Are the alerts down? I think the alerts are down. Stupid stupid fugly alerts.
---Friday cont'd---
"Dinner's ready!" Booth's voice resounded through the apartment and made Brennan cringe.
"Booth stop yelling!"
"Mom, you're yelling." David said quietly from Brennan's side. They were both hunched far over his desk while working tirelessly on David's math homework.
Brennan groaned and rubbed her face.
"We are so getting evicted." She grumbled as she followed her son down the hall to the dining room.
"Mommy! Guess what Daddynme made fer din din." Madison bounced happily in her booster seat while Booth went for two beers from the refrigerator.
Brennan looked at the table where the makings for Sloppy Joes were quite obviously set out.
"Ummmm…frog legs?" Brennan made her best puzzled face at her daughter and sat down in her assigned seat at their square table. Madison on her left side, Booth on her right and David directly across.
Madison made a face and told her mother that was 'gwoss' while David surveyed the table and expressed his pleasure at what he saw.
"Sloppy Joes? Oh YES! I love Sloppy Joes!" David sat down and held out his plate to be served and Madison immediately imitated him, puppy dog eyes and all.
Brennan smiled and shook her head before placing two heaping portions of Sloppy Joes and carrot sticks on their plates.
"I don't like carrots mom." David whined, his missing front teeth giving him a the smallest hint of a lisp. He frowned at the abhorrent orange vegetable on his plate.
"Yeah Mommy me eiver." Madison shook her head gravely and watched for what David would do next.
Booth, who had returned from the kitchen and was settling in at the table, was constantly amazed at how like her mother Madison looked when she was studying David like that. His little Princess worshipped her brother and often watched him with such intensity Booth had only seen it matched in one other woman. He was glad Madison's subject of study was much more alive than any of Brennan's.
"You've got to eat your vegetables, you know why?" Booth asked, nonchalantly loading his sandwich full of the messy filling and topping it with onions.
"No."
"No."
"Because, they put hair on your chest." Booth smiled at his children. David looked contemplative. Madison had already begun discretely nibbling her carrots, they were her favorite after all…but then, Brennan and Booth already knew that.
Brennan furrowed her brows at her husband. She didn't much like the idea of lying to David, but if it got him to eat is carrots, she would keep quiet.
"Really?" David raised one eyebrow and eyed the offending food suspiciously.
Booth shrugged. "You won't know unless you try it."
David paused for a moment longer, then shrugged and began stuffing as many carrots as possible into his mouth.
"Salim what are you doing?" Brennan exclaimed, almost leaping out of her chair to stop him, but Booth stayed her with his hand. "You'll choke yourself."
"Mmohiee woont amiff I chmwfem alliwonff itseshier." David tried to explain with a mouthful of carrots.
"David don't talk with your mouthful."
"Chew and swallow. What did you say?"
David made a show of swallowing and took a long drink of water, gasping for air at the exertion.
"I sa-aid." He drug out, "No I won't and if I chew 'em all at once it's easier." He scrunched up his face, "I don't have to taste 'em as long."
"Help Help." A small voice pleaded and Booth and Brennan looked over to find Madison's face, hands, shirt and placemat covered in Sloppy Joeness.
Booth held back a fit of laughter, pressing his napkin to his mouth.
"You're one messy princess Sonny." David giggled and exchanged amused glances with his father.
Madison had her hands stretched out in front of her, the look of distress was plain and it was obvious that she wanted nothing more than to be rid of this warm, sticky mess.
Brennan calmly surveyed the situation.
"Are you done?"
Madison nodded her head emphatically.
"All done." She told them, to be sure they knew she was quite finished with this mess and quite ready to be rid of it.
Brennan nodded. "Time for your bath then." She put down her half-eaten sandwich and began carefully extracting Madison from her chair, trying to avoid speading the mess any further. She started down the hall and then glanced back at David, who had his sandwich effectively covering his mouth, cheeks and hands.
"Your getting your bath too when Sonny's is done so hurry up."
David nodded and continued to eat.
"Know why I like Sloppy Joes dad?" He asked when the bathroom door shut.
"No, son, why?"
"Cuz…I can make as big a mess as I want!" David grinned a toothless grin and Booth ruffled his hair playfully.
"That's why I like them too." He winked and took a huge bite of the messy sandwich, allowing the meat to trail down his chin. David laughed so hard he couldn't breathe.
"Dad!" David shook his head in amusement.
"So how was school?" Booth asked, wiping his face after David calmed down a little.
"It was mostly boring but Jason and Mikey had a fight over who could play with the basketball next out on the playground and my teacher had to…"
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Two hours later the kids were done with their baths and settled into the couch watching their favorite movie…for the fifteenth time that week. Madison dozed slightly in her mother's arms on the overstuffed green couch while David was spread out on the floor his eyes glazed as he repeatedly dunked a small hand into the popcorn bowl searching for something besides kernels.
"Alright…it's that time." Booth stretched his large arms over his head, relieved the credits were finally beginning to roll. He looked over at Brennan beside him.
He was exhausted after a full days work on a case both of them would rather forget, but there was something about her tonight he was finding hard to ignore.
Brennan sat forward slightly, shifting Madison in her arms and her coppery hair fell down around her face. Her black top moved just slightly under the little girl's weight, exposing the creamy flesh of her shoulder.
Booth watched her look up at him, her eyes the most impossible shade of blue-green and he reminded himself to breathe and take note of what she was saying.
"What is it Seeley?"
He half-smiled. "Nothing, just…nothing." Then, directing his attention to David, who was remaining conspicuously quiet.
"David, c'mon buddy, bedtime."
David groaned loudly, he'd hoped they'd get caught up doing something and forget he was there.
"C'mon dad…five more minutes?"
Booth frowned at his son and David knew the glare he was receiving was one that meant it was best he not argue.
"Alright alright I'm going." He muttered, raising to his feet and sulking to the bedroom, which he and Sonny shared.
Just as Brennan moved to stand there was a knock at the door.
"Who could that be?" Brennan glanced at the large Roman numeral clock on the wall, it was nine at night.
"I'll go see. Go on ahead, I'll be in in a minute." Booth moved to the door as Brennan turned to go down the hall.
Peeking through the peephole Booth didn't see anything so he carefully opened the door, his senses on high alert. On the floor was a plain white envelope.
Booth picked it up, half expecting to find 'Temperance' written across the front. It would be very like her father to leave her a note like that.
But when he turned it over, he was surprised to find no name or markings of any kind. After giving it a thorough inspection from the outside and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Booth gently pulled open the envelope and slid out three sheets of paper.
He gasped softly.
The fist paper was a glossy black & white photo of little Madison, her head bent low as she used chalk to draw on the sidewalk in front of their building, Jackie sitting a few feet behind her on the steps. From the blurry quality of the photo Booth could tell it was taken from a distance, but it sent shivers up his spine, his famous gut doing flip-flops.
Moving to the next photo he shouldn't have been surprised to find David staring at him. Another glossy black & white showed his son sitting on the grass at school in a circle with the other students reading aloud for the teacher. Again, Booth could tell it had been taken from a bit of a distance, but the faces, at least the one that mattered, was clear as a bell.
Booth moved to the next sheet and felt his blood pressure shoot through the roof as his heart slammed into his rib cage. On a crumpled piece of white paper a single sentence mocked him.
Do you know where your children are?
Booth gritted his teeth and was about to call out their names when two high-pitched giggles echoed in the apartment, releasing some of his tension. Some.
"Seeley!" Brennan called, cursing herself for breaking her own rule about yelling, "Are you coming? The kids want you to read them a story."
Booth took a deep breath and counted to ten before carefully sliding the papers back in the envelope and putting it in a plastic bag from the kitchen.
"Yeah, here I come."
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Booth sat on the right side of David's bed; Madison curled up in his lap. Next to him Brennan had both legs crossed in front of her at the ankles, David leaning back into her and looking lazily at the book in Booth's hands.
"The end." Booth said quietly, putting the book on the side table. Madison had long since fallen asleep but David rubbed his eyes, still fighting.
"Mom?" David slid down under his covers as his parents vacated his bed.
"Yes Salim?" Brennan pushed some of his curls off his forehead and kissed it.
"Can I have my own room?" His voice was thick with sleep and his eyes closed, asking mostly out of habit. He asked almost every night, often complaining of 'Sonny's snoring'.
"We'll see." Brennan turned off his bedside lamp and waited in the doorway for Booth to put Madison down.
Booth leaned far over and placed the little girl in bed, her face, usually so animated, was completely peaceful when she slept. It amazed him at how much she looked like Temperance when she was asleep.
Carefully, Booth removed her plastic tiara and placed it on the bedside table before he pulled her blankets in tight around her. He stared at her for a moment, waiting to see her breathe in the pale yellow glow from the night-light in the corner.
When she did he smiled and leaned over, pressing his lips tenderly to her forehead and whispering, "Goodnight Princess."
I promise to keep you safe.
Then, without another word straightened, silently kissed David on the forehead, and found Brennan's hand as he pulled their bedroom door partly shut.
Both of you.
Once in their bedroom Brennan and Booth quietly went through their routine, taking turns in the bathroom, changing clothes but hardly speaking, both in deep thought.
Booth's mind whirled with the note he'd just received, trying to decide what to do and whether or not to tell Brennan. He knew he should, but when he turned and saw her sitting under the covers, propped up against the headboard with pensive crease in her brow, he couldn't bring himself to do it. She was already worked up over this case, a case she felt personally, maybe too personally.
But who could blame her? Foster parents weren't supposed to do that kind of thing, and the fact that they had…while it made Booth nauseous, it made Brennan sick.
"Hey, you all right?" he asked, gently settling in beside her. He took her hand and laced his fingers with it. She smiled over at him.
"Yeah. I'll be fine." To prove it she leaned over to kiss him…and the memory of earlier in the SUV came flooding back.
Without hesitation Booth pushed his hands up into her hair and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss to such a level he wouldn't have been able to stand if he wanted to. Brennan grinned and pulled away, leaving a confused Booth to watch as she quickly slid from the bed, shut the door and slid back in. Only this time, instead of sitting beside him, she sat over his thighs and smiled down at him.
"The kids are asleep you know." She told him, trailing hot kisses down his jaw and neck.
"Oh…believe me…I know." Booth ground out, before bringing her face back up so he could have his way with her lips, desire overtaking him easily.
After a moment, clothes started flying and a single trembling hand broke free of the madness and quickly turned out the bedroom light.
Please R&R...we've got a looong way to go.