Ok guys, this chapter brings us to the end of the journey. I have some ideas for a sequel but it may be a while before I am able to start on it. I have one more ongoing fic I need to finish first. Thanks a lot for reading and I hope you enjoyed the ride!

Chapter 20

The door opened as Booth approached the house and Parker came running toward his father. "Daddy!" He shouted, throwing himself into Booth's arms.

Booth hugged him. "Hey little man, are you ready to have some fun today?"

"Of course I am!" His expression indicated he thought his father was silly for suggesting otherwise.

Booth looked up at Rebecca standing in the doorway. "Then do me a favor and go keep Bones company in the car while I talk to your mom for a minute ok?"

Parker's expression lit up. "Bones is coming with us? Cool!" He ran toward the car eagerly.

"What's up Seeley?" Rebecca asked curiously as she handed him Parker's overnight bag.

Booth hesitated for a moment as he thought about the best way to approach this subject with her. "Bones is going to be spending the weekend with me and Parker. Or we might spend the weekend at her apartment; we haven't decided yet. I just wanted to talk to you about it first and see how you feel about that."

Rebecca nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Is this related to a case?"

He shook his head. "No it's personal. Bones and I are together now; we have a personal relationship." He tried to gauge Rebecca's reaction to this news but her expression was – well strange. Finally her lips twitched and she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" He asked, feeling slightly indignant.

"You are Seeley – were you really worried about telling me this?" She rolled her eyes as she shook her head.

"I don't know, maybe a little. I take it you don't have a problem with it?"

"Seeley, you and Dr. Brennan have had a 'personal relationship' for years. If I'd had a problem with it I would have said something long before now. The truth is I like Dr. Brennan – she's a little strange sometimes but I can tell she genuinely cares about both you and Parker and as Parker's mother I can appreciate that. She goes out of her way to make time for him at the lab and she encourages his interest in school. He actually thinks science is 'cool' now."

Booth smiled. "Yeah, she's always made time for him no matter how busy her schedule is."

"Do you remember the last time we were together and I answered your phone when she called?" When he nodded she continued. "I knew then you had more feelings for her than you wanted to admit to. I'll never forget the look on your face – I felt like the other woman."

"Do you think Parker will be okay with it?" Booth asked.

"Parker asked me once if she was your girlfriend and I told him no. He's never brought it up again. I don't see why he would have a problem with it. Just talk to him and if he gets upset, I'll talk to him. This is a good thing for you Seeley and if you're happy I can only imagine he will be too." She hugged him before going back into the house.

Brennan looked at Booth as he got back into the car. "That seemed to go well."

"Much better than expected actually." He turned to look at Parker. "Okay bub here's the plan – we're going to the park first, throw a ball around, eat some hot dogs; then Bones has a surprise for you at the museum this afternoon before we go eat dinner. How does that sound?"

Parker nodded enthusiastically. "Cool!"

The day passed quickly for them. Parker laughed at Brennan's cluelessness over the rules of baseball and began coaching her on the proper way to throw and catch the ball. She caught the hang of it quickly and praised his coaching ability. They ate lunch in the park after purchasing food from vendors – Booth and Parker going for the hotdogs while Brennan settled on a veggie wrap.

They spent the afternoon at the Jeffersonian where Brennan had arranged for Parker to have access to a new exhibit that was not open to the public yet. It featured the discovery of a new type of dinosaur and Parker was thrilled that he would be able to go back to school and tell his friends about it before they could even see it. He listened carefully to the discovering paleontologist, Dr. Winters, as he explained what the dinosaur had likely eaten and how he had died. He then presented Parker with a dinosaur fossil; Parker held it carefully, his face bright with the excitement of the day.

After the museum visit they picked up some pizzas and took them back to Brennan's apartment. Parker was still babbling eagerly about the day's activities as he sat down at the table to eat. Brennan got plates and cups for the pizza and soda and took them back to the table. She looked over at Booth, wondering when he planned to bring the subject of their new relationship up to Parker.

Booth let Parker finish one slice of pizza before he cleared his throat. "Hey Parker I want to talk to you about something."

Parker looked apprehensive. "Am I in trouble?"

Booth shook his head. "No of course not; why would you think you're in trouble?"

"You have that serious look on your face that usually means I'm in trouble about something." Parker took another bite of pizza. "So what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Bones was thinking about spending the whole weekend with us and I wanted to know how you feel about that," Booth said.

Parker shrugged. "I like Bones, Dad; why would that bother me? Hey can we stay here instead? She has a pool and we can go swimming tomorrow."

Booth looked at Brennan, who nodded. "That's fine with me Booth."

Booth watched Parker carefully, who continued to eat his pizza. "Sure bub, we can go swimming tomorrow after church. "

Parker pumped his fist. "Yes!" He took another giant bite of pizza and then said, mouth full, "Does this mean Bones is your girlfriend now?"

Booth nodded. "Yeah, that's what it means. Is that okay with you?"

"I told mom I thought Bones was your girlfriend a long time ago. She said no and I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I didn't argue with her."

"Bones and I were friends for a long time, bub – the girlfriend part is new. What made you think she was my girlfriend?" Booth asked curiously.

"When Steve's dad got a new girlfriend he only saw her on the weekend, but you were with Bones almost every day. Steve said that's what happened with his mom before she got married again, so I figured you and Bones would get married too someday. So will you?"

"What?" Booth asked, casting a nervous glance at Brennan. The relationship was new enough without her getting freaked out over Parker bringing up marriage.

"Will you get married? Because I think that would be cool – on Parents' Day at school we could get Bones to come too. And her apartment is nicer than yours," Parker pointed out.

Booth shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "We haven't talked about marriage Parker, we're just dating."

"But you've been dating Bones for a long time Dad; you're not getting any younger. At least that's what Steve's mom said. Plus I want a baby brother or sister and when I asked Mom she said no." He cast a speculative look in Brennan's direction.

Booth wondered how the conversation had gotten so out of his control. From dating to marriage and babies? He'd be lucky if Brennan didn't reconsider that trip request before the day was over. "Bones and I have been partners for 4 years Parker but she's only been my girlfriend for about a week. There's a difference."

Parker rolled his eyes. "If you say so but I don't see how it's different. You still eat together every day and she still comes to the park with us and we go to the lab and to the museum to see her."

Brennan spoke up suddenly. "Parker, do you remember the science experiment you and Max did in the lab a few weeks ago? You started with a small experiment, which resulted in a small reaction; then you changed the parameters of the experiment to garner a bigger reaction."

Parker nodded. "That was a cool experiment; we only made a few changes but we got a much bigger bang out of it!"

"My relationship with your father is like that experiment. We've changed the parameters and we need time to get used to the new reaction that resulted."

"So there's a bigger bang now that you're his girlfriend?"

Booth swallowed hard to control his laughter as he watched Brennan and Parker having such a serious conversation about the "big bang" of his relationship with Brennan.

"Yes – the reaction is much bigger now," Brennan agreed. "Do you understand?"

Parker nodded as he took another bite of pizza. "Ok."

After Parker was settled in the guest room later that night, Booth crawled into bed to join Brennan. "You handled that conversation with Parker really well you know."

"Thank you. I felt that if I presented it logically he would understand it. He's very intelligent for his age," she said.

"So all that stuff he said about marriage and baby brothers or sisters didn't bother you?" Booth ventured casually.

"While I haven't spent much time around children, I think it's normal for children to ask such questions. Russ said that Amy's girls have also asked for a baby brother." She looked at him. "Did it bother you for him to ask those questions?"

"No, of course not; I just know how you feel about the subject. The truth is…." He paused for moment before continuing. "The truth is that I like the idea of having a child with you." His heart rate sped up with this admission.

Brennan was quiet for so long that Booth longed to snatch the words from the air between them. The last thing he wanted to do was push her when they were still adjusting to their new relationship.

Brennan finally scooted closer to him and settled against his chest. "I've always held firm opinions on both marriage and having children, but I meant what I said to Parker. We've adjusted the parameters of our relationship and as a scientist I have to allow for change as a result. I didn't believe in love but I love you more than I thought was possible," she admitted.

Booth shifted until Brennan lay next to him. He leaned down and kissed her slowly, sweetly. "I love you too." She wrapped her arms around him as he kissed her again. Finally he raised his head, bracing his arms on either side of her body. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to explore the "big bang" part of our relationship a little more."

She arched her body into his as he began placing hot kisses on the side of her neck and shoulder. "I love a good experiment," she agreed.