AnaG's Archive

Posted 16/09/2007 04:12:40 (15/09/2007 07:12:40 PM) AnaG

I had a selfish little desire to see all my stories back together in one place...but didn't want to post a lot of older stuff all over the fic thread...so thought I would create a little archive...

And if anyone should drop by for a look-see at fics past...hope you enjoy! AnaG

Posted 16/09/2007 04:38:43 (15/09/2007 07:38:43 PM)

Carried Away
Rating: T? Don't know that it is really smut...just as close as I get to writing it...
Characters: Brennan/Booth
Summary:Booth gives Brennan a gift...they get um, yeah..carried away.

***

Eyes wide in astonishment, she stares at the silver bracelet he’d placed in her hand, watches as he points out each of the charms—a tiny gun, a little car, a small skull and crossbones—there are more, each one tied to some milestone in their partnership, but she has trouble focusing as he explains. She can’t believe that he thought of this.

“So, I know it’s not exactly…well, it…I just wanted to find someway to thank you.”

She looks up at him, startled. “Thank me? For what, Booth? I haven’t….”

He smiles, not surprised that she hasn’t remembered the date. “It’s been two years since you…since we started working together” He shakes his head, laughing wryly, “Two of the most frustrating, argumentative, complicated years of my life…”

Seeing the crease in her brow, his tone grows serious, “And it has also been two of the best…you’ve…changed me, Temperance…and, well, I just wanted to let you know that it has…you… mean something to me.”

He looks over her shoulder, suddenly uncomfortable by the emotion he revealed. Moved by his words, but unsure of how to respond, to explain that she feels the same way, she simply stares back at him, noticing the flush in his cheeks, the muscle working in his jaw as he tries to deal with his own thoughts, with her silence.

Unaware of what she is doing, she reaches out to him, placing her hand gently along the side of his face. Mesmerized by the sensation of his skin against hers, she focuses on the point of contact, watching as her fingers curl inward to brush against the strong line of his jaw. A sharp intake of breath…hers or his…she doesn’t know, brings her out of her own thoughts. Now embarrassed by the strength of her reaction, she starts to withdraw, only to feel the warmth of his hand encircling her wrist, holding her hand in place. For a moment, each continues to stare at the other, both understanding that this is when the line is going to be crossed.

Then, with a slight turn of his head, he places his lips against her palm in the gentlest of kisses. She closes her eyes, unprepared for the electric feeling generated by this lightest of touches.

“Booth, I don’t think…”

“Don’t you think…”

He pauses, lowering his head to place another kiss along the inside of her forearm.

“…that we’ve done enough…”

Another touch of his lips at the bend of her elbow sends shivers along her spine.

“…thinking?”

His hand traces the curve of her shoulder, before a final kiss to the curve of her neck.

She tenses, ready to protest the loss of the contact, until she feels his whisper against her ear.

“Don’t you know what you do to me, Temperance?”

Hearing the need in the quiet murmur, she takes a half step back so that she can see his face, search his eyes. Finding her own desire reflected in their depths, she has one last rational thought.

“Yes, I think I do….” She tells him as she slides her hand around the back of his neck, bringing him back to her.

The kiss begins tentatively, a hesitant brush of her lips against his, but quickly gains momentum, ignited by long denied need. They press closer and restraint is lost. Hands roam the curve of her hip, around his waist to feel the muscles of his back, to wrap themselves in the fabric of his shirt. His mouth leaves hers to trail kisses along her cheek, a touch to the edge of her jaw. Her head to falls back to allow him access to the curve of her neck, but she misses the taste of him and places her hand on his shoulder, urging him back. There’s no uncertainty now as their mouths meet, his tongue sliding past her lips to lay claim to hers. Sightless fingers fumble with buttons, brushing against skin as they move downward. Hands pulls at the material of his t-shirt, and she sighs in frustration, unable to end the kiss and remove the barrier to him at the same time. Finally they break apart, the sound of breathing heavy in the silent room. His need to feel her against him as great as hers, he reaches for the hem of the shirt pulling it quickly over his head, not wanting to break the contact with her any longer than necessary. As the shirt lands on the floor, he sees her eyes widen. They dart to his, then immediately back to his chest. Fascinated, she reaches out, causing his muscles to tense as she places a hand against him, just above the beating of his heart.

“So beautiful….”

It’s her whisper, his thought, as they come together again.

Blindly they follow an unsteady path across the room, haphazardly discarded clothing marking their way. Neither notices the crash of a lamp when they brush against a table, the ringing of the cell phone tossed quickly onto the sofa, the bump of a shoulder against the edge of the doorway as they make their way into the bedroom.

Hands and mouths frantic, their momentum carries them forward when their legs meet the unyielding edge of the bed. Falling against the soft mattress, he is startled into awareness by the coolness of the sheets against warm skin. Breaking the kiss, he rests his forehead against hers, his breath coming rapidly as he tries to hold onto sanity.

Placing a hand on each side of her, he lifts himself up so that he can see her face, watch her eyes as he asks,

“Are you sure, Temperance? Please…tell me you are sure…”

Her response is not in words, but in the hand that draws him back to her. Right now, she has never been more certain of anything in her life.

***

Lying face down on the bed, the white sheets pulled to his waist leave the broad expanse of his back exposed. But he doesn’t feel the slight chill of the air against his skin. Head turned against the pillow, he stares at the window, content to watch the fading sunlight as it teases against the edges of the curtain. Being with her, he could never have imagined…well, yes, he had…but the imagination had nothing on…

His musing are interrupted as she comes back into the room, standing before him. The remaining light from the window behind her playing along curves hidden by the silk of her robe.

With an amused smile on her face as she sees the spark returning to his eyes, she sits on the edge of the bed, leaning back slightly against the length of his leg. Without a word, she unceremoniously drops the item that she’s holding onto the bed next to him, the cellophane of the packaging crinkling as it falls.

He looks back at her a teasing grin on his face.

“Why, Bones, I didn’t think that you would have something like this lying around the house…”

She blushes, slightly embarrassed.

“My little guilty pleasure…”

He sits up, reaching for the package, examining it, then taking out the round cake covered in pink coconut.

“Raspberry Snowballs, hmm? I’ll admit they’re pretty good, but why…”

“Well, it was the only thing I had other than cornflakes and soy milk, and you’ve made it quite clear how you feel about that. Besides, I really need to…”

She pauses to take a deep breath, and he raises an eyebrow, his smile growing wider as he prompts her to finish the thought.

“You really need what, Temperance?”

She leans forward, a predatory gleam in her eyes.

“…make sure that you keep your strength up.”

By AnaG

Lost and Found and Found
Rating:K
Genre: Fluff!
Summary:Written a long time ago, in fact the first fanfic I ever wrote...my version of what happened between B/B at Angela and Hodgin's wedding...

***

There is complete blackness. You can just hear the slightly accelerated breathing of someone very nervous.

I can’t believe this is actually happening. Can I really be doing this?

Eyes open, looking down towards the floor. Visible is a deep red carpet. A woman’s feet in delicate heels, just peeking from beneath layers of silk and chiffon. A look to the right, a man’s legs in dark wool trousers, dress shoes reflecting a bit of light. As he shifts on his feet, a quick peek of red and grey striped socks. A man clears his throat, and then says...

“Ready, Bones?”

Organ music can now be heard, rising in volume. Eyes look forward, down an aisle of red carpet. At what seems like a great distance, there is an altar, flowers, candles. People turn in the wooden pews, craning to look. It seems there are faces everywhere. People ahhing, and smiling and nodding their heads in approval.

Oh no. I cannot do this. Why can’t I do this? This means so much to one of the most important…

The voice catches just as the two start to move forward.

View of the woman’s feet as she walks down the aisle, dress swirling as she moves. The man’s legs can be seen as they continue to move forward. Moving up, the woman’s hand can be seen holding a bouquet of delicate white flowers, the other holding onto the arm of the man next to her. As they reach the front of the church, you can see them from behind...

Her hair in an upsweep, allowing you to see her neck with a delicate silver and pearl chain. His dark head next to hers, just a slight movement of the jaw muscles to relay his own nervousness. They turn to each other and in profile you can see Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth smile before they turn and face forward again.

The music continues and the two move apart. Each to stand on opposite sides of the aisle. With one more gaze at each other, they turn and face in the direction from which they just came. And you see Angela, dressed in a flowing white gown, her face visible behind a veil. She is smiling as she sweeps down the aisle and joins Jack in front of the minister.

As the minister begins speaking, the words slowly fade for Brennan. They are a faint whisper as she watches the faces of her two friends as they are taking their vows. Her eyes focus on their hands as each slides a ring on the others hands. Her eyes follow as they light a candle together. And as her eyes follow them, we see Booth across the aisle. Hands at his side and his gaze intent on her.

***

Open to Booth sitting on a small set of stairs, his back resting on the wall behind him. The tie to his tuxedo is loosened and hangs around the open collar of his white shirt. One arm draped across his raised knee, holding a glass of champagne. His face is in shadows, but the light is reflected in his eyes as he stares down across the lawn were the reception is taking place in the distance. White lights twinkle as people are dancing, sipping from drinks, wishing the newlyweds well. He sighs and hangs his head as he gently tips the glass back and forth, not really caring about drinking the champagne. His thoughts are elsewhere.

He hears footsteps approaching the small terrace. He smiles briefly as Brennan moves into view.

“Beautiful ceremony, wasn’t it?”

She moves toward the railing, leaning against the railing.

“Yes. Yes it was.” She says quietly.

“You okay?”

He stands and walks over to her. He leans over, supporting his weight on his arms, the glass of champagne still in one hand.

“You know, Bones, I know that you are not exactly comfortable with this, with the idea of marriage, the formal commitment, piece of paper and all that…But what you did today for Angela, and for Hodgins, that was good. You did a good thing.”

He is looking at her, but she does not turn to look at him. He is looking at her profile, seeing her swallow and dip her head before looking up.

“I know. Angela is the closest thing to a sister I will ever have. I understood what this meant to her”.

He straightens, looking down at her.

“You know that is not going to change…Angela is still going…”

She turns to face him, and he flinches ever so slightly. There are tears in her eyes, her chin jutting slightly as she looks away, not wanting him to see.

“Bones….”

“Booth….it is not that. I know Angela. I know that she is not going to leave me behind. Not like they…and…and…it is not the ceremony…as little sense as it makes to me to have declare your feelings on some legal document…it’s just that I am…”

She turns to face him, meeting his eyes.

“It is just that I am surprised….I thought I never wanted that. And now it just, it just makes me sad to realize that is something that I won’t have. Something that I am not going to find…”.

She looks down at her hands, unwilling to believe that she has admitted these things. Booth looks at her down-turned face, the glass in his hand. He moves his fingers across the top of the glass. And then with a certainty, he sets the glass on the railing. He puts his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. She is still looking down, refusing to meet his eyes.
He leans down, gently kissing the top of her head.

“Temperance….”

She looks up startled, her eyes searching his face. He takes a step away from her, not taking his eyes from her face.

“Temperance…sometimes the things that you are trying to find are right there in front of you, right where they have always been”

Her eyes widen, and unconsciously she takes a step backwards. Booth looks to the ground for just a moment. He looks up, still watching her. Then, as she does not respond, nodding his head as if in resignation, he turns from her and begins to walk away.

As he walks, the emotion is visible in his eyes. Over his shoulder, you can see Brennan still facing the party below.

Focusing now on her face, you can only see the whisper “Booth”. A look of recognition crosses her face.

He continues to walk away, one hand in his pocket, the other brushing through his hair. And then she turns….

“Seeley….”

He stops still, his shoulder stiffening before he slowly turns to face her. Their eyes meet across the length of the terrace. And he waits.

And uncertain of what to say next, she falls silent. With a small hint of a smile, he starts moves forward.

“You’ve never called me that before.”

With a tentative smile, you hear her say…

”But now that I’ve found you….”.

As you move up and away, you see them move together. And as the scene widens, you see one couple in the center of a crowd celebrating. And one couple, alone in near darkness, holding each other on a deserted terrace.

Eyes close and the scene is dark. You can hear the faint sound of breathing. And a man’s voice whispers…

”And I’ve found you…..”

Posted 16/09/2007 04:59:04 (15/09/2007 07:59:04 PM)

Completely Irrational
Rating:T?
Genre:I dunno. Not so good with this...
Summary:My entry for the jealousy challenge. Brennan is struggling with the green-eyed monster, but it's not what you might think.

***

She surveyed the objects scattered over the surface of the bathroom counter, unsettled by the odd mix of disdain and dismay that she was feeling. Tubes of bright, waxy lipstick and inky black mascara. An absurd number of slim compacts with their little squares and circles of pastel eyeshadow. A container of loose powder with a fluffy blush that had left tiny beige-pink specks on the white edge of the sink. A bottle of liquid foundation that promised to make skin glow and fine lines disappear—science fiction in a two ounce bottle. And then there was the small army of cans clustered to one side. Hairspray. Volumizing mousse. Something called ‘scrunching gel’.

Vaguely irritated, she grabbed a small round bottle of nail polish, turning it in her hands as she attempted to analyze her strange reaction. Her eye fell on the silver scrïpt that curved around the back of the bottle.

“Vamp’s Own Red.”

She barely had time to finish rolling her eyes before the first idea hit. It wouldn’t take much to twist the rectangular stopper and pour it right down the sink. She could actually imagine the swirls of red bleeding into the water as it circled the drain, leaving a filmy red residue on the sink basin. Or even better, she could throw it as hard as she could against the mirror above the sink, hear that satisfying crack as drops of thick, viscous liquid splattered all over the….

“Oh god, what…what is wrong with me?”

She looked down as if the hand holding the nail polish in a white knuckled grip was not her own. Carefully, but quickly, she set the bottle on the edge of the counter, staring at it in disbelief. How could she be so…angry…over the silly name of a nail polish…and the rest of it….

Completely irrational, Brennan. Over the line irrational. It’s just her make-up…and how can you be so angry at her of all people…and…and…he can be attracted to anyone he wants…you’re just partners…no reason be jealous….oh, god. You are not jealous, just…

“Completely irrational.”

The whispered words were a half-hearted surrender as she sat down on the edge of the tub, holding her head in her hands. After a few minutes, she moved her hands a fraction, one blue eye peeking out into the room, flicking from one item to the next. A pair of strappy silver shoes with sparkly things and ridiculously high spindly heels that had been tossed carelessly in a corner. The too-small-to-be-useful patent leather purse that had fallen next them. A black silk and lace dress that was hanging from a hook on the back of the door.

Shaking her head, she sighed heavily and slid her hands from her face. Her teeth pressed into her lower lip as she struggled to deal with the scene before her.

How am I supposed to compete with…with all of this? And why does it bother me so much that I…want…to compete with…

A muffled sound from outside the door brought the inner monologue to a screeching halt. She turned to the locked door, eyes wide as the sounds continued.

Please go away. Please go awa…

“Bones? What are you doing in there?”

She closed her eyes and bowed her head at the confirmation that he was out there waiting for her on the other side of the door.

How am I going to explain….?

The door rattled in its frame as he knocked. The brass knob turned back and forth as he tried to enter the room.

“Temperance. I know you’re in there. Time to come out. We need to talk.”

She ran her hands along the tops of her thighs and reluctantly stood up, surprised to find her legs unsteady.

“Yeah, Booth. We do.”

She watched her hand as it reached for the doorknob....

***

Earlier that evening.

She tried to focus on anything but the stiff, itchy feeling of her hairspray shellacked head. They were almost to the hotel and the paradise of a hot shower. Off with the hairspray, the toe-pinching shoes and the cosmetic coating on her face. But the more that she tried to ignore it, the worse it became. She truly didn’t understand. Before, she had liked being Roxy. She was fun, uninhibited, exciting…

In short…everything you’re not, Brennan.

“Hey, Rox. What’s gotcha so quiet over there?”

She turned to look at him, taking in the wide grin and the undiminished excitement in his eyes. He had been like that since they left the casino, full of nervous, happy energy. Tapping his hands against the steering wheel, shifting in his seat and adjusting the suspenders beneath the suit jacket. He had carried on an entirely one-sided conversation about what a great team Roxy and Tony were…how much Roxy surprised him every time…how Roxy had looked so good in that dress that the creeps hadn’t stood a chance against them…and on…and on…and on…

“What, Booth?”

“You did good tonight. Really good.”

Something in his suddenly serious tone settled the building tantrum in her head, and she found herself smiling back at him.

“Thanks, that means…”

“I gotcha something. It’s not much..."

He shifted, using the wrist of one hand to steer while using the other hand to search his suit pockets.

“...but I wanted to say thanks for, well you know….ah, here it is.”

He held up his hand, a thin silver chain with a heart shaped pendant dangling from his fingers. Her eyes widened, traveling from the swaying pendant to his full wattage charm smile and back again.

“Booth, this is….”

She slowly reached out and took the necklace, trying to ignore the tingle of electricity she felt run down her arm as her fingers brushed his. Suddenly at a loss for words and feeling incredibly….shy…for one of the first times in her life, she looked down at the small heart resting in the palm of her hand.

And immediately felt the tantrum gathering steam again.

“Roxy.”

She whispered the word, tracing her fingers over the four letters engraved on the silver pendant.

“Yeah…thought it would be a nice way to remember this advent….”

“It’s nice, Booth. Thank you.”

She struggled to keep her tone steady as she reached for the patent leather purse that she had bought for this assignment. With a last pass of her thumb along the surface of the locket, the pattern of the engraving sharp against her skin, she dropped the necklace in the purse and matter-of-factly snapped it shut.

“Um, Bones? I thought…okay…what did I do wrong?”

She turned back to the window, not sure if she could deal with the disappointment and confusion in his voice when she couldn’t understand her own.

“Nothing. Nothing at all. It was very…”

“Nice. Yeah…I heard.”

They drove the rest of the way to the hotel in a silence that would have been uncomfortable if both had not been so completely buried in their own thoughts. The stalemate continued as they parked and headed inside, the Tony-loves-Roxy-and-boy-is-she-crazy-about-him persona completely forgotten. When they reached the suite, she walked straight to her room, closing the connecting door in his face. Then without wasting a moment’s time, she stalked toward the bathroom, anxious to get rid of Roxy for the night.

***

She watched as her hand reached for the doorknob and took a deep breath as it closed around the cold brass handle. She could do this, all she had to do was convince him…

...that I have not completely lost my mind...

…convince him that everything was okay. Then they could get back to normal, make it through one more day of the Tony and Roxy Show and go home.

But when the door swung open, she saw him sitting there on the end of the bed, waiting for her. Watching her as she slowly walked from the comfort zone the tiny bathroom had provided.

“You want to tell me what all that was about?”

The calm and collected part of her was aware that the quiet anger in his voice came from disappointment, from the cool way she had responded to his gesture of…whatever it was supposed to be. But the part of her that had spent the entire day listening to him fawn over another woman…even if the other woman was technically her…that part of her simply took over.

“I’m not her.”

“What? Bones, I…”

“Listen, please Booth. Just…listen. This is me….”

She lifted her arms and dropped them back down to her side, looking down at the worn, pill-covered blue and green plaid pajama bottoms and the grey t-shirt with Northwestern University spelled out in peeling white letters across the chest.

“I’m not her. I’m not Roxy. And I will never be what she…”

“You’re wrong about…Where are you…”

He stood up, frustrated, as she turned back towards the bathroom.

“Don’t run from this…”

This time though, she returned quickly, the small purse in her hand. She opened it, began rummaging through its contents as she looked at him, sadness and anger in her eyes.

“What? Are you going to tell me that deep down somewhere inside that I am like Roxy? That all I have to do is loosen up, live a little…get in touch with my inner self? And things will change?”

She lifted her hand from the purse, the necklace nestled in her open palm. With a heavy sigh, she walked towards him and placed the pendant in his hand. Her voice was soft, the anger gone as she closed his fingers over it.

“There’s not a princess waiting across the drawbridge, Booth.”

She moved to walk past him, to get away from the disappointment that she knew she would find in his eyes if she had the courage to look.

His hand closed around her wrist, and she stopped, still facing away from him. He didn’t move his hand, simply rested its warm weight over the thin skin of her arm, anchoring her there beside him. She closed her eyes, willing him to let her go, to let it be. To not feel the rapid beat of her pulse beneath his fingertips.

“Please, Booth. I’ve made my peace with who I…”

“You’re wrong.”

“What? Didn’t you hear what….”

“Shut up. Please, just…shut up and listen to me this time, Temperance.”

The sound of her name on his lips, the deepening of his voice as he spoke sapped the fight from her. She bowed her head, leaning slightly against the length of his arm, needing him for support even for this.

His hand began to move, his fingers traveling slowly up the inside of her arm of as he began to speak.

“It’s not Roxy that I wake up every morning wanting to see….”

His hand left her arm, brushed against the curve of her shoulder, sending an involuntary shiver along her spine.

“Or a princess that makes me smile just thinking about her…”

She felt his the warmth of his palm against the back of her neck, his fingers weaving through the length of her hair.

“And neither of them, no one else…keeps me up at night…wondering….”

She didn’t know if it was the gentle pressure of his hand or the quiet heat in his words, but she found herself turning, facing him, wanting him. His dark eyes so close, filled with the same heat as they dropped to her mouth and back again….she knew. She believed him.

“Wondering about….?”

Her words were husky with need, her eyes challenging him to finish it, to say what she needed to hear to so badly that she couldn’t breathe.

“This.”

And then his mouth was on hers, and suddenly she could not remember who she was and who she wasn’t. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing else could matter in the face of the aching need that was consuming her. She placed her hands along the sides of his face, parted her lips to allow the kiss to deepen. As his tongue entered her mouth, as their breaths mingled and she heard a moan of desire when his arms tightened around her, she knew the only thing that mattered was….

***

Later….much, much…much later

“Um, Booth?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Don’t call me…”

“Oh, God…okay…Temperance?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Don’t you know that is the question that every guy hates to hear after…”

“Humor me, okay?”

“Uggghhh…fine. I was thinking…are you sure? I don’t think you’re gonna like it…”

“Mm-hm. I promise…I won’t get mad.”

“Famous last words…alright. I was wondering, well, you know…if maybe Roxy didn’t have to completely go awa….ow! Bones!”

“Not funny, Booth.”

“I thought it was…um, Temperance…what exactly are you doing?”

“Oh. Just trying to making sure that you forget all about Roxy…”

Posted 16/09/2007 05:10:52 (15/09/2007 08:10:52 PM)

Contentment
Rating:K
Genre:Future fic, fluff
Summary:A three-shot look into the future for Brennan and Booth...and the rest of the family.

Chapter 1

A white cottage near an ocean shore. The sky is a pristine blue, not a cloud in sight. Waves are crashing against the sun, a gentle sound in the background. A woman is sitting in a chair behind the railing of the wooden porch. Her hair, a pure white, is moving gently in the breeze. A stack of typed pages rests in her lap, a manuscrïpt. Setting her pen down, she looks up out at the sand and surf. As she gazes at the scene before her, we take a moment watch her. Clear blue eyes are intent. Her face is unlined except for the faintest of laugh lines at the corners of her eyes. A slight smile betrays her contentment.

A man walks behind her, placing one hand on her shoulder. The other hand reaches down to place a warm mug of tea on the arm of her chair. He moves to sit next to her, raising his feet to rest against the wooden slats. Threads of silver run through his dark hair. His eyes are as intent as hers, but they are directed at her.

A moment of quiet, and then the vibrant laughter of a child is heard approaching. A little boy is running towards the house, slipping in the sand as he chases a golden retriever. They both come to a halt at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the couple. As the dog shakes salt water from his coat, the boy grins, pushing dark curls out of his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Papa, Gramma .....Squints, he was chasin’ a seagull and he went all the way in the water and he almost got it and then the bird turned around and chased Squints and that is how we got all wet and then…”

Just like someone else I know.

Trying her best to keep the laughter inside she sets the pages aside to stand on the step just above him.

“Yes, I can see that….looks as if someone else managed to get into the water a bit too…”

“Just by accident, I promise! A little on the edges is all….Can we go ‘xploring now? Papa said that we could go look for some jellyfish and maybe find some shark teeth and some shel….”

“Maybe in a bit…I have got to edit this chapter first. And you young man need to get out of those wet clothes…”

“Awwww, pleeeease! I can change later! You know you don’t really want to addick that book. Papa says it is just all about him when he was an FBI man anyway….”

Cutting her eyes to the man behind her…”It is not….”

“Let’s go please…you know you want to….” Big brown eyes look up at her and….

“Now, Brennan Seeley Booth, don’t you use your charm smile on me….”

Chapter 2

The room was completely silent. Nervous, the little boy scuffs one small Converse sneaker along the wooden floor, just to break the silence. He brushes his hair from his eyes with the back of one hand, looking over at his dog curled on the floor next to him. Even Squints knows there’s trouble…one paw is covering his eyes, as if he can’t bear to watch.

A man clears his throat, and the boy’s attention is brought back to the two people sitting on the couch in front of him.

“Bren, can you explain what happened at school today?”

He tries to sound stern, though it is difficult as the child in front of him truly has him wrapped around his little finger.

“Papa, I just wanted to….”

“I thought we had talked about you taking specimens from your grandmother’s study to show-and-tel.”

The boy sighs… “I know…but I had to bring something really great…Sam was bringing his iguana….”

“Brennan…” The woman looks at him pointedly.

“And Gramma….it was just too cool the way Uncle Zach put those pieces of skull back together like a puzzle, the cranial fissure was really neat too….and the place where the bad guy broke the ox…ox…occipital whatcha callit…”

The man looks upward, and then at the woman next to him and whispers.

“Our grandchild is a squint, Bones….a little squint in training…”

“…and I got to tell ‘em how Papa chased the bad guy into that warehouse and when he tried to fight back Papa knocked him in the jaw and put the cuffs on ‘em and he got what he deserved….”

Recognition in her eyes as the little boy pantomimes the fight, a little fist swinging through the air,she whispers back.

“Sounds like a junior G-man to me…”

They are looking at each other now, laughter in their eyes, amazed at how so much of both of them has been passed along to the little guy in front of them…whom they suddenly realized has stopped talking…

Putting more serious expressions on their faces, they turn back to Brennan…he is looking down as he moves the toe of his shoe across the floor…he saw them smiling, knows that when they look at each other like that and get all mushy he may not be in big trouble…but he can’t resist one last defense…

“…it was better than Sam’s stupid iguana…”


***

Later, the two are alone, sitting on the sofa, staring into the fireplace. His arm around her shoulders, keeping her close.

“You big softie….you completely let him off the hook….again…”

“Well, Bones, you know….hard to blame the kid for wanting to brag on his grandpa…”

“Hey….he got the squint stuff down pretty well too….”

“Besides….it was better than Sam’s stupid iguana….”

They both laugh quietly…. “You know…we are going to end up paying for a kindergarten teacher’s therapy if she keeps finding skulls in his backpack….”

“Ughh…psychology….”

He smiles as he draws her closer, kissing the top of her head.

Some things never change...

Chapter 3

Brennan shifts in the uncomfortable chair. Booth is next to her. She places her hand on his arm, knowing how much this day means to him. Brennan, sitting in his Papa’s lap, the child’s eyes transfixed at the scene playing out before him. None of them notice any of the others in the audience, none of the other families with pride shining on their faces….

Tears well in her eyes as she sees him start to move across the stage. He’s a grown man now,the spitting image of his father at the same age, but as he reaches the silver-haired man standing at the podium and takes his new credentials from the Director, all she sees is the little boy running to see his daddy, hair falling in his eyes as he rushes to tell his father about his latest adventure.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Booth reach up to wipe at his eyes, and leans into him, knowing exactly what he’s feeling.

***

People are milling around in the reception room…hands holding cups of punch, plates of cake. The two of them stand together, waiting….watching Brennan, making sure he doesn’t decide to do some more exploring….

“Daddy! Daddy!”

They both watch as he runs pell-mell toward a man in a dark suit, smile across his face as he bends down and opens his arms to his son. Carrying Bren on one hip, he approaches them….

“Dad….Dr. Bones…”

He winks at her, grinning as he uses his childhood nickname for her.

“My daddy’s an FBI man now just like you, Papa!”

“Yeah, Bren, he is…..Parker, I …”

Suddenly overcome with emotion, Booth can’t say anymore. He just places his hand on his son’s shoulder,so proud of the man his son has become, the way he has cared for his own son after his wife left, working so hard to get his degree, and then the Academy…

The moment is broken as Bren gives a laugh of pure delight…

“Auntie Ange…Hodgie…!”

He scrambles down from his father’s arms, running over to the smiling pair…

She turns to follow his path….seeing her friends…they are all there…Angela and Hodgins, Zach walking up to join them…she starts to move toward them, to tell them what it means to have them here. But as Angela scoops up Bren, she indicates with a nod of her head for her to stay with the two men, to share this moment.

She turns back to them, hears Parker thanking them for caring for Bren while he was at Quantico…

“….in the dorms. It meant a lot knowing that he was in such good hands….”

“He was a joy, Parker….we are really going to miss having him around all the time….”

Seeing the wistful expression on her face, he can’t keep the secret from them any longer.

“Well, you won’t get to miss him too much, seeing as I have been assigned to D.C….”

With an uncharacteristic lack of inhibition, she gives a shout of happiness, and wraps her arms around Parker….

Booth watches as his wife embraces his son, knowing the source of her happiness…this family, her family…

***

The others begin to wander over…the group blending together just as they always have. The women cooing over Bren, the men shaking hands with Parker and Booth, congratulating them both.

She is the only one that notices a mischievous twinkle in Angela’s eyes as she motions a beautiful dark-haired young woman to her side.

“Hey, Parker….you remember my daughter, Cara…..”

But she is not the only one to notice the charm smile settle across Parker’s face as he looks at Cara Hodgins as if seeing her for the first time….

Moonlight filters through a window in a cottage by the ocean, the silvery light falling across a framed photo from that day that rests on the mantle. Some of the faces are newer, some so familiar despite the passing of time. …happiness evident in their eyes…the love evident in the way they are drawn together. There is both history and the future captured in a single photo. Unconventional though it may seem to some…a family….

Posted 16/09/2007 05:34:56 (15/09/2007 08:34:56 PM)

Sleepwalk
Rating:K+
Genre:Tiny bit of fluff
Summary:A very short one-shot inspired by the 1959 instrument Sleepwalkby Santo & Johnny and In the Fleshby Blondie.

***

Guiding her, his hand at the small of her back, a gesture of possession for which he was unapologetic. Here and now, for this smallest of moments, she was his.

The curve of her hip sliding beneath his hand as he turned to her, breathless at the soft heat in her eyes.

The barest trace of her fingers against his neck as she brought one hand to rest on his shoulder. Reaching for the other, placing it against his chest, his heart beating faster with the knowledge that she could feel its rhythm.

Careless movement in the shadowed light to a faint song that could only float over and around them. An unvoiced desire to be nearer answered with a gentle sigh as she drifted closer, her body meeting his.

Placing a hand on her back to hold her close and discovering the tempting contrast of silk and bare skin.

Her arms wrapping around him, the warm curve of her hand over the back of his neck as if laying claim to him

The shiver beneath his skin as they blended together as if predestined

Silence descending, leading them into a perfect stillness.

He didn’t take his eyes from her as he placed the untouched flute of champagne on the tray of a passing waiter. Squaring his shoulders and taking a steadying breath, he began to walk across the room, absently weaving around the couples that slowly swayed into his path.

Finally he stood before her, the whispered promise of the dream still echoing in his heart as he offered her his hand.

“May I have this dance?”

Posted 16/09/2007 06:01:31 (15/09/2007 09:01:31 PM)

Special Agent Parker
Rating:K
Genre:Parker...in my world, that counts as a genre...lol
Summary:Brennan offers to babysit Parker, and it sets off a series of 'adventures'.

Chapter 1

The two of them sit in the center of the carpet, legs crossed and facing each other. Neither says a word. The room is quiet enough that she imagines that she can hear the faint ticking of a clock. Counting down each second of the silence. Finally she decides to try again.

“So, no more flashcards?”

The little boy across from her shakes his head slowly from side to side, blond curls falling into his eyes.

She’s quiet for a moment. Then, she leans forward, excitement in her voice.

“I know! We can practice the names of all the bones.”

She holds out her hands, wiggling her fingers.

“See, these are the phalanges…”

Her words die out as he tilts his head slightly, brown eyes staring back at her warily.

“Not fun? Okay, so no bones….”

She bites her lip, stumped.

“Let’s see, what else? No TV means no Power Rangers—sorry, Ranger Powers, right?”

The boy puts his hands over his face, shaking his head in what she thinks is dismay. She can’t see the smile that he is trying to hide, doesn’t know that his daddy told him not to laugh if she did that, because she tried really, really hard to get the names right.

All she can’t think is how much he looks like his father when he gets frustrated with her. That she was messing this up. How could babysitting be this hard?

She lets out a deep breath, looking around the room for inspiration. At this point, she would take anything at all.

Come on, think, Brennan. You were a kid once.

As she takes in her surroundings, the seeds of an idea begin to form. It’s feels a little desperate, but what did she have to lose?

“Hey, Parker. Did your dad ever tell you about the time that he found the pirate treasure?”

“Real pirates?”

There is a little flicker of interest in his eyes, so she continues on.

“Yes, real pirates. Real gold, too. Your dad was very brave. He saved my friend Jack from the big pirate captain….”

“My daddy is the braverest man in the world, right Dr. Bones?”

He scoots closer, ready to hear the rest of the story. Now that she has his attention, she sets the rest of her plan into motion. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out her cell phone, pretending to look at the caller ID window.

“Sorry, Parker. This looks important. I’d better take it.”

She stands and pretends to answer the phone, watching as he tries to be polite, to hide his impatience.

Brennan waits a moment before speaking in a very business-like tone.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Cullen?”

She tries to hide a smile as she notices that Parker’s interest has returned once he recognized the name of his father’s boss.
His eyes grow wide as she continues.

“What’s that….more pirates? Oh, no…they’re after our treasure again?”

As she hears Parker moving closer, she starts to think that maybe, just maybe, she can pull this off.

“No, sir. I’m afraid I can’t help today. See, Parker and I are having a very important conversation. What…I can take Parker with me? I don’t know, this is a very good discussion we’re having. Let me ask him…”

She feels a tug on her sleeve, and looks down into a face brimming with excitement.

“I can catch pirates good, Dr. Bones.”

“Are you sure, Parker? We can always get out those flashcards….”

“No. Pirates. Pirates. Pleeeeease…..”

“Okay, Mr. Cullen, sir. We’ll be ready.”

She smiles as she kneels down, brushing a wayward curl from his forehead. Staring into shining brown eyes, she speaks into the silent phone.

“It looks like I’ve found myself a partner.”

***

As she fastens the safety-pin closed, Parker pats the lopsided circle that she has pinned to his t-shirt.

“That is a fine badge you have there, partner.”

He squares his little shoulders and puffs out his chest.

“And it’s just like my daddy’s. See, F. B. I.”

Brennan smiles to herself as she watches little fingers trace the blue crayon letters.

“Yes, exactly like your dad. Now, Special Agent Parker, where did we put the special pirate-catcher?”

“Here it is!”

He waves the feather duster they had carefully selected earlier. As a single grey feather falls to the floor, a concerned look crosses his face.

“Uh-oh. Dr. Bones, I don’t think this is gonna work on pirates.”

She retrieves the feather from the floor.

“Remember, what I told you? I found that in the pirate room at the museum. These are the very same feathers left behind the parrot that belonged to the great Captain Barnabus the Smelly himself.”

He laughs as she tickles his nose with the tip of the feather.

“Now, partner, ready to go catch some smelly pirates?”

***

Parker pushes open the door to the pirate hang-out, waving his pirate-catcher in front of him. A serious expression on his face, he turns and pats her arm.

“Wait here, Dr. Bones. Gotta make sure it’s safe, ‘kay?.”

“Okay, Parker. Just be careful….Barnabus may still be here.”

She waits outside until he returns, a dejected look on his face.

“Aww, all of ‘em are gone.”

“It’s not over yet, partner. Let’s see if they left behind some clues. Maybe the treasure’s still in there.”

***

Brennan motions Parker over to her, pointing down at the sand.

“Look, Parker. Pirate tracks!”

Parker bends down, looking intently at the ground.

“Oh, man. Lots of ‘em.”

She looks around for more signs.

“Right again. A whole gang of them—we must be getting close!”

***

Pointing ahead of her, down the beach.

“There he is, Parker. Old Captain Smelly—and it looks like he has the treasure too!”

“Let’s get ‘em!”

“Ready when you are, Agent Parker.”

***

“Good job, Parker! Way to use that pirate-catcher. He never had a chance with you on his trail.”

Parker leans into the pirate’s face.

“Yeah, and now you’re gonna go to jail!”

“Right, partner. Let’s go lock him up where he belongs. Now, where did that bag of gold coins get to?”

“Here it is! We saved it, Dr. Bones!”

He reaches down to pick up a brown canvas bag bulging with coins.

***

Booth feels a little guilty as he knocks against the door. He hadn’t meant to be gone as long as he had. The meeting with the deputy director had dragged on forever. He could only hope that things had gone better here.

Brennan opens the door quickly, finger to her lips.

“Quiet, Booth! He just fell asleep a few minutes ago.”

He starts to apologize for being so late, but stops mid-sentence as he looks over her shoulder.

“Bones, what exactly happened here…?”

He moves past her into the apartment, turning to take in the scene around him with a stunned look in his eyes.

A white sheet hangs across a group of chairs, creating a makeshift tent in the center of the room. Grey feathers litter the carpet. A teddy-bear with a folded paper hat, rests on its side under an up-turned laundry basket on top of the coffee table. Parker sleeping on the couch, his arm wrapped around a bag of chocolate chip cookies.

Brennan smiles at the expression on his face, his questions about the mess. What mess? All she saw was a pirate hang-out, along with the results of a brave battle and Captain Barnabus sitting in his jail cell.

Her musings are interrupted as she notices Booth moving towards the couch.

“Cookies? You didn’t let him eat those…”

“Those aren’t cookies, Booth. It’s pirate treasure.”

Leaning over Parker, he tries to remove the bag of cookies without waking him.

“What are you talking….”

His words trail off as he notices the paper circle pinned to Parker’s shirt. Reaching out, he lightly traces each letter.

“Treasure… I see what you mean.”

He looks back at her over his shoulder.

“Thank you, Temperance.”

Chapter 2

The next morning. He shakes the can with an exaggerated flourish and makes a production of squirting the shaving cream into one hand. A little on each cheek, a swipe along the chin. Sure, it slows him down a little and makes the bathroom a little crowded. Yet, as Booth adds a final touch of shaving cream to his son’s nose and hears Parker’s giggle, he knows that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Almost finished shaving, he stands at the sink looking into the mirror. Parker is sitting on the counter beside him, holding his ‘razor’— a popsicle stick, now covered with shaving cream.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, son.”

“Can I ask you somethin’?”

“Sure, Parker.”

As he waits for the boy’s question, Booth passes the razor across his jaw to remove the last bit of shaving cream. Reaching down to rinse the razor, he is surprised when he feels Parker’s hand on his arm.

“It’s real ‘portant. You always say pay attention when it’s ‘mportant.”

Both chastened and amused, Booth moves down so that he is at eye-level with Parker.

“I’m sorry, buddy. You’re right. Now, what is that you want to ask?”

“When do people get married?”

Booth swallows hard, panicking just a little. He is not prepared for this particular question.

“Well, son, people get married…um, well, see when two people love each very much and…oh, man, okay…”

“Nooo, daddy. How oooold do you have to be when you get married?”

Torn now between feeling relief at the much easier question and wondering where this is leading, Booth thinks a minute before answering.

“I think you have to be pretty grown-up before you can do that, probably at least….”

He pauses as Parker lets out a disappointed sigh.

“Grown-up. That’s a long time…….”

Using a thumb to wipe a stray bit a shaving cream from his son’s chin, Booth feels a little tug in his chest. It doesn’t seem like it is going to be nearly long enough.

“You have plenty of time before you have to think about this, little man. One of these days, you are going to meet a special girl and decide….”

“I already ‘cided, Daddy.”

“Well then, Parker, this sounds pretty serious. Who is the lucky girl? Hmmm, let me guess….Sarabeth from daycare?”

“Un-uh. All she ever wants to do is play with stupid dolls.”

“Then it has to be Emily…or is it…Kirsten?”

Parker shakes his head, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

“No, Daddy. Not them. When I grow up, I’m gonna get married to Dr. Bones.”

Booth quickly hides a smile.

“Oh, so, it’s Dr. Bones, is it?”

“Yeah, Daddy. She….”

As Parker chatters on about pirate hang-outs, parrot feathers and how Dr. Bones wasn’t afraid of anything, not even spiders, Booth shakes his head in amazement.

Another one of the Booth men down for the count. How does she do it?

Chapter 3

A small group has taken over a corner of the park. A man presides over a grill, but his attention is focused on the scene in front of him. There is a bright red blanket spread over the grass, a wicker picnic basket holding down one corner. A woman sits at another corner, trying to concentrate as the wind ruffles the stack of typed pages she is reviewing. She looks up and smiles as a little boy bounds up, dropping his soccer ball in the center of the blanket. He asks her a question, then takes her hand, urging her up from the ground. The woman looks over her shoulder at the man, as if asking for reassurance. When he smiles and waves them on, she quickly pushes her work into the bag beside her before standing to the follow the boy, his blond curls flying as he jumps up and down in excitement.
>Anyone seeing the two of them walking along the sidewalk would assume that they were mother and son on an outing in the park. The woman keeps careful watch as the boy explores the area around the path. With each treasure that he finds—a cluster of acorns, a rock glinting with quartz—he runs back to the woman, beaming with pride. She responds with enthusiasm over each find, earning a wide smile from the boy.

Brennan feels an unexpected sense of contentment as she watches Parker run a few feet ahead of her, already focused on his newest discovery. There was something about seeing his uninhibited wonder at each new find.

Parker has stopped, and is leaning over, looking intently at the ground.

“Look, Dr. Bones! A frog. It’s a big one, too!”

“Yes, I believe what you have there is an excellent specimen of Rana catesbiana.”

He looks up at her.

“No…. I’m pretty sure it’s a frog.”

“Actually, Rana cates…you know, Parker, I think you are absolutely right. Frog it is.”

“Un-huh. Hey, Dr. Bones….do frogs give you warts? Sarabeth says that frogs can give you warts.”

“No, I don’t think we have to worry. That is a myth perpetu….”

***

She is starting to worry. Since they had left the frog behind, he’d been very quiet. Had she said the wrong thing?

Should have stopped with ‘No, they don’t cause warts’, Brennan.

They reach their original destination—a lone set of swings on the edge of the park. Parker scoots onto one of the black rubber seats, hands wrapped tightly around the chains. Brennan sits on the swing next to him, ready to ask him if everything is okay, when she hears him sigh heavily.

“I can’t marry you now, Dr. Bones.”

Booth had told her of Parker’s ‘intentions’ and seeing the serious expression on his face, she knows that she can’t dismiss this as a part of a little boy’s crush. Yet, she has no idea of how to respond.

Words. Words. What are the right words?

Just as she opens her mouth to speak, Parker looks up at her.

“Sarabeth at school, she says she’s my girlfriend now.”

“Well, Parker, Sarabeth sounds like a…nice little girl.”

“Yeah, she’s alright. We built a fort. But I told her no dolls in the fort. Can’t have dolls in a fort.”

He moves his arm across the air in front of him to emphasize his point.

She puts her hand over her mouth to hide her smile. He sounds so much like his father when he decided to ‘explain the rules’.
Misinterpreting her expression, Parker slides out of the swing, and walks over to place a little hand on her arm.

“Don’t be sad though, Dr. Bones. We’re still partners, okay?”

This time she smiles openly, touched at the concern on his face.

“Of course, Agent Parker. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Yep. We can be buddies. Like me and Hector and Caleb.”

“That sounds like a very good plan to me.”

She reaches out and ruffles his hair, relieved to see a smile back on his face.

“Whew! That’s good. Now can we swing, Dr. Bones?”

Brennan helps him back into his swing, then stands behind him to give him a starting push. She is about to breathe a sigh of relief when she hears a little voice pipe up.

“Dr. Bones, I just thought of somethin’”

“What’s that, Parker?”

“My daddy’s already a grown-up.”

“That’s true.”

She feels brave enough to allow herself to feel a bit of amusement. This was much safer ground. If there was one thing she knew for sure about this little boy, it was that he loved talking about his hero.

“You wouldn’t have to wait for him to be a grown-up.”

Her eyes widen as Brennan quickly puts the pieces together. She knows where this is headed. Definitely not safer ground.

“So…instead, I think my daddy should marry you, Dr. Bones.”

“Words. Words. I need the words again

Chapter 4

He’s already rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as his father helps him into his seat in the back of the car. The little boy has had a big day full of exploring, hot dogs and important conversations. As soon as the car begins moving forward, his eyelids start to drift downward. He struggles to stay awake, but within minutes, his head rests against the side of his seat, his mouth opening slightly, as if he was in the middle of saying something very important when sleep finally took over.


Booth looks at the image reflected in the rearview mirror, chuckling quietly as he shakes his head.

“Looks as Agent Matchmaker back there has finally called it quits for the day.”

Brennan turns to look back at Parker. She finds it almost surreal as she watches him sleep—to think that the little guy that was so active and talkative earlier in the day could actually be that still. Even now, he was still holding on tightly to the piece of quartz-riddled stone that he’d found on their walk.

She faces forward, looking at Booth from the corner of her eye.

“I hope that he wasn’t too disappointed. He’s just a little boy with a very active imagination…”

He smiles over at her, “Don’t worry, Bones. He’s going to be fine. Lots of kids his age go through something like this. For me, it was Miss Jessup. Yep, that Miss Jessup, she was something else…”

Catching sight of the grin on his face, she’s a little disturbed by the fact that she is already prepared to dislike this Jessup person, whoever she was.

Why is he smiling like that?

“Why are you smiling like that? Who exactly is Miss…”

“Miss Jessup? Just the prettiest pre-school teacher in Philadelphia. Told myself that once I was old enough, I was going to come back and sweep her off her feet. Had it all planned out. As soon as I hit first grade, Miss Jessup would…”

Glancing over, he notices the questioning look on her face.

“What, Bones? Wasn’t there some teacher that you had the tiniest…tiniest little bit of a crush on?”

Not caring for the teasing tone in his voice, she turns away and looks out of her window.

“No, Booth. I can’t say that I did. I never found myself in awe of my teachers.”

“Now why exactly am I not…”

“There was something, though. Not the same, but similar.”

She is still facing the window as she starts talking. He turns quickly to look at her, surprised by the quiet nostalgia that he hears in her voice.

“I must have been…about four. We were all eating dinner when I told everyone that I had a very important announcement. I had decided that when I got married, it had to be in a blue dress…”

She pauses to give a small laugh.

“…and it had to be on December 33rd. I wanted my own day that no one else could have.”

As she talks, Booth smiles, picturing a tiny Temperance Brennan holding court at the family dinner table, blue eyes intent as she made her wishes known. He had a feeling that no one had dared to challenge her either.

“To give them credit, they didn’t try to disillusion me. My father…my father said that made him the happiest man alive. Any boy that wanted to get near his Tempe would have to pass the 12-33 rule.”

Hearing the catch in her voice, Booth is jerked back to the present.

“Temperance…I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay, Booth.”

She turns away from the window to look, the tears in her eyes an odd juxtaposition to the tentative smile on her face.

“It’s a happy memory. Sometimes I forget that they can be happy, too.”

He’s careful in choosing his response, knowing that she would take any concern as coddling or patronizing. Putting a wry smile on his face, he looks over at her.

“December 33rd, hmm? Leave it to you, Bones, to try to rearrange a calendar that has been perfectly good for hundreds of years…”

Quickly wiping at her eyes, she laughs, knowing perfectly well what he is trying to do.

“Nothing wrong with a little tinkering, Booth. Every little girl wants to have her own day.”

As they continue to banter back and forth, the emotion brought on by nostalgia begins to dissipate. Soon they fall into comfortable silence, both continuing to glance in the mirror to make sure that Parker is still sleeping peacefully.

Miles later, Booth finds his thoughts returning to one thing that she had said, wondering if it meant that there was a chance that things could turn out the way he had been hoping.

Every little girl wants to have her own…

He’s distracted from his thoughts as she reaches over and taps him on the shoulder.

“Booth, do you hear that?”

“Hear what, B….”

He doesn’t get to finish as an unmistakable sound comes from the floorboard behind them.

“Is that a….”

Brennan smiles broadly.

“Yeah, Booth. Looks as Parker wanted to bring home a specimen of Rana catesbia…”

“You mean a frog…loose…in my car?”

Chapter 5

The man turns to say a final goodnight before turning off the lights. As he leaves, he is careful to not shut the door completely. The boy fidgets with the edge of the quilt covering his bed as he stares at the line of light the open door creates on his floor. He is comforted knowing that they are nearby in the next room, but he would much rather be in that room with them. Sitting up in his bed, he looks around the darkened room and lets out a heavy sigh. After another minute of debate, the boy leaves his bed and moves toward the door with exaggerated care, not wanting to alert anyone that he is not sleeping quietly.

Parker eases up to the small opening and peeks around the edge of the door. Frustrated that he can’t see anything but the arm of the sofa, he leans forward a little, freezing when he realizes he caused the door to move. When there’s no reaction from the next room, he gets a little braver and slowly edges the door open a few more inches.

He can see them sitting on the floor, surrounded by files and papers. As he watches, Parker quickly forgets that he was working up the nerve to interrupt and ask for one more glass of water.

They’re still doing their homework. They are alwaaaays doing homework.

He forgets his exasperation with the grown-ups when he sees Dr. Bones lean over to tell his dad something. He can’t hear, but is sure it was funny because both of them laughed.

His brown eyes narrow as his mind starts leap-frogging from one idea to another.

She really makes Daddy smile a lot. He was real happy when he said she was coming to see us. Even it was to work on the papers. He used to say they were bor-ring. I wish Dr. Bones could stay here all the time. Then Daddy would be happy every day.

When his father stands up, Parker moves away from the door but stops when he sees that he is only going to the kitchen. He waits until he sees his dad return with two cups of coffee, then presses his face against doorjamb again.

Yuck. I don’t like coffee. It smells funny. But if she stayed with us, I wouldn’t care if she drinks all the coffee. And we could have dinner and breakfast together. And watch wrestling on TV. I bet Dr. Bones would like wrestling cause they break their arms and get all bloody sometimes. She’s not scared of that stuff. We’d have lotsa of fun.

He forgets that he is supposed to be super quiet and breathes a loud sigh of frustration.

I tried to tell Daddy. We could play pirates all the time. All he’s got to do is tell her that they are gonna get married. But he started acting all funny. Maybe he’s nervous. Sometimes girls make you nervous. Sarabeth can be real scary, ‘specially when she says we gotta hold hands at the lunch.

His thoughts stop midstream when he hears his father say that it is time to make sure the bed bugs aren’t biting. He hurries to get back into bed, pulling the covers right up to his chin, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

After sensing the door opening and closing again, Parker hesitantly opens one eye to make sure that his daddy isn’t tricking him. Finding the room empty, he sits up in bed straining to hear what is happening in the next room. When he hears the faint sound of laughter, he knows that they didn’t see him.

Falling back against his pillow, he stares up at pale yellow stars glowing across his ceiling. He remembers how his father had spent almost forever trying to get them to stick up there.

When he was all done, Daddy said it was okay to be scared of the dark. Just hafta get a plan for when you get scared, Parker. That’s what he said.

Maybe Daddy doesn’t have a plan.

Parker turns on his side, tucking his hands under his cheek. As he stares at the light stretching across the floor, one last thought runs through his mind before his eyes finally close.

I can make good plans.

***

He walks up behind her as she leans against the doorjamb looking into the bedroom. They are quiet, Booth watching Brennan as she watches the little boy sleeping. As she shifts her bag and coat she’s holding to her other hand, she catches him staring.

“What, Booth? I just wanted to make sure that our…your little secret agent was sleeping well after his stakeout…”

His eyes search her face, noticing the faint blush along her cheeks, and the corner of his mouth quirks upward.

Maybe the Booth boys are not the only ones…

Chapter 6

The boy pulls the heavy book from the shelf, then sits on the floor to flip through the brightly illustrated pages. He remembers this book, it was the fairy tale book his father used to read to him when he was a real little boy. He stops at one picture, biting his lip and furrowing his brow.

Hands on his hips, he stares around the room, looking at the scattered toys as if asking for inspiration. His eyes light on the small wooden box peeking from beneath his bed. Kneeling on the floor he reaches for the box and opens it, examining all of the secret treasures he has collected.

He absently brushes the hair from his forehead with the back of his hand, and reaches for another crayon. Staring at the purple wax stick, he gives a quick shake of his head and replaces it with a blue one. He bends his head over his play table, concentrating on making this project a masterpiece.

***

Booth and Brennan sit on the sofa, both unsuccessfully trying to hide amused smiles as they wait for Parker to return. The little boy had been so excited about this new game of pretend that neither had been able to refuse to participate.

He comes out of his bedroom, carrying the little backpack that he uses for preschool.

Placing it on the floor, he begins rummaging through the contents—getting it ready, he tells them.

First, he shakes a snow globe and places it in the center of the table in front of them. Seeing the small castle inside amid the tiny plastic snowflakes, the grown-ups begin trying to guess the game that they will be playing.

First, his father.

“Are we going to play Knights of the Round Table again, Parker?”

The boy shakes his head, eyes brimming with the excitement of his secret.

“Un-uh, Daddy. Not yet, it’s almost ready.”

After Parker reaches into his bag and pulls out a construction paper crown covered with blue and red crayon jewels, Brennan tries next.

“Maybe princess and princes?”

With one hand, he motions her to lean her head forward. Placing the crown on her head, Parker thinks for a moment.

“Sorta, Dr. Bones”.

He quickly returns to the contents of his bag, removing two sheets of construction paper covered with a seemingly random pattern of blue, red, green and orange circles, that he carefully props against two of the candles on the coffee table.

Brennan looks at the two squares of paper, discerning that he’s drawn bouquets of flowers in two vases.

“This is very nicely done, Parker. I can’t wait to see what we are going to be imagining…”

Parker moves to stand in front of them.

“Weelll, it’s not ‘xactly ‘magining, Dr. Bones.”

Confusion crosses the faces of the two adults as they try to figure out where this is headed. Booth starts to open his mouth to ask Parker for an explanation, when his son asks him to hold out his hand.

“Okay, Daddy. Here you go, now you can tell her you’re gonna get married.”

Parker reaches into his front pocket and then places a plastic skull ring, last year’s Halloween party favor, in the center of his father’s palm. He leans forward, speaking in a loud whisper.

“You don’t hafta be scared. You make her smile too, Daddy.”

“Um, Parker…”

Booth is turning the ring in his hand, looking from the wide-eyed Brennan to the sincere expression on his son’s face. He feels caught between the cross-hairs, not wanting to disappoint or confuse the little boy and not wanting to scare her away. He’s still trying to find the right words when Parker begins speaking again, this time to Brennan.

“It’s not a really a girl ring, but I bet Daddy can get you a more prettier one. Then we can get to be a fam’ly.”

Brennan opens and closes her mouth, unsure of what to say. This was certainly not what she had expected—pirates, cops and robbers, sure. But not this. She looks to Booth for help, but is nonplussed to find that the stunned look in his eyes has been replaced by a spark of curiosity as he waits for her to respond. She takes a deep breath and faces an expectant Parker—and immediately forgets that she is addressing a little boy as she begins talking about pieces of paper and non-conformist family structures.

Seeing the crease form between his son’s eyebrows, Booth is about to intervene when Parker once again beats him to the draw, placing a hand on Brennan’s, stopping her words in mid-stream.

“I don’t know what that means, Dr. Bones. I just…”

He stops, rocking back and forth on his heels, not sure how to express what he’s thinking.

Booth stands from the couch and kneels on the floor next to Parker, putting a hand on each small arm, turning the boy to face him.

“Parker, I know you are just trying to help, but this is a very grown-up conversatio…”

The boy’s lower lip starts to tremble, as he worries that not only has his big plan fallen apart but that he’s upset his father.

“I just wanted to help, Daddy. Cause she makes us happy…”

Knowing that his son’s heart was in the right place, Booth tries to reassure the boy.

“Yeah, son, she does. But this is something that Dr. Bones and I need to figure out, okay little man?”

“But fam’lies love each other. We love each other, so we should be a fam’ly, Daddy.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Booth sees Brennan leaning over to put her face in her hands, her makeshift crown sliding to the floor.

“Um, Parker, let’s say we give Dr. Bones a minute okay…to fix her crown. We can go talk some more in your room…”

Reluctantly, Parker nods at his father and then walks over to Brennan, solemnly placing a kiss on top of her bent head and whispering something in her ear before following Booth to his room.

***

Father and son sit on the edge of the bed, talking quietly as the little boy kicks one foot against the bed frame. At first, the tone of the conversation is serious, marked by a nod of the head from the little boy, or a reassuring pat on the shoulder from the man. Eventually though, there is an occasional smile, and finally full-fledged laughter as the man tickles the boy’s stomach.

After setting up the play table with plenty of crayons and paper, the father extends his hand to his son. They shake hands in a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, both smiling broadly. The man moves to the door, turning back with a final word to the boy. He then exits the room, leaving the door slightly open.

***

Brennan hasn’t moved from her spot on the sofa. She is turning the paper crown in her hands, stopping only to wipe away a tear. The little boy’s words keep running through her mind.

Please be in our fam’ly. We need you, Dr. Bones.

She tenses as she hears Booth exit Parker’s room, saying something about no peeking this time. She’s surprised when he turns to his own room, but can understand that he needs a minute to collect his thoughts. She herself feels as if she has been granted another moment’s reprieve from the conversation that she knows is coming. The very grown-up conversation.

Booth returns to the room, and sits next to her with a nervous sigh, rubbing both palms against the tops of his thighs. Both continue to face forward, not looking at the other. The tension in the room drives them both to speak at the same time.

“Temperance…”

“Booth…”

Their nervous laughter dissolves quickly back to silence. He takes a deep breath and begins again.

“Temperance, about what just happened…”

“I know, Booth. He’s a little boy with a vivid imagination…”

“No. Well, yeah, but….the thing is…I think he got this right, Bones.”

Unnerved by his direct approach, she stands and begins pacing, her instincts warring between wanting to flee the room and needing to hear what he says next. She stops when he moves to stand in front of her, but is unable to look up at him as he begins speaking.

“Temperance, look at me…please.”

She raises her eyes to meet his, and finds herself calmed despite the intensity she finds there.

“I know you have…strong feelings about marriage, but please…please hear me out on this before you say anything.”

He pauses, then takes her silence as permission to continue.

“Parker was right. You do make me smile…and make me happy. Even when you absolutely are driving me up the wall, you still…you make me happy.”

She starts to interrupt, but he stops her with a shake of his head.

“I’d like to think that I make you happy too, Temperance. Would like to keep making you happy for the rest of our lives. I love you, and think we can be a family…your family, if you will have me…”

He stops, reaching into his pocket. Her breath catches when he pulls out his hand and opens his palm. Instead of a child’s party ring, he’s holding a delicate circle of pale gold filigree threaded around a single blue sapphire.

She reaches to run a single finger along it’s edge, but doesn’t take it from his hand.

“You’ve had this…”

“Waiting for the right time,” he laughs wryly, “Just never expected a four year old would be the one to point out the right moment…”

He takes a breath, working up his courage.

“So, is it?....... The right moment?”

He smiles nervously, watching the emotions cross her face as she prepares her response. When she finally starts speaking, the words come in a torrent.

“Are you sure, Booth? You know me, know about my history…my family. I’ve never been good at families. And I’m always having to think of the right things to say…to do. What if I hurt you…”

Seeing that he’s about to interject, she holds up a hand.

“Please, let me say this. What if I hurt you…or that little boy in there…?”

He takes a step closer, so that they are almost touching, and she forgets what she was going to say next.

“Listen, Bones. Neither of us has all of the answers, and I don’t deny that there may be times that will test either or both of us. Things happen in life, but wouldn’t it be better to go face them together? As for hurting me? The only thing that you could do to hurt me would be to walk out of my life. And Parker…you have to know the little man worships the ground you walk on. The fact that you care enough to make sure that you don’t hurt him? That’s the key….”

Worried that his feelings are lost in the words, he stops abruptly and closes his eyes.

“I…we…we both need you, Temperance.”

He’s afraid to open his eyes, afraid that he will look at her face and see that he said too much or that he hasn’t said enough. As the seconds tick by, he begins to think he’s lost her. Then he feels her arms around him, holding him tightly.

“I…”

She begins to whisper to him, but feeling his arms move around her, she pauses, knowing that she is going to cross a line that will change everything.

“I need you too.”

***

The little boy wanders around his room, in circles increasingly closer to the gap in the doorway. He’s tried to be good and not peek—he already drew about a billion pictures already—but they are still talking. At the moment when he decides to give into temptation, he hears footsteps approaching the door and runs quickly back to the play table.

They open the door to find Parker studiously applying green crayon to the yellow page on the table. When Booth knocks against the doorjamb, the little boy looks up and studies them carefully.

When he sees that they both have happy eyes, he is out of his chair like a shot, running over to them. He is hugging them both around the legs when he takes Brennan’s left hand in his own.

Eyes wide in amazement, he examines the ring on her finger. “Oh, wow.” He looks up at her with a knowing look, “Toldja Daddy would get a more prettier one.”

Booth kneels down in front of his son, “Thanks, little man.” He reaches over to ruffle the boy’s hair, “But tell me…you don’t have any more secret plans up your sleeve, right?”

Parker hesitates, then shakes his head, smiling back at his father.

Silly, Daddy. I don’t keep ‘em in my sleeve!


***

Okay, well, I think that’s the end of the ‘case file’ for Special Agent Parker’s mission. I’m not saying that he won’t be back in some other fic—the little guy has a way a grabbing hold of the imagination—but for now, his mission is accomplished. Thanks for all of the encouragement along, this one has been great fun to write. –Ana

Posted 16/09/2007 06:43:58 (15/09/2007 09:43:58 PM)

Special Agent Parker Returns
Rating:K
Genre:Parker!
Summary:Now that SA Parker has accomplished his mission with the engagement of his Dad and Dr. Bones...he has a little wish list of his own.

Chapter 1

The door behind her closes with a soft click, and the woman gives a quiet sight of relief. The last of the well-intentioned visitors is gone and finally….finally she has the very elegant, but very small room to herself. She starts to pace the room, hands at her waist , eyes on the deep red carpet in front of her. Finding that this does nothing to settle her nerves, she gives up, settling herself on a velvet covered bench—only to find her own reflection staring back at her from the mirror on the opposite wall. She raises her hand to one flushed cheek, then runs the same hand over the fitted bodice of her dress. It is as if she is testing the veracity of the reflection, needing proof that the woman staring back at her is—her.

Brennan shakes her head in wonder, still unable to believe how she came to this point. One moment, she was a woman crying over a paper crown. The next, she was wearing Booth’s ring. And now…now, she’s wearing a blue dress on her wedding day…just as a tiny but determined Tempe had once declared at the family dinner table. It is a beautiful, unadorned, pale blue silk—and untraditional though it may be, it is hers…her dress. On all other matters, she had gratefully submitted to the force of nature that she used to know as Angela, but this—this was the one thing she’d refused to give up. Well almost…’obey’ had been banished from the vows...there would be no veil…and she had selected her own blue dress.

But now…now that the moment was here…would that be enough? She looks down at the photograph she’s been clinging to all morning…a picture of the two of them side-by-side, Parker between them with one arm resting on each of their shoulders. She couldn’t help but wonder as she had all morning…..would she be enough for them?

She’s still staring at the picture, the images blurred by tears…and is still asking that question…when a soft knock sounds at the door. She barely has time to wipe at her eyes, to remove the doubt from her face, before the door begins to open. She turns and finds herself staring into wide brown eyes…

“Parker….”

He pushes the door a little further, but doesn’t cross the threshold into the room.

“Can I come in, Dr. Bones?”

“Of course...in fact, I was just thinking about you.”

“Really?” The little boy moves into the room, carefully shutting the door behind him before slowly walking closer to her, a look of wonder on his face.

“Wow….you look like…you look really pretty, Dr. Bones.”

Putting her doubts aside, she smiles, taking in the sight of the little boy in his tiny tuxedo, his curls already winning the battle against someone’s misguided efforts to tame them.

“And so do you, Parker…“ She pauses, noticing the questioning look on his face “Um, not pretty…I mean, you look very handsome and grown-up”

Hearing her words, his concern at being called ‘pretty’ vanishes. Little hands reach up to touch his bow tie as he puffs out his chest.

“That’s cause I’m the bestest man. I get to hold your ring and give it to Daddy so he can give it you.”

“Hmmm…well, that it is a very important task, Parker. I feel much better now, knowing that my ring is in safe hands with you.”

“Yeah…I promised I wouldn’t drop it or anything. …..Uncle Jared, he’s really the big best man, but he said his job was to keep Daddy from fallin’ on his face. I’m not big enough for that yet…”

The sight of his downcast expression doesn’t sit well with her, and she quickly tries to reassure him.

“Those are both very important…..”

“Mmm-hmmm. That’s why Daddy said I could be the little best man”

Remembering his father’s words as he gave him the ring, the little boy’s mind is quickly back at ease and is already moving onto to other concerns. Feeling a little more comfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings, he begins to explore the room. He seems intent on examining the bottle of perfume left behind by Angela—her ‘something borrowed’—when he suddenly stops and turns to face her again.

“Dr. Bones….can I ask you somethin’?”

Past experience has taught her to expect the unexpected when he asks that question, but despite her wariness, she finds that she can’t deny him.

“Sure, Parker…”

“Daddy says that after today you are gonna be Dr. Booth.”

“He did? Well…he’s partially correct. My new name is going to be Dr. Temperance Brennan-Booth.”

“Oh….okay.”

He turns away, focused again on the little crystal bottle, turning it in circles on the small table.

Concerned at his somber tone, she stands and moves over to him. Kneeling down, she gently turns him to face her.

“What’s wrong, Parker?”

As he looks over her shoulder, unwilling to meet her eyes, she feels the self-doubt return. She really isn’t ready for….

“Weeellll…it’s just that….that’s a really…really long name. What if I don’t ‘member all of it?” He looks down, hoping that she doesn’t see how bad he feels about not wanting to call her that big name.

Briefly, she closes her eyes in relief. This…this she can handle. Lifting his chin with her finger, she stares into his worried eyes.

“Can I tell you a secret? I kinda think that’s a long name too….so…what should we do about this?”

She pauses, making a show of pondering the dilemma. He leans closer to her, as if willing her to find a solution.

“I know….what if you called me…Bones? That way, both of my Booth boys can call me…”

His face brightens at her words, a smile growing across his face.

“Your Booth boys?....That’s me and Daddy right?”

“That’s right…”

He thinks about it for a moment, then nods his head with resolve.

“’Kay…itsa deal….Bones.”

Watching him test the sound of the ‘new’ name, she smiles, enjoying the sensation of having the right answer. Maybe she wasn’t so bad at…

A little hand comes to rest on her shoulder, breaking her reverie.

“I almost forgot. I got a surprise for you, Bones! Even Daddy doesn’t know what it is!”

Before she can stop him, he runs to open the door. Hand on the knob, he turns backs to her.

“Be right back, ‘kay?”

She stands to watch him as he steps out of the doorway and reaches down to pick up something from the floor just beyond her sight. She finds herself caught up in his excitement, curious to see what he what he…

“I found ‘em just for you!”

He re-enters the room, proudly holding a small bunch of flowers, all of them with roots and clumps of dirt still intact.

She is smiling inwardly, thinking that the landscaper is going to find an odd bare batch in the church gardens the next morning, when she notices that he his arm has fallen, the flowers dangling from his small hand. He’s looking past her, at the bouquet of roses resting on the table in the corner.

“Oh…you already got some flowers. Those are a lot prettier than mine…they don’t even have any dirt on ‘em.”

Walking over to him, she gently takes the slightly wilted flowers from his hand, bringing them to face, inhaling their scent.

“Yes, those are pretty…but you know something? Those flowers…those you can get anywhere in the world. But these…these flowers are better than pretty…they’re beautiful.”

“Really?”

“Yes….really. Because they….”

She starts to tell him they are beautiful because of him, but she is interrupted by the sound of his name being called from the hallway.

His eyes grow wide as the voice moves closer, calling his name a second time. Suddenly, she has a sneaking suspicion that Special Agent Parker has been up to his old antics.

“Oops, that’s Gramma…. gotta go.”

He’s almost to the door, when he runs back to her, wrapping his little arms around her legs.

“I love you, Dr. Bo…..Bones”

At those words, she feels every bit of tension, every moment of doubt leave her, all of it replaced by something much stronger. Resting her hand along the curve of his head, she can only whisper in return.

“I love you too….”

And in a flash, he’s gone from the room. She shakes her head, hand over her mouth to prevent her laughter from reaching the hallway where Parker is apologizing to his grandmother for not listening to her… "‘cause he had ‘mportant business”.

Her merriment disappears as the strains of organ music begin to reach the room. She knows that sound means that it is almost time…

With a look of resolve on her face, she picks up the bouquet of roses…and without a moment’s hesitation removes the ribbon binding the very expensive, specially selected, hot-house roses, not noticing as they scatter on the floor in front of her.

Then…with great care, she places the very special, unique, hand-delivered flowers on the table. Gently, she removes the roots and brushes away the dirt, before using the ribbon to tie them together with the same careful precision that she used every day in the lab.

Taking her new bouquet in her hand, she knows that there are people sitting out in those pews that will never understand its significance, but she does. Flowers…love…family…they didn’t have to be storybook perfection to be…to be right.

Chapter 2

The priest closes his book and smiles at the couple standing before him. With a slight smile and encouraging nod, he utters the phrase that so many of the onlookers have been waiting for.

The man steps closer to the woman, and without hesitation, leans in to kiss her. A swell of cheers and happy laughter swells through the crowd as the kiss continues and the man wraps his arms around her, dipping her back slightly. The merriment goes on as they finally break apart, but slowly fades as people begin to notice that the two of them have not moved. They are so still, looking at each other as if no one else is present in the room. The man gently rests his hand along the side of her face, before moving to place the lightest of kisses on her forehead. There is a collective sigh from those watching, leaving his whispered words to be heard only by her.

The little boy, bow tie listing to one side, stands a few feet away, watching them intently. He starts to take a step forward, then pauses. Cautious brown eyes turn back to the grown-ups standing behind him, just to be sure the coast is clear…..

***

Parker slowly walks towards them, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, unaware that every person in the pews is following his progress. Reaching his destination, he looks up—first at his father, and then at his Bones—a satisfied smile blossoming on his face.

I did a real good job.

Reaching up, he places a hand on the dark sleeve of his father’s tuxedo, trying to get his attention. When Booth looks down, Parker motions for him to move closer. Cupping his hand, he leans in to whisper into his father’s ear.

Booth pauses a moment, as if considering his son’s request. He struggles to hide his smile, knowing that this is a serious matter for the little man.

“Sure, buddy.”

He opens his arms to his son, and lifts him up.Parker wraps one arm around his father’s neck, then turns to her and waves, a shy smile on his face.

“Hey, Bones.”

Smiling, she reaches out to take his little hand in hers…but at that moment, Parker leans forward, placing a quick kiss on her cheek.

Before she can respond, someone near the back of the room calls out.
“How adorable!”.

Hearing the outburst, Parker is suddenly aware of the fact that he has an audience, and hides his face against his father’s neck.
Booth places a soothing hand on his son’s back, softly reassuring him.

“It’s okay, bud. You were just showing Bones that you loved her…nothing wrong with that...”

Confidence restored, Parker raises his head, resolutely nodding in agreement.

“’Cause she’s our Bones now, right Daddy?”

***

The three of them begin to walk down the steps, toward the deep red aisle. The woman’s hand rests against the man’s arm, the sapphire on her finger flashing brightly against the dark cloth of his sleeve. His other arm is wrapped around the little boy, holding him at his hip as the little family makes their way to the back of the church.

As they make the journey, the organ music follows them, covering the excited chatter of the little boy. There are a fortunate few though, those lucky enough to have a seat near the aisle, that are treated to small snippets of his commentary.

“…pretty. We are soooo lucky…”

“…MY flowers instead cause they were…”

“…whatcha do at a hunner-moon, Daddy?...”

“…can I go to the ‘hamas too…?”

Then, in one of those convergences of circumstances, the organist drops a sheet of music creating a sudden, profound silence in the room just as the three of them reach the vestibule. A quirk in the acoustics of the small room allows everyone to hear his final comment…

“…all married…...nowww, can I have a little brother too?...”

***

Now…a little preview…don’t know if it will actually make it into the next chapter, but I’ve had this bit playing in my head for the last two days, so had to put it on paper….let’s call it a...subtle...clue…lol—Ana

Several weeks later

She walks into Wong Fu’s, exhaustion tightening her face. Sinking into a chair at the bar with a heavy sigh, she closes her eyes in relief. She’s been so tired lately...
Fighting the urge to let sleep win the battle right there at the bar, she opens her eyes to find Sid staring back at her, a glass of milk in his hand.

“Milk? No, Sid…..Coffee…I need coffee…”

“Hmmph…Bone-lady, you forget who you’re talking to here?...

She holds up her hands in surrender.

“Sorry…I forgot…Sid knows best right?”

“You got it...now, you drink that right there, and….”

He places a plate with a no-frills sandwich in front of her. She lifts the bread, and looks back at him, a confused look on her face…

“Peanut butter and pickles?”

Sid laughs.”Yep. You’re a smart lady. You’ll figure it out….”

Chapter 3

A slight breeze moves through the open window, lifting and parting white curtains to make way for sunlight to enter the bedroom. The woman rests on her side, one hand between her cheek and the pillow, the other absently tracing circles over the swell of her stomach. She’s watching the path of the yellow-white beams as they cross the floor, her slight smile revealing her contentment with this simplest of moments.

The little boy runs through the hallway, excitement and anticipation on his face. He slows as he nears the doorway, and stops completely before entering the room. He watches her with soft brown eyes, unable to understand why he suddenly doesn’t want to disturb her.

Sensing another presence in the room, she turns her face towards the doorway. When she sees Parker standing at the entrance to the room, she props herself up on one arm and motions him into the room.

“Hey, Parker…”

He walks slowly, stopping at the foot of the bed, his eyes wandering around the room.

“Hey, Bones.”

She raises an eyebrow at the subdued tone of his greeting.

“Now, don’t tell me my best secret agent is getting shy. I know that I look like an inflated, ugly old troll these days, but…”

His eyes snap back to hers.

“You don’t look like a troll, Bones. They are ugly and green and have warts….and you are kinda….”

He pauses, biting his lip as he tries to find the perfect word.

“You look…glowy.”

She looks upward, as if considering the merits of the descrïption.

“Glowy….I like that. Yeah…I’m glowy.”

Her eyes fall to the small book that he is holding in one hand.

“Oh, I almost forgot. It’s our reading time isn’t it?”

Nodding, he holds up the book proudly.

“I picked this one out for today. It’s about goin’ to the zoo.”

“The zoo? That sounds perfect, Parker.”

She moves over slightly, patting the space on the bed beside her.

Excitement back now, he clambers onto the bed, snuggling as close to her as possible before opening the book in his lap. He looks down at the colorful images, and with a giggle, turns the book so that it is facing in the correct direction. He runs his hands over the surface of the pages, flattening them, then gives a sigh of satisfaction. Now, everything is in its proper place.

Leaning forward, a serious expression on his face, he talks directly to her belly.

“Okay, Baby. We’re gonna read you a story now. It’s all about the aminals…”

Smothering her smile, she places an encouraging arm around him.

“I know that I can’t wait.”

Pointing at one of the drawings in the book, she continues.

“I think you should start with this one…”

“Yep. Thatsa good one, Bones.”

He turns the book so that the bright yellow and brown illustration is facing her stomach.

“ ‘Kay, Baby. This is a lion, and they are the kings of the jungle. They go like this….”

Watching as Parker becomes completely enveloped in his narration, imitations of animal noises provided at regular intervals, her sense of contentment grows. She knows how lucky her baby is going to be to have a brother like….

She feels a small movement….

“Parker….I think the baby is really enjoying your story.”

He turns to her, eyes wide.

“Really? Can you hear him?”

“Well, no, but…..”

Taking his little hand, she places it flat against the curve of her stomach, and then watches as the wonder cross his face.

“Ooooh….I can feel him!”

He carefully holds his hand in place, mesmerized by the movement, until a look of concern crosses his face.

“It doesn’t hurt you does it, Bones?”

Touched by his concern for her, she brushes the curls from his forehead and smiles at him.

“No…not all.”

“Whew….that’s good.”

He closes the book, tracing the letters of the title with one finger.

“Um, Bones….?”

“Yeah, Parker…?”

“Can I ask you somethin’?”

Oh, boy.

“Sure….”

“How much longer before my little brother gets here? He’s been growin’ in there a loooong time”

Thinking back over the months of morning sickness, of the many trips to Costco that poor Booth had made for economy-size jars of pickles and cartons of banana fudge ripple, of the toes that she knows are still there but that she has not been able to see in ages….she can’t help but agree with him.

“Yeah, I’m ready too…the doctor said that it will be any day now…”

“Good, ‘cause I’m ready. I been wanting a brother foreeeever.”

“I know, Parker…but remember what Daddy and I talked about with you…”

He sighs heavily. “I ‘member. We don’t know if itsa a brother or a sister.”

Then, as an idea occurs to him, he turns to her.

“I know, we can take you to the lab and Dr. Zach can use the giant micra-scope on your tummy, then we’d know for sure, right?”

Laughing softly, she looks down, taking in the size at her stomach.

“Sorry, Parker…but I don’t think a microscope is quite big enough for that. Besides, your father really wants it to be a surprise.”

He nods reluctantly.

“I guess a su’prise is alright….But I sure hope itsa a brother.”

“I don’t think it will be too much longer until we all find out…”

Chapter 4

The man holds the little boy’s hand, measuring his stride so that the boy does not have to struggle to keep up. When they reach the wide, clear window of the nursery, they stop and the man kneels down in front of his son. Smiling, he brushes the curls from the boy’s forehead as he talks, his eyes never leaving his son’s face. The boy leans forward, pressing the side of his face against his father’s chest as he hugs him tightly. Placing a hand at his son’s back, the man feels the tears welling in his eyes. After a moment, the boy moves back and points up towards the window.

Booth lifts Parker up, holding him on his hip, so that he can see into the room. It seems that there are rows upon rows of babies sleeping and crying in their hospital issued bassinets. There is only one though that captures his attention. There, front row center, wrapped in pink, is his little girl, arms waving, with what he swears is a smile on her face.

“Look…right there. There she is, Parker. Your baby sister, C.J.…Isn’t she beautiful?”

Parker stares at the infant, seemingly entranced. Booth waits, knowing that his son is taking time to process the idea that baby is finally here….no longer just an idea, or something
‘growin’ in Bones’ tummy.

Finally, the little boy seems to have reached an understanding. Nodding his head, he answers his father in a quiet tone.

“Mmm-hmmm. But she sure is small, Daddy.”

“Yes, she is a tiny thing right now….but, you know, you were that little once, too.”

Parker leans back, looking at his father.

“Really? I don’t ‘member that. Glad I’m growin’ up now.”

He turns back to look through the window at his little sister, thinking again.

“Daddy…whadja say that C.J. is for again?”

“Celia Joy…”

“Cee-lee-ya” The little boy sounds out the name, as if trying it on for size, then giggles.

“Daddy…that sounds like your name.”

“That’s right…that was Bones’ idea”

“Yep…she does have good ideas.”

Parker nods, but then a small crease forms on his forehead.

” But Daddy….who is Joy? That doesn’t sound like Bones’ other name…”

“Well, buddy, Joy is…Joy is someone that Bones used to….know…a long time ago.”

“Oh, okay…”

The little boy’s reply is muted, his attention already back on C.J. His face brightens, and he waves at the window.

He turns to his father, excitement in his eyes.

“Look, Daddy…she’s waving at me. She knows I’m her big brother! Its cause I read her all those stories, I bet…”

“I’m sure she does…So, little man…you’re not too disappointed that you didn’t get a little brother?”

“I kinda was sad when you first tole me, but then I ‘cided somethin’”

“And, what did you decide, buddy?”

“Weellll….Bones is her mommy….and Bones is a girl.”

“Mm-hmm”

“And Bones is pretty cool for a girl. So, all we gotta do is…me ‘n Bones will teach her about the good stuff like pirates, and frogs, and diggin’ in the dirt and…”

***

A few weeks later. At home.

The woman sits on the sofa with a quiet sigh, placing the baby monitor on the table in front of her. She places a hand on the pile of freshly laundered baby clothes next to her, intent on folding them…but the now novel idea of just being still and doing nothing…even if just a for short while… is too appealing. She leans back, and her eyes drift slowly shut.

She jerks awake suddenly, instinctively looking towards the monitor. Hearing silence, she lets out a sigh of relief. Without looking, she starts to reach for an item to fold, but her hand finds nothing but the upholstery of the sofa. Glancing down, she sees her hand resting near a stack of unevenly folded onesies and sleepers. A sleeve hangs down from the middle, and the entire stack leans precariously to the left, but to her, it couldn’t be more perfect.

“Babies sure are a lot of hard work, aren’t they, Bones?”

She looks over and finds Parker seated at the other end of the sofa, holding a white sleeper dotted with little dancing ducks.

“Yes, they certainly can be. Lucky for me, I have my partner here to help me out.”

Parker places the last item of clothing on the stack with a small pat.

“Un-huh, cause I’m the big brother.”

“And you are a very good big brother. CJ is a lucky little girl.”

“Cause I’m her brother?”

“Absolutely.”

As she speaks, she moves the stack of clothes to the table, pats the sofa cushion next to her. After Parker slides over, she places an arm around his shoulder, hugging him closer to her.

“You know….I can tell CJ loves you already. When she hears you talking, she starts waving her little arms in the air.”

“Really?....”

“Mmm-hmm. Big brothers are very special to their little sisters, right from the beginning….”

She pauses, a flash of memory crossing her mind. Sensing that something has changed in her tone, Parker looks up at her, concern in his eyes.

“Are you sad now, Bones?”

Realizing that she has drifted off into her own memories of big-brother hero worship, she shakes her head, quickly hiding the sadness behind a smile.

“No, Parker. Don’t worry…I’m not sad. I just thinking about…Did you know that I was a little sister once?”

“You were?”

“I certainly was…and…you will like this, Special Agent Parker….my brother and I, we had a special secret code, just for the two of us. Do you want to know what it is?”

“You can tell me? Even if itsa secret?”

She pretends to ponder his question for a moment, then nods her head.

“Well…you are a big brother now, so I think it will be okay if I tell you…."

Parker listens intently as she begins to tell him the story of the “secret code”, his eyes never leaving her face.

***

Later that night.

A door creeps back slowly, and the little boy’s head peeks through the opening. Once he’s sure that the coast is clear, he steps out of the room. Staying close to the wall, he tip-toes with exaggerated care down the hallway, pausing once when he hears a noise from the next room. When he reaches the next door, he slowly turns the doorknob and pushes open the door. Stopping one more time to make sure that he hasn’t made enough noise to alert the adults, he slips silently into the room.

Unable to sleep despite her exhaustion, she rests on her side, staring at the baby monitor on the nightstand. When she sees the red light begin to flash, she starts to sit up, but stops when she hears the voice coming from the speaker.

“Marco…”

There is a short pause before he continues.

“And then, CJ, you say…Polo. You can’t say it right now ‘cause you’re too little. But when you get bigger, if I say Marco…that means that I’m tellin’ you that I love you. Then you say Polo and that means….”

She sits in the dark listening to Parker whisper to his baby sister, smiling even as she is wiping away her tears.

Oh, Celia Joy…you are a lucky, lucky little girl.

Posted 16/09/2007 06:56:41 (15/09/2007 09:56:41 PM)

No More Second Guessing
Rating:T
Genre:Smut..lol, well..as close as I get to writing it anyway!
Summary:Brennan gets tired of tip-toeing around the subject so dear to all of our hearts, and takes matters into her own hands.

Brennan looks up from the case file in her hand only to find that she’s suddenly having trouble breathing, much less coherently discussing bone fractures. He’s watching her again. And he’s got that come-a-little-closer-baby-and-let-me-make-your-toes-curl look on his face. Then suddenly, he’s standing, moving closer…and closer…slowly unfastening one button at a time on the blue shirt he’s wearing….She starts to panic a little, she’s not sure that she’s ready to handle this…and then as the folds of the shirt start to part, she catches a first glimpse…a hint of a curve of a pectoral…and she can’t remember what she was ever worried about…all she wants is for that shirt to open completely so that she can…

A hand is waving near her face, and she looks over to see Booth talking to her, trying to get her attention. Brennan sees his mouth moving, knows that he is saying something, but for the life of her she can’t hear a word he’s saying. Half of her mind is trying to dismiss that little daydream, the other half is still back there, imagining the moment when that blue shirt finally…hits…the…floor…

What the hell is going on with you? That is the third time today. This is Booth…you know that you shouldn’t be thinking about…ugggh, god, there you go again, Brennan. Get your head out of the gutter….You know whose fault this is anyway. Gordon Wyatt. Yeah, Mr. Psychology himself…he’s the one that told you to go to your ‘happy place’ whenever you get stressed. And for some reason as soon as he said the words ‘happy place’ your mind goes straight to…

“…..so we’re agreed, right? No more running after creepy serial killer dudes without me there to…”

Rip my clothes off and make mad, hot....no, no, no…not again…

Struggling to gain some sense of control, she turns to him, eyes flashing.

“You know whose fault this is? Yours, Booth.”

He’s immediately incensed by her words, and stands from the couch looking down at her.

“And how…and what…is exactly my fault, hmmm, Bones? Tell me please, because the way I see it, I’m not the one who almost got themselves killed today…”

Brennan stands to face him, hands on her hips, ready to bicker back with the best of the them.

Okay, this is going to work. All I have to do is get mad enough and I won’t be thinking about…

“You going into this…..this alpha-male, superhero, protective mode—you know that just makes me so….”

Booth takes a half-step closer.

“Makes you what? Pissed off? Well, I got news for you babe. You better get used to it, because I am always going to…"

…want to do the horizontal hula….shake the sheets…shag like a….oh, great, now Angela’s in my head…

Shaking her head in disbelief at the pattern of her own thoughts, Brennan takes another step closer, trying to summon all the fury that she can muster.

“How many times do I have to tell you, busterboo, don’t call me babe…AND..I can take care of my…”

Her words trail off as he takes another step closer, close enough for her to see the individual flecks of color in his eyes, close enough to catch his scent.

You’re in real trouble here, Brennan…

Booth looks into her eyes, ready to bring her down a peg or two…until he sees what is reflected there. When she unconsciously runs the tip of her tongue along her lower lip, he groans inwardly, he’d promised himself that he wouldn’t….but when she looks at him like that, it is just so…

Don’t do it, man. Do…not…do….it….

Ignoring his own words of caution, he takes another step closer, close enough that if either of them takes a deep breath they would be touching. His head leans in, his eyes dropping to her lips…

So close so close so close

“Busterboo, Temperance?”

He speaks softly, his mouth near enough to hers that she can actually feel the whisper of the words against her lips. She shivers recognizing that the teasing in his tone has nothing to do with her choice of words.

She closes her eyes, leaning into to meet….air.

Shock and disappointment running through her, she opens her eyes to find him halfway across the room. He’s turned his back to her, that wonderfully strong, well-muscled, sexy…

From far away, she hears his words of apology…something about partners and crossing lines…and….

ENOUGH!

Minutes…hours…weeks…months…of frustration finally reach a boiling point. Brennan stalks across the floor, and starts to reach out to him, intent on making him turn to face her…face this. Instead, her fingers come to rest between his shoulder blades and stop… before slowly sliding downwards, feeling the warmth of tensing muscles beneath the cool fabric of the shirt.

Booth turns quickly, leaving her hand hanging in the air. He tries to keep the emotion from his face, but knows that the sense of duty is fighting a losing battle with the need to…

“Temperance….what wa…oomph”

Her eyes remain open as she presses her lips against his, wanting…needing, some sign from him that he wants this as much as she does. When she feels his lips start to move against hers, her eyes drift closed and she gives herself over to what she has wanted for so very long.

She traces his lower lip with her tongue as if asking for permission, and when his mouth parts slightly, she takes command, unwilling to give him the chance to second-guess this again. Her tongue enters his mouth, gently exploring. She has every intention of make this last, to enjoy every nanosecond of the experience…until she feels his hands at her waist, lifting her up and against him.

She wraps her legs around him, and in an instant, gentle exploration turns into a battle for control. Their tongues duel as he grips her hips, holding her in place, even as her hands run through his hair, along his neck, his shoulders, desperate to bring him closer to her.

Sliding one hand along her back, he reaches blindly with the other, searching for some purchase as the world seems to tilt around him. Grateful when his palm comes to rest against an unyielding surface, he turns them both in one motion, bringing her against the wall.

Entranced with the taste of him, the need for more, she never notices. As her hands pull his shirt free from his pants, she starts to work at the buttons, then in an fit of impatience, slides her hands under the fabric, unable to go without touching him a second longer. She barely has a moment to process the sensation of tensing abdominals, when she hears the tearing of fabric, the tap of buttons falling against the floor.

The coolness of the air against her chest as he parts her shirt is a welcome relief against the consuming heat, but there is never time for her to linger in the respite. He leaves her mouth, trailing a kiss along her throat. A shiver runs through her as he places his lips on the skin just below her collar bone and begins to move downward.

The contact causes the strength to drain from her, the sensation of his mouth against her skin making it urgently impossible for her to continue the battle for dominance. Her legs slide down against his thighs as she relinquishes control…All that matters is the feeling that…

Misunderstanding her sudden acquiescence, he lifts his head away from her and takes a step back. His chest heaves as he struggles to take a breath, to regain his equilibrium.

Don’t….don’t…..couldn’t listen to good sense, could you man?

A stunned Brennan, her face flush with the heat generated in a matter of minutes, watches as he looks up at the ceiling, closing his eyes.

“Damn”.

The muffled curse from him sends her into action, closing the distance the distance between them.

“Enough….”

He glances back at her and then away again, taking in the spark in her eyes and the quickness of her breath as anger.

“I know, Temperance…I am sorry…I shouldn’t have….”

His quiet apology is lost as the rasp of a zipper echoes across the otherwise silent room.

“…of the second-guessing.”

***

Completely astounded and utterly satiated, he stares around the room in wonder—taking in the sheets pulled from their moorings, the blue shirt tossed carelessly over the lamp, the….

He’s pondering the fact that somehow the bed seems a lot closer to the opposite wall, when he feels a light touch trailing circles across his stomach. Smiling down at the woman resting her head against his chest, he decides to fight fire with fire, running a fingertip across her bare shoulder.

Feeling the shiver from her, his smile grows smug as he begins to think that he just might win this round…until he feels her hand edging lower…

“Have to have the last word, don’t you?”

He can’t see her sly smile, and there is a sharp intake of breath as she reaches her destination.

“What, Booth?.... I didn’t hear you complaining before……”

Posted 16/09/2007 06:58:46 (15/09/2007 09:58:46 PM)

Requiem for a Boy Lost
Rating:T
Genre:Angst
Summary: This was my entry for August’s NJC challenge. The song for this month was Zornik’s “The Backseat”. We are supposed to say how the song influenced our story, so here goes…

I listened to the song too many times to count. The impact of the lyrics faded in and out for me (in terms of a story idea), but the music, the arrangement, wouldn’t leave me alone and ended up forming the structure of the story. Haunting melody, techno/rock beat, sound of a ‘shot’, return of haunting melody that hasn’t quite let go of the earlier beat. So that became my story. A requiem for something that will be lost. An event that highlights the loss, and then the return of a requiem that is now marked by the event. May be that I read too much into it, but that is what I kept coming back to…well, enough writer-rambly…hope that you find this interesting. –Ana

***

He looked down at the tattoo on the inside of his wrist. It was an old man’s mark now, the ink the faded grey-green of worn money, the lines less distinct, broken and blurry in places. Yet, as he traced over it, calloused fingers rough against weathered skin, he could still remember the silver hot pain of the needles biting into his skin, the vibrant colors seeping into the angry red flesh. It was his own permanent reminder of days and nights spent flying over a beautiful green world dropping the bombs that had turned it into a hell on earth. A kid’s way of saying ‘screw you’ to a universe that had sent him over there with no chance at surviving as anything more than a damaged man. And in the end, a memorial to those that hadn’t survived at all.

Memories rose to the surface and he closed his eyes, a stoic’s move against emotions that served no purpose other than re-opening old scars. But they came anyway, just as they always did, this time the anger and the grief bleeding into newly formed fear and frustration. Because now they were taking his son and God only knew what they would do to him, how they would change the man that he had not yet had the chance to be. He’d tried to talk to him, to explain what they might demand from him. It hadn’t done any good. The boy had a romantic’s naïve ignorance of the consequences that sometimes came with duty and honor.

He opened his eyes to find his son staring back at him, waiting for the next words, the next argument. But the words were gone. The two of them were so alike, but for now, they were separated by more than two decades of hard learned lessons that couldn’t be translated into words.

“Guess your mind’s made up, isn’t it, See?”

“Yeah, Dad. It is. Look…I get what you were trying to tell me. I really do. I know you went through…..well, I’ve seen it in you my whole life. Maybe that’s why…I don’t know, I…I can’t explain it. This is just something I have to do. It’s what is right for me.”

Too weary, too heartbroken to respond, he watched silently as the boy walked closer to him and knelt beside his chair, expectation in his eyes.

“Please, Pop. Tell me you understand?”

He was just a boy wanting his father’s acceptance, his acknowledgement, and he couldn’t bring himself to offer it, not even when he saw the hurt cloud the eyes that were an exact copy of his own.

He turned away, but could hear the wounds of a disappointed child hidden behind the raw anger in his son’s words.

“Fine. That’s okay. You’ll see though. I’ll be alright. Better than alright. One of these days…one day I’ll come home and maybe you’ll see that.

With the echo of bravado still hanging in the room, the boy turned his back on his father, who began to mourn the loss as only a father could.


He’d abandoned the vehicle several miles back. In this place, the heavy sound of the engine would have been a warning, the trail of dust a signal of advancing danger.

He walked as long as he dared, reducing his posture as he traveled, snaking his way over the last hundred yards on his belly.

Once he reached the crest and peered over the precipice, he methodically dispensed with the mechanics of preparation. Gauging. Measuring. Sighting.

With all his duties but one complete, he allowed one moment to feel the sun searing the back of his neck, the friction of the sand against his skin, the stinging itch of sweat trailing down his shoulder. The fear, the adrenaline. The disgust.

One by one, he shed it all. The scorching heat, the desert grit, until the physical discomfort disappeared into the vacuum. His breathing slowed to a well-practiced rhythm. The rapid cadence of his heartbeat faded to a whisper.

He discarded everything until his world shrank to a bright circle marked by two intersecting lines. He waited until the face on the other side lost its humanity and became a series of flat shapes, nothing more than circles and ovals, angles and lines.

Then, he pulled the trigger.

“Honey, look who’s here!”

Mildly annoyed at the interruption, he lowered his newspaper and looked up expecting to see one of the neighbors, maybe one of the ladies from her garden club. His eyes traveled from the shining excitement on his wife’s face to the person standing next to her. His throat constricted as he took in the deep green uniform, the brass and colored ribbons that covered it, the wary look in his son’s eyes.

He blinked once, and then stood, his hand gripping the edge of the table to hide the tremor. They stood facing each other, still so alike, still separated by more than two decades of history, and while some of the bridges may have been crossed, new chasms had taken their place.

The silence between them grew heavy, until he could not bear it any longer. He spoke, wincing inwardly at the caution he heard in his own voice.

“Son.”

“Dad.”

The simple acknowledgement gave him the courage to venture further.

“Got some leave time, I guess.”

“Yes, sir. Something like that.”

The evasion triggered his concern and the distance between them was forgotten as he leaned closer.

“You alright, Seeley?”

“Yeah, Dad. Everything’s fine. Just earned some unexpected leave and thought I’d spend some time with you guys. If that’s okay….you didn’t turn my old room into a sewing room for Mom or anything while I was gone, did you?”

He heard the levity in the words, saw the smile on his face and wanted to believe it all. With hope in his heart, he extended his hand.

“Sure you can stay, son. It’s good to have you home.”

As he watched his son’s hand reach for his own, he began to accept the possibility that he may have been wrong. That the worst hadn’t happened to his boy.

Until he saw it. The heartbreakingly familiar stain of grey-green at the edge of his cuff, made visible when he had extended his arm.

When their hands met, he turned his own slightly so that both of their wrists were exposed. He pushed back the starched green fabric until he could see it all. See the mark nearly identical to the one he had put on his own arm so many years ago.

He knew what it meant, but he searched the face across from him for some sign that he was wrong.

But the son turned away and the father began once again to mourn the loss.

Posted 20/09/2007 18:39:19 (20/09/2007 09:39:19 AM) CheeseBK

I love every single story... really can't pick a favourite, they are all too good!!!

Posted 15/10/2007 12:14:31 (15/10/2007 03:14:31 AM) libster

i love your stories is parker returns finished or more to come.

Posted 16/10/2007 00:32:25 (15/10/2007 03:32:25 PM) Glug Glug Woohoo

You know I never read Special Agent Parker and Special Agent Parker returns before I read Celia Joy and now I know the strory behind it all!

oh ANA....the first of cj......oh how i absolutely adore the fics of her and parker........certainly hope you will try soon to write another one.....