A/N: some of the dialogue in this chapter came from the episode the Tutor in the Tussle.
"So you understand the plan, right?" Booth rose from behind his desk and tossed a pointed glance Aubrey's way. "Me and the RICO boys will be coming into the diner to pick up your dad. You don't have to be involved in that aspect, okay? You're just gonna be the reason he comes to the diner."
"Yeah." Aubrey chewed on his lower lip as he sat in the chair in front of Booth's desk, avoiding eye contact with his mentor. "I understand. Listen, Booth, I really appreciate…"
"Can it, Aubrey. The boys in RICO need you for bait, alright?", Booth growled. "I'm not doing anything for you that I wouldn't do for another one of my agents, okay? Actually, your dad's case isn't really our jurisdiction anyway. The Security and Exchange Commission works in conjunction with RICO, but they're letting me ride shotgun on this thing because Charlie Burns owes me a favor." Booth softened his tone as he grabbed his overcoat from the rack by the door. "When I suggested that you'd be able to arrange a meeting, they were more than agreeable to my terms. They've been looking forward to bringing your dad in for a long time." Sighing softly, Booth cringed slightly before continuing. "You're gonna have a few minutes to say what you need to say to your old man before we come in from both doors of the diner to make the arrest."
"Don't you need me to wear a wire?" Aubrey shifted nervously in his seat. "You know, in case he says anything important?"
"Nah. They already have enough to arrest your dad on a wide variety of charges. They just need you to keep him occupied for a few minutes until we get everything in place...you know, keeping other folks out of the place until we can make the bust...things like that…" Booth stood in the doorway of his office. "So...you ready to make the call?"
Pausing a few seconds to get his emotions under control, Aubrey nodded as he pulled out his phone. "Days Inn? I need to leave a message for someone. Can you connect me to the room of one of your guests? Phil Silvers? Yeah, I'll hold." After a short pause, Aubrey continued. "Dad, it's me. I need you to meet me at the Royal Diner. You remember the place, I'm sure. It's about the money you wanted. I'm on my lunch break, so I'm heading over to the diner now, and I'll wait for you there." Hanging up, Aubrey stood up and smoothed his tie before giving Booth a resolute nod. "Let's go."
Oooooooooo
Aubrey sat at the table in the nearly deserted diner, gazing out the window as he nursed his cup of coffee. Knowing his father, he fully expected the older man to show up without delay since the word 'money' had been mentioned. He laughed ruefully as he thought about his father's avarice. His father was nothing if not predictable. The man would've sold his own soul for a buck, so he'd have no scruples when it came to screwing his own son out of every dime he could get.
Glancing at his watch, however, Aubrey was getting nervous. It'd been over a half hour since he'd made the call, and his father hadn't shown up yet. He scanned the sidewalk anxiously for his father, not wanting to let Booth down in front of the RICO team, especially after the senior agent had gone out on a limb to set up this arrangement for him. Smiling as Ellie warmed up his coffee, he took another sip. Of course, his father wouldn't be in a hurry. That was part of his 'charm'...always giving the appearance of being slightly daft and a bit of a folksy philosopher, when in fact he was actually more like a rattle snake waiting to strike at its unsuspecting prey.
Finally his dad came nonchalantly strolling into the diner as if it were no big deal to be a felon wanted by the FBI and the SEC. The younger Aubrey felt his heart skip a beat as his dad walked over to the table and sat down. "Hey, Dad. I figured if I waited here long enough you'd show up…"
Phillip Aubrey took a few seconds to make a cursory inspection of his surroundings. "Is it safe for us?" Seeing his son's relaxed demeanor, the older man leaned forward. "So your message...does this mean you've thought about things? That you're gonna help me?"
Disgusted with his father's greed, Aubrey shook his head. "Not you." He held up the photograph his father had left with him. "This kid. I thought about how I grew up seeing your face on the news...seeing mom cry...I wouldn't wish that sort of childhood on anyone…"
Phillip shrugged before continuing in a matter of fact tone. "You know, I never would've left if I didn't think you could handle it, Jamie. I was trying to toughen you up a bit. I knew you'd turn out to be a good man, and I was right. I'm proud of you, James. You're one of the only really good things I've ever done in my life."
Appalled at his father's lack of remorse, Aubrey glanced down at the picture again, hoping his father couldn't see the tears of anger filling his eyes. He pursed his lips, exhaling slightly to calm himself. "You know, a friend of mine says people can change." Aubrey looked his dad in the eyes as he continued, shaking his head. "Maybe he's right...but I'm not ready to believe that about you." After giving the agreed upon signal, Booth and the agents from the RICO squad came streaming into the diner, much to the chagrin of Phillip Aubrey.
"You're making a mistake, James. I can't believe you're gonna let these goons arrest your old man…I'm your own father, for Christ's sake!", the older man grumbled as the officers took him into custody.
"You don't deserve to be called my father." The agent rose from the table and crossed his arms across his chest, giving the older man an icy glare. "Oh, and one more thing...don't ever take credit for how I turned out. Any good that's in me is despite having you for a father." Aubrey glowered at the older man as he was led out in handcuffs. Taking a deep breath, he sank into a chair opposite of Booth. "God, I'm glad that's over…"
"Hey, I know that was hard, but you did the right thing.", Booth began, as he tried to console his friend.
"Did I? Or did I just doom some poor little kid in Croatia to a life in poverty...a life where he'll grow up without a father, just like I did?" Aubrey stared out the window. "That boy will never know his father…"
"Listen, Aubrey, I put a call in over to my friend at the State Department...Alex Radziwill…and he just got back to me. They don't know for sure who this kid is, but your dad is not his father. This picture was taken from a travel brochure...you know, 'visit Central Europe', or something like that. It's a new flimflam trick...take a picture of a magazine page with a digital camera and print it off on photo stock to make it look like a real photograph. Your dad was trying to pull another con job...trying to squeeze money from you for a child that doesn't even belong to him."
"And I almost fell for it…", Aubrey groaned as he slouched down in his chair. "Jesus…"
"I think that's because you're hungry, Aubrey. Your brain doesn't know what to do with itself since you haven't been eating correctly." Booth waved at Ellie to get her attention. "Get my friend here a burger…"
Aubrey protested weakly. "I'm not really hungry…"
"Yeah, you are. Make it double cheese, Ellie…and extra fries."
Grinning at his friend, Aubrey shrugged. "A shake might be nice…"
"You heard the man. Two shakes…" Booth smiled at his protege'. "You're gonna be alright, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." Sipping his shake, Aubrey nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Booth…"
"Hey, don't thank me. You're the one who did the legwork on this case, right?"
"I guess so...and now I'm getting a free lunch…"
Booth chuckled as he watched Aubrey dive into his meal. "I never said I was buying…"
Oooooooooo
It was late in the evening, and the darkened house was quiet as Booth sat in his favorite chair looking through a box of old photographs. He paused as he looked at a snapshot of a man standing with his hand on a small boy's shoulder. The boy held a beat up baseball glove and his Phillies baseball cap was slightly askew, but he wore a broad smile as he looked up at the man, who was smiling back at the boy. Sighing, Booth turned over the picture to see what was written on the back. October 15, 1980. His dad had quit drinking for a short period of time, and the Phillies were in the World Series. Life had been wonderful for a few short weeks…
"Booth? Is something wrong? Why are you still awake?" Brennan came and sat on the arm of Booth's chair, glancing at the photograph in Booth's hand. "I've seen that picture before...that's your father, correct?"
"Yeah." Booth put the picture back in the box and drew out another, handing it to his wife. "Here he is in the barbershop…"
She ran her finger over the picture, studying the man's facial features carefully. "I can see the family resemblance." Handing the picture back to her husband, she spoke softly. "You seemed preoccupied this evening. Are you still concerned about Aubrey?"
"Maybe a little." Booth smiled as he put his arm around his wife to pull her onto his lap. "He says he's okay, and I know he believes that, but…"
"But you're not sure…" Brennan leaned against her husband's broad chest. "I imagine he'll experience many conflicting emotions over the next few weeks and months, especially when his father is transferred to the federal penitentiary…"
"It's gonna be difficult for him." Booth nodded as he put the lid on the box and set it on the table next to the chair. "I know...I've been there..." Seeing Brennan's confusion, he rubbed his wife's shoulder as he spoke softly. "I mean, my dad was never arrested like that, but...all little boys want to be just like their dads, you know? When we're small, we think our dads are right up there next to Batman or Superman, or maybe even God, I guess. We look up to them, and want to grow up to be like them, even if our dads are no good bastards, and when they let us down, it's devastating. We know they're supposed to love us and take care of us...but sometimes they fail at that, too..." Booth's voice dropped to a whisper, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. "I tried so hard to make my dad love me, Bones. I tried to make him happy...but I couldn't…no matter what I did...I was never good enough..."
"Booth…" Brennan caressed his cheek gently. "I never met your father, but after looking at that picture of the two of you, I feel sure he must've cared for you deeply. Unfortunately, he had so many mental health issues that he couldn't express himself adequately, but I'm sure you made him happy…that he was proud of you. That's what he said in that letter Pops gave you after your father died, right?"
Sighing, Booth nodded slightly. "Yeah, you're right...maybe my dad did care for me some. But for Aubrey, it's a completely different situation, isn't it? His dad is just a goddamn criminal, plain and simple. When Aubrey was a boy, his dad probably seemed just like every other dad, you know? Maybe they played catch in the backyard or went to the park or the zoo together...maybe his dad read to him every night just like we read to Hank and Christine, right? Phillip Aubrey went to work and came home just like every other dad...except while he was away at work, he was running illegal stock market schemes, stealing millions of dollars from people who trusted him. Aubrey thought his dad is a great guy until the Feds showed up at the front door to arrest the guy, and then his whole life came crashing down around his ears. Then his dad ran away, leaving his mom with nothing to live on. It's no wonder he's so angry at his dad..."
"But didn't Aubrey say that his dad said he was proud of him?" Brennan's brow furrowed as she thought about what had happened earlier that day. "Don't you think he really is proud of his son?"
Shrugging, Booth agreed. "I'm sure he is, but that doesn't really mean anything to Aubrey since his dad is notorious for lying, cheating, and stealing. Phillip Aubrey may really respect his son, you know? He may really love his son...he might be proud of the man his son has become, and with good reason, too, but the man has lost the right to say so to his own son because of how he's led his life...because of how many times he's lied about things or cheated people. The fact that Aubrey turned out as well as he did just shows how strong a man he actually is...and it's a testament to what a wonderful woman his mother was, too. I'm sure her influence had a lot to do with his success in life."
"Perhaps you've influenced him as well, Booth…" Brennan spoke gently as she studied her husband intently. "You've given him a good example of how to survive the vagaries of having poor parental role models. You're loved and respected by so many people, and you're very successful in your chosen career. I'd imagine several agents look to you as an example of how a federal agent should act…"
"Nah." He gave his wife a small smile as he accepted her loving praise. "I'd be nothing without Pops taking me in, and having you on my side has been a huge advantage for me. Aubrey didn't have people like that on his side after his mother passed away…."
"But he does now." Brennan kissed Booth gently and ran her fingers through his hair. "You impact people more than you know, Booth. You're an excellent father, and your children have a superior parental role model in you. For that, I'm very thankful." She rose from the chair and took his hand in hers. "It's time to come to bed, Booth. I find that I have difficulty sleeping without you next to me. Come along…I want to show you how grateful I really am..."
"Oh, alright, if you insist…I guess I can let you show me how grateful you are..." Booth grinned as he followed his wife to their bedroom. Things were gonna be alright.
A/N: I'm sure we're all glad that's over. Now we can get on to the fun stuff...
