Sorry for the delay. This chapter took me forever because I couldn't figure out what to write, but I hope you like it. :)
On Saturday morning, Brennan's laying in bed, tangled in the sheets, her hair a mess, and her face inches from Booth's, as he lay asleep beside her. She lets out a somewhat frustrated groan when she hears Henry's cries through the baby monitor on her bedside table. She reaches her arm out and nudges Booth.
Booth whines, tugging on the sheets. "Hmm, I'm sleeping, Bones," he grumbles into his pillow.
She rolls over, taking the sheets with her. She's not ready to get up. She had been in the middle of a very pleasant dream, involving her and Booth on a beach in Hawaii, each slightly inebriated and laughing.
He rubs his face with his hand, keeping his eyes shut.
She kicks him and tugs the sheets harder, effectively wrapping herself up in his half of the comforter as well as the half that was already in her possession, leaving him exposed, save for a pair of green plaid boxers. She smiles against her pillow and lets out a sigh.
"Bones," he groans.
"Ten more minutes."
He opens his eyes and looks at the clock. He sits up and looks down at her faux sleeping form, shaking his head. He reaches over and slides his fingers through her tousled hair. He leans down and presses a kiss to her cheek before getting out of bed. He yanks on a pair of discarded sweatpants and pads down the hallway, deciding to change Henry and bring him back into the bedroom for his morning feeding, allowing Brennan a few more minutes of beauty sleep.
Later that afternoon, Brennan and Booth are standing outside Angela and Hodgins' front door. Henry was better yesterday, but they decided they should wait at least another day before visiting.
Christine is squished between her parents, holding her mother's hand, bouncing up and down, a huge grin on her face.
Brennan tilts her head and looks down at her daughter. "Honey, calm down, please."
Christine stops moving abruptly and looks up at the older woman.
"I know you're excited to meet Billy and spend the afternoon with Michael, but please, take a breath and relax."
The little girl nods and breathes in and out, letting go of her mother's hand. "I'll try, mommy, but I'm really, really, really excited."
Brennan runs her fingers through Christine's hair and rocks the carrier in her other hand, soothing Henry.
"Michael says Billy's really loud, like he never shuts up."
"Christine," Booth warns.
"I mean, he never shuts his mouth."
"Better, but still not good."
Christine smiles. "I mean, he cries all the time."
Booth nods. "That's much better."
"I'm glad Little Alien is quiet."
"You and me both, Princess. I bet Parker and your mom feel the same way." He glances over at Brennan, who just nods in response.
Brennan knocks again, getting a little impatient.
Booth pulls out his wallet and slips out a credit card. He reaches for the door, but Brennan stops him by placing her hand on his arm and tugging it back.
"Don't. They have an expensive and reliable security system, Booth. It's very loud."
Booth nods and puts his credit card back into its slot, slipping his wallet back into his pocket.
A few seconds later, the door opens wide and Angela's standing there in wrinkled pajamas and fuzzy slippers.
"Don't dress up on account of us, Angela," Booth jokes, taking in the artist's messy appearance.
Angela narrows her eyes and ushers them inside. "Come in, come in." She kicks an RC truck out of the way and holds the door open. "Michael Vincent, I already asked you twice. Get your butt down here and clean up your toys before someone, meaning me, breaks their ankle." She pauses. "And Christine is here."
Michael Vincent comes charging down the stairs in his pajamas, one sock missing. "Hi, C."
Christine squeezes between her mom and dad and smiles. "Hi, Michael."
"Wanna meet Billy?" Michael grabs her hand and tugs her towards the living room. "He's in here with my dad. We gotta be quiet. I don't wanna wake up the wild beast. My ears can't take it anymore." He laughs.
"Toys, now."
Michael sighs. "Sorry, C. I gotta pick up my toys first."
"I can help." Christine bends down and picks up his RC truck, while Michael Vincent gathers the rest of his toys. They dump them into the bucket in the playroom and then the two of them disappear into the family room.
"Is everything alright, Ange?" Brennan inquires, subconsciously hooking her arm around Booth's.
"Is that puke?" Booth points to a stain near Angela's right shoulder.
Angela just shrugs. "I honestly don't know, you guys."
"Maybe we should just go home. You—."
Angela shakes her head. "No, no. Stay. Everything is fine, Bren."
"Look, Ange, you and Hodgins go upstairs, shower, and then take a nap. Bones and I will handle the kids."
"I couldn't ask you guys to—."
Booth cuts her off with a shake of his head. "You're not asking. We're offering," he points out.
Brennan gives Booth a concerned look and then glances at Angela. "Booth is right. You don't look well, Ange."
Angela lets out a breath. "I could really use a shower." She nods. "Oh, alright, but if it gets to be too much, you know where we'll be." She walks into the family room and Booth and Brennan follow. "Honey?" She snaps her finger in front of her husband's face when he doesn't acknowledge her. "Honey," she raises her voice a little higher, which in turn causes Billy to start to fuss in his father's arms. She sighs. "Great."
Hodgins shakes his head and looks up at his wife. "Look what you did, Angie. You woke him up." Within a few seconds, the soft cries turn into ear-splitting screams, setting off Henry as well.
Brennan sighs.
"Booth and Brennan have offered to watch the kids, so we can take showers and sleep for a little while."
"In that case," Hodgins stands up and hands Billy to Booth, "he's all yours, Big Guy." He pats Booth on the back, too sleep deprived to notice the glare the FBI agent is throwing at him or care about the death certificate he may have just signed.
"Are you guys sure?" Angela asks again.
Brennan nods, setting the carrier on the coffee table and scooping Henry up into a cradle. "Yes, we're sure. Go get some rest."
"We owe you guys big time," Hodgins says, with a smile.
Booth rocks Billy in his arms and nods. "We won't forget you said that, Bug Boy."
The couple quickly leaves the room and heads upstairs.
Booth looks down at the screaming newborn and sits down on the couch. He brushes his fingers against the baby's wet cheeks and continues to rock him. "It's okay, Little Man."
Michael looks over at the two adults, who are now both sitting on the couch beside each other. "Where'd my mom and dad go?"
Brennan smiles at the little boy. "Your parents are upstairs. We're going to watch you and your brother for a while, so they can take showers and get some sleep."
"They're really cranky."
Brennan nods. "Irritably is a symptom of sleep deprivation." She glances at Booth and stands up. "I'm going to go change Henry's diaper. I'll be right back."
Booth nods, still trying to quiet Billy. "You are not a happy camper, are ya, buddy?" He fixes the baby's hat so it covers more of his dark blonde hair and wipes away more tears.
Christine walks over to her father and hops up on the couch in the spot just vacated by her mother. She peers over his arm and looks down at her best friend's baby brother. "Can I hold him, daddy?"
Booth hands off the baby to his daughter, repositioning her hands just slightly.
"Hi, Billy. You don't know me, but I'm your big brother's bestest friend. My name's Christine. You're cute. Not as cute as my baby brother, but cute. You're very loud. Shhh." She leans down and kisses him on the forehead. "You look like Michael, that's your big brother. He's real nice. I like him a lot. I bet you and Little Alien, that's my baby brother, will be bestest friends too. My mommy and your mommy are bestest friends too, I think. My mommy is your Aunt, even if your mommy and my mommy aren't real sisters."
Booth smiles.
She looks up suddenly. "Hey, he's stopped crying, daddy."
"Would ya look at that?" Booth pauses. "I'll put him in his swing and you and Michael can go play." He carefully takes the newborn and stands up. He places him in the swing and turns it on, careful not to disturb his newfound peace.
Brennan returns and smiles. "You got him quiet."
Booth shakes his head. "I didn't."
"I did!" Christine snaps her head towards the swing and covers her mouth with her hand. "I did," she whispers though her parted fingers.
Booth takes his son from Brennan's arms and presses a kiss to his cheek. He repositions him and smiles, the baby's eyes wide open and exploring his new surroundings.
"Why don't you and Michael go into the playroom and keep yourselves busy for a little while? I'll come and check on your two in a few minutes."
"Okay, mommy." Christine looks at Michael. "C'mon, Michael. Mommy wants us to leave the room so we don't wake up Billy. That would be really bad." She tugs on his arm and the two kids head into the room across the hall.
Brennan joins her partner on the couch again and curls up into his side, resting her head on his shoulder, her fingers idly playing with her son's socked right foot. "Why did you just volunteer us as babysitters, Booth?"
Booth blinks. "What?"
"Earlier, you volunteered us to watch the kids."
"Angela looked like she was gonna pass out and Hodgins, well, he looked like Hell, too. You agreed."
She nods. "I'm not saying I would have said no. I just wish we would have discussed this before you volunteered the both of us."
"If you weren't going to say no, why are we even talking about this?"
She shrugs and lifts her head, looking at him. "I just don't like that you offered on behalf of the both of us without even consulting me first."
He sighs. "I'm sorry. The next time I have an urge to volunteer us for something, I'll ask you first."
"It's silly."
"No, it's not. It's a matter of courtesy and respect." He raises his hand and touches her cheek tenderly with his palm. He dips his head and brushes his lips against hers, closing his eyes.
She leans into the kiss and snakes one hand around his neck.
He pulls back and smiles. "I love you."
"I know. I overreacted."
"I wasn't saying I love you because I feel bad for offering to watch the kids for Ange and Hodgins without talking to you first, which I do, or because I think you were overreacting, which I don't. I'm just stating a fact, a fact unrelated to anything we've been discussing."
She places both hands on his shoulder and leans into him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Have you heard from Jared since he called you?"
He shakes his head. "No," he grumbles.
"Are you going to call him?"
"If he wants my help, he's going to have to ask me for it himself."
After a couple minutes of tense silence, she smiles.
"What?"
"I've been thinking about when we could visit Hank again. Halloween is coming up in a few weeks and Christine would probably enjoy showing him her costume. We could drive up to see Hank and then take Christine and Henry trick-or-treating."
A slow-growing smile appears on his face.
"I think Parker mentioned something about getting invited to some Halloween party and wanting to attend, but we should be home in plenty of time."
He kisses her quickly on the lips.
"Is that okay? We would most likely have to leave work a little earlier than usual, but I'm sure that won't be a problem—for me, at least, seeing as it'll only be my first week back."
"How long have you been thinking about this, Bones?"
"Since we visited Hank last time."
He swallows.
"Though, I began to think about it more as an actual plan, rather than just a thought, when you received that phone call from Jared on Wednesday."
"God, I love you."
"I love you too, Booth." She pauses. "Although Henry will not remember Hank, I'd still like him to spend as much time with his great-grandfather as possible. I know you want him to, as well, and Hank seems to love him."
He sighs and tears flood his eyes. He clears his throat and swallows, letting his eyes fall shut, trapping the moisture behind them.
She touches his arm and leans against him. "I didn't mean to make you upset."
He turns his head and kisses her hair. "Can you miss something that isn't gone yet?"
"Rationally speaking, no, but emotions are in no way rational."
He laughs.
"Will Halloween work?"
"Yeah. I gotta call Pops and find out, but yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine. I can work something out with the Bureau; take a half day or something, call in sick, whatever."
She smiles. "Speaking of the Bureau, when we get home, I have something for your office that I want to give you."
"What is it?"
"You'll see."
He groans. "C'mon, Bones. Can I get a hint?"
She smiles. "You'll see."
"Did you get me a new chair?"
"Why would I get you a new chair when your current chair is perfectly fine?"
He shrugs. "I'm just trying to figure out what you got me for my office."
"It's more personal than an ordinary piece of furniture, but that's all I'm going to tell you."
He's about to say something when Billy starts to fuss in his swing.
"I've got him. He's probably hungry and in need of a fresh diaper."
He looks down at Henry, who's still wide awake, clutching his father's T-shirt in his hand. He stands up and sits down on the rug in front of the coffee table, setting the newborn down on his stomach under the play gym.
She walks over to the swing and scoops up Billy, giving him a sweet kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to see if Angela has any bottles in the refrigerator, Booth. I'm sure she does, though." She adjusts the newborn and disappears into the kitchen.
He watches his son wiggle around on his stomach and then looks up when he hears little feet scampering across the hall. "Hey, you two."
Christine smiles. "Daddy, we're hungry."
"Your mom's in the kitchen. Ask her for a snack."
"Okay." Christine and Michael reply at the same time and then head into the kitchen.
Booth smiles at the two of them and then looks back down at Henry. "So what are you gonna be for Halloween, Little Guy?" He asks, even though he knows his son cannot answer him.