So, here's a fluffy little one shot I wrote after Baby in the Bough. This is dedicated to jb, who is desperate for some fluff after last week's finale, and to kasper, who always pushes me to write. I figured I would give her a Bones fic, since the last time I told her I was writing, it was for Angel. Lol

The sun glinted off the lake on the bright May afternoon, causing Brennan to pull her sunglasses from the bag beside her chair and slip them on. She heard the splashing of water, and heard Booth's exasperated shout.

"Marley, out! You're scaring the fish!"

Brennan smiled and turned, in time to see him, soaked from head to toe and water trickling down his broad chest, chasing the golden retriever from the water as eleven year old Parker and four year old Madison looked on, giggling.

Booth put his hands on his hips and pretended to glare at his children. "You think that's funny?" he asked indignantly. Maddie nodded. He grabbed her and swung her in the air.

"Daddy, daddy!" she screamed excitedly. "Higher! Swing me higher!"

Parker stood by, laughing at their antics. Booth deposited Maddie back on the ground, and she and Parker promptly took off chasing him, Marley following along behind, barking madly.

Brennan smiled to herself, then turned back to the book she was reading. Gradually the voices faded away, and the warmth of the sun lulled her into a light doze.

"Mommy, mommy!" The little girls' excited shouts pulled Brennan from her rest a few minutes later. Opening her eyes, she watched as Maddie came running towards her. Sliding to a stop beside her mother's chair, Maddie grabbed her arm and pointed. "Look! I catchded a fish!"

Following her daughter's finger, she saw Booth standing by the water's edge, a pink fishing pole in his hand, a tiny fish dangling from the end of the line. Brennan reached down and scooped Maddie up. "So you did, sweetheart. It's a lovely fish." She smiled. "But you should say, 'I caught a fish.' Catchded is not a word."

"Sorry, mommy." She giggled. "Daddy says we hafta throw it back, though, so it can grow up some more."

Brennan laughed and hugged her, then set her back down on the ground, watching as she ran back to Booth, where he and Parker helped her take the fish off the hook and put it back in the water.

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The four of them ate dinner on the back deck, watching the sunset, then retired to the family room. There was no football, this being the beginning of May, but there was hockey, which was even better.

Later, after Parker and Madison were in bed, Brennan and Booth sat on the front porch, snuggled close together on the swing, watching the stars. Sighing, she laid her head on his shoulder. He tightened his arms around her. "You okay, Bones?"

She smiled. "Perfect."

Booth reached down and laid his hand on her stomach, tracing the rounded curve of the baby. She was silent for a moment, then covered his hand with hers. "I love you, Seeley."

"I love you too, Temperance," he whispered.

Brennan closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, content in his arms.

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The incessant beeping of the alarm clock woke Brennan at five thirty. Sighing, she reached over and turned it off, then sat up. As usual, after the contentment of the dream, she felt a sense of loss, which was silly. She had told herself the same thing every day for the seven days she had been having the dream; you couldn't miss something you didn't have in the first place. There was no daughter, no baby, no house by the lake…and no Booth. Well, there was Booth, of course, but he was only her partner. Nothing more.

Shaking her head at her foolishness, she slipped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dressed and headed out the door to the lab.

She went through her day, through her normal routine, pushing thoughts of Booth and the dream to the back of her mind. Once she sat down at her desk at the end of the day to finish her paperwork, however…

She knew why she was having the dreams, of course. Ever since the day they had given Andy to the Grant's, and they had sat in the back of his SUV and talked of her plans to rebuild the bridge into town, she had been thinking about him…about them. Ever since he had said that word; that one word that had made her heart skip a beat and her pulse race.

It was crazy, really…she didn't want to get married, didn't want children, but as he talked, she had wished, if only for a moment, that it could be true.

'We could all go fishing, come back home, plop ourselves in front of that big, 103 inch plasma screen of heaven; and football…'

She sighed, thinking about that conversation. That he would include her in his life that way, not as a partner, and more than a casual friend, made her feel…wanted; needed. Loved.

She had known that, of course. The looks, the hugs; even the bickering had been indications of the feelings they had for each other, and that the relationship was progressing much further than mere friendship. She just hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, but now, she had no choice. Now, with that one word, she was finally, irrationally, ready. Ready to risk it all; their friendship, their partnership, for the possibility that they could be more. And all because of that one little word. 'We'.

Brennan leaned back in her chair, frowning. It was no use; she just couldn't concentrate. Closing the file she had been working on, she shut down her computer and grabbed her purse. It was time. She couldn't wait any longer; if she did, she may never do it.

Angela was just heading out to drag Hodgins away from whatever bugs or slime he was currently engrossed in so that they could go home, when she spotted Brennan on her way out. Surprised to see her friend leaving the lab at a normal hour for once, she hurried over to her.

"Hey sweetie. Where are you off to in such a rush?" She smiled. "Got a hot date?"

Brennan turned and looked at her friend, a mischievous smile on her face. "Maybe, Angela." Seeing her friend's confused look, she grinned. "It's time to start my future."

Okay, I had a much better line to end with, but silly me, I didn't write it down as soon as I thought of it, so…

And before you ask…no, I don't have any plans to continue this, though musie has surprised me in the past, so I suppose anything is possible…