Salads and Socks
By IreneAdler4
Rating: K
(I do not own any of the characters or settings within. All of that is owned by respective copy write holders. The only thing that I own is a pair of black socks with white and purple polka dots. They also have grey toes.)
"Come on Bones," Booth said. "Will you stop picking at your salad like that?"
"Well, I don't like the purple romaine, so I don't eat it." Bones replied. "It's too bitter for my tastes."
Her real name was Dr. Temperance Brennan. But Booth always called her Bones, because she worked with bones. She's a forensic anthropologist who works for the Jeffersonian Institute. Brennan was hired to identify remains from long ago. Her companion was Special Agent Seely Booth of the FBI. The two worked together on cases that dealt with bodies that could not be identified by other means. They gave solace to people who had lost their loved ones years, even decades before. These were often when she would be loaned out to the FBI. Brennan and Booth were unofficial partners.
"If you don't like it, then why do you order that salad?"
"Because it's the only salad that I like on the menu. The only thing that I don't like about it is the purple romaine."
"When did you get so picky?"
"When I realized that this salad is the most balanced meal at the diner. It has all six food groups. The chicken is particularly good."
"That also explains the large glass of milk that you ordered."
"Yes, it does."
Booth shook his head at her and sighed. He smiled at her as he looked out the window, watching the world go by. Seely was waiting for his son, Parker, at the local diner. Last week was Parker's seventh birthday, but he and Brennan were working on an important case, so he missed it. So, Rebecca was going to drop Parker off at the diner to spend a little time with his dad. And eat pie of course. Booth and Brennan were eating lunch, waiting for Parker to arrive. Well, Booth was waiting; Brennan was there to keep him company.
"I asked Rebecca to have him here at noon, and now its twelve thirty." Booth remarked. "She's never this late."
"Don't worry, she probably has a reason." Brennan replied. "Maybe she got caught in traffic or Parker took a long time getting ready."
"Parker doesn't take this long to get ready. If anyone takes a long time to get ready, it's Rebecca."
"I'm assuming that you know that from experience."
"Yeah, whenever we went anywhere, I would have to allow thirty extra minutes after I got to her place."
"Not all women are like that, you know."
"I know. It never takes you very long to get ready, even if I call in the middle of the night."
They munched is silence for a few moments. Booth seemed very engrossed in his cheese burger. Brennan guessed that he did that to keep his mind off the non- arrival of Parker. She thought Parker was a sweet boy, and very smart. If he really applied himself, he could get straight A's. Parker had a lot of his father in him though. Not that that was a bad thing. He had inherited Booth's courage, determination, energy, and unfortunately, Booth's sense of humor. Again, it wasn't a bad sense of humor; she just didn't always understand all of it.
"Excuse me," Booth said, holding up a hand to flag down a waitress. "Could you possibly bring me some pie and coffee?"
"The usual, Agent Booth?" the waitress asked.
"Yeah, thanks Trudy."
"You're welcome."
Then Booth turned to me.
"Bones, why won't you ever try the pie? It's good."
"I've never liked pie, especially the apple pie that you get." Bones said. "I like my apples crisp, not mushy."
"So the reason that you don't get pie is because you don't like mushy fruit." He sighed. "Some times I just don't understand you, Bones."
"I never said you had to understand me."
"You're nuts."
"I like most nuts, but Brazil nuts taste funny."
"What I meant was I thought you were crazy."
"So, you were being metaphoric."
"Yes, I was." He groaned. "Just finish your salad."
"Can I have a few of your fries?"
"I thought you were trying to eat a balanced lunch?"
"Yes, but you also need to have a little bit of fat and grease."
With that, the door jingled its bell and in raced Parker. He leapt straight into Booth's lap. Booth reciprocated with a big hug. They both sat there for a second, and then Booth spoke.
"Hey buddy, what took you so long?"
"We got stuck in traffic." Parker told his dad. "Mom doesn't like traffic."
"I don't think anyone does." came a remark from across the table.
Parker leapt down off his dad's lap to put his backpack on the floor. Looking under the table, he found something interesting.
"Neat socks, Bones." Parker commented.
"Well, thank you, Parker."
"You're welcome"
"What's so neat about her socks, Parker?" Booth asked as Parker clambered back up.
"She has on polka dotted socks."
"Polka dotted socks; I gotta take a look at this."
He leaned over to look under the table. Sure enough, she was wearing black socks with purple polka dots on them. Booth smiled a sly smile as he rose up.
"Looks like you've been hanging around me to long."
"I do have a logical explanation for this." Brennan said, blushing. "My washing machine is broken and I've almost ran out of clean socks."
"And in all of your vast knowledge, you don't know how to fix a washing machine?"
"I prefer more qualified people to fix my appliances."
"I could fix it for you."
"I don't want to cause any trouble." She said. "It is your day with Parker. I doubt he would want to hang around my apartment while you fix my washing machine. I don't have any video games or anything, but I do have some classic rock music…."
"I don't mind, Bones." Parker interrupted.
"What do you say?"
"I guess it's alright. I don't want to ruin your day though."
"Don't worry about it, Bones." Booth said. "Parker loves helping me fix stuff, don't you buddy?"
"Yup"
"See."
"Okay. Should we take my car or yours?"
"My car." Booth replied. "And I'm driving."
Brennan just rolled her eyes as they walked out the door.
The End