Thanks to those who reviewed for your wonderful words, we're glad you all feel the same way about Booth's colleagues ;). Now, let's get a little easier on Brennan.

Chapter 6

By the time Brennan came home that evening, she realised she was really late, because Booth was already home and her daughter's bike was gone. Brennan always tried to be home before Elena went to practice. Today, though, she'd worked beyond her usual hours. She'd been working on Booth's remains for ten hours straight. She'd found the most probable cause of death, but she'd had to analyse over a dozen injuries to the bones, from tiny cuts to subtle bruisings. And she'd had to find the injuries first, which had taken up a huge part of the day. Her findings had ended up horrifying her. When she walked into their home, she heard soft piano tunes from upstairs. Her son's peaceful piano play brought a soft, tired smile to her lips. She took off her coat and kicked off her shoes, then went in search of her partner.

Booth was in the kitchen, preparing the kids' lunchboxes for the next day. He looked up when the door opened and left the kitchen, walking into the living room. "There you are." He walked over to his wife and embraced her. "I was about to send out a search party," he teased. "Come on, dinner is in the oven. It's still hot."

Brennan didn't let go of him yet, though. She needed him, his familiarity and comfort. She didn't understand how he could do the work he did. She breathed in deeply, his calming scent filling her lungs, as her head rested on his shoulder.

Sensing that she was not in the mood to tease and banter, Booth held her a bit closer, kissing her temple. "Want to talk about it?"

"No," she said, "I want to think of something else." She felt his body heat warm her, and pressed herself close against him, slowly relaxing.

"Okay." He thought for a moment. "Close your eyes. Do you hear that?"

"I can hear your heartbeat," she said after a moment.

"Focus on that," he whispered softly. Booth tightened his grip on her the tiniest bit and started to twirl them around the room, slowly, moving in soothing circles.

Brennan smiled against his chest, closing her eyes, giving him full control of their movements. "How do you deal with what you do, Booth?" she asked him as they moved slowly.

"Easy," he whispered. "I come home to you. And Elena and Thomas. I have to tell you, the moment that Tommy jumped into my arms tonight, all of my stress fell away from me." He kissed her cheek and murmured softly, "So, keep listening to my heartbeat and let me do the same for you."

"I doubt it's as easy as you say it is. For me, at least." With her eyes closed, she felt every one of his movements and followed it. It was soothing.

"You make it easy for me, by loving me and being patient and understanding on the worst days. When did you last eat, darling?"

"I had breakfast this morning, then a few snacks throughout the day to keep my blood-sugar levels up. I didn't have a real lunch, now that you mention it."

Booth stopped and leaned back slowly. "That is the one thing you can't do, darling. You have to continue taking good care of yourself. Come on, Elena outdid herself. She made a mean mac 'n cheese. Almost as good as her mother's."

"She cooked?" Brennan smiled. She was so proud of her daughter. "I'm hungry, let's see how many of my cooking genes she inherited." Brennan opened her eyes and kissed Booth for a few moments, taking her time, enjoying their closeness.

Booth gave her what he knew she needed and what he enjoyed himself. Together, they walked to the kitchen table. She sat down and he opened the oven and grabbed oven mints. "Be careful, don't touch your plate. Here. Some for you..." He put it down in front of her and then he grabbed another small plate. "And some for me!"

Brennan enjoyed having a quick meal with Booth. When they were done, the piano tunes stopped. "I'm going to go give Thomas a kiss. I'll be right back to help with the dishes."

Thomas' eyes lit up when he heard footsteps on the stairs. It wasn't Dad or Elena. Mom was home! He had been in bed already when he'd heard the downstairs door open, thinking it was his dad, coming to tuck him in, but now that he knew it was his mom, Thomas pushed the duvet to the side and rushed out of bed. He opened the door and ran towards his mother, hugging her waist. "Mommy!"

Brennan wrapped her arms around her son and walked them to his bed, where she sat down and pulled Thomas onto her lap. "I missed you, little man," Brennan smiled as she pressed a kiss to Thomas' cheek as she held him tightly against her.

"I missed you too, Mommy. I was afraid I wouldn't get to kiss you goodnight," he told her as he cuddled closely to his mother.

"I'm sorry, honey. I worked too long today. But even if you're already asleep, I'll never forget to kiss you goodnight. Ever." Brennan breathed in his little-boy scent. Innocent, soft. She hoped he'd never want anything to do with a career in law-enforcement or anything else related to violence. "I love you," she told him, kissing his hair as she rocked him back and forth.

"I love you too, Mommy." Tommy yawned and he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Will you stay with me and sing me the bedtime song? Just until I'm asleep."

"Of course I will," Brennan said and tucked him in, then lay down next to her son. She started to sing the bedtime song her own mother used to sing to her. Meanwhile, she caressed Thomas' face and kissed his temple. When his eyes were closed and relaxed, his breathing slow and regular, Brennan softened her voice until she ended the song in a whisper. She gave her young boy one more kiss and then left on tip-toes.

Booth was waiting for her outside of Thomas' room and smiled at her, pulling her back into his embrace. "I love to listen when you sing to our kids," he whispered. "Is he asleep?"

"Yes, he is. Like a baby," Brennan smiled tenderly, her heart overflowing with love for the little boy in the bed. She tightened her grip around Booth. "I could sing you asleep, too," she teased him.

"Let's give that a go." Booth could no longer fight the urge to lift her in his arms and since they were already upstairs, he gave into it. He bent through his knees and swept her off of her feet and into his arms.

"We still need to do the dishes," she protested.

"I'll do them tomorrow, Bones. I'm tired and I want to lay down in our bed and enjoy your presence."

She heaved a small sigh in relief. "Me, too. I'm dead-tired."

Booth carried her into their bedroom and put her down on her feet. "Why don't you take a shower? Elena should be home any minute now. I'll stay downstairs, just until she's home. I'll send her to our room for a goodnight kiss and then we will make it an early night. Would that work for you?"

"That would be great. Thanks, Booth." She kissed him again, needing some more distraction.

Booth deepened their kiss and guided her to the bathroom. "I really have to go downstairs," he told her regretfully, "I don't want Elena to walk into a dark, empty living room."

Brennan nodded. "Go." She gave him one more kiss before he turned and walked out of the bathroom. She undressed and took a brief but hot, hopefully relaxing shower. She dressed into her nightgown and put on her robe and slippers. She went downstairs and saw that Elena had come home. "Shower's free," Brennan announced before drawing her daughter into her arms. "How was your day, sweetheart?"

Elena squeezed her mother. "Practice went really well. I had to climb the rope twice, though," she sighed. "But then," she chuckled, "I guess I had that coming."

Brennan stroked Elena's hair. "I'm proud of you, honey. Aren't you tired?"

Elena shrugged. "The day's over, so I have time to be tired. I did my homework before practice, so.. I'll just have a cup of tea with you. Then I'm taking a shower and then, finally, I'm off to bed."

Booth cut in. "Why don't you have a quick shower first? I'll make sure the tea is ready by the time you're done. Mom is tired, sweetheart, so we'll be going to bed soon."

Elena looked up at her mother. "Are you okay, Mom?"

"Yes, darling," Brennan smiled at her daughter and tucked a curl behind her ear. "I've had a long day and I'm tired, but I'm sure you know more about that than I do."

Elena shrugged. "Maybe. I don't think you can compare a job to gymnastics, though. I love being in the gym for four hours each day. I have my friends there, we have a ton of fun and we feel like super humans."

Booth wrapped his arms around his daughter and kissed her cheek. "Come on, smelly super human! Upstairs to take a shower. Be quiet, 'cause Tommy is asleep already. Mom and I will be waiting for you in the living room." When his daughter was on her way, Booth returned to the kitchen and started boiling water. Fifteen minutes later, the tea was ready and his daughter came down the stairs, the spitting image of her mother, dressed in a nightgown, a robe and warm, fluffy slippers.

Brennan had been lying on the couch, already starting to fall asleep, and Elena joined her, snuggling up to her mother. Brennan wrapped her arms around her oldest child.

Booth watched as his girls cuddled together. Even though Elena had changed, she could still sense it when her mom needed to be comforted and she was the first one to make sure that her mom had what she needed. It had improved steadily, from the day that he really managed to gain Elena's trust, but Booth didn't mind. He wanted his daughter and her mother to have the best possible bond. "Here is your tea, girls."

They enjoyed a comfortable, familiar silence, disrupted by a few yawns from all of them and once the cups were empty, Booth stood. "I'm going to lock up and rinse the cups." He looked at Bones. "I did the dishes while you showered. The two of you can go upstairs. Elena, I'll come tuck you in and then we can call it a night as well, Brenn."

"Booth, you didn't have to do the dishes by yourself," Brennan lovingly reprimanded him. "You're just as tired as I am."

Booth winked at her. "Don't mention it. And now, off to bed, the both of you."

Elena got off the couch so her mother could stand up as well. They both gave Booth a kiss before going upstairs. They brushed their teeth together and Brennan walked with Elena to her room. Together, they packed Elena's backpack for the next school day. Brennan then tucked her daughter in, telling her to throw the covers off of her when she heard her dad come up the stairs. Booth always insisted on tucking his children in before bed. Having experienced some of the horrors that came along with Booth's job, Brennan now understood why there were certain things Booth needed to do with their kids. Their innocence was healing. Brennan kissed her daughter goodnight and went to the master bedroom, where she waited for Booth.

Booth made sure that everything was locked up and that his family could rest safely tonight. Turning off the lights as he went, Booth went upstairs. He quickly checked on his son and kissed Thomas' cheek. He closed his eyes and asked God to look out for his son and guard him in his dreams. Leaving the door slightly ajar, he moved to his daughter's bedroom.

Elena quickly threw the duvet off of her when she heard her dad come up the stairs. Right before she got cold, her dad finally entered her room. "Hey, Dad," Elena whispered.

"Darling what are you doing, laying on your bed without covers?" Booth was quick to tuck her in, sitting down on the bed next to her. "There, that's better, isn't it?"

"Much better, Dad," Elena chuckled, then reached out to hold his hand. "You'll take care of Mom, right? She seemed a little pale."

Booth nodded and squeezed her hand. "I know, baby girl, I've noticed, too, and I'll take good care of her. And you," he reached for the teddy bear he'd got her when she was four and placed it next to his daughter's pillow, "you can do the same thing by being safe and have a good night's sleep tonight, okay?" When she nodded, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Elena?" He knew she recognised the tone of his voice, telling her he was about to tell her something serious and when she looked up at him, he continued softly. "I'm sorry for teasing you about that boy. If you're just friends, then you're just friends with him. And if there is something special between you two, just take things slow. Okay? You're young. And when you do fall in love, I want you to enjoy it, just remember that you don't need to rush, okay? I'm not saying that Alexander is that guy, but someday, he will come and I..." he squeezed her hand, "All I want is for you to be happy, okay?"

Elena smiled at him. "I get it, Dad. I'd probably freak out, too, if I were you. It's okay, I understand. But you can trust that you and Mom raised me right and I won't disappoint you. As far as Alex goes... he's not as bad as I thought he was, but I wouldn't say we're good friends, either. He's not open, you know?"

"Some people aren't baby," he caressed her hair, smoothing it down. "Some people your age have been through a lot and they are a bit withdrawn because of it. If you want to be friends with him, just be patient. Just let nature take its course." Booth leaned down again and hugged his daughter. "Sweet dreams, princess." Booth stood and left the room, turning the lights off.

"Night, Dad. I love you," Elena called after him and closed her eyes, ready to give her muscles an opportunity to recover from that day's training session, and her brain to recover from doing all of that homework.

Booth went into his own bedroom and undressed. Once he was naked, he slipped in between the covers, cuddling up to his wife. "Mmm this makes my day," he whispered as he rested his head on her soft breasts, draping his arm over her waist, one of his legs resting between hers.

Brennan welcomed him into her arms, taking comfort in his proximity. "I understand it does," she whispered and kissed the top of his head. "We have amazing kids."

"We do," Booth agreed whole-heartedly and pressed a kiss to her collar bone. "Good night, Bones."

"Night, Booth." Soon, the sound of slow, relaxed breathing was the only sound in the house.

We hope this chapter made up for the mean words spoken in the previous one! Next chapter will be more angsty but also... romantic. (I guess it's tradition now to put a making-love scene in these fics.) We hope to receive your wonderful reviews again and in return we'll update as soon as we can!