This is for Cullen's Bullpen Challenge in December. I think it's going to be good!!
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She looked around the Jeffersonian. People were smiling and laughing, her friends were standing in an area all by themselves. Temperance didn't really want to be here, but Russ had promised to come.
She straightened out her dress, it was red and it came knee length with long, billowy sleeves and her hair was curled like normal.
"Hey! Bones!" Booth called, waving her over. He and Cam had finally told people about their relationship, and Angela, who was standing near them with Hodgins, hadn't looked at them the same since. Temperance figured that Angela thought Tempe had a chance with Booth, but Temperance knew that those thoughts had gone down the river the moment Camille Saroyan walked through the door.
Temperance smiled a little nervously and walked towards them. "Hi," she smiled again, looking at her shoes.
"Bones, Parker's here too," Booth asked as his son walked out from where he was standing at his father's side.
"Oh," Tempe crouched down to be eye level with the boy. "How are you today?" she asked him.
"I'm good Dr. Bones," Parker smiled his cutest smile as he said that and Tempe was a little startled. Usually Parker called her Dr. Brennan or Dr. Bren.
Angela couldn't help but laugh. "Apparently it's like father like son with this little guy," she said, smiling at Booth's son.
Zach and his new girlfriend walked off the dance floor and stood beside Angela and Hodgins.
"Hello Dr. Brennan," Zach said and Tempe stood up to be eye level with her friends again.
"Hello Zach, hello Emma," Tempe said, looking at Zach's girlfriend. She was an attractive girl who had long blonde hair and brown eyes, and who was just about as smart as Zach.
"Hello Dr. Brennan," Emma said, smiling at Bren.
Tempe threw a look back over her shoulder, looking for Russ.
"Expecting somebody?" Hodgins asked, suggestively.
"Yes," Temperance said, giving them all a moment to think. "My brother."
"Oh," Hodgins said, turning about the same shade of red as Temperance's dress.
"When did he say he would get here?" Angela asked.
"He didn't say, he said he'd get here as soon as he could, but that was yesterday. I'm sure he's on his way," Temperance sounded a little worried. She didn't want to celebrate Christmas without Russ this year.
Everybody was quiet for a bit and then Cam turned to Parker. "Would you like to get a snack or something?"
"Yes please," Parker said, smiling.
"That's ok, right Booth?" Cam asked
"Sure, but you little mister are not allowed just to get junk food," Booth said, ruffling his sons blond hair.
"Ok Dad!" Parker said, grabbing Cam's hand. She held onto his hand and followed him to the buffet.
Parker went and grabbed some cheese off a cheese platter and put it onto a little plate before going to the dessert table.
"Parker, I think you should only get four things from here, and that's the most you can have for now," Cam said to him.
"Ok," Parker nodded and then grabbed the biggest piece of fudge he could find, as well as the biggest rocky road candy, and the biggest rice crispy square.
Parker didn't know what the alcoholic chocolates were, so he went for one.
Cam looked at Booth again. She smiled at Booth and didn't see Parker grab the alcoholic chocolate and pop it into his mouth.
He liked the taste of it so he silently grabbed two more and ate them.
"All done," Parker said, going back to Cam. She smiled and they walked back over to where the others were, and she heard Parker say: "Look how many Cam let me get Daddy!" Cam saw him point at his plate, as she walked back over.
"That's a lot buddy! You sure you don't need help eating any of that?" Booth asked, looking at his son's plate.
"Nope. I can eat it all by myself."
"Ok, but if you get a tummy ache, blame Cam, not me," Booth told him, shooting a grin over at Temperance.
Temperance smiled at her friends, and she saw Cam glare at Booth playfully.
"You said it was ok for me to take him over there, so it's your fault," Cam said.
"It is now?" Booth shook his head. "No, you let him get four things, you're supposed to get them for him."
"Hey, he's a big boy, he can get his own food," Cam argued.
"It's ok Cam," Booth said. "I was teasing. This kid can eat a lot of chocolate and not get sick."
"Are you sure Booth? I really don't want Parker to get sick," Temperance asked, looking at the little boy. She had always loved him, not like a mother, or like Booth did, but Parker was a little joy in her life that she got to see once in a while.
"I'm positive," Booth told both women.
Tempe nodded happily then went back to talking with Angela and Hodgins.
Half an hour later:
"Cam, can I go get more treats?" Parker asked Cam, tugging on her dress a little.
"Sure Parker, I'll come over there with you," Cam walked over to the buffet table with Parker, and then she looked back and smiled at Booth, in a flirting way.
Parker saw that Cam wasn't looking so he snuck over to the alcoholic chocolates that he had gotten earlier, but he still didn't know about them. He popped four into his mouth when nobody was looking, and then went back to the fudge.
Suddenly, Parker began to feel odd, like he was dizzy. He reached out to grab a chocolate when his stomach started to hurt. "Daddy," he groaned.
"Parker? Are you all right?" Cam asked and she walked over to him.
Parker shook his head. "I don't feel good," he said.
"Hays buddy, come on, let's go and see your daddy," Cam said, picking Parker up.
"Parker? What's the matter?" Booth asked and he gave Cam a concerned look.
"Maybe he had too many treats," Angela suggested.
"This kid has eaten tons and never gotten sick, something's wrong," Booth said, looking at Parker who was beginning to slip in and out of consciousness.
Temperance looked at Parker closely. Then she smelled it. "Cam! What did you give him?" she snapped.
"Just a couple of treats," Cam said, shrugging.
"What kind of treats?" Tempe asked through clenched teeth.
"Fudge, naniamo bar, that sort of thing," Cam said, handing Parker to his father.
"Did you turn your back on him?" Tempe asked.
"For a moment," Cam said back.
"Would somebody please tell me what's going on?" Booth asked loudly.
"I think Parker has alcohol poisoning," Tempe said, shaking her head and feeling tears come to her eyes. "Put him down Booth."
"What?" Booth asked, shocked.
"Put him down," Tempe hissed. "He needs to be on his side, in case he vomits."
Booth gulped. He couldn't believe his son had alcohol poisoning, on Christmas Eve.
Temperance looked at Parker. She went for her side, where her cell phone usually was, but this dress had no pockets. "I don't care who it is, but somebody give me your cell phone," she said calmly.
"Here, you can have mine," Hodgins said, handing her his
"Thanks Hodgins," Tempe said, and then she pressed three numbers.
"911 operator, what is the emergency?"
"We have a four year old boy at the Jeffersonian, it would appear that he has alcohol poisoning," Tempe said.
"What are his symptoms?"
"He's going in and out of consciousness, he's a little bit pale and I can smell alcohol on his breath."
"All right, we'll send an emergency squad right over," the operator said.
"Thank you," Temperance replied. "This is Doctor Brennan by the way, and I do have him in a safe position. I'm going to hang up."
"Dr. Brennan did you say? All right, we're sending over the medical team," the operator said.
Tempe nodded, even though the operator couldn't see and then she said a quick ok before hanging up.
"Cam! What did you give my son!?" Booth yelled at Cam.
"Don't yell at me! He's your son, you should've checked what he got."
This made Tempe a little mad. "How dare you! You were responsible for looking after him! He's four years old!"
"Dr. Brennan! He's still old enough to know what not to take!" Cam said to Temperance, a tone in her voice that told a normal person to back off, but Temperance Brennan was not a normal person.
Tempe gave Angela a look that asked what kind of maniac Cam really was. "He's four, Cam. Not 10, not 13, four."
"I know that," Cam said, snapping slightly.
"Cam, I think we need to talk," Booth said, angrily.
"So talk," Cam said.
"Fine. I think we should break up. Here, now, on Christmas Eve," Booth said, glaring at Cam.
"That's all right, I agree. If you're going to treat me like I'm a fool, I don't need you around," Cam told him, and she stomped out of the Jeffersonian, and out of Seeley Booth's personal life.
"Booth, he needs to get to a hospital, go and see if they're here yet," Tempe said, she didn't want Booth to have to see Parker like this.
"No, Angela or Hodgins can," Booth said. He wasn't going to leave Parker.
"I'll go," Zach volunteered.
"Ok, Zach, quickly," Tempe said.
In the ambulance:
"Daddy," Parker mumbled.
"Shhh, buddy, it's ok, you're ok," Booth said, as the ambulance wheeled off.
"Daddy, it hurts," Parker clutched his stomach.
"I know buddy, but you'll be better soon, I promise…"
"Ok," Parker closed his eyes and slipped out of consciousness again.
At the hospital, after Parker's stomach was pumped:
"He'll be fine," the nurse reassured Booth for the sixth time in a row. "Are you his mother?" she asked Tempe, who was standing beside Booth, holding onto his hand.
"Me? No, I'm…" she began.
"My wife, she's my wife," Booth said, he knew that Parker would want to see Bones as much as Rebecca.
Tempe looked at Booth, "Yes, well, his fiancée," she said, smiling at the nurse.
"All right, you can go in too," the nurse said, opening the door to Parker's room. Parker looked even smaller and weaker when he was lying there.
He was pale, and there were dark circles around his eyes.
"Parker? Buddy? You awake?" Booth asked, as he and Temperance made their way to his bedside.
"D… daddy?" Parker whispered weakly.
"Yeah buddy, it's Daddy, and look who else? Dr. Bones," Booth said, and Temperance stepped forward and brushed some hair off Parker's forehead.
"Hi Parker," she said, almost as quiet as Parker himself.
"Hi Dr. Bones," Parker mumbled. "Am I really sick?"
"Yeah," Tempe whispered, feeling a lump in her throat. "Yeah Parker, you are. But you're going to get better."
"Ok," Parker said. "Where's Mummy?" he asked.
"She's on her way Buddy," Booth said. He wasn't looking forward to seeing his ex.
"Ok," Parker nodding lightly and then closed his eyes. "Wake me up when she gets here…"
"We will Parker," Tempe said, and Booth heard something slip from her mouth. It was a little sob.
Quickly he wrapped her up in a tight hug.
"He shouldn't be here! I swear, next year I won't let anybody bring any sort of alcohol in there," she said into Booth's shoulder.
"Shhh, Bones, the nurse says he'll be ok," Booth reassured her, and then she pulled back. Booth pushed some of her hair out of her face.
"I know, but… a four year old shouldn't have to go through that. He could've died Booth," Tempe said, sadly.
"Tell me about it," Booth said with a smile. Suddenly, Rebecca burst into the room along with her boyfriend.
"My baby!" she cried and she went to Parker's side.
Booth sighed. "We'll leave you three alone," he said, taking Temperance out of there. "You look really good tonight, Bones."
"Thanks," she said, her eyes were red from crying and her make-up had run.
Booth smiled. "You hungry?"
"Actually, yes," Tempe said.
"Wong Foos?" Booth suggested. "It's just around the corner.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Tempe said, and she felt Booth's hand around her waist, but she didn't try to fight it.
Tempe and Booth walked the 7 blocks to Wong Foos like that, Tempe's head rested on Booth's shoulder and Booth's hand around her waist.
"I never did call Russ," Tempe said.
"I don't think he'll mind, just call him in the morning," Booth said smiling. "It's not even Christmas yet anyways."
"What time is it?" she asked, smiling and they walked into Wong Foos.
"Umm," Booth looked at his watch. "Midnight."
"So it's Christmas?" she asked.
"Yeah, Bones, it's Christmas," Booth laughed, but didn't notice what they were standing under.
"Hey Booth, Brennan, look up!" the bartender called and Temperance and Seeley looked up.
They were standing under the mistletoe.
"Merry Christmas Bones," Booth said, leaning down a little.
"Merry Christmas Booth," Tempe said, pulling Booth down and bringing her lips to his.
A/N What do you think??? I liiiiiiike it!!!! R&R please!!!!