I have no claim to the characters. I am content to know they are in much better hands and owned by Fox and Hart Hanson.
Chapter 1: Won't take No for an Answer
"Booth wake-up, wake-up, it's time to rise and shine."Brennan, singing, smiling and nudging Booth's shoulder while placing sweet, soft kisses on his forehead.
"ummmm, is the sun up yet? It's Saturday, I want to sleep babe, Booth grumbled – or a better idea, since you have disturbed a perfectly wonderful dream," reaching out to catch hold of Bones around her middle and drawing her closer, "of you and me in the warm waters of Acapulco, maybe a little pre-dawn dip in a fantastic dream I can share with you? "
Bones giggling and pushing his hands away, "No Booth, I have somewhere I need to be and I want you to join me – I wanted it to be a surprise so I waited 'til now to let you know about it and it's a bit of a drive. I do not want to be late – Max is in the guest room. He is staying with the kids today."
"When did Max get here? I didn't hear him come in." Booth was generally very alert to comings and goings in his home, this bothered him a little, but only for a moment until his curiosity began to kick in. "Where do you need to be? …On a Saturday? …And Sooo early? Just what kind of surprise is this, anyway?"
Life had changed so much since leaving the Jeffersonian and the Hoover. No more 3AM calls to horrific crime scenes, but still really busy in their 9-5 world. Booth was teaching Marksmanship, Interrogation techniques and basic Crime solving tactics using his most difficult to solve murders as case studies to FBI's upper 10% of the senior class at Quantico and Brennan was teaching graduate students at the American University in DC and doing research for several prestigious universities from around the world. She continued with her board activities and managing her growing foundation. The kids were a handful and took any and every spare minute of the day, night and weekends. The family was happy in the everyday, mundane activities of a growing, successful and prospering family unit. Life had become pleasantly predictable.
The only real pressure was from Brennan's publisher; they wanted a new book – her agent was calling almost daily. Brennan would say, "But my last book is still on the NYT best sellers list and I do a book tour about every 3 months. I just do not have the time for a new book right now." Much to her dismay they always wanted more from their prolific and talented author. She always felt somehow indebted to write more; they had been extremely generous and I am sure a new book would be met with another round of generosity, far above what was required under her contract.
Booth still unsure about the need for this early morning outing - "Where are we going? I really do not see the need to start before sunrise to an undisclosed location, even if it is with the woman of my dreams, who holds the metaphorical keys to my heart. You know I will follow you anywhere, (moan) but why on a sleepy Saturday morning? I would love to have you under the covers about now. That is what we should be doing, instead of driving in the dead of night! Give me a clue please, where you are taking me?"
-"Well since you were so accommodating to my request for this early morning outing and only a little miffed at being rousted from your bed, I will tell you where I am taking you. You know how my agent has been calling incessantly the last several months? The publisher wants me to have another book ready by early fall next year. I have told them repeatedly our lives are so full; we just do not have the time for me to manage another book right now. They asked if I wanted more money and I told them no. It is time I need, not more money. I think they have trouble with the concept I still work full-time. Most authors with my earnings from book sales, speaker fees, and movie rights, simply write and do not keep a 'day job.' Um, it is time for a new contract, more money might be nice. I will let my agent and attorney work that out. "
Her books were becoming increasingly popular and picking up new readers with every new release, especially since two were made into movies with respectable box office draw and international appeal. While the hard science was always at the core of her books, the crime solving, the drama, a little more humor and the relationships had become easier for her to write and her readers loved the books even more. She felt the perennial success of her books was due in large part to her family relationships becoming deeper and richer. No longer alone, she wrote more from the heart and personal experience. She always had written to her strength of fact based science that was a constant in her books. In her later books she allowed her heart and personal experience to influence her stories. Her life, her experiences had grown so much over the years with Seeley Booth, Hank and Parker, Christine and baby Tiger, Max and Russ, as well as her extended family and friends, it just made everything more believable, relatable and frankly closer to the real Temperance Brennan or at least who she was now.
-"My publisher wants us to look at a property outside of the city. They want me to spend weekends and our vacation time there, in peace and quiet; with our family, but without the distractions of our daily lives. They offered, so I said we would take a look and let them know next week if we would take them up on their offer. I have to admit I am a little excited about the possibility of being in the country, away from the everyday bustle of the city, but it will have a big impact on you and the kids' extracurricular activities. So it is a family decision. You want to guess where we are going?"
-"I can guess the general direction based on the road signs, but exactly where are you taking me?"
-"Tucker County! You remember, where Andy lives! One of my books had references to Tucker County and a home by the river; about how a community lives and dies based on ever changing economic forces. It also described a rebirth for the characters and the community by something as simple as rebuilding a bridge. Since it was a real place, they went to take a look and decided it was a perfect location to build the get-away that was described in the book. According to my agent Beth, they even built a tree house. I will tell you more about the offer after we see the place."
"Beth said we need to arrive before sunup. It is the highlight of the day, simply breathtaking and not too be missed, according to my overly romantic agent." "I have packed us a picnic lunch, drinks, a few healthy snacks and swim gear. That should take care anything we might need while we get a feel of the place. Beth said there is fishing gear in the boat house."
"Well Booth, the GPS is indicating we are at our general destination; help me look for the drive. It is not in the GPS database, only the main road is in the database. We need to look for a Skull and Cross Bones on a no trespassing/private drive sign on the right, just off the main road. The address is #1 Apple Pie Cottage."
-Booth groans, "that's a very strange name, what kind of address is that? How in the world will a mailman ever find the place?" A bit more interested now, he really liked the idea of a country getaway & of course a 103 inch LED HD screen with surround sound and all of the 24/7 sports channels. It also sounded like the publisher did not expect to get a NO, to the offer. "It will be nice to see in the daylight hours, I remember it being a pretty nice drive when we were here before." Booth thinking to himself: Sure hope this is not a two room cabin, where you need to pump your own water, take cold showers and build a fire for cooking.
-"Beth said it is the only residence on the road and secluded. The mail address is a RR 447, but all the mail is delivered in town to a post box. That makes it harder for people to find the actual residence. Beth said it is to help keep away unwanted or uninvited visitors. By-the-way, there is staff already on the property. There is a grounds keeper, house keeper and security guard. We should see the gate house any minute now."
-Well probably not a two room cabin considering all that staff, Booth mused.
-"Look Booth, can you see the lights in the distance? It looks huge from the road!" Driving up to the gate a sign said, please press the call button before proceeding. Brennan pressed the button and almost immediately a man appeared at the gate, waving them in. "Hi, I'm Temperance Brennan and this is my husband Seeley Booth. I believe you are expecting us?"
"Well hello there, I am George and your security guard on duty tonight. Ms Beth told me to expect you in the wee hours before day break. Just a sec while I get the dogs into the kennel." Tweets whistle to call Coco and Puff, two beautiful German Sheppard's who come running to meet their master. "They are well trained, but need to be introduced to people they do not know. They are a sister, brother litter pair and have been trained together since birth. There are two of us who provide security for the property. You will meet Bill later this morning. He comes at noon. When there is no one in residence we work 12 hour shifts. Bill lives in town, but I actually live on the property with the dogs. I will give you the tour after you've had your breakfast. Martha is waiting for you on the sun porch. She heard you liked strawberry pancakes, eggs, juice and a nice cup of black coffee to start your day. I think she is ready for you."
Booth flashback memories: All those years ago sitting and dreaming on the back of the SUV: a second home for Brennan, fishing, watching TV with her 7 layer dip and a beer. Thinking out loud to her, what a great mom she would be, what a great life it would be. It didn't seem possible then, but what a great dream it had been. …First a dream – now, what a great life it really was turning out to be. Flashback End
-"What are you thinking about Booth? You look so far away, everything okay?"
-"We need to look up li'l Andy! See how our li'l man is doing."