The Answer in the Analogy
A/N: I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and I can't let it roll around in there any longer. So I'm going to share it here. Depending on how things go on the show, I might continue with it. How things go will also have a large hand in determining where it will go IF I continue. I just think Parker would want to help his friend Bones.
Disclaimer: I don't own the show Bones, Booth, Brennan, any characters, etc. therein.
Chapter 1
Seeley Booth and his son Parker were sharing a Sunday lunch at the diner after Mass. Hannah was in Sweden with the President, so they had enjoyed a father-son weekend. While he ate his grilled cheese sandwich, Parker thought about previous weekends with his dad before Hannah had arrived—many of those weekends had featured Bones in a prominent role.
After noticing his dad's partner's reaction to seeing him getting along well with his dad's girlfriend, Parker had become worried about Dr. Brennan. Over the years of her working with and being friends with his dad, they had spent more and more time together until he considered her almost like another parent—at least as much as an Aunt. Parker had often thought that his dad and Bones should be girlfriend and boyfriend—they all got along so well together. But Parker had accepted that since the scientist and his dad worked together, they weren't allowed to date. They had always seemed happy to be together in whatever way they were allowed, even if it seemed a lot like dating to Parker.
After they came back from being overseas, Parker thought his weekends would go back to normal: hanging out with his dad—and usually hanging out with Bones, too. But Parker rarely saw Bones with his dad anymore. She didn't come over and watch movies with them on Saturdays, she didn't meet them for lunch after Mass, and they didn't go over and swim in her building's pool. Parker asked his dad about seeing Bones, but his dad always had reasons, which Parker slowly realized were probably excuses: Bones was busy writing, or it was father-son time, or Bones wouldn't like watching the football game with them. However, Parker had never remembered Bones minding watching sports with them—although she did get confused and ask tons of questions. His dad laughed, and Parker tried to explain things. It was fun for Parker to explain something to someone as smart as Bones.
Parker kept wondering about Bones, but he figured his dad had some reasons why they weren't getting together with her. Parker just kept asking his dad to invite her, hoping he would eventually wear his dad down. Then Booth had dropped the bomb: he had a girlfriend, someone he had met in Afghanistan, who had come to D.C. to be with him. Parker's first response was confusion—he figured if his dad was going to date anyone, it would be Bones. They clearly loved each other more than some of the married moms and dads of his friends, even if they didn't seem to say it or show it like other people. Then Parker was angry—this woman was going to take time away from the little time he had with dad. Parker was also concerned about how much he would see Bones now, if he had to spend time with his dad and his dad's girlfriend. Parker wondered how Bones felt about his dad having a girlfriend, but since he didn't get to see her much anyway now he couldn't ask her.
Since his dad kept talking about his girlfriend, and how much he liked her and wanted Parker to like her, Parker agreed to meet Hannah and try to be nice to her. Parker remembered a conversation he had had with his dad a few years ago, concerning one of his mom's boyfriends. If your Mom likes and cares about someone, then you should like that person, too. Parker had been skeptical—his Dad liked his Mom's boyfriend? But his dad assured him that he liked the boyfriend fine, and that Parker should always be respectful to whoever his mom (or dad) was seeing. So Parker met with Hannah one afternoon at the park after school. Things were awkward at first, but after his dad left them alone, they managed to ask each other a few questions and get some things cleared up. Hannah seemed to care about his dad, and she wasn't trying to baby him—which he hated more than anything—so he decided to give her a chance like he did with his mom's boyfriends. Parker even let Hannah take him to the zoo and for ice cream, where he tried some of her chocolate ice cream and realized that he liked that kind now.
Then something happened that Parker had not expected. After the ice cream, they went to the diner where his dad and Bones were doing work, as usual. He told his dad about his time with Hannah, and that he liked chocolate ice cream now. His dad was so happy, to see his son and his girlfriend getting along, so Parker was glad to see his dad smiling. However, Parker noticed something that his dad apparently missed—Bones was upset and uncomfortable that Parker was having fun with Hannah. She looked so sad—Parker immediately started asking her about different animals and when they could come visit her pool. Bones was so nice, answering his questions, and she even invited Hannah to come swimming. Bones said Hannah was her friend, too. Although Parker knew that Bones wouldn't say something like that without meaning it, he still knew that what was happening was making Bones unhappy. Bones was smiling, but Parker had seen Bones smile for real—when she would soak him and his dad in the pool with her cannonball—and Parker knew this smile she had on now was different.
So Parker had decided that if his dad wouldn't invite Bones to visit them, Parker would need to visit her. He managed to convince his mom to take him to the lab one day the following week after school, to ask Bones to help him with a history project. Parker didn't really need the help, but he was so insistent in asking, and he was so clearly happy when his mom sad yes, that Rebecca decided that it couldn't hurt to let Parker visit Dr. Brennan. Rebecca did insist on clearing the visit with Dr. Brennan, knowing that the anthropologist was not only busy but sometimes out of the lab. Dr. Brennan was thrilled to meet with Parker, although she was able to hide this from Rebecca when she dropped the child off.
Once they were inside her office, Parker gave her a big hug and said, "I miss you, Bones. I wish we could hang out like we used to." His eyes were sad and sincere. Brennan motioned to him to join her on her couch. He sat down right next to her, snuggling close.
Brennan sighed. She wholeheartedly agreed with Parker's sentiments, but she knew that she did not have that place in his life anymore. She had come to care deeply for Parker, but she recognized that since Booth now had a girlfriend, she and her partner's son would not be able to spend much time together anymore. "I have always enjoyed spending time with you, Parker. I hope you know that," she said, looking to the boy for confirmation. He nodded his head vigorously, smiling his big smile that was rapidly becoming a good imitation of his father's trademark grin.
Then Parker's expression sobered. "The reason we don't hang out anymore, is it because of Hannah?" he asked.
Brennan had always known that Parker was smart, and she had learned over the years that children were often more intuitive than adults and picked up on subtle things that she herself often missed in social situations. She herself had wondered if Parker still thought about her, and if he had noticed the change in their relationship. Now she knew that he had, and that thought made her a little bit happier inside—knowing that this little boy whom she had come to love wanted to be with her, too.
"Hannah does have something to do with this…" Brennan began, hesitantly, but Parker quickly interrupted her.
"Then I don't want her to be my dad's girlfriend anymore! I've been trying to be nice and like her to make my dad happy, but if that means you and I can't be friends and go swimming and watch movies with my dad, then I'm going to be mean to her!" Parker said almost angrily.
Parker's vehemence surprised Brennan, and although she was a tiny bit glad for herself that Parker valued her company so much, she knew that having his son and girlfriend get along was very important to Booth. And no matter what had happened between herself and Booth, Brennan wanted her partner to be happy.
"Parker, Hannah is a nice person and a friend of mine, so I want you to be nice to her," Brennan said as firmly and as kindly as she could. Parker gave her a defiant look, but he was clearly listening for Brennan's explanation.
"The main reason why I don't spend time with you and your dad like I used to isn't because of Hannah specifically. It's because your dad has a girlfriend now," Brennan said, knowing this statement alone was not a sufficient reason for a ten year old. Parker didn't look defiant anymore, but he did look confused.
"I don't understand why that matters," Parker said.
"Hmmm, what's a good analogy for our situation," Brennan said, thinking aloud.
"What's an a-nal-a-gee?" Parker asked, sounding out the new word.
"It's a way of comparing two things that are similar in some ways but different in others. Usually one thing is well known, and the other thing is more complicated. Understanding the similarity helps you understand the complicated object better," Brennan said. She hoped that explanation made sense—she noticed that Parker still looked a little confused, but her heart warmed again when she saw the trust in his eyes. Parker had learned that Bones was good at explaining things if you just waited for her to finish.
"I guess you could say the concept of a substitute teacher could help explain the relationship between your dad and me. You've had substitute teachers in school before, right Parker?" Brennan asked.
"Of course. When a teacher gets sick, or needs to go to a meeting or something, they send a substitute to watch the class." Parker had had many substitute teachers—they were a normal part of life for any public school child.
"Exactly. The substitute does many of the same things that the regular teacher does, but not everything. The substitute conducts the class, might show a movie…" Brennan said, then was interrupted again by Parker's exuberance.
"Yeah, last time we had a substitute in science class she showed us this movie about a safari with lots of animals…" Parker stopped talking when he realized that he had interrupted Brennan. "Sorry," he said. "I'll let you keep going." He gave her another warm smile.
Brennan smiled back. "That's OK, Parker, but you're right—you should try not to interrupt people when they're talking." She paused a moment, then continued her analogy. "Like I was saying, the substitute teacher does many of the things the regular teacher does, but he or she does not usually plan the daily lessons, or decide which book you're going to read next in English class. Right?" Brennan looked at Parker for confirmation.
"Right," he agreed. "The regular teacher leaves instructions for the substitute most of the time," Parker said. "But what does that have to do with you and my dad?" He was still confused, but he didn't think Brennan was done.
"Well, when your dad didn't have a regular girlfriend, I spent much of my free time with him—and with you when you were around. I was a kind of substitute girlfriend, doing many of the things a girlfriend would do," Brennan continued.
Comprehension was beginning to show on Parker's face. "Ah," he said, "you hung out together, and came to my soccer games, but you didn't do the mushy stuff."
Since Brennan now wished they had been doing the mushy stuff, she had to be careful not to react to Parker bringing it up. "Exactly. We have always just been good friends, although it is somewhat unusual to be such close friends with someone of the opposite sex."
Parker made an interesting face when Brennan said the word "sex," but he didn't comment on it. He did have something he wanted clarified though. "So when you were being the substitute for my dad, did you have a boyfriend? Or dad a substitute for you, too?" Parker was pretty sure Bones would have mentioned if she'd had a boyfriend, but adults were sometimes funny about things.
Brennan gave Parker a somewhat sad smile now. "No, Parker, I haven't had a boyfriend in some time. I guess you could say that your dad was a substitute boyfriend for me. So, it makes sense that now that he has a real girlfriend, he doesn't need me to be his substitute anymore. And he doesn't have the time to be my substitute now."
Although she was trying to hide it, Parker could tell that this topic was making Brennan sad. "I'm sorry, Bones," he said, leaning closer into her and putting his head on her shoulder. "I wish you were my dad's girlfriend for real."
Brennan wished that too, of course, but she couldn't tell Parker that in case he said something to Booth. "That's a nice thing for you to say, Parker, but like I said, Hannah is a nice person and she makes your dad very happy."
But Parker wasn't ready to give up yet. "But I know my dad was happy when he spending time with you. And I always had such a great time—it felt almost like we were a real family," he said wistfully.
Brennan hadn't realized that Parker had such strong feelings about her place in his life, and she was very touched. She decided it would be OK to tell Parker something that Booth had told her, more than once. She shifted her position so that she could look Parker in the eyes. "Parker," she said, "I'm going to tell you something important, and I want you to remember it, OK? It's something that your dad said to me once."
Parker was very attentive now—something important that his dad had said? "OK, I'm listening, Bones."
"There is more than one kind of family," she said. "You and I have a special friendship, and we can still be friends even if your dad has a girlfriend, or if he and I don't work together anymore. I consider Angela like a sister to me, and I will always consider you a part of my family, too." Brennan spoke with more emotion and conviction than Parker usually heard her use, so he knew that she meant it.
"Thanks, Bones," he said, leaning his head on her shoulder again. "That means a lot to me."
They just sat there in companionable silence for a few minutes, then they were interrupted by the ringing of Brennan's cell phone. She grabbed it off the coffee table and walked towards her desk to answer it. "Brennan." Silence while the other person talked. "OK, we'll meet you outside."
She ended the call and looked at Parker. "That was your mom—she's going to be here in a few minutes." Parker looked a little sad—he was sorry his time with Bones was ending.
Brennan suddenly remembered the reason Rebecca had given for Parker's visit. "Parker, we didn't work on your homework? What will your mom say?" Brennan asked worriedly.
Parker gave Brennan a big smile and another hug. "Don't worry, Bones. I really wanted to talk to you, not work on my homework. I'll just tell my mom we were busy catching up, since I hadn't seen you in a while. I'll get my homework done, no problem."
Brennan smiled back. "OK, Parker. And remember, anytime you need help with your homework—or anything else, you can always call me. Here, I'll give you my card," she said, grabbing one from her desk and writing something on the back. "I put my cell phone number of the back."
"Really?" he said hopefully.
"Really," Brennan said. "Let's get your coat on and go meet your mom." They walked out of her office hand-in-hand.
Parker was brought back to the present by his dad trying to get his attention.
"Earth to Parker, what're you thinking about, Bub? I just asked you three times if you wanted to go to the park after lunch," Booth said, surprised that his son was apparently daydreaming.
Parker decided that this was as good a time as any to talk to his dad about Bones, especially since Hannah was finally not around. So he asked his dad the question that had been on his mind ever since his conversation with Brennan.
"Hey Dad, could we help Bones find a boyfriend? She looks lonely since she doesn't have you as a substitute one anymore. And she's my friend, so I want her to be happy," Parker said, his sincerity and his concern evident.
"What?" Booth said incredulously. He couldn't have been more surprised if his son had asked him to explain the birds and the bees.
A/N: There will at least be one more chapter where Parker shares Brennan's "analogy" with his dad. It's going to be such fun to write Booth's reaction!