lol, sorry about the cliffe guys. I think my favorite and most faithful reviewer figured out what's up, but there's still A LOT to come, so bear with me. (is it 'bear' or 'bare'?)

1978

Seeley flipped his longish curly brown hair out of his eyes and squinted as the mid afternoon sun beat down on him.

"Daddy?" He looked down at the top of his father's head.

"Yeah?" Sam Booth held his son's feet with large hands, keeping the boy who was straddling his neck securely in place.

"Where are we going?"

"I told you buddy, Veterans Stadium."

"Yeah Seel. Dontcha remember? We're gonna see the Eagles in a playoff game!" Seeley's brother Jared threw a toy football over his head and caught it as he walked beside his father.

"Oh yeah." From his vantage point on top of his father's shoulders, Seeley could see what looked like gazzilions of cars all around. He wondered briefly how they'd ever find their own car after the football game was over that afternoon.

Daddy will find the car. He always does.

"Do you remember which team the Eagles are playing today bud?" Sam had been working hard to instill in his sons a love for football ever since Jared was born nine years ago. He felt especially pleased, though, that Seeley was showing an aptitude for the game, even at the tender age of five.

"Umm…" Seeley furrowed his brows thoughtfully.

"The Atlanta Falcons!" Jared shouted, jumping up and down excitedly before running ahead a few cars to retrieve his football.

"Hey! I wanted to answer it!" Seeley whined and glared at his older brother.

"It's alright bud."

"But I knew it Dad!"

Sam patted his son's foot. "I now you did. It's alright.."

Seeley didn't respond but Sam could tell the little boy was still tense on his shoulders.

"Hey buddy, how about when we get to the stadium I'll get you an Eagles baseball cap. Would you like that?"

"Cool!" Seeley immediately brightened and was contentedly quiet for a few moments.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you go faster? It's taking a long time."

Sam just grinned and rolled his eyes before breaking out into a light trot, causing little Seeley to explode with giggles as his hair flew up and down in time with his father's footsteps.

Booth swallowed hard and squeezed his mother's shoulders.

"Sorry for what Mom?" He waited until she met his gaze. "Sorry for what?"

Caroline took a deep breath.

"You're father is not here Seeley." She began shakily.

"Okay." Nothing to panic about. "Where is he?"

The woman let out at defeated sigh and turned away from her son.

"I…I don't know."

Booth watched her take a few steps away from him, covering her face with her hands.

His legs were like lead, he couldn't move. All he could do was plead for her to continue.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

The older woman whirled around toward him, her face was red and Booth took an uncertain step backward at the sight of wetness on her cheeks.

Crying? Mom…Mom doesn't cry. She's…Mom. She's strong, stronger than the rest of us…she said it was how she survived being the only woman in a house full of men. Mom doesn't cry.

"I'm sorry Seeley. This isn't how I wanted you to find out."

Booth felt like screaming. Why couldn't she just spit it out? He crossed the room and took her by the shoulders, giving her a slight shake.

"Find what out Mom? Please tell me what is going on." His voice sounded tight with worry, even to his own ears. His mother was never like this.

Caroline Booth was never tired, never old and certainly never weak. But here she was, standing right in front of him being all those things.

Suddenly she burst into tears effectivly shaking her son to his core.

"He left me Seeley! He found out…he found out about Jerry and he left me."

Booth's eyes widened and he pulled away from his mother as if he'd been burned.

Unable to withstand the look of shock on Booth's face, Caroline turned away in shame and continued speaking.

"Ten days ago your father came home early from a hunting trip. I was…with him...Jerry…Your father…he…saw things he shouldn't have." She was whispering to the dishes, her head bowed low over the sink.

Booth's eyes darted around the kitchen, trying to comprehend what he'd just heard. He felt like a rug had been pulled out from under him and got the distinct impression he was falling. He stumbled into a nearby chair.

An affair? Mom cheated on Dad? How is that possible? Why did she do it? How long has it been going on? What did Dad say? What does this mean?

His mind was racing, but all his questions caught in his throat as he stared at his mother's back. She was slumped far over the kitchen sink, her head hanging in dispair.

Boot let his heavy head fall into his hands and breathed deep, fighting back emotions that threatened to end him right there.

Slowly, the image he'd always had of his mother, a laughing woman so full of love and strength and honesty, slowly it faded away. Only Booth didn't know what to replace it with.

The woman before him was not the woman he knew as Caroline Booth. The Caroline Booth who would fight to the death to keep her family together, keep them safe.

Booth didn't feel safe.

"I didn't tell you because I kept hoping he would come back. I haven't seen Jerry since."

The hint of sadness in her whisper at mention of his name was like a punch in the chest and Booth shot out of his chair.

"You miss him don't you?! You're own husband of thirty-five years is gone and you're worried about seeing your lover again?" Booth's voice boomed through the thick silence in the kitchen.

"How could you mom? After all the grief you gave me for having Parker out of wedlock." He started shaking his head, pacing behind the large Oak dining room table. "After all your high and mighty speeches to me and Jared about our multiple partners? How dare you!"

"Seeley, no it wasn't like that." Caroline turned around, desperate for some sort of forgiveness or compassion in her son's eyes.

"It was a single slip up Seeley, a moment of weakness." She started toward him and he immediately backed away.

"Like hell it was Mom!" He threw up his hands and closed his eyes, but his voice never faltered.

A slip up is a drunken kiss in a bar. This was…something else.

Caroline stepped toward Booth again, attempting to calm him, but he put up his hand to stop her.

"Don't. Just...don't okay?" He bit his lower lip and met her gaze once more.

The look of longing, fear and remorse on her face made him nauseas.

He was here. This guy was in our house.

"I have to go." He said in voice barely above a whisper.

He snatched up his coat and tie and headed for the door.

"Seeley!"

Booth slammed the front door, ran to his SUV and tore out of the driveway.

Suddenly the familiar streets of his hometown stabbed at his heart instead of warming it.

He wanted to forget everything that had just happened, forget his mother's face and his father's pain. Forget the betrayal he felt looming in his heart, but every street corner reminded him of them.

His head was spinning, he felt like he couldn't breathe.

I shouldn't be reacting like this. I'm a grown man. I can handle this.

Booth tried to take a deep breath, but it got caught in his throat and turned into a sob.

He gripped the steering wheel at the next red light and closed his eyes.

He didn't feel like a grown man.

In DC he was a sniper trained Special Agent who solved murders.

In Philadelphia he was a young man dressed in army fatigues, putting on a brave face as he waved his family goodbye, while inside he was crying like a baby.

In DC he was the father of a five-year-old boy and the only FBI agent willing to spend his days interacting with the unintentionally condescending but ultimately endearing Squint Squad.

In Philadelphia he was a cocky kid who loved baseball and ate Philly Cheese steaks like they were going out of style.

In DC he felt like a grown man.

In Philadelphia he felt lost.

A car honked behind him and Booth slammed his foot on the gas even before his eyes were fully open. He wasn't driving aimlessly anymore. He knew where he wanted...needed to be.

-----------------------------

Brennan rolled over in the dark room and stared at the ceiling. Something had woken her and before making another move, she tried to identify it, her muscles already tensing for a fight.

She sighed when she heard the sound again, a gentle rapping on the door. Groaning, Brennan managed to roll the rest of the way off the bed and stumble to the door, not bothering to look at the clock.

She didn't care if it was four in the afternoon or three in the morning, she just wanted to sleep.

Rubbing the her eyes, she yawned and peered through the peephole out into the bright hotel hallway.

Booth?

Immediately she unlocked the door and swung it open, glad she'd decided to wear her most comfortable pajama pants and a baggy t-shirt to bed that night.

"Booth is everything alright?" Brennan tilted her head to the side.

Booth stood with his hands jammed in his pockets, staring at the ground beneath his feet. He was silent for a few moments and she was about to repeat her question when she saw an almost microscopic shake of his head.

She took a step closer to him and touched his arm, noting his clenched jaw muscles curiously. Booth forced his gaze up to meet hers, his head still down cast.

Reading the question in her eyes, he took a deep breath.

"My um…my parents…they're…" He frowned. What were his parents?

Finally, he shrugged. "I don't know what they are." He smiled wryly, but Brennan didn't return it.

She surprised herself two fold then.

She knew exactly what that look in his eyes was, a look she'd seen in her own eyes too many times before. And for once she knew exactly what to do about it.

Pursing her lips, she pushed aside a voice in her mind that said she was about to walk back into that gray area between 'friendship' and 'romance' with her partner, and stepped forward.

Wrapping her arms around Booth's large frame, Brennan held her breath and waited for his reaction. Booth was too relieved to be stunned and un-pocketed his hands and returned the hug.

He laid his cheek against her head and closed his eyes.

"Thank you Bones." He whispered, and she squeezed his middle in response.

You'd do the same for me Booth. You always have.

Alright, lets get down to the B&B shall we?