Disclaimer: Bones belongs to Kathy Reichs, Hart Hanson, and Fox.

A/N: So the response to the last chapter was amazing! I know it was short and ended with the dreaded cliffhanger, but here is a nice long update to make up for it!

Chapter 14

What's in a Name?

"Over here sweetie," Angela called when she saw her best friend walk through the door.

"You haven't been waiting for too long have you," Bones asked as she sat down?

"Only long enough to know that if you're going to indulge in make out sessions like that, then maybe you guys should consider selling tickets, because that was totally hot!"

"Or maybe we should just invest in tinted windows!"

"Well you know what my vote would be!"

Their server picked that moment to bring their menus over. Her cheeks were flaming.

"Hi my name is Heather and I will be your server," the girl fairly squeaked as she handed them their menus.

Bones didn't even bother to look.

"I'll have a burger, fries, and water please."

"Really," Angela whispered in shock?

"I know, I've become a prisoner to pregnancy cravings, eating all sorts of things that I would never normally touch, believe me I disgust myself, but the Booth boys are enjoying it!"

"I'll have what she's having," Angela said on a giggle as she gave their menus back to the poor flabbergasted server.

Angela waited until they were alone before she asked, "So how did the doctor's appointment go?"

"Fine."

Angela heaved an annoyed sigh.

"You're going to make my ask aren't you?

"Yup!"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

Apparently their server was striving for the gold medal in the worst timing ever Olympics, because she was back with their drinks at yet another importune moment.

"Will you be needing anything else," Heather asked.

"No thank you Heather," Angela said through clenched teeth.

"That wasn't very nice," Bones said as she watched Heather's hasty retreat.

"I'll make sure to leave a big tip."

Bones took a sip of her drink to purposely drag out the suspense.

"Brenn!"

"It's a girl Angela."

Angela's hand immediately flew to her own belly.

"I can't believe that we are both having girls! Have you picked out a name yet?"

"Lexie."

"Any historical or anthropological significance behind that choice?"

"Sentimental actually."

Angela hadn't been expecting that response. She swallowed back a squeal. If she wanted her friend to elaborate she was going to have to give to get.

Angela took a sip out of her drink before she hedged, "Did I ever tell you how I choose my daughter's name?"

"No, you only told me what her name was."

"Well sweetie, my daughter's name came to me the same way that mine did, in a dream. It was really trippy too. It was like I was inside of a painting. The scenery was done in vibrant colors and very skilled brushstrokes. I was walking in a field where the sun was shining but it didn't feel warm, and the grass was swaying but there wasn't a breeze. Off in the distance I could see a little girl kneeling in a patch of dirt holding a watering can. I kept walking until I was standing in front of her. When I asked her what her name was she looked up at me. She was gorgeous. She had ebony hair and bright blue eyes. Wordlessly she smiled at me as she tipped her watering can forward. Suddenly a giant flower sprang up from the dampened ground."

"A Lily," Temperance finished for her.

"Yes, and I had that dream the night before I had my ultrasound."

Heather was back with their food. Wordlessly she placed it on the table and than scurried away before she could incur further wrath.

Brennan raised a single eyebrow at her best friend.

"Fine a really, really big tip," she murmured as she ate a fry.

"Good," Brennan said as she took a big bite out of her greasy burger.

Angela took a bite out of her own burger as she waited to see if Brenn would reciprocate by telling her story. However, when it became clear that Brenn had no intentions of making this easy, impatience won out, causing her to drop her attempted pretense, and go for the direct approach!

"So how did you pick your daughter's name?"

Brennan took a deep breath as she prepared herself to tell her best friend about the same memory that she had shared with Booth last night.

Flashback…

While Temperance was sitting up on her bed waiting to be tucked in, she started to read her bedtime story on her own. Soon, she became oblivious to her surroundings, utterly caught up in a world of castles, magic, evil queens, white knights, and fair damsels, finding it all to be wonderfully ridiculous.

Christine paused in the open doorway of her 5-year-old daughter's bedroom.

"I have something for you Temperance," her mother said in a soft singsong voice.

She jumped at the sound of her mother's voice, snapping her book closed at the same time. She had a sheepish grin on her face when she meant her mother's eyes.

"What is it," Temperance managed to whisper?

Christine laughed as she began to move towards Temperance's bed.

"This is Alexis, but I always called her Lexie, Christine whispered as she whipped the doll out from behind her back. She was mine when I was your age, so I thought now would be the perfect time to give her to you."

After Christine had gracefully settled herself onto the mattress, she held the doll out to Temperance.

"She is beautiful," Temperance whispered as she took the doll into her arms.

Christine smiled at her.

"Would you like to know what the name Alexis means Temperance?"

"Yes mommy."

"It means protector or defender, Christine murmured as she caressed her daughter's cheek. Lexie will keep all of your secrets safe."

"That's silly mommy. Dolls can't protect anything because they aren't real."

"Temperance there is no better way to keep a secret than to whisper it into the ear of someone (when she saw that her daughter was about to protest again she quickly added) or something, that cannot speak."

Unable to find any flaws in her mother's logic Temperance smiled as she whispered, "Thank you for the doll."

"You're very welcome! Now, where did you leave off in your story?"

Temperance found the page that she was on in her book, and they took turns reading until Temperance's eyes became droopy.

"Time to go to sleep," Christine whispered as she rolled out of the bed. The book was placed on the nightstand and the light was turned off.

"Good night Tempie," Christine said as she pulled the covers up to Temperance's chin, and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

"Good night mommy."

Christine paused in the doorway again.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

End flashback

"I had that doll for ten years. When I was brought into foster care my first day there was also the first day of a terrified 6-year-old girl. Her name was Maggie. That night she was watching me as I held Lexie in my arms. So, I gave her the doll after I told her the same thing that my mother had told me, what the doll's name was, what it meant, and that she would keep all of her secrets safe. Thank you Temperance, were the first words that Maggie spoke in that house."

"Wow sweetie!"

"Besides, Brennan added as she wiped the tears from her eyes, needing to shift the conversation away from her childhood, Lexie is also a fitting name, because Booth's greatest quality is his protective side, and I hope that our baby inherits that from him."

"Well, I would say that she has a pretty clear shot at that, because Booth isn't the only one that has a protective side!"

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Booth couldn't believe that they were having a girl! Visions of blue eyes, auburn hair, and a version of his charm smile flashed through his mind.

"Lexie Booth," he said aloud in a tone full of reverence! He couldn't wait until he got to hold her in his arms!

He still had a smile on his face as he drove across town to pick up his son. When he pulled into the driveway Parker came running out of the house.

"Daddy," he cried out in excitement as he flung himself into his father's awaiting arms!

"Hey Parks! Are you all set to go?"

"Yup!"

"Not without this you aren't," Rebecca called as she walked towards them!

"Thanks mommy," Parker said when he saw his overnight bag in her hand.

"You're welcome. Now why don't you go get into the truck Parks?"

"It's a SUV mommy," Parker said so matter of factly that Booth had to cough to cover his laugh. The kid was getting to sound more and more like Bones every day!

"Ok, go get into the SUV so I can talk to daddy."

"Fine," Parker groused as he took his bag from his mother's hand.

Rebecca waited until Parker was out of earshot before she asked, "So, how did the ultrasound go?"

"It was amazing! He flashed a charm smile at her as he continued, Bones and Lexie are doing perfectly!"

"Oh my God, you're having a girl! That's amazing!"

She hugged him.

"I'm happy for you Seeley, she whispered before she pulled away. I mean it. You look so, I don't know, I think blissful would be the word! Dr. Brennan really is good for you!"

"Thanks Becca."

She nodded.

After a moment she began to feel a little awkward, making her nervous, causing her to blurt out, "So, have a good weekend."

"Are you dismissing me Becca?"

"You better believe it; I've had enough heartfelt moments with you for one day!"

He chuckled.

"You're just mad because you had to say something nice about Bones!"

"What can I say, I don't like her so it irks!"

"Well I'm not a fan of Captain Fantastic either!"

"I know!"

They shared a smile.

In that moment Booth knew that even though they might never be friends, they were at least moving on to mutual understanding, and it was kind of nice.

"Bye Rebecca," he said as he got into the driver's seat.

"Bye Booth."

"Bye mommy Parker said."

"Bye Parks! Love you."

"Love you too!"

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They had gone about a mile out when Parker asked, "Daddy could the doctor tell if the baby was a boy or a girl?"

"Yeah, Parks it's a girl."

Booth took Parker's moment of silence as disappointment.

"Come on Parks having a girl around will be great! She will lo…"

"It's not that daddy."

Booth glanced over at his son.

"It's just that I don't get to see you very often and the baby will get to see you all of the time and I guess I'm just scared that you will forget about me!"

Parker's voice broke at the end of his rushed confession. Hearing that Booth immediately pulled over to the side of the road. Sweets had said that something like this could happen, and if it did the only thing that he could do about it was to reassure his son that he was loved.

Booth unbuckled his seatbelt so he could pull Parker into a hug.

"I could never forget about you Parker! I love you and there isn't anything in the world that could ever change that."

He pulled away so he could see his son's tear stained cheeks. He wiped the remaining tears away with his thumbs as he asked, "You got that?"

Parker could only nod his head as he tried to calm himself down.

"What… about… Bones," he hiccupped?

"Parker there is more than one kind of family. There is the family that you are born into, and then there is the family that you are a part of just because you are loved, and Bones loves you very much!"

Parker thought about that for a moment. Then he was nodding his head again as if he had decided something.

"Ok, Parker said as he sniffed. Let's go home."

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Later that night when Bones and Parker were cuddled up on his bed, taking turns reading his bedtime story he asked, "Bones would you mind if I called you mommy?"

Bones stopped reading mid-sentence.

"Do you want to call me mommy?"

"We are family right," Parker whispered?

"Yes."

"And you love me," Parker said as he played with her locket.

Bones smiled because it wasn't a question.

"Very much Parker!"

"So can I," he whispered?

"Yes," she whispered back as she placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Good!"

They read until Parker became too tired to go on.

"Ok, it's time for you to go to sleep Parker."

She placed the book on his nightstand and then she turned out the light.

"Good night Parks," she whispered.

"Good night mommy."

Her breath caught in the back of her throat. There were now three other little words that had the power to melt her heart! After spending the majority of her life feeling unwanted, having the unconditional love of the Booth boys was wonderfully overwhelming!

Before Bones could roll herself out of the bed, Parker said, "Wait, I didn't say good night to the baby yet!"

She watched as he kissed his finger tips, before he pressed them to her belly as he whispered, "Good night Lexie!"

And just like that, there were three more.

A/N: Once again thanks to everyone that is reading and reviewing! Special thanks to Emily who is my emotional barometer (if I can get her to tear up than I know I'm getting something right, and I mean that in the best way possible)! And as always, another special thanks is going out to Dancing Phalanges, because she is my reciprocating sounding board! PS. Reviews are exactly my brand of heroin (Oh yes I have read the Twilight saga and I saw the movie)!