Booth could not be happier as he tore down the room that he had been living in the past six months. He came to rest as he examined the photographs taped to his desk. Most had been sent from Angela in a giant care package. The first one was Brennan, fast asleep at her desk with a carton of Wong Fu's next to her. He removed the photo from the wall and turned it over.

While we can persuade her to eat, we can't persuade her to leave her office. We need you! Come home! -Angela

Booth smiled. It was his job to pull her away from the office. No one else could do it successfully. He looked forward to getting home so he could be the one to do so once again. He placed the photo in the envelope and moved on to the next one. It was taken of Parker at his birthday party. He was wearing his "Prince of the Lab" crown and Angela was kissing one cheek and Brennan was kissing the other, both of their eyes squeezed tightly shut as Parker smiled proudly into the camera.

Prince of the lab surrounded by his adoring fans. – Angela

The next one was sent from Hodgins. It was a candid photo of Cam, clearly taken covertly. She was covered head to heels in some sort of blue ooze as she wiped herself off with a towel.

Experiment gone wrong. I thought you would enjoy. Stay safe out there. - Hodgins

The next one was of the entire gang, including Caroline, who was holding a case folder in her hand and refusing to smile. Booth knew that she had most likely been forced into the picture against her will. He really truly missed them all, but it was the brunette in the corner who stole Booth's attention. He had been slowly working up the courage over the past few months to say what he needed to say to her. They had both said that they loved each other before, but it was always in a 'because you're my partner' kind of way and was usually spurred on by some sort of violent act that landed one or both of them in the hospital. Saying it outside of work was another situation entirely. He put the last photo in the envelope before zipping it up into his suitcase and grabbing his duffle. It was time to go home.

OOOOO

Brennan was sitting in her office staring at the clock. Booth's flight was supposed to get in at nine that evening and the day was dragging on. She couldn't concentrate on the paperwork in front of her. Attempting one more time to focus, Brennan sighed and looked down just as Angela walked in and knocked on the door.

"Hey. Do you have a second?" She asked. I seem to have a lot of them today, Brennan thought, but kept the irrational idea to herself and simply nodded for Angela to come in. "Booth comes home tonight." She said as she sat down across from Brennan's desk.

"Yes."

"What are you going to do to welcome him home?" Angela asked, letting the naughty tinge to her voice go unfiltered.

"Angela…" Brennan couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.

"I'm serious Bren. Judging from the last time you guys spoke, he's ready for more. Ever since his brain surgery, Booth has been staring at you like you were a piece of forbidden fruit."

"I don't know what that means." Brennan said as she went back to the work in front of her.

"Yes, you do." Angela said, stealing her friend's pen and demanding some more attention. "This is your chance, Brennan. If you give him some sort of sign, he would know that you felt the same way and you two can finally be together." She stressed the word.

"We do not look at each other like pieces of fruit." She said, thinking her friend was ridiculous.

"True or False: You've wanted to sleep with Booth since the moment you met him." Angela demanded to know.

"True." She acquiesced reluctantly. "But sleeping with him and having a relationship with him are two very different things."

"It doesn't have to be that way." Angela said.

"Angela, he believes in God, marriage, fate." Brennan listed off on her fingertips. "He's never going to be fully satisfied until he finds someone who actually believes in all of those things with him. I don't want to get married, I believe that Christianity is basically a morality myth and that fate is a theoretical concept designed to make people feel guiltless in their own actions." She stopped. "I care for him, I do, but there are just some things a personal attachment cannot overcome."

"Okay, so we're back to Plan A."

"What's plan A?"

"He comes home a sex-craved soldier and jumps into bed with you and you guys have hot, passionate, and possibly very kinky sex for the next week." Angela stated. Brennan rolled her eyes.

"Time for you to go. I've got work to do." She said, dismissing her friend.

"I can imagine. If I were meeting Booth when he got off that plane, I'd be finishing a week's worth of work too." She teased as she left.

OOOOO

Booth sighed as he stared up at the departure board. His flight was delayed for yet another two hours due to the thunderstorm that was currently wreaking havoc across Germany. This was the last thing he needed right now. He called Bones and told her that he wouldn't be making it home as planned and had promised to call her as soon as he knew for sure when he would be getting in. In reality, he knew that by the time she got to the airport, he could be at home in his own bed and he didn't want to wake her up in the middle of the night just to pick him up from the airport. He decided it would be much more fun to surprise her at the lab the next morning instead.

Booth unlocked the front door to his apartment and sighed, happy to finally be home. He set down his bag in the entryway and noticed two pairs of shoes. One: a pair of sneakers he knew to be Parker's and the other: a pair of black boots that were the unmistakably property of Bones. He snuck down the hall, using his best sniper skills to not make a noise. With a glance to the living room, he smiled as Parker and Bones were sleeping soundly on opposite ends of the couch. Booth walked in and Brennan stirred under her blanket, aware of his presence. He smiled warmly at her and put one finger to his lips. He then bent down and touched his son's hair, giving him a kiss on the temple.

"Hey Parker." Booth said gingerly as he picked up his son to carry him to bed.

"Dad?" Parker asked sleepily as he woke up. "I thought we were picking you up at the airport?" He asked, clearly confused.

"I made it home on my own, buddy." Booth said as he moved him down the hall. "Now go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow okay? We'll have breakfast." He nodded groggily as he turned over and Booth tucked him in. He allowed himself a few seconds of staring to take in the changes that had occurred since he had been away. Booth would never get over how much could change in a kid's life in six months. Once that was in order, he took a deep breath and headed back into the living room. Brennan was now standing somewhat self-consciously next to the couch, waiting for him to reappear.

"You were supposed to call." She said simply.

"Hello to you too." He said with a smile. "You were supposed to be asleep so I could surprise you tomorrow morning."

"I was asleep." She said as she pointed to the couch. "And it is morning." Booth just grinned broadly, glad to know that she hadn't changed while he was gone. However, the grin on his face made her even more self-conscious so she just kept talking. "Parker wanted to wait up for your call but I guess we…" He just stared at her, amused by her and her half-asleep ramblings. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.

"Nothing." He shook his head and made his way over to her. "I just missed you, that's all. Come here." He said as he wrapped her in a big hug.

"I missed you too." She replied as she allowed herself to cling to him for a moment. "Welcome home Booth." She told him when she finally pulled away.

"Thank you." He said, but his hands were still firmly resting on the small of her back and his eyes were still examining her, as if he were making up for lost time. Suddenly Brennan realized what Angela had meant when she had said that Booth looked at her like forbidden fruit.

"Are you hungry?" She asked as she released herself from his grasp. "We ordered Wong Fu's. I could heat some up for you." She needed to make herself busy, or Angela's words would get into her thought process and affect her more than she wanted them to.

"It's my house." Booth reminded her. "I should be offering you food." He said as he followed her into the kitchen.

"No, let me get it. I'm sure you're exhausted from traveling." She said, pulling out the food.

"Is everything okay, Bones?" He asked.

"Of course. Why?"

"No reason, you just seem a little…anxious." He said, hunting for the right word.

"I'm not anxious." She informed him. "I just want you to be comfortable." She handed him his plate of food.

"Bones…" Booth said, knowing that there was another reason. He gave her his best analytical stare. She relented.

"I'm not good with hellos." She said, as if that made perfect sense. Booth furrowed his eyebrows and waited for her to explain. "The people in my life always leave." She explained. "I've become very adept at saying goodbye and moving on." She explained as she put the rest of the food back in the fridge. "Aside from Russ and Max, you're the first person to ever come back. I'm not good at hellos." She restated her excuse. "And Angela…" She stopped herself, clearly more tired than she thought to let something like that slip.

"What about Angela?" Booth asked, still leaning against the counter, his mouth full of food.

"Nothing. I asked her advice about your homecoming and she was not helpful." Brennan said.

"Why? What did she say?"

"She was…puckish." She replied, her crooked smile flitting quickly over her lips, knowing Booth would know what she meant. He smiled at the term.

"What did she say?" Booth asked again. Brennan shook her head. "Come on, Bones! You can't say something like that and then leave me hanging. You know I'll just ask her tomorrow."

"Booth, you can't handle me being frank about sex. There's no way you can handle Angela, especially when she's being puckish." Brennan said, knowing she was right. But one look at his face and she had to cave. She forgot how charming he could be. "Fine." She said. "It had to do with you being a soldier in the desert for six months surrounded only by men and it made Page 187 look tame. She said something about it being my own patriotic duty after you so bravely served our country." Booth turned red at the reference to her book and went back to eating his Chinese food, contemplating that thought for a moment.

"Huh." He said out loud, hoping to distract from the fact that his mind was instantly in the gutter and imagining all of the sordid things Angela could have been thinking.

"Look, you're probably tired, so I'm going to leave you alone now." She said as she walked into the hall to put on her boots.

"Bones, wait." He said. "You met me at my house with my son, Wong Fu's, and stories about puckish coworkers." He tallied up the night's events. She looked at him confused. "Best hello ever." He explained with a simple shrug. She didn't hide her smile. He reached out his arms for a goodbye hug.

"I'm glad you're back." She said as she held him tightly.

"It's good to be back." He said honestly.

"Get some sleep." She told him as she pulled away.

"I'll try." He said, knowing the time difference was going to kill him for the next week or so. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She nodded.

"Good night." She said as she walked out of the apartment.

"Night." He replied before shutting the door. Brennan smiled as she practically skipped down the steps to her car. Booth was back.

OOOOO

Booth righteously strode into the lab the next morning with a smile on his face. Sleep deprivation be damned, it felt so good to be home.

"Booth!" Angela cried as she saw the agent enter the lab.

"Hey Ange." He said with a smile. "Oof! Good to see you too." He groaned as she squeezed him in a tight embrace.

"What are you doing here? You were supposed to take a few days. Get acclimated. Take some vacation time." Booth smiled.

"And miss out on delivering this?" He said as the FBI forensic team brought a gurney into the lab. "Hodgins, consider it an early Christmas present."

"Why?"

"Found it in a garden. Enough insect activity to clean the bones." Booth said, slightly creeped out.

"Booth's right. They are already practically defleshed." Brennan agreed as she began laying the bones out on the table.

"Did you bring me the insects?" Hodgins asked, his excited voice going a bit higher than he anticipated.

"I know I've been gone, but I'm not new." Booth said, an affronted look appearing on his face. "No, I pulled a Bones and told them to pack everything up and take it back to the lab." He said with a familiar wave of his arm. The forensics guy wheeled in an entire cart filled with individual species of insects in jars.

"Dude!" Hodgins said lovingly towards Booth. "You're officially my favorite G-man." He complimented him. Angela shook her head at her husband.

"That's not a compliment. You hate G-men." She told Hodgins. "And you." She said as she turned her attention to Booth. "Welcome home." She said as she walked away to pull Brennan by her elbow down off the platform and began talking to her in a hushed tone. Booth smiled as he saw Cam walking out of her office.

"You really didn't waste any time, did you?" Cam said as she walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"Nope." He turned his attention back to Bones. "Bones, you can talk to Angela later. Right now we got a murder to solve. Chop chop!"

"How much did you miss saying that while you were gone?" Cam leaned in towards Booth facetiously.

"Too much." Booth muttered honestly under his breath before yelling again. "Bones. I'm serious. It's been six months. I can't do my job until you do yours. Let's go!" He said as he started walking towards the door. Brennan broke away from Angela and started up the platform to start examining the remains.

"It's like he's in murder solving withdrawal." Cam said to Hodgins with a grin, but he took no notice of his boss. He was already eyeing each of his new insects with great intensity.

"He won't hear you." Brennan explained seriously as she put on a set of gloves.

"Right. I'll leave you to it then." Cam said as she went back to her own business.