Disclaimer: These characters belong to Fox, not me. If only they belonged to me...

A/N: Yet another oneshot. These things seem to write themselves. :) Hope you enjoy! And if you do enjoy, please leave a review!

...

Big Trouble

As she strolled down the halls of the J. Edgar Hoover building, Temperance Brennan was looking forward to the upcoming weekend. She and Booth had just solved an especially difficult case and she was eager to forget about it. A little paperwork was all that stood in the way of two murder-free days. She couldn't wait.

The building was like a ghost-town at 5 o'clock on a Friday. Heading toward Booth's office, she could hear her partner's low, masculine voice carrying across the silence. He must be on the phone. She approached quietly, so as not to interrupt. Instead of finding Booth on the phone, she was surprised to witness a sweet father-son moment. Parker was seated in his father's lap, playing with Booth's FBI badge. Even from a distance, Brennan could sense the utter content emanating from her partner. He truly adored his son. She smiled to herself and cleared her throat to let them know she was there.

"Bones!" squealed Parker. He didn't know her very well, but he based his reaction on his father's. Since Booth was always happy to see her, Parker followed suit.

"Hey Parker," she greeted. She wasn't entirely comfortable around children, but the little boy was pretty darn cute. She lifted her gaze to the elder Booth. "I brought the case file for you to sign off on," she explained.

Booth found himself grinning over her unexpected visit. Now his two favorite people were there. He took the folder from her and scrawled his signature in the appropriate places. Handing it back, he took a chance. "Parker and I are heading to the diner to get some dinner. Care to join us?" He flashed her a hopeful charm smile.

Brennan hesitated. As much as she liked spending time with her partner, she was eager to forget about work for a couple of days. Booth whispered something in Parker's ear.

"Please Bones?" The little boy unleashed a charm smile identical to his father's and Brennan found her resistance weakening. "Please?"

Booth knew they'd won and his grin widened. "C'mon Buddy. Get your jacket." He ruffled his son's hair and helped him put on his jacket. Glancing at Brennan, he started putting on his own jacket. She hadn't said anything, but he knew her well. Her lack of response was all the confirmation he needed. He zipped Parker's jacket and ushered his son and partner out of his office.

…

As Booth held the diner door open for her and Parker, Brennan wondered how she'd gotten roped into coming to dinner with them. Something about that little boy's smile was irresistible. She couldn't even be irritated because he was so excited she was there.

"Do you have homework this weekend, Buddy?" Booth got Parker situated before taking a seat at the table.

"Yeah," Parker looked around. "I left my backpack at the FBI!"

Booth groaned. "Parker! We have to finish your homework before I take you home Sunday night. Your mom's gonna kill me!"

Always logical, Brennan interrupted. "Can't you just go back and get his backpack?"

Booth jumped to his feet, grabbing his jacket. "Yeah, I'll just be a few minutes…"

"Wait! What? You're leaving us here?" Brennan couldn't hide her mounting panic.

"Yeah! I'll just be gone like 20 minutes."

"But… I…" She looked at Parker doubtfully.

Booth smiled at her distress. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. Just order him something to eat. He likes chicken nuggets and milk."

"But while we wait for our food…What do I, you know, do with him?"

"You're a genius Bones. You'll figure it out." She still looked shell-shocked and he took pity on her. "Look, it'll take twice as long if I bring him with me. And I promise, he's very well-behaved. Right Parker?" He looked at his son meaningfully. The 6-year-old nodded and Booth ruffled his hair again. "Good."

Brennan was working up an argument, so Booth squeezed her shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "You'll be great." He leaned down to talk softly in her ear. "I trust you." Those three little words melted her resistance and she met his encouraging eyes. He nodded slightly and turned to go.

…

After Booth left, the anthropologist and the kindergartner studied each other. Neither was quite sure what to make of the other. A waitress finally interrupted the stalemate to take their order. Brennan ordered herself a salad and some chicken nuggets for her ward.

"What would you like to drink?" the waitress asked.

"I'll have an iced tea and he'll have milk."

"Regular or chocolate?"

Brennan hesitated. Booth hadn't specified what kind of milk to get him. She looked at Parker. "Do you like chocolate milk?" He nodded shyly and the waitress scribbled on her notepad and walked away.

"My daddy doesn't let me have chocolate milk with dinner," Parker confessed.

Brennan smiled. Apparently Booth's honesty had rubbed off on his son. "Well," she began conspiratorially, "Your dad's not here right now, so it'll be our little secret. Okay?"

Parker responded with a 100-watt smile and nodded vigorously. Brennan was pleasantly surprised. She'd made him happy, so she tried to think of other ways to amuse him. What would Booth do…? Play with him, she supposed.

"Do you like to draw?" When he nodded, she produced a pen from her purse and turned his paper placemat over.

"What should I draw?" he asked enthusiastically.

What do children like to draw? Brennan searched her fact-filled head for something age-appropriate. "How about your family?" This earned her a small, approving smile and Parker began drawing feverishly.

Brennan watched, mesmerized by the detail he put into each person. "This is Mommy," he explained as he drew. "And this is Captain Fantastic." She chuckled at the nickname Booth had bestowed upon Rebecca's boyfriend. As she studied the child, she realized just how much he reminded her of Booth. So many of Parker's mannerisms were exactly like her partner's. He also had a full arsenal of Booth's smiles: approval, sarcasm, pride, charm, wit, joy. And, like his father, he knew exactly how to use each one.

"And this is Daddy," Parker prattled on. She couldn't help but notice that he drew Booth taller, larger, and more detailed than "Captain Fantastic." As he lifted his innocent gaze to meet hers, she was startled to find he had Booth's eyes too. It was more than just their color; they were kind, intelligent, and perceptive. It unnerved her. "Why does Daddy call you 'Bones?'"

The question caught her off-guard. "Well, because of my job… I…" She was about to tell him that she identified murder victims by analyzing their skeletal remains, but a voice in the back of her mind—Booth's voice!—told her that was inappropriate for a small child. "I'm a scientist and I study bones." The answer seemed to satisfy him and he continued drawing until their food arrived.

While they ate, Brennan asked Parker about school, education being a topic she felt comfortable with. He chattered about school, his parents, his interests, and a variety of other amusing topics. Like his father, he was quite social and the time passed easily.

After they finished eating, Brennan, on a hunch, asked, "Do you like pie, Parker?" His face lit up like it was Christmas morning. She signaled the waitress and ordered two pieces of apple pie.

…

She's going to kill me, Booth thought, pressing his foot harder on the accelerator. He'd gotten caught in traffic on the way back from getting Parker's backpack and it had taken him twice as long as he'd promised Brennan she would have to watch him. He was afraid to know how she kept Parker entertained while he was away. She means well… It's not that he didn't trust her; it's just that she didn't always know which topics were appropriate for children. Oh man, I'll probably have to have a talk with Parker tonight and explain some things to him…

He parked his SUV down the street and jogged to the diner. As he pushed through the door, he caught sight of his partner and his son. Parker was standing in front of Brennan, giggling as she pointed to different parts of his body. As he moved closer, he could hear their conversation.

"And right here," Brennan pointed to Parker's collarbone, "Is your clavicle."

Parker held out his arm. "What about this, Bones?"

"Well, here is your radius. And right next to it is your ulna." Parker's smile grew wider. "And do you know what these are…?" She indicated the sides of his torso.

"What?" he asked eagerly.

"Your ribs!" Brennan exclaimed, tickling his sides frenziedly. Parker squealed with delight, his laughter drowning out much of the background noise.

"Hey," Booth greeted the pair, who looked disappointed that he'd interrupted their game. "Sorry it took so long…"

"Not a problem," Brennan assured him. She was having fun. "I ordered you a piece of pie."

"Yeah?" Booth's face lit up like Parker's had and he sat down. "Thanks! So did you two have fun?"

Parker nodded enthusiastically. "Bones showed me where all my bones are! Will you tell me some more?" He shot her a sad puppy dog look, another of Booth's patented maneuvers, and she happily complied.

"Now, this is your femur…" Booth ate his pie, watching their anatomy lesson in awe.

…

Almost an hour later, Booth reluctantly broke up the party. "We should be getting home, Buddy." Parker and Brennan groaned in unison and he chuckled. "It's late and Bones needs to get some sleep." He helped Parker put on his jacket, zipped it up, and took his son's hand as they exited the diner.

To Brennan's surprise, Parker reached out and grabbed her hand. She wasn't sure how to react. She looked down at the tiny fingers wrapped around hers and gave his hand an affectionate squeeze. The child looked up at her, pure adoration on his face. Wow, she thought, that look is going to be trouble for some girl one day… She lifted her gaze to find an identical look on Booth's face.

"Thanks Bones," he said softly.

Oh yeah, big trouble.