This story is in honor of Veteran's Day.
I don't own Bones.
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The day was overcast and threatening rain, but Booth knew he had to be there. Standing before his grandfather's grave, Booth wore his uniform to honor the man who'd served his country during World War II and later as a police officer with the Philadelphia Police Department.
His grandfather had died while he was in prison and much to Booth's sorrow he had been unable to attend his funeral. The last words he had with his grandfather had been on the phone six days before the old man had died.
"Hey Pops."
Seeley, I wish I could come and see you, but I haven't been feeling well. I do plan to come as soon as I can though. You know you can count on me, Son.
"Sure Pops, you have to take care of yourself first. I get that. I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me. You get well."
I do worry about you. I worry a lot about you. It just doesn't make sense how they can lock up a man like you . . . um . . . As soon as I feel well, I'll come and see you . . . I love you, Seeley.
"I love you too Pops. I always have and I always will. When you took us away from Dad, you saved me . . . I never told you that. I'd had enough of the beatings and I was going to kill myself. I know it's a sin to take your own life, but I wasn't going to let Dad beat the shit out of me anymore and . . . and when you came and saw what was going on and you took me away from Dad, you saved me . . . I . . ."
The breeze picking up, Booth turned his face away from the wind. "When I was a kid, before I went to live with you, Mom bought me some toy soldiers for my birthday." Not sure why he was telling his grandfather about them, he cleared his throat and continued.
"They were pretty good toys and me and Jared played with them when it was raining and we weren't allowed to go outside . . . One day, while Mom was still living with us, Dad came home and he was drunk." Chuckling softly, Booth shook his head, "Of course he was drunk."
Exhaling sharply, Booth was filled with anger even now, after all these years, at the injustice of what his father had done. "Dad went upstairs to go to bed and he stepped on one my Army men. Jared and me . . . we didn't pick them all up like we should have and Dad stepped on it. . . . He went ballistic. He found me in my bedroom and he threw the soldier at me and . . . and he beat me. He beat me pretty badly . . . he found my soldiers and he threw them away. He said that . . . he said that no boy of his was going to serve in the Army not after the way he'd been treated. Pops . . . it wasn't like it was when you came home from the war. You guys had parades and everyone was grateful that you'd served. Times were different when Dad served and Vietnam wasn't a popular war. Someone spat on him at the airport when he came back and . . . well, you know how Dad took that."
He missed his grandfather and oh how he wanted to see him just one more time. Once more to tell him how much he loved him. Rubbing his hand across his mouth, Booth sniffed and even though his throat felt tight, he continued. "Mom found one of the soldiers outside next to the garbage can and saved it for me . . . She gave it to me and she told me to keep it hidden from Dad. She told me that our family came from a long line of soldiers and that we should be proud of the service our family has given to this country."
One sour note in his thoughts came to the forefront, which caused Booth to sigh. "Well, except for 'that' Booth, the bastard . . . anyway Mom believed that Dad was wrong and that we should be proud not angry or bitter about our service . . . I am proud too. I joined because of you. You're the bravest man I know and I always wanted to be just like you. I hope . . . even though I was in prison . . . you know that wasn't my fault, so I hope you were proud of me too, Pops. I tried . . ."
Moisture filling his eyes, Booth felt the tears start to race down his cheeks. "I love you." Letting the tears fall, Booth reached into his jacket pocket and removed a toy soldier from its depth. Rubbing his thumb across the tiny helmet, Booth nodded his head and moved closer to the tombstone. Placing the toy soldier on the ground next to the gravestone, Booth stepped back, saluted and slowly lowered his arm.
"You were a brave man, Pops. You were never a Tin Soldier. You were a real man and someone I was very proud of. Thank you for your service and thank you for taking me in. Thank you for being the father I needed and wanted. I'll see you again someday and when we do . . . when we do, I'll . . .I'll be so happy to see you again."
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Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all who have served. Thanks to the families who have supported their men and women while they served. We wouldn't be who we are without you.