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Chapter Text

Aubrey sat on the bed watching Jessica flutter in and out of their walk-in closet.  He tried not to chuckle as he saw her look at and reject outfits.  After the third time, the redhead finally emerged with three outfits and held them up.

"Do you think these will work, Superman?"

He gave them a cursory look over.  "Yeah, Jess."

The redhead gave him a face of annoyance. "Are you even paying attention to what I'm showing you?"

Aubrey gave her his biggest blue-eyed stare. "Of course, I am. You're going to be fine on that stage with Dr. B and you're going to look amazing."

Jessica set down the three outfits and began playing with her hair.  "Aubrey, we're presenting our findings from Ypres to fellow forensic anthropologists—"

Aubrey knew why she was on edge. "Including your old professors at MSU—"

Jessica's shoulders relaxed. "Yes, which makes me nervous—"

"Because you're going to be with your current mentor and introducing her to your former mentors."

The redhead chewed her lip. "I don't want to screw this up, Aubrey."

The agent got off the bed and hugged his wife. "Jess, it's going to be all right, I promise.  You’re going to impress the hell out of those scientists in East Lansing."

Jessica broke the hug. "But what about you? You're going to be alone with the kids until Monday night."

“So?”  Aubrey scoffed. 

Jessica gave her spouse a disbelieving look. "Aubrey, they can be a handful sometimes."

"I’m aware of that, but I’ll manage.  We’ll be fine—"

Jessica let go and finished packing her bags. "Now, don't forget on Monday the Jeffersonian Day Care gets pretty nuts when everyone gets dropped off so have Molly and the twins there by 8:15. Rachael has to be at school by 8:40 and Mondays she likes her hair in a ponytail-"

A patient Aubrey stood there with a smile. "I run my own FBI division, Jess.  I can handle four kids—"

The redhead walked around in a panic. "Molly only eats PB & Js with grape jelly and you have to dice her apples small. Rachael usually has two apples in her lunch. Jamie likes only crunchy peanut butter while Savannah likes—"

"Hey…calm down." Aubrey said while rubbing his arms up and down. "I'm beginning to wonder if you're afraid I'm going to screw this up."

"No, no…it's just hard, Aubrey to take on four kids alone." Jessica said. "Are you sure you don't want me to call Angela to help out?"

Aubrey took a deep breath before sitting on the end of the bed. "No, I'm fine. Now, I think part of the reason for your panic isn’t just that you do not want to leave the kids, but also that you're going to miss your hot, sexy husband."

"Oh but of course." The redhead said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry. I'm not doubting you can handle them for a few days. I'm just…always here to help you…and yes, I will miss you."

“I’ll miss you, too.”  Aubrey hugged his wife from his seated position. "Jessica, you're an awesome mom and even better wife. Just remember, I'm the Major Crimes SAC of the DC Field Office and I oversee fourteen agents. I am also certified in shooting semi-automatic and automatic weapons. I survived a bomb from a dead guy filled with maggots and wrestling chickens. I've got this, okay?"

Jessica exhaled. "Okay, okay, Superman. You're right. I trust you."

“Thank you.”  Aubrey pecked his wife’s hand.  "You know what?  I'll even let the kids talk to you every night without me around so they can report to you."

Jessica hit Aubrey's arm as he laughed. "Quit making fun of me James Robert Aubrey or no fun and games before I leave for Michigan."

"No way…no way would you do that to me." The agent said. "You can't go three days without some loving from your Superman."

"Want to make a bet?" Jessica said. "Imagine, me, Dr. B, and Daisy in East Lansing surrounded by hot college guys while you're all alone in DC with four children and no wife to play with…"

Aubrey gulped. "You're mean."

"I know." Jessica said with a smirk before she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck. "The kids are asleep…want to start that fun and games?"

"Hell yeah." Aubrey said before yanking her back on the bed to her squeals.

Friday was a harried day for Jessica and Aubrey with getting the kids to school and day care.  After he and Booth took their wives to the airport, the younger agent arrived to work and made quick time of doing case audits and doing the budget for the upcoming fiscal quarter. Finishing around 5:00, he took work home with him so he could pick up his brood.

To his children’s happiness, he had pizza delivered from DiAngelo's. One large vegetarian with half pepperoni for Rachael and the twins, a personal size cheese pizza for Molly, and an extra-large meat lover pizza with mushrooms and pineapple for himself along with an Italian sub for later.  He had a few scary moments when Rachael and Jamie fought over the last pepperoni slice, but he resolved it by merely cutting it in half.

As he watched them enjoy their dinner, he momentarily shuddered at the realization that his children had appetites like him and that their household grocery budget would grow quite scary once they became teenagers.

When dinner was done, Aubrey made sure the kids had baths and when everyone was in their PJs, the five of them sat down to watch The Day The Earth Stood Still.  Just as he was going to start the movie, Aubrey got a text message and smiled.  Getting up, he grabbed his laptop.

“Daddy what about the movie?”  Rachael asked.

“In a few minutes, Rachael.  We have a call coming in.”  After accessing his Skype, Jessica appeared on the laptop screen.

"Mommy!" All the kids yelled.

Aubrey was almost knocked back as his family jumped all over him and the couch to talk to Jessica. "What am I, chopped liver?"

“Are you guys having fun with Daddy?”

"Mommy, Daddy got us pizza and he let us drink some of the glass bottle stuff." Rachael said, referring to the Mexican Coke in the fridge.

'Mommy wasn't supposed to know about that...' Aubrey groaned before seeing the look on his wife's face before she turned back to talk to their children.  Then she said those words he dreaded.

“Aubrey, we’ll talk when I get home.” 

After about ten minutes, she began ending the conversation. "Mommy has to be up early with Aunt Brennan and Aunt Daisy, so I have to go.  Now give me a kiss like I showed you last night."

Each child kissed their hand and threw it at the screen, even Molly. Jessica caught each one and smiled. "I'll call you tomorrow night, okay Sweeties."

"Night, Mommy." All said at the same time.

When their family was out of sight, Jessica smiled at her husband and slowly peeled back the right side of her blouse, revealing a lacy black bra. "Call me later tonight, James...unless you're too tired..."

Aubrey shuddered before shaking his head to the left and right. When she called him 'James' in that tone of voice…after almost nine years of marriage, she still rocked his world. "Never for you."

"Daddy! I wanna watch the movie." Savannah whined.

"Yeah, Daddy." Jamie contributed.

"Daddy..." Rachael whined.

"Movie…" Molly said.

"Okay…I will call you later." Aubrey said to his wife. "Love you."

"Love you, too." Jessica said before ending the call.

Aubrey put his laptop away and started the move on the Blu Ray player.  With Molly jumping into his lap, the other three laid down on the blanket on the floor and the Aubrey clan settled in with a sci-fi classic.

As the final scene played, Aubrey turned his head to see Molly snuggled into his neck. For a moment, he lamented the day when his children, particularly his daughters stopped snuggling with their daddy and became teenagers.

"Not yet…not yet…" He muttered.

"Daddy can we watch another movie?" Jamie and Savannah asked simultaneously.

He turned to his middle children. Both had his dark hair and their mother's large eyes with Jamie's blue and Savannah's green. Unfortunately, they also inherited his charming smile to get what they wanted...the same charming smile that he used to coax Jessica into a quickie on the washing machine last Saturday afternoon while Molly was napping and their other children watched a movie.

"More movie, Daddy." His youngest said, her red hair covering half her face.

"Please, Daddy." Rachael pleaded while holding her doll.

Aubrey saw the pleading looks on his children.  Yes, this was past their bedtime.  However, another movie will put them to sleep so they wouldn't wake up during his naughty Skype call to their mother.

Decision made, he smiled.  "Okay…one more and then straight to bed. Understand?"

"Yes, Daddy." All four said at the same time.

Getting up, he loaded the Blu Ray of Forbidden Planet. He made sure everyone had blankets before sitting down with Molly on the couch. Pressing the start button, he settled in with his kids to watch another classic film.

An hour later, all five Aubreys were passed out sleeping in the living room.

The agent woke up feeling a weight on him and something pushing on his nose. Opening his eyes, he discovered that the obstruction was the small hand of a redheaded two-year-old girl sleeping on his chest. Glancing on the floor, he saw a familiar stuffed Rey doll from Star Wars on the floor.

'Molly…you're Daddy's special girl, but not when you're trying to suffocate me.'

Looking to his right, he saw his twins snuggled close on the large blanket under another one with their Kylo Ren dolls. They were very close, like two peas in a pod. Next fall they would be starting pre-Kindergarten and it made Aubrey's mind spin at where the time went.

Hearing a snort, he looked on the other side and saw Rachael with her arms out taking up almost half of the blanket. 'Bed hog and snorts like her mother.' The man thought with a smile before his eyes got large.

Their mother…who flashed a sexy bra at him so they could have Skype sex after their brood was in bed. Looking at his watch, he saw the time at 2:45 AM and groaned inwardly. No way would she be awake in Michigan at this hour.

He pictured it in his mind. Jessica slowly touching her breasts before removing the lingerie. Then she would touch her nipples like he did when they made love before her hand would move slowly down while he whispered words of love to her. As she touched herself, he would do the same before they released and be sated.

He felt himself get excited quickly before remembering where he was. Acting quickly, he recalled Karen Delfs’ tuna casserole and soy asparagus tortilla tart as well as Chili Reuben’s van from years earlier to great success.  Moving to carry his youngest child upstairs, he was stymied when she clung onto his neck. Knowing the battle was lost, Aubrey grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch. Seeing his other children sleeping contently, he covered himself and Molly before going back to sleep.

Four hours later, the agent was awakened by his children turning on cartoons.  Knowing he wasn’t going back to sleep, the agent got up and made his family breakfast. After getting them around, the family left the house in Jessica’s vehicle to take Rachael to her Saturday morning class with Bunson Jude 'The Science Dude' at the Jeffersonian from 8:30AM – 12PM before going grocery shopping.

Jessica had suggested he do the errands during the Saturday afternoon play date she set up with Gail and her family. However, he had a better idea of taking Molly and the twins with him to do errands, taking the kids to McDonald's for lunch, and then dropping them off in Falls Church. Then he can take Molly home and sack out when she napped.

It was a brilliant strategy to Aubrey. As he reminded his wife, he was the SAC to the Major Crimes Division of the FBI DC field office. He had taken down terrorists, fought back against being tased, and survived a bombing.  Surely, he could handle a supermarket with four-year-old twins and a two-year-old toddler.

"Jess is worrying over nothing." Aubrey said to himself as he drove out of the Jeffersonian parking lot.

One hour later, an exhausted Aubrey came out of Kroger's with a crying toddler and a brother and sister still fighting over the fact the special shopping cart had only one steering wheel. After putting the groceries in the back and buckling his children in, Aubrey got in and started the engine.

"Stop kicking me, Savi."

"Stop hitting me, Jamie."

Note to self…remember that your wife is a Mensa genius and when she has a suggestion, listen to it.' He thought to himself.  ‘Jess is getting one hell of a date night next Friday.'

The agent closed his eyes and counted to ten before turning around to face his middle children while a now settled down Molly sat quietly. "Savannah Elizabeth and James Warren! If I have to turn around again before we pick up Rachael, we're going home instead of Aunt Gail's house and you won't get to play with Avery, Danny, and Michelle."

"I wanna play with Chelle." Savannah said quietly.

"Then do as Daddy says." Aubrey said before turning to his son. "Jamie?"

"Okay…" The dark-haired toddler said quietly.

"Good." the agent said.  He pulled the vehicle out of the space and onto Potomac Ave. The agent smiled as calmness had prevailed again.  ‘Not too shabby, Aubrey.’

At 1:15, three tired children walked in followed by their beleaguered father who held their little sister. After he shut the door, Aubrey put Molly down. "Kids, go to the table. I'll be there in a few minutes. Rachael, walk your sister over please."

"Daddy why can't I go to Aunt Gail and Uncle Steve's?"

Aubrey felt his heart lurch as his eldest child’s sad blue eyes.  "Because your brother and sister needed to come home, Pumpkin, but I’ll try to make it up to you, okay? Now can you make sure everyone sits at the table while I bring in some bags?"

"Okay." The little girl said before taking Molly's hand. "Come on Jamie. Come on Savi."

Aubrey went back out to his SUV to bring in their stuff. As he brought in the grocery bags, he recalled what happened after they left Kroger.

The kids were good for the rest of the ride to the Jeffersonian.  Taking them inside with him, the twins once again bickered, this time about a plastic model of a heart.  As he was helping Rachael with her coat in the science room, the twins fought over it until they knocked over the model of the Digestive system. Of course, it was a model that cost the science host almost $500.00. After telling the man to send him the bill, the agent escorted his children out and canceled their lunch and play date, ignoring their pleas.

The groceries put aside on the counter for the time being, he made up peanut butter sandwiches for the kids. He remembered how each child liked them and cut up apples as instructed by Jessica. As they ate quietly, he sent a text message out before putting the groceries away. When he got a reply, he exhaled in relief.  “Thank goodness.”

Thirty minutes later, as the kids finished their lunches, there was a knock at the door. Opening it, he smiled. "I owe you for this."

Angela walked in. "No problem Aubrey. Rachael can hang out with Jeffrey and Hodgins. They're working on an experiment with his spiders and she can have dinner with us."

Aubrey shuddered at the thought. His wife thought they were cool, but they still freaked him out to no end. "Great. So, you don't mind bringing her home?"

"No. We're having spaghetti tonight, so I'll bring her home around 7:00. Is that okay?"

"Perfect." Aubrey said before turning around. "Rachael, Aunt Angela is here to take you over to their house today."

The redhead jumped off her chair and ran over to one of her favorite people talking a mile a minute. "Hi Aunt Angie. We got to learn about digestion and stuff with The Science Dude today. Then Daddy brought us home and I had a peanut butter sandwich with two apples."

Angela looked up to Aubrey with a smirk. "She's yours and Jessica's all right."

"Have fun, Rachael, but be good for Aunt Angela and Uncle Hodgins."

"I promise." The seven-year-old gave her father a tight hug, which Aubrey hung onto a little longer than needed. "Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, Pumpkin. See you tonight." Aubrey watched the two leave and shut the door. Walking back into the open living room area, he saw his other children looking at him.

"Where did Rachy go?" Jamie asked.

"She's going to see Aunt Angela today.”

“Can we go?”  Savi asked.

“No, because you were bad today.  Now, you two are going into the guest room and taking a nap." Aubrey said, not wanting to put them in their room where their toys were.

"Daddy…" Both said at the same time.

"No, you didn't behave, and you broke something awfully expensive that Mommy and Daddy have to pay for. Go on. I'll tuck you in after I put your sister down."

The twins got down and walked into the downstairs guest room.   Turning to his remaining child, he held his hand out.  "Come on little girl. Nap time for you."

After she got down from the chair, they walked hand in hand to the stairs. He held her hand as she practiced walking without holding the handrail and Aubrey gave encouragement. "Good girl, Molly."

Going into the bedroom across the hall from the master suite, he helped the toddler remove her shoes before she got under the covers.

"Will Mommy be home soon?"  The redhead asked as her green eyes grew droopy.

Aubrey smiled as he covered her up. "She'll be home when you get back from daycare Monday, but she's going to call us later to talk to you."

"Yay…" Molly clapped before yawning again. "I miss Mommy."

"Yeah, me too." Aubrey said before kissing her on the head. "Now go to sleep like a big girl."

"Okay, Daddy." The little girl said before closing her eyes.

Seeing she was all set, Aubrey walked downstairs. As he got closer to the guest room, he felt like a horrible father for making his children miss their play date. Thoughts raced through his mind. 'Was he a terrible father? Was he turning into HIS father?'

Entering the room, he saw two children asleep on the queen bed. His heart hurt when he saw tear stained cheeks on each twin. Sucking it up, he gave a kiss to each one before taking off their shoes and covering them up before shutting the door to a crack. Grabbing his laptop bag, he pulled out work files to catch up on when his phone rang.  Seeing that it was his wife, he happily answered.

"Hey Jess."

"Hi Superman. I thought I would try to catch you for a few minutes during nap time since you stood me up last night."

Aubrey grimaced. "Sorry, Honey. I fell asleep with the kids."

"You fell asleep in front the TV after letting the kids watch another movie, didn't you James Aubrey?"

"Damn it!" Aubrey said. "How do you do that?"

"I know my husband."

Aubrey got a sense of deja vu. "Maybe you shouldn't be around Dr. B so much."

Jessica was quiet for a moment. "What's wrong Superman? I can hear it in your voice."

'Of course, she knows I'm upset.' Aubrey exhaled. "Oh, I'm just a mean dad."

"I doubt you're a mean dad, Aubrey. Now what happened?"

Aubrey explained how the twins were cranky and fought more than once up to breaking Bunsen Jude's model. Then we went on to talk about canceling the play date, sending Rachael over to Hodgins and Angela's because he felt bad, and with making them sleep downstairs.

“So, I’m a bad dad…oh and we owe Bunsen Jude $500.00 for the model our twins broke.”

"Aubrey, stop talking like that because you're a good dad. You exercised patience with our bratty children, disciplined them appropriately, and made missing her cousins up to Rachael."  

“Yeah, but…”  Aubrey trailed off as he picked at imaginary fuzz from his jeans.

“James Aubrey, you’re not your father.  You are a better man than him and always will be.”

Aubrey realized that was what he needed to hear and immediately felt better.  "Remember when I said I could handle the kids after all my other experiences?"

"Yes…"

"I was wrong. I would rather face down another maggot filed body bomb…or deal with a terrorist than do this alone again. We're better as a team, Jessica."

"I know…but if I can get through the times when you are out of town, you can handle this, James. I have faith in you."

Aubrey's heart was warmed by his wife's words. "Thank you, Jess."

"Shit, Superman, Doctor B is signaling me, so I have to go. I'll call the kids tonight before we go to the banquet dinner.  I love you."

Aubrey smiled. "Okay.  I love you, too…bye."

The agent hung up his phone and sighed. If Jessica didn't think he was a crappy dad, then he would take her at her word. Putting his work files away, he laid back down on the couch and soon fell asleep.

When the kids woke up later that afternoon, Aubrey let them watch a movie before preparing their dinner.  Turning on the Roku, they went on the Disney app and watched episodes of The Mandalorian before putting his children to bed around 10:00.

Turning in himself, he had just plugged in his phone when he saw there was a message from Jessica. Checking it, his eyes got large when he saw a picture her lying across her bed nude.  “Oh yeah, Buddy…”

His wife was always beautiful, but it wasn’t just her physical beauty that drew him to her.  The woman was a literal genius, had a generous heart and a wicked sense of humor and gave birth to his four children.  On the other hand, thanks to her regular practice of yoga and their safely hidden copy of the Bad Girls Bible, they still tore up the sheets of their marital bed, mostly when their kids were safely tucked into their beds.  They still even enjoyed their naughty food sex from time to time when their children had sleepovers at one of their cousins’ houses.

Aubrey knew, though, that Jessica’s beauty was also because she was still his best friend, a person he could totally geek out with over Star Wars and other science fiction and also trust with his secrets and hurts.  They were still as in love now as they were back all those years ago.

He started to move his hand down to relieve the pressure but stopped, knowing it would be more fun to relieve it with her when she came home Monday night after the kids went to bed. Filing the photo away in his special cloud file called CUBS MEMORABILIA, Aubrey laid back down. He looked over at the empty side of the bed before turning out the light and going to sleep.

After a quiet Sunday morning, Aubrey made the required pigs in a blanket and vegetable pizza for Booth’s March Madness party. Loading up the food and the kids in the SUV, the agent drove his family into Virginia to the Mighty Hut II where Hodgins, Arastoo, and Wendell were already there with their families.

The kids all played together as the men enjoyed their beers and junk food before the late arrival of Oliver and Lance. They didn't want to invite the anthropologist but knew if they didn't Daisy would not be happy. To their surprise, Oliver was less annoying as usual that afternoon.  When Villanova was eliminated, the party broke up and the agent took his family home about 5:00 PM.

As the broccoli mac and cheese Jessica prepped for them before she left baked in the oven, Aubrey watched Shrek with his family.  They enjoyed their dinner together and after the busy day the children had playing with their friends, Aubrey easily got them all bathed and in bed around 8:00. When they were settled, he got his laptop out and finished the work he brought home for the weekend.

As he got settled into bed around 11:00, he looked at the left side and lamented another night of it being empty. Taking a deep breath, he turned out the light and right as he settled into another restless slumber, he heard a loud THUMP.

Jumping out of bed, he rushed out of the bedroom, only to be greeted with Molly out in the hallway with a smile.  ‘Hi Daddy…”

Realizing that his youngest child could now clear the crib, he rubbed his face.  "Holy shit...baby gates are coming out of the basement tonight." He muttered.  Taking his daughter's hand, he knelt in front of her. "Molly, what are you doing up?"

"Can't sleep. Wanna sleep with you." She replied in a quiet voice.

Aubrey was about to take her back to her room when Rachael and then the twins came out of their rooms. He had a bad feeling what was going to happen next.

"Daddy, can we sleep with you?" Rachael asked while holding her Darth Vader doll. "I miss Mommy."

'Thank God we have a king-sized bed.' Aubrey couldn't resist their cute faces. "All right, but tomorrow night its back to your beds because Mommy will be home."

He led his family into the bedroom, where they all jumped onto the bed. Soon, the agent was smashed on both sides as Rachel and Molly joined him on one side and the twins went on the other. After the kids were covered up Aubrey settled in. He snickered for a moment as he took in the sight of his four children in bed with him before closing his eyes.

Seven hours later, Monday morning was a whirlwind of getting four kids and himself around, making desperately needed coffee, and fixing three little girls' hair. They barely managed to get to the daycare by 8:15 for Aubrey to drop off the three youngest before rushing to Rachael's school. Resisting the urge to use the siren, he got her there on time before heading to the Hoover.

Walking into his office, he refilled the coffee he chugged on the way there and stole three donuts. Greeting his agents along the way, he finally arrived at his office.  Wearily, he hung up his coat and set his laptop bag on his desk. Sitting at his desk, he laid his head down, exhausted from either being kicked or almost smothered during the night.

"4:30 can't come soon enough...I miss my wife…I miss sleep." He muttered to himself.

At lunchtime, Aubrey met up with Booth in the Homicide Division and the two walked to the diner. Sitting at the counter, they completed their orders and started planning their trip to Dulles to pick up their wives.

"Want me to grab you at your office around three?" Booth said before sipping his coffee.

Aubrey dumped cinnamon in his cup and did the same. "Sounds good. Give us time to get there since traffic near the airport sucks and I can eat a snack along the way."

Booth shook his head. "You're eating a triple bacon cheeseburger, fries, onion rings, a fruit salad, and a chocolate shake…wait, I forgot who I was talking to."

"You know that I have blood sugar issues, Booth."

"Yes, he does. My Superman has to keep his strength up."

Startled, the men turned and saw their wives standing there. Quickly they recovered before standing up and hugging them. "Bones, you weren't supposed to be back until 4:30."

Brennan accepted the hug her husband offered. "Daisy, Ms. Warren, and I got a chance to be on an earlier flight, Booth."

"Why didn't you call us to come get you, Jess?" Aubrey asked, still dumbfounded his wife returned several hours early.

"Because you two are busy, so the three of us decided to share a cab. After we dropped Daisy off at the lab to see Oliver, Dr. B and I went to the Hoover.  Genny said you two had already left so we walked here to have lunch with you."

Joanne came upon them. "Your favorite table just became ready if you four want to sit down over there."

The two couples sat down before Jessica and Brennan put in quick orders. When the drinks arrived a few minutes later, Jessica stole some of her husband's chocolate shake. "Yummy."

Booth chuckled. "Aubrey you have a brave wife, taking your stuff."

The younger man put his arm around his wife as she kissed his cheek. "I always share with Jess because she loves me."

"That I do, Aubrey."

Booth sipped his coffee. "Ladies, tell us about your conference."

At 9:30 Aubrey finished brushing his teeth and came to bed wearing his Klaatu Barada Nikto shirt and Superman boxer shorts. Just as he got under the covers, Jessica came into the room and quietly shut the door.

"I had to read three stories to the kids plus they wanted to see the video of my head in the dinosaur skull again."

"It was kind of cool." Aubrey said.

"I'm glad you all think so." Jessica said drolly before pulling clothing of a dresser drawer.

The agent watched transfixed as Jessica removed her top and bra before tossing them in the hamper. While gravity did change things slightly on his 37-year-old wife, he still appreciated her yoga toned body. He enjoyed himself as Jessica stripped down to her panties and pulled a several years old Michigan State University t-shirt out of her drawer. Aubrey pumped his fist and did a little jig in bed. 'Yes…t-shirt and panties…tonight's going to be a good, good night for me…'

Aubrey stopped when she turned around, reading from his Rocket Raccoon comic as she got into bed. He watched furtively as she plugged in her phone on the dock and set her alarm. Turning around, she gave a smile at her husband.

Aubrey put his comic down. "Why are you smiling at me, Jess?"

"Because you wore your Gort t-shirt and your Superman boxers."  Jessica gently traced his leg.  “They’re very cute on you.”

"Yes…yes I am." The agent said before putting his comic book aside. "You're wearing your old MSU t-shirt."

Jessica scooted closer and sat on her husband's lap. "I am."

Aubrey's hand moved up her thighs and under her shirt, where it took all he had not to rip her underwear off her. They shared a kiss before the redhead broke it. "You know what this means…" Jessica said before turning off the light besides Aubrey.

Aubrey’s hands roamed under her t-shirt.  "We're not sleeping anytime soon."

Giggles could be heard in the dark as the married couple snuggled down into the covers and into each other.

Chapter Text

JUNE 2022

    The Friday night was quiet one in the Aubrey household, a welcome respite from the emotional week for Aubrey, Jessica, and their four-year-old daughter. Luckily, their eight-month-old twins remained oblivious.

After putting their children to bed, Jessica led Aubrey downstairs to their living room. The agent was curious at his wife's insistence to talk to him there instead of in their bedroom. Sitting down, he watched as the anthropologist went to her large purse.

"Jessica, what's going on? Are you sick?"

"I'm fine, James." She said as she pulled out something before walking it over to him. "The vet called today…Skinner's ashes arrived, so I picked them up for you."

Aubrey felt himself get emotional again as he thought of their late orange tabby whose sudden illness last week turned out to be cancer. Four days ago, he left work early and did something that broke his heart. However, he knew it was for the best. 

He stayed until Skinner took his last breath after the vet put him down. After spending time with him, he gave the authorization to have him cremated. He drove the long way home to compose himself.  That night, he and a devastated Jessica explained to Rachael that their beloved pet was in heaven now. Rachael was sad but was comforted as her mother explained the Rainbow Bridge to the intelligent child.  Seeing how devastated his little girl was, Aubrey gave her the paw print cast he got to put on her dresser before the couple had a restless night.

Jessica could see how sad her husband was, so she didn’t say anything as she wiped a tear away herself. Picking up the box, she held it. "I wanted to pick out an urn for him because it seems wrong to leave him in this box. However, I think that is something that you should do."

Aubrey took a deep breath. "Thank you."

Jessica took his hand. "You're welcome."

The couple sat quietly before Aubrey chuckled. Jessica didn't know whether to be happy or be concerned that her husband had lost his mind. "Superman, what is so funny?"

Aubrey looked at his wife.  "Sorry. I was just remembering how I got him."

The redhead smiled. "The Russell Fairbanks case. You worked with Dr. B because Booth was stuck at the office."

"Yep. Booth had to do traffic school…it was my first real case with her."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

NOVEMBER 2014

Aubrey shook his head in disbelief as he walked out of his interview with Tabatha Collins. The victim's graduate assistant described the experiments she and the professor ran with a detachment that freaked him out. The victim didn't deserve to be murdered, but if his killer was one of his test subjects, he couldn't blame them.

Of course, pissed off college students now opened up a new list of suspects. Since the assistant was invoking doctor patient confidentiality, he sent an email to Angela updating her on their progress and to see what magic she could come up with. Hearing a beep on his phone, he looked and saw a picture of Hodgins with the vic's cat Skinner.

He was an orange tabby with green eyes almost as bright as that cute redhead squint that worked with Dr. B sometimes. He was totally with Hodgins on not wanting to call Animal Control. According to Professor Fairbanks' records, Skinner was four years old and it was harder for cats to be adopted at that age because many people wanted kittens. Sure, they were cute, but they had to be trained. An adult cat can entertain themselves.

He remembered his mother's cat Cindy growing up. She was a white Maine Coon with the sweetest disposition, ironically a Christmas present from his father when he was nine years old. The cat became a member of their family, sometimes his and his mother's best friend during the darkest times after his father left. She lived to be the ripe old age of sixteen, dying of old age about a year before he lost his mother.

He entertained taking him home but pushed that thought away. He was busy and the cat didn't look happy to be manhandled when Wendell put him in a carrier they found in the victim’s garage.  Skinner needed someone who had time for him.

A day later, Aubrey was back at his desk working on leads for the Russell Fairbanks case. Working with Dr. B had been really cool so far and he really wanted to make a good impression on her.  He hoped that once Booth finished traffic school, he would get another chance.

Hearing a buzz on his phone, Aubrey picked it up to see a selfie of Hodgins with Skinner on Instagram. He chuckled at the two of them before putting the phone down. Once again, he considered adopting the animal, but a bachelor with a cat?  What is a woman going to think if he gets lucky enough to bring one home? Are they going to think he's some kind of lonely dork?

Isn't he though?

Shrugging off his lingering thoughts, the agent went back to his work.

The next morning, Aubrey stopped at the lab to give Angela some paperwork to sign. Trying to not be obvious, he looked for that squintern Jessica but saw it was Wendell working again. The guy was pretty cool from the few times they talked, but he wanted to see the cute squint. Pushing that thought aside, he peeked inside Angela's office to no avail. Heading to the Ookey Room, he overheard the woman in question.

"Hodgins, have you found anyone for Skinner yet?"

"No…I don't want to give him to just anyone. He's a pretty cool cat. I wish we could take him."

"I know…me too…"

Feeling bad, he walked in. "Angela, the woman I'm looking for. I have some reports I need signed, please."

"Sure Aubrey."  Angela took the folder.

The agent walked up to the cage and was surprised to see the cat greet him and start to purr. "Wow…you've done a 180 from when we found you."

"Well, we fed him." Hodgins said. "It's amazing how a cat's disposition changes once you give him canned tuna fish."

Aubrey arched his eyebrows at the scientist. "Hey, food is important."

Angela and Hodgins looked at each other. "Say Aubrey, would you be interested in taking Skinner?  He really seems to like you."

The lanky man looked at the cat again and couldn't help putting his finger in the cage. Immediately, the cat came to him, sniffed, and began licking his finger. "Me?  I don't know…"

Aubrey could feel his resistance fading as the cat began purring. However, he was not sure if he wanted to be a pet owner. What if he got transferred in a year or so to a plush assignment in Los Angeles or somewhere big? How could he handle transporting a cat?

But, as he would only admit to himself, while he’s made friends since arriving in DC, it was still lonely for him sometimes. It would be nice to come home to someone who would always be there for him. Mrs. Hall, his landlady did allow pets if it was a small animal.

"We would but Michael Vincent is allergic, Dr. B is not keen on having pets in their house, and Cam says she's not a cat person."  Hodgins could see the younger man was still undecided, so he played his trump card. "Jessica really likes him."

Ears perking up, Aubrey came back to reality. "Jessica…Dr. B's intern, right? The one with the red hair?"

Angela smiled, knowing full well Aubrey knew who they were talking about. "Yeah, Jessica Warren. She was returning one of Hodgins' books yesterday and melted when she saw Skinner.  He seemed to really like her, too."

"She wanted to take him, but her landlord doesn’t allow pets." Hodgins said. "Are you sure you can't take him?  I would hate to send him to the shelter."

Aubrey hated to admit that Jessica tipped the scales, but he could keep that to himself. "Well, I guess having another bachelor around couldn't hurt.  I’ll take him home with me.”

"Aubrey, you're taking Skinner home? That's is so awesome."

Aubrey turned to see Jessica standing in the doorway dressed in plainclothes holding an accordion folder. He tried not to stare but it was hard not to as she looked particularly cute with her hair in a side braid and her green blouse making her big eyes pop...and turned him into mush.

"Y-yeah, I am." He stammered.

Hodgins saw the agent getting nervous, so he decided to do the man a favor.  “Jessica, I thought you had today off.  What brings you here?”

The squintern held up the folder in her arms.  "I needed to bring Dr. B the tests from her Human Origin class I proctored for her today."

"I thought Bren said she was fine with you hanging onto those until you worked tomorrow." Angela gave the young woman a knowing smile. "You just wanted to visit Skinner, didn't you?"

The agent watched Jessica's face turned red as a tomato and it was one of the cutest things he ever saw. She was so beautiful with her porcelain skin, red hair, and big green eyes. 'She's so adorable...'

"Okay …yes I did. He's just so cute." Jessica said before walking up to the cage. "Hey there Skinner. You're going home with a nice man who shouldn't piss anyone off anytime soon and get murdered like your last daddy."

It was Aubrey's turn to blush at her compliment. Any final misgivings about whether to adopt the orphan cat were gone. "So, Skinner, want to come home with me? It's an older apartment and there's a lot of science fiction around but I think you'll like it."

Skinner’s response was to sniff Aubrey’s hand and purr, making everyone laugh.  “Thanks for taking him, Aubrey.  Now, I'm sure you want to pick up some cat essentials firs, so do you want to come get him tonight? I have to stay late to work on stuff."

'There was no turning back now', Aubrey thought. "Sounds good."

"I’m so glad he’s going on with you, Aubrey." Jessica said. "I was so afraid he would have to go the pound..."

"Yeah…no problem." Aubrey replied shyly before starting to walk out. "See you all later."

"Aubrey?" Angela said.  When the agent turned around, she held up the signed paperwork. "You may want to take these reports with you."

Embarrassed, the agent walked back and retrieved the items. "Thanks. Booth wouldn't appreciate me coming back empty handed."

"See you later, Aubrey." Hodgins said.

The couple watched the lanky man amble out and smiled when they saw the intern watch him walk away. They waited but she continued to stare. After sharing a smile, Angela broke the spell. "Jessica…Jessica!"

Startled, the redhead turned around. "Sorry…got distracted."

"I just wanted to tell you that Bren just walked into her office if you want to take those exams to her." Angela said with a smile.

"Oh good.  Thanks." Jessica said before turning to the cat. "Bye Skinner."

Hodgins and Angela smiled as they watched the intern go to her mentor's office. "Aubrey has got the biggest crush on Jessica, Honey." Angela said.  “As for Jessica, I think it’s mutual.  You know…perhaps they just need a push…”

"No, Angie…if they are meant to get together, they will.  No meddling.” The scientist said. "Now, while I've appreciated the break, it's time for me to continue my experiment."

Angela saw her husband pull out a clean syringe and cringed before turning away. "I can't watch you draw your own blood. I'll check on you later."

Aubrey spent the afternoon working the case and after Dr. B told him what they found in Skinner’s stomach, they brought in Russell Fairbanks' neighbor in and interrogated her.  After Ms. Von Merten’s confession, he booked her and completed the report.  Picking up Skinner’s cat bed from evidence, he picked up at supplies from PetSmart and headed over to the lab.

Arriving at the lab, he got a spring in his step when he saw Jessica talking to Doctor B in her office. He was tempted to stop but he saw the entomologist smiling in his doorway. "Hey Hodgins. Is he ready to go?"

"He is, Aubrey. I'm glad he's going to a good home." Hodgins said as he handed the other man the cat carrier.

"Yeah, thanks." The agent said before bending down to the animal peeking out. "Ready to go home with me?"

"You're going to a nice home, Skinner."

Startled, he looked up to see Jessica. She had now taken her braid down and she looked amazing. Trying to keep his reaction to himself, he smiled. "T-thanks." Aubrey said.  “I hope he likes living with me.”

"Maybe I can visit you sometime, Skinner…” Jessica grinned at the cat as she poked her finger through the mesh part. “...and you, of course, Aubrey...I mean..."

Aubrey stammered for a response as Brennan peeked out of her office. "Ms. Warren, we need to finish going over your proposal."

"Sorry…be right there." The redhead said before turning back. "Bye Curly…bye Aubrey…bye Skinner."

'She wants to visit Skinner...and me...' Aubrey continued to watch the squintern go back into the office until his thoughts were interrupted. "Huh?"

"Cats are chick magnets, you know."

"Why would you say that?" Aubrey asked.

"Never mind, Aubrey." Hodgins said with a smile. "I’m heading home.  Have a good night."

"Yeah…night." The agent said.  Passing Brennan’s office, he heard the intern and her mentor finish their conversation. Waiting outside, he greeted Jessica as she came out. "Hi again, Jessica."

"Hi again, Aubrey." Jessica said shyly. "Why are you still hanging around?"

'Be clever…be clever…" Aubrey thought. "I thought I would see if you and Dr. B would like me to walk you to your cars.  It’s dark out now."

"Booth will be here shortly, Aubrey." Brennan said. "However, Ms. Warren and I are finished if you could accompany her to her vehicle."

"How about it, Ms. Warren?" Aubrey said. "Can Skinner and I walk you to the parking garage?”

Jessica smiled shyly. "I would like that very much. Thank you."

At 11:30, Aubrey stripped to his boxers and a t-shirt before climbing into bed. Before he even had the covers over him, Skinner jumped up on the bed. "Want to sleep with me?" Aubrey asked before petting his head and pointing out the space available. "Sure. Take your pick."

Aubrey shut off the lamp, but Skinner chose to lay next to him. Smiling to himself, the agent put his arm around the cat and went to sleep.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"So…you brought him home because you liked me?" Jessica said.

"No…not totally." Aubrey shrugged. "He was a cool cat. You…were just the deciding factor."

"I see." Jessica said as she curled her legs up on the couch. "You figured I would come over to visit…then if you played your cards right you would get some forensic anthropologist nookie?"

"No…noooo…." Aubrey scoffed as his wife watched him with a smile before giving up. "Maybe…a little…okay, yeah. I wanted to get to know you better...and yes, I may have thought once or twice about...us having sex..."

“So is that why you didn’t even make any sort of move until the Leslie Hodsell case?”  Jessica chuckled at her spouse’s embarrassment.  “Think of it as this, Aubrey.  If you had made a move or if we did things differently than we did, we may not have built a wonderful friendship that got us through the best of times…"

"…and the worst." Aubrey finished before taking her hand. "I'll look online tomorrow for an urn for Skinner. Maybe Rachael can help me."

"I think she would like that, Superman." Jessica said. "Ready for bed?"

"Yeah." The lanky man said before grabbing the box. "I'll take this upstairs with us tonight."

Jessica took Aubrey's hand as they walked through their living room. The agent hit the light, leaving only the stove light on. They walked up the stairs together.

"Remember when Skinner liked to steal my seat when I would get up and take a nap?"

"Because your cute butt is so warm, Superman."

When there was only darkness in the living room, an iridescent orange cat came out from the kitchen and sat in the spot where Aubrey left and went to sleep.

Chapter Text

 Aubrey and Jessica were spending a quiet night at home in front of the lit fireplace playing Star Wars Monopoly. Their daughter was spending the night with Hodgins and Angela as a thank you for taking Michael Vincent and Jeffrey for them the night before. Their evening involved a DiAngelo's Meat Lovers pizza, a veggie with chicken and alfredo sauce pizza, a bottle of wine, and games. As always, their game was full of trash talk.

"This is nice, Superman." Jessica finished a piece of pizza.

Aubrey ate another slice of his Meat Lovers pizza. "It sure is, Jess. I miss Rachael, but it's nice to be alone with you, delicious pizza, wine, and Star Wars…especially when I win the game like last time."

"Uh no, I'm going to beat you this time, Superman." Jessica rolled the dice. "Seven…shit…"

Aubrey smiled as he saw where his wife had landed her Princess Leia game piece. "Oh, you landed on my Coruscant Senate. That's 2000 credits, please."

"Damn it…"

Aubrey knew he had his wife over a barrel. He waited as he knew she had to mortgage more than one of her properties. "Come on, Jess…"

Jessica looked up and smiled. "Superman, may I offer an alternative?"

Aubrey sipped his wine. "Sure, Jess, but I don't know what you can offer me that is worth all your planets."

"I have one." Crawling around the board, she sat on her husband's lap and slowly moved up and down.

"Uhh…" Aubrey began to stiffen as he felt her move. When Jessica whipped off her sweater, he was greeted with her breasts enclosed in a blue lace bra. Taking a lace enclosed rosy peak into his mouth, he suckled through the material, making her moan. Pulling her onto the floor, the couple soon forgot about their pizza and game.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Aubrey was the first one awake that Saturday morning after they spent the night on the couch. Feeling a sleepy Jessica snuggle closer to him, he enjoyed her until Skinner swatted at him. Gently letting go of his wife so she could continue to sleep, Aubrey got up and found his boxer shorts near the fireplace. Looking around, he smiled as he found Jessica's bra hanging off the television and what remained of her panties lying on their Star Wars monopoly gameboard.

Stretching, he felt content and rested for only getting maybe five hours sleep. However, it was worth it as they made love twice last night before falling asleep on the couch. It was a great night and had everything. Star Wars…wine…hot wife…pizza…

Suddenly, Aubrey's eyes got large. "The pizza…oh shit the pizza."

Looking on the floor, his worst fears were confirmed as he saw two boxes, one with two pieces of the extra-large half Meat Lovers and the other with three pieces of the Chicken and Alfredo sauce pizza. Aubrey estimated that they sat out for about ten hours. Picking them up, he placed them on the center island and felt the need to apologize to the unfinished meal.

"So sorry, beautiful pizza. How I love you…but I love my naked wife more, especially when our little girl is spending the night elsewhere…"

He continued to gaze at the food with regret. He knew it should be thrown out because it probably wasn't safe to eat sitting out as long as it was. However, like a great mind, a DiAngelo's pizza was a terrible thing to waste. Quietly, he put it in the fridge to have for later. As he shut the door, Jessica came up behind him wearing only his t-shirt.

"Superman, can you start coffee?" she asked as she opened the pantry and pulled out Skinner's food.

"Sure." Aubrey said, his sadness gone when he saw his wife bend their cat's food dish over to reveal no panties. 'She has such a great ass.'

After returning the food to where it belonged, Jessica recognized the look in her husband's eye. "Special Agent Aubrey, why are you looking at me like that?"

Aubrey ground coffee beans and added them along with water to the machine. Pushing the START button, he walked towards Jessica. "Because we still have a house with no young Jedi and my beautiful wife has no underwear on."

"Yes…it seems my panties became collateral damage last night..." The redhead said with a smile. "Whatever am I doing to do?"

"I will have to use my awesome Jedi powers to protect you." Aubrey rushed her and put her in a fireman's carry to her screams. Walking her back to the couch, he put her down before climbing on top of her.

Jessica could feel Aubrey's excitement. "Oooohh, your…light saber burns bright, Special Agent Aubrey."

"Yeah…I'll show you how bright my light saber burns."

Their laughing turned into kissing…which lead to his t-shirt and his boxer shorts flying across the living room.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Ninety minutes later, Jessica was making a quick grocery list while Aubrey loaded the dishwasher. "What about goulash for dinner tonight?"

Aubrey shut the appliance and looked up. "Sounds awesome, Jess."

"Good." Jessica said as she opened the fridge. "Since we're out of Saoirse Finn's pinor noir, I'll get a bottle of wine as well and…Aubrey…is this the pizza from last night?"

'Busted!' Aubrey thought. "Well…"

The redhead pulled the pizza box from the fridge and held it up. "OMG Aubrey…this was left out all night, wasn't it? You can't seriously be thinking about eating this?"

Aubrey shrugged. "It was only out for a few hours…"

Jessica set the pizza box on the center island. "James Robert Aubrey! This pizza has been sitting out for at least twelve hours. Do I need to tell you again about bacteria and all the food borne illnesses that are out there?"

Aubrey casually waved his hand. "It's fine."

"It's not fine, Aubrey." Jessica said as she folded the list and put it in her pocket. "Now, please get rid of that before Rachael and I come home. I don't want our little girl to eat that by mistake."

"I'll take care of it."

The redhead crossed her arms. "Superman, please don't eat that. You brag about that iron stomach of yours, but gastroenteritis has a nasty way of biting you in the ass when you least expect it."

Aubrey held up his hands in surrender. "Don't worry…I'll get rid of it."

"Thank you." Jessica came up and kissed him. "I'm going to pick up your dry cleaning, grocery shop, and a couple other errands before going to get Rachael at Angela and Curly's. I will probably visit for a little bit before the two of us come home. Want me to bring you back something to snack on?"

"Yeah, surprise me."

"Okay, Superman. I'll see you in a few hours." Jessica said before giving her husband another kiss as she grabbed her keys and purse. "Now, don't forget to toss that pizza."

"The pizza will be gone when you and Rachael come home…" Aubrey said as he leaned against the counter. When his wife walked out of the house and shut the door, he stood up with a smile. "…because I'm going to eat it."

Walking to the living room window, he watched as his wife backed her Jeep out past the gate and down Janus Street. When clear, he almost skipped to the kitchen, taking the pizza out of the box. "A Meat Lovers slash Chicken pizza hurt me? Never."

Aubrey put the pizza in the microwave for thirty seconds. When the appliance dinged, he pulled the plate out and started to eat. He sensed a couple areas not as hot as others, but he didn't care. Digging in, he moaned.

"Oh so good…"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Three hours later, he was working on his FBI laptop when he felt something in his stomach churn before he heard gurgling. Ignoring it, he went back to his task but it hit him again about a minute later before nausea kicked in.

"A little stomach upset. I'll just go take some Pepto."

But when he stood up, he felt dizzy. Giving himself a minute to recoup, he walked to the downstairs bathroom slowly, his abdomen moving a roller coaster in his stomach. Halfway to the destination, he broke out into a cold sweat before dry heaving. Feeling the urge to puke, he ran and barely make it to the toilet before his food came up. After a few minutes, he stood up slowly and rinsed his mouth out.

"Just a little nausea. Happens to everyone." Aubrey said to himself. "My stomach would never betray me."

He'd barely sat back down on the couch when he felt his stomach churn again. However, it didn't want to go up this time. Aubrey's eyes opened wide as he ran to the bathroom again, barely having time to drop trou before things exited in a rush. When he was finally empty, he inhaled and exhaled deeply as he sat quietly.

"Fuck...this is worse than being tased...wresting with chickens…Chili Reuben's van…" Aubrey muttered before hearing the door slam.

"Superman?"

"Daddy…home."

Aubrey closed his eyes and groaned. "Double fuck…"

"Superman, where are you?"

"I'm in the bathroom, Jess." Aubrey said, trying to keep his composure, grateful that the door was shut. However, his relief was gone as he saw the door creep open slowly, followed by an orange paw peeking through.

"Skinner…Daddy needs some privacy. Go see Mommy and Rachael." Aubrey said weakly but it was no use as the tabby forced the door open, greeting his owner.

"Aubrey…are you all right?"

"Yeah, Jess I'm…fine…" Aubrey groaned before another wave came on. "God help me…"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Ten minutes later, Aubrey came out of the bathroom slowly. His stomach was doing cartwheels and he thought he wanted to die. Walking out into the open dining room/kitchen area, he saw his daughter coloring in her Star Wars book at the table and Jessica in the kitchen washing vegetables for dinner.

Turning to greet her husband, the anthropologist saw that her husband was pale. "Aubrey, are you feeling all right?"

He needed to be honest...to a point. "No Jess. I think I'm going to lay down for a while."

Rachael looked up from her activity. "Is tummy sick, Daddy?"

Aubrey rubbed the redhead's hair with affection and kissed her, earning him some dizziness in the process. "Yeah, Pumpkin. Daddy's going to take a nap for a while."

Rachael smiled at her hero. "Love you."

Aubrey could help but smile into a set of large eyes as blue as his own. "Love you, too."

"I'll check on you later, Superman." Jessica said as Aubrey went upstairs.

"Thanks." The agent replied, feeling guilty as he slowly climbed up the stairs. 'Coward...'

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Aubrey managed to get changed into a pair of pajama pants and an old Syracuse shirt before the next wave hit him. His body seemed to take turns on which direction it came out for the next two hours but eventually he was emptied. More than once he broke out into a cold sweat and was weak as he laid in bed.

'I've been shot at more than once, almost tased, and blown up by a bomb. However, it's stupid ass fucking food poisoning that knocks me on my ass like a little bitch.'

Finally, the door opened, and Jessica came in holding a Gatorade and a can of Vernors. "Superman, how are you doing?"

"Like death warmed over." He replied as he put his arm over his eyes.

Jessica came around and put the fluids on his nightstand. "So, you need to drink some Gatorade for fluids then drink the ginger ale to settle things."

Weakly, Aubrey sat up and rested against the headboard. "Thank you."

Jessica studied her husband for a moment before combing his right temple. "I wonder what kind of bug you caught. Think you got it from work?"

The agent thought quickly in between slow sips of Fruit Punch Gatorade. "Probably. Things travel, but I'm sure I'll feel better later."

Jessica sat next to her husband on the bed. "I hope Rachael and I don't get sick."

"Yeah, would like to avoid the repeat of the family strep throat plague we had a couple of months ago…and all that COVID 19 shit last year…ugh…a little dizzy."

Jessica felt her husband's cheek. "Well you don't have a fever, so I'll let you sleep. I'll check on you in a little while."

"Thank you, Jessica."

Covering up her husband, the anthropologist pet his head once more before walking away. She was two steps from the door when she turned around. "Oh by the way, next time you're going to eat old pizza and try to hide your resulting food poisoning from me, maybe actually wash the dish instead of hiding it in the dishwasher between other dirty ones."

"Shit…" He muttered.

"I have to feed our daughter her dinner now." Jessica said. "We'll talk later."

Aubrey heard the door shut and groaned. "I hate it when she says that."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

The FBI agent fell asleep a short time later and when he woke up, he found another room temperature can of Vernors along with Gatorade. Next to it was a package of saltine crackers and a small Thermos container that when he opened it had some chicken broth with a spoon nearby. On the other side of him, his laptop sitting there with his mouse already plugged in with his phone next to it.

Looking at the clock, he was surprised to see it was 8:30, realizing he slept for almost four hours. Slowly sitting up, he felt the wave of dizziness before he sipped some of the chicken broth and ate some crackers. As he swallowed, he heard a faint knock and smiled, knowing who it was. "Come in, Pumpkin."

Slowly, the door pushed open and a PJ clad Rachael came in as Jessica held her hand. "Someone wanted to say good night to her daddy."

"Come here, Rachael." Aubrey said, realizing that he slept through her bath.

"No don't climb on the bed. We'll walk to Daddy." Jessica said.

When they got to his side of the bed, he hugged his daughter gingerly as he got dizzy when he dipped his head. "Night, Daddy."

"Night, Honey." He said weakly.

Jessica walked her out and shut the door to a crack. He could her them across the hall in their little girl's room. He knew the routine down pat. The small redhead would get into bed and either he or Jessica would read to her. Tonight, it was Jessica's turn and he smiled while listening to his wife's sweet voice read 'Goodnight, Moon' to her.

Halfway through the book, his contentment was interrupted when he felt another wave coming on. Rushing to the bathroom, he had a few dry heaves before the chicken broth and crackers came up. When he was empty again, he sat on the bathroom floor, weak from everything. Hearing the bedroom door open, he tried getting up, but got hit with another dizzy spell and was forced to wait until Jessica appeared in the doorway.

"Vomited or the other way this time?"

"Puked up your chicken broth and crackers." Aubrey said weakly. "Sorry, Jess."

"It's okay. Come on, James. You can't spend the night on the bathroom floor."

Aubrey felt stupid as his wife helped him up and walked him back to the bed. Giving him the open bottle of Gatorade, she gave instructions. "Sip slowly and alternate with the Vernors for a few minutes. I'm going to take the chicken broth back downstairs but I'm leaving the crackers."

"Aren't you coming to bed?" The agent replied weakly.

"In a while. I'm going to finish cleaning up the kitchen before I read a few articles that Dr. B recommended to me. Get some sleep Superman. I'll see you in the morning."

Aubrey felt like an ass. "I'm sorry Jessica."

The redhead looked at her husband, pathetically sad and sick and as much as she tried, she couldn't stay mad at him. "It's okay. There's no point in being angry with you because I think you're learning your lesson now."

Aubrey watched his wife walk out before shutting the door. Hearing her footsteps downstairs, he leaned his head back. 'Lesson learning really, really sucks.'

Aubrey woke up around 6:30. Sitting up slowly, he felt weak, but his head didn't spin like yesterday. Looking over, he saw Jessica sleeping with her back to him in the middle of the bed. After slowly dangling his legs, he slowly stood up and while a little weak, felt okay. Grabbing the empty items from his nightstand, he tiptoed out of the bedroom.

"Daddy…"

Moving the gate blocking the doorway, he stepped into Rachael's room and saw his toddler sitting up, red hair askew and utterly adorable. "Morning, Pumpkin."

"Daddy…hungry."

Aubrey smiled as he helped his daughter out of bed. Walking downstairs quietly, he let her pick out a Blu Ray to watch as he started coffee, fed Skinner, and prepared oatmeal for them. When done, they ate in the living room together watching television before he opened his laptop and checked on his work email. As he was responding to an agent's inquiry, he heard footsteps and saw his wife coming down the stairs.

"Morning you two."

"There's coffee and oatmeal on the stove." Aubrey said. "I wasn't ready to eat anything bolder this morning."

"It's okay, Superman." Jessica said as she yawned. "Coffee and oatmeal sound good right now."

A few minutes later, the redhead joined her husband on the couch as their daughter continued to be entertained by the adventures of Kro Nos the Snow Giant.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

By afternoon, Aubrey had mostly recovered from his illness and was looking forward to dinner. Peeking into the kitchen, he saw his wife adding blanched and peeled Roma tomatoes to a pot. Next, she dumped in peppers and other spices, making his mouth water. Walking up to his wife, he smelled again and was in heaven.

"That smells so good. What are you making?"

Jessica turned to her spouse. "Goulash."

Surprised, Aubrey looked up. "I thought you made it last night?"

"I was going to, but you were sick, so I made pasta for our Jedi and myself and blanched extra tomatoes for today."

Aubrey put his arms around his wife's waist and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry I lied about dumping the pizza and getting sick."

Jessica turned her head. "It's okay. I just hope you learned a lesson."

"Yes…my stomach failed me." Aubrey said before he was smacked by his wife in the arm. "Okay…okay…my wife had a point about eating expired food sitting out all night."

"And?"

Aubrey kissed her on the cheek again. "And…not to lie to my wife about that again because she's a Mensa genius who knows all."

"Bingo. Since you were nice, you can cook the meat if you like." Jessica said. Seeing her husband's excited face, she let him work before bringing up something else. "Aubrey, do you remember a conversation we had about old pizza, say…over four years ago? It was our first date after we decided to try getting back together…we ate at the diner before going to Retro Science Fiction Night to see The Thing From Another World…"

It took a minute but then he remembered. Groaning, he turned to Jessica. "Please don't Jess...I'm begging you…"

The redhead smiled as she turned to her husband and laughed. "James Aubrey…I told you so…"

Aubrey responded by tossing a couple wheat elbow macaroni at his wife, who responded in kind before they laughed together.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, August 15th, 2018 was a partly cloudy but warm day. For most people in the Washington DC Metropolitan area, it was their hump day in their countdown to Friday. However, for James Aubrey and Jessica Warren, today had a different meaning.

Today was their baby's due date.

Aubrey had it circled on every calendar in their house, at work, and both had it on their phones. It was a day that they had been looking forward to since Jessica surprised him with the news on Christmas morning. They were scared at first because it was way before they planned to start a family. However, this surprise was the best one they ever had…yet.

Five weeks ago, they finished the nursery. The couple didn't want the stereotypical pink motif and instead decided on a mint green for the room across the hall. They went with Angela's suggestion of a mostly an animal theme, including a mural that the artist painted on the wall with a giraffe, elephant, frog, lion, and other various animals.

However, they wanted their progeny to be exposed to good culture early on as well, so their beloved Star Wars had a presence in the room. The crib was white, but the mobile over it had Luke, Leia, Han, Yoda, C3PO, R2DA, BB8, Rey, and Darth Vader. The sheets were Star Wars as well as the blanket with all characters from the movies.

Once the ultrasound Jessica had in March revealed they were having a daughter, naming her was easy. The redhead readily agreed with Aubrey's request to name her after his late mother, Rachael. The middle name they wanted to be unique but meaningful and after weeks of debate they made their final choice three weeks ago.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

The alarm went off at 6:00 and both groaned. After Aubrey turned off the alarm, he sat up and stretched. Following the routine that they had established several weeks ago, he came around to the other side of the bed. After waiting for Jessica to attempt to get up on her own, he held his hand out and helped her out of bed.

He watched his wife waddle slowly into their en-suite bathroom, her exhaustion obvious. He tried to convince her to start her maternity leave early, but she refused. Jessica's official reason was that her OB said she could work up to her due date if she felt up to it. However, he also knew that she was determined to maximize her maternity leave from the Jeffersonian and American University's graduate school program. He could more than provide for them if she wanted to start early, but Aubrey knew better than to argue. His wife was stubborn, but she would never put their baby at risk.

When he heard the shower start, Aubrey went into the bathroom to join her. He knew that once Rachael was born, their showers together would be limited.

"Better enjoy it while I can." He muttered.

A tired Jessica put on her make up as she tried ignoring her sore back. She was hopeful that she and Aubrey's little Jedi would be born today, so she maintained a positive attitude as much as possible. However, her OB, her friends, and even Nadia advised that she'd probably deliver late.

The redhead looked down on her swollen belly and smiled. She was proud that she kept could keep a special part of her and Aubrey safe with her for nine months. Rachael would be the best example of the love and friendship she shared with her Superman.

But on the other hand, she envied her husband in that he didn't have the stretch marks, the fatigue, or hormones that ran amok.

Finishing her makeup, she looked down at herself again and this time frowned. Aubrey always told her how beautiful she was, even as she was nine months pregnant. She was glad he felt that way, but she didn't feel beautiful at that moment. She felt like a beached whale. It didn't help that this summer was one of the hottest on record and she was miserable these last couple of months.

Coming out of the bathroom, she went into their walk-in closet. Looking through her work outfits, she pulled out one of her favorite maternity dresses. Putting it on, she looked at herself in the mirror. Aubrey said it was incredibly beautiful on her, but she also recalled wearing the dress to a dinner they had with her mother the day she got her ultrasound.

Eleanor was back on her medication after months of depression. She was in town for a deposition and insisted on treating the couple to dinner. When they arrived at their table, Eleanor took one look at Jessica and sighed.

'Horizontal stripes? Really Jessica…why on earth would you bring attention to all that extra weight you're carrying?'

Jessica felt embarrassed, but then she recalled her gallant husband stepping in.

'Jessica is not carrying fat, Eleanor. She is carrying your grandchild and I think she looks beautiful in this dress. Now, shame my wife again about her pregnancy and you can eat dinner all by yourself. I'm sure you don't want that here in this fancy ass restaurant. People will notice.'

Eleanor was polite with gritted teeth the rest of the evening and Aubrey was rewarded well that night. Second trimester sex was the best.

Pushing away her gloomy mood, she put on her lingerie and pulled a nude set of thigh highs out of her drawer. After an embarrassing incident during her sixth month where she couldn't put her favorite purple tights on, she gave up on pantyhose. Sitting down on the bed, she sat down and put them on slowly, using the technique she perfected over the last few weeks. When done, she attempted to move up, but struggled before giving up.

"Aubrey!"

Aubrey dropped his wife off at the lab before arriving at work before 8:00. As he got his coffee, he was met by Booth, who came over and poured coffee into his Steelers mug.

The older man saw his friend's smile and how he could barely contain himself. Playing it cool, he sipped his coffee. "You look happy. Big day today?"

Aubrey shook cinnamon in his cup. "Yep…Rachael's due date. I'm going to be a dad by tonight."

Booth chuckled. "Aubrey, Bones was late with Christine and Hank, Angela was late with Michael Vincent—"

"But she was early with Jeffrey."

The older man nodded. "Yeah, but do you remember what Jeffrey's birthday is?"

"True." Aubrey said with a grimace.

Booth chuckled. "Aubrey, I hate to rain on your parade, but odds are Jessica is going to be late, especially since this is her first pregnancy."

"Nah…" The younger man said with confidence. "Rachael will be here by this time tomorrow. Jess is always punctual."

"Okay, whatever you say." Booth smiled at his friend's naivete. "Well, the Homicide Division isn't going to run on its own, so I'll see you later."

"Bye, Booth." Aubrey said.

Getting a spoon out of the drawer, he stirred his coffee before rinsing it and putting it in the drain rack. Walking the distance to Major Crimes, he enjoyed the quiet of the almost deserted bullpen, knowing there will be a flood of agents under his command arriving shortly.

Peeking inside an office two doors down from his, he saw his ASAC Genevieve Shaw working diligently at her desk. He knocked on her door. "Morning, Genny."

"Morning Boss." The petite woman said when she looked up and saw her supervisor's grin. "You're in a good mood today."

"Yep." Aubrey said with a smile. "Going to be a daddy, today."

Genny smiled. "Boss, I was a week late with Danny and three days late with Emma. I hate to break it to you, but the chances of Jessica going into labor on time are slim to none."

The lanky man was determined to be positive. "Not with us. I'm confident our daughter wants to come into the world when she is supposed to, and we'll have her in our arms by tonight."

The ASAC smiled. "Whatever you say, Boss. Do you want me to do payroll for today?"

"Nah, I've got it." Aubrey said. "Better to keep busy before Jessica calls me."

Genny watched her boss walk out of the office and smiled to herself before going back to work. "Oh Aubrey…so naïve."

At noon, Jessica and Aubrey had lunch at the diner with Booth and Brennan. Between the two of them, there were two cheeseburgers, two orders of French fries, one large order of onion rings, fruit salads, potato soup for Jessica, and two large chocolate shakes along with jalapeno poppers and Frankie's new hummus appetizer. The older couple chuckled at the sheer amount of food shared by the younger couple.

"So, Doctor B, I completed the class's first test. I've also compiled my dissertation research as you requested because it will be on hold while I'm on maternity leave. Is there anything else I can do?"

Brennan took a sip of her coffee. "I should be set for when the class starts next week, Ms. Warren. As we discussed, you will still prepare class materials, grade the first two exams, and anything else you can assist with. However, Dr. Wells will be helping me with the Supplemental Instruction sessions while you're on leave."

"Yeah, I'm glad he's doing so well after what happened last year." Jessica sipped her water. "I'm sorry Wendell couldn't help you."

"It's fine, Ms. Warren. Mr. Bray is busy finishing his dissertation for me as well as assisting Doctor Anderson on her project for his medical anthropology program. This will be also be good for Dr. Wells since this is his first semester back after his rehabilitation. When I talked to him last week, he understood his role and the standards he must abide by, including being careful of his…mercurial disposition. However, I look forward to your return from maternity leave in October."

Aubrey finished his plate of onion rings before starting on his fries. "Booth, so you and Genny talked about your game plan when I start my paternity leave, right?"

The older man chuckled as his friend shoved two fries in his mouth. "Yes, Aubrey. I plan on checking in with her intermittently and be available if there are questions. However, this is not Genny's first rodeo with running Major Crimes. Quit being so anxious. You'll only be gone for two weeks."

Aubrey went to steal a bite of his wife's soup, but the look on her face as she pulled it away told him otherwise. "Jess is due today, Booth—"

"Well, she hasn't started labor yet, Aubrey, so relax." Booth said as he picked up his cheeseburger. "Maybe you need to stop drinking those quad shot cappuccinos and all that other foamy crap stuff you like."

Jessica picked up her chocolate shake. "So, since I'll probably go into labor today, will you be all set at the lab, too Dr. B?"

Brennan smiled at the expectant mother. "Yes, Ms. Warren, but statistically, your fetus will probably not be born today."

"I know…but I'm really excited…and ready for Rachael to be here." Jessica said.

"And we've got Jess's bag packed in my SUV ready to go and one in her Jeep just in case." Aubrey said, ignoring Booth's earlier caution. "We rehearsed last night and all last weekend, too."

"Rehearsed?" Booth asked with a confused face.

"For when she goes into labor, Booth." Aubrey said as he chewed his burger. "I've got to be prepared. Now, I have plotted out all possible routes to the hospital from our house, the Jeffersonian, the Hoover, here, Founding Fathers, and the Cineplex. Daisy is practically next door so it is the same time as our house. Oh and Hodgins—"

"Stop." Booth said. "You need to chill and take a deep breath, Aubrey."

"What? I'm just getting prepared for the unexpected." Aubrey said. "I'm going to be a father, Booth. I have to be ready."

"Well, don't freak out about it." Booth said. "Babies are both to federal agents all the time and they are fine. You'll be fine and Jessica will be fine."

Brennan smirked. "Booth, you constantly hovered over me until Christine was born." Brennan said. "You wouldn't let me eat my noodles because of the sodium, you lied to me about a case to keep me at the Jeffersonian…"

"Bones, you chased Sweets and I down during a tornado—"

Brennan sipped her coffee. "You wanted me to stay in the lab all the time and give birth in a hospital full of germs instead of a nice, controlled home birth."

Booth gave his wife a face. "Bones, you went into labor at a maximum-security prison and you gave birth in a barn. I think my concerns were justified."

When Aubrey laughed, Jessica turned to him before looking at the other couple. "Don't laugh, Superman. Remember freaking out when I was working with the enzyme bath after I began my second trimester—"

The younger man didn't like being put on the spot. "Hey, I didn't know what you put in that stuff to clean the bones. That's my baby in there, too, you know."

"Believe me, Aubrey, I know." Jessica rolled her eyes. "Then there was the time with me and the bone saw—"

"You know what would have happened if you dropped that saw and it hit your stomach?" Aubrey retorted.

"Which I almost did when you scared the shit out of me in the Bone Room." Jessica said before taking her husband's hand and turning to her mentor. "I'm okay with a hospital Dr B. It's the one Daisy gave birth in and I get my own suite, which is nice if family comes to visit."

"Just don't be afraid to kick people out." Booth said. "You need plenty of time with just the three of you."

The friends smiled before going back to their lunch.

Aubrey and an exhausted Jessica had busy afternoons after lunch, so both were happy to go home. As she relaxed on the couch, he fed their cat and made vegetarian lasagna for dinner. Later on, Skinner joined them as they retired to the couch, where the agent rubbed his wife's swollen and tired feet.

After several minutes of peace and quiet, Jessica unhappily sighed. "Superman, I don't think Rachael is coming today."

Aubrey rubbed her feet and nodded in agreement. "Yep, I think you're right. Our little Jedi will be late."

Jessica looked at her husband before tears fell. Worried, Aubrey stopped and took her in his arms and as previous experience showed him, let her cry. When she calmed down, she wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Superman…"

Aubrey gently combed a stray lock of red hair back. "Jessica, I know that she's late but that's okay."

"No, it's not." The redhead said. "I know I'm doing a beautiful thing by keeping our baby safe and warm until she's ready to be born, but I want my body back. I'm tired of being tired…I'm tired of my belly being so big I can't see my swollen ankles…I'm tired of my breasts being sore and mutant huge…my face looks like a chipmunk…"

Aubrey knew he had to tread carefully. Brushing the red hair out of Jessica's eyes, he rubbed her belly. "You're not fat…you're pregnant and beautiful. I don't mind your breasts right now, but I'm sorry they hurt, and your face doesn't look like a chipmunk. Jess, you're glowing. Everything will be fine."

"Are you sure?" Jessica narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Maybe you're tired of me being moody."

Aubrey grinned. "You're not moody…just…feeling lots of different stuff is all."

"Nice save, Aubrey." The anthropologist put her hand on her abdomen as well.

"How about we turn in early?" Aubrey suggested. "I know enough about babies to know that sleep will be a luxury for us once our daughter is born."

"Good idea, Superman."

Aubrey got up and assisted Jessica to stand. Almost immediately, Skinner joined them and the three went upstairs.

Two days later, Jessica was looking over a set of remains in the Bone Room when she felt a hard twinge. After she got over the shock, she calmly set the femur down and pulled off her gloves. When she felt another contraction, she took a deep cleansing breath to ease through the discomfort. Walking across the hall to Angela's office, she encountered the artist and Cam going over evidence.

"Ladies…"

Cam and Angela turned around and words didn't have to be said. "I'll call Aubrey." The pathologist said.

"Come on Sweetie." Angela said as she led Jessica out the door.

Four hours later, Aubrey and Jessica lumbered through their front door. The intern sat down and tried to get her shoes off to no avail. "Superman…"

Aubrey came over quickly and pulled her ballet flats off her feet. Looking up, he saw she was exhausted and frustrated. He didn't say anything, instead rubbing her thigh as he waited her for to collect her thoughts.

"Aubrey…I just want her here."

The agent took his wife's hand. "I know. I do too, Jess. Maybe…we just need to relax and let nature…"

"Fuck nature! I don't want to relax…I just want her out of me!" The redhead retorted, now on the brink of tears.

"Maybe we need a distraction, Jess. You know, Aaron and Nadia invited us to go to the fair with them and the kids tomorrow. Want to go if you're feeling up to it?"

Jessica considered for a moment. "Can I have some butterfly chips?"

"Whatever you want, Jess." Aubrey said, happy his wife was smiling again.

When the anthropologist took her husband's hand, he got up on the couch and snuggled with his wife. Words didn't need to be said as they enjoyed each other's company.

The next day, they attended the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair with Aaron, Nadia, and their nieces and nephews. For a while, the two forgot about their daughter's late arrival as they enjoyed the various games. They also enjoyed the food as they shared butterfly chips drenched with Frank's sauce, elephant ears, sausages with peppers, cotton candy, and deep-fried Oreos with a mojito Shaved Ice.

As Aubrey received the chili and cheese fries, he ordered from another food stand, Jessica looked up at the Zipper ride. "You know, Wendell told me last week how his mother went into labor with him while she was on a roller coaster."

"No! Hell no." Aubrey started until he saw his wife laughing.

"Don't worry, Aubrey. Besides, I have a better idea on how I can try to start labor. Angela suggested it when she called this morning to check on me." The redhead said before stealing one of Aubrey's chili cheese fries.

"What's that?" The agent said before taking a fry of his own.

"It involves us going home after we eat." Jessica said while licking the processed cheese from her fingers.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"YES SUPERMAN…YES!"

On his back, Aubrey closed his eyes as he came into his wife who was on top. When Jessica recovered, he helped her off him so she could lay onto her left side. When settled, the couple smiled at each other.

"Between the hot sauce and the sex, I'll be in labor in no time, Superman."

Aubrey had finally caught his breath as he caressed Jessica's pregnant stomach. "I'll be ready when she comes."

Unfortunately, by August 21st, Jessica ran out of patience. She kept herself calm while she was at work. Even as she and Aubrey ate Chinese takeout for dinner, she kept her cool. However, after she crawled into bed and struggled to find a comfortable position, she finally expressed her feelings on the matter.

"Auuuuggghhhh, why am I not in labor, Aubrey?!"

The agent came out of the bathroom with his toothbrush. "Jess, maybe we need to lay off the hot sauce and sex for a day or two. You look really stressed out."

"Of course, I'm stressed. I'm a fucking water buffalo." Jessica cried before looking at her pregnant abdomen. "Rachael Honey, you need to come out for Momma…now."

They waited for a moment but no labor. Aubrey decided to speak up. "Jess, can I do anything for you?"

"Can we try sex again?"

Aubrey never thought the day would come when he didn't want to make love with his wife, but he hated how sex was becoming more work instead of pleasure. However, Jessica was exhausted and uncomfortable with waiting for labor to come.

Going back into the bathroom, he finished his teeth. As he came back into the bedroom, he stripped off his shirt before hitting the light. Climbing into bed, they got comfortable and came together.

The next morning, Aubrey was already in the shower when Jessica joined him. They did their routine in silence for a minute before the redhead spoke up.

"Aubrey, I think we're trying too hard to make Rachael come." Hearing her husband sigh in relief, she realized he felt the same way. "You, too?"

"Yeah. I think we need to just let nature take its course. Besides, Dr Moossavi said yesterday at your appointment that if she wasn't born this weekend they would induce labor on Monday morning."

"You're right." Jessica rinsed her hair and handed her husband her cherry vanilla body wash. "I love making love with you Superman….and I love Frank's hot sauce…"

Aubrey began washing his wife. "But you need a break from both?"

"Yeah." Jessica said. "Are you mad?"

"No." Aubrey said as he took her in his arms for a moment. "I just want you comfortable and happy."

Turning around, the redhead gave her husband a kiss before they finished their shower. After breakfast, they made sure Skinner was fed before leaving for the day, each more relaxed than they had been the last few days.

Things would happen when they would happen.

Chapter Text

            When Jessica’s alarm went off and she woke up on August 23^rd, she could barely get out of bed, only doing so because Aubrey prodded her awake.  She went to bed early last night and slept soundly, even though she could not get into a comfortable position in bed.  She wanted to go back to bed, especially with her back hurting, but today was the first day of class at American University, so sleeping in was not an option.  After Aubrey made her a smoothie and some catnip tea, the two kissed as they met outside the garage.

            “Good luck on your first day of school, Jess.”  Aubrey said.  “Afterwards, take it easy at the lab, please?  You’re obviously exhausted.”

            “I’ll be fine, Superman.”

            “I still think you should take the day off—”

            “Aubrey…”  Jessica put her hand on his shoulder.  “I’m fine.  If it gets too hard to get through the afternoon, I’ll go home.  Now, remember that I’m having lunch with Dr B after class, so I won’t see you until you get home tonight.”

            “I may just come by and pay a visit to my wife.”  Aubrey kissed her hand.

            “That would be nice.  Be careful today, Superman.”

            “I will.  See you later.”

            The couple separated before getting into their respective vehicles.  As Aubrey pushed the remote to open the gate, Jessica left first, followed by him.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            “The students seemed like a good bunch this semester, Dr B.”  Jessica grabbed her Sprite and took a sip.

            Brennan finished a bite from her salad as they sat in her office at the Jeffersonian.  “I agree, Ms. Warren.  It is annoying when some show up in their pajamas, but they seemed eager to learn.”

            “I’ll email my notes for Oliver later tonight and touch up on the Power Point this weekend for next week’s class.”

            “That is very appreciated Ms. Warren.  I know we agreed to a modified duty schedule for you while you’re on maternity leave.  However, if it’s too much, please let me know.”

            “Thanks, Doctor B, and I will.  I know Rachael will keep me busy, but I’m determined to do all I can while I’m off.  I appreciate you letting me do everything from home.”  Jessica said before shifting and grimacing.

            Brennan saw her face and grew concerned.  “Ms. Warren, are you feeling all right?”

            Jessica tried to make herself comfortable in her chair.  “Yeah, Dr B.  I’m just feeling…off today.  My back has been killing me since I woke up this morning.  Aubrey tried to massage it for me in the shower, but my body is being stubborn and I’m super tired.  I barely woke up this morning and Aubrey wanted me to stay home today.”

            “That would explain you napping at the desk while the students were on break.”

            Jessica cringed, not realizing she saw that.  “Dr B…I’m so sorry…that wasn’t professional at all.  It won’t happen again…”

            “Ms. Warren, you are nine months pregnant.  Your body is caring for two people right now.  I was quite tired near the end of my pregnancies with Christine and Hank.”  Brennan nodded.  “The constant need to urinate was also frustrating.”

            “Oh my God, me too.”  Jessica said as the two women shared a laugh before Oliver entered the doorway.

            “Ladies, I’m here for our meeting of…the minds.”

            Jessica rolled her eyes while Brennan gave one of her typical Oliver expressions.  “This is not a meeting of the minds, Dr Wells, but a conversation on how the class went as well as another discussion on what I expect from you this next eight weeks.  Ms. Warren is an excellent teaching assistant and you will live up to those standards.”

            Jessica bit her lip to keep from chuckling.  Oliver Wells was a jackass, but he would do a competent job.  He had come a long way since being assaulted almost two years ago and his people skills, although improved, still sucked at times.  However, Daisy’s influence and friendship, as well as his secret fear of Dr B that he thought no one knew about kept him in check.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            Inside the interns’ locker room, Jessica yawned once again after putting her lab coat on.  She didn’t understand why she was still so tired.  She didn’t do much besides handle the Power Point presentation for Dr. B as she conducted her class this morning.

            More than once today, she wondered if she was in labor, but chalked things up to wishful thinking.  She felt silly enough after the false alarm her and Aubrey had a couple of days ago.  She cringed as she remembered the sheer panic on her poor husband’s face as he raced into her cubicle at the hospital.  Aubrey had an important job at the FBI.  Not again would she pull her husband away from work unless necessary.  To her frustration, it seemed that the newest Aubrey was settling in for the long haul and Dr Moossavi would be inducing her labor Monday morning.

            Shaking off her thoughts, the redhead went back into work mode.  Getting her badge out, she walked the short distance to the door leading to the lab.  To her frustration, right as she was about to scan her badge for entry, Nature called again. 

            The redhead growled before looking down at her abdomen.  “I love you Rachael, but I’m tired of peeing all the time.”

            Heading back to the restrooms, Jessica completed her business and ten minutes later finally entered the lab.  Already briefed on her assignment at lunch, she headed into the Bone Room, where she saw her mentor setting up equipment at the end of the light table.

            “Sorry I took so long,” Jessica said as she put on gloves.  “I had to pee twice.”

            “It’s quite all right, Ms. Warren.  I’ve got the machine set up for you to take the bone slice.  Now I’ll do the first one, then I will talk you through the next few until you’re comfortable.”

            “Sounds good to me.”  Jessica said.

            She had taken only two steps when she felt something wet rush through her.  Hearing a splash, she stopped dead in her tracks as she realized what just happened.  “Dr B?”

            Brennan turned and saw her intern with her eyes larger than she had ever seen them.  Recognizing the expression, she looked on the floor and with her suspicions confirmed, the anthropologist peeled off her gloves.  “Ms. Warren, remove your gloves, take off your lab coat, and come with me.”

            Doing what she was told, Jessica completed the tasks as Oliver came around the other corner and saw everything.

            “Good…God, Jessica!  There are…restrooms for that you know.” 

            “Be quiet, Dr Wells.”  Brennan admonished as she led a shocked Jessica out the door.  

            Encountering Hodgins and Angela, the forensic anthropologist took charge.  “Dr Hodgins, please call Aubrey.  If you can’t reach him, call Agent Shaw or Booth.  Angela, please get my keys from my desk and bring my Prius around to the garage entrance.”

            Jessica was still in a disbelieving daze until she felt her first large contraction, causing her to bend over.  “Auuuuggghhhh!” 

            “Ms. Warren, we need to get you to the hospital.”  Brennan said as she gently led her intern along.  “Come with me.  We will call your obstetrician in the car.”

            Their travels were stopped by Oliver as he joined them.  “Now Jessica, I’ve done some research…on labor and Daisy told me…about…Lance’s…birth.  Now, just…breathe…”

            Cam had arrived from the pathology suite to the group.  “Doctor Wells, please shut up.” 

            “Doctor Saroyan…I’m trying to…extol my knowledge—“

            “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY OLIVER OR I WILL KNOCK YOUR SMARMY ASS DOWN MYSELF!”  Jessica yelled in pain.

            Scared, the tall man did as was requested.  Brennan gave Oliver both hers and Jessica’s lab coats before they continued to move towards the exit.  “Dr Wells, put those items in my office and call maintenance to clean up the spill by the Bone Room.” 

            Oliver watched as the two women walked out the door.  “’Be more helpful at the lab’, Daisy says.  Well look where…it got me.”

            The two women with the help of one of the security guards at the sign in desk made their way to the garage as Angela screeched the Prius to the elevator doors.  Helping the pregnant woman into the passenger side, the artist patted her young friend’s shoulder. 

            “We’ll all be down as soon as we can.”  Angela said before shutting the door. “Oh, shit this hurts…”  Jessica moaned as Brennan drove away.         

In Genny’s office, she and Aubrey were meeting with the profiler working her case.  As the woman gave her observations, Aubrey made notes on his notepad.  “So, we are looking for a male who maybe had issues with banks in the past?” 

“Yes, mid to late 30s.  Awkward and quiet.” The profiler replied.  “While initially, the robberies may have initially been to solve a money issue, now that he’s graduated to murder, it’s become more of a ‘screw you’ to all federal institutions.  Something happened to him involving the banking industry in some way.”

            Genny’s phone rang and she picked it up.  “Agent Shaw…yes he’s right here.”  She replied before handing the receiver to her boss.  “For you, Boss.  It’s Hodgins.”

            “Thanks, Genny.”  Aubrey said before taking the receiver.  “Hodgins what’s up...holy shit where is she...on my way.”

            Aubrey dropped the phone.  “Jessica is in labor!  Oh shit…oh shit where are my damn keys?” 

            Running out of the office down the hall to his own, he looked around in a panic for a moment.  Suddenly, he checked his pockets and pulled them out as Booth entered his office, holding up a file.

            “Aubrey, I’ve got something from Homicide that may help Shaw’s case…” Booth asked but he saw his friend’s frantic face.  “I know that face.  Come with me, Aubrey.  No way in hell you’re driving yourself to the hospital.”

            The two SACs came out of the office to be greeted by Genny, followed by Karen.  “I will cover your meeting with Deputy Director Stark this afternoon, Boss and Booth, I’ll let Chamberlain know where you are.” 

            “Thanks.” Both agents said before running out of the Major Crimes Division.

            Reaching the garage, they jumped into Booth’s SUV and using the siren, the elder agent drove through the DC traffic as his friend was babbling.

            “She’s in labor…oh shit, I’m going to be a dad…we’re having a baby…do we have enough diapers?  We got a lot during the bridal shower…did I remember to pack Jessica an extra outfit to come home in…”

            Pulling in, they parked and the two men ran out, eventually arriving on the maternity floor with the younger man literally slid to the desk in his rush.  “Jessica Warren is in labor! I’m her...”

            The nurse recognized the man from the previous week and his test runs.  “Room Four Special Agent Aubrey.  It’s down—”

            “…the hall on the right side.  Thanks.”

            “Good luck, Dad.” Booth yelled as the lanky man took off.  Turning to the nurses, he gestured to the waiting room.  “We still wait there, right? Got a few people coming...”

            “Yes.”  The OB nurse replied with a smile.  “If you’re Agent Booth, your wife is already waiting there for you.”

            “Thanks.”  Booth said before going into the waiting room, where his wife got up and greeted him.  “How’s Jessica?”

            “Good, but she will be better now that Aubrey is here.”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            Jessica was in bed when the door open and she saw a harried Aubrey run in.  “Superman…I’m so glad you’re here.”

            “Nowhere else I would rather be, Jess.” Aubrey said as he caught his breath.  “How are you?”

            “Contractions about seven minutes apart.”  Jessica said.  “Labor really hurts…AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

            Aubrey reached over.  “Jess, squeeze my hand…HOLY SHIT…OOOWWWWWW!”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            For the next four hours, Jessica and Aubrey rode out contractions.  Brennan, Angela, Daisy, and Andie took turns walking around with the expectant mother on the floor, whose excitement was intermixed with frustration and pain.

            By 5:30, Aubrey had shed his tie and jacket, which he tossed on the room’s recliner.  He played the labor music mix Jessica created on her cell phone.  At that moment, Jessica was riding out another hard contraction while almost breaking her husband’s hand.  When she was done, she turned to her husband apologetically.  “I’m sorry Superman.”

            He brushed the damp red hair from Jessica’s forehead.  “I’m fine, Jess.  I’m more concerned with you right now.”

            “I’m good.”  Jessica said as she closed her eyes in relief.

            The agent considered his next question.  “Jess, I know we discussed this already but I’m going to ask one more time to be sure.  Do you want me to call your mother?”

            “No, Superman.  She’s the last thing I need right now.  Don’t let her come here, please.  Not until we get her home.” 

            “I promise.”

“I love you, James.”  Jessica said softly.  “Sorry I’m yelling at you and hurting you.”

            “I love you too, Jessica.”  Aubrey said before kissing the top of her head.  “As for the other stuff, it’s fine.  You’re giving me the best gift ever.  I’m just sorry it hurts.”

            “Me too…oooohhh here we go again.”

            “Jess are you sure you don’t want an epidural?”  Aubrey asked.

            “I get so sick with narcotics…I’m afraid to even have a little.  Besides, childbirth is supposed to be natural and beautiful.”  Jessica said as she breathed through the contraction.  When it was done, she decided enough was enough.  “Screw natural childbirth.  I need a fucking epidural.”

            Aubrey turned to the nurse.  “Did you hear that?”

            The nurse who was watching her fetal monitor, put on her game face.  “I’ll check with Dr Moossavi and find the anesthesiologist.”

            “Thank you.” Aubrey said, his focus on his wife.

            It wasn’t long before the nurse returned with their OB as Jessica rode out another hard contraction.  Both observed the readings on the fetal monitor before the doctor turned to the couple. 

            “James, Jessica how are you two doing?”

            Aubrey caught the looks of concern on the women’s faces.  “We’re fine but why do you keep watching that monitor?  Is there something wrong with our baby?”

            The petite woman turned to the couple.  “During labor, the fetus will have fluctuating heart rates with contractions.  However, your little girl’s heart rate is more varied than I’m comfortable with and I suspect it’s because of that nuchal cord we discovered on the last ultrasound.”

            “Oh my God…” Jessica exclaimed tired and exhausted.

            “Don’t panic yet, Jessica.  While the rate is more varied than I like, I don’t think its cause for alarm yet and remember at our last appointment we discussed this possibility during labor.  Right now, I’m going to inject an isotonic fluid into your birth canal to loosen that cord, but I’m going to request an OR be prepared just in case.  If it’s successful, we can do a vaginal birth without all that fuss.”

            “And if it isn’t?” Aubrey asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

            “Then, as I discussed with you two at the last appointment, we will have to do a Caesarian section.”  Doctor Moossavi said.  “I’m going to have the anesthesiologist prepare for a spinal epidural.”

            “Oh my God…” Jessica said as she began shedding tears.

            “It’s okay, Jess.”  Aubrey said as he put his arm around his wife.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            A short time later, the maternal wing’s waiting room was filled with Aubrey and Jessica’s friends, including Caroline, and a late arriving Wendell, Andie, and Daisy.  As well as their second family, her brothers Aaron and Stephan were there with their wives along with Jack and Greg.

            “Hodgins and Cam are on their way and Arastoo will meet us here.”  Brennan said after reading her phone.

            “Good.  Shaw just sent a text to let Aubrey know that Major Crimes is all right and that all Aubrey’s agents are sending their congratulations.”  Booth replied.

            A nurse came out into the waiting room.  “I need to speak to Temperance Brennan, Doctor Aaron and Nadia Warren, and Andrea Roberts.”

            Surprised, the four got up and followed the nurse to a private room.  When the door closed, they listened before concern permeated the air.  When they returned, a recently arrived Hodgins, Cam, and Arastoo were just sitting down.

            “What’s going on?” Daisy said fearfully.

            Aaron sat down.  “The baby began having a decreased heart rate during contractions, possibly due to the nuchal cord.  They attempted to loosen it with saline, but it wasn’t successful, so she’s going to have a Caesarian.”

            “What is the world is a nuchal cord?”  Caroline asked.

            “It’s a cord that wraps around the baby in the womb.”  Cam replied.

            “Cord around the baby’s neck?”  A scared Caroline asked. “Oh, dear lord.”

            “I’m sure the baby will be fine.”  Cam said vaguely. 

            Everyone remained quiet before Booth sat down and gave a silent prayer.  He was joined by everyone, including Brennan.  While she did not pray, she used her scientific knowledge to guide her to believe in a positive conclusion.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            After getting gowned and prepped, Aubrey joined back with Jessica and held her hand as she got the painful spinal epidural.  In a whirlwind of fifteen minutes as she waited for the anesthetic to go into effect, the doctor told the couple what to expect.

            For the redhead, she fell back on her knowledge of human anatomy to keep herself from panicking.  The doctor was confident that Rachael would be healthy, but time was of the essence.  Aubrey squeezed her hand and when she looked up, it was obvious that while her husband wanted to make sure she was okay, he was scared too.  When she squeezed back, he looked at her with an expression that said all that needed to be said.

            “Okay, Jessica and James, let’s bring your little girl into the world.”  The doctor said.

            The nurses wheeled Jessica into the delivery room.  Quickly, they secured her legs and put up the curtain as Aubrey sat next to her and took her hand.

            “Jessica, I’m making the incision right now.  You will feel some tugging and pulling but no pain.”

            “O-okay…” The young anthropologist replied.

            As the procedure went on, her commitment to using her knowledge as comfort flew out the window as she felt herself being moved around inside her body.  Soon she couldn’t control her emotions and squeezed Aubrey’s hand again.

            “Superman, what's going on?" Jessica said in a terrified voice, unable to see through the curtain in front of her. "It feels so strange."

            Aubrey continued to watch as the OR team worked to remove their baby from Jessica.  He took a deep breath to make sure his fear was under control.  "They're getting ready to take her out."

            "Superman what if the cord cut off her—"

            Then the young couple heard the most beautiful sound ever as a loud cry pierced through the OR. Jessica had tears in her eyes and Aubrey had a couple welling up.

            "She's here." Jessica whispered.

            After cleaning her up and the initial check, a baby with a shock of red hair was placed on Jessica's chest. Both parents were in awe of their new family. Aubrey smiled when the baby grasped his finger.

            “Welcome to the world Rachael Brennan Aubrey.”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            An hour later, as the group waited anxiously, a nurse came out.  “We have a new baby who would like to meet her family.  Dr Moossavi said everyone could come see the family in small groups but to keep the visits short and quiet.”

            First Jessica’s family went in and Aaron was the first to hold his niece. “I see we have another redhead in the family.  Good job, G-Man.”

            Aubrey laughed.  “Thanks.”

            When Stephan held the baby, he smiled at her before turning to his sister.  “We’ll call Dad, Mike, and Jason when we leave here.  I know you didn’t want her here, but do you want us to let Mom know that you had the baby?”

            “Sure, why not?”  Jessica said tiredly.  “Maybe she’ll be happy to have a new granddaughter.”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            Next went in Hodgins, Angela, Cam, Arastoo, Caroline, and Daisy.  The prosecutor won the right to hold Rachael first.

            “Give me that sweet child.”  Caroline said.  Taking the baby, she held her and smiled.  “Look at you, sweet girl.  So pretty with your momma’s red hair.”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            Finally, Booth and Brennan went in, where the Special Agent held the little girl first.  “Cute little girl, Aubrey.  Must get it all from her mother.”  Booth joked.

            “You’re a funny guy, Booth.”

            Taking the baby from Booth, Brennan looked at the newborn.  “Booth, on the contrary, while her eyes resemble Ms. Warren’s, the color is not the typical blue of birth.  I am confident that she will have her father’s eye color.”

            “Good.” A weary Jessica said.

            “You know, our little girl needs godparents.”  Aubrey said.  “Jess and I talked about it and we want them to be you, Booth.”

            “And you Dr B.”  Jessica said while fighting her exhaustion.  “You are the best mother I know.”

            Brennan found herself getting emotional, understanding Jessica’s meaning.  “While I don’t believe in the concept of a deity, I will be proud to be a figure in your baby’s life.  Thank you.”

            “Yes…thank you.”  Booth said, choked up as well.

            Brennan gave the baby back to Aubrey.  “I think both parents need some rest.  We will come back tomorrow.”

            “Okay.” Aubrey said.  “Thanks again.”

            After Booth and Brennan left, Aubrey turned and saw his wife sound asleep.  Finding the recliner in the room, the agent carried his newborn daughter with him as he sat down.  For a few minutes he just looked at her with awe, this amalgamation of him and Jessica and a dream come true.

            “Did you know that your mother is not just your mommy but also my best friend?”  Aubrey said.  “The day I met her four years ago changed my life forever. You see, I was working a case and was talking to your Aunt Angela in her office when a cute redheaded intern ran into the room like a tornado waving my phone…”

_________________________________________________________________________________

            The next day, it was late afternoon at the Hoover and an exhausted Aubrey was talking to Genny in her office. 

            “So, you have everything you need for the next two weeks?”  Aubrey asked.  “Did I give you my keys in case you need them?”

            “Yes Boss.  Major Crimes will fine while you’re gone.”  Genny said before her phone buzzed.  After looking at it, she turned her attention back.  “Ms. Julian said she needs to talk to you right now in your office.”

            “Okay.  Thanks, Genny.”

            “You’re welcome.  Say hi to Jessica and tell her I’ll stop by tonight after work.”  Genny chuckled.  “I’ll bring Danny and Emma around this weekend for a visit or when she’s ready for company.”

            “I will.”

            Aubrey went to his office and saw the blinds down.  On the door window there was a flyer decorated with colored ink and several balloons.  A picture of the baby was on it along with the following message:

CONGRATS TO THE MAJOR CRIMES DIVISION’S NEW ARRIVAL!

RACHAEL BRENNAN AUBREY

7 lbs, 11 oz, born 6:39 PM AUGUST 23, 2018.

(Yes folks, she looks like her mother.)

            “That was Booth!” He huffed, although he got over it.  He felt pride at seeing his daughter’s name on the flyer.  Opening the door, he was greeted with streamers and a banner with CONGRATULATIONS BOSS.  On the table across from his desk was a cooler opened to reveal prepared meals. 

            Turning around, he saw his agents, Booth, Deputy Director Stark, and Caroline clapping.  “Thank you everyone.”

            “Just remember to share that food with Jessica, Aubrey.”  Booth said to several laughs. 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            The next night, Aubrey drove 25 mph all the way home, causing him to be passed several times during rush hour traffic.  The loud horns and annoyed drivers didn’t escape Jessica’s observations as she sat in the back seat with their daughter.

            “Aubrey?”

            “Yeah, Jess.”  He replied as another horn blasted next to him. 

            “Um, did you know you’re driving 20 miles under the speed limit?”

            “Yeah, I know, but you’re recovering for major surgery.  I’m just trying to be careful with you and Rachael.”

            Jessica smiled.  “I know Superman, and I really appreciate it and so does she.  However, it would be nice to get home…tonight.  Rachael is probably getting hungry.”

            “Maybe I’m being a little paranoid.”  Aubrey exhaled.  “I’ll just kick it up to 30 miles an hour.”

            The redhead’s only response was to shake her head and look to their baby.  “You’ve got an overprotective daddy, Rachael Brennan.”

            “I prefer prepared, thank you very much.”  Aubrey retorted as he turned onto Janus Street. 

            Arriving home a few minutes later, the agent rushed to get out of the vehicle to open the hatch and let Jessica out.  When the redhead reached for her bag, she was stopped by Aubrey. 

            “Jess…Dr. Moossavi said to only carry the baby, remember?”

            “Sorry.”  Jessica said.

            Aubrey opened the other back door and cooed at the baby as he got her out of her car seat.  He handed their little one to his wife before taking her bag out of the SUV.  They walked slowly to the door to Jessica’s exasperation before he opened the door, where they were greeted by Skinner.

            “Hey baby boy…Momma missed you.  I can’t bend down right now, though.”  Jessica said before walking around the living room.  “Welcome to your new home, Rachael.”

            Aubrey laughed as Skinner watched everyone while twitching his tail.  Picking him up, he scratched behind the cat’s ear.  “You’ll always be our first baby, buddy…but right now I’m hungry and I’m sure you are too.”

            Jessica laughed through the soreness as she watched Aubrey feed Skinner before taking a casserole dish out of the fridge. 

“Rachael, if you’re ever looking for Daddy, always check the kitchen first.”  She whispered to the baby before joining the two in the kitchen.

“Yes, mid to late 30s.  Awkward and quiet.” The profiler replied.  “While initially, the robberies may have initially been to solve a money issue, now that he’s graduated to murder, it’s become more of a ‘screw you’ to all federal institutions.  Something happened to him involving the banking industry in some way.”

            Genny’s phone rang and she picked it up.  “Agent Shaw…yes he’s right here.”  She replied before handing the receiver to her boss.  “For you, Boss.  It’s Hodgins.”

            “Thanks, Genny.”  Aubrey said before taking the receiver.  “Hodgins what’s up...holy shit where is she...on my way.”

            Aubrey dropped the phone.  “Jessica is in labor!  Oh shit…oh shit where are my damn keys?” 

            Running out of the office down the hall to his own, he looked around in a panic for a moment.  Suddenly, he checked his pockets and pulled them out as Booth entered his office, holding up a file.

            “Aubrey, I’ve got something from Homicide that may help Shaw’s case…” Booth asked but he saw his friend’s frantic face.  “I know that face.  Come with me, Aubrey.  No way in hell you’re driving yourself to the hospital.”

            The two SACs came out of the office to be greeted by Genny, followed by Karen.  “I will cover your meeting with Deputy Director Stark this afternoon, Boss and Booth, I’ll let Chamberlain know where you are.” 

            “Thanks.” Both agents said before running out of the Major Crimes Division.

            Reaching the garage, they jumped into Booth’s SUV and using the siren, the elder agent drove through the DC traffic as his friend was babbling.

            “She’s in labor…oh shit, I’m going to be a dad…we’re having a baby…do we have enough diapers?  We got a lot during the bridal shower…did I remember to pack Jessica an extra outfit to come home in…”

            Pulling in, they parked and the two men ran out, eventually arriving on the maternity floor with the younger man literally slid to the desk in his rush.  “Jessica Warren is in labor! I’m her...”

            The nurse recognized the man from the previous week and his test runs.  “Room Four Special Agent Aubrey.  It’s down—”

            “…the hall on the right side.  Thanks.”

            “Good luck, Dad.” Booth yelled as the lanky man took off.  Turning to the nurses, he gestured to the waiting room.  “We still wait there, right? Got a few people coming...”

            “Yes.”  The OB nurse replied with a smile.  “If you’re Agent Booth, your wife is already waiting there for you.”

            “Thanks.”  Booth said before going into the waiting room, where his wife got up and greeted him.  “How’s Jessica?”

            “Good, but she will be better now that Aubrey is here.”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            Jessica was in bed when the door open and she saw a harried Aubrey run in.  “Superman…I’m so glad you’re here.”

            “Nowhere else I would rather be, Jess.” Aubrey said as he caught his breath.  “How are you?”

            “Contractions about seven minutes apart.”  Jessica said.  “Labor really hurts…AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

            Aubrey reached over.  “Jess, squeeze my hand…HOLY SHIT…OOOWWWWWW!”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            For the next four hours, Jessica and Aubrey rode out contractions.  Brennan, Angela, Daisy, and Andie took turns walking around with the expectant mother on the floor, whose excitement was intermixed with frustration and pain.

            By 5:30, Aubrey had shed his tie and jacket, which he tossed on the room’s recliner.  He played the labor music mix Jessica created on her cell phone.  At that moment, Jessica was riding out another hard contraction while almost breaking her husband’s hand.  When she was done, she turned to her husband apologetically.  “I’m sorry Superman.”

            He brushed the damp red hair from Jessica’s forehead.  “I’m fine, Jess.  I’m more concerned with you right now.”

            “I’m good.”  Jessica said as she closed her eyes in relief.

            The agent considered his next question.  “Jess, I know we discussed this already but I’m going to ask one more time to be sure.  Do you want me to call your mother?”

            “No, Superman.  She’s the last thing I need right now.  Don’t let her come here, please.  Not until we get her home.” 

            “I promise.”

“I love you, James.”  Jessica said softly.  “Sorry I’m yelling at you and hurting you.”

            “I love you too, Jessica.”  Aubrey said before kissing the top of her head.  “As for the other stuff, it’s fine.  You’re giving me the best gift ever.  I’m just sorry it hurts.”

            “Me too…oooohhh here we go again.”

            “Jess are you sure you don’t want an epidural?”  Aubrey asked.

            “I get so sick with narcotics…I’m afraid to even have a little.  Besides, childbirth is supposed to be natural and beautiful.”  Jessica said as she breathed through the contraction.  When it was done, she decided enough was enough.  “Screw natural childbirth.  I need a fucking epidural.”

            Aubrey turned to the nurse.  “Did you hear that?”

            The nurse who was watching her fetal monitor, put on her game face.  “I’ll check with Dr Moossavi and find the anesthesiologist.”

            “Thank you.” Aubrey said, his focus on his wife.

            It wasn’t long before the nurse returned with their OB as Jessica rode out another hard contraction.  Both observed the readings on the fetal monitor before the doctor turned to the couple. 

            “James, Jessica how are you two doing?”

            Aubrey caught the looks of concern on the women’s faces.  “We’re fine but why do you keep watching that monitor?  Is there something wrong with our baby?”

            The petite woman turned to the couple.  “During labor, the fetus will have fluctuating heart rates with contractions.  However, your little girl’s heart rate is more varied than I’m comfortable with and I suspect it’s because of that nuchal cord we discovered on the last ultrasound.”

            “Oh my God…” Jessica exclaimed tired and exhausted.

            “Don’t panic yet, Jessica.  While the rate is more varied than I like, I don’t think its cause for alarm yet and remember at our last appointment we discussed this possibility during labor.  Right now, I’m going to inject an isotonic fluid into your birth canal to loosen that cord, but I’m going to request an OR be prepared just in case.  If it’s successful, we can do a vaginal birth without all that fuss.”

            “And if it isn’t?” Aubrey asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

            “Then, as I discussed with you two at the last appointment, we will have to do a Caesarian section.”  Doctor Moossavi said.  “I’m going to have the anesthesiologist prepare for a spinal epidural.”

            “Oh my God…” Jessica said as she began shedding tears.

            “It’s okay, Jess.”  Aubrey said as he put his arm around his wife.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            A short time later, the maternal wing’s waiting room was filled with Aubrey and Jessica’s friends, including Caroline, and a late arriving Wendell, Andie, and Daisy.  As well as their second family, her brothers Aaron and Stephan were there with their wives along with Jack and Greg.

            “Hodgins and Cam are on their way and Arastoo will meet us here.”  Brennan said after reading her phone.

            “Good.  Shaw just sent a text to let Aubrey know that Major Crimes is all right and that all Aubrey’s agents are sending their congratulations.”  Booth replied.

            A nurse came out into the waiting room.  “I need to speak to Temperance Brennan, Doctor Aaron and Nadia Warren, and Andrea Roberts.”

            Surprised, the four got up and followed the nurse to a private room.  When the door closed, they listened before concern permeated the air.  When they returned, a recently arrived Hodgins, Cam, and Arastoo were just sitting down.

            “What’s going on?” Daisy said fearfully.

            Aaron sat down.  “The baby began having a decreased heart rate during contractions, possibly due to the nuchal cord.  They attempted to loosen it with saline, but it wasn’t successful, so she’s going to have a Caesarian.”

            “What is the world is a nuchal cord?”  Caroline asked.

            “It’s a cord that wraps around the baby in the womb.”  Cam replied.

            “Cord around the baby’s neck?”  A scared Caroline asked. “Oh, dear lord.”

            “I’m sure the baby will be fine.”  Cam said vaguely. 

            Everyone remained quiet before Booth sat down and gave a silent prayer.  He was joined by everyone, including Brennan.  While she did not pray, she used her scientific knowledge to guide her to believe in a positive conclusion.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            After getting gowned and prepped, Aubrey joined back with Jessica and held her hand as she got the painful spinal epidural.  In a whirlwind of fifteen minutes as she waited for the anesthetic to go into effect, the doctor told the couple what to expect.

            For the redhead, she fell back on her knowledge of human anatomy to keep herself from panicking.  The doctor was confident that Rachael would be healthy, but time was of the essence.  Aubrey squeezed her hand and when she looked up, it was obvious that while her husband wanted to make sure she was okay, he was scared too.  When she squeezed back, he looked at her with an expression that said all that needed to be said.

            “Okay, Jessica and James, let’s bring your little girl into the world.”  The doctor said.

            The nurses wheeled Jessica into the delivery room.  Quickly, they secured her legs and put up the curtain as Aubrey sat next to her and took her hand.

            “Jessica, I’m making the incision right now.  You will feel some tugging and pulling but no pain.”

            “O-okay…” The young anthropologist replied.

            As the procedure went on, her commitment to using her knowledge as comfort flew out the window as she felt herself being moved around inside her body.  Soon she couldn’t control her emotions and squeezed Aubrey’s hand again.

            “Superman, what's going on?" Jessica said in a terrified voice, unable to see through the curtain in front of her. "It feels so strange."

            Aubrey continued to watch as the OR team worked to remove their baby from Jessica.  He took a deep breath to make sure his fear was under control.  "They're getting ready to take her out."

            "Superman what if the cord cut off her—"

            Then the young couple heard the most beautiful sound ever as a loud cry pierced through the OR. Jessica had tears in her eyes and Aubrey had a couple welling up.

            "She's here." Jessica whispered.

            After cleaning her up and the initial check, a baby with a shock of red hair was placed on Jessica's chest. Both parents were in awe of their new family. Aubrey smiled when the baby grasped his finger.

            “Welcome to the world Rachael Brennan Aubrey.”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            An hour later, as the group waited anxiously, a nurse came out.  “We have a new baby who would like to meet her family.  Dr Moossavi said everyone could come see the family in small groups but to keep the visits short and quiet.”

            First Jessica’s family went in and Aaron was the first to hold his niece. “I see we have another redhead in the family.  Good job, G-Man.”

            Aubrey laughed.  “Thanks.”

            When Stephan held the baby, he smiled at her before turning to his sister.  “We’ll call Dad, Mike, and Jason when we leave here.  I know you didn’t want her here, but do you want us to let Mom know that you had the baby?”

            “Sure, why not?”  Jessica said tiredly.  “Maybe she’ll be happy to have a new granddaughter.”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            Next went in Hodgins, Angela, Cam, Arastoo, Caroline, and Daisy.  The prosecutor won the right to hold Rachael first.

            “Give me that sweet child.”  Caroline said.  Taking the baby, she held her and smiled.  “Look at you, sweet girl.  So pretty with your momma’s red hair.”

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            Finally, Booth and Brennan went in, where the Special Agent held the little girl first.  “Cute little girl, Aubrey.  Must get it all from her mother.”  Booth joked.

            “You’re a funny guy, Booth.”

            Taking the baby from Booth, Brennan looked at the newborn.  “Booth, on the contrary, while her eyes resemble Ms. Warren’s, the color is not the typical blue of birth.  I am confident that she will have her father’s eye color.”

            “Good.” A weary Jessica said.

            “You know, our little girl needs godparents.”  Aubrey said.  “Jess and I talked about it and we want them to be you, Booth.”

            “And you Dr B.”  Jessica said while fighting her exhaustion.  “You are the best mother I know.”

            Brennan found herself getting emotional, understanding Jessica’s meaning.  “While I don’t believe in the concept of a deity, I will be proud to be a figure in your baby’s life.  Thank you.”

            “Yes…thank you.”  Booth said, choked up as well.

            Brennan gave the baby back to Aubrey.  “I think both parents need some rest.  We will come back tomorrow.”

            “Okay.” Aubrey said.  “Thanks again.”

            After Booth and Brennan left, Aubrey turned and saw his wife sound asleep.  Finding the recliner in the room, the agent carried his newborn daughter with him as he sat down.  For a few minutes he just looked at her with awe, this amalgamation of him and Jessica and a dream come true.

            “Did you know that your mother is not just your mommy but also my best friend?”  Aubrey said.  “The day I met her four years ago changed my life forever. You see, I was working a case and was talking to your Aunt Angela in her office when a cute redheaded intern ran into the room like a tornado waving my phone…”

_________________________________________________________________________________

            The next day, it was late afternoon at the Hoover and an exhausted Aubrey was talking to Genny in her office. 

            “So, you have everything you need for the next two weeks?”  Aubrey asked.  “Did I give you my keys in case you need them?”

            “Yes Boss.  Major Crimes will fine while you’re gone.”  Genny said before her phone buzzed.  After looking at it, she turned her attention back.  “Ms. Julian said she needs to talk to you right now in your office.”

            “Okay.  Thanks, Genny.”

            “You’re welcome.  Say hi to Jessica and tell her I’ll stop by tonight after work.”  Genny chuckled.  “I’ll bring Danny and Emma around this weekend for a visit or when she’s ready for company.”

            “I will.”

            Aubrey went to his office and saw the blinds down.  On the door window there was a flyer decorated with colored ink and several balloons.  A picture of the baby was on it along with the following message:

CONGRATS TO THE MAJOR CRIMES DIVISION’S NEW ARRIVAL!

RACHAEL BRENNAN AUBREY

7 lbs, 11 oz, born 6:39 PM AUGUST 23, 2018.

(Yes folks, she looks like her mother.)

            “That was Booth!” He huffed, although he got over it.  He felt pride at seeing his daughter’s name on the flyer.  Opening the door, he was greeted with streamers and a banner with CONGRATULATIONS BOSS.  On the table across from his desk was a cooler opened to reveal prepared meals. 

            Turning around, he saw his agents, Booth, Deputy Director Stark, and Caroline clapping.  “Thank you everyone.”

            “Just remember to share that food with Jessica, Aubrey.”  Booth said to several laughs. 

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

            The next night, Aubrey drove 25 mph all the way home, causing him to be passed several times during rush hour traffic.  The loud horns and annoyed drivers didn’t escape Jessica’s observations as she sat in the back seat with their daughter.

            “Aubrey?”

            “Yeah, Jess.”  He replied as another horn blasted next to him. 

            “Um, did you know you’re driving 20 miles under the speed limit?”

            “Yeah, I know, but you’re recovering for major surgery.  I’m just trying to be careful with you and Rachael.”

            Jessica smiled.  “I know Superman, and I really appreciate it and so does she.  However, it would be nice to get home…tonight.  Rachael is probably getting hungry.”

            “Maybe I’m being a little paranoid.”  Aubrey exhaled.  “I’ll just kick it up to 30 miles an hour.”

            The redhead’s only response was to shake her head and look to their baby.  “You’ve got an overprotective daddy, Rachael Brennan.”

            “I prefer prepared, thank you very much.”  Aubrey retorted as he turned onto Janus Street. 

            Arriving home a few minutes later, the agent rushed to get out of the vehicle to open the hatch and let Jessica out.  When the redhead reached for her bag, she was stopped by Aubrey. 

            “Jess…Dr. Moossavi said to only carry the baby, remember?”

            “Sorry.”  Jessica said.

            Aubrey opened the other back door and cooed at the baby as he got her out of her car seat.  He handed their little one to his wife before taking her bag out of the SUV.  They walked slowly to the door to Jessica’s exasperation before he opened the door, where they were greeted by Skinner.

            “Hey baby boy…Momma missed you.  I can’t bend down right now, though.”  Jessica said before walking around the living room.  “Welcome to your new home, Rachael.”

            Aubrey laughed as Skinner watched everyone while twitching his tail.  Picking him up, he scratched behind the cat’s ear.  “You’ll always be our first baby, buddy…but right now I’m hungry and I’m sure you are too.”

            Jessica laughed through the soreness as she watched Aubrey feed Skinner before taking a casserole dish out of the fridge. 

“Rachael, if you’re ever looking for Daddy, always check the kitchen first.”  She whispered to the baby before joining the two in the kitchen.

Chapter Text

SEPTEMBER 2028

"Momma, can we have pancakes?"

"Momma, may we have pancakes, please…" Jessica said while putting the plate of scrambled eggs in front of her only son. "…and not this morning because I've already made eggs, but I will make pancakes this weekend."

"Cool." The six-year-old said before beginning to eat.

"May we have the special pancakes that Daddy likes?" Savannah asked before drinking her orange juice.

"Sure." The redhead said with a smile to her middle daughter as she put two more plates down on the table. "Now eat. Daddy will have Rachael and Molly down here in a few minutes."

Walking back to the stove, the anthropologist put out a plate for Aubrey before scooping some eggs onto a plate for herself. As she stood and ate her breakfast, she looked over their white board, noting the activities the kids had planned for the week. Comparing her family's schedule with hers at the lab, the Introductory Anthropology 101 course that she taught at American University, and her husband's, she foresaw a little juggling here and there. Of course, as the co-head of a family of six, it nothing she had not dealt with before.

"Aubrey will have to pick up the kids Tuesday night, but that's no big deal. He can work from home. I will just leave early on Thursday to take Rachael to karate."

Jessica drank her tea and her eyes lingered on a paper held up on the fridge by a Darth Vader magnet and exhaled.

An order for a mammogram.

It was only a piece of paper...just something that her doctor created at her yearly exam a month ago so she could get the procedure done. It was not a big deal.

Just like turning 40 wasn't a big deal four months earlier. Jessica smiled as she recalled how her husband made that birthday a memorable one with a surprise party at the Jeffersonian…and a very sexy one when they slipped off to her office for a little birthday tryst. Age hadn't slowed her husband down…and she loved it.

She knew that she needed to make the appointment, but she was always busy at the lab or with her class. Between her two jobs, tag teaming with an equally busy Aubrey to shuffle their four children around and carving out time to spend with her husband sans children, time was not a luxury. She will do it tomorrow.

Of course, she has been saying that for over three weeks, but this time she meant it.

Aubrey came down the stairs holding Molly with his tie looped around his neck. Seeing his wife staring at the fridge, he walked closer. "Jess?" When she didn't immediately answer him, he opened his mouth to speak again but he was interrupted by another female voice.

"Daddy…I wanna walk…"

"My apologies, Molly. Looks like Momma has your breakfast on the table, so go eat." Scooting her along, he directed his attention to his other children. "Okay you three, 10 minutes then you all are brushing your teeth so don't dawdle over the food."

Expecting some sort of admonishment, he turned to see his wife still looking at the fridge. Coming closer, he realized what had his wife's attention and looped his arms around her abdomen. "Earth to Jessica."

Startled, she turned towards her husband. "Sorry…did you say something?"

"Yeah, your name, but you ignored me…your loving husband."

"My apologies, Aubrey." The redhead said with a grin. "I guess I'll just have to kiss you instead."

The twins watched as their mother gave their father a peck on the lips. "Yuck…Momma kissed Daddy." Jamie said.

"Ewww, I don't want a boy kissing me." Savannah replied.

"All right…enough from you two." Aubrey got a fork from the drawer. "Jamie, final warning. Eat your breakfast or you go to school hungry. Savannah, keep that thought as long as possible so Daddy doesn't have to shoot anybody."

"Okay, Daddy." Savannah said before drinking her orange juice.

"Good girl." Aubrey sipped the coffee Jessica handed to him.

"Aubrey!" Jessica admonished. "You sound like Booth."

"Booth is a wise man and I've also got three daughters to look out for." Aubrey gave his wife a serious look. "Jess, make that mammogram appointment today."

"I'll try Aubrey, but thanks to you and Booth, the lab has been busy of late." Jessica pointed to the white board. "Our family is also a little bit busy as you can see here."

"Nuh uh…you're not blaming our murderers, thieves, along with our children's crazy schedule for your procrastination, Jessica." Aubrey said before stabbing some of his wife's eggs. "Make the call."

"I said I would try today, Superman...and quit eating my eggs." Jessica said with a snicker. "I set out a plate for you."

Aubrey grabbed the plate and scooped the rest of the eggs from the pan onto it. "Either you make the appointment today or I'll recruit assistance from Dr. B, Angela, Daisy, Cam, Nadia…oh and your longtime friend, the nurse practitioner Dr Andie Roberts." The agent said with a full mouth.

Jessica looked at Aubrey and realized that he was serious. Narrowing her eyes at him and pulled the order off the fridge. "You suck, James Aubrey."

Aubrey turned around to make sure his children were not listening. "I sure do, especially those amazing breasts last night after we put the kids to bed."

The redhead laughed despite herself. "Fine, I promise to do it today. Now, where's Rachael?"

Aubrey took the last bite of his eggs. "Oh, our little diva needed your help with her hair. Apparently, Daddy isn't good enough."

"You forgot about our oldest child's hair emergency to flirt and blackmail me into making this appointment?" Jessica said.

"Yep…and it worked." Aubrey replied as he poured more coffee into his Star Wars travel mug.

"Mooommmmm!"

"Excuse me Special Agent." Jessica said before walking across the family room and up the stairs. "Rachael, the next time you yell at me from upstairs I'm ignoring you…"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

October 11th was a crisp and sunny day when the Aubrey clan came out of the house to start their days. While Aubrey hustled Rachael and the twins in his vehicle, Jessica got Molly situated in hers. When the children were all settled, the parents come together.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Aubrey asked. "I know you're nervous."

Jessica smiled. "Superman, it's a mammogram. I'm not cool with getting my boob squished between two plates, but Nadia said if I take Tylenol or Motrin an hour before my appointment it shouldn't be as bad."

"Okay. Now, should I pick up Molly from preschool and take her to the Jeffersonian Day Care so you can come home and rest?" Aubrey asked.

"OMG, I'll be fine." Jessica said exasperated. "I can pick up Molly at preschool after my appointment and take her to day care before I go back to work. I'm the anthropologist working the Haskins case for you, remember? To help you with your case, I need to be at the lab."

"Yeah, but Dr Warren my wife is more important than Dr Warren, the forensic anthropologist." Aubrey grew pensive for a moment. "This is a little scary for me, okay? The last time I went through this with someone I cared about it didn't have a positive outcome."

Jessica nodded, knowing he was referring to his mother, who died of Stage IV colon cancer almost 20 years earlier. "I know, Superman, but I'll be fine, okay? I would ask Dr B to take over if I couldn't handle a mammogram and my workload today. Besides, I like working cases with my smart FBI Agent husband. It's kind of sexy."

"I like working cases with my wife, too and seeing your brain at work is definitely hot." Aubrey said flirtatiously before he leaned in for a kiss.

The couple lingered for a moment before breaking apart and Jessica caressed her husband's cheek. "Be careful today, Superman."

"I will…and good luck today." The spouses kissed one more time before separating into their vehicles. After the gate was opened, the family left for the day.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

After putting in some research time for Aubrey's case, Jessica left the lab and showed up at the hospital fifteen minutes early for her 10:30 appointment. After signing in, she sat down and fished inside her purse for her insurance cards before she was called to the registration booth.

"Here goes nothing."

In the span of twenty minutes, Jessica was checked in and taken back to a waiting room where she was given a gown to put on. After changing, the redhead put her stuff in the locker assigned to her and completed the Breast Cancer Risk Questionnaire with the IPad provided by the technician.

"Well, since my mother only lied about having breast cancer, my risk is not as high. Always good to know." Jessica said to herself as she signed off on the tablet.

Following the technician across the hall, they came into a small dark room with the mammography unit looming. Jessica knew what they looked like but seeing the apparatus as well as the two plates where her breast would go was a little off-putting.

"Okay now stand right here and remove your gown on the right side."

Jessica followed the instructions and the tech proceeded to manipulate her breast onto the plates. When she was done, the redhead decided that her breasts were off limits to her husband until further notice.

Instructed to stay still, the redhead did as was requested. She read up on the procedure and knew it would be a little uncomfortable, but she was tough. As Nadia suggested, she took Tylenol an hour before coming to take the edge off the discomfort. Things would be fine.

Then she felt the plates push down and her preparations went out the window as thoughts raced through her.

'Holy motherfucker…aahhhhhhhh! A little discomfort my ass!'

Time seemed to stop as she stayed still while the machine made its way around her breast for the 3D image. When she thought it would never end, the machine stopped, and the plates lifted.

"Okay, now for the side view."

'Oh, fucking great!' Jessica thought to herself. Following instructions, she remained completely still and braced for the pain as the machine started. It has just started its rotation back around when her vision became spotty.

'Oh shit…' Jessica thought before she became very lightheaded. "Um, I'm really dizzy…."

To her relief, the machine stopped, and the tech helped Jessica into a chair. The anthropologist vaguely heard the woman call for a nurse. When she was asked if she wanted juice, she thought she nodded her head before everything went black.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"JESSICA!"

The redhead could register her name in the distance, but it went away. Then she heard it again.

"JESSICA!"

The redhead opened her eyes to see the mammography tech as well as two other women standing over her as she sat in a chair with her feet elevated and an ice pack behind her neck.

"Welcome back, Jessica." The woman on the left said before handing the redhead a grape juice. "We were afraid you weren't going to wake up and we'd have to call an ambulance."

"Oh God…my husband would freak out." Jessica stated as she sipped her drink.

The other woman looked at her eyes. "Jessica are you a diabetic or have low blood pressure?"

Jessica thought for a moment. "No, I'm not a diabetic, but with my blood pressure, my diastolic tends to run around 60 but sometimes dips below that. My mammogram was painful, though. Is it supposed to hurt like that?"

Concerned, the nurse rubbed her arm. "No, it shouldn't hurt that much at all. However, it sounds like your low blood pressure combined with anxiety is why you fainted."

Jessica finished her juice and as her faculties returned, the realization of her situation hit her. "Oh my God…I fainted at my first mammogram. This is so embarrassing."

The nurse put her hand on the forensic anthropologist's shoulder. "You're not the first one this has happened to, Dr. Warren. It happens more often than you realize."

As the nurse stood up to talk to the technician, Jessica closed her eyes and muttered to herself. "I'm a doctor of forensic anthropology…my husband is an FBI Agent…I have four children…I teach part time at a research university… I've almost died...and I faint at my first mammogram."

When she fully recovered her faculties, the tech finished the left side as she sat in the chair. This time, the pain wasn't as bad, and Jessica felt fine. After assuring everyone she was all right, she took it easy getting dressed and left with instructions from the nurse and technician to go home and put her feet up the rest of the day.

As Jessica got into her Ford Explorer, she shook her head at the embarrassment she felt at passing out during her first mammogram. "Put my feet up…I have four children. There's no such thing as putting my feet up. I'll just go back to work…I'm all good."

Putting the vehicle into gear, she left the hospital to go pick up Molly at preschool. "I'm soooooo not telling Aubrey about this."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

After taking her daughter to the day care, Jessica returned to work where a set of remains from the Virginia State Police was waiting. Happy for a distraction, she signed off on the delivery and after sending the intern on duty to work in Limbo, wheeled the decedent into the Bone Room. She put her laser focus on the bones as she verbally dictated her findings and for a while was able to forget about what happened at the hospital.

Around 2:00 PM, she finished her exam. After returning them to their container, she went to her office to complete her other duties. However, she couldn't get her mind to focus on the task at hand. Frustrated, she got up and got a cup of catnip tea from the break area on the top floor. Going back to her office, she admired her photos on her credenza, one of her and Aubrey from their wedding and the second of them with their large family. Relaxing, she resolved to put her focus back on her job.

However, her will to work was superseded by her emotions and after forty minutes of constant distraction, she gave up. Saving her work, she closed out of her program and shut down her computer. After sending an email to her colleagues, Jessica grabbed her stuff and walked down to the Day Care where she signed out Molly for the day.

"Momma, where are we going?"

Holding the little girl's hand, Jessica and Molly walked out together towards the exit. "We're going to have some girl time together this afternoon."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Jessica and Molly spent an enjoyable afternoon together at the park before picking up her other children from school. To the redhead's relief, Aubrey ended up having to work late due to catching a last-minute case with Hodgins and Dr B. Her husband knew all her tells too well and with him working late, it was easier to lie about what happened when he wasn't there.

After feeding her family, she made sure to put enough chicken, broccoli mac and cheese, and green beans aside so Aubrey could have something to eat when he came home. Putting her family to bed, she finished grading papers and attempted to read an article recommended to her by Brennan, but her mammogram kept popping up in her mind. As that happened, she also recalled a conversation she had when she was fourteen with her mother after the elder woman had her own mammogram.

"Jessica, that woman was trying to squeeze the shit out of my tits. Hopefully, puberty will kick in soon for you because mammograms are not nice to women who are flat as boards. Remember that."

Her mother always had a unique way of making her feel bad about herself while making everything about her. Eleanor Gordon was, and is a woman miserable with the world. Mental Illness and resentment of her social status in life was mostly to blame for what her mother had become, but she didn't care anymore. Jessica was determined to be a better role model to her three daughters than their grandmother was to her.

Deciding that dwelling on the past wasn't productive, Jessica turned out the light. Grabbing one of Aubrey's pillows, she closed her eyes.

Tomorrow was another day…and she needed to quit whining about her mammogram.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

The next morning was harried as always. Aubrey didn't get in until almost 2:00 in the morning, so they didn't have much time to talk as they shuffled their children out the door. A quick kiss and they left for their days.

While driving Molly to preschool, Jessica replayed the events from yesterday and steeled her resolve. 'So, I passed out during my mammogram. BFD. Who gives a rat's ass? I sure don't. Get over yourself, Warren. Your boobs getting squashed once a year is a part of life now. Better that than a mastectomy and death.'

After dropping Molly off, she arrived at work. She walked into the Jeffersonian prepared to confront the day. 'Mammogram…schmammogram. Oh well.'

That feeling of resolve dissipated as she saw Dr B and Dr Saroyan with an intern on the platform examining remains. Across the hall, Angela was working out a scenario on the Angelatron using her new hand sensors.

Dr B…Angela…Dr Saroyan. Three formidable women who were over 50 and whom Jessica was sure tackled their mammograms head on without whining.

Grabbing a cup of catnip tea, she walked to her office and turned on her computer. Reading her emails, she found one from Brennan requesting her assistance by taking Hodgins' place in examining the remains from Aubrey's case last night after her intern finished cataloging the items. "Oh, today is Curly's physical therapy appointment."

After letting her supervisor know she would be available later, Jessica read the rest of her emails. When done, her mammogram once again popped back into her head. Fed up with the questions, she deciding to make good use of her down time. Pulling up Google, Jessica began typing.

"Fainting…during…mammogram. Probably isn't going to be much and I will be a freak of nature." Shaking off her thoughts, she hit enter and watched as Google began the search. When the screen popped up with the results, she was astounded at what she found.

'The Mammogram Assault…It Doesn't Have To Happen To You!'

'Mamm-o-meltdown…Rethink Breast Cancer.'

'How Painful Can A Mammogram Be?'

As she read the articles and the other women's stories, she realized that perhaps she wasn't a freak. These were women of various ages, socioeconomic status, and locations. While some had anxiety issues, most had low blood pressure like herself. Some experienced the same pain she had during the mammogram. A few were diabetics but the situations were about the same.

They were standing still, their arm raised for a long period of time, or they were extremely nervous at the time. A few women also stated the pain was excruciating. Just like she was yesterday.

Before she could debate further, the phone rang, and Jessica answered. "Dr Warren...hello Dr B... yes, I'm just waiting for Angela's report on my case so I'm ready to assist...on my way."

Hanging up the phone, she left her small office next to the Ookey Room and walked out to the platform, where she greeted Cam, Brennan, and the anthropology intern on duty. As she put on her gloves, Angela hurried up to the platform.

"Sorry everyone. I was on the phone with Hodgins. His therapy appointment got pushed back a bit so he'll be here later than he thought." Angela grabbed her camera. "Jessica, I'm almost done with the simulation for your case with the Virginia State Police. I'll email you the final report after I put in a few variables."

"Thanks, Angela." The redhead said as she wheeled over a table with tools and petri dishes to collect evidence.

"I do appreciate taking Dr Hodgins' place with this exam, Dr Warren." Brennan said. "As his former intern, you are familiar with his standards and equipment."

"I don't mind helping, Dr B." Jessica said before turning to her other friend. "I'm so stoked for Curly, Angela. He seems to be doing well with those new spinal implants."

"When I got off the phone with Hodgins, he said the fitting for the crutches went very well and today's appointment would be working on how to walk in them." Angela held up her camera, ready to take photographs of the decedent. "He's only going to be able to use them in short spurts and alternate with his walker and wheelchair, but the surgeon said if his progress goes as well as he think it will, he could graduate to the crutches almost full time."

"That is very exciting news, Angela." Cam responded before they went to work.

As the women worked, it didn't miss anyone's attention that Jessica was quiet except for professional observations. Usually she had a story regarding her large family with Aubrey or as it was just Cam, Angela, and Brennan, they usually shared private nuggets about their husbands.

"What time did Aubrey get home last night?" Angela asked. "Hodgins didn't make it in until after 2:00."

"That's about when Aubrey came in. He gave me a kiss before he got into bed and passed out."

When Jessica finished collecting evidence off the remains, she stayed to help where needed. When done, she put all the petri dishes on a cart. "I'm going into the Ookey Room to set up the Mass Spec for Curly and stage some of this evidence for him. After that, when I get Angela's report, I'm going to write up the final report for the Virginia State Police and then work on the Haskins case for Aubrey. Do you need me for anything else, Dr. B? Dr. Saroyan?"

"Thank you for your assistance, Doctor Warren. If Dr. Brennan is all set, so am I." Cam said before the young woman left. When she was out of earshot, she turned to the others. "Jessica was way too quiet, ladies."

"Yeah, she was." Angela said.

"Perhaps one of us should talk to her." Brennan chimed in.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Thirty minutes later, Jessica walked into her office ready to tackle her next project. As she removed her lab coat and sat down, she heard a buzz on her phone. Unlocking her screen, she grimaced when she saw the message from her husband.

I'm s uch an inconsiderate asshole. How was your mammogram yesterday?

Jessica replied with the only words she could come up with. Fine…and you r not an asshole.

Jessica had to chuckle at her spouse's reply. If your breasts hurt at all, I can kiss them & make them better.

After sending her love Aubrey, Jessica opened Angela's new email. Seeing the results, she opened the case in the electronic binder program and entered the artist's finding in along with her conclusions. Sending the final report to the Virginia State Police Trooper in charge, she then opened Haskins case file and continued her research from yesterday, knowing Aubrey needed the info as soon as possible.

She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't hear the knock the first time. When it was louder, she was jolted to see that she had a visitor. "Dr B, come on in."

Brennan entered the room and sat down on the chair in front of her subordinate's desk. "Dr Warren, are you under some sort of emotional distress?"

Jessica was taken aback for a moment, although she was used to the other woman's bluntness by now. "Um….no…why?"

"You were quiet this morning while we conducted the examination on the platform. Did you and Aubrey have a fight?"

"No…we didn't. We barely spoke this morning because he was half asleep as we got ourselves and the kids ready today." Jessica replied.

Brennan considered her words for a moment. "As the Deputy Forensic Anthropologist here at the Jeffersonian, it's important to be able to juggle different things, Dr Warren. However, if you are distracted, that could make things difficult. As your immediate supervisor, I feel that I should ensure you have all the proper tools you need. If your distraction is personal, I should try to help you with that so that you can concentrate fully on your tasks."

The redhead gulped at her mentor. "Dr B, has my performance not been up to par?"

"No, Dr Warren. Your performance in your duties has been as superior as always." Brennan tilted her head. "It's just that as I've already stated you were unusually quiet when you are very…loquacious as we work. Is there anything I can do?"

"Take back my humiliation." Jessica muttered, relieved she wasn't in trouble.

"I don't understand."

Jessica debated for a minute before spitting it out. "I fainted during my mammogram yesterday. It was so damn embarrassing Dr B. Nadia and Gail have had them for years without an issue, my mother probably doesn't but I have little to no contact with her, so I don't know for sure. I'm sure you, Angela, Daisy, Andie, and Dr Saroyan had no issues, so I'm just being a wuss."

Brennan could see that Jessica was in turmoil and decided that honesty was the best policy. "That's not…necessarily true, Dr Warren."

Jessica's pity party ended with her mentor's words. "What?"

Brennan took a breath. "I said…that…you're mistaken in regard to your assumption that I've never had an issue with a mammogram."

The forensic anthropologist eyes grew wide as she realized what she was hearing. "Like…how?"

Brennan hated to admit weakness but felt that Jessica deserved the truth. "I…fainted at my first one as well."

"Really?"

Brennan nodded. "It was two weeks after my father died. I wanted to cancel it, but Booth rightfully had me keep the appointment. As a woman of science, I know that these things are needed once you enter your fourth decade, as you know now. I did my research and I had talked to Cam, who is a year younger than Booth and had them before. As she had advised, I scheduled it about eleven days before I was due for my period, drank plenty of water, and drink acetaminophen about an hour before the procedure."

"So…what happened?"

"The technician was very polite and answered all my questions. I followed her requests as stated and mentally prepared myself as she shaped my breast between the two plates. Then she turned on the machine."

"Did it really hurt for you?"

"It was extremely uncomfortable, Doctor Warren. I stiffened up in response and told myself that it would end soon, and it was a medical necessity. When the machine finished its turn, I was relieved before she announced they were doing the side view. I just wanted it over with by this time, so I got myself into position awkwardly as my arm was up and over the machine. Then, my breast was pressed between the plates again. It had not made a quarter turn when I saw spots in front of me and I became dizzy. Before I could say anything…. I fainted."

Jessica realized what Brennan was saying. "So, you were caught in…"

"Yes, I was. The technician caught me and when I woke up, I was on the floor with my feet propped up. Apparently, she caught me before my entire body would be dangling by my breast. They offered me juice and after making sure my blood pressure was in an acceptable range, we finished my left breast as I sat, and it was much easier."

Jessica played with her cup of tea. "Were you embarrassed?"

"Very much, but I held myself together. When done and I was free to go, they instructed me to go home, but I came back to work again."

"That's what I did yesterday." Jessica said. "I…I…didn't want to sit and…think about it."

Brennan nodded then continued. "I told no one, including Booth right away, although we were having…a difficult time as I'm sure you recall." Seeing the redhead's nod, she continued. "He was quite upset that he wasn't called by the way. Have you told Aubrey that you fainted?"

Jessica shook her head. "No. You know how protective he is, Dr. B. Aubrey would've either panicked that I was dying or think I was pregnant again…"

"Are you and Aubrey not open to the possibility of a fifth child?" Brennan asked. "Although your chances for conception have decreased due to your medical history, you still can conceive, plus you both make excellent salaries."

"We did discuss it about a year ago. However, now that I'm 40 and Aubrey's almost 45, along with all that we went through with my last pregnancy with Molly, we've decided that four little Aubreys was enough. My IUD is our best friend."

After the ladies' laughter tapered down, Brennan sobered. "After what happened to me, I was embarrassed while I was also grieving, but then I realized that knowledge is power. So, I conducted a vast amount of research and through websites and medical journals, I found out that I was not the only woman this had happened to From what the evidence suggests, I was standing so still that all the blood pooled up in my legs—"

"—causing the blood to leave your brain." The redhead finished.

"It seems you've read the same articles I did. With the emotional turmoil I was also experiencing at that time regarding my father's death, my stress levels were higher than usual. After talking to Cam, she made the astute suggestion that my pain could be due to the lack of experience of the technician. I had realized that there were many ways that could explain my syncope." Brennan said quietly. "With that conclusion, what happened didn't make me weak or stupid. You shouldn't blame yourself, either."

"I'm starting to come around to that." Jessica replied, feeling better.

"When I returned the next year for another mammogram, once again, I took the medication. However, I sat down for the procedure and was more prepared for the discomfort. Per Cam's suggestion, I asked for a different technician and the experience was less traumatic. All mammograms since have had less discomfort."

"So, what you're saying is shit happens, I should learn from my experience, and quit feeling sorry for myself?"

Brennan nodded. "I'm still don't understand how the comparison to feces can be generated in these types of situations, but…yes, I am.

The two women laughed before they got up and came together in a hug. "Thanks, Dr B. You always make me feel better."

"I try…Jessica."

Just then, Hodgins walked slowly into the redhead's office with his new Lofstrand crutches. "Awwww, so sweet."

The two women looked at the head of the lab standing in the doorway. "You're really rocking those new crutches, Curly."

"Well, for now, I can't be on them for more than a few minutes at a time until I go through more physical therapy. However I'm really kicking these crutches."

"Doctor Hodgins, do you need one of us?" Brennan asked.

"Actually, there's been a body discovered in Shenandoah National Park along with a few pieces of jewelry."

"Aubrey told me that there has been that jewel heist gang that has been ripping off stores in the DC area as well as Virginia…" Jessica said.

Hodgins grinned. "Yep, which is why Major Crimes got called in instead of Booth in Homicide. Jessica, your husband requested to have you as lead anthropologist as long as Dr B didn't mind."

"I have a few cases I'm working with Booth on right now, so I have no objection." Brennan answered. "Dr. Warren, if you need anything else, my office doorway is always open."

Jessica smiled, knowing what Brennan meant. "I will. Thanks for talking to me, Dr. B."

After Brennan left the office, Jessica got up and grabbed her jumpsuit, hanging nearby. "I'll be ready shortly. I just have to call Daisy and ask her to take the kids home with her in case Aubrey and I are late tonight."

"Cam is packing up her gear now, Jessica and I'm going to grab my walker out of the Ookey Room. Just let us know when you're ready."

When Hodgins left the room, Jessica shut her door and changed into her jumpsuit. Relaxed for the first time in over 24 hours, she smiled before picking up her case and walking out of the office.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

After a busy afternoon for the couple, their dinner was relaxed as they ate lasagna while listening to their children's days. When done, they assisted the kids in getting around for bed with Aubrey was in the twins' room reading to them while Jessica read to Molly and Rachael in their eldest child's room. When they were done reading, the parents took turns telling their children good night before the agent picked up a sleeping Molly and carried her into her bed.

Moving quietly into their large master bedroom, each got undressed before brushing their teeth and completing their individual night time rituals in their en-suite bathroom. As she did every night, Jessica wiped up the toothpaste Aubrey usually forgot to rinse from the sink. When they went into the bedroom, Aubrey turned off the light Jessica usually left on before they crawled into bed. Grabbing his tablet, the agent found the Star Wars fanfiction story the couple had been following the last several weeks. After he got situated and Jessica laid her head on his chest, the two began to quietly read.

Throughout the evening, Jessica contemplated what to say to Aubrey, but as they neared the end of the chapter, she realized that the truth was best. "I fainted during my mammogram, Superman."

The redhead waited for him to either sit up in shock followed by rapid-fire questioning or a lecture on not calling him, but to her surprise, neither came. Instead, Aubrey put the IPad aside and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Are you all right?"

"I am. The nurse there thought it was my low blood pressure and me being nervous. It hurt a lot, so I don't know if the technician wasn't that experienced and all that made it worse." Jessica felt Aubrey stiffen up, so she hugged her husband while her head remained on his chest. "James, I really am fine. I'm going to be all right, I promise."

"Well, your blood pressure does run low, and you were nervous." Aubrey tempered his instinct to panic, knowing it was the last thing Jessica needed now. However, he needed to ask what was on his mind. "Why didn't you tell me, Jess? Was it because I was so caught up in that case I didn't ask until the next day? That was pretty thoughtless of me and I don't blame you for being pissed off."

The redhead lifted her head and looked at her husband. "No, Aubrey. I was just afraid you would freak out and…I was embarrassed."

"What on earth for?" Aubrey replied. "You're a human being."

Jessica looked at her husband with a 'duh' face. "James Aubrey, I'm a forensic anthropologist who works cases for the FBI…CIA…Virginia State Police…Maryland State Police…West Virginia—"

"Yeah, you work with law enforcement, Jess." Her husband replied. "What does that have to do with fainting during a medical procedure?"

"I've been through some hairy, life threatening situations…mostly with you in some capacity that we have to tell our children about someday when they're older." Jessica looked up and saw Aubrey's acknowledgement of what she was saying. "I've also been to crime scenes that would scare the hell out of most people…my mother is severely mentally ill and the shit from her I had to deal with…. I survived all that. I'm tough and strong, but..."

A light bulb went off in Aubrey's head. "But during a normal, routine, medical procedure…you weren't, and you think that makes you weak."

"I did…" Jessica replied as she gently rubbed her husband's chest. "But I talked to Dr B today and she made me realize that…it's okay not to be always be a superhuman."

"Sometimes, I need Booth to tell me the same thing." Aubrey said, gently rubbing her back. "Can I assume that you also did copious amounts of research after all this went down?"

The redhead giggled. "How did you know?"

The Special Agent in Charge smiled. "I haven't been having frequent sex with you and assisted in procreating our four children over the last twelve years and not learned a thing of two."

"You're a brat." Jessica smacked his arm and the two laughed. "Now be serious, please."

Aubrey rubbed his wife's arm. "Seriously, Jess…I know you. Your mind is always going. If you come up with something that stumps you…research is what you do. Furthermore, you do not quit until you know the answer. It's one of the things that I love about my best friend."

Jessica smiled. "You know what I love about my best friend? The fact he knows me so well."

"Yeah, like the fact you leave lights on." Aubrey said with a smirk.

Challenged, Jessica grinned back. "Okay Mister 'I can't brush my teeth without leaving toothpaste in the sink.'"

"I know one more thing." Aubrey said as he pulled Jessica closer. "You're only wearing my FBI t-shirt and panties to bed tonight."

The redhead chuckled before climbing up onto her husband and straddling him. "I am. What are you going to do about it, Special Agent Aubrey?"

Aubrey felt an erection come on and his hands moved up his wife's creamy thighs and under his t-shirt. "Well, Doctor Warren, as a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there's only one thing I can do."

"Oh really?" Jessica said with a flirtatious grin. "What would that be?"

Aubrey flicked off the nightstand light and flipped her on her back in the dark. "I must…interrogate you."

There was laughter in the room, following by slow, quiet moans.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Two weeks later, Jessica came home on a Wednesday afternoon. Opening the mail, she spotted an envelope she had been waiting on for two weeks. Opening it, she read and smiled.

BREAST DENSITY: VERY DENSE

ABNORMALITIES: NONE NOTED

Yes, having highly dense breasts would find tumor detection more difficult. However, her doctor did not see the need for her to follow up with an MRI and she was all set. Next year, she would be more prepared and not worry.

Taking a picture, she sent it in a text to Aubrey. About a minute later, she got a smiley face and a thumbs up in response. Laughing, she walked back to her office and put in the desk drawer.

Maybe her forties wouldn't be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

July 24, 2030 was a hot day in the DC Metropolitan area with the mercury topping off at 92 degrees in some spots…too hot for a crime scene out in the Shenandoah National Park. Unfortunately, two teenagers looking for a good time spoiled that when they found a set of remains by one of the hiking trails.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Almost two hours later, Doctor Jessica Warren arrived at the scene with Hodgins, his summer intern, Cam, and the rest of the Jeffersonian crew. Being directed over to a small pond under a dense group of trees, they found the remains partly submerged in water and scavenged. The parts not submerged were almost desiccated by the patches of sun and heat. After an initial exam, they had the remains carefully lifted out of the pond and onto a tarp for their examination.

"Wow. Got the best of both world today, ladies." Hodgins said smiling when they saw the decedent and its location. "Half of the body is almost bone and half still has goodies for Cam."

"Not much meat…my kind of remains." Jessica cracked before bending down and putting on a pair of gloves.

"There still plenty of adipocere and body tissue for me to work with." Cam said. "His or her foot or hand must have been sticking out so animals must have used that to drag the body out…or what they could."

Jessica looked over the bones. "Usually this guy would have been completely barbecued by the sun and this nasty heat, but luckily for us, his killer dumped him in water under the trees."

"Scientifically challenged killers are the best." Hodgins said with glee before leaning on the wooden stand kept for him in the lab's van. When situated, he handed his crutches to the intern, who put them nearby while the entomologist finished lowering on the tarp covering the ground.

"Thanks, Megan. Now, we're going to start here." He said while pointing to an area that seemed to have some insect activity.

"Jessica, is it Monday that Aubrey comes back to work?" Cam asked Jessica while examining the tissue on her end.

"Yes as long as his post op visit with the surgeon goes well on Friday, but he's been doing great, albeit frustrated from staying home to recoup these last two weeks."

"Between helping Aubrey at home, teaching that summer class at AmU, plus your duties as the Deputy Forensic Anthropologist, I just want to say that you've been doing great running the program while Dr. B has been away on her book tour." Hodgins said.

"Thank you, Curly. However, I'm just the seat warmer until she gets back next week. I'll see her Saturday though at the FBI Anniversary Gala."

"Yeah, glad it's you and not me going." Hodgins said with a chuckle. "When I talked to Booth yesterday, he did not seem happy to go, but he's an Executive Assistant Director."

Jessica chuckled. "It won't be that bad. Aubrey is always handsome in a tux. We'll dress up nice, do some dancing, and hear some boring speeches…"

"Lots of food for Aubrey…" Cam said to everyone's amusement.

"That, too, Doctor Saroyan." Jessica said before they were joined by Agent Genevieve Shaw.

"Hey Jessica, how's the boss?"

The redhead looked up at her friend. "Bored…did he call you today?"

"Yeah, this morning. He let me know he's coming in for work to take home and see how things are doing. I'll get things around for him when I get back to the office." Genny said before switching to work mode. "What can you tell me about this one?"

Cam indicated the decedent's apparel on the bottom half of the body. "The clothes are in good shape…he's got money…not much for me to tell until we get back to the lab. Jessica?"

The redhead looked at the pelvic girdle before checking the teeth. "Pelvic inlet shows he's male and dentition shows he's in his late 30s to early 40s."

Genny wrote the information down. "This could be our missing bank robber from last month. The clothing does match the description of the thief before he made his getaway." The other woman asked. "One of the techs found some Benjamins nearby with blood on it, but maybe Angela can use them to find out if the numbers match up."

"Can do, Genny." Hodgins said as he examined the end of the remains. Looking up, he saw a man finish talking to a witness before walking towards them. "Who's that? New guy?"

The ASAC turned around. "Agent Andreas Martin…joined us last week from the Marquette, Michigan satellite office."

"Good?" Cam asked.

"He was involved in busting a major drug ring that was using the Olympic training facility at Northern Michigan University. He impressed people, so he was transferred here when Agent Smith retired. I'm working with him for a few weeks until he get settled in."

Jessica smirked. "So highly competent but possibly, as my father would say, 'too big for his britches'?"

"Sounds right." Genny said with a smile. "Hopefully that settles down before Aubrey comes back. He won't tolerate that crap."

Hodgins caught the man checking out a comely FBI technician. "Seems to have an eye for the ladies as well."

"Yeah, he flirted with me on his first day, but that stopped when Hunter walked into the break room. Then I had the pleasure of letting Martin know that I was his ASAC."

"Your husband is 6'4". Between Hunter and you telling him you were his boss, it probably slowed him down a bit." Jessica said with a snicker.

"Not much. He has also hit on Perotta and a couple other agents…one of those types." Genny said before the agent in question was in earshot. "What did you find out, Martin?"

"So the park ranger couldn't give us much besides he found the body and called for help." The agent said before turning to the group. "Is this the infamous Jeffersonian group that helps the FBI to bring criminals to their knees?"

"You could say that." Genny said drolly before pointing to Cam. "Agent Martin, this is Doctor Camille Saroyan, the head pathologist and director of the lab."

Martin admired the slim African American woman and gave her one of his famous smiles. "Hello, Doctor Saroyan."

Recognizing the tone, Cam kept her expression neutral. "Hello, Agent Martin. Welcome to Major Crimes."

"Thank you." Martin said. "Very honored."

Genny turned to Hodgins. "This is Dr. Jack Hodgins, assistant director of the lab and forensic entomologist, geologist, and botanist."

The agent glanced at his crutches before shaking the man's hand. "Nice to meet you."

Genny then indicated Jessica, who was in the process of changing gloves. "Martin, this is Doctor Jessica Warren, the acting Head Forensic Anthropologist. She will be working this case as well."

"Hello," Martin smiled, noting the absence of a wedding and engagement on her left hand.

"Nice to meet you." She said while quickly shaking his hand, stifling her impulse to tell them man to stop staring at her as she put her new set of gloves on.

"I'll brief Agent Martin on what we have so far." Genny said, steering the agent away from the scientists.

When they were out of earshot, Martin spoke up. "Should someone handicapped work a crime scene?" Martin said. "That's dangerous."

Giving the man the benefit of the doubt, Genny turned to the new agent. "Dr. Hodgins was paralyzed from a bomb he was caught in with Agent Aubrey almost fifteen years ago. He had nerve implant surgery three years ago and now has the ability to walk on Lofstrand crutches. Nobody else is concerned, Agent."

"But—"

"Agent Martin, this crew is the best forensic team in the world. Don't underestimate them." Genny admonished. "Now, head over to the body and get whatever other information you can, please."

Martin observed the group, particularly the forensic anthropologist. Doctor Warren was one hot piece of ass. Definitely a step up from the college girls he encountered in Marquette.  Walking over, he smiled at the redhead as she did her examination. "So, Jessica…"

"Doctor Warren, Agent Martin." She said professionally. "From what I can tell of the skull, this looks like a gunshot wound to the head. I'm ballparking the decedent's height to be about 1.8 meters."

"Makes him about 6'2", right?" The agent said, wanting to show off his science knowledge.

Jessica turned to the agent. "No Agent Martin, the victim was about 5'9". 1.9 meters is about 6'2". We'll know for sure when we examine him at the lab."

Hodgins bit his lip at Agent Martin's face turning red before picking up a larvae from inside the abdominal cavity and showing his intern. "Megan, based on what we're observing here, what is the approximate date of death for this unfortunate man?

The blonde woman examined. "Judging from this little guy, he's been dead about three weeks. The sun cooked him, but the insects don't lie."

Hodgins grinned at his intern. "Good job, Ms. Nelson."

Jessica smiled at her friend. Hodgins loved mentoring students, including herself several years ago. "I'm going to get the gurney, Doctor Saroyan if that works for you." Jessica said.

"Sounds good, Jessica."

The redhead lifted herself only to find herself assisted by the young agent. "Excuse me…"

Martin flashed a smile at the anthropologist. "Thought you could use some assistance."

"I didn't need assistance." Jessica snapped. "For future reference, Agent Martin, I don't like it when someone manhandles me without permission. Don't do it again."

Martin watched Jessica walk away. "Feisty, isn't she?"

Hodgins looked up and gave the younger man a serious look, understanding why the redhead was sensitive about it. "My advice…take her seriously, Agent Martin."

"Sure, sure, no helping the scientist...got it. Women are so sensitive anymore." The agent said with a shake of his head. "She still intrigues me…I like a feisty girl."

Cam tried to intervene. "Agent Martin, her husband—"

"Likes her that way." Hodgins finished. "She's happily married. Respect that."

"She's married? Well, there's no wedding ring so I may have a shot. If you'll excuse me, I've got a case to solve."

Cam and Hodgins watched the new agent leave before the pathologist turned to her colleague. "Doctor Hodgins, why didn't you tell Agent Martin about Jessica's connection to his new boss?"

Hodgins looked up with a smile. "Because he's cocky and a douchebag. Not like Oliver where you kind of respect him, but this agent is just a dick."

"Yes…but if—"

"Come on, Cam. You have to admit that this is going to be fun to watch. Aubrey is going to make him suffer if he sees that guy sniffing after Jessica and if Agent Martin gets too up close and personal with our forensic anthropologist, she's going to kick his ass."

The pathologist smirked. "I will admit that it could be interesting."

At the lab, Jessica, Cam, and Angela worked on the decedent while Hodgins and his intern examined the clothing and other items found at the scene. When done, the entomologist and his intern took the items back to his Ookey Room while Angela went to start a facial reconstruction. Cam and Jessica continued to work as they separated the bones from the few remaining body parts.

"So, what are you and Arastoo up to tonight since the boys are staying with Michelle for the week?" Jessica asked as she gingerly removed the femur from the table.

"Oh…a quiet night at home. Arastoo has tomorrow morning off so I'll be coming in about 10:00. What about you and Aubrey?" The pathologist responded as she removed some desiccated skin and put it on a tray.

"Aubrey wants to try making dinner tonight for all of us. After that, a typical family night at the Aubrey house." Jessica said before glancing up at the clock. "Since I've already completed the intern schedule for next week, I'm going to head out for the day after putting the bones in the enzyme bath to soak if that's all right with you."

"That's fine, Jessica." Cam replied as they and the decedent's remains stepped onto the lift. "Any special plans?"

"It's not as hot as it was so I would like to kidnap him while we have no children for a while. I'll just have to pry him away from the FBI. He was going a little stir crazy at home."

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

"Well, I think I will, too." Jessica pushed the button and they waited for the lift to stop. "He's been pretty horny, too."

Cam laughed. "Arastoo was that way when he got his knee surgery last year. I'm assuming sex is still off the table?"

"At least until his post op checkup." Jessica said before the women got ready to separate. "My husband is not a man of inaction."

"No man is, Jessica." Cam responded before the women shared a laugh.

Aubrey and Genny were in her office going over what he had missed over the last ten days. Next to him was a stack of files he was going to take home and a box of other items he needed to go through.

"As always, you kicked ass while I was off, Genny." Aubrey said.  "I'm going to miss you when you get promoted to your own division."

"Someday, Boss." Genny said. "The girls love living in DC, so unless a SAC position opens up around here, it's going to be a while."

Aubrey finished drinking his cup of coffee. "Plus, MIT is just an Amtrak train away."

"Yeah." Genny responded. "Don't make fun, Aubrey. Remember, you're going to be there in a few years with Rachael…"

"God…my daughter has already skipped two grades, Genny and is killer smart like her mother. Thinking about my oldest child in college…I can't handle that yet."

The two laughed together before there was a knock at the door. Turning towards it, they saw Agent Martin standing there.

"Come in, Martin." Shaw said.

"Is this my new agent from Marquette, Michigan?" Aubrey said before carefully standing up and holding his hand out. "Special Agent James Aubrey."

"My new boss." Martin said before shaking the man's hand, surprised at how firm it was considering the older man's lanky frame. "I heard you were on medical leave."

"Yeah, my appendix almost ruptured while I was at home with my wife. My advice…if your wife tells you that it's your appendix…listen to her and don't be stubborn." Aubrey said to everyone's chuckles. "I'm sorry I wasn't here on your first day."

"Sounds like you had a good reason, Sir." Martin replied. "I'm glad to meet the famous James Aubrey. You and Agent Booth are considered legends back in Quantico."

Aubrey grew modest. "Well, thank you, but I learned what I know from him. So, Agent Shaw said the body found today may be one of the robbers from the Mercantile Bank robbery last month?"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

An hour later, Aubrey picked up a few last minute items in his office and added them to his collection. As he was bending over his desk to pull something out of a drawer, he heard a cat call.

"You still have a nice ass, Special Agent."

Smiling, he turned around and saw his wife. Walking up to her, he kissed her. "Jess, what are you doing here? It's only 3:30. I thought you would be at work until at least 5:00."

"Well, I can't do much until the flesh comes off our remains so I put them in the enzyme bath until tomorrow morning. As I was doing that, I realized that you're still on weight restrictions, so I decided to help my husband with anything he may want to bring home."

"You're checking out my nice ass like a piece of meat just because you wanted to help me with a box, Jessica?" Aubrey asked before shaking his head. "I don't buy it."

"You shouldn't because I'd also had a brainstorm." Jessica replied as she leaned on the desk.

"What brainstorm went through your brilliant mind, Dr. Warren?"

"Well, it's only about 80 now outside and it's beautiful out. What do you think about us getting a couple of ice coffees at the cart by the Mall and take a nice walk before we pick up the kids from all their various activities?"

Aubrey looked at his wife in her wrap dress and had another idea as he gently rubbed his hand on hers. "Sounds great, but…I have another suggestion..."

Jessica knew her husband too well. "No sex until after Friday."

The SAC put a pout on his face. "But we missed our lunch date today. We could duck into that storage closet on the first floor—"

"No Aubrey." Jessica said while trying to not laugh.

"I feel fine…there's a table in there—"

"No Aubrey." Jessica shot back as she began losing her composure.

"We can just run home quick. I'll let you do all the work…"

'He's so cute when he begs and sulks.' Jessica thought but she needed to lay down the law. "No Superman. Until your surgeon gives the okay, no anthropologist nookie. Now do you like my idea?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice, although I like my idea better." Aubrey said. "I just have to add an agent's hours in Payroll and make a pit stop before we go."

"All right, I'm going to stop at the break room for a water and then update Genny on our case." Jessica said. Smiling, she kissed her husband sweetly. "I love your idea, too. Maybe we can try your idea next week."

"Sweet." Aubrey replied with a wide grin.

After Jessica left, Aubrey headed down to the men's room on the other side of the bullpen.

As the SAC disappeared behind the door, an annoyed Agent Martin came out of the interrogation room across the hall. He didn't get much from his suspect and he had to let him go. As he walked towards his desk, he saw Jessica Warren standing by the fridge in the break room.

"Well, you're a sight for sore eyes."

Rolling her eyes, Jessica stood up and opened her water. "Hello, Agent Martin. I was just leaving."

"Wait…since you're here, how about we grab a cup of coffee?"

Jessica tilted her head. "No thank you. I'm already planning to have coffee with my husband before we pick up our children later."

"Maybe this weekend then, Doctor Warren." Martin said. "I think you would enjoy my company, especially since we will be working cases together."

The anthropologist gave the annoying agent a bland look. "I think not, Agent Martin. I'm married and I'm not interested in spending time with you."

"You don't know that…"

As two agents walked into the room, Jessica turned to head out. "I do know, Agent Martin and the only agent I'm interested in having coffee or spending time this weekend with is my husband. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to your ASAC about a case."

"I'm lead on our case, Doctor Warren. I'm the one you talk to." Martin said.

"This is in regards to another one of Agent Shaw's cases. I do work more than one at a time, you know." Jessica said, causing the agent to turn red. As she walked out, she waved at the other agents. "Hey Tom, Hi Dan."

"Hi Doctor Warren." Agent Tom Harris said before she left. Turning, he saw the new agent staring at her walk away. "Give up that dream, buddy."

Martin got a cocky smile. "Didn't have her wedding ring on. Fair game."

"Dude, you're new here, so take my advice. That lady is off limits." Agent Dan Baker contributed. "If you enjoy working here in the DC field office, take heed to remember that."

"Whatever. All I need to do is work a little more magic. Soon, I'll have her Jeffersonian jump suit off and she'll drop her panties in no time because redheads love me." Martin replied before pouring a cup of coffee in his travel mug. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a case to work. Actually, I think I'll make a trip the lab and see what I can come up with."

About thirty seconds after Martin left the break room, Aubrey walked towards it. Not seeing his wife in there from the corner of his eye, he was about to head to Genny's office when his badge fell off. Carefully, he bent down to pick it up. As he was putting it back on, he overheard the conversation between Agents Baker and Harris.

"What do you think of that guy?"

"An annoying grandstander and he's heading for trouble."

"Yeah, he's a flirt, too. The way he flirted with the techs from the Jeffersonian at the scene this morning…wow, especially with Dr. Warren."

"He sure was a cocky bastard talking about how he was going to get her into bed, even after she shot him down twice."

"Yeah, Dude. What was it he said? Oh yeah." Agent Baker said before changing his voice. "…soon I'll have her Jeffersonian jump suit off and she'll drop her panties in no time because redheads love me.'"

"Yeah, what an arrogant dumb shit. He better watch his step or Aubrey will nail him."

Aubrey walked away stewed. 'So…some guy things he's going to get some from MY anthropologist? Only I get to see that redhead out of her jumpsuit! She only drops her panties for me!'

By the time he turned the corner towards the bullpen, he forced a smile on his face and chilled when he arrived at Genny's office. Seeing the two women chatting, he walked up, gave his wife a kiss, and took her hand. "Ready to go, Jess?"

"I am. Bye Genny." Jessica said.

The couple made a stop in his office where she carried his box and he took the other items he needed before walking to the elevator. When the doors opened, they climbed in.

"So Aubrey, do you want to get the twins from PEAK today or Rachael and Molly from their Jeffersonian classes?"

"We can talk about that while we enjoy our afternoon." Aubrey said as the elevators closed.

Three hours later, Aubrey made lasagna for his family with assistance from Jessica. Sitting down to dinner, the couple enjoyed their children's chatter. Rachael was particularly proud to tell the story of how her science classmate started to dissect a frog but instead it went flying across the room. The twins talked about one of their friends having milk spill out of his nose, and Molly chatted about everything under the sun.

After cleaning up, Rachael went up to her room and the couple relaxed with their other children before getting them their baths.

After the children were in bed, Jessica joined Aubrey in their master bedroom. Already in bed, the agent enjoyed seeing his wife get naked and felt something rise. 'Maybe I can talk Jessica into fooling around this time. We're in the comforts of our bedroom and what the surgeon doesn't know won't hurt him.'

Jessica just put on a pair of pajama shorts to go with her Michigan State shirt when she saw the look on her husband's face. "Aubrey…once again, no sex until the doctor clears it when you see him Friday afternoon. Do you hear me?"

"Aughhhhh." The agent growled. "I'm married to my best friend and the mother of my children. I want to make love to her and I can't because some useless organ decided it wanted to go bad and I had to get it taken out. This sucks, Jessica."

Jessica smiled at her husband, admiring once again how cute he was when he pouted. "I know Superman. I'm suffering, too. I'm married to my best friend, who is the father of my children. However, I know that once he recuperates we'll make up for lost time."

"Oh we will, Jess…and we may break another bed in the process." Aubrey replied in a sure tone, causing the two to laugh at their inside joke.

"There was a silver lining to all that, Aubrey…we got this nice King sized bed that works nicely for what we like to do." Jessica replied.

"Very true." Aubrey replied before flashing to what he overheard. Deciding to get answers, he started to pry. "So…anything else happen besides the crime scene today?"

"We already discussed the case and my day." The redhead said with a smile, immediately knowing what her husband was trying to do. "So I'm guessing that you heard about someone flirting with me today. Surprised it took you this long to say anything."

"Were you going to tell me?" Aubrey asked.

"Why?" Jessica responded. "It's not like I'm interested in him and I told him so."

The SAC narrowed his eyes. "Is he a crime scene tech or an agent?"

"I'm not telling you. Don't worry. I made sure to tell him I was married." Jessica said as she kissed his cheek.

"When are the jewelers going to have your engagement and wedding rings cleaned?" Aubrey said in a childish tone.

"Friday, Superman and I'm hoping to pick them up on my lunch hour. Perhaps next time you will be more careful about storing glue in the garage so your wife doesn't get her rings mucked up while she stops their youngest child from snooping."  Jessica snickered before picking up her tablet from her nightstand where her latest issue of Medicinal Physics Quarterly was waiting for her..  "I want my wedding and engagement ring back too. I like showing them off." 

"Well, at least you'll have them back for the FBI Anniversary Gala Saturday." Aubrey replied as he gently rubbed Jessica's hip over the covers. "So, did he have dark hair, blond hair…"

"He had hair, Superman." Jessica said as she turned and began to read.

"Tall, short…"

"Taller than me."

"Was he skinny, muscular, fat…"

Jessica rolled her eyes and put her equipment aside. "He was fit. Now quit asking because I'm not going to tell you. If he sniffs around me again, I promise you can mess with him. Now, let's just go to bed."

"Fine…good night Jess." A frustrated Aubrey replied before kissing his wife.

"Night Superman." Jessica replied before turning the light out.

The couple hunkered down in bed and Aubrey spooned his wife. A minute later, Jessica felt a hand go up her shirt and start to caress her skin, making her shiver.

"Aubrey…"

Aubrey's lips found the sweet spot on Jessica's neck and he couldn't stop from pushing into his wife's lovely posterior. "Jessica…I'm really horny. The surgeon didn't say we couldn't make out…"

The redhead laughed. "My husband the lawyer…finding all the loopholes…"

Aubrey's hand moved up and down her abdomen before lightly tracing her breast. When he felt her nipple harden he smiled. "The kids are asleep…what do you say, Jess…"

Jessica turned around to her husband. "I say…a little make out…but you're still on restrictions from your surgery, Special Agent in Charge Aubrey."

"Don't worry, Jess. I'm married to a hot doctor. I'm good."

The anthropologist couldn't stop laughing before Aubrey's kiss overtook her and she got swept up in the moment.

Three days later, the FBI's elite arrived at the Bureau's Anniversary Gala at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington DC. Discounted tickets were available for agents and all higher ups along with a guest. All other attendees, including members of Congress, the White House, and other big wigs, paid 100.00 per person with the proceeds going to the FBI Agents Association Memorial College Fund.

The lobby was decorated with various lights in red, white, and blue. Nearby, there was a display of the history of the FBI. J. Edgar Hoover was prominent in several of the pictures. Inside, each table had a vase with red and white roses along with blue tablecloths.

About 6:15, Booth and Brennan gave their tickets to the greeter and walked into the ball room for the cocktail hour. The agent looked very debonair in his tux while Brennan was beautiful in her navy blue wrap gown with bronze colored metallic paisley. As the forensic anthropologist adjusted her wrap, Booth sneaked another peek at his wife.

"Bones, that dress is coming off as soon as we get home. You look really…hot."

Brennan admired the physique of her husband. He would be 59 in November but he continued to take very good care of himself and she got to benefit from it. "You look very handsome as well, Booth. Tell you what, I'll let you help me with my dress if you wear the glasses I like."

"Done." Booth said with a smile before leading his wife into the Gala. "We should get a drink. Aubrey and Jessica should be here in a few minutes. Genny said she and Hunter would save us a table."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Five minutes later, Aubrey walked into lobby with Jessica. Both admired the history display although both made faces at all the pictures of J. Edgar Hoover, Glen Durant still fresh in their minds. After giving their tickets to the greeter, they looked around.

"It looks beautiful in here, Aubrey."

"My employer went all out this year. I'm impressed." The agent replied. When he saw Jessica checking her purse again, he took a second to admire her.

The redhead was wearing a vintage dress she found three weeks ago in a shop in Baltimore. The bodice part was silk satin with bronze and black stripes forming the chest and neckline extending onto the tank sleeves. The dress skirt was rayon damask, floor length, and black with a bronze swirling pattern. Her hair was back in a side bun with a few pieces framing her face and it was stunning.

Two months ago she celebrated her 42th birthday. With the exception of barely noticeable lines around her eyes that she called her 'crow's feet' and her more womanly curves that came with having four children, she had barely aged in the sixteen years he has known her. Every day, he was still amazed by his wife's beauty.

"Sorry, Aubrey, I just want to make sure my phone is on vibrate so we don't disrupt the speeches but Aaron and Nadia can reach us if anything is wrong with the kids. I—" the redhead looked up. "You're staring. Is there something on me?"

"No, just admiring my date for the evening." Aubrey said with a smile.

Jessica blushed before looking over her husband. She could see the silver streaks in his temples had grown more prominent, but she liked them. His blue eyes sparkled and he still had that gap tooth smile that always made her pause. Looking him up and down, she admired him as his tux accentuated his lean frame to perfection.

"Well, you don't look so bad yourself, Special Agent Aubrey."

"Oh, I have a surprise for you, Mrs. Aubrey." The agent said while reaching into his inner breast pocket.

"Ooohhh what is it?" Jessica giggled like a teenager.

Aubrey pulled out a hotel key. "Guess who has a room here tonight and thanks to his surgeon yesterday is now cleared to enjoy it with his wife?"

The redhead grinned. "James Aubrey…are you looking to get into my panties tonight?"

Aubrey smirked as he put the hotel key back in his breast pocket and saw the rings prominently displayed on her left hand. "I'm not looking, Jess…I'm planning on it. Before the end of the evening, the only things that you'll be wearing is that necklace, your wedding rings, and a smile."

"Smooth talker you." Jessica said before taking her husband's hand. "And to think I almost didn't wear any panties tonight."

The agent took a deep breath. "Jessica…don't tell your husband things like that if you want him to behave this evening."

The anthropologist giggled before pulling him towards the ball room. "Come on. Booth and Doctor B are probably waiting for us inside with Genny and Hunter."

Agent Martin showed up solo with a plan to not leave alone. He managed to snag the last room available tonight, the Executive Suite. He winced when it came to over $400.00. However, it would worth it when he got to use it later tonight.

He hoped to see that forensic anthropologist again, Jessica Warren. When he read her original FBI background check after their conversation in the break room, he was shocked that she was in her forties. Then, when he read her bio from the Jeffersonian website, he was impressed with her education. He smirked when he saw that she was married to an FBI agent and had four children.

'Four kids came out of that hot figure? Sold.' He thought.

Martin was curious about which FBI agent she was married to. However, when he asked a couple of the other agents in Major Crimes about her the last few days, they always snickered or told him she was off limits. One person he ran into at the Baltimore field office did say he heard she was married to a Special Agent in Charge, but not sure which one.

Rumor has it a few people from the Jeffersonian would be here tonight and if she was one of them, he would sweet talk her into that room. She said she was married but not happily if she wasn't wearing her wedding rings.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Around 9:30, Aubrey and Jessica finished their dance to 'Moonlight Serenade'. Letting go of his wife, he continued to hold her hand.

"I think I would like another turn at the buffet, Jess. Want anything?"

Jessica snickered. "You've been to the buffet three times already, Superman."

"But they have those awesome crab puffs and those ham rolls you like so much..."

The redhead gave her husband a kiss. "Okay, but I'll just sample what you have. I'm going to get another glass of champagne. Want anything?"

"Since they don't have Old Foglesong, another beer would be good."

"All right, we'll meet back at the table." Jessica said before jumping with a surprised giggle. "Aubrey…get your hands off my butt."

"I'm sorry…can't help it…it's a nice butt…still the best one there is, Jessica." Aubrey replied with a smirk. "Don't worry…the FBI Director's not looking."

The redhead blushed. "My horny hubby. Now get your crab puffs and our ham rolls."

The couple separated and Jessica headed to the line where it was surprisingly empty. After her order was completed, she picked them up but was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Must be fate that keeps us running into each other."

Rolling her eyes, Jessica turned around. "No, it's the fact we both work for the federal government. Good evening, Agent Martin."

"I have to say you look gorgeous tonight, Doctor Warren…like a fantasy brought to life for me." Martin replied.

'God, I may just go into a diabetic coma.' Jessica thought as she took a sip of wine. "Thank you.  Now if you'll excuse me, my husband is waiting for his beer."

"Hold up…I was hoping we could have a dance later." Martin said before holding up a hotel card. "And then after that…I got a suite and I could use some company."

"Agent Martin, I've already got a date that I've had several dances with…and a room in this hotel to spend the night with him."

"Ah, the infamous husband. I've heard he's a Special Agent in Charge. I can't believe he would leave you unattended at a function like this."

"He went to get us something to eat from the buffet, and I'm getting us drinks, Agent Martin. I am not fond of men who don't take 'no' for an answer, but in case you're confused, I will make it more clear for you." Jessica said before her tone of voice hardened. "I'm not interested in any sort of romantic entanglement with you…and I'm not going to change my mind, no matter how much of your fancy so called charm you use. Keep pushing it and you're skirting on sexual harassment."

"Now you don't have to be that way, Dr. Warren. If you would just give me a chance, I think we'll both be mutually satisfied."

Jessica turned and saw Aubrey within listening distance unbeknownst to Agent Martin. Judging by his face that alternated between angry and smiling, he overheard everything. They communicated without saying a word. As he approached the unsuspecting agent from behind, she smiled as she emptied her left hand by placing the beer bottle in her right hand with her champagne flute.

"Now that's the smile I've been waiting to see. What have you been waiting for?"

"My husband…let me introduce you to him. Agent Martin…" Jessica said before turning him around and bit her lip to not laugh as the color drained from the man's face. "My husband, James."

The younger agent felt his stomach drop when he saw his boss standing there. "Agent Aubrey…"

"Nice to see you again, Agent Martin. I'm glad you could make it here tonight."

"You two are married?" Martin said, trying to keep control as he felt his life was in danger.

"Jess never changed her name after we got married." Aubrey replied. "We try to keep things professional at work."

"My husband and I have been colleagues for sixteen years. I can say without a doubt that we have always worked together well, wouldn't you say, Aubrey?" Jessica added before noting the lack of plates. "Where's the food?"

"They're restocking everything and it's crowded, so I'll go back up in a few minutes." Aubrey said before turning to the younger man. "In answer to my wife's question, we've always worked great together."

"You're married to my boss…" Martin muttered.

"Yes, we've been married thirteen years, plus we have an eleven year old, eight year old twins, and a very precocious six year old at home. Three girls and one boy." Jessica said before handing Aubrey his beer. "I got you a Yuengling."

"Perfect, Jess." Aubrey said before giving his junior agent a cold smile. "My wife knows me so well. It's nice, isn't it?"

The nausea in Martin's stomach increased. "Yeah…yeah it is."

Aubrey pulled Jessica close. "As you will learn while working in my division, the reason our partnership with the Jeffersonian is so successful is because we are respectful of the scientists there. It was Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan's partnership twenty five years ago that set the example and it's something that SACs Perotta from International Operations, Chamberlain from Homicide, and myself work to maintain for our divisions as well. I'm sure I can count on your to continue that tradition, right Agent Martin?"

"Of course, sir. I do admire the talents that the Jeffersonian brings to our cases…always have."

Aubrey stepped forward and steeled his voice. "I'm so glad we won't have to have a conversation then about treating the lab personnel with respect. Charlie, sorry, Associate Deputy Director Burns, had to have that lecture with an agent about three years ago when he was pestering one of Dr. B's interns. He actually had to transfer that agent to the agency office in Minot, North Dakota. I hear it's pretty cold up there."

Jessica chimed in. "Just like in Marquette. I remember from when I was going to MSU that summers are great in the UP, but the winters are cold and you get dumped on by snow."

Aubrey turned back to Martin. "Sorry Agent Martin, we're getting away from what we were taking about. As I was saying, having to sit an agent down and address them not respecting the lab personal is not a fun lecture to give. Disciplining an agent is something I don't look forward to…unless I'm given a good reason. I hate bad apples in the FBI. Don't you?"

"I do, sir, and that's why I plan to work my best, Agent Aubrey. Getting transferred to DC is an honor." Martin said with a shaky breath.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Martin." Aubrey said before sipping his beer. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to have a drink with my wife before we leave for the night. See you Monday morning at the division meeting."

Aubrey took Jessica's hand and they walked away, leaving Agent Martin in fear for Monday. 'I'm so fucked…'

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

When the couple got back to the table, she grabbed her purse and tugged on her husband while he sipped his beer. Both were chuckling as she led her husband out of the party and towards the elevator.

"So no ham rolls this evening, Mrs. Aubrey?" The lanky man asked as he was led to the elevator.

"Room service is open until midnight tonight, Superman." Jessica pushed the call button and sipped her champagne. "I'm ready for that hotel room. It makes me hot when you get all bad ass."

The elevator door opened and Aubrey indicated for his wife to enter first. Following her, he came in and pushed their floor. "You think I'm a bad ass now…wait until we get up to our room."

Thirty minutes later, a panting Aubrey and Jessica were lying side by side on a hotel bed over the covers. His tux shirt and socks were still on as was Jessica's bra and her thigh high nylons. Scattered along the floor was the rest of Aubrey's tux, Jessica's dress, shoes, and torn panties.

Jessica smirked as she continued to catch her breath. "You really missed me, Superman."

"I think that's the other way around, Jessica." Aubrey replied. "You're the one who unzipped my pants as soon as I locked the door and pushed me on the bed to have your wicked way with me."

The redhead turned to her husband. "But you liked it, Aubrey."

"My wife fucking me senseless…always love it." The agent replied. "Like a fine wine, you only get better with age."

"As do you, Superman…" Jessica replied flirtatiously. "Now, no more chit chat. We have two weeks to catch up on."

"Yeah, we do." Aubrey said before grabbing Jessica and pulling her on top of him.

"Superman, be careful." The redhead replied.

"I will, Jess…now take off your bra."

Jessica laughed as she unclipped it and tossed it across the bed. The two came together and they continued to laugh as they began to make love again, thoughts of surgeries and persistent agents forgotten.

Chapter Text

April 24, 2017

Shortly after Booth's phone call, Aubrey and Jessica, along with the Homicide SAC and the lab, were in Maryland's Harmony Hall Park working their crime scene, an area around an old well.

Outside of it, Hodgins and Cam were inspecting three toes and what remained of two charred arms on a tarp covering the rain-soaked grass. Next to them, Brennan carefully removed a mix of charred body parts and objects from a large bucket before looking down inside the well. "Ms. Warren, do you see anything else of an evidentiary nature?"

Down below, Jessica saw a burned-out bottle with what looked like a small piece of cloth. Carefully, she picked up the burned item and sniffed it before holding it up. "Looks and smells like a Molotov cocktail. It's probably what was used to barbecue the vic before the rainstorm put the fire out. Man, what a nasty way to go."

"Ms. Warren, that is a plausible hypothesis, but we shouldn't speculate until Dr. Hodgins examines the evidence." Brennan lowered the basket down to Jessica. "Here are more evidence bags. Continue to collect anything else you can find and come up. It is supposed to rain again, so work efficiently."

Jessica began searching the nooks and crannies of the well. "I'm on it, Dr. B."

Several yards away, Aubrey and Booth separately talked to each park ranger who found the initial body parts leading to the well. After a few minutes, they joined up to compare notes.

"My guy said he saw smoke while sitting at their booth. However, by the time he arrived it was raining, and he didn't see anyone running away." Booth shook his head. "Of course, he saw nothing suspicious before then."

Aubrey put away his notebook. "My ranger said the same thing, just like they had no idea about the bags of cocaine the techs found scattered in the bushes. They may just be lazy at their job, but this could also be a drug deal gone bad that they're in up to their necks."

"Yeah." Booth stepped around a small mudhole in the wet grass. "Sorry I had to pull you into a case on your first day back to work, Aubrey. Because of the drugs, I needed someone from Major Crimes, but Genny had an early morning OB appointment."

"It's all right. Jess and I have to get back into the grind sooner or later." Aubrey pointed at Booth. "I just can't work late tonight because my wife and I have plans later if you know what I mean."

Booth saw the glimmer in his friend's eyes and held up his hand. "Stop!"

"Sorry, Booth." Aubrey shrugged. "It's just that our honeymoon was too short…and…you know how it is after you get home. I want Jess like…always…"

"The honeymoon is always too short, and of course you always want to be with Jessica. You’re newlyweds, you love her, and for some reason she loves you." Booth began chuckling at Aubrey's irritation. "Now, no more about your weird sex life, Aubrey. I know too much about it as it is."

"Hey, Jess and I keep our sex life private and it's not weird. We just like to try new things and be creative…which is easy when your wife is as flexible as mine thanks to yoga." Aubrey heard Booth growl. "Oh fine, I'll shut up about it, but you were right about one thing, Booth."

Booth exhaled loudly, afraid of the answer. "What's that, Aubrey?"

Aubrey looked around and lowered his voice. "The sex is so much better since we got married."

Booth sighed in relief. "Yeah, there's just something about being with your wife, Aubrey…making love with your wife, the woman you love is—"

Aubrey couldn't stop himself. "Hell yeah. Since the wedding, we've been on fire! Like last Monday when we spent the whole day in bed, we tried this new thing where Jess bent back into this yoga bridge position and then I—"

"Aubrey!" Booth barked when they arrived at their SUVs.

"Okay…sorry." Aubrey chuckled before watching Jessica assist Cam with adding remains into a body bag. "Great sex aside, being married is really awesome, Booth."

Booth looked over at his wife and smiled. "Yes, it is, Aubrey."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

An hour later, Aubrey escaped the now torrential April rain as he pulled into the FBI garage and into his designated parking spot. Getting his stuff, he headed inside the employee entrance while contemplating his schedule today.

On top of this morning’s case, he had to catch up on the large pile of administrative crap that was waiting for him on his desk. There was the weekly division meeting at 9:00 and then a 11:00 teleconference with Hacker regarding his May budget. He also had to email HR on how to add Jessica to his insurance and FSA policies. On top of that, he had to complete next month's duty roster and then do case audits.

He had a busy day today, but that was all right, because tonight, he was going home to his beautiful, amazing, sexy genius wife of ten days.

Aubrey sighed as he thought of his new bride. Instead of paperwork and dead bodies, he wanted to be back in the Blue Ridge Mountains, hiding out with Jessica in their cabin doing nothing but making love for hours. However, their honeymoon was over, and it was now time to concentrate on criminals, internships, budgets, dissertations, their cat Skinner, and the other minutiae of real life.

Grabbing coffee in the break room, he was frustrated when his search for a donut turned up empty. Heading to his office, he made his way through the bullpen, greeting a few of his agents along the way. Getting situated at his desk, he spotted the framed wedding photo of him and Jessica that had been left there by Angela while he was on vacation. Picking it up, he gazed at it for a few minutes.

They held each other close, with Jessica looking amazing in her wedding dress, her pearl necklace accentuating the gown's simple elegance, and her hair down with Angela's comb in it. The sunny day made his wife's red hair stand out, making her the most beautiful bride there ever was. He didn't look bad himself in his custom-made gray suit.

Making room on his credenza, he displayed the photo prominently for all to see, and after finding a leftover package of Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Pop Tarts in his stash, he ate his treat while he turned on his computer to read his messages.

Opening his email, the SAC flinched at all the messages from when he was gone. Cleaning out the non-important ones, he read Deputy Director Stark's email reminding all the SACs about the field office's quarterly review meeting scheduled for next Tuesday morning. There was also one from Genny inviting him and Jessica to a small dinner party she and Hunter were hosting Saturday night. Making a note to check with his wife later that day, he gave a tentative yes to the invite, knowing Jessica would want to come if they could.

Throughout the next hour he tackled his paperwork until the division meeting, where his staff and a just arrived Genny officially welcomed him back with his favorite quad shot cappuccino with cinnamon. When the meeting ended, a now hungry Aubrey headed to the communal break room for more coffee and his mid-morning snack before being joined by Genny.

"It's nice to have you back, Boss."

"Appreciate that, Genny. How are you feeling?"

"The morning sickness is almost gone, and I’ve been able to start drinking one cup of coffee a day again." Genny grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "Did you want to meet now and talk about last week?"

"Sure, I'll meet you in your office. I just need my mid-morning snack."

Genny walked out laughing as Aubrey stared at the vending machine deciding on what to have. However, he was interrupted by a text.

Step away from vending machines, Superman. I put your fave Canadian jerky in your laptop bag 4 your AM snack. C U at lunch.

"I don't know how the hell she always knows when I'm eating, but my wife is awesome." Aubrey poured a quick cup of coffee and began whistling the Star Wars Theme back to his office.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Standing at the water tank, Jessica quickly adjusted her ponytail. Peeking in the small mirror nearby, she decided she looked all right before she felt her phone buzz. Taking it out, she smiled at Aubrey's return message.

Thx 4 jerky. Can we have lunch here 2day? Lots of BS to catch up on.

Jessica quickly responded with her order. Call it in 2 RD. Will pick up & bring at 12:30. Luv u.

The response was almost immediate. Luv u 2 Jess.

Putting on her long heavy gloves, she began humming Lay Lady Lay as she continued to prep the enzyme bath. It was pure luck that the part of the decedent's artificial hip they found in their examination gave them the serial number. Thanks to that, Angela quickly ID'd the victim as a French national. Hopefully, his medical records from the Sorbonne would arrive online within the next hour.

Carefully, she used tongs to add what remained of the victim into the tank. Setting the timer, she started the bath before heading to the nearby intern study room. Sitting at her small desk, she began typing her notes into her tablet when she glanced at the small plush skunk her husband gave her this morning. He had big blue eyes just like her husband, and a reminder of a picnic she and Aubrey would always treasure.

Hearing thunder, Jessica looked up at the skylights and saw rain pelting above. Shrugging it off, she went back to work before stopping once again to look at her left hand and admire her jewelry.

Her red wedding ring was unique and non-traditional, but it also complemented her engagement ring, an heirloom that originally belonged to Aubrey's maternal great-great grandmother. She admired the recessed design of the diamonds and ruby in the center, enabling her to wear it under a pair of gloves. Someday, per family tradition, it would be passed down to her and Aubrey's first-born daughter.

"Of course, whether we have any girls is up to Aubrey's swimmers, but I'm sure we'll have at least one. My husband is an extremely ambitious man. We have plenty of time for all that though." Jessica chuckled until she heard her name and turned around. "Yes, Dr B?"

"I wanted to let you know that due to power issues at the Sorbonne, the decedents' electronic medical record will not be here until at the earliest late this afternoon. I will be leaving around 4:00 today to pick up Christine from her afternoon program and Cam said you're welcome to leave then too if you like unless you want to stay until 5 PM."

Jessica debated. "I may take you up on that. I do have the rest of our laundry from our honeymoon to catch up on and some grocery shopping to do.…I think I'll leave at 4:00, too."

"Very well." Brennan began walking away. "After you clean and complete your examination of the bones, Ms. Warren, email me your findings. Perhaps we can at least get cause of death while we wait for the medical records."

"I will, Dr B." The redhead said with a smile before going back to her task.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Over two hours later, Jessica arrived at the Hoover with lunch. Saying hi to everyone in the bullpen, she balanced a drink tray with her Coke and Aubrey's chocolate shake as she made her way to her husband's office. Observing him engrossed in a file, she called his name, but he didn't respond. Amused, she walked up to his desk and spoke louder.

"Do I have to flash my breasts at you to get your attention?"

Startled, he looked up to see his bemused wife holding a large bag and a drink carrier. "Shit, I'm sorry, Jess. I'm just going over my notes from when I talked to the park ranger earlier. Booth and I think those guys are who blew up our vic today." Aubrey winked at her. "As for the other thing, your ass will always get my attention."

The couple came together in a kiss before moving to the round table. After Aubrey sat down, Jessica handed him his triple chili cheeseburger, fries, onion rings, and fruit salad. After setting up her own lunch, the forensic anthropologist saw her husband watching her and blushed.

"Superman, you're staring at me."

Aubrey finished his bite of his cheeseburger. "Uh yeah…because my wife is hot."

"Thank you. My husband is cute, too." Jessica took a bite of her club sandwich. "You know, this is our first post honeymoon lunch together. This is nice."

"It is indeed." Aubrey said. "So, what do you want to do about dinner? All we have are frozen dinners, some fruit, and half a carton of eggs from the cabin."

"I'm going shopping after work, and I was thinking of picking up some Parmesan and Gruyere cheeses along with spinach and mushrooms to make Alfredo tonight. I may make some homemade garlic knots, too."

"Sounds good." Aubrey replied. "Then later we get to have naked cuddling."

Laughing as she recalled earlier in the morning, Jessica nodded. "Yes, Aubrey, then we get to do naked cuddling."

"Yeah, buddy." Aubrey took another bite then realized what his wife didn't say. "Wait, no chicken or meat with dinner?"

Jessica put her sandwich down. "Aubrey, come on, we go through this every week. Is it really that big of a deal to have one meal without meat?"

"I guess not, Jessica…" Aubrey replied. "But you asked me to do that during make up sex. I'll agree to just about anything like that."

"Okay, I'll tell you what." Jessica took one of her husband's fries and dipped it into his side of garlic mayo. "Shrimp tonight, but we're doing vegetarian tomorrow and on Friday, you can make me a steak dinner on your fancy grill…"

"Our fancy grill..." Aubrey drank from his chocolate milkshake.

"Our fancy grill…" A mischievous Jessica continued speaking. "…with a special Aubrey dessert either on our kitchen counter or you boffing me against the pantry door again."

The agent's only reply was to choke on his shake in surprise. Scared, Jessica ran over to her gagging husband and raised his arm. "Superman, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Honey. Sorry." Aubrey wiped his mouth and smirked at his wife. "I would enjoy making you dinner Friday night. As for your dessert, wear that really sexy black push up bra you wear on our date nights and those awesome crotchless panties and I'll make it one to remember."

Jessica was surprised. "Not the green bra and shoes?"

"Variety is the spice of life…and I like easy access." Aubrey smirked. "I'll even wear my special Darth Vader boxers…"

"You're so naughty, James Aubrey." The redhead gave her spouse a kiss. "I think that is a satisfactory arrangement."

Just as the redhead sat back down, Aubrey grabbed something off his desk and brought it back. "Oh, while you're here, I need you to fill out a few forms so I can turn them into HR before I leave tonight. It's so I can add you on my health insurance and stuff."

Wiping her hands with a napkin, Jessica took the papers Aubrey handed her across the table. Reading through them, she looked up. "You're still cool if I don't change my last name to Aubrey, right? Although I’ll probably hyphenate it to Warren-Aubrey at some point later in the future, but at least professionally I want to remain Jessica Warren. Like we talked about before, our kids will be named Aubrey. I just hate all the hassle with changing my name…although I will have one, too if I hyphenate it…"

"Jess…Jessica!" When Aubrey had his spouse's attention, he smiled. "We talked about this already. Whatever your last name is doesn't change the fact we're married." Aubrey said. "People who want to make something about it can kiss my butt."

"My hero." Jessica chuckled as she filled out the forms.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Two hours later, Caroline Julian walked into Aubrey's office and pulled something out of her briefcase. "Here you are, Cher. One certified marriage license."

"Caroline, you're awesome." Aubrey took the form. "Thanks for getting it to me so quickly from the Alexandria County Courthouse. HR needed a copy of it for proof of our marriage and it usually takes 10 - 14 days to arrive by mail."

"You're welcome and of course, I'm awesome. Now, don't lose it or you're paying the $10.00 for another copy, young man. Now, tell me what you have so far on that fellow that got charbroiled in that old well this morning. Seeley says it looks like those park rangers are involved."

They talked for several minutes and when Caroline was satisfied, she left as Aubrey made a copy of his marriage license. Circling back, he grabbed the forms Jessica filled out earlier and headed out for his final task for the day. Taking the stairs to the 2nd floor, he took the steps two at a time, chuckling as he remembered Hunter's excitement two months earlier as he prepared to do the same thing.

"This stuff is pretty exciting now that Jessica is my wife." Aubrey laughed. "My wife...man, I love saying that."

He still had a spring in his step when he entered Human Resources. As he waited for the HR rep, the door opened, and his giddy mood changed as he locked eyes with Karen Delfs. His hopes of ignoring her were dashed when she walked up to him.

"Hi Aubrey."

"Karen." Aubrey said warily before looking back at his documentation.

The profiler's hopes for Aubrey's forgiveness fell as she felt the chill in the air. However, she knew she'd have to take the first step. "I haven't seen you around the Hoover for a couple of weeks. How are you?"

"Fine." The agent said, keeping his voice neutral.

"How's Jessica?"

Aubrey continued to read his papers, hoping the profiler would take the hint. "Surprised that you even care, but she's fine."

"Of course, I care about how Jessica is doing." Karen put a smile on her face as she continued talking. "So, I'm here because I'm off suspension and I need to have an exit interview and some paperwork to complete so I can get my credentials back before I go on to my new assignment at the Buffalo field office. What brings you here?"

"Paperwork." Aubrey stated blandly, maintaining professionalism to keep from saying what he really wanted to say to the woman. 'She has some damn nerve chatting with me after what she did to Jess and all those other people.'

Before Karen could respond, a middle-aged woman came out of the office. "Hello, Agent Aubrey. Is that the paperwork we discussed in your email this morning?"

"Yeah, Lynn. My wife filled in her sections earlier at lunch." Aubrey went around Karen and handed them to the woman. "As you requested, a copy of our marriage license is also in there. Because I made Jessica my beneficiary to my Thrift Savings Account and life insurance two months ago, no changes were necessary for those, right?"

"Correct." Lynn quickly looked through everything. "Okay, we're all set Agent Aubrey. I'll take care of this tomorrow and Jessica should be active on your medical and dental insurance as well as your flexible spending account as of May 1st."

Relieved, Aubrey smiled. "Great. Thanks for doing all this so fast."

The HR Specialist smiled. "Not a problem, Agent. Congratulations on your new marriage."

A stunned Karen listened in on the conversation before reluctantly looking at Aubrey's left hand. Spotting his wedding ring, she held her emotions together until they were alone. "So, you and Jessica got married?"

"Yeah. Jess and I got married on the 14th. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work I need to catch up on after being off on my honeymoon and I want to go home to my wife at a decent time tonight."

Aubrey walked out the door and was halfway to the stairwell when he heard his name. Warily, he turned around. "What?"

"I just wanted to say again how terribly sorry I am for everything that Jessica experienced with Gerald." Karen began wringing her hands. "She didn't deserve what he did to her."

"You're right. She didn't." Aubrey said impatiently. "Excuse me."

"Aubrey, wait, please." When he stopped, Karen began pleading her case. "I know I've messed up really badly, but you have to understand that everything I did was because I cared about you. You came to me after Jessica broke up with you, remember? You turned to me because you needed me…."

"Yeah, I accepted your offers of food and support after my girlfriend dumped me and listened to your advice because I thought we were friends. What a joke that was."

"Aubrey, of course we were friends…"

"Some friend you were. You gave me what, two weeks…before pushing for you and I to be more than friends? When I chose to get back together with Jessica instead, you got pissed and schemed to get her out of my life permanently so I would fall into your arms. When your lies and flaunting of Steve wasn't enough to break us up again, you used Gerald Maxwell's hatred of Jess to get back at her for not only being with me, but also for Steve dumping you, and the fact that the folks at the lab didn't want to be friends with you."

Aubrey's last comment struck a nerve. "I didn't intend for Jessica to be sexually harassed by Gerald. I would never have talked to him if I had known his history."

"Jessica was more than sexually harassed, Karen." Aubrey crossed his arms, ignoring Karen's excuses. "That son of a bitch severely beat her and then attempted to rape her as he slowly strangled her for kicks. He even urinated on her to humiliate her. Cherry picking the events doesn't make you less culpable."

Karen figured that time would help lessen his bitterness, but she saw that his anger was still as raw as it was back in January. "Aubrey, I was just trying to protect you from getting hurt by Jessica.  That’s all.  I swear."

"You didn't do all this to protect me. You did what you did for yourself!" Aubrey shook his head. "The worst thing about all of this is that I was stupid enough not only trust you as a friend but also encouraged Jessica and everyone at the lab to be your friend.  Then you repay their kindness with manipulation and schemes to get your own way."

“Traditionally, women do not try to be friends with their rivals, so I figured Jessica only wanted to be my friend because she felt threatened by my friendship with you.”  Karen grabbed her shoulder bag for support.  “As for the lab people, they froze me out from their little clique from Day One.  At the time, I theorized that it was because Jessica also felt threatened by me being around them and I wasn’t going to tolerate being treated like that, Aubrey.  I deserved as much of a chance to be accepted by them as she was.”

"You weren't Jess's rival, Karen, because there was no competition except in your mind. As for the lab, they are a family, but they are always welcoming to new people if they are respectful to others. However, your attitude towards Jessica and sense of entitlement are what drove them away, Karen. It's sad because good friends are hard to come by, and they're the best I've ever had. Booth, Dr. B, Angela, Hodgins...all of them are my family."

Karen sighed.  "I know good friends are hard to come by, which is why I've always enjoyed being your friend."

Aubrey sarcastically laughed. "We're not friends anymore Karen. I'm not friends with people who use their education and people's weaknesses against them when they don't get their own way."

"I'm not a monster, Aubrey!" Karen desperately retorted. "I felt betrayed by you because I felt used and thrown aside as soon as Jessica decided she wanted you back and I thought you deserved better than her. At the time, I wasn't in the right headspace, and I was so angry. I know I made a mistake with Gerald Maxwell—"

"A mistake? Driving a car right when you should go left is a mistake, Karen." Aubrey grew even more annoyed with Karen's excuses. "You were rightfully pissed off for me taking advantage of your friendship and leading you on.  However, instead of taking it up with me, you went after Jessica. What you did with Gerald…it led to that son of a bitch going after six people, not only putting their lives at risk, but also the life of Angela and Hodgins' unborn child."

"But they didn't die, Aubrey. You, Steve, and Agent Shaw saved everyone. I heard Angela gave birth to her son a few weeks ago and they're doing fine. Everyone is okay and Gerald is in prison where he belongs." Karen wiped away a tear. "I know it will take some time for everyone to recover from what happened…"

Aubrey shook his head at Karen's inability to understand. "That might be difficult for Oliver Wells, Karen. He has permanent brain damage from Gerald's assault. He should be a vegetable, but his stubborn and egotistical ass has defied the odds. However, he will have physical and mental challenges for the rest of his life."

"I didn't intend…I just wanted you to…I didn't mean for everything to happen." Karen saw the anger in the man's eyes and flinched slightly. "Aubrey…I've had mandatory counseling and I'm being punished by the FBI with an involuntary transfer from DC. I'll do whatever I have to do to make things right. Please tell me how I can make things right…maybe even for us to someday be friends again? Maybe even have a second chance with the group?"

"You didn't just wreck some of Jessica's property or speak out of turn, Karen." Aubrey spit out. "You encouraged a narcissistic misogynist to go after Jessica, a woman with whom he had an antagonistic history, using lies and bullshit to egg him on because in your twisted mind, I owed you a romantic relationship. That's not something I can just shake off and forget about. As for Booth, Dr. B, and everyone else, you're more than welcome to give them the same half-baked apology you're giving me right now, but they want nothing to do with you expect on a professional basis."

"Aubrey, my apology is sincere. I never wanted Jessica hurt. Surely knowing my original intentions means something to them…to you..."

"You may have not intended for Jessica and the others to get hurt, Karen, but they did…physically and emotionally." Aubrey pointed at the psychologist. "You can't just apologize and expect everyone to pretend that none of it ever happened. You messed up and the consequences are your burden to bear."

Aubrey saw he made his point and reached for the door. "I made the mistake of being friends with you once and it almost cost me everything I care about. I'll never make that mistake again."

"Aubrey, please…"

The agent started to head out but stopped and stared down the profiler. "Oh, just so we're clear. Jessica has never been or will be less than what I deserve. The truth is that my wife is more than I will ever deserve, Karen."

Going through the doors, he stomped up the stairwell to the 4th floor. He wasn't ready to forgive. Maybe someday he could, but he would never forget.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Three hours later, Aubrey walked in the door as Kelly Clarkson's Mr. Know It All played in the house, grateful to be home after the gridlock he encountered. He was greeted by Skinner who wrapped himself around his legs. "Hey Boy, I missed you, but I want to see your mom."

The agent walked around the cat through the living room to their open kitchen where Jessica adding grated cheese and other items inside a pan. Coming around, he gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Hello, Wife."

"Hello, Husband." Jessica said. "Your timing is perfect. I could use a helper in the kitchen to sauté the shrimp and throw the pasta in to cook. I’ve pulled up one of the Chardonnays from our honeymoon stash."

"Cool. I'll change and be right back." Aubrey said before giving her another kiss. Looking at the dining room table, he saw a box with a set of papers nearby. "Are these our wedding photos?"

"They are, Superman. Angela brought them in for me today and the paperwork for you to fill out to go on my health insurance is next to them. Now, change and come help me."

Upstairs, after securing his pistol, he changed into his favorite Star Wars t-shirt and jeans. Heading back down, the couple worked together in the kitchen preparing their meal while they enjoyed wine and each other's company. After mixing all the ingredients together the couple had their dinner at the center island.

"A toast…to our first married non-leftover dinner at home." Aubrey said.

"Here, here." Jessica said.

The couple drank before eating their dinner while sharing their day. "So, the park rangers were working with our vic in a drug ring?" Jessica asked.

"Yep. Once you sent back the cause of death, Booth and I dragged them in, and they confessed. The vic caught onto them stealing drugs and when he confronted them, they shot him and dumped him in the well. Then one threw in the Molotov thinking he would be obliterated. They didn't count on a rainstorm putting out the fire." Aubrey looked down at the counter for a second. "I ran into Karen at HR today."

"Oh…" Jessica listened as Aubrey recounted his confrontation with her. "Seriously, she asked to be friends with everyone again?"

"Yeah." Aubrey twirled the wheat linguine on his fork. "I can't forget what she did, Jess. I just can't. She hurt you."

Jessica knew what her husband was not saying. "She hurt you, too Aubrey."

"I trusted her, and she lied to me. Then, she took her anger at me out on you. What burns me the most is that even now, she still downplays what she did and wants everyone to forget about all the shit she started so we all be friends again. Maybe someday she'll face up to the damage she caused, but she's not worth caring about anymore." He felt comforted when Jessica took his hand. "Sometimes, I still think wonder about what would have happened if Genny, Steve, and I didn't get to the lab when we did..."

Jessica moved her hand on her husband's shoulder. "But you did, Superman. You saved my life…you were my hero. We're okay now…we're together…and we're married. In a way, we should thank her."

Aubrey almost spit his wine out. "What? Are you nuts?"

"Hear me out, okay?" Jessica said. "Take Karen out of the equation and we'll never know if we would have gotten this far. At the very least, she helped you and I realize how much we meant to each other."

The agent put his glass down. "Is this your polite way of saying we should forget what happened to you and be her besties?"

The anthropologist smiled. "No, I'm agreeing with you that she doesn't matter. Now, do what you feel is best. I'm electing to move forward."

Aubrey smirked. "So, you want to be friends with her again…"

"Oh hell no." Jessica laughed, followed by her husband until their mirth calmed down. "So, Aubrey, there's a Cubs game on tonight."

"I know, but I set the DVR for it." Aubrey's finger gently traced across Jessica's breast. "We have other plans tonight."

"Yes, we do, Aubrey." Jessica chuckled once more. "Since you helped with dinner, I think you deserve a special treat. I picked it up at Mr. Leonelli's store just for you."

Thinking about his wife moaning under him as he plowed her in their bed, Aubrey grew antsy and held his arms out. "You naked is my favorite treat. Come on, Jess. I've been thinking about us all day today. We're newlyweds…we're supposed to have sex like all the time..."

"We had sex all the time before we got married, James. That's never going to change. Now, do you want your treat or not?" When Aubrey nodded, Jessica reached in and pulled out a cheesecake. She held it up, appreciating her husband's eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree. "What do you think, Special Agent? Want to have some cheesecake with our naked cuddling?"

Aubrey's eyes lit up. "Hell yeah!"

"You're going to have to catch me first!" Jessica giggled as she ran towards the stairs.

"I love being married!" Aubrey was hot on her heels, both laughing as they disappeared upstairs for the night.

Chapter Text

May 5, 2020

In the Aubrey living room, Jessica sat watching Rachael sleeping softly next to her on the couch. Slowly, she picked her up and carried her up to bed. Satisfied to see the little redhead's eyes remained closed, she carefully tip toed out of the bedroom and back downstairs. Making a cup of catnip tea, she laid her head back on the couch and sighed in relief. Their 20-month-old had spent the last few weeks in a sleep regression phase and hopefully tonight was the end. She was momentarily startled by a flash of lightning in the window. Turning to the deluge going on outside, the scientist hoped Aubrey would be home soon instead of driving in this weather.

Deciding to wait up for him, she was joined by Skinner on the couch as she turned her TV on to MSNBC. She watched as Rachael Maddow discussed how COVID-19 was ravaging New York City hospitals and once again sighed. Once again, she was reminded that life has she knew it had been turned upside down due to the pandemic.

Her part time schedule at the lab remained but she was now working 10-hour days twice a week with one day working at home. Aubrey's schedule had changed to working from home on days she had to be at the lab to help care for their daughter due to the closure of the Jeffersonian Day Care center. Her family's business, the Saoirse Finn Vineyard, up in Rappahannock County and the tasting room over in Bethesda were closed but luckily would be able to open next week with restrictions. Unfortunately, business would be tight for the rest of the year, and possibly 2021.

As for their home life, their plans to go to a B & B in Boonsboro, Maryland for their wedding anniversary three weeks before had to be postponed due to Maryland's restrictions. The Cineplex's annual Star Wars Marathon she and Aubrey looked forward to attending this week was also canceled.

She grew frustrated as she thought of her father at his nursing home to Towson. So far, he had not tested positive due to the facility's lockdown and strict restrictions. She was grateful he remained safe, but knew that her father hated being isolated from his family, especially his grandchildren. However, his safety had to be the top priority, so she and her brothers made it a point to check in with him every day, and even Dr. B and Hodgins had occasional virtual visits with her dad. She told them they didn't have to do that, but then Dr. B responded as only she could:

"Ms. Warren, your father is an intelligent and fascinating man whose company I enjoy very much, especially our discussions regarding neuropathology and anthropology. Talking to him virtually is not something I do as an obligation."

Her tea chilled, Jessica got up and as she nuked her beverage saw the Cat Wars Calendar on the wall…and the upcoming Friday blocked off in green highlighter.

May 8th…her birthday. Originally, Aubrey had organized a dinner with their friends at her favorite restaurant, 1789 and the following day was supposed to be the traditional joint birthday celebration with her brother Jack, whose birthday was the weekend before. Of course, each were canceled as large gatherings were restricted and restaurants restricted to take out due to COVID.

Suddenly, Jessica silently berating herself for worrying about her birthday. Currently, the world was in the middle of a pandemic with people facing lifelong complications or dying alone. Worrying about something so trivial made her no better than the Karens, including her mother up in Pittsburgh, who protested stay at home orders and mask mandates.

Hearing the door open, Jessica saw her tired husband come in and hang up his wet coat. Jessica set her tea down and greeted him. "Hi Aubrey. How was work?"

"Long." He accepted the kiss offered then listened for a moment. "Is Rachael asleep?"

Jessica nodded. "Yes…I think our Jedi's little sleep regression phase is coming to an end."

"Yay! We can sleep through the night again…at least for a while." Aubrey took his suit coat off and loosened his tie. "Damn, these long days are killing me."

Jessica gave Aubrey a hug. "I'm sorry. It sucks that you and Genny have to alternate 12-hour workdays for a while to maintain social distancing in your department."

Aubrey accepted the affection. "Yeah it does suck because the things I can't do from home pile up on my desk, but what can I do? Don't forget, though, that you're pulling long days at the lab, too when Dr. B works from home."

"Yeah, but I'm only part time, remember? Besides, it's easier for us to social distance at work without messing up our schedules too much, unlike over at the FBI. How's it going with the alternating shifts for the agents?"

"Well, there have been grumbles from some who hate working one week on days and the next on nights, but they're doing their part." Aubrey sighed. "I'm glad Genny and I are able to alternate days working from home so we don't have to scramble for day care for Rachael and her kids when you and Hunter have to go to work."

"Angela said that with her working from home every day except for Monday, she can help out with Rachael if you have to run to the Hoover when I'm gone."

Aubrey nodded. "That's good to know. I know how…vigilant she is about keeping the kids home, social distancing, and staying home unless necessary. I'll thank her tomorrow on Zoom."

The redhead observed Aubrey nod his head tiredly and felt bad. "Do you have a lot of work to do tomorrow?"

"I have to work on June's budget, summer vacation requests, and consult with Genny on case audits through Zoom while Rachael takes her nap." Aubrey made a realization. "Shit, I left the cases in my SUV."

"Get them tomorrow, Superman. It's pouring out there and the garage is locked, so they're safe. Go sit down." Jessica grabbed a beer from the fridge and brought to a grateful Aubrey before sitting next to him on the couch. "So, how was work today?"

Aubrey took a long drink from the bottle of Yuengling. "I had to get after Williams today for not wearing a mask during a search of a suspect's house and for adding a Trump wallpaper to his computer."

Jessica was all too familiar with Agent Richard Williams and his outspoken views. "Didn't go well I take it?"

"Nope. He protested that wearing a mask and being told what he could put on his company computer was a violation of his rights. So, I got Caroline on the phone and via speaker, she told him that any agent who didn't follow the FBI COVID regulations or violated the Hatch Act with political paraphernalia at the Hoover were in her sights." Aubrey smirked. "He did sweat a little after we ended the call, so I finished our chat with letting him know that his next violation would result in a suspension. That changed his tune."

Jessica rubbed his shoulder. "You're a good boss, Aubrey, even when you do the hard stuff."

"Thanks, but I'm just following the FBI COVID regulations and there's no wiggle room for exceptions. Hopefully, this is will be the only time I have to threaten someone. I hate being an asshole boss." Aubrey looked at his wife. "What's up, Jess?"

"Nothing, Aubrey." Seeing the man's knowing face, she sighed. "I was just thinking about how our lives, and our friends and family's lives have been upended by this pandemic."

"And…"

Jessica took her husband's hand. "I'm just so grateful right now that we're healthy, our daughter is healthy. Heck, Booth and Dr. B had to cancel Christine's birthday party last month and life moved on for them…I just…everyone is making sacrifices to keep everyone safe…"

Aubrey realized what Jessica wasn't saying. "You're sad that your birthday is going to be a quarantine birthday this year."

Knowing she was busted, Jessica sighed. "It's a stupid thing to worry about, I know…"

Aubrey put his arm around his wife, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Jessica, you're a compassionate woman and a human being. It is okay to occasionally have selfish thoughts."

"You're not concerned about your birthday…"

"Well, if we're stuck at home in October, it will suck, but I'm sure we can think of a way to celebrate. Especially with cake." Aubrey raised his eyebrows, making Jessica chuckle.

"Logically, I know you're right, but emotionally… Aubrey, the world could be going to hell in a hand basket. Whining about my birthday makes me sound like those Karens that I see on Twitter." Hearing her husband snicker, the redhead smacked his arm. "Stop it, I'm serious."

"Jessica be rest assured that you're not a Karen, so please stop calling yourself that. It makes me think of Karen Delfs and I really prefer not to." Aubrey held her closer. "You're right that COVID has changed a lot for us, but I do believe that there will be an end to all this insanity. Unfortunately, this will probably be our new normal for quite a while. We'll get through it, okay?"

When Jessica nodded, the agent rested his head on hers. "Now, since the awesome dinner we had planned Friday with our friends is off, as well as the birthday party for you and Jack, what do you want to do for your quarantine birthday?"

"Let's just make it a family night, okay? You, me, Rachel, and a D'Angelo's pizza." Jessica saw Aubrey's sigh. "What?"

"Pizza? That's it?" Aubrey saw her face and saw that she was serious. "If you're sure…"

Jessica sat up. "I am. Now let's go to bed. You look exhausted, Superman."

"You go ahead. I'm a little wired so I'm going to stay up a bit." Aubrey pushed her forward with a chuckle. "Go…you have to be up early for work. I'll just nap with Rachael tomorrow in between case audits and budget fun."

"Okay. Don't fall asleep down here, Aubrey." Jessica kissed her husband.

Aubrey watched Jessica head upstairs and when she was gone, grabbed his laptop and began typing. "Celebrate your birthday like a regular day? Hell no…I've got plans for you, lovely wife of mine."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

May 8, 2020

The rest of the week was relatively routine, or as much as it could be. Finally, Friday arrived, and Jessica woke up at 5:00 to the rain pelting the large bay window. "Happy birthday to me…"

Heading across the hall, she looked in on Rachael and was relieved to find her sleeping soundly. Coming back to the master bedroom, Jessica heard Aubrey start the shower and decided to join her husband.

Hearing the shower door open, Aubrey turned around and grinned. "Happy birthday, Jessica."

"Thank you, Superman, but what are you doing up so early? You could have slept in until our Jedi wakes up."

The agent kissed his wife. "Yeah, but it's not every day my wife turns 32 and I wanted to spend some time with her."

"I see." Jessica wet her hair under the water. "So, what fun things do you have planned today?"

"I have a Zoom meeting with Stark and Hacker at 1:30, so hopefully Rachael goes down easy for her nap. If not, she gets to attend. Hacker will whine, but Stark will understand. Besides that, just paperwork and other FBI fun stuff. You?"

"Either assisting with any crime scene we're called to or examining remains in Limbo." Jessica squeezed her husband's butt. "Now, you wanted to spend time with me and we're here in the shower. What should we do?"

"Well, for starters, how about an early morning wake up?" Aubrey sensually kissed his wife and his lips slowly trailed down her neck and collarbone.

It didn't take long for the bathroom to steam up as Jessica's loud moan could be heard from inside the shower. "Oh…happy…birthday…to…me…"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

While the redhead's morning at home was relaxing, her workday was busy due to assisting Cam and Hodgins with the exams of five victims of a homicide brought in by the Virginia State Police. However, lunch was fun with a small surprise birthday party set up in the loft with individually wrapped packages of cakes, courtesy of Angela and Cam with Brennan attending via Zoom.

Jessica carefully examined the Angel Food Cake in her hand and noted the fruit. "Angela, is it just raspberries—"

"Not a strawberry in sight, Jessica." Angela, donning an Eiffel Tower mask, answered before turning to everyone who were beginning to eat. "Okay all, eat at least six feet apart or go to your stations...nobody is catching COVID around this lab."

Her day was lifted further by a birthday bouquet of tiger lilies courtesy of her Superman before spending the afternoon supervising that day's intern as they cleaned the bones and their subsequent exams. After a teleconference with Brennan, she finished up paperwork and headed home.

Finally, after a very annoying commute, she finally pulled her Jeep into her driveway, past the gate, and into the garage next to her husband's SUV. Grabbing the cake Angela set aside for Aubrey, Jessica was halfway to the front door when she saw a rainbow. Happy, she let herself into the house and found her daughter playing in her playpen.

"Hello, sweet girl…where's your daddy?" Jessica looked up and suddenly stopped in her tracks. "What…Aubrey…."

The kitchen and dining room area were only lit by two large creamy candles on the table. They were surrounded by their good china and a bottle of wine chilling nearby. Suddenly, Aubrey emerged, wearing Jessica's favorite shirt of his, dark blue with white speckles, gray trousers, and a very handsome smile. "Happy birthday, Jessica."

The redhead kissed their baby and walked closer to inspect the table setting. "Aubrey? What's going on? Why do you have candles lit? It's still daylight outside."

Aubrey chuckled as he took her in his arms and kissed her. "It's your birthday dinner, silly."

Stepping closer, Jessica smiled at the effort her husband made to make her day special. "James Aubrey, what happened to having a regular night here at home with a DiAngelo's pizza?"

"I know what you said, but this is your birthday and I wanted to make it special for you, world going to hell in a hand basket and all…"

Looking back, she saw Rachael happily playing in her playpen. "So, we're having a candlelight dinner with our daughter?"

"No, I fed Rachael an hour ago, but she will be joining us later for dessert. Come, let's sit down. I'm hungry."

"Of course, you're hungry." Jessica let him pull out her chair for her before sitting down. "So, what's for dinner?"

"Something very special courtesy of our grill…" Aubrey put a towel on his arm and acted the part of a server as he retrieved two covered serving dishes from the oven and set one in front of her. She reached to peek but was stopped by Aubrey.

"No peeking until I say it's time, Jessica. I'm watching you. I know how sneaky you are."

Jessica giggled as her spouse poured her a sample of the white wine. Satisfied, she let him pour a full glass. "Saoirse Finn's new Chardonnay. You got the good stuff, James."

"I may have also made a pit stop at the tasting room after my meeting to take advantage of the family discount and yes, Mackenzie ran the bottle out to me so Rachael could stay in the car." Pouring a glass for himself, he put the wine back in the basket. "Now, I hope you enjoy this special birthday dinner that I prepared for us this evening."

When he removed Jessica's lid in a flourish, she was excited. "Oh boy, lobster tail with sriracha butter…mashed potatoes…corn on the cob…roasted asparagus. Wait, it rained today…and you had a full load to work on along with meetings. How did you find time to do all this?"

"Yeah it rained, but I was covered under the awning. I was fine." Aubrey smirked. "As for my work load today, my meeting with Hacker and Stark ended at 2:30. You can thank Daisy for the food, as she was nice enough keep the lobster and sides at her house so you wouldn't find out."

"You recruited my best friend in your scheme?" Jessica chuckled at Aubrey's proud smile. "Damn, I talked to her today and she didn't say a word. Now, what's for dessert?"

"Something special I picked up after I got the wine."

Aubrey gestured to the center island and the redhead chuckled as she saw the familiar takeout cartons on the center island. "You got us 1789 for dessert? Yum!"

"Yes, I did." Aubrey brought the takeout containers to the table. "I got us that amazing Pear Streusel Tart you love…and the cookies…the Bavarian mousse…"

"You got the Macadamia Nut Bar, too didn't you? You know you have to share that with the birthday girl, right?"

Seeing Aubrey blush, Jessica giggled before the couple proceeded to enjoy their dinner by candlelight. When finished, Aubrey took their plates away. Jessica waited for the streusel but instead was surprised when her husband brought his laptop to the table.

"Aubrey, what's this?"

"Patient you must be." Aubrey opened his laptop and typed with the monitor away from Jessica. It wasn't long before he turned it around, revealing Jessica's family, everyone from the lab, Wendell and Andie, Genny and her family, as well as Daisy and Lance.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Oh my gosh, everyone…" Jessica was touched by everyone who joined the Zoom meeting. "This is so wonderful…"

"You really think we're going to forget our sister's birthday?" Jack quipped. "Especially when you remembered mine last weekend? I'd be up shit creek without a handle."

"Shut up, Jack!" Jessica laughed.

"You didn't think we weren't going to still celebrate your birthday tonight, Ms. Warren, did you?" Brennan said from her home.

"Well, I had that nice little gathering at lunch and…well…I just, with the pandemic and all…I didn't think it was cool to make a big deal about today. I know everyone is trying to keep things normal even though we don't get to hang out much right now. Oh, I love this!"

For the next ninety minutes, everyone enjoyed their desserts and chatted until Aubrey cleared his throat. "Okay folks. My wife has a night of fun coming, so it's time to say good night."

"Aubrey, we don't need to hear about that stuff!" Booth admonished.

Confused, Christine turned to Booth. "Daddy, what stuff is that?"

Brennan turned to her daughter. "Christine, your father is referring to your Uncle Aubrey and Aunt Jessica engaging in sexual interc—"

"Bones!"

The group said their good nights before Aubrey ended the Zoom session. "That was fun. Did you enjoy it, Jess?" Turning, he saw his wife wiping tears away. "Uh oh, did I do something wrong?"

"No, you did something right. This COVID crap has been hard on all of us and…I've missed all of us getting together." Jessica wiped a final tear away and kissed her husband. "Superman, this was so wonderful. Thank you."

"You're welcome, but there's more coming." Aubrey got up and trotted to the den, returning with two gift-wrapped boxes. "Happy birthday, Jessica."

"Two gifts, Aubrey?"

Aubrey held up the larger box first. "Well, of course."

Jessica noted Aubrey's grin. "Is this gift a naughty one?"

"Naughty gift? Really, Jessica. You think lust is the only thing on my mind when it comes to my amazing wife?" My best friend? The mother of my beautiful child?"

"Yes, as evidenced by your actions in the shower this morning. Of course, I also know that you also love me very much." The scientist kissed her husband. "Now give me my presents."

"You're so demanding…" Aubrey held out one box and chuckled as Jessica snatched it.

The redhead unwrapped the box and opened it. Moving apart the tissue paper, she laughed as she went through all the items. "OMG…"

"I take it you like them?"

"Yes, I do!" Jessica pulled out a set of Princess Leia face masks, examining one that said, 'I Love You.' "Wait…Superman, if I have this one…"

Aubrey ran to his computer bag and pulled out a set of black masks that had Han Solo on it with the slogan I Know. Putting it on his face, the agent chuckled. "I figured we could wear these during the next case we work together."

"That would be awesome."

"Cool." Aubrey pushed the box closer to Jessica. "You have more in the box, birthday girl. Just lift the tissue paper."

"Okay…" Jessica did as she was instructed, laughing as she pulled out four sets of Star Wars lingerie, including a specific gold lame bikini costume. "A little early for Christmas, isn't it, Superman?"

"Well, I thought that since Rachael is sleeping through most of the night again…and because we're missing the Star Wars Marathon this week, maybe we could…re-enact certain scenes." Aubrey slid a smaller box over. "Now, open your other gift."

"Okay." Jessica gingerly unwrapped the package, not wanting to destroy the shiny green wrap. Getting the box opened, she opened the small jewelry box and melted when she saw the gift. "A Star Wars charm bracelet. Superman, it's so beautiful."

"You really like it?" Aubrey asked.

"Oh of course. It's so cool. Thank you, Aubrey." Jessica took his hand and kissed him. "You made my birthday a special day, even during a national pandemic."

"Anything for you, Jess." Aubrey kissed her softly. "So, what's next on tonight's agenda?"

"Well, we need to put Rachael down for the night. Then maybe…" Jessica dangled a G-string decorated with STAR WARS alternating with different colored light sabers off her ring finger. "…we give these a whirl."

"That's a good idea. It's important to try these on…you know, to make sure they fit properly…and model them, too. That way I can let you know if they fit properly before I help you take them off." Aubrey flirted back.

"Sounds good. Want to get her while I carry all this up?"

"Sure." Aubrey walked walking over to the playpen and gingerly picked up his sleeping daughter. "Yes, baby girl, sleep tonight for Mommy and Daddy…at least four hours."

"You know, someday I hope she finds someone as wonderful as you…" Jessica smirked before teasing her spouse. "…you know…someone who want to get in her panties like you always want to get into mine…"

Aubrey stopped in his tracks. "What? No, no…my daughter will not be someone's…plaything. She's not dating until she's 30, Jess. I know how boys think…"

Jessica merely rolled her eyes while carrying the box with her lingerie, being followed by Skinner who woke up from his nap on the couch. "So do I, Superman because I married one of them. Now come on upstairs so we can put our baby to bed and celebrate my birthday in style."

Aubrey followed his wife up the stairs. "I mean it, Jess. Rachael is not dating until she's 30…" He whispered. "And I've always a gentleman…even before we were dating."

"Of course, Superman." Jessica waited for Aubrey at the landing. Kissing him, she waved the G-string at him again. "Five minutes, Agent Aubrey. Don't keep the birthday girl waiting."

Aubrey felt something twitch and he smiled, forgetting the previous topic. "Yes, Ma'am."

Jessica watched Aubrey go across the hall and smiled. Her birthday didn't go as planned, but she didn't care because she had her family, friends, and Aubrey to share it with her. Someday, COVID would be conquered, but she, Aubrey, and Rachael would get through it together.