I own none of the characters of Bones.

Years ago…

From her spot on the platform where she was examining a skull she heard the heavy footsteps on the steps leading up to the platform and she knew it was Booth. "Bones we need to talk."

"Can it wait a minute?"

"Yeah I guess." Smiling to herself Bones picked up a magnifying glass and looked closely at the skull. For the next five minutes Booth paced on the platform sighing every few seconds.

"Booth you are being quite distracting."

"How old is that skeleton?"

"Two hundred and fifty years old."

"Then it can wait. We need to talk."

"Fine." She tore off her gloves and faced her husband. "Let's talk."

"In your office." Bones sighed and followed Booth into her office.

"I swear if this talk is a ploy for a quickie then you are in for a big surprise Booth. You know I don't like to have sex in my office during business hours." They have had sex many times in her office but it was usually late and no one was around.

"No. I really need to talk to you but since you mentioned a quickie…"

"Booth."

"All right. I was at the mall today…"

"Which mall? The shopping mall or the mall?"

"Shopping mall."

"Why were you at a shopping mall?"

"It doesn't matter." The truth was he was trying to shop for a gift for his wife's upcoming birthday, never an easy task. "Anyway, guess who I saw at the mall?"

"I don't have nearly enough information to make a guess."

"I'll help you out. She is fifteen, long dark wavy hair." Bones gave him a blank stare. "Our daughter."

"What? You saw Morgan at the mall?"

"Yep."

"You must have been mistaken. Morgan has school today. She would not be at the mall."

"I know my own daughter Bones. It was her. I even followed her around just to be sure and trust me, it was Morgs."

"I don't understand why she would willing be truant from school." Bones mumbled. "What could have been so important?" Bones was truly disappointed in her daughter.

"Probably nothing or probably something stupid that she thinks is a matter of life and death."

"We definitely need to ground her, possibly not let her play hockey."

"Oh no Bones. I have a much better punishment in mind."

"Really?"

"I'm going to school with her tomorrow."

"That doesn't sound like much of a punishment to me."

"Oh trust me. It will be and I guarantee that she will never skip school again."

"I'm going to trust you on this issue."

"Good choice Bones. Good choice." Bones reached over and began to straighten his tie.

"So why were you at the mall today?" She asked softly.

"I was shopping."

"For what?"

"Not sure. I figure that I would know it when I saw it but I never got the chance."

"I told you and the kids that I don't want anything for my birthday. It's just another day."

"No Bones, it's not just another day. It's a very important day. It's the day you were born and that is a reason to celebrate."

"It's just a ridiculous tradition for adults."

"So are you saying that I am ridiculous because I love birthday presents and birthday cake?" Booth snapped.

"No of course not."

"You just better get used to the gifts and cake because we love you and every year on your birthday we are going to celebrate it whether you like it or not so I suggest that you start liking it."

"Booth I…"

"I gotta get back to the office. I have already been gone too long trying to by my wife a birthday present."

"Don't leave angry Booth."

"I'm not angry. I'm just pissed."

"It's the same thing."

"No. There is a big difference." Booth kissed his wife's cheek. "I'll see you at home later." Before she could respond he was out of her office leaving her wondering why he was so upset. Every year they went through this but he has never gotten pissed before.

Bones knew Booth was still angry or pissed at her. Their evening at home has been strained. He still talked to her but the tenderness that he usually used was gone and she knew Morgan noticed it. Dinner was very quiet; void of the normal, lighthearted conversation and after dinner the three of them went their separate ways, Morgan to her room, Booth to the living room to watch television and Bones went to her office. Now that the evening had drawn to a close Booth was in bed reading a book while Bones was walking around their room, wearing nothing but her underwear "looking" for something, hoping to get some type of reaction from him but he never took his eyes away from the book. Finally giving up she threw one of Booth's F.B.I. tee shirts on, sat on the bed next to him and pulled the book out of his hands.

"What the hell Bones? I was reading that." He grumbled, reaching for the book but before he could get his hand on it she tossed it on the floor.

"Your anger regarding my birthday is not rational so what is going on? You have never been this mad before."

"I'm not mad. I'm pissed."

"Booth."

"It's not so much about your birthday."

"I don't understand. You seem pissed about the fact that I asked you not to make a big deal out of my birthday. I ask you every year and every year you don't listen so what is so different this year?"

"You have been keeping something from me." He admitted.

"I believe you are mistaken."

"No I'm not. Would you care to tell me what you have been hiding from me?" She knew what he was talking about and seeing the hurt on his face, she knew she had to tell him.

"I am in menopause." She whispered. "How did you find out? I know you don't keep track of my periods."

"Last week I was in your wallet…"

"You went into my purse?" Bones snapped.

"You told me too. Morgan needed some cash for school and I didn't have any so you told me to get her the money from your wallet."

"Sorry."

"Anyway I found a pill bottle and the directions said that it is to be taken for hot flashes." Bones dropped her eyes down to the bed. "After I found that bottle I went and looked up symptoms of menopause and it was confirmed. You've been pushing off all of the covers at night. You have been having mood swings when you're not irritable. You haven't been sleeping well at night. You haven't been wanting to have sex as much as we used to and when we do have sex your breasts are tender and you're so dry that we have to use lubricant." Bones didn't realize that Booth had picked up on her symptoms but he always notices everything about her.

"I'm sorry Booth. I should have told you."

"Damn right you should have told me Bones and that's what pisses me off. I thought we told each other everything. Since when don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you. It's not a matter of trust."

"Then what is it a matter of?"

"It's me Booth. Not you."

"Can you make me understand because right now I don't have a clue what is going on."

"I realize that menopause is a natural part of aging and I expected it to happen one day but when that day arrived, it was very hard to deal with. Menopause is always associated with being old and now that is me and I didn't want you to find out."

"Why baby? Why didn't you want me to know?"

"Because if you knew…" She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I was afraid that if you knew then you would find me unattractive and then I would lose you." Tears began to fall from her eyes and Booth quickly took her in his arms. He couldn't believe that after all these years, deep down, she was still the little girl who was abandoned by the people who loved her most.

"First of all you will never lose me."

"That's not true. One day you will die."

"Thanks Bones. Fine One day I may die but that would be the only circumstance that you will lose me. You and I, we will be together until one of us dies and then again in Heaven." She opened her mouth to speak but he kept going. "I am not your parents, your father. I am never going to leave you of my own free will. Never. Do you understand?" She nodded. "Secondly, there will never come a day when I don't find you attractive. I don't care if you all wrinkly with gray hair and fat. You will still be beautiful to me and that's because I love you. You are a beautiful person on the inside which makes you a beautiful person on the outside."

"But I was walking around the room baring my breasts to you and you never even looked at me or them and you never can resist my breasts."

"Trust me. I saw them. Do you really think I was actually reading my book? Well I was, but the second you walked out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but your panties, I was done concentrating on some stupid book. I was watching you. I just didn't want you to know because I was trying to make a point. Trust me baby, I saw and I liked what I saw." He made sure that she could feel his desire.

"Why do I still feel like I could lose you? Why am I not confident that you will never abandon me?" She whispered.

"I think you are confident. I just think you forgot that you were confident in us with all of this menopause crap."

"I was feeling overwhelmed."

"Which is why you should never keep anything from me. We could have talked about, I would have reminded you how beautiful you are and we could have avoided this whole damn mess. So, no secrets Bones?"

"No secrets Booth."

"Good. Now that we have cleared that up…" In one swift, smooth moment, Booth flipped Bones onto her back and he was climbing on top of her. "Now, I'm going to remind you how beautiful you are to me." He closed the distance between them and began to worship her body with his lips.

"Booth what on earth are you doing?"

"I'm staining my shirt." He just purposely put maple syrup on his shirt.

"I can see that. Why?" He put the syrup away and pulled out the ketchup from the refrigerator. "Ketchup too?"

"Yup!" Bones watched in amazement as her husband stained his shirt with ketchup.

"What on earth is wrong with you? Are you having a seizure?"

"No seizure. It's all part of the plan."

"You are crazy. You know that right?"

"Yep and you love that about me." Booth grinned, reached out, pulled his wife to him and kissed her.

"I see you guys made up." Morgan commented.

"Good morning sweetheart." Bones greeted her daughter, pulling away from Booth.

"We weren't fighting." Booth told her.

"Okay. Whatever you say."

"Really. We were just having a disagreement." Booth walked in front of Morgan, making sure she saw his outfit.

"What is up dad? Is it dress like a dork day at the F.B.I.?" He was wearing a stained up dress shirt that was buttoned all wrong, his pants were pulled up way to high, leaving his brightly covered socks showing. He had on what looked like bowling shoes and he was wearing a pocket protector. He really did look like a dork.

"I'm not going to work today." He informed her.

"So what, are you going to a Halloween party?"

"Nope. I'm coming to school with you." Morgan's jaw dropped.

"Excuse me?" Booth pulled out a chair and patted it.

"Sit down honey." Morgan did and Bones placed her breakfast in front of her.

"What do you mean that you are coming to school with me?"

"Well since you don't stay at school after you are dropped off I'm going to school with you to make sure you stay."

"I…I have no idea what you are talking about. I was in school yesterday." Morgan told to her parents.

"You're lying Morgan. Your father saw you at the mall yesterday during school hours."

"Yep. I sure did."

"Well… it was a school project. We were doing price comparisons for math class."

"Morgan Christine I suggest you stop lying right now. You are busted. We know that you skipped school so what we want to know is what in the hell you were doing at the mall when you should have been in school?" Booth said in his most stern voice.

"Kate, Samantha and I were buying concert tickets." She mumbled, looking at the floor.

"Well you do realize that you are not going to that concert don't you?" Booth asked her.

"But…that's not fair. I saved up my allowance for months to buy those tickets and they are non-refundable."

"Sorry kiddo. If you would not have skipped school and simply gave your money to your mom or I, we would have happily bought them for you." He explained.

"What is the big deal? Are you trying to tell me that you never skipped school dad?"

"The big deal is you should have been in school. That's where your father and I thought you were. If something would have happened to you we would have been looking in the wrong place. You CANNOT just come and go as you please. This world is a dangerous place." Bones told her.

"I am FIFTEEN years old mom. I am not a child so quit treating me like one. You can't keep me in a stupid bubble because of your stupid job. It's not my fault that you deal with murder all day and you think that something horrible is going to happen to me so stop punishing me and treat me like a normal kid."

"Morgan you do not talk to your mother like that." Booth practically growled.

"You are a child, my child and you know it's true because you just asked me to treat you like a normal kid. Yes, I agree with you that because of my job I may be more protective of you then necessary but I don't think that I am overly protective and I sure don't put you in a bubble. You are only fifteen Morgan, as you pointed out to me and a fifteen year old child should not be out running in this city without their parent's knowledge. Even when your brother got his driver's license and he was given more freedom he still had to tell us where he was going and he had to call when he arrived and when he left and next year when you get your license it's going to be the same for you. Your father and I will never back down on knowing where you are at all times because your safety is very important to us."

"It's stupid."

"No it's not." Bones was on a role. "You have no idea how easily something could happen to you. I see it everyday at work and so does your father. About five years ago do you remember the case of a seventeen year old boy who went missing? He told his parents that he was going to the library and when the search began it began at the library. He never went to the library. He went to the movies and by the time one of his friend's admitted to authorities that they were at the movies it was too late. Maybe if his parents would have known the search could have been started in the right place then maybe…"

"I am not one of your stupid cases so stop treating me like one." Morgan snapped.

"Morgan Christine, I am not going to tell you again." Booth snapped.

"I have to get to the lab." Bones said. She kissed both her husband and daughter. "I love you both and I'll see you tonight." She quickly left the kitchen. Booth glared at Morgan and followed Bones out of the kitchen.

"Hey Bones, wait."

"Booth I have to go." She wouldn't turn to look at him so he reached out, grabbed her upper arm, gently turned her around and when he did he saw tears in her yes.

"Oh Bones. Don't let her get to you."

"Do you think that I treat her like a case?"

"Of course not. As her mother you have every right to be protective of her, we both do. She is just pissed off and talking bullshit." Bones sighed and Booth kissed her softly. "Have a nice day sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you too. Have fun today." Booth rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. I'm sure I will." Booth stood at the door until Bones pulled out of the driveway and then he returned to the kitchen. "Let's go. You're going to be late and since you weren't there yesterday, you can't afford to be late."

"Are you seriously coming with me?"

"I seriously am."

"Dressed like that?" He nodded. "Please dad. Don't do this to me. I promise, never too flick school again."

"Too late. You never should have done it in the first place and because you did, I can't trust you to stay in school so I have to go with you."

"Great. There goes my life."

"Awe. Poor baby." Booth quipped with a grin and Morgan glared at her father as they left the house.

Morgan's day was horrible. She hated fighting with her mother so their morning fight weight heavily on her mind and along with Booth's torture she was miserable. Booth never left her side. He sat next to her during all of her classes and lunch, he held her hand as they walked the halls and he acted like a dork, embarrassing her. Most, actually all of Morgan's friends who had met her father thought that he was hot but after the day he spent at school, their opinion had definitely changed and most of them thought he was no longer hot. By the end of the day, Booth was convinced that he succeeded in making his point and he knew Morgan would never skip school again.

"I'm going to the office. Mom will be home in about an hour with dinner."

"Are you going to handcuff me to my desk chair so you know where I am at all times?" Morgan taunted her father.

"Knock it off Morgan. It's not a damn crime to want to protect the people we love. Your brother saw his own mother shot and killed right in front of him; he saw me get shot the same night. He has been kidnapped, I've been kidnapped and so has your mother. Mom and me have been blown up, shot at and shot. I've seen too many murder victims, men, women and children, to count. They haunt my dreams but I think it's worse for your mother. She remembers every victim that has come to her table." Morgan wiped the solitary tear that fallen from her eye off of her cheek. "She remembers their names, ages, and their death and her biggest fear is someone she loves ending up on the table so both of us are going to do whatever we need to do to keep that from happening so you need to back down and follow our rules. One day, you will be all grown up, on your own and then you can go to the mall or a strip club without telling anyone but until that time you will follow our rules or there will be major consequences, much worse then what I put you through today. Do I make myself clear young lady?"

"Yes…yes sir." Morgan mumbled tearfully.

"If I get home and your mother tells me that you gave her hell, you and I, we will have a problem so I suggest you be on your best behavior."

"I will daddy." Booth hugged and kissed his daughter.

"Morgan you infuriate me sometimes but you know I love you, right?" He told her.

"Yeah. I know. I love you too daddy."

An hour and a half later Bones was home with pizza, Morgan's favorite dinner. Booth had called her on his way to his office, told her about the torment he inflicted on her throughout the day and their conversation they had before he left. He is convinced that Morgan has turned the attitude corner. Since Bones had been home for fifteen minutes and Morgan hadn't come out of her room Bones grabbed the pizza, a couple cans of coke and some napkins and took dinner to her daughter.

Bones knocked and then waited for permission to go in. Both she and Booth understood their daughter's right to privacy and they never walked into her room, while she was in it without permission. "Oh hey mom." Morgan said when she opened the door. "I didn't hear you come home."

"I thought we could have dinner in here tonight." Bones held up the pizza.

"Really?" It's only on very special occasions that Morgan is allowed to eat in her room; usually it's when she has friends over.

"Really. It's just the two of us."

"Cool." The two girls made themselves comfortable on Morgan's double bed with the pizza box in between them. Bones handed her daughter a can of soda and a napkin. "What, no plates?"

"I'm living on the corner and we are eating out of the box."

"It's living on the edge mom." Like her father, Morgan corrects her mother's inappropriate use of pop culture references.

"Well whatever it is, I'm living there." Bones gave her daughter a grin.

"Yeah, sure you are mom. You are the most non-edge living person that I know."

"Am I a terribly boring person?" Bones asked softly.

"No mom. You're not boring at all. I have the most fun when we are together." Morgan told her. "You're just tightly wound but when you loosen up, you are a blast."

"Tightly wound?" Bones questioned as she took another bite.

"You rarely relax. You're like one of those monkeys with the drum. As long as he is wound up he just keeps walking and playing that stupid drum."

"I will try to relax more often then."

"No. Don't do that because if you did then you wouldn't be my mom."

"You don't want a more relaxed mom?"

"No. I just want you." Morgan took a bite of her pizza and both girls chewed in silence. "I'm sorry I was so stupid mom."

"You're not stupid Morgan. You are a very intelligent young woman."

"I did a very stupid thing when I skipped school and went to the mall."

"Yes you did."

"I know that you aren't keeping me in a bubble. I know that you and dad just want to protect me. I guess I get jealous because some of my friends, their parents let them do whatever they want and I can't."

"I am sorry that you are jealous but our rules for you are not going to change."

"I know and I don't want them too. I like knowing that I am safe and I really like knowing that I'm not going to end up on your table in the lab if you and dad have anything to say about it."

"I want you and Parker to be around long after your father and I are gone."

"Dad said that you can remember everybody that has ever been on your lab table; their names, ages, and how they died. Is that true?"

"It is."

"Why do you do that? Isn't it hard for you to think about that?"

"It's very hard, but remembering all of them, remembering that justice was served, that's what keeps me doing the job that I do. It gets harder everyday to see a murder victim up on my table and sometimes, I feel as if for every one murder that your father and I solve, there are two more in its place. I feel like we never get ahead so by remembering all of the victims, I am reminded that some good has come from their deaths."

"I'm sorry that you have to deal with murder everyday."

"It's my choice. Don't be sorry."

"Can I come to work with you and dad so I can see what you do?"

"You know what we do."

"Yeah, but I want to see it."

"I don't know about that."

"Please mommy? Pretty please mommy?" Morgan flashed her charm smile, the one she inherited from her father and Bones found that she was almost unable to resist her.

"I'll talk to your dad." Morgan squealed in delight, jumped up and hugged her mother. "I'm not promising anything." Bones said as she laughed.

"I know." Morgan settled back down on her spot on the bed. "Can I paint your toenails?"

"What?"

"Can we give each other makeovers? We haven't done that since I was a little girl." When Morgan was a child Bones let her put make up on her. There are pictures of Bones looking like a clown with crazy hair, courtesy of Morgan.

"Let me go get my makeup."

A couple of hours later when Booth returned home he found his wife and daughter in Morgan's room, faces full of makeup, hair in curlers, painting each other's toes. "Hi dad." Morgan grinned when she saw her father, standing in the doorway watching them with a smile on his face.

"Would you like to join us?" Bones asked, turning around to face him. "Morgan is quite adapt at applying makeup."

"No thank you. I like my face just the way it is." He walked over, kissed both of his girls and then grabbed the pizza box. "I'm going to let you two do your girly stuff and I'm going to go downstairs, eat the rest of this pizza and watch some T.V."

"You have no idea what you're missing daddy."

"Emily and I have an announcement." Parker told his family as their dessert was placed in front of them.

"You're engaged." Morgan piped up.

"Come on Morgs. Really?" Parker said.

"What? Am I wrong?"

"No but it's customary to allow the person with the news to make the announcement."

"Whatever. You guys have been together forever so it's the next logical step." Booth had been trying to control his laughter but he was unable to after hearing Morgan tell her brother what the next logical step was in their relationship.

"Dad." Parker was becoming exasperated and now Emily was laughing as well.

"Sorry. Try again and Morgan, keep your mouth shut."

"Last night I asked Emily to marry me and she said yes." Parker and Emily were both beaming.

"Excuse me; can we get a bottle of champagne and a glass of sparkling grape juice please?" Bones asked the waitress.

"Of course." Bones got up and went over and hugged Emily.

"Congratulations. Welcome to our family."

"Thank you Temperance." Bones then moved over to Parker while Booth embraced his soon to be daughter in law.

"Parker, I am so very happy for you. I wish you and Emily so much happiness."

"I can only pray that Em and I are as happy as you and dad are." Bones hugged her son.

"I'm sorry that I ruined your announcement Parker." Morgan told her brother when it was her turn to congratulate them.

"You didn't ruin it squirt."

"Yeah I did. You should have been the one to announce that you were engaged, not me."

"It's all good." Parker wrapped his arms around his sister and squeezed. "I wouldn't expect anything less from my sister."

"Morgan, can I ask you a very important question." Emily asked.

"Sure."

"I would like you to stand up for me at the wedding. Would you please be one of my bridesmaids?"

"Really?"

"You sound surprised."

"I am. I never expected you to want me to be in your wedding."

"Of course I want you in our wedding. You are Parker's sister which is enough reason to ask you to be in the wedding but the most important reason is that I have come to love you like a sister and I want you standing up with me. So what do you say?"

"I say yes."

"Come on everyone. Let's sit and make a toast." Booth announced. Everyone took their seats and raised their glasses of champagne and sparkling grape juice. "To Parker and Emily. Congratulations on your engagement. Marriage is a wonderful thing. It's an amazing gift to share your life with the person that you love the most. I wish you two a lifetime together. A lifetime filled with love and happiness." Booth raised his glass. "To Parker and Emily."

"To Parker and Emily."

After they all finished their desserts they parted ways, Emily and Parker back to their apartment and Bones, Booth and Morgan to their house. The restaurant was thirty minutes away from their house and Morgan fell asleep five minutes into the drive home. When Bones woke her from a dead sleep, Morgan stumbled sleepily out of the car, mumbled sleepy goodnights and "I love yous" and went straight to her room, to bed and it was barely nine o'clock.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Booth found Bones standing in Morgan's doorway watching her sleep an hour after they got home.

"She's sick." Bones whispered.

"Does she have cold?" Bones shook her head. Booth turned Bones around to face him. "What the hell is going on?" She had tears rolling down her face.

"She's sick." She repeated.

"You don't think…" Booth felt panic rising in his chest.

"Morgan's cancer is back." Bones' voice was so calm, so confident that it left no room for doubt.