I'm writing for the bitesize_bones/bones_ga 'Meme With No Theme' Comment Fic meme on LJ. These stories will all be based on prompts from other users.
As always, none of these wonderful characters belong to me. I'm just taking them out to play with them occasionally. The prompts will be posted before the actually stories. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be, but I will post the new ones here whenever I write them...
Prompt: Parker teaches his baby sister something, anything.
Sitting on the couch in the living room, Booth watched as his son tried to teach his nearly five month old daughter how to crawl. It took all of his willpower to keep from laughing out loud at the obvious way that his son was trying to reason with his much younger sister.
"Come on Ari, you can do it. All you have to do is get on your knees and push up and then you put your hands out in front of you. It's just like walking, but with your knees and your hands."
Parker watched as his little sister simply looked up at him and blew some spit bubbles and gurgled happily. He sighed and looked at his father and said, "She's never gonna learn how to do it dad."
Booth shook his head and said, "She'll get it soon enough. You just have to keep trying."
Booth saw the determined look on his son's face and he knew that he was willing to try as long as he had to. He smiled when he heard Parker tell her, "Okay Ari, here's your favorite blanket. It's over here and you can only get it if you crawl over here. I know you can do it. Your mom's a genius and well, my dad's pretty smart too."
"Jeez thanks Parks."
"I'm just saying dad. I mean, Bones is her mom and Bones can do anything."
Booth smiled at the confidence that Parker had in Bones. He felt the same way, but he didn't want to tell Parker that Ari might be too young to start crawling just yet. Parker had been determined that today was going to be the day that he taught his baby sister how to crawl. Booth had tried to tell him not to be upset if she didn't learn right away.
In true Parker fashion, he'd listened, but insisted that his sister could do anything. He'd been at it for most of the day. Only stopping when Booth had insisted that she needed to take a nap. Parker had sighed at that one and crossed his arms over his chest and flopped onto the couch.
Booth had watched Parker out of the corner of his eyes while his daughter had slept. Parker had gotten down on his hands and knees and he'd practiced crawling. He noticed that he had repeated the motion over and over again until he had deemed it perfect.
Bones had come home in the middle of his practicing and asked, "What are you doing Parker?"
He didn't look up, but said, "I'm practicing."
Booth heard her laugh softly and she turned and looked at him and asked, "What on earth is he practicing Booth?"
He smiled and said, "Well, it seems that he's determined to teach Ari how to crawl."
She smiled and watched as he lifted his butt off of the floor and wiggled it around. He looked like a dog getting ready to attack his favorite bone or toy. She smiled and said, "She might be a bit too young for that Parker. Her necessary muscles haven't finished forming and..."
She was stopped by his next words, "She's my little sister Bones. She can do anything and it's my job to make sure that she learns everything Bones. I have to make sure that she's safe."
Booth watched as his normally composed partner, swallowed hard and turned away from him suddenly. If he hadn't known better, he would have sworn that she had tears in her eyes. When he walked over to her to hug her from behind, he knew that Parker's words had indeed touched her deeply.
He rested his head on her shoulder and whispered, "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking how lucky I am."
"Why?"
Bones smiled and turned in his arms and whispered, "Parker loves her so much... So much that he's willing to practice teaching her how to crawl. Hearing him say that it's his job to teach her everything. I keep thinking, what if Russ had been like that with me? My life could have turned out so differently."
Booth nodded and leaned forward and kissed her softly. Then he whispered, "You might not have met me. Then we wouldn't have Ari and..."
Booth saw the horrified look on her face and she shook her head and said, "I couldn't imagine not having her Booth. I know that she wasn't planned, but I love her so much. My heart finally knows what true love is Booth. You gave that to me. You, Parker and Ari gave that to me."
Booth smiled at then they heard their daughter crying from her room. Booth and Bones heard Parker say, "I'll get her!"
Before either of the adults could say anything, they heard the sound of Parker's footsteps going up the stairs. Booth flashed her a smile and said, "Let's go watch. I have a feeling that this is going to be interesting."
The adults got upstairs and they heard their daughter talking to her brother. Of course it was just baby babble, but Parker talked right along with her.
He smiled and said, "I think I know what the problem is Ari. We are going about this all wrong. You need to be on your stomach and then I'll help you to your knees and show you where to put your hands."
Booth and Bones stood in the doorway to their daughter's room. The adults watched while Parker helped his sister learn to crawl. He started her off on her belly, and then, they watched as he helped her get on her knees. Parker smiled and said, "Now comes the hard part Ari. Okay. You need to move one side and then the next. Watch me."
Parker crawled in front of his sister. Booth wondered if their daughter could actually see enough to learn.
What happened next was something that Booth and Bones would remember for the rest of their lives. Neither adult knew what made her start crawling all of the sudden, but Parker would forever take credit for it. Booth could see his daughter moving her bottom much like Parker had. After a few seconds of moving back and forth, she suddenly moved one leg and then the other. In a few seconds, she was following Parker around the room. She caught up to him quickly and it was obvious that Parker hadn't noticed, because when she touched his leg, Parker turned his head and gave her a surprised expression. When he saw that she was crawling he said loudly, "She's doing it dad! Look Bones! I taught her how to crawl! Woo hoo!"
Booth and Bones both clapped happily. Parker smiled at his sister and said softly, "Now when you are old enough, I'll teach you how to walk and then, how to ride a bike."
Booth had always known that Parker would make an incredible big brother. Today just proved that to him. He knew that Bones couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes when they heard Parker say, "I'll teach you everything you need to know Ari and I'll always love you. That's what big brother's are for..."