A/N: This chapter takes place three months after the last chapter and it's a lot fluffier than the previous ones. Enjoy :)
Brennan's standing in the bone room, hovering over a set of remains from limbo. She's currently holding the right ulna, examining it closely for any nicks or other anomalies. She looks up after she hears footsteps and a familiar sound, fumbling with the bone and nearly dropping it when her intruders show themselves. "Booth, Cam is not going to like this," she says, setting the ulna in its proper place and removing her latex gloves.
Booth shrugs. "We came by to see if you'd like to join us for lunch. It was Henry's idea."
She steps closer to him and raises an eyebrow.
He tries to reign in their son, who is perched on his hip, but the second Henry locks eyes with Brennan, he loses the fight.
Henry smiles wide, squirms, and stretches out his arms, whimpering and babbling at the same time.
She smiles and takes him, giving him a kiss on the side of his head. She runs her fingers through his mop of brown hair and hoists him higher on her hip.
"So are you busy?"
She glances behind her at the skeleton on the light table and then back at Booth. "Kind of, but he's been dead a while." She looks at her watch and smiles. "I was going to take my lunch break soon anyway."
"Would you like to join us, then?"
She tips her head and looks at their son, who's now sucking on his hand and looking around his new surroundings. "Would that be okay with you, Henry? I don't want to intrude on your 'guy time'."
Henry's dark eyes find his mother's ice blue ones and his smile grows wider. He sucks hard on his fingers and squeals, squirming a bit.
She kisses his cheek and looks at Booth. "I'd love to join you two. Is there something we need to discuss or is this strictly a spontaneous lunch date?" She follows him out of the room and they head down the hallway to her office.
"There's nothing we need to discuss. You sounded a little upset when I called you earlier. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Plus you gotta eat, right?"
She heads into her office, while he hovers in her doorway. "I'm fine. It was just, Henry, he—."
"He what?"
She sighs, setting the infant down on her office chair. She unbuttons her lab coat and hangs it up on the rack.
"He what, Bones?" Booth prods.
She grabs her keys and wallet from her purse and lifts Henry out of the chair and into her arms, setting him on her hip once again. She turns around to face Booth and sighs, smoothing down their son's unruly hair.
He raises an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
"I was upset this morning when you called."
"I thought you were. Is everything okay?"
She nods. "When I dropped Henry off at the daycare center, he threw a fit, so to speak. I tried to hand him over to the director and he started crying. Tears were just streaming down his face. He was kicking and screaming and he only stopped when I took him back and hugged him. This happened three times before I finally had to just hand him to Dr. Hudson and walk away. I could hear him screaming all the way by the elevators. It took everything I had not to run back into the room and take him with me to the lab." She pauses. "Christine's separation anxiety was never this intense."
Booth sighs. "Bones."
She runs her fingers through the infant in question's hair as he rests his head on her shoulder and wraps his slobbery fingers around the chain of her necklace, bringing it to his mouth and sucking on the pendant.
"It's only temporary."
She nods. "I know, Booth, but it doesn't make it any less heart-crushing."
He smiles at her. "You could always set up a playpen in your office and sneak him into the lab."
She walks out of her office and smiles when Booth's hand finds the small of her back almost immediately as he walks at her pace beside her. "I'm just going to have to, as you so eloquently put it, 'suck it up'. It's a normal and healthy development." She stops at the lab entrance and takes back her necklace. "No, Henry."
Booth takes a stuffed monkey out of the diaper bag slung on his shoulder and hands it to the baby. "Here ya go, Little Guy."
Henry grasps the toy and draws it to his mouth, sucking on the monkey's head.
"Why is there a baby in my lab?" Cam stomps over to them and crosses her arms over her chest. "I just scolded Angela and Hodgins for having Billy here."
Booth turns his head and smiles. "Hey there, Camille. We were just headed to lunch." He nudges Brennan out of the lab door, throwing a smile over his shoulder at his friend as he follows his partner.
Cam rolls her eyes and stalks off to her office.
Booth and Brennan are sitting at the diner across from each other, waiting for their food, a hamburger for him, a salad for her, and a plate of fries to share.
Brennan gives Henry a bottle and slips the nipple into his mouth, pulling her hands away when the infant grabs hold of the bottle himself and starts to suck. She smiles at him and turns her focus to Booth. "I hope we get a case soon."
"Bored, are we?" Booth teases, taking a sip of his coke.
She shakes her head. "No, I wouldn't say I'm bored, but I do miss the thrill of a homicide investigation." She smiles, cutting a glance at their son.
Henry looks around the diner as he drinks from his bottle, kicking his legs. He drops the bottle and makes an 'o' with his mouth before he starts to fuss.
She picks up his bottle and hands it back to him. "There you go."
Henry smiles and grabs hold of the bottle again, returning it to his mouth.
"I think we should talk about the wedding ceremony, Booth," she blurts out after their lunch arrives. She nibbles on a French fry and watches him, waiting for him to say something.
He chokes on his soda and stares at her. "What?"
"You haven't forgotten, have you? Because this ceremony is for you and if you are not all that into it anymore, for whatever reason, perhaps we should just call the whole thing off," she says, sounding a little more disappointed than she intended to. She had gotten married for practical reasons and at first this ceremony was just for him, but over the course of the year, she has been more and more interested in the whole 'planning a wedding' thing. The more she imagines the actual ceremony, the more excited she becomes, though she's not exactly sure what triggered the change.
He clears his throat and swallows. "I haven't forgotten, Bones, and I still want to have the ceremony. I was just surprised you brought it up now, here of all places."
"Is there an unspoken rule where we're not allowed to bring up personal matters at the diner? If that's the case, then we have been breaking the rules for years."
"No, it's just, we're in public."
"What's that have to do with talking about our wedding?"
He shakes his head. "Nothing. Never mind." He pauses. "So let's talk."
She smiles and catches a glimpse of Henry trying to reach for the French fry in her hand, distracting her. She breaks off a little piece and hands it to him.
Henry shoves the piece of fry into his mouth and smiles when he swallows. He squeals and bats his hands on his thighs.
"That's good, isn't it?" She breaks off another piece and hands it to him, watching his eyes brighten. She turns back to Booth and takes a sip of her water. She sets the glass down again and is about to say something pertaining to their earlier conversation, but loses her train when two woman, about Brennan's age, approach the couple.
The blonde woman tucks her hair behind her and smiles. "Oh my, he is just too cute. What's his name?"
"His name is Henry," Brennan answers with an edge to her voice, but a smile on her face when she mentions her son's name.
Henry starts to fuss, reaching out for his mother, his eyes wide with panic.
Brennan takes his hand and brushes her thumb over top of it. "Shhh. It's okay, Honey. I'm right here. Momma is right here." She locks eyes with him and smiles.
Henry's face lights up and he forgets that the women are even standing there gushing over him.
"He is going to be such a heartbreaker when he gets older," the quieter brunette observes.
Henry starts to whimper again, kicking his legs and holding onto his mother's fingers.
Brennan makes a funny face at him and laughs.
Henry joins in, letting out a string of belly laughs at the series of funny faces his mother is showing him.
Booth sits back in awe, still amazed, even after all these years, at how good a mother she really is and how comfortable she is in that role.
Eventually, the two women leave, but not before the blonde flirts with Booth a little
Booth just smiles halfheartedly and says goodbye. He looks at Brennan, who's smiling at him. He shrugs. "What?"
Brennan laughs and shakes her head. "Oh, nothing." She stands up, setting her napkin down. "I'll be right back."
He reaches over and grabs her hand. "Hey."
She spins around to face him and raises an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"I love you."
She nods. "I am not bothered by other women flirting with you, Booth. You're an attractive man. I'm well aware of that fact." She smirks. "I also know that you take the Ten Commandments very seriously, and therefore, you would never flirt back." She pauses. "But I love you too." She squeezes his hand and lets go. She turns around and heads for the restrooms.
He looks at his son while he takes a sip of his coke.
Henry looks at him, furrowing his brow.
"Mom will be back soon." Booth breaks off a piece of fry, sets it in his palm, and holds it out for the baby.
Henry rakes it into his hand with his fingers and brings it to his mouth.
Booth messes up his son's hair and smiles. "I guess fries are better than mom, huh? I would agree with you but your mom would break my arm."
Brennan returns to the table a few minutes later.
Henry wiggles around excitedly upon seeing her arrive and reaches out his arms.
She stands up again and scoops him out of the highchair, setting him on her lap and kissing the top of his head. "I should probably get back to the lab."
Booth nods. "Yeah. I have to get back to the Hoover anyway." He pauses. "We'll talk about the wedding at home after dinner and finally make some real decisions." Seeing his son try and reach over the table for the last fry on the plate, he pushes the dish closer to him.
Henry smiles proudly when he finally manages to grab hold of the fry. He smashes it in his hand and stuffs it in his mouth, batting his eyelashes and smiling.
"I'm just going to go change him real quick and then we can go." She loops an arm around the baby and stands up, transferring him to her hip.
Booth hands her the diaper bag and stands up. He heads for the register when she disappears back towards the restrooms again. He pays the bill and waits near the entrance for her.
She comes back and grabs her jacket, folding it over her arm. She walks over to Booth and hands over their son. She puts on her jacket and then takes the baby back.
They head out of the diner, share a quick kiss, and then head for the SUV.