New Chapter!

Thanks for all of the reviews, guys! I love reading them all; it really makes my day. There should only be about one chapter left of this and then we're going to a multichapter dramatic/conspiracy driven/angsty story that will hopefully shock and awe somewhat.

Let me know what you think!

The car was quiet. Brennan sat wishing that she had a file to review in her lap rather than wringing them together and feeling the full weight of her anxiety that she was expertly hiding behind her eyes. Booth felt relaxed sitting next to her. Everyone believed that Temperance Brennan was a complicated equation to solve, but once you get to know her; once he finally figured out her pattern, it turned out that she was fairly transparent. He knew her looks by heart, he knew what each crinkle in her brow, each position of her mouth and the passing glances meant as though he was born with her operations manual in his head at birth.

He knew that all he had to do was put the dominos in order and wait for the perfect breeze to come by and topple over the first peg; and he had no doubt that that breeze would come from her own will to move things forward in their relationship. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and found that she was looking at him out of the corner of hers; and he smiled to himself as his phone began ringing from the cup holder.

He picked it up and flipped it open with his thumb, "Booth."

"Mr. Booth? This is Sheryl Manning from Memorial Elementary School. I'm calling in regards to your son." The voice said.

Booth's eyes became wide, "Is something wrong? Is Parker okay?" he asked urgently.

"Parker is fine, Mr. Booth. We were just wondering if you wouldn't mind stopping in as soon as you're available."

Booth breathed a sigh of relief, "We'll be passing by the school in a moment, so I'll be right there." He said, then hanging up the phone without another word.

Brennan looked at Booth as his hands tightened around the steering wheel, "Is everything okay?" she asked, "Is Parker hurt?"

Booth smiled at the extraneous strain in her voice, one that just barely sounded like a protective mother, "Parker is fine. They want me to stop in, do you mind?" he asked.

Brennan nodded, "Not at all."

* * *

Parker sat in front of the principal's desk in a chair that was far too large for a seven year old. He swung his legs back and forth, his untied shoe lace dragging on the floor and he watched his principal sign off on papers and receives phone calls all the while knowing how angry his father would be at him; although he didn't understand why.

He knew that his father loved Bones, and he knew that Bones loved his father as well. All he was doing was acting like his father to win over Anna's affections hoping that she might like him as much as Bones liked his Dad. The aide didn't seem to understand that though, neither did Anna and Principal Wrice really didn't understand it.

The door to the principal's office swung open and Booth walked in with Brennan not too far behind him. Booth stopped short and looked at his son and planted his hands on his hips, "Parker Booth, you go wait outside with Bones while I talk to Principal Wrice." He said.

Parker hopped off the chair defeated and walked over to Brennan who put her arm comfortingly around his shoulders and guided him out of the office. Booth turned to watch them leave before shutting the principal's door, "I'm so sorry. I have no idea what has gotten into him recently." Booth said shaking his head.

Principal Wrice stood up from behind his desk and gestured for Booth to sit. Booth took a seat in the same chair that his son had just vacated and Principal Wrice took a seat again, "I talked to Mrs. Ramsey, Parker's teacher and she had stated that Parker had seemed a little distracted at the end of the week last week. This week, it seems as though he came into school with the sole purpose of… I hate to use this word but, torment a young girl named Anna in his class." Principal Wrice said, a smile coming to his face.

Booth leaned back in his chair in thought, "Well… What did he do?" he asked.

The principal laughed slightly, "Well, when Anna came into the classroom this morning, he allegedly walked up behind her and whispered in her ear and she was so startled that she ended up having to go to the nurse for an injury to her arm. Then at lunchtime, he had told her that she looked as though, 'she had been through a hurricane'?" The principal shrugged, "And lastly, at recess, when Anna wouldn't vacate the swings, he ended up heaving her over his shoulder and carrying her away."

For the most part, the first two incidents hadn't really registered with Booth, but when the principal relayed the last incident, he knew exactly what was going on and he shrunk in his seat, "Oh my lord…" was all he could say.

The principal smiled, "I think you and I both know what is going on here, right? It's obvious that Parker merely has a crush on the girl and is metaphorically dipping her pigtails in the ink well. I just don't understand how he related these specific scenarios, specifically carrying her over his shoulder as a good way to win her affections." The principal laughed.

Booth looked up at the principal like a frightened child, "I'm afraid… that my son is… emulating me." He confessed.

The principal laughed again, "Surely you… a grown man has never hoisted a woman over his shoulder." The principal said incredulously.

Booth smiled as though waiting for something to break, "Actually, I did, the other day. My partner…" he said gesturing to the door.

"You hoisted Doctor Temperance Brennan over your shoulder?" he asked.

Booth smiled, "You know her?" he asked.

"Not personally." He said, "But I've read her books and I've heard this about her from mutual friends. I doubt that could have ended well for you."

Booth leaned forward as though he was telling him a secret, "I think that she secretly likes it when I do things like that." He shrugged.

"Well, Mr. Booth, I think that it's obvious that your son admires you very much." The principal said, holding in his laughter to the best of his ability.

Booth stood up and straightened out his suit, "I'll have a talk with Parker. Thanks for your time." He said, then quickly exiting the office.

Booth walked out of the office and approached Parker and Brennan who were situated on some plastic chairs at the front of the main office. Parker jumped off the chair and waited for orders from his father and Brennan stood up as well. Booth gestured that they should go out into the hallway and waited for Brennan and Parker to exit the office until he himself followed behind them.

Parker leaned up against the wall and focused his eyes on his shoes and Booth kneeled down in front of him, "Parker, what were you thinking?" he asked. Parker scuffed his shoe on the floor and shrugged his shoulders, "That's not an answer young man." He said sternly.

Parker sighed and looked up at him, "There's a girl." He said.

"Anna." Booth responded.

Parker nodded his head, "I just wanted her to love me, like Bones loves you." Parker whined.

Booth looked up at Brennan to find her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed. He silently laughed and turned back to Parker, "So, why did you do all of those things?" he asked.

"You did all of those things to Bones, so I guessed that maybe if I acted like you do, then maybe she would love me."

Booth sighed and put his hands on his sons shoulders, "Okay, how about you go back to class and we'll talk about this after school?" Parker nodded and slowly and started on his trek back to his classroom.

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