A/N: this story was part of a challenge some fan fiction writers discussed, where Christine goes to Summer camp. I decided to tweak my story a bit and so Christine is going to Vacation Bible School. As a person of faith and a science teacher, it is not my desire to make fun of anyone's religious beliefs or lack thereof. I'm more interested in trying to present both points of view. I hope you enjoy my little story. Laura.

It was a beautiful June morning, and Father Mears couldn't help but smile as he walked the narrow path between St. Mark's Church and his rectory. As usual, morning Mass that Wednesday had been sparsely attended, but he had long ago given up worrying about details like that. The priest had served his Lord faithfully for many years, and the fact that only six or seven parishioners and the nuns from the nearby convent had attended Mass in the large Gothic sanctuary that morning didn't change a thing. He would continue to be faithful to his calling as a servant of the Most High, and he would celebrate the Eucharist every day, even if he was the only person at the service.

Stopping to enjoy the fragrance of the yellow roses outside his office, Father Mears was sure that nothing could spoil his day...that is, until he saw Sister Mary Agnes perched on a chair in the office's waiting room. He sighed to himself as he entered the rectory's tiny outer room. It wasn't that the sweet natured nun would deliberately do something to ruin his day, but small troubles and minor irritations seemed to follow the young woman wherever she went. More than once Father Mears had begged St. Jude to give her a wee bit of luck for a change, but so far the patron saint of lost causes had turned a deaf ear to his petitions. Slightly annoyed with the lack of assistance from the Heavenly Realms, Father Mears had been determined to find another saint to help, but none seemed to be available at the moment. It was going to be up to the priest to come to her aid yet again.

Forcing himself to be jovial, the priest wore a broad smile as he greeted his visitor. "Good morning, Sister. What can I do for you this fine day?"

After quickly rising from her chair and shyly dropping into a small curtsey, the petite nun hesitated slightly before explaining her problem. Mary Agnes wasn't even sure it really was a problem, and she hated to bother the parish priest, but she needed some advice, and being somewhat afraid of the Sister Superior at the convent, she'd decided that perhaps her confessor would be better able to help instead. "Well, you see, Father...", she began in her soft Irish brogue, "...Vacation Bible School is next week, and we've had trouble getting volunteers to help us…"

"Oh, I understand. I'll make an announcement at Sunday's Mass, and I'll have Mrs. Emmert send out an email to the parish this morning asking for more volunteers…that usually helps." Father Mears grabbed a mug from the counter as he turned toward his coffee pot. "Would you like some coffee, Sister?"

"No, thank you. Anyway, Father, I did manage to get a volunteer to help me with the second grade class for a few days...but that's the problem…" Rubbing her hands together nervously as she paced the small room, she began to fidget with her crucifix. "I don't know what to do…"

Father Mears was becoming slightly impatient with his visitor. He still had to put the finishing touches on his homily for this Sunday, and the Cubs' game was going to be televised this afternoon. He needed to use his time wisely today in order to get everything on his list accomplished this morning. "I don't understand, Sister. First there's a problem with no volunteers, and then there's a problem with the volunteer for your class?"

Slumping back into her seat, Sister Mary Agnes looked like she was about to cry. "My volunteer is supposed to be Christine Booth's mother…Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Oh, I see." Father Mears tried to cover his brief grimace with a chuckle. "Dr. Brennan is a very interesting woman, Sister…"

"That she is, Father, and I must admit, she's always been very pleasant toward me. She helped make Christmas pageant costumes last year, and she provided cookies and prizes for the last Sunday School carnival. The problem lies elsewhere." Mary Agnes shook her head sadly. "Dr. Brennan doesn't believe in God or that the Bible is the Word of God. Why would she choose to help me with Vacation Bible School if she's not a believer? I'm afraid she's going to cause the children to doubt what we want to teach them. She's a scientist, you know…" Mary Agnes made some disdainful air quotes as she emphasized the words describing Dr Brennan. "She's a 'rational, logical empiricist' who only believes things she can see, touch or measure."

Laughing softly as he stirred some sugar into his coffee, Father Mears smiled gently at the nervous young nun. "I'd say you have an excellent opportunity here, Sister. Not everyone is as lucky as you are. The Lord is using you in a very special way."

Eying the priest suspiciously as she rose from her seat, the sister put her hands on her hips as she glared up at him. "I think you're full of blarney, Father. Having someone argue with me about the infallibility of the Pope or the veracity of the Holy Scriptures hardly seems like something I'd look forward to…especially with a roomful of small children to witness the fray."

"Just think, Mary Agnes...you'll have the chance to convert an unbeliever, and a hard core one at that. You can demonstrate the love of Christ to Dr. Brennan as you teach the children about our faith. Now, granted, that will a very difficult task, and you may not be successful, but our Lord calls us to reach out to all of the souls who don't believe. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that our Savior loves Dr. Brennan even if she doesn't believe in him…"

"Yes, but, Father Mears…" Sister Mary Agnes smoothed her black habit and stood up straight, trying to appear taller than she was. "...what about the other children in the class? I know that Christine is used to her mother's opinions, but the other children might be easily swayed by her use of logic to prove the Bible wrong."

"In that case, you'd better do a good job of making your case for the Lord." Father Mears held up his hand to stop the young woman's protests. "You're called to obedience, Sister, and to demonstrate the love of God to others. I think Dr. Brennan will be a good test for you." Filling his coffee cup again, the priest smiled as he opened the door leading into his office. "I'll talk to you later this week. Don't fret, Sister. Perhaps you'll get another volunteer to assist you and Dr. Brennan with the class. Bye, now."

Infuriated by the priest's smug dismissal of her problem, Mary Agnes scowled at the closed door in front of her. "Proselytize Dr. Brennan, indeed". Sighing as she turned to leave, the young nun sent up a mumbled prayer. "I hope this is your idea of a joke, Lord, but I have to admit...I don't think having Dr. Brennan's 'help' me next week is very funny."

Oooooooooo

Booth nearly choked on his coffee at breakfast the following Monday morning. "You're going to do what?" He stared at his wife in disbelief before blessing himself with the sign of the Cross. "You're joking, right? I really don't think that's a good idea, Bones…"

Brennan rolled her eyes at her husband as she loaded the dishwasher. "I don't see the problem, Booth. I'm quite familiar with the mythology that is a part of your church's belief system, and I know you feel that it's important for Christine to understand it, too, especially since she attends services with you."

"It's not mythology", Booth growled as he straightened out his newspaper. "I happen to believe what's written in the Bible, Bones. You know that. I also believe the teachings of my church..."

"Which is why you have such a large collection of condoms in your nightstand drawer, right? We're practicing birth control even though it's against the rules." Brennan wore a smug grin as she continued. "I find your selective belief system to be even more confusing than the Church's actual doctrine, Booth."

"That whole birth control thing...that's different…" Clearing his throat, Booth turned a page on his paper. "Weren't we talking about Christine going to Vacation Bible School?"

"Yes, we were, and I'm still unsure of the problem. While I don't believe in the religious beliefs your church espouses, I realize that the Roman Catholic Church has been a major influence on Western culture and thought for centuries, and I think it's a good thing to expose Christine to that. However, I also think it's important to expose her to science and critical thinking practices so she can decide what she wishes to believe. I merely want to make sure both sides are equally represented in Christine's education."

"Yeah. Great." Booth grimaced as he took another drink of his coffee. "Here's the thing, Bones...I like St Mark's, and I feel really comfortable with Father Mears being my priest. I don't want to be asked to attend a different parish just because my wife has a showdown with some nun over what to tell the kids about the ark and stuff like that…"

"I can be discreet, Booth. I won't argue with the teacher about any of her ridiculous beliefs in front of the class." She smiled as he continued to grumble. "I have some compensation time coming from the hours we worked on our last case. I thought it would be fun to spend time with Christine at Vacation Bible School, so I'm going with her from 9 until 12 this week, and then I'll take her to the museum with me in the afternoon so she can attend the computer coding sessions that Angela is teaching." Kissing Booth on the cheek, she giggled as he tried to scowl at her. "I promise to be pleasant…"

"Okay...if you say so." Booth drank the rest of his coffee and reached for his jacket. "But the Pope's off limits, alright? Pope Francis is a good guy…"

"I agree, Booth...he does seem to be a good man. I don't believe he's infallible, but he does seem to be concerned for the welfare of the poor, and he promotes good stewardship of the environment. Please don't worry. Christine and I will be fine…" Brennan scooped some oatmeal into a bowl and placed it on the kitchen counter. "Come eat breakfast, Christine..."

"Yeah." Booth was still unconvinced, but he didn't have time to argue about the situation any more. "I'll see you this evening." Kissing his wife good bye, he went out to his car and sat for a minute before he left for work, wondering just how many Hail Marys and Our Fathers it was going to take to keep him out of trouble with both his wife and Father Mears.