A/N: I love writing Booth and Brennan family moments and I have a lot of ideas for family moment one shots, but I feel like putting them all in one thread and updating whenever muse feels the need. And work on my in progress stories whenever muse feels like it. They will be mostly unrelated stories of various lengths. Most will be post season 12.
Booth had planned on having a relaxing Saturday at home mostly alone, Brennan was giving three lectures at American University, Hank was at his best friend's birthday party sleepover, and Christine was in her room writing some big paper for her gifted and talented English class. Booth just settled into the couch when his phone rang, he listened to the call and headed to Christine's room and stepped in the doorway. "Christine, I need to go out and help serve a warrant. I'll be back in a few hours. When I get back we'll get pizza."
"Okay, and cheesy bread?"
"Yeah and those cinnamon twists…" Booth walked into the room and kissed the top of Christine's head. "Love you, kiddo."
"Love you too, dad."
Booth watched Christine work for a few minutes before leaving the house.
B&B
A few hours later instead of getting a half garden veggie half garden veggie with peperoni pizza, cheesy bread, and cinnamon twists with Christine, Booth was lying in a hospital bed with a dozen stiches in his right arm waiting on the pain medication the nice nurse just injected into his IV to take hold. Booth was almost asleep when he heard the door to his room open, thinking it was Brennan or a nurse he didn't bother opening his eyes.
"Daddy!" Booth's eyes snapped open to see a pale on the verge of tears Christine standing at the foot of the bed.
"Come here…" Christine walked quickly to the bed and threw herself on Booth's uninjured side "Oof. I'm fine. Where's mom?"
"At American still I think. An Agent came to the door asking for her then he told me you were in the hospital and he brought me here…"
"Who was it?"
"I don't remember. He had glasses and he was younger…"
"Haskins?"
"Maybe…"
"He was supposed to go to American and wait on your mom to finish her lecture and tell her I was hurt and drive her home to get you, then drive both of you here…"
"Well he didn't…"
"Christine I'm gonna be fine, I just need to stay for a few days to make sure the bleeding stopped and it doesn't get infected. I need you to go to the gift shop and get me any sports magazines they have. I'm going to need entertainment. My wallet is in the nightstand." Christine nodded and got Booth's wallet and took a twenty out if it. She kissed his cheek before walking to the door and leaving, Booth saw Haskins standing outside the door.
"Haskins, get in here!" The young agent quickly entered Booth's hospital room. "Yes, Agent Booth?"
"I asked you to go to American University and wait for Dr. Brennan to finish her afternoon lecture, then tell her I was hurt. Then take her home to get our daughter then drive them both here. Did I not?"
"Yes."
"So why is my kid here without her mother?"
"Well, I called Dr. Brennan's cell and she didn't answer so I went by your house in case she was there. Your daughter answered the door so I told her you'd been hurt and brought her here to see you." Haskins shrugged.
"She's fourteen years old! She shouldn't have been told I was hurt by anyone other than her mother! Just know when I get cleared for physical activity I'm going to kick your ass for scaring my kid! When Dr. Brennan finds out she will probably kick your ass too! She has a black belt in karate by the way! Years ago the FBI faked my death and didn't tell Dr. Brennan and she kicked my ass in a cemetery when she found out I was alive. Go to American University Science Building room S133 and WAIT for her to get done tell her what happened and bring her here. I'll send one of the squints for her car later. Go, get up there before she gets done, comes home and finds out from the news I've been stabbed!" Booth's voice got slightly louder with each word.
"Yes, Agent Booth…" Haskins made a hasty exit from the room. Booth sighed and willed himself to stay awake until Christine came back with his magazines. A few minutes later Christine came back, Booth smiled slightly as she walked to his bedside. "What did you get me?"
"Baseball Digest and Sports Illustrated."
"Cool, put them on the table, I'll read them later."
"They had some golfing ones, but I didn't think you would like them…"
"I wouldn't. What else did you get?"
Christine reached into the bag and the latest Jefferson Bass paperback. Booth started laughing. "Only you and your mom would read books written by the guy that founded the Body Farm in Knoxville."
"I like them, they're interesting. Jefferson Bass isn't a real person it's Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass' penname. I'll pay you back, I was going to ask if we could stop and get it when we went out for pizza."
"Keep your money, I can afford a book."
"K." Christine put her book back in the bag and laid the magazines on the over bed table then she started put the small amount of change in Booth's wallet. "Keep it, you might need snack money later."
"Okay."
Booth noticed the tears starting to fall down cheeks, he sat the head of the bed up a little. "Come here, Christine." Christine threw herself in Booth's arms again, this time he was ready for the impact. "I'm fine Christine. All these tubes and wires are for precaution, it really looks worse than it is. I'll be home in a couple days. I'll have to hang out on the couch for a week or two, but I'll be fine."
"I wish mom was here…"
"I do too, she always makes me feel better. Haskins is getting her, for real this time…" Christine chuckled a little and kept her head on Booth's shoulder, he rubbed her back. After a while Booth couldn't fight it off anymore, and fell sleep. A little while later Brennan quietly opened Booth's hospital room door, her heart broke seeing Christine's tearstained cheek resting on Booth's chest as he slept. Brennan quietly walked to Christine and laid a hand on her shoulder, the teen turned into Brennan's embrace and started crying harder. Booth stirred and blinked, "Bones?"
"I'm here, Booth."
"Christine…"
"I've got her. She'll be fine. Go back to sleep." Booth tried to stay, awake but quickly lost the battle. Brennan watched him for a few minutes before turning her attention to Christine, she let her cry it was all she could do. Once Christine had calmed down Brennan pulled back and handed Christine a handful of tissues from the box on Booth's bedside table, she waited for Christine to wipe her tears. "Feel Better?"
Christine shrugged, "I wasn't too scared when that agent came to the house and told me, but seeing daddy all hooked up to everything…"
"I know… Agent Haskins shouldn't have told you, it should have been me or Aubrey. I talked to the doctor before I came in here, he said that your dad will be fine. He'll need to stay here for a few days to make sure the bleeding is under control. They had to do a surgical repair to a vein and muscles in his arm, but everything went as expected. The oxygen is helping while his body is waking up from the surgery. He will be fine, I promise."
"He's been sleeping a lot…"
Brennan nodded, "sleeping is good for him it's helping him heal."
"Do you think it hurts?"
"It does hurt, a lot but the nurses are giving your dad very strong pain medications so he doesn't hurt. That's why he's been sleeping a lot, the pain medication along with the antistatic from the surgery is making your dad very sleepy. Why don't you take your new book over to the couch and read while your dad is sleeping?" Christine raised an eyebrow, Brennan smiled. "I saw it through the bag. I want to borrow it when you're done."
"Okay." Once Christine was settled on the couch with her book and a spare blanket, Brennan went over to Booth's bedside. She kissed his forehead before sitting down and holding his hand. The only sound in the room was the monitors keeping tabs on Booth's vital signs. After a while Brennan began to relax a little this injury while serious wasn't as bad as some of the ones Booth had in the past. Brennan sent texts to Angela, Cam and Aubrey letting them know that Booth was doing okay and just sat holding his hand. After a little while Booth started to wake up. "Bones?"
"I'm here, Booth. How do you feel?"
"Like I got stabbed…"
Brennan rolled her eyes, "how's your pain?"
"I need meds, but don't call the nurse yet. I wanna talk to you before I go to sleep again."
"Okay."
"Bones, I'm sorry that Haskins brought Christine here. I told him to go to American and tell you what happened and that I was hurt. Then take you to get her then drive you both here. I never meant for her to see me like this without you telling her first."
"Booth, it's okay, Christine is scared, but she'll be fine. It's not your fault Agent Haskins can't follow orders. He told me he didn't know what happened to you that you both were standing there talking to the suspect and the next thing he knows you're on the ground bleeding…"
"Yeah, we gave the guy the warrant and he was calm talking to us. Then all the sudden I feel something in my arm and I look over and I'm bleeding. Haskins tackled the guy and one of the crime scene people called for an ambulance and packed stuff around the knife so it wouldn't move and do more damage. I don't know where the knife came from… I told Haskins to get you as they were loading me in the ambulance then I blacked out…"
"The doctor says you'll make a full recovery."
"That's good. Hopefully I won't have a bad scar."
"You shouldn't. Barring complications you should be able to come home by Wednesday."
"That's good. Bones, take Christine home…"
"I'll call Angela to come get her."
"Call Angela to take you both home-"
"I want to stay here with you tonight."
"I know and I want you to, but Christine needs you at home with her. No fourteen year old should go through what she did today then have to spend the night without her mom."
"Okay I'll take her home and stay with her tonight. I don't need to call Ange to get us, I have my car."
"Haskins was supposed to drive you here."
"He told me, but I told him I was capable of driving myself. I knew your injuries while serious weren't life threatening. They wouldn't have allowed Christine in here otherwise. He did follow me here and walk with me to your room."
"At least he did that."
Brennan stood and kissed Booth. "I love you, Booth."
"I love you too, Bones."
"Call me if you need me."
"I will." Booth watched Brennan walk over to the couch and wake Christine. "Christine, you need to wake up…" Christine sat up and blinked, "daddy?"
Brennan smiled a little, "dad is fine, you and I are going home so he can rest and start getting better. We'll see him tomorrow afternoon after we pick up your brother from his sleepover. You can call him in the morning though. Go tell him goodbye." Christine slipped off the couch and walked to Booth's bed, she was gentler with hugging him this time. "Bye daddy."
"Bye Christine. I'm going to be fine…"
"I know…"
"Love you."
"Love you too."
Brennan kissed Booth one more time before putting her arm around Christine and leaving the hospital. Booth waited a few minutes for Brennan and Christine be away from his floor before he called for the nurse to give him his next dose of pain medication.
B&B
Once they were on their way home Brennan turned to Christine, "do you want to get pizza for dinner?"
"No." Brennan raised an eyebrow.
"Daddy and I were going to go out for pizza, cheesy bread, and cinnamon twists when he got back…"
"Okay. Do you want Chinese?"
"Yeah…"
Brennan handed Christine her phone, "order it from the app so it's ready to pick up when we get there in less you want to eat there…"
Christine took the phone and ordered. Thirty minutes later Brennan sat the takeout bags on the coffee table and went to get plates and napkins. Christine sat down on the couch, Brennan handed her a plate and started unpacking their food. Christine put some food on her plate and sat back on the couch. She began destructing her eggroll, "mom, how do you do it?"
"How do I do what?"
"Not freak out when dad gets hurt…."
Brennan put her plate down and looked at Christine, "I freak out every time your dad gets hurt. I just learned a long time ago not to let him see me freak out. Aunt Angela has seen me freak out due to your dad getting hurt plenty of times."
"Why don't you let daddy see you?"
"Because it makes your dad feel like he let me down then he feels guilty for getting hurt and upsetting me. His getting hurt isn't his fault, it's the risk of his job, and I accepted that a long time ago. It scares me every time he gets hurt. I'm afraid that someday I will lose him. When you were about two years old he was going to go after a serial killer and before he left I told him he wasn't allowed to die. It was irrational, but I can't picture my life without your dad in it. Even when we were just partners, I couldn't picture working without your dad by my side. Early in our partnership he got shot and the FBI decided to fake his death to apprehend a suspect. I was supposed to be told he hadn't died, but I wasn't. I was told he died in surgery. I freaked out that night, I don't remember getting home that night, but I did. I didn't leave my apartment for three days. Aunt Angela stayed with me then and made sure I ate and showered. After that I got more scared every time he got hurt that this time will take him away from us. I was scared when I saw Agent Haskins waiting for me outside the lecture hall. When he told me that you were with your dad I relaxed a little because I knew if he was hurt very badly they wouldn't have allowed you to be with him."
"When he came here I thought nothing of it at first then he said daddy was hurt and you weren't answering the phone…I got really scared."
"Christine, he never called my cell and the operator at the Jeffersonian said I hadn't got any calls through the switchboard. I don't have messages on my direct line either. I'm not telling your dad though, Agent Haskins is in enough trouble with him for telling you… I'm very sorry you were scared. Rest assured that your father will take care of Agent Haskins' lapses in judgement when he returns to work."
"I know. I heard daddy yelling at him when I came back from the gift shop. I waited in the hall for him to get done. Then I waited a few minutes to go in the room so he wouldn't know I heard him yelling." Brennan smiled and went back to her dinner.
B&B
Late the next morning Brennan and Christine picked Hank up from his sleepover and Brennan explained to him what happened to Booth before they headed to spend the afternoon at the hospital. Brennan led Christine and Hank to Booth's room, she quietly knocked before opening the door and letting the children enter. Brennan was pleased to see that Booth looked better and he wasn't sleeping. "Hey guys!" Booth tried to smile.
"Hi…dad…"
"Come here, Hank…" The nine year old carefully walked to Booth's bedside and buried his head Booth's shoulder. "Easy, Hank."
Booth rubbed his back. "It's alright, Bones. I'm gonna be fine, buddy. It's just a little cut, I'm probably gonna have a scar. The doctor says I should be able to come home on Wednesday, so that means you have two days to practice your new video game. While I'm home for two weeks I'm finally going to take you down!"
Hank laughed a little, "We'll see, dad!"
"We will. Did you have fun at Sean's sleepover?"
"Yeah, we watched three movies, had a lot of pizza and chips and cake. We stayed up late. It was so fun! Sean's dad made pancakes for breakfast. Your pancakes are better though."
Booth laughed, "When I feel better I'll make you pancakes for breakfast."
"Okay."
Booth held out his other hand to Christine, she carefully took it. "Did you finish your paper?"
"Yeah…"
"That's good. We'll have a makeup pizza night when I get cleared to drive."
"Okay."
"How's your book?"
"Good, I'm almost done."
"Of course you are…" Brennan, Christine, and Hank spent the afternoon with Booth watching TV and talking. It was just before dinner when Angela came to get Christine and Hank, she handed Brennan a duffel bag before she left. Once the door closed Brennan turned to Booth. "I'm staying until you get discharged."
"Bones, you don't have…"
"I need to…"
"…Okay… I'm going to be fine…"
"I know. Seeing Christine fall apart yesterday was hard. I wanted to fall apart too. It broke my heart to see her so upset and you lying there in a hospital bed hurt…"
"I know, Bones it was hard for me to see Christine so upset too. I'm going to deal with Haskins as soon as I go back to work."
"Good, he needs it."
"You can fall apart now if you want. It'll make you feel better…" Booth barely had the words out of his mouth before Brennan was in his arms crying on his shoulder. "I love you so much, Bones…"
