Booth pulls into the driveway of their home and turns his head when he puts the SUV in park. "So what'd you get me, Bones?"
Brennan lifts her head off the window and looks at him, rolling her eyes. "I thought I was supposed to be the literal one, Booth? I didn't mean you'd get your present the second we pulled into the driveway."
He laughs. "I'm just curious."
"Well, you're going to have to be curious a little while more. You can wait until we get into the house and I can go retrieve it from my office."
He sighs. "Can you give me hint now?"
"I already gave you a hint. I told you it was more personal than a piece of office furniture. I can't tell you anymore than that or it will ruin the surprise, though I must confess I hadn't intended it to be a surprise." She pauses. "I had planned on giving it to you last night, but I was exhausted and after I put Henry down for the night, all I could think about was getting into bed and going to sleep. I didn't plan on bringing it up while we were at Angela and Hodgins' place either, but talking about your office, in conjunction with Hank, I was reminded of the gift, so I decided to tell you about it then."
He scratches his cheek and wrinkles his forehead. "So it has to do with Pops too? Now, I'm really confused."
She unbuckles her seatbelt and turns her head to the backseat. "We're home, Honey."
Christine lifts her head from the handheld game she's playing and unbuckles herself. She opens the door and climbs out of the SUV. She waits for her mother to get out of the car before she grabs her hand and they head for the front door.
Booth finishes pulling all the way into the driveway and then kills the engine. He gets out of the car and heads into the house through the back entrance, which leads into the kitchen.
Booth's sitting on the couch with his fingers drumming on his thigh, his foot tapping on the rug, his heart pounding in his chest, and sweat beads dripping down his temple. He swallows and closes his eyes, trying to calm himself down while he waits for Brennan to return from her office with his surprise. He's not sure why he's so anxious.
"I'll be there in a minute. Relax, Booth," she shouts from behind the door, as if she can see exactly what he's doing in the living room.
He laughs, feeling calmer all of sudden. She always has that affect on him, whether it's intentional or not.
She walks out of the room with something in her hands. It's unwrapped and she makes no effort to hide it as she walks around the couch and sits down beside her partner. She flashes him a smile and hands him the gift.
He soon realizes it's a black lacquered picture frame with four different odd-shaped squares. He holds the frame in his hands and takes a closer look. In the upper left hand corner the words, A Great-Grandfather's Love, are written in cursive and in three of the odd-shaped squares, there's a picture of Hank holding one of his three grandchildren, the fourth one, the one surrounded by the others, houses a photograph of Hank with all three of the children together, Henry in his arms, with Parker and Christine on either side of him.
She places her hand on Booth's arm and swallows. "Do you like it?"
He lifts his eyes and looks at her, his eyes cloudy with tears. He quickly swats the tears from his cheeks and drops the frame into his lap. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her into a hug.
She smiles and completes the embrace, letting out a soft chuckle due to the surprise hug.
He pushes back and clears his throat, swallowing hard. He glances down at the pictures again, staring at the first one, the one of Hank with eighteen month-old Parker sitting on his lap. He smiles, touching it with his index finger. He looks up at Brennan again and lets out a breath. "Thanks, Bones." He hugs her again and when he separates from her, he doesn't pull back all the way. Instead, he stops and cups her face in his hands and kisses her firmly on the lips.
She leans her body into the kiss and grips the nape of his neck, closing her eyes, feeling herself tearing up as well.
He breaks the kiss first when the need for oxygen becomes too great for him to ignore. "This—thanks," he repeats.
"You're welcome."
His eyes fall back to the pictures and he sighs.
She leans against his side and rests her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Booth."
"I love you too," he whispers into her hair before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I love my gift." He leans forward, takes another look at the three pictures, and then sets the frame on the coffee table. He hooks his arms around his partner and holds her against him, tucking her head under his chin. He lets out a breath and closes his eyes. "You're the best, Bones."
She melts against him and wraps her arms around his torso, letting her hands wander up and down his back. "I'm glad," she whispers into his chest.
They stay wrapped in each other's arms for a good half hour before they settle into a more comfortable position and spend the rest of the night watching television.
The next day, around four o'clock, Brennan is pushing the stroller along a winding path in the park with Booth, who's dressed in basketball shorts and a grey t-shirt and has just caught up to her after going for a run, now walking at her pace beside her, his hand resting on the small of her back.
Brennan shrugs her shoulders. "You're all sweaty," she comments, pushing him slightly away from her.
He smiles. "Well, that usually happens when you exercise."
"While I recognize sweating as a normal and healthy bodily function, I would prefer if you wouldn't stand so close to me while you do it, unless of course the sweat is a byproduct of us making love." She smirks, her voice a little low and husky as she whispers the last part.
He groans. "Bones, please, you can't say stuff like that when we're in public," he complains through gritted teeth.
"I am pushing a newborn baby in a stroller, a baby who looks remarkably like you, so I am pretty sure everyone knows we have sex."
"Bones!"
She laughs and gives him a little shrug.
"Look, you can't say stuff like that because—," he leans in, "because we can't have sex for at least another three weeks and when you say stuff like that, well, it makes the wait so much harder."
She freezes and turns her head suddenly towards him. She furrows her brows and juts her chin out slightly.
"What?"
She shakes her head and continues walking down the path. "Nothing."
He takes a side step and grabs her arm, giving it a small tug. "Hey."
She stops and looks at him.
"I can wait. We've been down this road before. I'm just saying when you start talking about making love and all that, it makes it harder." He catches a tear as it drips from her left eye and sighs. "I don't cheat, Bones. I've never cheated on anyone and I'm certainly not going to start now and screw up the best thing that's ever happened to me. I would never forgive myself."
She nods. "I know. I trust you. I just, my hormones are still a little unbalanced and I am aware that there are certain biological needs that must be satisfied—."
He dips his head and crashes his lips against hers, his hand cupping her face, his thumb brushing against her cheekbone to wipe away the leftover tears that escape. He pulls back and smiles, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "For the rest of my life, you and this," he holds up his right hand, "are the only things that will satisfy any biological needs I have. Got it?"
She smiles, pulling his hand down to his side. "Yes."
"Good." He takes a step to the side, creating some space between them, and raises an eyebrow. "Is this far enough away?"
She nods. "Uh-huh."
"Well, c'mon, it's a beautiful afternoon and," he looks at his son, "this Little Guy loves being outside."
She pushes the stroller forward and continues heading in the direction she had been walking in before Booth caught up to her.
As they walk down the path, they're stopped by some elderly women, who gush over how adorable Henry is, some even flirt with Booth, much to his chagrin and Brennan's amusement, and then continue on their way.
As they come closer to the water fountain near the perimeter of the park, a middle aged man, a good six or seven years older than Booth stops mid-run after noticing the baby. He leans over the stroller and takes a peek inside. "Reminds me of my grandson," he muses. He turns his head, his eyes in line with Brennan's still large breasts and cleavage, making no effort to look away.
"Hey, watch it, Pal."
The man lifts his head and stares at Booth, swallowing. "Sorry, Man."
"Yeah, you'll be sorry. Get lost."
The man nods and bolts in the direction he had been running in before he stopped.
"Are you all right, Booth?"
"That guy was staring at your—."
"Breasts. He was staring at my breasts," she supplies.
"Yeah."
"Well, they are rather large, so they are incredibly hard not to notice."
"Yeah, well he was a creep." He pauses. "C'mon."
"Does it bother you when other men stare at my breasts?"
"What do you think, Bones?" He grumbles.
"You seem very worked up right now, so I would surmise, yes, you are quite bothered by it."
He grunts. "I don't like it. No man likes another man ogling their woman."
"Women are not possessions."
"You know what I mean, Bones. I don't like it and as your husband, your mate, life partner, whatever you want to call me, I have the right to not like other men looking at you like that." He shrugs. "You know what? Let's just drop it, okay? It doesn't matter anymore." He kisses her cheek and smiles.
"I concede your point. I, too, find it very disconcerting when other women stare at you, as Angela puts it, like they're undressing you with their eyes."
He tips her head with his thumb under her chin and closes the gap between their lips. He pulls back quickly, realizing that they're in the middle of a public park. "You can undress me with your eyes any time you like, Baby." He winks and turns around, jogging backwards ahead of her. He smiles and then flips around again, so he's facing forward, and jogs in place, waiting for her to catch up to him so they can continue on their Sunday afternoon stroll.