Chapter 1 Is Christine Off to Camp?

A/N: I complained a few weeks back that I'd lost my inspiration for what to write. FaithinBones kindly suggested a seasonally-appropriate prompt that Christine is 10 years old and wants to go to camp, and Brennan is opposed to the idea. Here is the result that my brain came up with.

"Dad!" Christine burst out as she pulled open the car door and fairly jumped into the back seat of his SUV parked outside Jefferson Elementary School. She was bouncing with excitement.

"Whoa, honey, what's got you so worked up?" asked Booth with a grin as he observed his exuberant ten year old daughter.

"Michael is going to an entomology camp in June, and they have a spelunking session I want to go to!" Christine explained breathlessly. "Mrs. Callison said her niece went last summer and had a great time. It's in Ohio near Columbus. When will Mom be home? I wanna tell her all about it!"

"Sounds great to me, as long as you're well supervised exploring the caves; crawling around underground is no place to be if you get lost." Booth replied. "Your mom and I will talk to Hodgins and check it out. I doubt Angela would let Michael go to any camp that wasn't thoroughly vetted by those two."

"Dad, what's vetted? I thought you and Pops and Uncle Jared were vets?" Christine asked, curiously.

"It means checking out something carefully, honey. I know it's an odd use of that word, but it came from veterinarians examining horses before a race. The doctors are called 'vets' for short, and so is the check-up," Booth explained. "Your mom should be home by the time we get there. She's got a huge stack of papers to grade for her grad students tonight, so you'd better catch her before dinner. Once she's in her office, she'll need some peace and quiet to get them done."

He steered the SUV around the corner onto their street and approached their home. Brennan's Prius was already parked in the driveway.

"Mom!" Christine yelled as she burst through the front door, yanking her back pack from her shoulders and hanging it on the Shaker-style coat rack Gibbs had made for Bones last Mother's Day. "Where are you?"

"Honey, stop shouting, please. I'm in the kitchen cutting up your fruit. There's nothing wrong with my hearing, but if you keep up that volume, there might be."

"Uncle Hodgins found a camp for Michael and me! He's going to a session on entomology, and I'm going spelunking! I think exploring caves and stalagmites and stalactites would be fascinating." her daughter exclaimed. "It's in Ohio around Columbus during the third week of June. It's about where the Olintingy Indians lived. Can I go, Mom? Pleease?"

Booth walked into the kitchen behind their enthusiastic child, and gave his wife a kiss on the forehead. He was surprised to see Brennan frown at their daughter before answering.

"The tribe's proper name is Olentangy, honey. Your father and I will need to discuss this, Christine. Please go change into your play clothes, take your snack, and get started on your homework."

"Mom, what's wrong?" Christine asked, disappointed and puzzled by her mother's negative reaction.

After a noticeable silence, Brennan answered. "Nothing, honey. I just need to talk to Hodgins and Angela and obtain more information about who is sponsoring this camp before I agree to let you attend."

"Okay, Mom, but Michael said Uncle Hodgins went to this when he was a kid, so it's not like it just started yesterday…" Christine responded hesitantly, walking slowly out of the kitchen.

Once she had disappeared down the hallway and up the stairs, Booth put an arm around Brennan's shoulders and turned her to face him. "Okay, Bones, what gives? Why the doom and gloom long face? You're usually all hot to trot for Christine to experience some great sciency stuff during her summer vacation, so her brain doesn't turn to pudding."

"Booth, it is physically impossible for a brain to transform itself into pudding. Please, shhhh, come into my office." She took Booth's hand and tugged him across the den into her office and quietly closed the door.

"Bones? Wha-"

"Booth, that camp is located close to Columbus where the Ohio First Savings and Loan is. That's where my parents hid the Delaney documents in the bank lockbox. I don't want Christine anywhere near that area! There might still be people who remember my parents' involvement in that bank heist ring! I don't want to take any chances that they might discover a connection between our daughter and our work or my parents' history with that bank and gang." Brennan shuddered involuntarily. She was pale and her palms began to feel clammy in Booth's grasp.

"Bones, you're having a physical reaction to this caving camp. You're as white as a ghost and all sweaty. What else is bothering you?" Booth stared at his wife with concern.

"Booth, you know there are no such thing as ghosts, but you are correct about my physiological response to the idea of Christine spelunking. I was asked to examine some archaeological remains in a small cave in Spain a few years ago. I found I had great difficulty tolerating the close confines of the cave; I suppose due to my entrapment in the car trunk by my foster parents. By forcing myself to concentrate, I was able to complete the required examination of the skeletons inside the cave, and requested their removal to a nearby coroner's office where I could continue my work and conduct a more thorough evaluation and dating without having to withstand the stress of a tight enclosure. But it was an experience which brought back the nightmares I had of being locked in that trunk years earlier. I hadn't had those horrid dreams in quite some time. I'd awaken drenched in sweat like you do after dreaming of your Iraqi imprisonment. It took me eight months to calm down at night, fall asleep easily, and sleep through the night. Then when Hodgins and I were buried in that car, it happened all over again. I certainly don't wish to communicate my fears and phobias to our daughter. However, while I know it's neither logical nor rational, I'm not sure I can allow Christine to go crawling around in a cave! I find I'm extremely reluctant to let her go. I'd guess that's why Hodgins is steering Michael toward the entomology session. I know he'd attempt to avoid any hint of confinement as much as I would."

Brennan leaned over her desk, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm herself.

"Bones, let's talk to Angela and Hodgins and get more information before we tell Christine no. Maybe the camping association has some other locations that don't give you the heebee jeebee's in a different state that's not near that bank and all your bad memories."

"I agree, Booth, that is a logical approach which might satisfy Christine and avoid my concerns."

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Booth ascended the stairs and knocked on his daughter's bedroom door. "Chrissy, can I come in?"

"Sure, Daddy, what's wrong with Mom?" his daughter asked, looking up from her math book as she lay sprawled across her bed, with papers spread out in front of her.

"Honey, your mom had some bad experiences in Ohio when she was younger. We're going to talk to Angela and Hodgins, and see if there's a similar camp a little closer to home. You know, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky have a lot of caves too, actually more than Ohio, so maybe we can find a camp in one of those states."

Christine rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, Dad, I guess we can do that. Michael said his dad had a great time at the place in Ohio, but maybe it's changed since then. It doesn't hurt to check out some other caves that have camps."

"Okay, punkin,' let Mom and I do some nosing around and we'll let you know what we find out."