A/N: This chapter takes place after Daredevil in the Mold. If you'd like to read my version of how Hank reacted to meeting Hannah, check out my story called Twelve Days, chapter 11. There are references to that story here, but it's not necessary to read that chapter to understand this chapter.
Glancing at the clock, Hank Booth smiled to himself. It was almost five in the evening. I'd better get a move on. Shrimp will be here for dinner any minute. Chuckling, Hank checked out his reflection in his bathroom mirror. He wouldn't normally shave just to impress his grandson, but he had to admit that his grandson was a nice looking guy, and all the ladies at the retirement center liked to come around to take a peek at him, and Seeley, being a nice kid, was always sure to smile and be polite to every last one of them, making all those little old ladies giggle like school girls. Hank knew that if he was lucky, that might mean some attention for himself as well. Might not hurt to give it a quick once over, just in case Mamie stops to chat with Seeley...Of course, it hadn't hurt matters that Hank might have let it slip at dinner the other night that his grandson Seeley was probably the inspiration for Agent Andy Lister in Dr. Temperance Brennan's murder mystery books, and Hank might have also mentioned at breakfast one morning that he had actually met Dr. Brennan. I wouldn't take advantage of that situation, would I? He winked at himself in the mirror. Damn right I would…Hank let out a low whistle when he thought of Dr. Brennan. That one's a beauty...what is wrong with Shrimp?...giving up on her like that for cheap thrill with a girl like Blondie...
Shrimp had called earlier in the day to say that he was in town on some sort of official FBI business, and he wanted to see his grandfather while he was there. Hank scratched his chin as he looked around his tiny apartment for his shoes. Something's up...Shrimp just didn't sound right. He sounded sorta blue... Sitting down to tie his shoes, Hank sighed as he thought about his grandson. What that boy needs is to settle down…have some kids...
Lost in his reverie about having great grandchildren, Hank jumped a bit when the phone in his room rang. "Mr. Booth? It's Sherrie in reception. You have a visitor...your grandson is here."
"Alright, Sweetheart...tell Shrimp I'll be right there." Hank grabbed his sweater and hurried to meet Seeley in the lobby.
"Hey...Pops!" Booth wore a wide grin as he reached to embrace his grandfather. "Howya doin'? It's great to see you. Lookin' sharp, old man...still trying to impress Mamie Flaherty, I see."
"Nah, Shrimp...she's already impressed. You know women like a fella who cares about his appearance...that's why it always took you so long to get ready for school in the morning, right? Had look good for Sherrai and Monica and Teresa and…." Pops grinned and arched an eyebrow at Booth. "I couldn't keep track of all of those girlfriends you had when you were in high school, and I couldn't keep you in hair gel, either, remember? I swore to your Nana that you ate the stuff like candy…"
Booth just grinned and shook his head as he remembered how long it had taken him to fix his hair every morning when he was in high school. "Well, now I just go for the messy spiky look. Hey, what's for dinner tonight? I'm hungry."
"The menu said ham with raisin sauce. That's usually pretty good. They have scalloped potatoes and green beans with it most times. I bet if you flirt with the server, Shrimp, she'll give you extra raisin sauce. Gotta use some of that Booth charm." Hank smiled as he nodded toward the dining room. "We'd better go in and beat the crowd. It'll be stampede time for the rest of the herd pretty soon.''
Booth followed Hank into the dining room, hoping his grandfather hadn't realized how discouraged he was feeling. Booth charm….helluva lot of good Booth charm is...look where it got me. They found Hank's favorite table and sat down, talking about the weather and other odds and ends while they were waiting for the server to bring their meal. "I guess they're treating you pretty good here, Pops." He watched happily as his grandfather joked around with the men sitting at the table next to theirs. "You've got friends, three square meals a day, and somebody else has to do your laundry."
"Yeah, it's not too bad. It's better than living by myself at my age. So what brings you into town, anyway, Shrimp? I know you didn't come all this way just to have dinner with me." Hank sensed that Seeley was subdued...he was a lot quieter than his normal cheerful self. He's visiting because he wants to talk about something that's bothering him...that must be it. "You said official business...can you tell me about it?"
"No big deal. I had to help transfer a prisoner here to Philly today. We caught the guy in DC, but he committed the crime here so me and my partner brought him back." Booth was concentrating on cutting his ham, hoping his grandfather had missed his mention of a partner. God, that's all I need.
"You mean Temperance was here in town with you and you didn't bring her to dinner to see me?" Hank glared at Seeley. "You know I'd want to see her, right? God, I love that woman!" Pops banged his fist on the table. "I can't believe you didn't bring her here to see me."
"Just calm down, Pops. No reason to yell." Booth waved slightly at the people who had turned to stare before continuing. "It wasn't Bones that came with me. Actually, the guy I came with isn't even officially my partner. He's that FBI psychologist...Dr. Sweets. You met him, remember? The really young guy? He came with me so he could talk to the FBI shrink here about the case, and then he took the early afternoon train home." Taking a sip of his water, Booth tried to change the subject. "How about those Eagles, Pops? Maybe they should get a better quarterback, right?"
Hank, however, was having none of it. "Did Temperance stop working with you as your partner because you want Blondie to marry you?"
"No, it's not like that, Pops." Booth drew a heavy sigh as he stared at his dinner plate. "Things were weird between me and Bones at first because of Hannah, but I thought we were working it out. We'd had some cases together, and, actually, Bones and Hannah became good friends."
"I don't think so, Shrimp." Hank shook his head, trying to imagine Temperance and Blondie being chummy together. "Your Bones lady was just trying to be nice on your account, wasn't she?"
"Yeah...turns out…" Booth rubbed his eyes as he sat back in his chair and smiled sadly at his grandfather. "Turns out you were right...Bones felt something for me...she loves me...or at least she used to...Jesus, Pops...I've screwed everything up." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't think I can fix things this time…"
Hank put down his fork and sat with his arms folded across his chest. "Do you want to talk about it, son?", he asked gently. "I don't know if I fix it either, but I'm willing to listen."
"Okay...well, it's like this. I asked Hannah to marry me, you know, but she turned me down, because she said she wasn't the marrying kind. And you know what? I knew that was true, but I just went ahead and proposed anyway, like an idiot, and so I ended up chasing her away. She left town completely right after that, and here I am alone again. Women just don't want what I'm offering, Pops. That's all there is to it." Booth looked at his grandfather and shrugged as he wiped away a tear. "I thought I had it all figured out this time. We were having fun...we got along great most of the time...but it just didn't work out for some reason."
Hank practically bit his tongue in half to keep from shouting "I told you so!", but he knew that wasn't what Shrimp needed to hear right now. "I'm sorry things didn't work out with Hannah, son. I know you cared a lot for her...that you loved her…"
"I really did love her...I mean, I guess I did..., but here's the weird part...after I got over being mad at her and at women in general, I figured out that I was almost relieved that Hannah said no, like I knew it was the wrong thing to do all along...like I got a reprieve. So now me and Bones, we're working together like always, but it's kinda awkward, because at one time she said she had feelings for me, but she knows I proposed to Hannah...and she doesn't act like she's mad at me, but we're still kind of tiptoeing around each other, like we're afraid of spooking each other. It feels really good to get back to the way things used to be...like it's where I belong, you know? Like I was always supposed to be with her." Booth grinned sheepishly as he thought of his partner. "Like maybe...I'm...still...in love with her?"
Hank nodded. He knew exactly what his grandson meant, because he'd experienced it himself. "When I saw your Nana for the first time, she was standing behind the lunch counter at the Woolworth's down the street from my parents' house. I guess I ate lunch there almost everyday after that, but I got discouraged after a while...she didn't seem like she was interested in me. So I quit going to eat lunch there for a couple of months. I dated Betty Moberly for a while, and so I ate at the drugstore soda fountain where she worked, but it wasn't the same as that cute little girl behind the counter at Woolworth's. Finally I got up my nerve again, so I went back to have lunch at Woolworth's, and when she brought me my sandwich it had some extra chips and two pickles on the side. She had forgiven me because she loved me, and things were back to normal. I knew then I belonged with her." He leaned forward in his chair and grinned at his grandson. "I hope you know where you belong by now, Shrimp. You'd better listen to this old man...don't let Temperance get away. It didn't work out with Hannah because you were too much in love with someone else, right? Too much in love with Temperance. Don't make the same mistake twice. Don't let Temperance go. You need to make sure your Bones lady is really yours, and that she knows she belongs with you."
Booth pushed his apple pie around his plate with his fork as he thought about his grandfather's advice. "I don't know, Pops. I hurt her pretty bad...she may never forgive me, let alone love me again…"
"Trust me, son...she's never stopped loving you. Things are gonna be just fine when you tell her how you want things to be." Hank patted his grandson's arm. "Now, about those Eagles…their quarterback is rotten, ain't he?"
