EPILOGUE

Brennan was torn. On the one hand, she was looking forward to returning to work on Monday. She really missed her work, though she had kept up with emails and reading all the casefiles they were working on. On the other hand, she didn't want to leave little Russell. They had found a wonderful nanny for him. Rachel Foreman had impeccable credentials and came with glowing references from the other two families she had worked for. She was thirty-two, a tiny brunette with a boundless supply of energy and a sometimes irritating chirpy manner. Though they had nothing in common, she and Brennan had immediately clicked. Booth didn't understand it, but Brennan thought maybe it was the warm and loving way she was with the baby. Brennan thought she would feel jealous of her, but somehow all she felt was gratitude that she had found someone else who shared her fascination with every little thing Russell did.

Brennan looked down at him, cradled securely in her arms, as she rocked him. She had just finished breast feeding him and she smiled as his eyes moved behind his translucent eyelids and a frown formed on his perfect brow. His lips pursed and a milk bubble formed as his mouth sucked reflexively. She sighed with contentment. She could sit and watch him sleep like this for hours. His hair, so like Booth's, stood up in places and no amount of smoothing would tame it. His eyes, dark blue when he was born, had turned dark chocolate brown, and looking into them never failed to tug at her heartstrings. She was going to have a hard time telling the little guy 'no' when he got old enough to get into things, and as for punishing him, she feared that was going to be nearly impossible.

She heard the front door open and a minute later Booth was there, crouched by the rocking chair. "Hi," he whispered with a smile, leaning forward to kiss her. He touched a finger to his son's cheek, starting him on another round of sucking. "How's he been today?" he asked softly, eyes watching the baby intently.

Brennan smiled tiredly. "Wonderful, as usual. I realize I should enjoy it while I can, but sometimes I wish he didn't sleep so much."

Booth chuckled. "Yeah, won't be long you'll be looking back on these times with fondness," he warned. Standing, he shrugged out of his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. "Hand him over," he urged, and she did so gladly. Her arms were getting tired.

Cradling his son to his chest, Booth started shifting from foot to foot, watching the dreams flitting across his son's tiny face. The look of wonder he wore made Brennan smile.

"Well, I'm going to go finish making dinner. The little guy interrupted me in the middle and I had to turn it off." Leaning up to kiss Booth, she hurried out. Booth sat in the rocker, shifting his son a bit and starting to rock gently, his mind wandering as the baby slept on.

If anyone had told him a year ago that he and Bones would me happily married with a baby, he would have thought they were crazy. And here they were, and he couldn't imagine it any other way. They still had their disagreements, but one thing they always had was a deep love for each other and their son.

Brennan called out that dinner was ready. Booth got up and laid the baby in the crib, turning the baby monitor on. Softly stroking the downy head one last time, he left the room quietly to join her at the dinner table.

He could tell something was bothering her. She was only half listening as he told her about his day and she was barely eating. Finally he put his fork down.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or do you want me to guess?" he asked.

Her eyes snapped to his. "What?" she asked distractedly. "Oh, nothing, I'm fine."

He leaned back, studying her. "You might as well tell me," he said.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, recognizing his 'interrogation voice'. "I return to work on Monday," she began. He nodded, waiting for her to go on. "I'm—worried about Russell. What if he needs me?" she asked, trying not to sound whiny.

"Rachel will have your number at the lab. She'll call you if she needs you—"

Brennan frowned. "What if there's no time? What if something happens and she has to run him to the emergency room—" she was talking faster and faster. Booth's hand on hers stopped her litany of worries.

"Rachel is very capable, honey," he said gently. "You like her, don't you?"

Brennan swallowed and nodded. "Of course, she's the best, but what if—"

He leaned forward to cup her cheek. "It'll be fine," he insisted. "Have you changed your mind about working?" he dared to ask.

She stiffened and pulled away. "No! I love my work, I can't imagine quitting altogether—" she said, frustrated.

"Then what do you wanna do? You wanna take the baby with you to the lab?" he asked, trying to understand where this was going.

Frowning, she shook her head. "That wouldn't work, I wouldn't get anything done—"

"Then what?" he cut in, completely at a loss.

"I don't know!" she cried out, frustrated. She jumped to her feet and started clearing away the dishes. "I didn't ask for these feelings. I love him so much, more than I ever dreamed I would and I want to be here for him all the time." She stopped at the sink and dropped her head forward. "But my work is so important to me. To stop—I wouldn't be me any more."

Booth got up and crossed to stand next to her, touching her shoulder. "It'll be okay. You'll see. Once you're back in the lab with your squints and the bones and bugs and slime and everything, you won't have time to miss him—" Booth stopped as he realized that was the worst thing he could have said.

Her mouth dropped open. "Not miss him? What kind of mother do you think I am?" she demanded unreasonably.

Booth suppressed a groan. "Bones, stop. I didn't mean—you're twisting my words." Her lips pressed together and she scowled up at him. Grabbing her upper arms, he turned her to face him fully. "What I'm trying to say is, you wouldn't be happy giving up your career for the baby, I know that. We're lucky to have Rachel to take care of him when we can't." Putting a knuckle under her chin, he tipped her head up until her eyes met his. "You'll always be his mother."

Brennan bit her lip. "I know. I just hope he remembers that."

Booth pulled her close and rocked her in his arms gently. "He will, baby. I'm sure of it."

She relaxed against him, taking comfort in his solid strength. The fear was still there, lurking in the back of her mind, but she decided there was no point worrying about it. They'd just have to do the best they could and hope things would work out. If they didn't there'd be time to deal with it then.