She watched as the seven year old and five year old peaked into the bassinet that held their younger brother. She moved her eyes away from the three children to the man who had changed her. She couldn't help but smile when he to walked up to the bassinet to look at his youngest child.
"Sweetie are you okay?" Angela Montenegro-Hodgins asked, causing her friend to blink away her memory.
"I'm fine." Dr. Temperance 'Bones' Brennan-Booth assured as she looked at the field where son was playing his first game of tackle football.
"Thinking about Seeley?" Angela asked softly, as not to be heard by the thirteen year old boy in front of her.
"He was so small Angela, so small." Brennan mumbled.
"Avi?" Angela asked looking at the smallest boy on the team.
"He's still so small. I shouldn't have said yes to football yet." Brennan said, worry in her eyes.
"Avi is small, but he has enough heart to make up for his short stature." Angela said then after some thought added, "Plus look at Rae and Parker, they shot up at ten. And Rae hit another growth spurt this year."
Brennan's eyes fell to the eleven year old girl who was yelling from the sidelines and smiled as she said, "Rae did get tall didn't she."
Angela put her hand on Brennan's shoulder saying, "They are so much like him. You have nothing to worry about."
His early mornin' attitude
You have to drag him out of bed
Only frosted flakes will do
He gets that from me
Yeah, he gets that from me
"Avi acts just like me in the morning. Or at least how I did at that age." Brennan said watching her youngest as he ran along the field.
"Have to pull him out of bed and frosted flakes are all he'll eat." Angela said agreeing, as she had been their plenty of times in the morning.
"Rae and Parker are nothing like that, not even at seven. They were morning kids. Saturday morning cartoons at six in the morning. Asking to play outside by eight." Brennan said, her eyes traveling from her daughter to her stepson as she said it.
"I remember, Jack and I always hopped you keep them and just give us Xavier on your romantic weekends." Angela said remembering the early morning weekends she'd had with the two oldest, while the youngest slept in till noon if you'd let him.
His curly hair and his knobby knees
The way the sun brings those freckles out
Talk and talk never miss a beat
Yeah, he gets that from me
He gets that from me
"His hair color, those freckles that he'll grow out of. Talks and talks, so fast sometimes we don't know what he's saying." Brennan said, her eyes back on the football field.
"All you Sweetie, all you." Angela said softly.
"Rae has Seeley's brown hair. Parker has Rebecca's blond hair. Stand them together and you couldn't tell they were siblings." Brennan said just as softly as Angela had.
He looks at me with those big brown eyes
He's got me in the palm of his hands
And I swear sometimes
It's just like you're here again
He smiles that little crooked smile
There's no denying he's your child
Without him I don't know what I'd do
He gets that from you
Oh, he gets that from you
"Those big brown eyes and the charm smiles are all Seeley though." Angela said nodding to Rahne 'Rae' Booth who was flashing the coach the smile as he glared at her for getting over zealous.
"I know and they all have me in the palms of their hands." Brennan said then mumbled, "Stupid charm smile."
"Well with those traits, there is no denying they're his children or that they're siblings." Angela said, she gave a small laugh as Rae bent her head and went to sit on the bench.
"What would I do without them?" Brennan asked rhetorically.
How he loves your old guitar
Yeah, he's taught himself to play
He melts my heart
Tells me he loves me everyday
And cracks a joke at the perfect time
Makes me laugh when I want to cry
That boy is everything to me
He gets that from you
He gets that from you
"Did I tell you that Xavier found Seeley's old guitar?" Brennan asked looking at her friend for the first time.
"Seeley played guitar?" Angela asked surprised.
"Yes and it seems that Avi has one more thing about him, that is just like Seeley." Brennan said after looking back at the field.
"Does it just melt your heart when they say 'I love you'?" Angela asked, before adding, "I know it melts my heart when Zee tells me that."
Brennan smiled at the mention of her Godson, and then answered, "It is physically impossible for you heart to melt. But it does feel good."
Angela smiled at Brennan as she said, "Avi is good at cracking jokes right when someone needs one."
Brennan's smile faltered slightly as she said, "He gets that from Seeley."
Last night I heard him pray
Lord, help me and mama make it through
And tell daddy we'll be okay
He said he sure misses you
He sure misses you
He really misses you
He gets that from me
Angela looked over at Xavier 'Avi' Booth as she said, "I hear him praying last night."
Brennan looked at her as she said, "Parker and Rae showed him a few years ago. But you knew that."
Angela shook her head and said, "It wasn't what he was doing it was what he said, that surprised me."
"What did he say?" Brennan asked, curious as to what her son could have said to surprise her friend.
"Lord, please help me, mama, Parker, and Rae to make it through. Tell Daddy we're all fine and we'll be okay. I wish I could miss him, but I didn't know him to well. But tell him Parker and Rae sure miss him and that I wish he were here." Angela said, telling her word for word what the youngest Booth had said the night before.
"I never realized it affected him that way." Brennan said softly as she watched Xavier run down the field again.
"It was bound to happen sometime; at least he has a good support system in Rae and Parker." Angela said, drawing her friend's attention to her.
Brennan had tears in her eyes as she asked, "Am I doing this wrong?"
Before Angela could answer there was an uproar of cheers, Parker Booth jumped up and yelled, "Yeah, they won! They won!"
Brennan and Angela turned to the field as Parker ran down, Rae already on the field hugging her youngest brother. Parker quickly reached his siblings and they hugged each other before Parker and Rae lifted Xavier onto their shoulders.
Brennan and Angela stood up, as they watched the three together Angela softly told Brennan, "Your doing everything you can Sweetie, and that is great."
Brennan gave Angela a quick smile before waving at Xavier who shouted something to his older siblings. The three Booth children quickly started for the two women, so they could all celebrate the win.
As Angela headed down the bleachers to meet them Brennan looked up at the sky and whispered, "We did well with them."
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Bones. I do however own Xavier 'Avi' Booth, Rahne 'Rae' Booth, and Zack 'Zee' Hodgins.
