"And that's me!" A small finger pointed to a picture of a dark haired baby girl.

"No," Brennan smiled. "That's Mommy. But you do share a remarkable resemblance." She turned to the next page of photos. "See? There's Mommy again, with Uncle Parker."

"Grandpa!" The small boy cuddled next to her side got to his knees, removed his fingers from his mouth and pointed to a photo of a smiling Booth with his daughter in one arm and the other around Parker. The swing twisted erratically with his movements.

"Can I see the pretty dress again, Grandma?" Smiling, Brennan flipped back in the photo album until she reached the wedding photos. "Oooh," the little girl sighed, resting back against Brennan's chest. "You look like just like a princess."

"Grandpa!" The swing rocked again as the little boy stood up and reached toward a photo of Brennan and Booth, standing in front of a small, white chapel. Brennan caught him around the waist just before he tipped off and tugged him to sit snugly against her side.

"Want to know a secret?" she said softly to the little girl sitting in her lap. "I felt like a princess." She kissed the uptilted nose. "I was almost as pretty as you."

"And you lived happily ever after!" Brennan laughed at the happy squeak of the girl's voice and squeezed both children closer.

"Yes, we did. That's always how the best stories end, right?"

"Don't forget the moral of the story, Mom - never let a pre-teen boy name your baby girl." Ruth stepped out on the porch. "Your Uncle Parker is the reason I was tortured in school for years because my name was Ruth Booth."

"That's not accurate, Lisa," Brennan smiled down at her granddaughter. "We tried to get your mother to respond to her first name but she ignored us if we didn't call her Ruth." Brennan rubbed noses with the bright eyed little girl. "Your mother is as stubborn as her father."

"Hey, hey, my ears are burning!" Booth called out as he and the rest of the family joined them, filling the wide expanse of the front porch. Booth picked up the young boy sitting beside Brennan and sat down next to her, settling the boy on his lap.

"Besides," laughed Parker. "If I hadn't called you Ruthie, you'd never have gotten to beat up all those boys while you were in school. So, I did you a favor. That name made you strong."

"What am I, a Johnny Cash song? Moron," Ruthie answered with the same pretence of irritation she always used when this subject was broached.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan murmured to Booth, nudging his shoulder.

"I'll explain later," he whispered back, enjoying the show as their children continued to bicker.

"You should have changed it when you got married," Parker continued. "You're still Ruth Booth. See? You like it. I win."

"You are a moron, Parker." Ruthie picked a piece of ice from her drink and threw it at him. "Of course I kept my last name. The FBI would fall to pieces without a Booth there to keep things in line." She leaned over and kissed her dad on the cheek, taking her daughter from Brennan's lap.

"My mommy has a gun," the little girl piped up.

"Yes, she does," Ruthie answered. "And Uncle Parker should remember that."

"Ruth, Parker, is it really appropriate to joke about guns and shooting each other around the children? Personally, I would rather Daniel keep his illusions a little while longer."

"Stuff it, Zach."
"Shut up, Zach."
Ruth and Parker rounded on their youngest brother simultaneously.

"Mom!" he appealed. "Dad!"

Booth and Brennan exchanged a glance.

"Don't tell your brother to shut up, Parker."
"Stop threatening to shoot someone, Ruthie."

Ruthie made a face at Zach and whispered, "You're such a pain in the . . . "

"Ruth!" Adult though she was, Margaret Ruth Booth Taylor did not hesitate to obey when her father spoke in that voice.

Standing next to her husband, Parker stuck an elbow in his ribs. "Does that tone of voice work for you?"

"More than my life is worth to try it!" Andy answered with a grin.

"I can hear you!" Ruth tried and failed to glare at her husband and brother.

"Is Aunt Woofie going to shoot Uncle Pawka?" The little boy twisted in Booth's lap to look up at his grandfather.

Booth kissed the toddler's head. "No, Daniel. Aunt Ruthie is just sad because you're moving far away and she'll have to get on a plane to come see you." He kissed the top of the boy's head. "Aunt Ruthie is scared of airplanes. And when she's scared, she's not very nice," he whispered loudly.

"I'm not . . . " Ruth began, but fell silent at a look from her father.

"Hey, speaking of moving," Parker looked over at Zach. "I'll be at your presentation after all, bro."

"Yea? Really?" Zach smiled. "How did you work that out?"

"We pushed the new album's release date back until November to get the Christmas shoppers, so the PR push won't start until the middle of September." He jabbed quickly at Zach's shoulder. "It's not every day my little brother is named Dean of UCLA's School of Medicine."

"The youngest ever . . "
"Youngest in the history of . . ."

Booth and Brennan spoke together, garnering a laugh from the rest of the group.

Ruthie stuck her tongue out at Zach. "Show off," she grinned.

Zach glanced over, saw his son occupied with Booth and stuck his tongue out in retaliation.

"Children, children . . ." Parker scolded, laughing. "I know I raised you better."

Zach shoved him. "Remind me to tell security that Parker Booth . . ." he waved his hands in the air . . . "will be on campus. They're so discreet."

"No!" Parker said, alarmed. "I'll have my team contact the head of the department. Maybe we can keep it quiet." At Zach's rolled eyes and Ruthie's snort, Parker conceded. "Okay, quiet-er."

"Okay, kiddo, we have to scoot," Ruthie sighed, kissing her daughter's soft cheek. "Time for goodbye kisses!" Booth and Brennan stood to pass off Daniel to his mother and watch and smile at the hustle and bustle as their children and their families gathered themselves to head home.

Parker walked with Zach and his wife, pausing by their car as she put Daniel in his car seat. "Coming for dinner tomorrow?" Zach asked, as he opened the trunk and tossed toys into the space.

"Aw, hell. Can't. We're auditioning a new backup singer from New York tomorrow. She's coming in special from the Village."

"Is she good?"

Parker shrugged. "Dunno. I like the demo. Some girl named Ella Sweets. We'll see."

"Never know," Zach smiled. "Might be the girl of your dreams."

Parker snorted. "Yea, that'll happen."

Booth and Brennan watched and waved from the steps of the porch as the cars pulled away. Brennan glanced at Booth, standing with one shoulder perched against the frame of the porch, gazing down the driveway as the departing cars drove into the sunset. In the blink of an eye, the years melted away and she saw him as she'd first met him - tall, broad shouldered, his dark hair worn short, the eyes and grin that still charmed her. Booth caught her gaze and smiled, reaching out and wrapping her close.

She went on tiptoe, pressing a kiss to his lips, smiling back at the man she'd grown old with. Truth be told, even with his hair gone silver, the softness of his jawline and the lines that creased his eyes, she found him as handsome as he'd ever been.

"So, Dr. Brennan," he murmured. "Do you believe in fate?"

She offered him a dazzling smile and tucked her head under his chin, resting her cheek against his shoulder.

"Absolutely, Agent Booth. Absolutely."

Authors Note: In my world, B&B have earned their happy ever after. Fluffy? Absolutely. But, happy. And I like happy. :-)

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to respond to all the comments that have been left, and I didn't want to artificially inflate the numbers by commenting myself, so if you've left me one please consider yourself thanked! This has been so much fun!