A/N: Get ready for some SUPER fluff. And when I say super, you better believe this is going to be way sappy, way fluffy and probably just a tad cheesy. I'm not thrilled with the way I ended this chapter but I just didn't know where to stop. So tell me what you think. Enjoy!
Slip
Slip off my skin
Fall into bed…
I'm stayin' in
With you here inside my head
Mail me a smile, phone me a kiss, I'm in a dream
Get me out of this
And of all the creatures under the sky
There is you and I, you and I
It's all too much, you're in every little thing I touch
It's all too real, you're in every little thing I feel
And it's all such a waste, you're in every little thing I taste
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Be strong
Think of a time - you name the place
I'll close my eyes...and now with you we're face
To face - I see your smile, I feel your kiss
I'm in a dream, get me out of this
The only thing I've never tried
Is leaving here and suicide
And of all the creatures under the sky
There is you and I, you and I
You and I, you and I
It's all too much, you're in every little thing I touch
It's all too real, you're in every little thing I feel
And it's all such a waste, you're in everything I taste
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Be strong
Let us be strong
Never too much
Never too late
Never turn away
Never say die
Never never never never never
Never too much
Never too late
Never turn away
Never say die
Never let it slip away
Never let it slip away
Never let it slip away
She isn't here, I thought as I approached our meeting place. Not on any of the benches by the coffee cart. Not taking a stroll around the reflecting pool. She isn't here.
So I took seat on the bench nearest the cart and let out a deep breath. There was a long line forming at the coffee cart and I leaned forward to try to see around the line without leaving my seat. I failed and leaned back onto the bench.
I knew she didn't forget. She must be stuck in traffic or lost track of time working on her book. I wanted to hit myself over my head for not stopping by my place to pick up my cell phone.
"Where do you want to sit? It looks like our old spot is taken," an older man said. Looking at him, he had to be in his late seventies or even early eighties from my guess. The woman with him just nodded and looked around. They had stopped in front of the bench I was sitting on.
"Please," I said, standing up, "Sit here."
The man shook his head. "No, son. You were there first."
"No, really. It'll do me some good to stand and pace. I'm getting too anxious," I told him.
The man looked me over, still dressed in my fatigues and I knew my face looked like hell. I was tired and I knew it showed. He nodded once to show his thanks to me and placed a hand on the small of his wife's back to guide her to the bench. She smiled at him before sitting and then smiled at me once in her seat.
The old couple made me think of Bones. Not that she was old or anything, but just the way the old man helped his wife to the bench reminded me of how I pulled Bones along to a scene or guided her into the diner. And the more I thought of her, the more I worried. I was tempted to forget the whole coffee cart thing and go straight to her apartment, but if Bones said she was going to be somewhere, I believed her. She wasn't a liar and I knew she wasn't going to start then.
"So, did you just get back, son? Or just getting ready to leave?" the old man asked.
"Just got back. I've barely been state-side for two hours and I think I got stood up," I joked.
The man laughed. "Doubt it. She'll come. Just gotta be patient," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.
I gave him that same questioning look I gave Bones while working cases, the one I got right after she rattled off some squinty mumbo-jumbo.
"How do you know I'm waiting for a girl?"
"'Cause that's what I did too. Right in this spot, too." He turned to his wife and smiled. "Looks like the kid had the same idea we did," he said to her. She grinned at her husband and turned back to me.
"Honey, she's probably just trying to look her best for you. She's gotta get all gussied up!"
I laughed at the thought of Bones getting all done up just to come meet me. "Bones isn't that kind of woman."
"You call your wife Bones?" The woman yelped. "What kind of nickname is that?" she said chuckling.
I laughed too. "She works with bones. It's her thing. She didn't like it and it stuck. So that name isn't going anywhere for a while. She's not my wife either. Just a sort of girlfriend."
"Sort of?" the woman asked.
"Well, I've never officially asked her if we were exclusive. But she told me she loves me. So, now that I've heard that, I could die happy."
The couple smiled and sipped at their coffees while I paced in front of them.
"Dad?"
I whipped around to see my son standing in front of me, definitely a few inches taller than he was a year ago. He was standing in his baseball uniform, mitt and all. He had some infield dirt on his sliding pants and shirt and his hat was making his long, curly, sweaty hair stick out in all different directions.
"Parker!" I scooped him up and hugged him tight. He dropped his baseball mitt and hugged me back.
"What are you doing here, Bub?"
He grinned and started laughing. "You're never going to guess who showed up at my ball game today, Dad."
I stood up and looked around. "Bones?" I called.
"Aw! Daaaaaaaaaad! You ruined the surprise!" Parker whined. I looked around but I still couldn't see her. I finally bent down so I could look my son in the eyes. Sometimes, I couldn't tell if I was looking back at Rebecca or in a mirror, but his smirk assured me that he was more me than his mother.
I gave him what Angela called my 'charm smile' and hoped it worked on the kid who inherited it. "Where is she?" I asked him.
He giggled and then completely burst out laughing. I stood up and put a stern look on but he just kept laughing, now doubled over and running out of breath.
"Parker! You shouldn't laugh at your father like that!"
I spun around again. "Hi, Booth," she greeted me.
I was grinning like an idiot when said my name.
"Hiya, Bones! How come you brought Parker?"
She shrugged. "I figured you were probably coming here first and knew you'd want to see Parker too."
I couldn't stop smiling. "I love you."
She finally smiled back at me. "I love you too."
I slipped one hand to her back and one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close to me. I kissed her, hard at first but then she slowed it down and turned the kiss into something slow and full of promise, reminding me of the kiss we first shared just outside the grungy pool hall years ago.
While I was busy kissing the love of my life, Parker collapsed onto the bench next to the old couple.
"Finally!" he shouted. The couple laughed and Parker just smiled.