Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or song lyrics here. But the characters and the non-couple romance both inspire and frustrate me!
My stories are continuous parts of the same tale. If you'd like to start at the beginning please visit my author profile for an ordered listing.
This is the last chapter in this story but I do have at least two more future stories following the same line. The next story should start in a day or two but there is a clear separation between that time frame and this one (no spoilers!) so it will be posted under a separate title.
Hope you enjoy!
It was Tuesday morning - the first day of the New Year. And it was definitely starting out well. Temperance was curled up on her side facing him, snoring gently. It was nearly imperceptible but it was there. I'll have to tease her about it later. Right now though, all now all he wanted to do was watch her.
They had spent most of the weekend together. Sunday she had gone home for awhile after they had their first fight since becoming a couple. It was completely silly, as most fights are. She had packed a small bag to bring over for the weekend and forgotten her shampoo. He offered her his but she didn't want it. He thought she was being vain and didn't realize that the shampoo represented some independence for her and she needed to assert some control. Silly. She'd gone home first thing that morning and though they spoke they didn't see each other again until early Monday when he showed up at her door with breakfast and his own overnight bag. It was the 'I'm sorry' she needed and he spent that day and night at her place.
But now it was Tuesday morning. New Year's Day. And he had about 3 hours to get ready to get Parker for the day. He jumped in the shower without waking her. While waiting for the water to warm he considered possible plans for the day. Parker usually had some destination in mind but it never hurt to have a few ideas of his own just in case. What he'd really like is to ask Temperance to come too, but he wasn't sure if she was ready for that.
He finished his shower quickly and found Temperance awake when he emerged. Bending down to kiss her, he playfully smacked her sheet-covered hip. "Good morning, beautiful."
"Good morning. And Happy New Year. Got any wonderful resolutions for the year?"
"Hmm, lets see. I promise not to shoot any more clowns that aren't expressly trying to kill one of us. I promise to occasionally look Zack in the eye."
"Hah, yeah, right."
"I can do better. Lets see. I resolve to tell you I love you at least once a day. I'll also resolve to make love to you with my eyes at least 5 times a day, and in practice at least once a day, maybe twice on the weekends." He dodged her swiping arm. "In addition, I hereby resolve to kiss you often; probably every other day, so that you'll miss it in between." He let her grab his arm, pull him down onto his back and straddle him.
"Oh really?"
"Yes, Bones, I do. And I promise you love you with all my heart and try to never let you down." He smiled up at her and pulled her down for a kiss. She didn't notice when he flipped her over and then she didn't notice anything at all as he showed her how much he meant it.
He looked down at her, "Temperance, I was wondering. Would you like to come with me today? Spend the day with Parker and I? I...I would really like that." He held his breath while she thought about it. He really wanted her there. He desperately wanted Parker to like her, and for her to like him.
"I'd love that." She ran a hand through he hair. "Guess I better get a shower, huh? You're hair is, um, kinda messed up now, Seeley. You might want to join me."
He groaned, "I've got a brush and I don't want to be late. If I go in there with you we will be very very late. I'll manage. Chop chop!"
Parker had chosen the zoo for their day outing but knowing it was too cold to see any animals, Temperance suggested they go ice skating instead. Initially suspicious that anyone but Parker would enjoy it, he was pleasantly surprised to see how many opportunities he found to enjoy the outing.
Temperance was a terrible skater.
It was surprising, knowing she skied and hiked and enjoyed other physical activities. But apparently she had weak ankles. In this instance it was definitely to his advantage today. He'd caught her many times and she had only managed to take him down with her once.
Parker was oblivious to it all. He was having a great time on the ice and seemed like a natural skater but despite that, it doesn't take a little boy very long to get bored. He skated up to Seeley and grabbed his hand, tugging downward.
"Daddy, why is Bones with us today?"
Seeley stole a glance at Temperance and squatted down next to his son. "Well, Parker, first, why don't you call her Tempe, okay? Her name is Temperance but special people get to call her Tempe for short." Looking to the lady herself for agreement on the name, he continued. "You're going to see a lot of Tempe now, Parker. You know how mommy has a boyfriend that you see a lot but you've never seen daddy with a girlfriend? Well, Tempe is now Daddy's girlfriend. So she's going to be around a lot. You think that will be okay?"
Parker peered up at Temperance and she found to her surprise that a tight knot had formed in her stomach. She wasn't expecting it but she realized that how Parker felt about her really mattered. She wanted him to like her.
Parker nodded and smiled at Seeley. "I like her, Daddy. She's pretty and nice and she knows really cool things about everything!"
Seeley chuckled and hugged her to his side. "Yeah, she is. And I like her too, okay?"
"Girlfriend, eh?" She tried the word on her lips, liking the sound.
"You don't mind do you?"
"Not at all." She tested it out. "This is Seeley Booth, my...boyfriend. He's my boyfriend. I am his girlfriend. We are a...couple. Yeah, I think that will work." She leaned over and kissed him. He deepened the kiss and wrapped her in his arms. They were oblivious to Parker's tugs and giggles until he started to say in a sing-song voice, "Daddy and Tempe sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S..."