The Heart in Overdrive

Disclaimer: While I want Bones to be mine, mine, mine – wanting is not getting. And in this case, is definitely NOT having. Boo. So I'm just playing with them for a little while for my own amusment.

Previously...

Katie placed a mug of hot chocolate in front of each of them with a chuckle; she knew deflection when she saw it. She slipped into a seat and looked at the faces around her. "Ok. I'll give you the short version for now, as not one of you looks like you've slept well for a couple of weeks."

Richard spoke up, "Katie, they've had a dog of a case, and every single one of them have been working at least 20 hour days for the last three weeks, hence the bags under their eyes". Brennan looked around at her friends, and she wondered briefly if she looked as bad as they did.

"Ok my lovelies, Cliff Notes version: Welcome to Tucker County, West Virginia and this place" she gestured all around her, "is Oaklands Farm..."

"Wait, we're in Tucker County? As in Huntsville, Tucker County? Home of little Andy?" Booth interrupted sharply, while looking at Brennan with surprise.

"Well, technically we're over 20 minutes away from Huntsville. But yes, Agent Hot Stuff, you are correct. Little Andy is my adopted grandson" Katie said as she leaned back with a smile.

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Chapter 5 – Early birds

As is typical for Parker Booth, he awoke early on Saturday morning but today it took him a little while to work out where he was. The very first thing he noticed was his foot was caught in something hairy. As he pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked around in bleary confusion, he realised he was in a gigantic bed with his sleeping dad. His dad was at the far edge of the bed but for some weird reason he was laying diagonally across it, his head down the same end as his dads' feet. He gulped; he hoped dad had a shower before he came to bed, because his feet could stink really bad sometimes. He couldn't smell anything right now, but it really wasn't safe to stay near them – just in case.

He tried to move his foot away from the hairy thing, but he only managed to kick his father instead. He sat up a little more and looked in puzzlement at his foot. Somehow it had got caught up in the sleeve of his fathers' T-shirt. Eew! It's his armpit. Oh that's gross. He wrinkled his nose while trying to save his foot from cooties getting all over it. While he really loved his dad and even though he wasn't sure where cooties lived, it was his armpit, and they could be in there waiting to attack. Actually, he didn't even know what cooties were – he knew from the kids at school they weren't good though. I'll have to ask Bones when I see her next, she knows everything, he thought seriously.

With his foot safely rescued and any potential cootie invasion wiped off onto the bed sheet, he looked around the room and tried to recall where he was. It didn't look familiar at all, but then he remembered playing air guitar in the van last night before he fell asleep on Bones's lap. Oh yeah, I'm on holidays with Dad and all our friends! Awesome!

He climbed down from the bed and had a look around. At this very moment he was interested in only three things:

1) The location of the bathroom

2) Where the TV was, and

3) Finding the remote.

He quickly found the bathroom which was lucky, he really needed to go. Next was to find the TV. He knew he was allowed to watch cartoons in the morning as long as the sound was turned right down so he didn't wake any one up. He'd found the remote, he just had no idea where they had hidden the TV. Hmm, this wasn't good.

He looked around for something to play with. Nothing. I hope they have some kids stuff somewhere, he thought in slight panic. He looked around the room again and this time he noticed the sheer curtains in front of him had a slight gap in the middle. Like most inquisitive 6 year olds with nothing better to do, he wandered over and pulled them apart to find two huge glass doors behind them. A little later that day he'd learn they are called French doors, but for now he pushed down on the ornate brass handle to open it and walked through.

He found himself on a huge balcony that ran nearly the whole length of the house. There were lots of nice plants in pots, little tables with matching chairs and a metal railing that was slightly taller than he was. Not that it really mattered because he was able to easily see the view between the wires anyway.

He walked over to it and looked out. The first thing his eyes were drawn to was a wide river that had a little island in the middle of it. Oh cool! We can go swimming! Maybe there's even a boat, he thought excitedly. He noticed there seemed to be lots of forest around, and he resolved to ask Jack if they could go bug hunting together. He and Richie could go 'sploring too and find some old dinosaur bones to dig up, and maybe even Ange could help him use his new kids digital camera she gave him a few months ago for his birthday, so they can get some really good pictures to show his mum. Daddy and Bones could take him fishing and swimming... the more he thought, the more excited he was about all the things they could do.

As his eyes moved from the river and up the bank, situated between the house and the river, was a weird looking stage thing over near some big trees, and a little frown formed on his forehead as he tried to work out what it was. As he looked at it intently, he noticed two people inside it. He moved a little further along the balcony to try and get a better look and as he shifted position, he could see quite clearly what was going on.

His frown deepened and his mouth opened slightly as he watched the really odd sight for quite a while, and it wasn't until they both turned that he recognised one of the people was Bones.

As soon as this realisation hit, he ran quickly back into his room and was hurriedly trying to find his bag of clothes so he could get dressed. "Dad!" he called out while pulling everything in the bag out onto the floor so he could find a pair of jeans. He looked up at the bed to see if his dad had moved.

"Daaaad!" he repeated as he whipped off his PJs and stepped into his pants. "You 'wake Dad? You really gotta see this" he said excitedly. Still nothing. He frowned as he threw on a T-shirt and found a pullover; it wasn't like his dad to not answer him at all. "Come on sleepy head, we're on holidays, you gotta get up," he said it a little louder, his dad was old, he reasoned to himself, maybe he's going a bit deaf like Grandma. His shoes and socks almost on, he still hadn't heard a sound from his father.

Once he was dressed, he climbed back onto the gigantic bed and crawled over to his fathers' head "Dad, you 'wake?" he lifted one of Booths eyelids up and peered at his eyeball to see if he was in fact awake or whether he was just faking it. It seemed to roll around in his head, "Daaad, you 'wake?" he repeated loudly.

"No bub, I'm asleep. I've told you a million times, when I'm in bed and my eyes are shut it means I'm asleep," Booths voice was gravelly and tired, a fact completely lost on his excited son.

"But dad, Bones is outside on a stage thing and she's doing a really weird slow dance with a man. Come on, you gotta come see," Parker was gently shaking him and trying to lift that eyelid up again.

"Bub, just give me ten more minutes and I'll get up ok?" Booth quietly pleaded, shoving a pillow over his head, so Parker couldn't accost his eyelids again. The last three weeks of next to no sleep were starting to take its toll on the normally energetic father.

"Ok dad, then I is going 'sploring. I wanna see why Bones is dancing so weird" he lifted the pillow covering his dads head, and gave him a wet peck that landed on his closed eyelid, "See ya."

Booth groaned into his pillow and rolled over, it took a few minutes to process what Parker had been saying, but as the fog slowly lifted from his tired mind, Parkers words started to sink in... 'Bones... slow dance with a man'... Huh? What the hell is he talking about? He pushed himself up into a sitting position and ran his hand through his hair. What did he just say?

"Parker?" he called out. Did he say he was going exploring? He sighed as he got out of bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans over his boxers and looked around the room; it looked like a bomb hit it. "A Parker bomb" he muttered under his breath, noting the clothes scattered all over the floor from one end of the room to the other. "Boys are so damned messy" he muttered again.

As he moved to pick up Parkers clothing two things happened at once. His tired mind had finally grappled with what Parker had been saying and he'd noticed the curtain was parted and the French doors open. He felt a twinge of jealousy based on the ramblings of a six year old at – he looked at his watch – 6:15 in the morning. He groaned again when he realised he hadn't even got four hours sleep. No wonder his head was so foggy.

He opened the curtains completely, the sun kissing him good morning with its golden yellow rays. What a beautiful sunrise. He walked through the French doors and looked around. This place is amazing, but he'd take a closer look at everything as soon as he'd worked out what Parker had been talking about. He ambled over to the railing and immediately saw a huge octagonal-shaped rotunda over near some very old rambling oak trees. It was the 'stage thing' Parker had mentioned. Its timber and iron-lace combined to create a very large and beautiful outdoor room while the domed roof provided ample shade and protection from the elements. Like Parker, Booth moved to his left a little more to get a better view – and instantly he'd solved Parker's riddle.

In the middle of the rotunda were Bones and another man he did not recognise. Both were dressed in their baggy white martial arts uniforms that were cinched at the waist with black belts, and their feet bare. On the floor of the rotunda were four large training mats pushed together to form a giant square. Standing a couple of feet apart, both of them were doing slow and controlled punches and kicks in the air and they were moving in perfect synchronicity. With his side-on view of them in the rotunda, he watched her in fascination – she looked serene, relaxed – and utterly beautiful.

As he leant on the railing, he realised he was watching them perform what Bones had called Kata. He'd seen her practicing it one time when he had picked her up from her Karate class when they had been called out to a case. Kata were like sets of detailed choreographed patterns of movement. It involved practicing the moves you might make in response to an enemy attacker, while using a set of punches and kicks along with stepping and turning at the same time as attempting to maintain perfect form. She'd explained at the time that they made for great warm ups before sparring as well as training and reinforcing your learned skills.

He yawned widely and ran his hand over his face to try and wipe away the last vestiges of sleep. He had no idea where Brennan got her energy levels from. He was exhausted, between the case and then another late one last night – he shook his head in wonderment at her, she had just as little sleep as he had and yet here she was in front of him going through her exercise. He was certain Ange, Jack, Cam and Richie weren't up earlier than a sparrow's fart – like he was now, and if he didn't have Parker with him, he was pretty certain he wouldn't be seeing the sun until it was well overhead in the sky. He yawned widely again – trying to get some of that fresh mountain air into his lungs and trying not to think about the bed waiting for him inside.

As he continued to watch her graceful movements, his mind started working overtime. He was going to get some answers today if it killed him. His curiosity was instantly peaked last night at the revelation they were in Tucker County, West Virginia. But he didn't get much more information than that because everybody's adrenalin levels had finally levelled out and all were more than ready to hit the sack. It was decided that Katie would arrange brunch for them so they could sleep in, then they could talk all they wanted. Bones was also going to show them around and Katie would tell them about what was available for them to do during their stay.

But it was more than that, Bones was clearly very comfortable with Katie, but how long have they known each other? How did they meet? How does she know about this place? Clearly she's been coming here for quite some time, but how come she's never mentioned it? And there was far more to her interaction with Ernie the bus driver last night than what met the eye. Yes indeed, there were so many questions he wanted answers to. He sighed as he shook his head slightly as if to clear his head from the mini tornado that his mind was creating.

As he continued to watch her, a movement off to the right caught his eye. Glancing over, it was a small boy skipping down the cobblestone pathway that meandered between the beautifully manicured gardens and a large copse of huge old oak trees. Aha! There he is – number one son.

He watched as Parker made his way down to the rotunda, then stop just before he mounted the stairs. He must have said something as Bones' head snapped around to face him and from the angle Booth was standing, he could see the look of delight on her face. She didn't stop her practice, but she was saying something to his son with a smile on her face. Parker grinned and nodded in response then quickly climbed the stairs and sat himself at the top of them, sitting cross legged and his mouth wide open while she obviously talked to him as they went through the routine. The only time he closed his mouth was when he took a bite and chewed whatever it was in his hands. Uh-oh. Please tell me Parker has not been exploring in the kitchen again.

The crisp early morning air was giving him goose bumps, but he couldn't take his eyes off the scene that was playing out in front of his eyes. He felt a flutter as he watched them interact. Brennan had talked a little more to Parker and his eyes lit up and the smile he gave her was just beaming. He quickly stood up, shoved the entire thing of whatever it was in his hands into his mouth, and then moved towards Brennan. He could barely close his jaws for the size of the bulge in his cheeks. He was madly trying to chew and swallow and Booth could hear the quiet echo of Brennan's laugh as she chuckled at his sons antics.

Booth was riveted to the spot. When had his partner become so good with his son? Now he felt his heart lurch in his chest as he continued watching the scene before him.

She'd finally stopped her practice and had knelt down in front of Parker. Booth would have given anything to know what she was saying to him as she continued to talk to him, the grin still playing across her lips. Parker's eyes were wide, and he was still desperately trying to swallow that enormous mouthful of food. Brennan laughed again, then she gently poked one of his bulging cheeks and he suddenly burst out laughing, spraying his food all down her white uniform and the floor. Parker was horrified at what he did, and before Booth could even think about moving to salvage the situation, Brennan just laughed again, a little louder as Booth could again hear the faintest of traces of it.

The look on Parkers face almost made his heart break and Booth unconsciously held his breath, wondering how she would react. But Brennan just reached out and scooped the little boy to her, murmuring soothing words as she pulled a few tissues from the inside of her white uniform and wiped his face clean of tears and food, then she quickly cleaned up the mess. She was looking directly at Parker, a smile continued to adorn her features and she had made him giggle again.

Booth let out a whoosh of air, this woman was amazing. How could she ever think for a second that she was no good with kids?

Parkers arms were suddenly latched tight around her neck, and both laughing hard as his exuberant display of affection had made Brennan lose her balance and they both tumbled to the floor, Brennan holding Parker securely on top of her so he wouldn't get hurt. Even in a playful accident she was mindful of protecting his son.

Booth was awestruck. He knew that Brennan had slowly been changing over the four or so years he'd known her, but in the last 12 hours he'd seen a side to her that she rarely showed, let alone in public and in front of strangers. No, he amended, that's not quite right - these people might have been strangers to him, but they weren't to her. But the fact that she had arranged all of this – the getaway, getting Rebecca to agree to let him have Parker for over a week, ensuring Richie was here for Cam – she'd changed a little more than he had actually realised. His heart swelled with pride for her, she was trying so very hard to use her heart – and the results had him thrown a little off-kilter. He thought he knew her better than she knew herself. But he was suddenly not so sure about that. He grinned at the thought. Getting to know this other side of her while they were away was going to be very interesting.

While Booth was busy mulling things over, Brennan and Parker had eventually got to their feet, smiles still on their faces. Brennan had introduced Parker to her companion. The man had stopped his routine a while ago as he watched their goings-on, and smiled and talked as Parker and Brennan laughed again. The man moved so that he was standing in front of Parker, and Brennan moved so she was standing directly behind Parker. At the man's word, Brennan reached in front of her and gently guided Parkers hands so his palms were together in prayer fashion in front of his chest and then she murmured in his ear and they bowed together to the man.

They stood upright and the man moved his feet in a wide open stance position with his arms raised. Parker imitated the position, and Brennan – right behind him – moved his foot slightly so it was in the right spot, her arms covering his so that he learnt the correct position to start his movements. Booth smirked as he wondered idly if he told her he wanted to learn Karate whether she would teach him in the same way she was teaching Parker. Then he remembered when Brennan had helped him with his back troubles, and he clearly recalled the feel of her body pressed up behind him as she reached under his arms to manoeuvre his head.... that little interaction had fuelled countless fantasies for weeks afterwards. He smiled again. Yes, he might have to learn karate with Parker – the opportunities for a little one-on-one sparring time with Bones were infinite.

Brennan continued moving his son's arms and hands in a set of patterns, eventually stepping away from him as he got the hang of it. She stood beside him as they both repeated the patterns the man in front of them made. Booth shook his head to clear away the lusty thoughts and pushed away from the railing, it was time to get started on the day, and as much as he liked to observe his Bones, he much preferred to interact with her.

Booth moved quickly back to his room, showered and dressed. He did a spot clean of the room, well, actually the only thing that was a mess was Parker's gear, but he quickly tidied it up then headed out to find his two favourite people.

His room was on the second floor and when Katie had led him to it last night; the house had been shrouded in darkness, with only a few dimmed down-lights to show the way. So he was a little surprised to find the house awash with natural light as he made his way down stairs to the large dining room they sat in just a few hours ago. He looked around, admiring the decor. This place was just amazing. It was clear the interior had recently been renovated. The 'house' was old – very old, but it was the wonderful blend of old and new that he really liked. Beautiful antiques worked in harmony with modern pieces to create a classic look, a homely feel and a relaxing environment to live in.

He didn't normally care so much about his surroundings, in fact he'd learned over the years to be a little indifferent to his environs due to the paltry budget allowances the FBI gave for out-of-town accommodation and expenses. He'd often had to stay in some very basic lodgings.

But even he could appreciate the attractiveness of this place. Modern neutral-coloured soft furnishings allowed the grand old antique pieces to shine in their own right, while the polished curved details in the marquetry floorboards of the ground floor gave the house an air of comfortable warmth and the many vases of fresh flowers strategically placed throughout released a soft, delicate fragrance. The 12 foot ceilings gave the place an airy and spacious feel and the wall art high above his head added to the ambience. But what he liked most was that despite its obvious luxury, it felt like a place you were welcome in, where you could sit and put your feet up like you would do at home and you weren't scared you might break anything. He was in love with this place already – and he had only seen a glimpse of it.

When he got to the dining room, he stopped in awe. He obviously was too tired to take in surroundings last night, because the place was simply spectacular. The entire length of this side of the house was made up of large wide timber French doors that allowed the natural light to flood the room, and it made no apologies for the stunning view it afforded.

From this level, the beautifully manicured gardens in the foreground worked in perfect harmony with the river and the forest in the background. No matter where he turned his head in the 180 degrees available, there was a majestic vista to behold – the landscape designers and the architects of the mansion had obviously worked in unison to create the visual feast – he'd never seen anything quite so stunning in all his life, even Jack would be impressed – and Booth was certain Jack would have stayed at some amazing places in his time. Being early October, and this high in the mountains the colourful fall foliage of the forest were simply adding to the breathtaking panorama before him. He let out a soft sigh – this was simply divine. Bones couldn't have picked a better place for them to relax and unwind.

A quiet voice broke him from his reverie, "Its stunning isn't it. Even after 45 years, I have never tired from that view." Booth turned around and found a man with a warm smile looking at him from the kitchen, "You must be Agent Booth" the man said as he stepped around the oversized kitchen bench come breakfast bar, wiping his hands on a tea towel that was flung over his shoulder. He put his hand out and looked Booth in the eye. "I'm Charlie. I believe you met my wife Katie last night? She hasn't been able to quit gabbling about you lot since she woke up this morning" he said with an even wider grin on his face.

Booth chuckled softly as he shook his hand. "Hi Charlie, it's really nice to meet you. Please, call me Seeley. And I must say, Katie did make quite an impression" he chuckled again at the memory of her pinching his ass.

Charlie had a full head of thick grey hair, warm green eyes surrounded by deeply etched crow's feet and a golden tan from years spent working in the sun. He was a handsome older man, aging well for his early 60s. He was as tall as Booth, well built with a hard and lean body indicating he was still engaged in long days of physical labour. And he was quick to smile with an open, easy manner that Booth immediately liked.

"Can I get you a coffee or tea to get you started for the day? You're up quite a bit earlier than I was expecting. Although I bet Parker woke you up, right?" Charlie said with a smile.

"A coffee would be wonderful thank you Charlie. And yes, my eyelids haven't been the same since he opened them up for me this morning," Booth chuckled, then continued " I also saw him with food so I thought I'd better make sure his 'exploring' didn't involve too much collateral damage."

"I was out the back picking some herbs and when I came in, I noticed a little hand stealing a savoury muffin from a fresh batch I made this morning," Charlie laughed with delight, "He almost wet himself when I caught him." They both laughed as Charles handed him a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

"I'm sorry if he was a nuisance..." started Booth, but Charlie cut him short "Seeley, he was fine. And he's a really nice kid. Besides I have two very mischievous grand kids, twins - Mike and Lucy that kept everyone on their toes." Charlie shook his head as he laughed again. "What am I saying – they're now 19 and they still do! But you'll see what I mean when you meet them later. They've been trying to re-educate Tempe to be not quite so... how can I put it... literal? They've been tormenting her for months." He laughed again, as he continued, "Did you want a refill to take with you while you check up on your son?"

Booth smiled again, this guy was one step ahead of him "How did you know?" he chuckled. "Sure, that would be great if it's no bother" he turned and looked out at the vista in front of him, and noted that he could only see a glimpse of the domed roof of the rotunda from where he was standing. It was time he rescued Bones from Parker.

Charlie topped up Booths coffee and handed him a savoury muffin in a napkin "Just to tide you over. Now if you head through these doors and walk to your right all the way to the end of the terrace, you find the path that goes to the rotunda – and you'll find your two favourite people" he gave Booth a knowing smile, then turned and headed back into the kitchen to get on with his morning preparations.

Booth stood still for a moment, a little shocked at his choice of words, and then he shook his head, a small grin playing across his lips. "Thanks Charlie." Did everyone know how he felt about her? He'd only just met the man for goodness sake! Obviously Katie was bringing her husband up to speed on their guests. He rolled his eyes at the thought then made his way outside.

He easily found the path that he had watched Parker skip down a while ago, and sipped his coffee appreciatively – happy for the caffeine hit he was getting and took a bite from the savoury muffin. It was still warm, and absolutely delicious. No wonder Parker shoved it all into his mouth – he couldn't put it down either. Just as the rotunda became visible through the oak trees he heard a heavy thumping sound, a loud groan and a high-pitched scream that could only have come from his son "Bones!"

Booth sprang into action, his heart suddenly thumping in his ears as he sprinted the remaining distance to the rotunda, while the coffee cup lay forgotten, smashed into a thousand pieces on the cobblestone path...

To be continued...

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A/N: I must apologise profusely for the serious lateness of this chapter, unfortunately life has been annoyingly disrupting my writing time – between my mother turning into a demanding Bridezilla for her FOURTH wedding and then a long and a very painful bout with an infected ear that has turned into a perforated eardrum. So I have a few good days and lots of bad ones. Good ones I can kind of think and write; bad ones I can't get out of bed for the pain.

It is also with a heartfelt thank you that I give a huge shout out to Odonata Epiprocta for her gentle and persistent encouragement to pull my finger out and get on with the story because she's busting for another instalment, but also for taking the time to beta it to make sure the pain killers aren't making things too loopy.

I thank you for your patience, hope this filler chap had been worth the wait. Please take a minute to review, let me know if you are still enjoying this. And thanks so much for taking the time to read.