A/N: So have you guys forgotten me? ;-) Sorry its been a few days. Between real life and a small case of writer's block it took me a little longer to update this story. Also, I was determined to update Don't Worry, I've Got You before this one since that one has been stagnant longer, but I have no inspiration for it at the moment. Sigh.
Anyway, here's the 5th chapter and its a bit longer by way of apology for the lack of updates. I hope you that all enjoy it. It centers mostly around Booth/Brennan/Parker. Almost completely, really. I feel like it's a lighter, cuter chapter. Maybe. I don't know. You tell me.
As always, I have to thank all of you for the incredible response I have gotten for this story. It's so amazing and it makes me so excited and simply bursting with ideas to write about. So, thank you all very much. I've tried to reply to each of you individually to thank you, but I couldn't, for some reason, respond to GrantTheEngMjr who left a simply gorgeous review. So thank you Grant! I adored your feedback.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Bones, Booth or Brennan. Or Parker.
~B/B~
"This way, Parks." Booth said, taking his son's hand. "Look, I'm really sorry that I had to come in to work today, but it won't be for long, ok? I promise."
"Ok," Parker said amicably. "Then we can go to the park for lunch?"
"Of course, Bud." Booth said, smiling down at Parker and ruffling his hair, mentally swearing that it had grown coarser and thicker since he'd left. His son was growing up. "I just need to stop by and talk to Bones."
Booth peered into Brennan's office, taking in the sight of her sitting on her couch, pouring over photographs that were spread everywhere. A smile settled on his lips. The sight of her was becoming so wonderfully familiar again. "Hey Bones," He said, stepping inside. "You said you had something you needed to show me?"
Brennan lifted her head, turning to look at him and her gaze fell on Parker. She stood, smiling. "Parker, hello. You seem to have continued to make good progress in your physical development."
Parker looked up at his dad who patted his shoulder. "Say thank you, Parks. Dr. Bones said you're getting all grown up."
"Oh," Parker smiled. "Thanks, Dr. Bones. I'm glad you're back."
"I am too." She told him. Looking back at Booth, her smile faded. "Booth, you could have simply told me you were otherwise engaged. This could have waited…"
"Nah, it's ok." He assured her. "If you're going to work on a Saturday the least I can do is drop by and see what you came up with, right?" He smiled at her, eyeing Parker who had wandered away to examine Brennan's desk. "I just picked him up and we're going to head to the park in a little while for lunch. No big deal." He told her, stepping towards the couch. "So what'd you find?"
Sitting down, she began to explain, showing him various pictures of her findings, pointing at things he didn't see and delivering reasoning that he didn't follow. Pausing, she looked at him, concern in her big blue eyes. "Is it alright for him to hear this?" She asked, leaning her head towards Parker.
"He doesn't understand any of it." He assured her, glancing over to see that his son had found a skeleton figurine that had captured his attention. "So give it to me straight, Bones. What does all of this mean?"
It confirms that the artifact found in the cabin is a match for the murder weapon." She said, sitting back and settling in to the couch. "I can prove that."
"Great job, Bones." He told her, smiling. "Now I just need to know who was holding it when it became the weapon.
"I thought you suspected the bigger boy. The one who yelled at you in the cabin who said he was romantically involved with the victim. I remember, you said he was fishy." She said.
"Yeah, but his alibi checked out so I'm back to square one on suspects." He told her, dragging his hand through the back of his hair. "But today, I get to forget about that for awhile." Booth stood and walked towards Parker. "Come on, bud." He said coaxing the boy away from the figurine. "Park time."
"Yes!" Parker said enthusiastically. "That wasn't long at all."
"See, told ya." Booth said. He looked back at Brennan. "Hey, you know you're allowed to take weekends off, Bones. Do something fun instead of staying here all day. You're making me look bad."
Brennan shook her head, gesturing to the stacks around her office. "There is a great deal of work for me to catch up on. Aside from our case I have innumerable cases of ancient remains to catch up on, not to mention paperwork and research both for my next book and to assist with the dig in Indonesia."
"Yeah, how is that coming?" Booth forced himself to ask.
"Very well. Mason is quiet capable" Brennan said, walking over to her desk.
"Happy to hear it." He said, clapping a hand on Parker's shoulder. "Come on, Parks, let's get out of Dr. Bones way."
"Wait," Parker said, frowning. "Dr. Bones, aren't you going to come with us?"
Booth and Brennan exchanged looks, both feeling uncomfortable in the face of Parker's bald assumption that she would be joining in on their family time.
"Dr. Bones is very busy, bud." Booth said, when Brennan neglected to answer.
"But it's a Saturday." Parker objected. "You should be having fun. That's what Saturdays are for. Dad said."
Booth smiled at his son's innocence. "Parker, I know that would be fun but…"
"I suppose I could spare an hour or so." Brennan said, surprising both Booth boys. "If it's ok with your dad."
"Really?" Booth said, amazed. "Definitely, Bones. Come with us." He smiled at her over his son's head.
"Yes!" Parker said again, abruptly dropping his father's hand and latching on to Brennan's. "We're going to the park and eating hamburgers and playing football." He told her excitedly. "It's gonna be great."
"It sounds very enjoyable." Brennan agreed, allowing Parker to guide her out the door.
Booth grabbed her bag and her coat from her desk, holding them up so that she could see he had them. She smiled her thanks and continued to allow Parker to guide her as he chattered away, apparently much more at ease with the year-long separation than either of the adults.
Only when Brennan turned, looking over her shoulder, did Booth realize that he was still standing in her office, watching her walk away, his son's hand firmly grasped in hers.
"Are you coming?" She asked him.
"Yeah, sorry." He said, catching up to them quickly. "Something caught my eye."
~B/B!~
Parker spread out a blanket as Booth carried the bag with their burgers from the car. Grateful that she had opted for jeans and a lightweight cotton top, Brennan helped Parker straighten the blanket and then sat down cross-legged, leaning back on her hands, her eyes closed.
At the sound of Booth's voice she opened them again, finding him staring down at her. "Soy burger?" He asked, handing her one of the foil wrapped sandwiches.
She smiled and accepted it, watching as Booth sat down across from her, next to Parker, and teased his son by chucking the boy's burger at him. Watching Booth, her admiration for him overwhelmed her. He seemed so at ease, so perfectly natural in the way he interacted with Parker. His love was so blatant and complete. But that was how Booth was about everything that he loved. He would have been that way towards her if she had only allowed him the chance.
She pushed the thought away before it crushed her heart.
"Hey!" Parker protested, grabbing his lunch up off the blanket. "No fair, dad." He said, grinning.
"Gotta think fast little man." Booth said, bumping Parker's shoulder with his fist.
"I'm not little anymore." Parker said around a large bite of meat and bread. "This is real good."
"Mmhmm." Booth agreed. "Nothing better than a picnic and a little football in the park." Booth looked over at her. "Right, Bones?"
She considered the question. "I have to admit it is very nice so far, but I'm probably not qualified to answer that question since this is my first picnic."
Booth's eyes widened. "Your first picnic?" He demanded.
Parker looked devastated. "Dr. Bones, you've never been on a picnic in the park before?" He asked, genuinely concerned.
"Perhaps when I was a child, but if so I don't remember it very well. It would have been a very rare occurrence." Brennan said, leaning over and grabbing one of the soda cans Booth had bought. "Is that very surprising?" She asked, looking between the boys.
"Well, yeah." Booth said. "Everybody should go on picnics, Bones. If I had known I would have take you on one years ago."
"If you didn't go on picnics then where did you play football?" Parker asked her, frowning in concern.
She smiled. "I've never played football." She confessed, shrugging.
Parker looked at his dad in horror. "Dad, Dr. Bones has never gone on a picnic or played football." He said sadly.
"I know, bud." Booth said, his eyes on Brennan. "It's a good thing we brought her with us today, isn't it? We'll have to show her how its done."
Parker's mood lifted at that idea. "Yeah! Now I can be the teacher. Look, Dr. Bones." He said, hopping up and grabbing the football. He knelt beside her. "You have to put your fingers right here because that's what makes the ball twirl in the air just right. Dad says it's the most beautiful thing in the world."
"Here?" Brennan asked, placing her fingers where Parker had indicated.
"Yeah, great job." Parker said, smiling widely. "Now throw it."
"Parker, maybe we should let Bones finish her lunch first." Booth suggested, amused at his son's excitement. "Then we can teach her."
"No, I can do it." Brennan said, pushing to her feet. "Parker, you should run east, approximately ten meters away. " She instructed.
"What?" Parker asked, squinting up at her as the sun shone down into his eyes.
"Say 'go long' Bones." Booth instructed.
"Why?" She looked down at him, frowning. "I don't know what that means."
"Just give it a try." He suggested, laughing up at her.
"Go long." Brennan said, cooperating, and Parker grinned.
"Sure, Dr. Bones!" He said, taking off in the other direction, looking back over his shoulder at her. When she felt he was far enough away, she threw the ball to him, watching with a supreme sense of accomplishment as it soared through the air.
Parker dove and caught it before it hit the ground, his small arms wrapping around it. He sat up, holding up his prize. "That was awesome!" He crowed. "Dad did you see that? That counts as one of the most beautiful things in the world, right?"
Booth stared up at his partner, her hair lit by the sun, a triumphant smile on her face, and he nodded. "Absolutely." He said quietly.
"Dad?" Parker yelled for him again, jogging back towards them.
"Yeah, that was great, wasn't it?" Booth said, high fiving his son. "She's got potential." He smiled at Brennan as she sat back down. "Who knew you had it in you, Bones?"
"That was very enjoyable." She said, taking another bite of her soy burger. "I believe that after lunch I would like to learn more about football."
Parker was almost too excited to eat. "Dad, Dr. Bones is way cooler than any of the girls I know."
~B/B~
Booth opened the door to his apartment and Brennan followed Parker inside. Somehow her hour or two had turned into an hour or five and now seemed to continue to expand as Booth insisted she come back to his place with them. She'd meant to have lunch, play a little and then get back to work, but the weather had been nice and the company nicer and she'd managed to spend the entire afternoon running around the park with her partner and his little boy.
"Shower, Parks." Booth said, making his son laugh with his mock disgust at his appearance. "You have grass and sweat and sun all over you."
"Dad, sun can't be all over me." Parker said, rolling his eyes. "Can it, Dr. Bones?"
"No, it can't." She said, smiling proudly at the little boy. "Not unless you're outside and referring to the rays of light. Then I suppose in a sense it could be."
"Uh-uh. Oh, no." Booth said, shaking his head as he propelled his son towards the bathroom. "You two are not allowed to gang up on me with that literal stuff. I think you'd better leave that to Bones, Parker. She has way more experience at it then you do."
"But its funny!" Parker protested.
"Yeah, you say that now." Booth joked. "Into the shower. And it better take longer than two minutes this time, son."
Brennan watched as Booth opened the hall closet and fished something out of it. Then he turned, walking towards her, an ace bandage in his hand and a determined look on his face.
"Booth," She said, protesting what he was about to do yet again. "My wrist is perfectly fine. See?" She held it up, rotating the joint.
"Hey, stop that." He said, taking her arm. "I'm sure you're fine, but it won't hurt to put this on, at least for tonight. Besides, it's more for me than for you." He told her, one hand keeping a light hold on her forearm while he unrolled the bandage with the other. "I didn't mean to tackle you like that, Bones. You're lucky you just got a sprained wrist."
"It was not a problem." She said, watching him as he concentrated on wrapping the bandage around her slightly injured wrist. His fingers brushed her skin and she felt an undeniable rush of hormones poor into her system. With super human strength, she reigned them back in, focusing on her protests once more. "You should stop apologizing."
He chuckled. "And you should stop complaining." He shot back, pulling the bandage tight and carefully pressing the clip into place. "There. See, that just wasn't so bad, was it?"
She lifted her wrist from his hand and inspected it. "I suppose this is tolerable." She allowed. "I can still work in it."
He shot her a look. "You're not really going back to the lab tonight, are you?" He asked, frowning. "It's late, Bones and it's a Saturday. No one is there."
"I can still work even if there are no other people around, Booth." She pointed out. "Better even, since there will be fewer distractions. There really is a great deal to catch up on. I shouldn't have played nookie with you today."
His eyes widened. "Hooky, Bones," He said, clearing his throat. "You played hooky with me today."
"Hooky." She repeated, confused by the strangled tone of his voice.
"I'm glad you came, though." He said, moving on quickly. "Parker had a blast with you, you know?"
She smiled as she thought of the little blonde boy. "He is a wonderful little boy." She told Booth. "You should be very proud of him."
"Yeah, he's great." Booth said, his eyes darting towards the bathroom where they could both hear the shower running and the faint sound of Parker singing to himself. "I missed him like crazy this past year. He's so much older now."
"One year older." She said, nodding.
"Yeah, but it feels like more." Booth mused. He glanced at her. "Hey, you at least have to stay until he gets out of the shower. He'll be sad if you leave without saying goodbye."
She considered his point and placed her jacket back down on the counter. "Sure," She said, nodding. "I would like to say goodbye to him as well."
Booth smiled, moving away from her and towards the kitchen. "Good. Want a beer?" He asked, opening the fridge.
"Ok." She said, following after him.
He turned around, two beers in his hand, and was surprised by her proximity. "Woah, geez, Bones. You startled me." He told her.
"Why, are you nervous?" She asked, accepting the beer from him. She began to attempt to open it, but found it hard with the bandage he'd placed on her wrist.
"Here." He said, ignoring her question and taking it back from her. He opened it easily and offered it to her again.
"Thank you." She said, taking a long sip of the cool liquid.
"No problem, gimpy." He teased her, leaning back against the counter.
She smiled, raising her eyebrows at him. "Considering it was your attack that put me in this position, you should be nicer about it." She suggested.
"Hey, it was obviously my catch." He grinned back at her. "Its not my fault you're pushy."
"It is your fault that you did not instruct me about calling the ball prior to the incident, though." She pointed out, taking another sip of her beer.
He laughed and pushed away from the counter, surprising her by moving close and placing his hand on her injured wrist. He lifted it, cradling it in his hand as he ran his thumb gently along the line of the bandage. "I'm sorry you're injured." He said.
She drew a deep breath as she met his eyes. "It doesn't hurt." She assured him.
He was standing very close and she wondered at the adverse affect it seemed to have on her pulse and her breathing as his eyes stayed locked on hers. He smiled, his thumb tracing the line of her bandage and she nearly asked him to explain why he sometimes looked at her the way he was looking at her now.
"Dad?" Parker called, walking towards them, dressed in pajamas, his hair wet and plastered to his head. "I'm clean and I'm starving to death."
Booth stepped away from her, dropping her arm carefully. "Me too." He told his son. "How about I scrounge us up something to eat?"
"Yeah, but fast because I'm so, so, so hungry." Parker said, hopping up onto a bar stool. "Are you going to have dinner with us, Dr. Bones?"
"No, I'm sorry, Parker, I can't stay." Brennan said, shaking her head at the young boy. "There are several things I still have to do tonight. But thank you for letting me spend the afternoon with you."
"Sure, you're pretty good at football. For a girl." Parker told her, bestowing a smile on her.
"Parker." Booth admonished him. "Your mom doesn't want you to say things like that."
"Sorry." Parker said quickly. "You're pretty good at football. Hey, now that you and dad are back can we use your pool again sometime?"
"Of course." She said, stepping around the bar area and picking up her jacket. "Anytime you'd like."
"Awesome!" Parker said, beaming.
Abandoning his scrounging activities, Booth followed her towards the door, holding it open for her. He smiled down at her, touching her arm briefly. "Seriously, Bones, don't work too hard tonight. Please?"
"I hope I didn't intrude on your day with Parker." She said, not willing to make any promises about how much she would or would not work for the remainder of the day.
"No way." He told her sincerely. "He loved having you there. So did I. It was a really good day."
"I had a good time as well." She smiled at him one last time and started to step through the doorway when Parker's voice stopped her.
"Wait, Dr. Bones, I almost forgot." He said, hopping down from his stool and walking towards her. "Thanks for making sure dad came home from war."
Brennan looked at Booth. "Parker, I didn't have anything to do with that. Your father was very good at what he did over there and he was very fortunate."
"No." Parker said, shaking his head. "Mom told me. Whenever I'd get worried that he wasn't coming back she'd always tell me that there was no way Dad would never be able to stay away from me and you, so he'd make sure to come back cause he loves us a lot." Parker told her, unaware of the impact of his words on the adults in the room.
He looked puzzled as he continued. "I told her I was going to say thank you, and she said it might not be a good idea, but I thought it would be." Stepping forward, he gave her a light hug around the waist. "My teacher at school says that whenever someone does something nice for you, you should say thank you."
"Parks," Booth's voice was a bit strained, his hand on his son's shoulder a bit heavy as he gave him a light push back towards the kitchen. "Why don't you see what's in the fridge?"
"Ok." Parker said. "See ya, Dr. Bones."
"Goodbye Parker." Brennan said, her eyes on Booth.
Booth rubbed the back of his neck. "Kids." He said lamely. "Listen, Bones…"
"Atta girl." Brennan said quickly, recognizing the signs that he was feeling uncomfortable and anxious to set him at ease. She knew very well what his explanation would be. After all, even Rebecca had lumped her in with Parker. Booth might love her, in fact, he'd told her that he did. But it was a family kind of love. A professional, friendly kind of love. Like she had for Hodgins or like she'd had, and honestly still did have, for Zack. "I remember." She assured him.
He didn't respond for a long moment and she found herself puzzled by the array of emotions on his face. "Sure." He said finally, looking down at the floor. "Atta girl."
She was quiet for a moment before leaning up and pressing a barely-there kiss to his cheek. "Atta boy, Booth." She said quietly before heading out the door and down the hall. Had she been more attune to subconscious feelings, she might have felt his eyes following her until she disappeared around the corner. But she wasn't, and so she didn't.
~B/B~
"You know what I think?" Booth asked, leaning back in his chair. "I think you just couldn't take it." He looked the suspect right in his eyes, forcing him to maintain eye contact as he spoke. "Your girl was more respected in your religion than you were. The religion you introduced her to."
"She wasn't." Lena's boyfriend interjected.
"She was moving higher up in the ranks. She was sought after for advice and assistance with spells. She was asked to officiate ceremonies." Brennan pointed out. "That had to be upsetting for you, considering you were a low man on the totem pole."
"It wasn't. I was happy for her." The boyfriend insisted.
"So happy for her that you hit her over the head with a symbol of the thing that had come between you?" Booth asked, leaning forward. "That's strange, Manuel, because that's now I show my happiness for someone. What about you, Bones?"
"No, definitely not. That seems very counterproductive" She said.
"So explain to me how your girlfriend got hit over the head with the statue that has your grubby fingerprints all over it, because my partner here, she's proved that that's what happened." Booth said, gesturing towards Brennan. "And she's the best there is."
The suspect remained silent.
"Can't do that, huh?" Booth said. "That figures. How about I explain it instead?" He suggested. Standing up, he walked towards one end of the table so that he was just a little closer to the man under interrogation. Leaning forward, he rested one hand on the table. "You introduce Lena to Santeria. It's exciting. Dangerous. At first everything is great. Then she starts taking it seriously. She's an achiever, everything she touches she succeeds at. That just drives you crazy." Booth moved a little closer to the boyfriend. "You should be the one that's getting the attention. You've been a loyal follower, you do everything right, you're willing to do whatever it takes. You talk to Lena, try to communicate with her. But she throws it in your face."
"No!" Manuel said, shaking his head. "No."
"Yes, she does. She tells you that it's not her fault that she's risen in the ranks. Maybe if you worked as hard as she did, then you'd be higher up too." Booth suggested.
"No." Manuel said again. "That's not how it happened."
"Then how did it happen?" Booth asked.
"What, do you think I'm stupid?" Manuel asked, sneering.
"Both murder and strong belief in religious fantasies are indicators of lower intelligence." Brennan said.
"Bones." Booth shot her a glance. "I don't think you're stupid, Manuel. Which is why I don't think you're going to pass up on this opportunity. We already know you did it. There's plenty of evidence of that. More than enough to convict." Booth leaned away from the table and distanced himself from the boy, removing the threat of his presence. He shrugged. "This is your chance to tell us why. Give us a reason. Tell us your story."
Manuel hung his head, resting his forehead in his hands. "I used to be enough for her." He said quietly. "She was beautiful and wonderful and smart and she loved me. Then I had to go and bring her into Santeria, and suddenly she was too good for me."
"She thought she was better than you." Booth said, nodding.
"She never said anything. It was just the way she acted." Manuel said, still shielding his face from view. "Then I confronted her about it. We fought for so long. She said that maybe I just wasn't a strong enough man for her anymore. Maybe she'd outgrown me."
"And that made you angry." Booth supplied.
"She was so arrogant. She didn't know what real strength was. She spent her whole life succeeding at everything, being offered everything, and she thought that made her strong. But it doesn't." Manuel hit the table with his fist.
"Strength comes from struggle." Brennan said, nodding.
Manuel jerked his head up, glaring at her. "You, you're just like her. I can tell. You think you're so smart, so successful. You think that just because you can talk like you're important, that makes you important. It doesn't!"
"Hey." Booth said, stepping forward. "You're going to want to back off."
"Booth." Brennan said, telling him not to focus on her right now.
Manuel laughed. "Bet you're a sucker for her, aren't you? You still think that somehow, someday you'll be man enough. Well, let me tell you, it's not going to happen."
"How did you kill her?" Booth said, imposing on the boy's space again.
Manuel maintained eye contact as he spoke. "She pushed me too far. I wanted to make it work, and she just wouldn't do it. I was so furious with her. She wouldn't listen, wouldn't stop talking and talking and talking. And then she did. I hit her with the statue and she stopped talking." His eyes dropped. "I was so angry with her. I just wanted her to stop for a minute. Stop talking, Lena. Listen."
Taking a deep breath, Booth rapped his knuckles on the table, and turned away, glancing at the two way mirror, knowing that the people behind it now had what they needed. "Come on, Bones." He said, opening the door for her. "We're done here. We got his confession."
~B/B~
"Congratulations Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan." The Deputy Director said, shaking each of their hands. "It's great to have you both back, working as a team again. We've missed your success rate."
"Thank you, sir." Booth said, smiling. "But really, without Bones here, this case would still be open."
Brennan looked at him, shaking her head. "Booth is being unduly modest." She said, "He did his job very well."
The Deputy Director smiled. "Well, its good to know you two can work together so well even after the past year. We appreciate your work."
"Thank you, sir." Booth said again. "I'm sorry, sir, please excuse us." Placing his hand on her elbow, Booth led Brennan away from the crowded FBI halls and back out into the open air.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
He looked down at her. "We really do work together pretty well, huh?" He asked, smiling.
"Of course we do." She said. "We always have."
His smile widened. "Even if you are high and mighty and think you're better than me, when I'm the one who introduced you to police work to begin with."
She smiled back, catching on to his train of thought. "Are you going to hit me over the head with a symbolic FBI artifact?" She asked him.
"Yeah, probably my car. Maybe my name plate. You never know." He teased, opening the door to his car for her.
"I suppose you'll never be caught since I won't be around to solve the case." She teased him back.
"It's a foolproof plan." He agreed. Then he smiled down at her, suddenly more genuine than mocking. "Except I might get lonely if you weren't around."
"Then perhaps you should allow me to live." She suggested, lifting herself into his car.
"Yeah, alright, alright. How about I just take you to lunch instead?" He asked.
"Lunch would be good." She decided. "At the diner."
He got in beside her and started the car up. As he pulled out of the parking lot she looked over at him. "Hey Booth?"
"Yeah?" He glanced at her.
"I'm glad we're still the best at what we do best." She told him.
"Me too, Bones. Me too."
~B/B~
Alright, so their first case back is done and over with! Which means we can move on to bigger and better things, people. The next case should be quite emotional for the dynamic duo. =)
As always, if you could take the time to leave me a note and let me know your thoughts, it would simply make my whole day. Maybe my whole life. You never know. Seriously though, it would make me a very happy woman! =)
One last thing and then I'll go... I have the B/B get together scene mostly written, but I'd be interested in finding just one person who would be willing to be slightly spoiled in order to give me feedback on the idea of the scene as well as the construction. If you're interested, send me a private message and let me know! I'm just going to use one person though, of course, since it would be silly for me to spread the chapter all over the place before it was done. Thanks in advance!
