Twenty-one Weeks at Quantico

By: Lesera128

Rated: T

Disclaimer: I own nothing... Obviously. Just playing in someone else's sandbox for a bit.

Summary: When the FBI establishes a pilot program for consultants to receive training at the FBI academy, Brennan and Booth clash over whether she should enroll. AU.

10. T-plus Twenty Weeks Until Graduation

It was Saturday morning, and Brennan sat under the large patio umbrella that covered a table where she had arranged her belongings. She was dressed in a dark blue one-piece swimsuit with her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her laptop sat in front of her while a stack of books rested beside it. She held a clipboard and a notebook in which she was scribbling notes.

"Hey, Bones!"

"Yes, Parker?" Brennan responded, without looking up.

"Are you watching me?" came the reply.

"Not at the moment, Parker," Brennan responded truthfully.

"But, Bones! I'm going to do my cannonball," Parker said.

Sighing, looking up, Brennan called out, "I am now watching, Parker. But, remember, you are not allowed to practice your cannonballs if your sister is in the pool."

A shriek came from the other side of the pool as Booth swam over to where Max was playing with Chrissy. She was dressed in a pink one-piece and had the portions of her hair that were now long enough pulled into two tiny, tiny pig tails. She screamed excitedly again when she saw Booth swimming toward her and tried to paddle towards him.

Watching the scene, Max looked over to his daughter and said, "Don't worry, Tempe, I've got her."

Brennan looked over and said, "Dad, I still don't like him jumping around and causing so much motion in the water, even if she is at the opposite end of the pool."

"Why?" Max responded. "She has her floaties on..."

Brennan's mouth down-turned in an unpleasant way as she said, "That descriptor is so imprecise... And, you know, I can give you two very good reasons why the 'floaties' are insufficient devices for her to wear in the pool. A.) I still don't know why I let you and Booth talk me into putting those things on her. They impede her ability to develop and perfect her own natural ability to swim. B.) They are inaccurate. Ducks are neither completely yellow, have bright orange beaks, or blue eyes. It is physically impossible for them to smile. I fail to see why letting you adorn her with them compensates for these shortcomings."

Booth's head popped out of the water as he blew bubbles towards the baby. Chrissy again squealed in delight.

Having heard the tail end of Brennan's tirade, Booth said jovially, "Because, Bones… they make her laugh."

Brennan's frowned deepened. "Even so... it is only based on the supposition that, perhaps, because of her intelligence that she is amused by the representational inaccuracy, that I have conceded to letting you keep putting those things on her, Booth."

"Tempe, she's a baby… she can't tell a duck from a deer," Max said.

"That is a false assumption, Dad. You are assuming incorrectly that just because she is unable to communicate to us such information that her cognitive processes are unable to discern the differences between animals. Research has shown—"

"Bones!" Booth said.

She turned to look at him with a frown.

"What?"

"You know the rules. No squint speak at the pool. It's killing the mood," Booth called.

"Can I jump now, Dad?" Parker yelled out, his impatience growing.

Grabbing the baby, who had been paddling towards him once Max released her, Booth couldn't help himself as he smiled again. The baby, responding to his exuberant mood, laughed excitedly. Booth made one more silly face at her, and then nodded at Parker as he said, "Okay, bub. Go for it."

Walking over to where Max sat on the pool steps, Booth carried the baby, who was now resting against his shoulder, with him.

Max asked, "She's getting tired?"

Booth nodded. "Yeah, she'll be due for her nap soon. A nice *long* nap... that she'll actually stay down for this time-"

"She doesn't like napping?"

"If we keep her near us, it's weird... she eventually kind of just do this ball thing that she pulls herself into and conch out... she'll go to sleep easier on my chest if I'm laying down on the couch watching the game or reading in bed than if I put her in the nursery. If she goes into the crib, she starts freaking out... and the look she gives me... it's almost like she thinks she's missing something. Chrissy only willingly goes into the crib if she's zonked."

"She does like watching things, I've noticed," Max said thoughtfully.

Booth nodded. "Probably gets it from, Bones..."

Max looked back to Brennan who had began to work again. "She's taking this thing and really giving it her all, isn't she?" he said, referring to *his* daughter.

Booth nodded. "She missed one question on the last exam. It was a question about what type of DNA could be used to prosecute a sexual assault case. It was a legal question… but it had some forensics overtones. Bones chose the answer, in her words, that was 'the most accurate' factually and got it wrong. When she saw it, she pulled three different journal articles to prove that, accuracy-wise, the answer that she chose was superior to the one Harding marked as the correct answer. Harding told her to read the wording more carefully. Bones, in turn, spent ten minutes accusing Harding of purposely being vague in the way she wrote her test questions so that no one would be capable of getting a perfect score. In the end, Harding refused to change the grade, and Bones has been working twice as hard to read and reread the wording of each assignment so she doesn't get caught again. She feels like Harding tricked her."

"Hmmm," Max said. "She used to do that when she was a little girl. Things really haven't changed." He paused and then said, "I'm kind of surprised, really, that you were even able to get her to come down here out of the office."

"We compromised," Booth said.

"How was that?" Max asked with a knowing grin.

"I pointed out that it was Labor Day weekend and that she doesn't have class on Monday. She countered by saying this was the perfect time to work ahead. After this weekend, they are going to be kicking it into gear with PT at the gym and on the track on Saturdays and half days on Sundays. I wanted her to have a chance to relax a bit before the onslaught. So, when she insisted she wasn't coming down, but was going to stay in the office, I threatened that if she didn't join us, I was going to make a pitcher of whiskey sours which we would immediately begin consuming together."

"And that did it?" Max asked, incredulous.

"Yup," Booth said.

"Why?"

"You remember the night I got that call from Sully when we were watching the game, and you offered to take the baby for the night so that Bones could get some sleep last week?" Booth asked.

Max nodded. "Sure."

He laughed at this as he said, "Well... that happened to be the same night that she let some of the agents take her out to this bar near the Academy...Bagmans, and they introduced her to this… kinda... tradition that new trainees go through at the end of their first week. Suffice to say… the very long evening at the end of a very long day at the end of an even longer week involved shots of whiskey… a *lot* of them… and Bones… well… it wasn't a good day for her the next morning."

Booth didn't add that in addition to the hangover, Brennan spent the day pissed off at him… for not waking her up when he found her asleep in their bedroom. He had left her alone to sleep, given the fact that she had virtually passed out from exhaustion (more so than the alcohol), despite the fact that they had just been about to put some new lingerie that Brennan had bought to good use. In his defense, Booth said he was trying to be considerate and not place too many demands on her. She retorted that *those* type of demands she didn't mind being placed on her. When Booth then pointed out that he would be more than willing to assist in alleviating any leftover sexual frustration Brennan might be feeling after her hangover had passed… he was met with terse comments about how she was no longer 'in the mood' to be intimate with him... nor did she expect to be at any moment in the near future.

Now, however, realizing that she needed to get out of the office and be around people so that the studying wouldn't consume and overwhelm her... Booth had decided to play dirt. He planned to use his knowledge of the fact that she had developed a recent aversion to all things whiskey due to the hangover to his benefit. Earlier that morning, when Booth arrived in her office carrying the pitcher of sours and a couple of hightop glasses, he gave Brennan a choice… drinks… or the pool for a few hours. A compromise had been struck, she would go to the pool... in her bathing suit... but bring her laptop and books with her so that she could still get some work done. Satisfied, Booth had put the pitcher of sours into the refrigerator for he and Max to consume later in the afternoon.

"So… how do you think she's doing?" Max asked, breaking through Booth's reverie.

He was quiet for a moment, noting that Chrissy had begun to drool on his shoulder. Booth then said, "She's trying really, really hard. So far, I think she's doing as well as anyone in her position."

"Then, why's she so short about the baby?"

"Hmmm?" Booth asked.

Parker had gotten out of the pool and loudly executed another cannonball when Booth saw to what Max was referring. "Oh, that… I just think she's being overly maternal... compensating when she here for the time she's not... you know..."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "I thought it might be something like that. I mean, she can't actually be *that* worried about the baby being in the pool. It's not like the munchkin wasn't in the water as soon as her cord fell off."

Booth nodded. "Bones wanted to make her pool safe ASAP and said that the shorter time there was between Chrissy going into the water and her birth, the more it would remind her of being in the womb. I don't know how, but when she first brought her in... she had her doing this little dog paddle thing so that Chrissy could get herself to the side of the pool and just float there when she was about three and a half… maybe four months old? It was kinda of a creepy thing to see. I mean, she was swimming before she could walk.. and now... as soon as you plop her in the water, she takes off like a little tadpole."

"Tempe never really liked the water when she was growing up, you know… I mean, now… as an adult, she's gotten over it. But, she was probably six or seven before Christine had time to teach her how to swim… you have never heard her scream as loud as she did when her mother was in the water with her… I'm not sure if it was from fear of the water… or just frustration because it wasn't coming as easy to her as she thought it would," Max mused.

"Yeah, well… I mean, Becks did the whole Minnows and Me program with Parker when he was probably three or four… but, Bones... she was insistent about getting Chrissy into the water ASAP and doing it herself. And, now, Chrissy just loves it." Booth nodded and said, "I'm going to go see if Bones wants to put her down or just let her chill out down here. I'll be right back."

Max nodded, and watched Booth walk over to Brennan with the baby. Immediately, Brennan stopped working, stood, grabbed the diaper bag, and took the baby from Booth. They exchanged a few words before she waved him back to the pool.

A minute or two later, Booth, towel in hand, sat on a chair in front of Max as they both watched Parker, who was still swimming in the pool.

"She'll be right back," Booth said. "She's going to go change Chrissy and then said it was probably a good time for us all to eat."

Max nodded. The pair were silent for a moment and then said, "Hey, Booth—"

"Yeah, Max?"

"Since she's not here, and it's just us guys… I have a question for you," Max said.

Booth groaned as he saw something flash in Max's eyes. "Yeah?"

"It's not as bad as you think," Max immediately protested.

"How would you know what it is I think you're going to ask?" Booth countered.

Max waved him off. He then said, "I just was wondering… you guys have been together now for over a year… the baby's born… you guys are living together… and everything… this Academy B.S. aside, is settling down… so... when are you guys going to make it official?"

Booth let out a chuckle. "Oh, that."

"What do you mean, 'oh, that'?" Max asked.

"I thought you were going to do some dumb thing like ask me when… well, I don't know what… if there was some type of excuse I can give not to arrest you if you only commit misdemeanors, as opposed to felonies, in front of me or something."

Max frowned.

"What?" Booth protested. "It's not like you can blame me for thinking something like that, Max..."

He continued to frown. Finally, Booth waved his hands in a conciliatory gesture. He then continued, "You're right, though... that question... it's not the question I was expecting you to ask me," Booth said.

Reaching over into the nearby cooler, Booth pulled out a can of soda. He nodded to Max in query, and upon receiving a nod of confirmation, tossed Brennan's father a Coke. He then got one for himself, closed the cooler, and popped the top on the can. Booth was taking a long drink, when Max spoke again.

"So… what's the answer to my question then, Booth?"

"Hmmm," Booth asked.

"You, know, kid… when are you going to do it?"

"When am I going to do what?" Booth replied.

"You know... you and Tempe… when are you going to make it official?"

"'Official' as in…?" Booth asked.

"'Official' as in… you getting all chivalrous… asking me for my daughter's hand in marriage, and then popping the question to her," Max said.

Booth chuckled. "Oh, that…" he repeated.

"What?"

"Nothing," Booth shrugged.

"It's not that hard a question to answer, Booth," Max said, leaning back in his chair as his eyes narrowed. "Why don't you quite giving me the run around and just give me a straight answer?"

"No, you're right, it's not that hard an answer to give," Booth admitted. "It's a really simple question to answer. That's why I'm laughing. I just expected… something more difficult..."

"So… does this mean you know when you're going to ask her then?" Max asked, a spark of hope and excitement coming into his eye.

Booth immediately nodded as he sipped the Coke again. "Sure, I know when I'm going to ask her."

"Really?" Max said. "When?"

"Never," Booth said, fingering the condensation on the can.

"What?" Max said. "What do you mean 'never'?"

"Simple, Max. I mean 'never' as in I will *never* ask your daughter to marry me," Booth said.

"Why?" a defensive tone coming into his voice. "We both know she's the best you're ever going to be lucky enough to have, Booth… and then some… by far."

"Yup," Booth conceded.

"Then why isn't she good enough for you to marry?" Max asked, a bit of anger coming into his voice.

"I never said she wasn't good enough for me to marry, Max. We both know that's not the issue," Booth said.

"Then what is?"

"You're daughter has a very, very clear and well-defined pre-conceived notion of marriage. She's made it abundantly clear she never wants to get married. And, I… though I have a very, very thick skull, I've learned two things very, very well. First, I don't need to be married to someone to be with them, love them… have a family with them. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize what Bones and I have… even… even… if that means we don't get married. It's not what I want… but, it's what she wants. And, so, I've dealt with that issue, because I'm not going to have her walk out on me like I know she might if I were to push it like I did with Rebecca when we found out about Parker," Booth said.

"And the second reason?"

"And the second reason," Booth said with a sigh. "The second reason is because I've spent enough time the past few months with her thinking I'm trying to control her, dictate the terms of her life… and to just go and throw another heaping load of change on her life, when she's already dealing with so much... enough, that if you had asked me if Bones could handle that type of stress a few years ago, I would have told you never, no way... well, I'm just not going to do something stupid that would break her. She's been pushed hard enough on that front by me… and I'm not gonna make the mistake and push her harder for no good reason. What we have now... it's enough. And that's that."

"So… you and Tempe..." Max said.

"...are never going to get married," Booth said. "Because I'm never, *EVER* going to propose to that woman. If I do, I'll lose her… and that can't happen… so yeah… the answer is *never*. And, I'm okay with that."

"Really?" Max asked, uncertainty clear in his voice.

"Really," Booth nodded with a smile.

A couple of hours later, after lunch had been served and the baby was playing in her playpen by Brennan's table, Parker and Max were playing a game of volleyball. Booth was floating near the swimout, watching Brennan when the beach ball ricocheted out of the pool and smacked Brennan in the back of her head.

"GUYS!" Brennan yelled in exasperation. Turning to look at Max and Parker, she scowled. "I'm working here."

"Come on, honey, take a break," Max tempted. "Ten minutes. Come in… cool off. The water's great."

"Yeah, Bones! You've been working for HOURS," Parker yelled.

Brennan shook her head, "No, thank you… I'm already as wet as I plan on being today from you guys whacking me in the head with the beach ball. Thanks…."

At this, the evil side of Booth reared its head. Stealthily swimming out of Brennan's vision, he hoisted himself out of the pool as she continued chiding Parker and Max. Coming up behind her chair, he grabbed it and lifted it in the air. Brennan fell back into the chair as Booth swung it around in the direction of the pool. She lowered her sun glasses just enough so that Booth could see her eyes.

"Don't. You. Dare. Booth," Brennan warned.

Booth cracked an evil grin. "What? You aren't going to tell me to put you down this time?"

"No! The last time I did that I ended up in the bottom of the tub with a bruise on my thigh that lasted for three days," Brennan muttered.

"Ahh," Booth shook his head. "Okay."

"Okay?" Brennan asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Booth nodded. He smiled and moved as if to set the chair down-

Brennan smiled. "Oh, thanks, Booth—"

-And instead, shifted to turn so that the movement gave him extra momentum to heave her out of the chair and into the water.

Brennan went flying with an *EEEK* followed by a loud *PLOP*. It was a minute before her head popped out of the water. Max and Parker were laughing excitedly. As soon as she saw where Booth was, she shot in his direction.

"You better run, kid," Max said. "She's fast."

"Yeah! I know," Booth called over his shoulder, as he took off in the opposite direction with a yelp.

Brennan was fast, much of her pent up energy from having spent the day crouched over books suddenly unleashed. She was up, out of the water, and after him in a split second.

"You are so DEAD, Booth! You better run, because if I catch you, YOU. ARE. SO. DEAD!"

Later that night, Brennan sat on the edge of their bed, a workbook cracked open as she sat with a towel and dried her hair. Booth came out of the bathroom and shut off the light behind him. He jumped onto his side of the bed, with a loud guffaw. Brennan scowled at him.

"Booth!"

"Bed time, Bones," he grinned.

"In a few minutes," Brennan conceded. "I just want to finish this chapter."

His curiosity piqued, Booth reached over and grabbed the book as he said, "Whatcya reading, Bones?"

"Booth! Give that back," Brennan protested.

"Hey," Booth said. "I remember this… this is the same workbook they used during the forensic unit when I went through the Academy."

"I doubt that it's the same workbook, Booth. No doubt the edition has been updated in the ten years or so since you completed your training at Quantico," Brennan said.

"Yeah, well… that blue and white writing, I remember it…" Booth said as he handed the workbook back to her. He then said, "And, as I remember, the forensics stuff didn't come up until much later in the course... you can't be due to cover that for a while yet, right?"

Nodding, Brennan said, "We're not... I just... I just wanted to work ahead a bit... you know, take a sneak look of things to come? I figured it might help to encourage me with the upcoming behavioral sciences unit if I knew there was a treat waiting in the not too far distance."

"Peek, Bones," Booth laughed. "Sneak peek."

"Whatever," Brennan said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Taking the workbook from Booth, Brennan then looked at him. "The legal unit has been okay... but I'm not looking forward to the next one."

"Why?" Booth asked. "Afraid if you start shrinking on command like Sweets that you might take a liking to it and abandon your love of all holy-things-anthropological-in-nature?"

"No!" Brennan said, shocked. "That would *never* happen."

"You say that now... and in two weeks you're shrinking around the bush with me trying to determine what my preference for Honey Smacks versus Lucky Charms represents in relation to our sex life," Booth chuckled.

Brennan frowned. She looked away for a minute and then said, "Hey, Booth?"

"Yes, Bones?"

"So… how'd you do?"

"On what?" Booth asked.

"The Forensics unit… how'd you do?" Brennan asked.

"Why?" Booth said, suddenly getting a tad defensive.

"Just curious," Brennan said, with a shrug.

Rolling back over to his side of the bed, Booth turned his back from her and said, "The second time, I got a B on that unit."

At that, Brennan's mouth dropped. "Second time?"

Silence greeted her.

"Second time? Booth! Why did you have to complete it a second time?" Brennan asked leaning in over his back.

He buried his head as he replied something that Brennan couldn't make out.

"What?" Brennan said. "I can't understand what you said, Booth."

Sticking his head up, Booth scowled at her as he said, "I said… I had to complete it a second time because… I might… have failed… the first time."

Brennan gasped. "You failed?"

Booth sighed. "The first time, not the second."

"You actually failed… the forensics unit?" Brennan said with a huge grin.

"Don't rub it in, Bones," Booth said. "There were… extreme *extenuating* circumstances."

"I can't believe it! You actually failed—"

"Once!" Booth said, "Just once."

She smiled but said nothing as she reached over to the nightstand, placed the book on it and shut of the light.

Rolling over, Brennan placed her arm around Booth's chest as she spooned next to him as he still was facing away from her.

"Booth?"

"What?"

"You know I still love you… even… if you failed… the forensics unit," she was fighting to keep from laughing.

"Good night, Bones," Booth said gruffly.

At this, Brennan hugged him reassuringly… and then snickered in spite of herself.

-TBC-