Here's the next chapter- tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.
When the gang arrived back at Brennan's house it was nearly three in the morning. As they pulled into the driveway Brennan looked over at Booth.
"I know they must be exhausted, but we should probably bathe them before putting them into bed," Brennan told him.
Booth glanced back at the kids; their hair was greasy and tangled and their clothes appeared to be very grimy. "Agreed," he said.
Brennan lifted Emily from the car and Booth grabbed David. The children woke up as soon as they entered the apartment and their eyes widened as they took in the expensive decor.
"Wow, it looks like a museum in here," said David.
Brennan smiled at him, "I know it's quite late, well early actually, but are you two hungry? I have macaroni and cheese that I made up for tomorrow in the fridge, I could heat it up while you two take a bath."
At the mention of a bath David started wailing and Emily whimpered into his shoulder.
Brennan looked panicked, so Booth got down to the kids level. "Whatever happened to you before will not happen here; we won't hurt you I promise. Baths are a nice way to get clean."
"No cold shower?" He asked suspiciously.
"Of course not!" said Booth and Brennan together.
"Okay," said David, but Emily still looked hesitant and she looked up at Brennan for confirmation. Brennan nodded at her.
When the kids were out of earshot Brennan whispered to Booth, "Prolonged exposure to cold water can cause the blood to become more concentrated and increases the risk of a heart attack and shock, not to mention hypothermia, especially in children so young and with so little body fat. Definitely child abuse, Booth. "
Booth sighed and touched Brennan's cheek.
"We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise you Bones."
"Can I go into the lab tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.
"You should be resting, you know recovering..."
"Booth!"
"Alright fine."
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Once the kids were clean and in warm pajamas Brennan went into the kitchen to take the macaroni out of the oven and put it on plates. David came in and sat down at the table. He was a tall for his age and thin with wavy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes; he looked exactly like Booth.
"I'm so hungry." he said.
"Well, we'll just have to rectify that, won't we." Brennan smiled.
Meanwhile Booth was brushing Emily's long hair in the bathroom. Her brown hair was silky and smooth from the bath and her bright blue eyes reminded him of Bones and how he had imagined their daughter would look. He had always wanted a daughter.
"You have really pretty hair," he told her gently.
"Thank you," she smiled shyly.
"Come on, Bones makes great mac and cheese," he told her, taking her hand and leading her towards the kitchen.
"Bones?" she asked.
"Uh yeah, that's what I call Dr. Bren..um... Temperance." Booth had always felt strange referring to Bones by her first name.
"Oh," she said. Then she giggled, "That's a funny name."
"Yeah I guess it is." He returned her smile.
At dinner the kids ate several plates of pasta and bowls of salad. It worried Brennan, she wondered when these kids had eaten last. She poured them both more milk.
When they had all eaten their fill Emily yawned.
"Time for bed, huh?" Booth said.
The kids nodded and Booth knew from experience that if kids were asking to go to bed then they were way over tired.
"You'll be staying in here. Do you like it?" Brennan said showing them their newly decorated bedroom.
"Wow!" the kids said together forgetting their sleepiness
"It's for us?" Emily squealed.
"This is better than Christmas!" said David.
"I'm glad you like it," said Brennan grinning.
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Brennan and Booth had changed and gone to sleep in Brennan's room. Booth was still trying to convince himself this was a perfectly normal arrangement, but he couldn't seem to focus due to the heat radiating off of his partner's body.
Suddenly Emily appeared with David following close behind her. Brennan, who Booth didn't realize was still awake sat up and flicked on the bed-side lamp.
"I'm scared," said Emily.
"Me too," whispered David.
They both looked nervous.
"Climb on up," smiled Brennan warmly. Then she turned to Booth, "As long as it is not done too frequently a parent allowing a child to share their bed helps build closeness and promote feelings of security. We are not their parents, however we appear to be the next best thing."
"That sounds an awful lot like physcology Bones."
"Nope, simply stating a fact ," Brennan stated.
"Mhmm." said Booth skeptically.
Meanwhile the kids had snuggled in between them and Booth looked down at them lovingly.
"They could be ours," Booth whispered.
And with that thought they were all asleep at last, snuggled together like a real family.