The coos could be heard down the hall and as he approached Booth could tell it sounded more like a grunt then her verbalizing. Panic fluttered through his veins as he practically ran toward the door and pushed it open. He slowly walked into his daughter's room to find her standing against her crib railing, trying to reach the lock. The scattered toys on the floor that were once the nightstand and the mounded up blanket she was using as a ladder made it evident she had been attempting her escape for a while. Only Temperance Brennan's child would use a mundane object such as a blanket as a ladder. Brennan women are always running and Maggie was no exception. He would need duct tape... lots of duct tape.

"Just like her mother," He beamed. His deep voice suddenly startled Maggie and she looked up at her father with pure innocence. With a brief smile Booth reassured her she was caught red handed. Admitting defeat Maggie plopped down against the mattress and looked away, pretending not see her father.

"Oh no Mags, you've been caught." He laughed as her eyes slowly closed and her head rested against the bars. "But I won't tell mommy if you won't."

Maggie's eyes shot open and she beamed widely. They were partners in crime. She knew she would always love her father after all the stories her mother told her of him, but the man standing before her was not what she imagined. He oozed love and pure devotion and with that smile that mimicked hers, she loved her father more than any toddler could have.

Reaching the crib, Booth picked up his daughter and instantly she clung to him. Her ivory skin blended with his much darker hue perfectly, a constant reminder she was Temperance Brennan's daughter. Her small little fingers cling to his chest as tightly as they could, leaving marks on his skin as she forced herself to be one with him. She had spent her whole life without her father and she was refusing to let that missing piece leave her once more.

"You seem to like me better now that I am your accomplish don't you?" He chuckled, pressing the child to his body. "Or is it just that you don't want me to tell mommy?"

Maggie cooed and smiled, nestling herself into her father's chest before drifting back to sleep. Booth placed a kiss on the top of his daughter's head he started to walk toward the hallway. As soon as they made it to the doorframe Maggie began to stir. She thrashed against his body, trying to squirm out of his grasp.

"Oh Maggie bear don't be like that…" Booth brushed his hand across her delicate arm, "You're going to make mommy upset. And we both don't want that now do we?"

Maggie was silent for a few seconds before her protesting started up again. The squirming became practically frantic as they made it down the hallway.

"Fine Mags, we'll go back." Booth turned and walked back into her bedroom. Sitting on the floor he let Maggie down. She walked toward her crib and grabbed an item before walking back toward her father. She placed the item in his lap then looked up at him expectantly.

"What's this?" He looked down at the fabric in his hands then back at his daughter. She just crawled closer to her father, resting her head on his leg as her eyes bore into him. He picked up the shirt and smiled at the big yellow 'FBI' letters written across the top. "So this is what all the fuss was about? This was my shirt, you know. You have the real deal now, Maggie, not this cheap imitation."

Maggie crawled into her father's lap, waiting to be picked up once more. Booth draped the shirt over his shoulder and picked up his daughter, making sure to walk slowly out of the room to incase of another incident. He cradled Maggie's silent frame against the shirt as they walked into the bedroom.

The mumbled snoring of a one Temperance Brennan could be heard as soon as he made it took the door. She looked as though she had fallen asleep the second he had left the room.

"Looks like mommy fell asleep Mag." Booth spoke as he slowly walked into the bedroom. Propping Maggie up against his hip, he leaned down and pulled up the blankets to Brennan's chin. Before walking out of the room, Booth placed a kiss delicately on Brennan's forehead causing Brennan to smile and roll toward him in her sleep. His smile increased as he cherished the few moments he watched her sleep. She would never admit it but Temperance Brennan was a very affectionate woman when she was asleep and it was one of the most endearing things about her to him.

As he walked back into the hallway, Booth secured Maggie's spot against his heart which she took to without hesitation. His heartbeat calmed her in a way that no one else had been able to. Maggie was never a really fussy child but in her father's arms nothing but happiness radiated from her small form.

"Now what do we do, Maggie?" He looked down at the child for answers. His eyes were drawn to the clock sitting on the bookshelf behind his daughter. It was just before six and Brennan would be waking soon. He did promise her breakfast… "How about some grub?"

Maggie just nuzzled her body into his, securing her place in his heart. Upon entering the kitchen Booth scanned the room to find the high chair sitting on the opposite of the kitchen table next to Brennan's seat and smiled, some things never changed. As he tried to place her in her highchair she began to squirm.

"Come on Mag…" He tired to remove Maggie but her nails just dig into his skin deeper. "I will only be a few feet away. Maggie bear… please…" He pleaded with the child. Her eyes flicked up at her father then down at the highchair. "I'll never leave you again." His voice was calming and assuring as her fingers finally slipped from his skin. "I promise. I love you."

As the soothing words flowed from his lips Maggie reluctantly let go of her father and slipped into the highchair with little fuss. Her eyes watched as the man before her went from cupboard to cupboard with a determined stride to his step. She wasn't sure what was drawing her to him but the way his body swayed in the soft light of the room glued her eyes to him. She had often watched her mother get ready in the morning but just the presence of her father in the kitchen was much different, he seemed to just flow from spot to spot.

"It's gotta be in here somewhere." He growled, opening the last cupboard with a thud. His fingers walked over the boxes until he found the one he had been searching for. He pulled out two long sticks and placed them before his daughter.

"Come on Mags, eat up." He smiled, pushing the two sugary sticks towards her. Maggie looked down at the crackers and up at her father, unsure of what to do. "They're good." He picked up a gram cracker and bit into it before placing it in her outstretched hand.

Maggie took the small cracker in her fist and without hesitation crammed it in her mouth and chewed. The sugar and cinnamon crusted around her lips as Maggie looked up at her father and smiled widely in approval.

"Now to make mommy and I something to eat." Booth turned from the highchair, pulling a skillet from the hook and placing into on stove. In a bowl he mix his ingredients and poured them into the hot skillet, knowing this could wake Brennan from the dead.

"Morning sleepyhead." Booth turned from the skillet before him and smiled at his partner, "Maggie's just..." His eyes were drawn to the snoring child grasping her last gram cracker, "asleep."

"I can see that." Brennan beamed, walking toward her partner, "I can also see you got her to eat those gram crackers."

"Park loved them when he was young." Booth felt Brennan's breath on his back and his body stiffened in response to her hands squirming over his chest. "it's a Booth thing."

"She refused to eat them until now. I guess her daddy does have some tricks I should know…" Brennan seductively whispered into his neck, "What are you making? It smells really good…" She wrapped her arms just under the waistband of his boxers and looked over his shoulder, "Oh… is that what I think it is?"

"Do you think it is special blueberry chocolate chip pancakes?" His voice shook as he felt her hot lips on his neck, "Ohh…. That's going to leave a mark." He growled as he steadied his body, hoping he didn't collapse onto the hot coils.

Smiling, Brennan wrapped her arms tighter running them up and down his chest and inhaling the familiar scent she had come accustomed to for years. Her body tensed then eased as she slipped into girlfriend mood without hesitation. Her mind knew they had a long road ahead of them but her body screamed for him. Two years was much too long. She just had to have him… now.

"I wasn't talking about the pancakes." She purred, trailing her tongue down his back, making sure to etch out every defined muscle.

"But what about Maggie?" His voice squeaked. She couldn't be doing what he thought she was… especially in front of their daughter. She had to have lost her mind.

"What about her? She's asleep…" She whispered as she twirled him to face her, "she sleeps like a rock. We have at least an hour."

"You naughty, naughty little girl." He captured her lips with his, making sure to claim her in every way his body knew how, "An hour? Oh I am going to need more than an hour…"

Brennan's eyes rolled closed as he lifted her onto his hips and carried her into the bedroom. It was a good thing Angela was on speed dial; today they were going to need it. Repeatedly.