A/N: The muse bit me last night, so I got to finish one of my unfinisheds. W00t. Set a couple of years in the future.
There was a soft tap at the door, and Parker's voice filtered in through the crack. "Temp'rance?"
"Come in."
The door squeaked. "Dad wants to know when you'll be ready."
Temperance huffed through a mouthful of hair pins. "Tell him if he doesn't stop asking that he's going to be going alone."
Parker considered her a moment, then stuck his head back out the door and relayed her message at top volume. She smiled at him in the mirror as she stuck another pin into her hair.
"I don't think that's exactly what he had in mind."
The boy shrugged, and stayed by the door, watching.
She hesitated. "Would you like to keep me company while I get dressed?"
"Okay." He came further into the room and perched on the edge of the tub, watching her in the mirror. She stood there in her slip and stockings, trying to get a French twist to take shape, and hoping she could get through this without messing up somehow. It wasn't that she didn't like Parker, or that she didn't want to spend time with him; this other person in Booth's life who was so important to him. It was that she wasn't sure how. Talking to a child in the course of a case was one thing- she had an objective, to get information. And more often than she'd liked to admit, they were foster children. She was one of them, part of a special club you never truly left, and that was enough for them to connect with her. But there were no parameters here, no goal and no guidelines; yet there was so much more at stake. Parker was going to be part of her life for a long time, she hoped. And she refused to let her own social inadequacies get in the way of something so important.
It's not that hard, Brennan. You talk to people all the time. Children are people. Find common ground, and build on it.
She smiled at him again in the mirror. "When I was a little girl, I used to love to watch my mother get ready for parties. Do you do that with your mom?"
He gave a noncommittal shrug. She continued.
"My favourite part was always her shoes. She wore ones with thin straps and tiny buckles. What about you?"
"I like the makeup," he said softly, and she nodded.
"It kind of smells nice, doesn't it?"
He smiled shyly. "Yeah."
She stuck the last pin in and carefully plucked a few tendrils free, reaching for the curling iron once she was sure the whole thing wasn't going to fall out.
"I bet you miss your mom. I remember the first Christmas my mom had to be away.. It's tough." She knew she was just filling the silence now, and almost winced when she caught his expression. "I'm sorry, Parker. I didn't mean to-"
"Why did she have to go away at Christmas?"
Temperance sighed. One step forward, two steps back. "It's okay to be upset with her, but you know it's not her fault. She couldn't help that she needed to go so close to Christmas, and the storm hit at the last minute."
"I know," he said petulantly. "I just wish she was here."
She put the curler down and inspected her work, then paused and frowned. "I thought you liked staying with your dad."
"I do, it's just..." he trailed off, picking at a loose thread on his shirt..
Realisation dawned. "Me. It's not the same with me here." He looked away, and she sighed as she sat next to him. "I don't know what to do about that, Parker. I really try to give you and your dad time together, but I'm part of his life and I'm not going anywhere. Can you understand that?"
He turned on her. "I'm not stupid."
Oh, God. "I didn't say you were. We all have some adjusting to do, and I'd like it to go as smoothly as possible. I'll do whatever I can to help you get used to all these changes, but I won't disappear."
"I know," he muttered sullenly.
"...and I was sort of hoping you didn't want me to," she added, feeling a little nervous. She and Parker had always had a good relationship, and she was worried that his resentment of her new position would ruin it.
"Not all the time," he said, and she laughed.
"That's good, I guess. I'd better get going, or your father will be in here, too. Can you zip me up?"
"Sure."
She watched the boy out of the corner of her eye as she slipped the dress over her head and adjusted the straps. He was sporting what she'd started to think of as his 'thinking crease', his brows furrowed and his eyes looking at something she couldn't see. Then he shook his head, and his expression cleared.
"Temp'rance?" Parker asked, standing up on the toilet so he could reach.
"Hmm?"
"I'm glad you're here."
She turned to him and smiled. "Me, too."