Brennan sat on the porch, it was early morning, which was usually her time to think. She loved to sit with a cup of tea or coffee and just watch the sunrise, usually Ruth wasn't awake at this point and when she was in her apartment, she would settle on her balcony and just listen to the city begin to wake from its slumber. Sometimes she would think back to her childhood, the better times, when she had a family, and how she would give that to her daughter. Sometimes, she thought about the trauma she endured in foster care or the things she missed about her parents. She would theorize about what happened to her parents or how she might reach out to her brother, but this morning she was thinking back to Max Keenan and how he had offered to help them.

It was strange to think that he was watching her and her daughter all this time and she never knew. She always prided herself on being vigilant and self-sufficient. She didn't need Booth to protect her and Ruth, but she allowed him to protect them to give himself peace of mind. Now she wondered if that was even true or if Max was truly always watching her. It bothered her to think that she wasn't as independent as she once thought.

The back door opened, and Brennan looked up to find Booth carrying a cup of coffee.

"Max got you thinking?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I don't like to think that he might have been watching me all of these years." She murmured and looked back out over the rural landscape. It was so different from the city, no people walking by after a night out with their heels in their hands or the odd early businessman rushing to work. Instead, her eyesight was met with vast crop life, the only movement coming from the wind blowing.

"I know you like your independence, but Bones, he's checking in." Booth replied and she shook her head.

"He left me." She responded, her hurt tone, telling him everything he needed to know. Inside the strong exterior was still a broken teenager wondering why her parents abandoned her. "But I still believe we should talk about his offer." Booth looked at her incredulously.

"You want me to work with a criminal?" he asked, and she chuckled.

"He robbed banks." She shrugged and he widened his eyes.

"Why are you acting like that's not a crime?"

"It was in the past and he did protect our daughter." She countered and Booth sighed.

"He protected her through threats of violence."

"Like you wouldn't do the same." Brennan muttered and Booth gaped.

"I have a badge from the FBI that allows me to threaten criminals!" Booth exclaimed and Brennan rolled her eyes. She picked up the monitor and looked at Ruth. Booth let out a sigh. "He won't hurt her, Bones."

"I don't want her to get attached to him and then for him to leave." she muttered.

"Then we explain that to him." Booth sat on the step next to her. "But he won't like the idea of him having to sleep on the couch." Booth muttered more to himself than to Brennan. She furrowed her brow. "Bones, we have 2 bedrooms in this house. One for Ruth and one of us and the other one for the other." He explained to the genius scientist.

"Well if Max does stay, we will have him sleep in the extra bedroom and the three of us will have to make do with one room." She responded without much thought and Booth looked confused.

"There's only one bed in each room." He responded slowly.

"Booth, we have shared a bed before, we shared one to create Ruth, we also shared one after the trespasser got onto my balcony. I believe that we as adults can handle sharing a bed." She huffed and Booth nodded. Maybe Max coming to stay would benefit him after all.

-BB-

Two days came and went and before the couple knew it, Max was pulling into the driveway in an beat up sedan.

"Max, you can't be parking your car in front of the house, the FBI has us under surveillance, they'll track whose vehicle it is." Booth whispered. It was 2am and the girls were asleep.

"It won't be attached to me. It's stolen." Max stated unphased.

"I'm sorry, what? You brought a stolen car to my home that I share with your daughter and granddaughter?" Booth asked and Max looked at him with a quirked brow.

"From what I remember, you were a one-night stand that left my daughter pregnant and alone. Plus, I need a stolen vehicle in case things go sideways and I need to get Tempe and Ruth out of here." He rambled and Booth shook his head.

"Okay, for one, I didn't know about Ruth until four months ago." Booth glared at Max. "I wasn't trying to be a one-night stand, your daughter left before the morning and I had to leave on an undercover mission, why am I telling you all of this?" Booth asked himself, more than Max, but Max still replied.

"I have one of those faces that everyone seems to trust." Max shrugged and Booth continued to glare.

"Don't get me off topic, skippy." Booth grumbled and Max rolled his eyes. "You are not, and I repeat, NOT, taking my daughter OR her mother away for any reason."

"I feel like I would be the judge of whether or not I leave to go someplace." Brennan replied causing the men to jump at her sudden presence.

"Tempe!" Max exclaimed, walking up to her timidly to give her a hug.

"Hello, Max." She replied dryly. "Now what is this that I'm being taken away with Max?" She looked at Booth, who shook his head.

"He brought a stolen car to our home and threatened to take you and Ruth away if something goes on here." Booth spat out and Brennan tilted her head at Max.

"It's not a horrible idea. You would know how to hide in plain sight and maintain fake identities." She contemplated, which only caused the bile to rise in Booth's throat.

"You're not leaving me. You promised you would let me protect you." Booth wasn't looking at Max anymore, solely at Brennan.

"I didn't say we would have to use it, but if we do, then it is good to have in our back pocket." She replied. "Oh, and Max, please pull the car into the detached garage. That way no one can see it from the street." She continued before turning on her heels and heading back up the stairs. Booth watched her incredulously and made a note to talk about this later when they were alone.

-BB-

"Your dad is all set up across the hall." Booth whispered as he entered the room. He found Brennan sitting on the side of the bed closest to Ruth's crib. Brennan just nodded and looked at the clock. 3:42am.

"I think we have to talk about what Max said about Ruth and I being taken in case something happens." She said and Booth nodded for her to go on. "I think it's a possibility that we won't be able to keep Ruth safe in the conventional sense."

"No, no. I think it'll be okay. It'll die down when we are here, and we'll be able to take her back to DC and buy that house." He replied, steadfast in his delusion.

"Booth, if it's true that this Viking guy knew about my pregnancy before you, then we can't deny that he has some kind of knowledge of you and your whereabouts. If his fight is to have you without us, run us off, then maybe if we give into his desires, he will come out of hiding to taunt. You taught me that about criminals. It could also just be a plan in case things do go awry." She spoke quietly, while Booth's scowl grew.

"You promised." He retorted and she sighed.

"I know and I will try to keep that promise, but the moment my daughter-"

"Our daughter." Booth corrected Brennan.

"Yes, the moment our daughter is in danger, she comes before any promises I made." Brennan was indignant and Booth knew he wouldn't get anywhere tonight.

"Fine, we will agree to disagree on this matter, but we're not done with this conversation." His tense voice cut through the quiet night air. Brennan could only nod and lay down on the bed. Booth followed suit, getting himself comfortable. He faced Brennan's direction, the back of her head was to him, her shoulders were bare, and he knew from her breathing that she was still awake. "Bones, I want Ruth safe too, I just, I want to keep the three of us together." He watched as her shoulders began to shake. "Baby, come here." He whispered and Brennan rolled over, not caring that she called her by a pet name.

"I'm scared." She cried quietly into his chest and Booth could only hold her tighter. "I thought I could do it alone." She continued.

"Well, I don't want you to be alone." He responded. "I want you to be able to rely on me. I want you to look out for me, to clue me in to your thoughts." He rubbed her back as he talked in a warm tone. "I want you to feel comfortable telling me if something is wrong or if you're scared. I just want to be there for you. Not just because of Ruth, but because I meant what I said that night, I feel like we're something different." He felt her breathing slowly and he looked down. Her eyes were shining in the moonlight, staring up at him in awe.

"You really meant it that night." She said quietly and he could only nod. As if a magnet were pulling them towards one another, their lips met and to Booth it felt like fireworks were going off in his head. He could feel his willpower to remain chaste wither, but Brennan put a hand on his chest and lightly pushed him back onto the bed. "Not in front of Ruth." She murmured and he could only nod once more. They slowly laid back down.

Brennan allowed herself to hold Booth's torso. She rested her head on his chest and took a deep breath.

Tempe, allow your heart to decide. She could hear her mother's words in her head. She just hoped that she wasn't making the wrong choice by letting Booth in. With that thought, she allowed herself to fall asleep with Booth's calming scent and strong arms surrounding her.