A couple of notes: This concept has been tackled before, but the idea of Brennan taking over custody of Parker has intrigued me for awhile. This story is AU as of The Foot in the Foreclosure, when we learn more about Booth's family life. This story is made up of glimpses of how Brennan tackles different aspects of raising Parker, so it is not always properly sequential in nature. The first chapter is the most "normal" chapter, because it is necessary to set-up the rest.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Bones, Booth, or even the adorable Parker.
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"It's family, Bones, nothing trumps family. Just remember that."- Special Agent Seeley Booth
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Phone Calls
She's hasn't felt warm since she received the call, nearly a week ago, now. She was listed as his emergency contact, so they called her shortly after rushing him to the hospital. She still doesn't remember leaving the lab or driving the hospital, but she must have because she had her keys, and when she left the hospital she managed to find her car in the lot without too much trouble. She does remember entering the emergency room, though, because she recalls the frustration she felt with the personnel who couldn't—or wouldn't, she still thinks darkly—answer her questions. She finally pinned down a doctor and managed to wrestle an update from him: multiple gun-shot wounds, emergency surgery, critical condition, "Doing all we can." The rest of the story comes from the FBI agent who answers Booth's phone when she calls it, looking for answers.
They had just wrapped up a case, not their normal homicide investigation, but a review of evidence for the appeal of a man sentenced to life for the murder of his neighbor's twin little girls. The forensic evidence and additional bone markings her intern discovered did not support the prosecution's case. The man had been wrongfully convicted, and thanks to the work of her team (and Booth's suspicion of the handling of the investigation) he was freed to return to his family. After their traditional post-case pie, Booth had headed over to Rebecca's to pick up Parker for the weekend.
The rest had been pieced together by the investigators, but it seemed that father of the girls who had been killed followed Booth. He was in Parker's room helping him pack when the man kicked in the front door carrying a .38. It was sheer luck that Booth hadn't been in the kitchen with Rebecca when he arrived, or there was no doubt that all three would have been killed. As it was, Booth had instinctively hidden Parker in the closet before responding to the sound of the shot which had caught Rebecca in the chest, hitting an artery and killing her almost instantly. It was no doubt the sight of her blood which distracted Booth for just that fraction of a second, because although the round he fired hit the intruder in the gut, it was no kill shot. The intruder emptied his gun into Booth, before stumbling from the house and throwing himself into his car. If he'd searched the house or if Parker hadn't listened to his father and had investigating the gunfire, there was no way of knowing if Parker would have survived. As it was, Parker did listen, not leaving the closet until the officers who responded to a neighbor's frantic 9-1-1 call searched the house and found him.
The shooter was found a couple blocks from the house, bleeding out in his Cadillac. He was simultaneously arrested and rushed to the hospital, and if the EMT driving (whose brother is a cop), hadn't driven quite as fast as he could have…well, no one said a thing.
She was listed as his emergency contact, his power of attorney, so she's the one that signs form after form for surgeries meant to keep him alive. She doesn't leave the hospital for over two days, but Angela brings her fresh clothes and the whole team sits shifts with her, forcing her to eat or nap while they wait for news. It takes almost forty-eight hours for there to be real news about Booth, and when she hears it, she almost wishes she was still ignorant. There will be a new type of waiting now, because Booth is in a coma, and because of the damage his brain sustained, they don't know when or if he'll wake up. She tackles the information and paperwork with a calm born of forced distance. She handles it as a doctor, a scientist, calculating odds and making decisions. It isn't until she's determined that he isn't going to wake up soon, at any rate, that Angela is able to convince her to go back to her apartment. It isn't until the water of the hot shower hits her that she stops being a scientist and starts being someone whose best friend might never joke with her again. She isn't able to stop the sobs for hours.
It's a phone call that turned her numb, so it's a phone call that snaps her out of it. It's early evening, and she knows she should be eating dinner, but she hasn't had an appetite, so she's instead sipping a coffee that's long since gone cold. Her phone rings, and when she checks the caller id her stomach lurches, because it's a call from Booth's apartment. It isn't until she hears the quiet, nervous "Doctor Bones?" that she remembers Parker is staying at Booth's with his paternal grandparents, since Rebecca's boyfriend, Drew, foisted him off on them in a panic after the incident.
Her confusion swiftly turns to action, however, when Parker starts to explain that his father made him memorize her number in case Booth or Rebecca couldn't be reached, and that his Grampa isn't acting right, he's scared, but Gramma says that Gramps didn't mean to hurt his arm. She's halfway out the door before he can finish, reassuring him that she'll take care of everything.
When she reaches Booth's apartment, she doesn't bother to knock, instead using the spare key he gave her eons ago. The grandmother is in the kitchen, looking so frightened at her abrupt arrival, but she's too driven to care. She heads straight into Parker's room, where she finds him sitting in the corner, holding his arm. She doesn't hesitate before telling him that she's taking him away, and begins gathering some of his things. The Grandfather stumbles into the room at this point, and she can smell the cheap whiskey on him from halfway across the room. He demands that she leave, but she cuts him off saying that she'll be gone in minutes, but Parker is coming with her. He takes a swing at her, but she's faster and he's drunk so she takes him out with one rage-driven punch. When she turns back to Parker, she finds that he's finished packing, and is clutching his backpack to him with fearful eyes. She reaches out for his hand, and leads him out of the apartment, leaving the Grandmother screaming about the police.
She drives a couple blocks before pulling over and examining Parker's arm. It's not broken, sprained at worst, but she plans on taking him to the hospital, just in case. She's halfway there before she realizes that by this point there's probably an Amber Alert out about the two of them. She has Caroline meet them at the hospital, and the next few hours are full of x-rays and legal action.
She doesn't know what would have happened if she hadn't been so well-known or Booth so well-respected by law-enforcement. As it is, she's almost forced to return Parker or face arrest. Instead, luck intervenes in the form of Jared Booth. He was unreachable in India, but they'd left him a message explaining Seeley's condition. He calls her for details just before she's supposed to meet with the judge. Through the magic of modern technology, Jared manages to video conference with the judge and he explains that a puppy shouldn't be left in the care of his father, let alone a child. Rebecca has no living immediate family and Jared is on the other side of the world, so the judge appoints her Parker's temporary guardian, pending Booth's condition. As she leaves the judge's quarters, she finds herself wanting to call Russ and thank him for asking her to be certified as a foster mother. It isn't until she and Parker are back in her car that the anxieties about the situation start to hit.