Author's Note: This is my first Bones fic so please let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is appreciated.
Author's Note 2: I got inspiration to write this fic from a song by Patty Griffin called "Kite Song." If you want background music while reading, that song would be perfect!
Thanks to my beta's over at LiveJournal: devilish and typingwithmit10
Disclaimer: I do not own Fox, Bones, or anything really. I'm a college student.
"Holding on and Letting Go"
Booth stood back, hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans. He couldn't stop the grin that spread slowly across his face. He watched as Dr. Temperance Brennan kneeled on the ground beside his son, explaining the physics of flying a kite to a six year old.
They'd just finished a long and grueling case involving the disappearance of a young girl's parents. Booth knew it had taken its toll on Brennan emotionally, so he had invited her to spend the evening with him and Parker. Surprisingly, she had agreed. She'd been surprising him a lot since Zack's betrayal.
Parker turned his head and looked up at his father as Brennan continued her lecture. Booth saw a look on the child's face that he was certain had graced his own face many times. A look that said, make her stop.
Booth chuckled quietly and walked over to the pair.
"… And the tail of the kite is used to…"
"Uh, okay Bones, I think Parker has had enough school for today." Booth smiled and placed his hand under Brennan's elbow, helping her to stand. Brennan wiped the grass from her jeans and frowned at Booth. "I was only explaining how the kite's aerodynamics are strongly influenced by its design."
Booth ran a hand along his jaw to hide his smirk.
"This isn't the lab, Bones. We're at the park. With kids." Booth swept his arm out in a wide motion, gesturing for Brennan to look around them. Brennan glanced around them at all of the parents with their kids, all of the happy faces, and then turned her attention back to Booth. He was smiling as if he was waiting for her to catch on to something. She smirked obligingly and slightly nodded her head
"Okay then," Booth placed his hands on his knees and bent down to Parker's level. "You ready to fly that thing buddy?"
"Yeah!" Parker squealed in excitement.
"Alright. Here…" Booth reached down and pulled out a few feet of string, then handed the plastic handle to Parker.
"You start running and I'll let go of the kite at just the right time so it'll go up in the air." Parker nodded and grasped the plastic handle until his knuckles were white.
"You ready?" Booth teased. He knew Parker was about to burst with excitement so instead of waiting for his response, Booth glanced over at Brennan. She was smiling and watching Parker as he bounced enthusiastically on his tiptoes.
"Okay… GO!"
Parker started running and Booth waited until the slack in his string was almost gone before he let go of the kite. It sailed for a few seconds then swooped down towards the ground, landing with a crash.
Parker ran over to it and frowned before picking it up and running back over to his father.
"Dad! You messed up!" He whined. Booth shrugged and turned to Brennan, "It's always my fault."
Brennan laughed. For the first time since Zack's ordeal she felt like some balance was returning to her life. She attributed most of that feeling of balance to Booth. He'd been there for her in little ways; even when she hadn't realized she'd needed anyone.
"Sorry Parker. Let's try it again."
Turning her attention back to father and son, Brennan watched as Parker took off.
Booth let go of the kite but it simply torpedoed downward again.
By this time, Parker was getting upset. He just didn't understand why it wasn't working.
As Parker collected the kite and stomped back towards them, Brennan placed a hand on Booth's arm.
"Mind if I give it a try?"
Booth smiled at her and nodded. "Be my guest."
When Parker approached them again, Brennan took the kite from his tiny hands.
"Hey Parker, this time I'm going to run behind you with the kite and let it go once the wind picks it up, okay?"
Parker nodded. Brennan tucked a stray curl behind her ear and said, "I'm ready when you are."
Parker took off. He was running as fast as his short legs would allow and Brennan jogged behind him. She could hear Parker's laughter from ahead and couldn't help but giggle herself. She realized that she probably looked very silly. Glancing back at Booth, she noticed that he was laughing too.
After a few seconds, a strong breeze blew in and Brennan let go of the kite. It sailed upwards and Parker squealed as he quickly tried to let out more string.
Brennan was laughing and jogging over to help him when she caught Booth's eye. He was smiling at them… no, at her. He was smiling at her. He was looking right at her. Not at Dr. Brennan and not at his partner. Seeley was looking at Temperance.
Brennan's smile faltered at what she saw in his eyes. His look penetrated her, leaving her feeling vulnerable.
"Hey! Dr. Bones… we did it!"
Parker's voice brought Brennan back to the moment.
"Yeah, look at that! Go ahead and let out some more string." She encouraged, helping him maneuver the handle. They both looked up as the kite sailed higher and higher.
"Guess you have to have a doctorate to fly kites, huh?" Booth teased, walking up behind the two of them. She turned around to face him. Parker was still enthralled as he watched the kite hover above them.
"Don't be silly Booth." She smiled, but wouldn't meet his eyes; scared that the intensity she'd noticed earlier might still be there.
"Where'd you learn how to do that? I didn't figure you for a champion kite flyer."
She laughed uncomfortably and looked at the park bench behind him as she spoke.
"My mother. We used to spend all day out in this field near our house flying kites. Sometimes dad and Russ would come too and we would have a picnic."
Booth watched as that familiar flicker of pain flashed across her eyes.
"Daddy, it's pulling too hard. I can't hold on!"
Booth spent one more moment looking at Brennan before turning his attention to his son.
"I got it buddy."
Booth took the handle from Parker and let out a few more feet of string. Parker sat down on the ground and watched the kite sail higher.
"You know Bones, it's okay to look back on those memories and be happy. Your mom would want you to remember her that way."
Bones shrugged. "But it was a lie Booth. My mother was a criminal. I never really knew my own mother."
"Bones…" Booth started but Brennan cut him off.
"I know how you feel about it Booth."
"No, I don't think you do. I'm not talking as an FBI agent right now; I'm talking as a parent. I know your mother loved you. Don't let those memories from your childhood become tainted. They were pure and innocent."
He placed a finger under her chin and finally brought her eyes up to meet his, "Besides, you deserve some happy memories."
Brennan looked into Booth's eyes and felt that last wall around her heart collapse. It had taken him three years but he'd finally knocked down all her defenses. The vulnerability came rushing back, scaring her. She wasn't sure what to do, what to say.
Booth was now looking up at the kite himself, letting out the last of the string.
Brennan tried imagining her life without Booth, to think of a day when he wouldn't be in her life; she couldn't. Oh, realistically Brennan knew that their partnership would eventually end. But she also realized that would not be the end of their… friendship. Friendship sounded too casual. Hell, he'd taken a bullet for her, rescued her from being buried alive, and pushed her to reconnect with her father. He was always pushing her to live. And she needed that push in her life. She needed Booth. And it wasn't just her… the need was mutual. They needed each other. The center must hold.
Brennan smiled as she remembered the simple truth to that statement. They were the center. But now she was appreciating that it wasn't just the team he had been referring too, whether he'd realized it or not. She and Booth were the center of each other's lives in so many ways.
Booth turned his attention away from the kite and noticed Brennan smiling.
"What is it Bones?" His brow was furrowed in curiosity. Brennan just kept smiling and moved to stand beside him. She tilted her head up towards the sky and watched the kite soar.
Booth just shrugged inwardly and turned his attention back to the kite.
A few moments later, he felt a warm hand slip into his. He didn't turn to look at her - he didn't want to ruin this moment. He just wrapped his fingers around hers, and kept looking up at the sky as a smile spread across his face.
FIN