lucy."

"Well, you can think of marrying her when you're a little older." Booth glanced in the rearview mirror at his son. Where on earth was all this coming from?

"When I have hair under my arms?" Parker grinned.

"Yeah," replied his father, "Under your arms and on your chin."

{Dinner with Pops coming up! r&r pretty please :D}