CHAPTER 11

The last day of their vacation, Seeley woke at precisely 6:00am. He had been having a dream which totally terrified him and he could not go back to sleep so he carefully climbed over Parker, put his swim shorts and a t-shirt on, left Tempe a note and made his way to the beach.

The staff was setting up for breakfast and he wandered by to see if he could get some coffee.

"It will be a few minutes sir," a young boy offered.

"I'll wait."

Not sure why but the coffee here was the best he had ever tasted. He filled the large mug, poured the equivalent of 4 tablespoons of sugar, took a sip and made his way down the steps to the isolated beach. Seeley found a lounger, lay down and finished his coffee.

The sun had yet to make it over the horizon but the air in Aruba was always warm. In fact, he was enjoying the sight and sounds of the waves without feeling like he should be on a rotisserie.

This is my new special spot

He put down his cup, stood up, took off his t-shirt and slowly walked across the cool sand. He dug his toes in every few steps. That feels good

As his feet hit the water, the sun was starting to make its appearance over the horizon. He checked his watch, 6:30am.

"No more checking time", he mumbled to himself as he was chest deep in the turquoise water.

With his next two steps, he was knee high in the water. He turned back to the see the beach was quite a bit in the distance. He moved around again to the vast openness of the sea and dove under the water as a wave washed over him.

He did this several more times, losing himself in the tranquility of the moment.

I do not want to go home. Not yet. Just a few more days. A few more weeks

The salt water was starting to bother his eyes.

"Guess I should have brought my goggles", he mumbled, so he made his way back to shore. As he trudged through the pristine water for the last time, he sat down on the shore, closed his eyes and let the warm waters wash over his feet and buttocks. He leaned his head back, hands behind him digging into the sand.

"Now what?" he said aloud to his God above him.

"You move back every 10 minutes or the tide will wash you out to sea."

He turned his head around to see Rosa standing behind him dressed in a floral dress and matching hat. Knowing she was not going to join him in the water, he stood and started to walk back to the loungers. She followed him, keeping a steady pace with his large strides.

As he toweled off his salt-water ridden body and hair, he spoke, "You couldn't sleep either?"

Rosa shook her head in agreement.

"How about some breakfast?" he asked her as he grabbed his shirt and shoes.

"Sounds good," she said as she interlocked her arm with his.

She was very fond of Seeley and Rebecca and thought the world of Parker. She never hesitated to speak her mind, even when it was in regards to their parenting of Parker. She did not criticize; she offered constructive criticism in a way that even the most defensive of parents could not help but listen to. The conversation her and Seeley were about to have over breakfast would be no different.

They got their food and coffee and found the table they had shared so many meals this week at.

"So Seeley, what advice were you asking God for?" Rosa asked as she bit into her newfound favourite food: pineapple pancakes.

He raised his eyebrows over the rim of his coffee cup and gave her a half smile. "What makes you think I was asking God for advice?"

"Let's see, you were sitting alone on a beach at 6:30 in the morning, your head tipped back, eyes closed and looking at the sky. I would deduct that was you were speaking to God."

"You know me well, Rosa," he replied as she put down his coffee cup, licked his lips and looked out into the sea. He had begun to have an inner connection with this body of water. The sounds, the smell and of course the sight – the most crystal blue waters he had even seen. The innocence, knowing that it was at the mercy of only man and mother nature, the planets two most merciless factors.

"She loves you. And Parker."

He kept his stare out towards the openness of the sea knowing Rosa was talking about Tempe.

"But are we really meant to be together for the rest of our lives?" His eyes still transfixed on the sea.

"Seeley, no one ever knows that for certainty. Look at me; I had found my soul mate but after," she paused for a moment, but after Michael died, Richard turned to alcohol to numb his pain leaving me alone in reality to deal with life".

He could not begin to imagine what she went through. He often saw in his line of work children taken too soon from the world and could not fathom what he would do if, heaven forbid, Parker was taken before him.

She continued, "It took me awhile to get back to some sort of normalcy. I knew Richard would only drag me down and I did not want to live the rest of my life like that. God helped me give the strength to do that. But it was I who had to do the work."

"Rosa ..."

"Seeley, the questions you are asking God, he can not answer. He can guide you but you have to look in here for the answers." She placed her hand over her heart.

"So I should just go for it?" he asked hastily.

"Yes, that is a good way to word it. Go for it. You are a good man Seeley Booth, don't doubt for one second you are not worthy of her."

"How did you know I was thinking that?" he asked with surprise in his voice. Her comment cut deep into his body.

"I will be frank with you Seeley. Rebecca did not want to marry you because of your job, which is part of who you are, and she was not ready to deal with the prospect of you leaving the house everyday and not returning. She had a child to think of, not just herself and she made the only choice she knew. Cam, well, she is just plain crazy." She smiled at him with the same reassurance he often smiled at her with.

Rosa never uttered in his presence a bad word about another human being. Well that was until she heard about Cam cheating on Seeley with his boss.

It would be an understatement to say Rosa did not like Camille Saroyan. Parker had grown very fond of Camille and when she disappeared suddenly out of his life, he thought it was his fault. She did not take kindly to someone hurting Parker like that.

"I was doing well until today. It hit me like a tidal wave. She moved in, is a part of our family, we are here taking a family vacation, then what?"

"What do YOU want?"

He need not hesitate, as he was very clear in what he wanted. Actually taking the steps was another thing.

"I want to marry her. Continue making a family with her. Grow old with her. Take our grandchildren to the park for picnics and ice cream." His eyes were filled with happiness and love when he spoke.

"Then make it happen. The first step is asking her to marry you." She winked at him and placed her hand on his pointing to his potential wedding ring finger. "Buying her a ring would be nice."

They both laughed, knowing although the steps were simple enough to say, actually going through them was a completely different ballgame. As they both knew from their pasts, life was not always fair in love and war.