[DISCLAIMER] Bones doesn't belong to me.

Seeley Booth has never been a fan of typing up arrest reports.

Sure, he loves the arresting part. The physical, adrenaline-inducing fieldwork. He even enjoys interrogating the suspects, getting into their head, solving the crime. That aspect of his job is great.

What he doesn't enjoy so much?

The boring office work that accompanies a big case.

They'd just caught a spree killer who'd attacked five women within a matter of days, each time his cool-off period decreasing. Sweets had profiled that the mix of anger and adrenaline would cause him to escalate and, hopefully, make a mistake. Thankfully, for his latest kill, he'd been sloppy and had left fingerprints on the weapon (he used knives, different ones, each left at the scene of the crime), obviously so angry he forgot to put on his gloves and Bingo. The squints at the lab found a match almost immediately and they brought him in.

He wishes the difficulty of the paperwork had a direct correlation to the difficulty of the case, because this particular report is being a bitch right now. Staring at the screen, the word count is still at 52, like it has been for the past hour. Groaning, he drops his head into his hands.

"Hey, Booth?"

The FBI agent glances up at the sound of his name and sees Sweets standing at the doorway, an apprehensive expression on his face. "What is it, Sweets?"

The profiler winces at the sharp tone. "Um. Doctor Brennan just called. Wants to know when you'll be home."

"Tell her I've got no idea," he snaps. "This damn report is never getting finished!"

"Ok." Sweets enters the office, despite the fact he realises that's probably the last thing Booth wants, but whatever. You can't always get what you want. He takes the seat opposite the frustrated agent and asks, "what's really the matter here, Booth?"

"What's really the matter?" He repeats incredulously. "I'm stuck here working on this damn report while my partner and new born baby are at home!"

"Ah. And you're irritated because you're not with them."

"Doesn't take a shrink to work that one out, Sweets," he replies, running his hands through his now-dishevelled hair.

Sweets holds up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm not the one keeping you here. Don't take it out on me."

"I know. I know." He lets out a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. How are Doctor Brennan and Christine doing?"

Booth's exhausted expression brightens as he turns around a framed picture of them that sits on his desk. "They're doin' great. Look at 'em. They're gorgeous, right?"

Sweets observes Booth's content smile and the corners of his mouth lift in a similar way. "Very gorgeous."

"I need to get home," Booth muses as he stares at the picture, one he'd taken during Christine's first night home. Brennan is expertly cradling their daughter, her eyes sparkling with delight as she watches the hours-old baby breath in and out. He'd captured his partner's laugh perfectly, her mouth open in a wide smile, her skin practically glowing, even in photograph form. All he can think is how he needs to be with them right now, how he needs to hug them and kiss them in order to forget about his crappy day.

"How can I help?"

"It's just this damn arrest report," Booth complains. "The case is open and shut, but I can't seem to type it up." His gaze flicks back to the framed picture of his family. "I'm too distracted."

"Maybe you should just go home? Spend time with your beautiful baby girl, get a good nights sleep, come back and finish it tomorrow."

"The director won't like-."

"I'll keep him off your back."

Booth smiles. "You'd do that for me?"

Sweets shrugs, silently thinking that he'd do anything for the agent who's become like family. "Of course."

"Thanks, Sweets!" Suddenly more energised at the prospect of seeing his girls in less than half an hour, he saves the file, logs off the computer and grabs his jacket off the back of his chair. He slaps Sweets on the back as he practically races out of his office, desperate to see his family.

The profiler just watches, a soft smile on his face, glad everything has worked out for Booth and Brennan.

"Hey, Bones!" He calls once he has the door open, his bad day at the office already out of his mind.

"Lounge!" She calls back over her shoulder.

He's by her side in seconds, his lips meeting hers. "I've missed you today," he murmurs against her lips, pressing another kiss to them.

"I've missed you, too," she replies honestly. "Have a good day at work?"

"No. But let's forget about that." His eyes scan the living room and he doesn't see his daughter. "Where's Christine?"

"Upstairs having a nap." Noticing him heading for the stairs, she adds, "don't wake her, Booth!"

"I won't, I won't. I've just missed her is all."

She shoots him a stern glare. He doesn't believe he won't wake her up. He always does whenever he gets really excited to see her. "Booth."

"I won't wake her," he promises as he climbs the stairs and heads towards Christine's nursery, right next to their room. He pads across to her crib, seeing her sleeping like an angel, snuggling with the bunny he'd bought for her. Unable to help himself, he reaches inside the crib and brushes his finger across her clenched fist.

"Booth," Brennan admonishes quietly, entering the room. "What did I tell you?"

"She's still sleeping," he whispers, beckoning her over. "Look. See."

Brennan's face softens.

"She's so precious."

"I know," she murmurs proudly, unable to resist gently stroking her daughter's hair.

"We're good at making babies, Bones."

"While I agree, I hope you're not hinting for another one, because I just-."

"No, no. Not yet anyway. I just. She's so perfect."

"She really is," Brennan responds serenely.

"And you're an amazing mom," he compliments. "How'd you ever think you'd be bad at this?"

Her mouth falls open slightly, but before she can respond, Christine's eyes open and she's in Booth's arms in seconds. Arching an eyebrow at her partner, she says, "I thought we were going to let her self-soothe?"

He grins cheekily, pressing a kiss to one of Christine's chubby cheeks. "Couldn't resist. I've been waiting for this moment all day."

"Maybe you should take some time off work? It's not fair that you work hard all day while Christine and I are home without you."

"Sounds like you really miss me, Bones," he smirks.

"We do miss you," she admits, taking ahold of one of Christine's tiny hands. "Don't we, sweetheart?"

He feels a pang in his heart. He wants nothing more than to snuggle with his family all day, but he can't. He has other responsibilities.

Brennan notices his downcast expression and touches his forearm. "It's ok if you can't. I'm sure we can survive a few hours apart."

He sighs. "I need to earn money."

"I have money," she offers.

"That's sweet, but I mean my own money. So I can spoil my favourite girls."

Brennan's eyes sparkle as she watches him watch their daughter. "Favourite girls?"

"Well, yeah," he deadpans. "Who else would it be?"

"That's a good point, Booth." She pauses, biting her lip. "We're still going to miss you while you're at work though."

"Me, too, Bones. Me, too."

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