Oh, I also just realized that I had named Angela and Hodgins' son Cameron, even though it is Michael in the show. I'm going to leave it as Cameron as well.
Alyssa was now approximately seven months old. She was finally sleeping through the night, giving Booth and Brennan a much needed reprieve. She was even babbling a little and sooner or later she would be talking. Brennan secretly hoped her first word was 'mama.' Alyssa was also sitting up on her own as well as attempting to crawl. Booth and Brennan loved to sit on the floor and coax and cheer Alyssa on whenever she managed to pull herself up on her hands and knees.
Now that Alyssa was getting bigger, it allowed Booth and Brennan a more flexible schedule and they were back to working. The Jeffersonian had a nice day care that Angela and Hodgins' son was going to and they had both agreed it would do Alyssa well to go there.
Brennan hadn't realized how attached to Alyssa she had become. She found it harder to concentrate on her work and she found herself going to check on Alyssa at the daycare more often than not.
In the back of her mind, she knew she was being ridiculous, but Alyssa was her little baby, her daughter, and she wanted to do right by her. She didn't want Alyssa to feel abandoned at all, not like her own father made her feel all those years ago.
That morning, Booth held open the door of the Jeffersonian lab for Brennan and walked in behind her. They were running late this morning and after dropping off Alyssa they had to hurry over to the building that held the lab.
"Hey, sweetie!" Angela called out, poking her head out from inside her office.
Brennan made her way into Angela's office. She was playing with some new software.
"Hi Angela, how are you?" Brennan asked, leaning against the wall, stifling a yawn.
"I'm doing well. You, my friend, look exhausted," Angela chuckled. "Ah, I remember those days. I'm kind of happy Michael is a year and a half now." She looked off into the distance as if remembering.
Brennan tried to smooth down her hair and straighten her outfit but then gave up. She gave Angela a sheepish smile. "It has been getting easier," Brennan admitted, thankful. "But I am still getting the hang of things."
"We will have to get together and let Cameron and Alyssa have a little play date," Angela said, practically gushing at the cuteness a play date between the two of them would be. "They are going to get married one day," Angela suddenly decided.
Brennan couldn't help but laugh at Angela's excitement and she tried to picture Alyssa all grown up, but she just wanted to live in the moment. She didn't want to rush anything.
Booth appeared in the doorway, just removing his cell phone from his ear. "C'mon Bones; we've got a call."
Brennan gave Angela a small wave before following Booth to the car, happy to get back to doing what she loved.
Booth was going to his office after a long day at work to finish some filing on the body they had found. It had been of a young man that had gone missing from his college campus a couple of weeks ago. Breaking the news to the parents had been hard. Now the Jeffersonian team was working hard to determine the means of his death.
He had allowed Brennan to take the car and pick up Alyssa and then she would come and pick him up when they were both done. They should probably have two cars, but they never got around to getting another one. Booth made a mental note of this as he climbed into the elevator.
Caroline was in the elevator as well, heading out for the day as well.
"Why hello there Cherie," Caroline said when the door closed behind Booth. "Going up?" she questioned.
"Yup, have a new case," Booth told her. "Heading out?"
"Mhhhhm. I've done my part for the day," Caroline said, with the attitude that they all knew and loved…for the most part. "How is baby life treating you?"
"I love it, wouldn't trade it for the world," Booth told her honestly. "Alyssa is great."
Caroline saw that Booth was beaming with pride. He was a completely changed man from over a year ago when he thought Brennan was dead and gone. She was happy for him. A happy Booth meant a better job done which meant an easier job for Caroline. But if she was being honest she loved Booth and the Jeffersonian team a lot. They were like a family to her.
The elevator pinged and the doors slid smoothly open to Booth's floor.
"I'll see you later Caroline," Booth said, exiting and waving.
"Later, Cherie," she called out as the doors slid shut again and took her down.
Booth walked through the emptying hallways of the FBI building to his darkened office. With the huge glass windows and doors, he was able to see inside. He opened the heavy glass door and flicked on the light.
He sat in his comfortable desk chair and wiggled the mouse to awaken the computer. About ten minutes later, Booth was mostly finished with his report. His phone rang, interrupting him and making him jump in his silent office.
Figuring it was Brennan calling to let him know she was outside, he flipped open the phone without reading the caller ID. He didn't want to keep Brennan or Alyssa waiting for long.
"Hey babe, I'll be right out," Booth answered the phone.
A throat cleared on the other end, making the moment awkward as Booth realized it wasn't Brennan. He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the number; it came across the screen as Private.
Booth put the phone back to his ear, all his senses on high alert now.
"Hello, is this Special Agent Seeley Booth?" a deep voice came from the other end of the line.
"Speaking," Booth replied shortly.
"This is Mr. Harding, calling on behalf of the army. We are extremely interesting in your recruitment."
"Recruitment?" Booth exclaimed, his mouth falling open. "No, no. You have to be mistaken. I left the army, quite some time ago." He was struggling to keep his composure and calm nature through the phone, but on the inside he was shaking.
"Yes, Agent Booth. You becoming a part of the army at this time is crucial to us and this country. We would need to deploy you to Afghanistan at the beginning of next year." Booth quickly calculated that as only about six months away.
Booth was in shock. Never in a million years had he expected a call like this, especially now. He had left the army for good. After he had gone there and met Hannah and everything had happened the last time, it had made him realize that this is where he belonged, with Brennan, solving murders. He had no inkling of going back; hadn't even considered it. And now that he was reconnecting with Parker and had a new baby daughter, the urge to go back to the army had disappeared completely.
Booth realized the director was still on the line. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to think of a proper response. After a moment he replied, "I am not interested at this time."
"Not interested?" The director's voice sent a chill down his spine. "I would like to inform you, Agent Booth, that this is more of an order, rather than an offer."
"Is that so?" Booth said, anger spiraling throughout his entire body.
"If you turn down this offer, I hate to tell you that your position with the FBI will be terminated."
"Is that a threat, Mr. Harding?" Booth said in a hard voice.
"No, Agent Booth. That is a promise," Mr. Harding replied.
Booth remained silent, not sure how to reply to this. He couldn't lose his job. It provided an income for his family, never mind the fact that he loved doing what he did. He felt like he was making the world a better place. But he couldn't go back to the army either; he couldn't leave his family like that. He couldn't do this to Brennan again.
"We will be in touch," Mr. Harding said, and then the line went dead.
Booth removed the phone from his ear, slowly, as if in a trance. Then he whipped it across the room, nearly cracking the glass windows in his office. He put his head in his hands, trying to figure out what the right thing to do was.
When Booth could finally make himself function, he had packed up his office, picked up his scratched phone and made his way outside to wait for Brennan.
She pulled up smoothly, hitting the unlock button so Booth could climb inside.
Booth opened the door and sidled into the passenger seat, clicking his seatbelt. He spun around to look at his daughter, who was sleeping soundly in her car seat, wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket.
He turned back around as Brennan pulled away from the curb and made her way home.
"Bones, we have to talk," Booth sighed, grabbing on to her hand.