Any time Cam was missing Michelle she got up and left for at least two weeks at a time, giving her friends the weeks off as well. Since Michelle had left for college anytime Cam was feeling sad over her daughter leaving she and Paul hopped on a plane and visited Michelle. The plane ride to visit Michelle was always filled with excitement " I wonder if she looks any different"
"Cam its only been two months" Paul was now Michelle's adoptive father and just like Cam he was anxious to see his daughter
" I know, I just miss her so much"
" I do too, do you think she's hiding any tattoos'?" although he was kidding Paul got a look from his wife "im just kidding" they laughed together and enjoyed the plane ride
While Cam was gone Hodgins and Angela had decided to take a family trip. Their baby boy was two now, he was happy and mobile. The proud parents decided to spend their time off in the same place they had their honeymoon, Paris. Their baby boy James was a typical two year old, he ate he cried and made trouble, making the plane ride longer than it actually was. While Hodgins slept Angela took care of the little boy
"James you need to sit down please" Angela was getting desperate now, her son wouldn't sit still, all he wanted to do was jump on the seat, what made things worse was that her husband was right next to her snoring away "Jack I need your help", their was no response. James began to notice his mother tapping at his fathers shoulder, thinking it was a game he joined in and with the plastic train he held in his little hand he swung it down hard hitting his father right on his eye
"OW!" Hodgins covered his eye with his hands and immediately sat up looking at his wife and baby boy
"James that was not nice, but thank you for waking daddy up" her eyes were bright with love when ever she spoke to her son "Jack hold James"
Even though his eye was throbbing with pain he lay back down, picked his son and lay him on his chest. With his fathers heart beat James fell asleep instantly
"See all he wanted was his dad" Hodgins said with a low whisper, all Angela could do was roll her eyes. She got her sons blue blanket and covered him, then grabbing her own yellow blanket and draped it over herself allowing them all to sleep.
"Bones are you home" he yelled out
"parker not so loud she has neighbors" he finally reached his son and began knocking himself
The Booth boys had been up all morning Parker had a couple of days off school and his mother agreed to let him spend them with his father. They stood in the front of her door tapping at the door lightly
"why don't you call her dad" as soon as his son said that he lifted his phone and dialed, after three rings he got a response
"Brennan"
"Bones where are you? Im standing in front of your door"
She was beginning to climb the stairs to her apartment when she saw two familiar figure near her door
"if you turn around you'll be able to see that im right in back of you"
Turning around Booth saw his partner walking up the stairs to her apartment
"Hi Bones"
"hey Parker"
They stepped inside her apartment, she had gone grocery shopping so the Booth boys helped her out
"thank you both"
"Parker how about you watch some television while your dad and I put these groceries away" ever since she had been spending more and more time with her friends she had decided that she need to buy a Tv.
Parker happily left to the leaving room to watch cartoons on the couch, while the adults put things away. The partners left to the kitchen and began to put things where they belonged
"Good thing you went to the market , your fridge is empty"
"well I had to clean it out, I accidentally spilled tofu and some sauce my dad had brought me"
Booth opened the refrigerator compartment putting the fruit and veggies where they belonged while Brennan took everything out of her reusable bags
"yum almond milk, best milk ever" sarcasm dripped and Brennan was aware
"it has health benefits Booth"
When Booth finished with the refrigerator Brennan took out the popsicles and turned to Booth
"do you mind if I give one to parker?' always being respectful she asked
"sure"
"Parker" Brennan called out "would you like a popsicle?'
The blonde haired boy ran to the kitchen to collect his treat
"Parker no running inside the house" his tone was gentle yet fatherly
"sorry Bones" he then went back to watching his cartoons
When they were done putting things away Brennan went back and began to dig in the bottom part of the freezer "want one"
"yeah"
They went to her living room and sat on either side of Parker. To an outsider Brennan, Booth and Parker seemed like an ordinary family but in reality Brennan was just the best friend and partner and Booth was a father to his son. Even though the partners had come across relationships, they always ended because the boyfriend or girlfriend was threatened and they didn't want to come between the lovers. Parker had suggested to his father that Bones would be a fun girlfriend but Booth however, was already aware for his growing love towards his partner. He loved her but he didn't want to cross that line again, he was content with being her best friend and her work partner. Brennan on the other hand was now open to new relationships even though the only one she wanted to be with was with Booth, she loved him and she always would.
As they sat on, Booth began to notice his son chewing on his popsicle stick
"Parker I think you should throw that stick away"
Parker got up and left to the kitchen leaving the adults to watch cartoons for a bit. Brennan noticed that it was taking Parker a longer than usual time to throw away a simple popsicle stick, when she suddenly heard the bouncing of a basketball causing both adults to snap their heads towards the kitchen
"I thought you had a trash can in there" he was now very confused he knew she had a trash can in her kitchen
"I do"
They then heard the slapping of socked feet "hey Bones I found my basketball" it had been a while since parker had been to her apartment, but Brennan very much loved her partners son so she made sure to make him feel at home whenever they came over
"Parker what are you doing snooping around" his son was usually a very polite boy but there were times when Booth was surprised
"I dunno" he had a guilty look on his face
"Booth its okay, I put it in the study, he forgot it here" she had never been mad at Parker and she wasn't about to start now
"Dad can we go to the park and play basketball, we can teach Bones how to play"
"Im not sure, how about we go tomorrow"
Disappointment hit parker almost immediately, his face went from pure excitement to plain boredom
"Ok" Parkers tone was rarely ever that gloomy, he dropped the ball and sat back down huffing when he hit the sofa
"Booth I think we should head to the park, over exposure to television can make it hard for his to pay attention in school not to mention turn him into a couch potato" while Brennan spoke to Booth Parkers eyes lit up with joy
"I knew you two would conspire against me"
"you knew we would talk you into it"
"yeah, I said no because I wanted to see what you both would do" a smirk adorned his face
"yeah, lets go" he jumped up and ran to put on his sneakers
They all made their way to the SUV and headed towards the park, while Booth drove Parker began to explain some basketball rules
"and you cant walk around with the ball you have to dribble" all these rules made Brennan nervous
"I think Bones would understand it better if we show her" when he finished he saw her shoulders fall as the anxiety melted away, he wanted nothing more but to massage her shoulders and kiss her worries away
As soon as he parked the car Parker jumped out and ran for the courts leaving the adults behind.
As they walked to the courts her stomach began doing flips, a butterfly sensation overwhelmed her, she loved Booth and she didn't want anything to jeopardize their friendship but she wanted more than a simple friendship and she wanted those 40 years with him, but now wasn't the best time to profess her feelings.
" alright Bones lets see your skills" Booth was a natural jock, but being around his partner turned him into a ten year old with a crush
"So I have to make it in the hoop?"
"yeah but we're playing Horse, so you have to do what I do and make it in, and if you miss you get a letter" Parker was getting better at explaining thing to her, he was a patient child and he loved Bones
"why don't you start us off Parker"
Parker stood thinking a bit when he suddenly hopped on one foot, spun around twice hoped again and threw the ball and making it in.
"your turn Bones"
She did her best to mimic parker, knowing they both were staring at her made her a bit nervous but for some reason their laughter made her feel comfortable. She threw the ball barely making it in
"great shot Bones, I thought you didn't know how to play"
"well I guess I do" her smile made Booths heart melt he loved seeing this side of her "you turn"
Booth mimicked his son and easily made in his cocky grin appearing. It was parkers turned but since he missed the turn went to Brennan, but she was having a hard time deciding what to do
"it can be anything you want bones" Parker chimed
Brenna decided to bounce the ball twice hop on her left foot spin around and then shoot, luckily she made it in "your turn"
Although Booth was skilled the spins made him a bit dizzy he still made it in, Parkers turn wasn't so smooth making him get an H. They continued to play but somewhere in the middle of the game they began to simply shoot. Watching Brennan and Parker run around and shoot the ball made Booth heart grow, he loved seeing his son happy and he loved seeing this side of her, the care free and childish side. He started thinking about how much he loved and how lucky he was to even know her this well or to even to be a best friend when he caught Brennan on the ground laughing with Parker on her side
"what happened" his eyes lit with confusion but the site made his worries go away
"I tried to help Bones out because she tripped-" his laughter was just to much to continue
"he ended up falling on me" their laugh attack continued and all Booth can do was watch.
"are you guys hungry?" hoping he would be able to get them to breath
"yeah can we go to the diner for lunch" his giggle subside "what do you think Bones" her giggling stopped and she looked at her hands
"I think we should get cleaned up first" she stuck her hand out for Booth to grab, he pulled her up and they walked towards the SUV.
When they got to the Diner Parker immediately went to their table leaving booth and Brennan behind. His hand went to the small of her back as he guided her to their table, it was a small gesture but it was one that made her feel safe and loved. They sat, and their waitress brought them their usual drinks
"have you guys decided what you want to eat yet"
"I think ill have my usual"
" I think I want a cheese burger and a milkshake"
"I think you should hold off on that milkshake"
"aw c'mon dad" as he whined Brennan cut in
"How about we share one Parker" with her suggestion Parkers eyes lit. The waitress came and took their orders. When the waitress was gone all three of them settled in a light conversation, mostly focusing on Parker and his school stories
"and then Billy threw the rock and it landed in a pile of mud, and the mud flew everywhere it was awesome" he spoke animatedly "but when I got home mom said I had to take a bath"
"and that's why your mom is always washing your jeans" he said in a playful tone, he looked up and the waitress had brought their food.
She placed their food on the table and they began to dig in. As they ate they chatted about small and trivial things they giggled Brennan couldn't help but think about how it must feel to have a son and a adoring husband. She loved spending time with them, she felt so much love and adoration that she sometime had to step back and take it all in when suddenly she heard his cell ring
"Booth"
Parker knew that tone and it always meant that he had to leave, he glanced towards Brennan and sighed
"yes ill be right their" he shut his cell phone and looked to Parker
"they need me at the office for a while, Ill call your mom" he noted Parkers face fall " im sorry Parks"
"how about he stay with me until you return" she loved spending time with that little boy
"are you sure?"
"yes im sure, all we need to do is finish the milkshake and go back to my place" when she looked back at Parker she notice how happy he became.
When they got back to her apartment Booth left and promised them he would be back in a couple of hours
"behave for me alright bud"
"I will" and with that his dad left
"what are we going to do?" he looked up at Bones with curiosity
"we can watch a movie if you'd like" she knew Parker would be no trouble at all but she still managed to become nervous
"ill go pick a movie" he left to the study to pick out a movie, leaving Brennan to set up. While she lay blankets on the floor she couldn't help but think about Booth, her thoughts seemed to always focus on him even when she was with someone else. Her last boyfriend was a good guy but she had the tendency to compare him to Booth, Booth was the standard after all. She couldn't help but think what it would have been like if she had accepted and gave their relationship a shot, tears began to threaten to spill when parker came back running into the room.
"are you okay Bones, im sorry I ran inside the house" Parker saw Bones with tears in her eyes and felt bad even though he wasn't the reason for her tears
"it ok I jus got a little paper cut" she thought she had lied but she really did cut her finger with her paperwork and she was surprised that she didn't notice it
"ready to watch the movie" she tried to sound excited
"yeah ill go put it in" he ran to the DVD player and popped in the movie. They both sat on the couch and watched the various colors of the balloons on the screen dance around.