AN: Hi eyeryone! Sorry this took so long. I was doing stuff for my birthday party, I got a new kitten (I named her Eames, after Alex Eames in Law& Order:Criminal Intent)who had to be taken into the vet for shots, and I went out of state for two weeks to stay with a friend. Anyway, here's Chapter Seven. It's really Bones/Booth, because Bones is still suffering because of her cat's death (I don't know about you, but if my cat had been horriblely murdered, I'd wouldn't be all right the next day). Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning was a chaos that Tempe found strangely enjoyable. She made the discovery that Parker didn't just look like his dad, he also seemed to share Booth's utter disdain for mornings. But at least with Parker, Tempe could bodily pluck him from bed and deposit him in a kitchen chair in front of a bowl of cereal. Booth required a different approach.

"Booth, you need to get up." Tempe told her partner for the third time. Booth mumbled something incomprehensible from underneath his pillow. Tempe laughed and wrestled the pillow from his grasp.
"What did you say?" She asked. The FBI agent raised his head, with mussed hair and sleep filled eyes, and attempted to glare at her. An attempt that had Tempe laughing at him.
"Gimme." He mumbled, making a half-hearted swipe for his pillow.
"No way." Tempe jumped back, still holding her prize. "You need to get up."
"No." Booth mumbled. Having lost his pillow, he took Tempe's and burrowed under it.

Tempe shook her head and decided a new approach was called for. She crawled onto the bed and tugged on the covers until Booth's back was exposed.
"Booth, come on." She practically purred, putting a hand on his back between his shoulder blades. Booth didn't move. "Seeley . . ." She tried, leaning down and kissing his shoulder, and then his neck. "Come on babe, you need to get up, it's time for work."
"I don't want to get up." Booth said from beneath his, no her, pillow. Tempe sat back with a laugh.

"Too late." She said, reaching out and moving the pillow. Since she didn't have to fight him for it, and he was speaking in complete sentences again, she knew he was awake. Booth rolled over onto his back and gave Tempe the sexiest grin she had ever seen. His mussed hair and five o'clock shadow just made him that much sexier. Tempe leaned over him and kissed him, letting out a yelp of surprise when Booth flipped them over.
"Hmm." He muttered, pulling back so that his lips just barely brushed hers as she talked. "I could get used to getting woken up like that."
"Hmm." Tempe responded before kissing him again. When air became an issue, Booth pulled back again.
"You're much prettier than my alarm clock."

Tempe burst out laughing and pushing at his chest. Reluctantly, he sat back.
"You're still half-asleep." She teased him gently, running a hand through his hair. "Go take a shower. I'll go make sure Parker hasn't fallen asleep in his cereal bowl."
"Parker's fine." Booth had Tempe pinned before she could blink. "Wanna join me in the shower?"
"Sorry Booth, but I already took my shower." Tempe informed him.
"I noticed." He whispered huskily, nuzzling her neck. "You smell good." He gently bit her neck, chuckling when she yelped, then soothing the pain away with his lips and tongue. "Mmm, you taste good too."
"Booth!" Tempe laughed and flipped him over, knowing as she did so that she couldn't have moved him if he didn't want her to.

"Go take your shower." She told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go check on Parker. That boy is so much like you, I'll be surprised if he's not asleep at the table." She dodged his grab and laughed at his pouting look.
"Stop that. I'm building up immunity against it."
"You wish."
"I know."
"Then why do you want me to stop? You know you want me." Booth teased, looking brighter-eyed and more awake by the moment. Tempe laughed and crossed to the closet.
"If you're awake enough to tease and proposition me, you're awake enough to get up and get dressed." She left the room, leaving Booth sitting there, shaking his head.

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

Booth was amazed when, showered, shaved and dressed, he walked into the living room to find Tempe sitting on the couch with Parker sitting on her lap. His son was dressed, awake and fed. He was flipping through his dinosaur book, pointing out his favorites and stumbling through the text, with gentle coaching from Tempe. Booth had never seen Parker awake and functioning this early. Parker looked up when he heard his father in the doorway and grinned. Temp grinned when she recognized Booth's grin.
"Hi Daddy!" Parker yelled. He slid off the couch and ran to him, laughing.

"Good morning buddy." Booth snatched Parker up off the ground and swung him up above his head. Parker squealed in delight, and giggled madly as Booth spun around a few times before settling Parker on his hip. "Did you sleep well little man?"
"Yes." Parker said. "Dr. Tempe's helping me read my book!" He explained, pointing at Tempe and the book. Tempe closed the book and set it aside.

"Took you long enough." She teased Booth, crossing the room and taking Parker into her arms. She squeezed him, and then set him on his feet. "Go put your book back in your room, okay cutie?" She ruffled his hair and he beamed up at her.
"Okay." He agreed. He scampered over to the couch, reminding Tempe of an adorable puppy, snatched up the book, and rushed down the hall to his room. Tempe smiled after him, then looked up at Booth, sadness clouding her eyes.
"I put Bones in the car, and called the lab." She said in a low voice. "Zack and Hodgins are ready to do the examination, and Goodman has given me and Angela the day off."

She sighed and rested her forehead on his chest, closing her eyes against the tears and the rush of memories. Bones, with huge green eyes that seemed to big for his face, gazing up at her for the first time. The way he had clumsily attacked shadows with a kitten's determination. The awkward way he had run, when his paws and back legs had been just a little too large for his body. The way he had hissed and spat and clawed at Pete, yet had followed Sandri around like a shadow.

Tempe sniffled and wiped away a few errant tears. Booth stepped close and wrapped his arms around her in a tight, comforting hug. And although he pressed his lips against her temple in a brief kiss, the hug was not a romantic one. It was a tight hug of safety and comfort, and it was exactly what Tempe needed at that moment. Booth always seemed to know exactly what she needed and she loved him for it.

The instant the through crossed her mind, her eyes shot open in surprise, although she was very careful to keep her body relaxed. If she tense up, Booth would instantly know something was wrong. And he was so stubborn that he wouldn't leave her alone until she told him. So, while her mind raced because of a slip of the tongue, figuratively speaking, she made sure her body stayed relaxed.
'Why did I think that? Am I really in love with Booth?' Tempe had never been in love with anyone. She loved, sure; she loved Sandri, her brother, her parents and Angela of course. She had even loved a few of her boyfriends. But she had never been in love with anyone, not even Pete. But what she was feeling for Booth was stronger and felt more real than anything she had experienced before.

But she wouldn't tell him yet, if ever. What she was feeling was too new, to fragile, and she was afraid that if she vocalized them, they would fall to the ground and shatter like blown glass. Tempe smiled to herself and hugged Booth a little tighter and burying her face in his chest, breathing in his scent. She couldn't say it right now, but she could think it.
'I love you.' She thought fiercely. 'I love you.' She would wait. What Booth didn't know couldn't hurt him . . . or her.

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

"Look, Dr. Tempe! It's just like my book!" Parker said excitedly, pointing at the huge dinosaur skeleton, while holding Tempe's hand with his other hand. Angela laughed at the delight on Parker's face. Other than the three of them, the huge display room was empty, so Tempe smiled and released Parker's hand.
"Go on, go take a closer look." She urged. Parker beamed and scrambled to the display, staring up at it in open-mouthed wonder.
"He's so cute." Angela gushed. "And he looks exactly like Booth."
"I know." Tempe said with a grin.

Since Goodman had given Angela the day off as well as Tempe, she had decided to tag along with Tempe, Booth and Parker to the museum to see the dinosaurs. Booth was just a room behind them, on the phone with the FBI lab. Parker ran back to Tempe and started pulling on her hand. Tempe and Angela both laughed as Tempe let Parker lead her over to the display and Angela followed. Parker pointed at one of the reconstructed skeletons excitedly.

"Look Dr. Tempe! It's a raptor, just like in my book!" Parker squirmed, trying to see over the wall that surrounded the exhibit. It went up to his chin. Tempe smiled and picked him up setting him on her hip so he could see the entire exhibit. Parker laughed in delight and hugged Tempe around the neck. He turned his head suddenly and looked over her shoulder, that familiar smile spreading across his face.
"There you are Daddy!" Parker squealed. He wiggled and Tempe put him down.

She turned around and watched the two with a smile. Parker ran to Booth and jumped into his arms.
"There's a dinosaur just like in my book." Parker told him excitedly.
"Cool." Booth said with a grin. He turned Parker so that he could see Angela. "Why don't you go ask Angela if she'll draw you a picture of a dinosaur."
"Okay!" Parker agreed. Booth set him down and the little boy ran over to the artist. Sensing that Booth wanted to talk to Tempe alone, Angela led Parker out of earshot.

"What did the lab have to say?" Tempe asked Booth. He grinned at her and reached out to tug on a stray strand of her hair before tucking it behind her ear.
"The lab finally matched the prints." He told her.
"From the brick?"
"Yeah. They belong to an Arnold T. Yelstam. He had a few arrests for peeping at girls, two for breaking and entering, even a few for stalking."
"Well, let's go get him!" Tempe demanded Booth pulled her into his arms to keep her from rushing from the room.

"Whoa there Tiger. There's a problem."
"What?"
"Well, his last known was with his mother. And when she died last year, he sold the house to a development company, who tore it down." Booth loosened his grip, but Tempe didn't leave his embrace. In fact, she stepped closer and rested her head on his chest.
"Let me guess . . . he didn't exactly leave a forwarding address."
"Good guess." Booth dropped a quick kiss to her hair, then pulled back to look at her. "You alright?"
"I'm fine."
"Well, then, let's go catch up to Parker before he has Angela drawing him a fifty-foot mural."

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

"How's the weather up there little man?" Angela teased Parker, who was perched on Booth's shoulders, staring at a reconstructed Tyrannosaurus Rex and Brontosaurus with wide-eyed amazement. Parker giggled at Angela's question, then looked around.
"Where's Dr. Tempe?" He asked.
"She's right over there sweetie." Angela assured him. "She's just on the phone."
"Oh." Parker turned his attention back to the dinosaurs, but his father shot a questioning look at Angela, who gave him a tiny nod.

The phone call was from Goodman.

Tempe finished her phone call and made her way back over to them, just as Parker spotted a sandbox where four kids about his age where using large paintbrushes to try and uncover a 'dinosaur skeleton'.
"Look Daddy!" He squealed excitedly. "I want to dig too!"
"I take him over there." Angela offered, reaching up to take Parker. "That way you can talk to Tempe."
"That okay with you buddy?" Booth asked his son. Parker, who was so eager to go dig that he was practically vibrating, nodded vigorously and reached for Angela. Angela laughed and caught the bundle of energy as he threw himself off of his dad's shoulders and into her arms. Angela carried him over to the sandbox as Booth turned to Tempe and touched her arm.

"What did Goodman have to say?" He asked her gently. Tempe looked down, blinking back tears.
"He said that Zack and Hodgins were finished."
"Oh." Booth moved his hand up her arm and across her shoulder to rest against the smooth skin of her neck.
"I'm really sorry about your cat, Bones. I know how much you loved him."
"Would you mind talking me back to my place later, so I can bury him?" Tempe asked quietly. Booth nodded.
"Tell you what. We'll leave Parker at the lab with Angela, we'll go bury your cat, and then we'll go back and pick up Parker."
"Okay." Tempe gave him a weak smile, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. "Thank you." She whispered, just before his lips covered hers.

They pulled apart when a four year old voice reached their ears.
"Ewwww! Daddy, you're kissing Dr. Tempe!" Parker looked horrified. Booth and Tempe both laughed at the look on his face. Booth grabbed his son and held him upside down.
"You got a problem with that little man?" Booth teased. "Get him Bones!"
"Oh, you're in for it now." Tempe teased Parker, reaching out and tickling him until he squealed, then leaning in and kissing his cheek, making Parker giggle, and Booth laugh.

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

"Thanks again." Tempe told Booth. Booth reached across the darkened car and took her hand, then rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand.
"No need to think me Bones. This was something you needed to do."

Booth and Tempe were on their way back to the lab to pick up Parker after the 'funeral' for Bones. They had recovered his remains from the Institute. Zack had placed them neatly in a small wooden box, which Booth had collected because Tempe couldn't bring herself to touch it. It broke Booth's heart to see her in so much pain. She had had Bones for so long that he was almost like a child to her.
They had buried Bones in his favorite corner of the back flower garden, where he had loved to lie and sun himself. Tempe had taken it hard, sobbing brokenly in Booth's arms for at least ten minutes. As much as he hated seeing her in this much pain, he was glad that she trusted him enough to let him see her like this. He felt honored that she didn't push him away, that she allowed him to offer her strength.

Booth lifted her hand to his lips and brushed his lips over her knuckles before releasing it with a smile and replacing it on the steering wheel. He stopped at a red light, and glanced over at Tempe, who had pulled her feet up under her and was resting her head on the window.
"Are you okay Bones?"
"Just tired." She smiled at him. "I think that seeing Parker will probably cheer me up."
Booth grinned as the light changed green and he started forward. "Yeah, Parker has that affect on people."

"Booth!" Tempe screamed, seconds before a black SUV slammed into them, and Booth's vision went white, then black.

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

Booth moaned and blinked, shaking his head to try and clear his head of the cobwebs, which caused pain to explode behind his eyes. His eyes burned and the world seemed red. The coppery tang of blood reached his nostrils, and he started wiping blood out of his eyes.
"Bones?" He mumbled, his jaw feeling swollen and uncooperative. He turned his head, wincing at the twinge that caused white explosions of pain. Tempe was unconscious, her head resting limply against the metal door frame, blood dripping down her face from cuts from glass from the shattered passenger window. The SUV had hit them on Tempe's side, which was why she had seen it first. The door was bent inward, trapping her legs and pinning her to the side by her ribs.

"Tempe?" Booth reached out to her, wincing at a small pain in his muscles. He touched her shoulder, but didn't shake her, worried about her neck.
"Tempe? Temperance, are you all right? Bones, wake up, come on, please." He looked up when he heard the footsteps. But when he saw the face peering in the smashed window, leering at Tempe, Booth's heart almost stopped and an icy hand of fear gripped his spine. He knew that face! He had seen it only a few hours ago, in the file the FBI lab had faxed to him at the Jeffersonian.

It was the face of Arnold T. Yelstam. The man who's prints had been on the brick thrown through Tempe's window. It was her stalker!

"Get the hell away from her!" Booth yelled, grabbing for his gun. Yelstam sneered at Booth.
"I warned you." Yelstam's voice had a whining tone that made Booth's cringe. "I warned both of you! She's mine! Mine! She's better off dead than with you! She belongs to me!"
"Get away from her or I will shoot you." Booth freed his gun and leveled it at Yelstam, who sneered again.
"Oh please. Everybody knows that FBI field agents are horrible shots."

The weight of his gun was making his injured muscles and shoulder scream, but he fought to keep the gun steady, despite the pain and the blood still running into his eyes.
"Think again, you bastard. I was a military trained sniper for the Rangers, and you're threatening my partner. Get the hell away from her!"
"No! She's mine!" Yelstam reached for Tempe, almost like he was going to drag her out of the shattered passenger window, and Booth saw the knife in his hand for the first time. It seemed dark with blood, and he suddenly flashed to what Zack had told them about Bones' body.

The cause of death had been blood loss. There were five wounds to Bones's spine, made by a seven inch blade with a single serrated edge, just like the one in Yelstam's hand. The knife started moving toward Tempe and Booth fired, just as a tremor wracked his arm, causing the gun to jerk. Yelstam jerked and screamed in pain and shock as the bullet hit him in the shoulder, causing him to drop the knife. Booth heard sirens, getting closer by the second; someone must have reported the accident. Yelstam heard them also, and his eyes went wide as he stumbled back, his hand pressed to his shoulder.

"I'll get you later." He snarled. "I'll get you and be back for her! She's mine!"
"Not likely." Booth spat, his body hurting more by the second, and his eyes burning because of the blood running into them. "You'll never touch her!"
"She's mine!" Yelstam screamed, before turning and running off into the night. As soon as he was gone, Booth's gun fell from his nerveless fingers. As the darkness closed in, Booth reached out and gripped Tempe's arm, just to feel her, and to let her know that he was there. As the emergency vehicles got close enough to see the lights, Booth closed his burning eyes and sank into unconsciousness.

AN: Well, there it is, Chapter Seven. Did you like it? Hate it? What? Reveiw please! Sorry about the chilf hanger, but I'll try to get Chapter Eight out as soon as possible (I know, I know, I always say that. But it's true! I don't have class or anything, just work from seven until noon.)