First, thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites - the response to the first one-shot was amazing and there is clearly more interest in this thread than I thought there would be. I personally love Max and wish we saw more of him on the show, especially now when poor Brennan is struggling alone with her feelings :(

This one-shot is based on the promo for next week's episode, The Doctor in the Photo, but only in the very loosest sense of the word. I haven't read sides or any specific spoilers and there is only one small piece of information from the promo that I specifically address here; it deals with how Brennan is immersing herself in the case. This is mostly how I imagine Max would react if he saw Brennan struggling to adapt to her new role in Booth's life (or lack thereof) this season. I'm not a Booth basher, though he clearly has issues at the moment, but I doubt Max would give him a pass here so that's what I went with. I hope you like it - please review and if anyone has suggestions on what they might like to see from this thread please let me know. :)

Disclaimer - I do not pretend to own the characters of the show. Frankly, I'm happy I can claim no responsibility for the mess currently known as Season 6 :P

When Booth arrived at the Jeffersonian to pick up Parker from the after school science program, he found both his son and Max with Hodgins, their three heads bent together as they examined a sample of a rare type of moth Hodgins had just received.

Parker's eyes lit up as he saw his father approach. "Dad come here, you gotta see this!"

Booth ran a hand over Parker's head as he listened to his son describe the moth while Hodgins looked on proudly.

"I think we have a budding entomologist on our hands here," Hodgins remarked fondly.

Parker shook his head. "Bugs are cool but I think I'd rather do what Bones does, or be a professional baseball player. Hey Dad, did you know that Bones even talks to the bones?"

"What do you mean she talks to the bones, buddy?" Booth asked, puzzled.

"This new case she's working on, she talks to that lady's bones. I know 'cuz I heard her talking and I was gonna ask her why but Angela said maybe I shouldn't bother her right then. She couldn't hear me anyway 'cuz she was wearing earphones. But it was kind of cool because it was like a whole conversation, like the lady was answering her. Do you think she was answering her, like magic? Maybe Bones is like the Bone Whisperer, like the guy who talks to dogs."

Booth felt a funny catch in his chest as he looked at Hodgins and Max. "Is this true?" He knew the case had been bothering Brennan but he somehow hadn't imagined it to be that bad.

"Shouldn't you be the one giving us the answers, Booth? You're her partner, after all. If you don't know what's going on then I'd say there's a problem." The expression in Max's eyes was slightly dangerous as he pulled off his gloves and tossed them in the trash can. He'd watched his daughter struggle with this case for days, retreating further and further into her work and away from all of her friends. It was clear to him that Tempe saw herself in the victim and the fact that Booth was largely unaware of the pain she was in made him angry.

Even Parker could pick up on the sudden tension in the room and Hodgins looked decidedly uncomfortable. Parker looked between Max and Booth. "Max, are you mad at my Dad?"

Max smiled at Parker and ruffled his hair. "Of course not."

Parker looked doubtful. "You looked at him the same way Mom looked at me the time I used the coffee table to scrape dog poop off my shoe and she was really mad."

"I guess we all step in it sometimes," Max said lightly. He knew he was goading Booth, but considering the fact that he felt like doing far worse he felt he was showing remarkable restraint. You'd be proud Ruthie, he thought as he watched Booth's expression grow darker.

Booth's jaw clenched and Hodgins hastily stepped in. "Ok Parker, time to go check on those cocoons before you leave." Parker forgot all about what was going on between Max and Booth as he followed eagerly behind Hodgins.

Max turned his back on Booth and started straightening up the lab station. Booth stared at him, waiting, but when it became clear that Max considered the conversation done he spoke. "What's going on with Bones?"

Max didn't even look up. "Maybe you should be asking her."

Booth felt his frustration growing. Finally, he admitted, "I know this case is affecting her more than usual but when I asked her about it a couple of days ago she said she was fine." What he didn't add was that she had shut him down in a way she hadn't done since the first few months of their partnership and while it had bothered him, he let had let it go like so many other things lately.

Max snorted. "Well, if you asked her about it once two whole days ago then I'd say you've done all you could." He reminded himself he'd already killed one member of the FBI - he doubted he could play that card twice and get away with it.

"If you have something to say, Max, then just come out and say it," Booth shot back, reaching the end of his patience.

"If I say what I really want to say right now then one of us will probably start punching and I'm not as young as I used to be." Max turned to face Booth as he continued, "I've always had a soft spot for you Booth. You took care of my daughter when she didn't know she needed anyone to take care of her. You took her out of the lab and into the world and you helped her discover that she had so much more to give. You helped all of us - me, Russ and Tempe - to be a family again. I'll always be grateful to you for that but the truth is that right now I wish my daughter had never met you."

Booth was wound tight now as he listened to Max. "Would you care to explain that?"

Max pursed his lips - restraint be damned. "That's my point - if you'd been paying attention the last couple of months I wouldn't have to explain it. You've been partners and friends for longer than some marriages work out, Booth. She's always trusted you but ever since you came back, parading your girlfriend through the lab like the shiny new sports car a man buys when his midlife crisis hits, all I've seen you do is treat her like she's somehow less important now."

Booth felt a surge of anger as he fired back. "You don't get to pass judgment on me or my relationship with Bones. She knows how important she is to me and Hannah hasn't changed that."

"If that's what you really think then you're fooling yourself. Tempe's life is revolving more and more around work lately. She stays when everyone else is gone. According to the night guard she's working later and later, and last weekend she didn't go home." Max regarded Booth carefully as he relayed this information. "She stayed here and talked to those bones; according to the night guard she's been doing that a lot lately. There was a time when she would have gone to you for answers and now? Now she's trying to get them from a pile of bones on a table and the night guard knows more about what's going on with her than her partner does."

Booth leaned back against the table and then lifted a hand to the back of his neck. He tried not to picture Brennan spending the entire weekend on the forensic platform because it hurt and he couldn't start down that path again with her. Finally he looked up at Max and said, "Maybe I'm not as involved in her life right now but I still care about her as much as you do. I'll make her talk to me and I'll figure out what's going on with her right now but you can't blame me for trying to balance Hannah and work the best way I know how. I deserve to be happy too."

Max knew there was some piece of the puzzle he was missing here. Whatever had sent the two of them running from D.C. was clearly still very present. It was like the mastodon that had been set up on the forensic platform while they'd been away. It was gone now but its essence was still there, filling the space and forcing everyone to whisper as they carefully stepped around it. "That's not what I blame you for," he replied evenly.

"Then what?"

"I blame you for showing her that her life could be different and then walking away. There was a time when she could have handled this - all of this. The problem is that now she understands the difference between what is and what could be and it's made her sad. It's made her sad in a way that hurts me to see because she's my baby and I love her. As much as I'd like to, as her father I can't forgive you for that right now." Max walked away without a backward glance. He might be too old to actually punch Booth, but he could deliver a metaphorical blow or two. He just hoped that would be enough to spur him to some sort of action.

Up next - Judas on a Pole