BOOTH'S NEW LIFE
Chapter 6:
The Parker Factor
Timeline: October, 2010; Second week (Saturday) upon the team's return to D.C.
Season/episode: Post 6x02- "The Couple in the Cave"
Note/warnings: In this chapter you will see some tension between Booth and Brennan. Their friendship will heal, but you must remember that it will take time.
Also Hannah is in D.C. (Booth/Hannah pairing).
Once Rebecca left, the mediator left the room too, giving some privacy to the other party.
"What do you think, Julia?" Booth asked noticeably nervous.
"Well, Miss Baker is on your side and Moore knows it, so I'm guessing he'll recommend her to accept the deal or negotiate to reduce the time you get with Parker but accept the rest," she told him after some seconds of consideration. "But you expect her to fight," Julia added, more a statement than a question. Booth nodded.
"Then relax and let me do the talking now," she told him in a calming voice. She then stood up to bring him some coffee, and sat down in silence allowing her client to relax until the meeting restarted.
Rebecca and her lawyer left the room and were directed to an adjoining office so that they could discuss the contract in private. They read the contract carefully, and then she asked Mr. Moore what he thought about it.
"That depends. If he doesn't want to go to court, he may be willing to negotiate and reduce the time he gets with Parker but he won't back down on the other exigencies. If he does decide to go to court he probably would get half custody. Garcia is the best… and Miss Baker is on his side too, and if she's here then the case would go to Judge White and he always listens to her… the odds are that he'll get the half custody he's asking for, maybe more depending on Baker's opinion. My recommendation is either accept this deal or negotiate to change the 50/50 to 60/40 or something like that… get some more time for you, but do not let this get to the court," he told her honestly.
Rebecca nodded and they returned to Garcia's office to continue with the negotiations.
Soon after Rebecca, her lawyer, and the mediator were back in the room and the meeting could start again.
"The answer is no, Seeley, I'm not giving you half custody, I'm not giving you so much time with my son," Rebecca said coldly.
"Our son, Rebecca, he is our son," Booth corrected, looking heatedly at her.
"Booth, please, relax. Let me handle this," Julia ordered him gently. Booth took a deep breath calming himself as much as he could, and nodded. He knew that he had to remain calm in front of the mediator to keep her on his side. The mediator could be the extra pressure he needed to get Rebecca to sign the contract.
"Miss Stinson, Parker Booth is Agent Booth's son. That cannot be denied. He has rights as a father, and he won't tolerate your constant violation of those rights. We are offering you a fair deal and the opportunity to do the right thing for Parker. I assure you the probabilities of getting this contract approved in a court are higher than you think," Julia said calmly and convincingly. She needed Rebecca to believe that she couldn't win here. She could accept the deal or she could negotiate but she couldn't say no to everything.
"I don't think so. He's an FBI agent and he's a man. No judge would give him half custody," Rebecca retorted rudely.
"That may have been true in the past, Miss Stinson, but I assure you men get half custody and even full custody nowadays," Julia answered still with her calm and soft manner.
"Still not signing it," Rebecca said grimly, apparently not impressed by Julia's words.
"May I ask why?" Miss Baker asked, looking at the woman questioningly. "I've been given a full report of Agent Booth's life: his service record, both in the Army and the FBI; his current post in the FBI; I've been able to interview Deputy Director Cullen about his hours, job, etc.; I've been told about his past problems with gambling and he has given me full access to review his accounts, which I have gone over and found no problems for more than six years, and very small ones since his entrance in the Gamblers Anonymous program a week after Parker's birth, which also prompted his change from the Army to the FBI. I see a man that has had problems in the past and has overcome them or made changes, big changes, for his son. So I find no reason to not give him half custody, in fact, were this go to court I would recommend Judge White to approve this contract. Taking into consideration your attitude I may have to recommend him to increase the amount of time with Parker given to him."
"Rebecca, I strongly recommend you to accept the deal," Moore told her. Moore knew Baker's threats were never empty, and that Judge White approved whatever she suggested on virtually every occasion.
"Look, Becs, I get it, really, I do. You're going to miss him when he's with me, but do you think that I don't miss him? How would you feel if you couldn't see our son because I refused to let you?" Booth said, pleading with her. "Please, you know that this is the fair thing to do, and you know that I'm never going to stop you from seeing him on my days if you want to or calling him or something. So please, do the right thing."
Rebecca looked at Booth carefully, studying him for some minutes. "Okay, Seeley," she said nodding and smiling sadly. "You're right. In your position I would have gone crazy. I haven't been fair to you. I told you once that you're a good father, yet I limit your time with him. I won't like not having Parker all the time, but you're right. This is the fair thing to do."
Julia smiled at the other woman and passed the contract that was in the middle of the table and a pen to her so that she could sign it. That done Booth, who had expected this to be a lot more difficult, signed too and then stood up to hug Rebecca and thank her.
"Thanks, Becs, really thank you," he said while hugging her tightly and kissing her soundly on the cheek.
"You're welcome, Seeley," she answered, hugging him back. "But I plan on calling my kid every night when he's with you."
"Call twice." Rebecca had never seen him smile so much in all the years they have known each others. She couldn't help smiling back.
After thanking Rebecca and Julia profusely Booth went back home, had a quick lunch, and started to prepare for dinner with Hannah. He was going to cook his now, thanks to Cam, famous lasagna. The problem was he was doing it because he suspected that the relaxed and happy evenings with the reporter weren't going to last long now. He knew she was a nomad and suspected she wanted to stay that way, and he wanted roots which made them incompatible. The time to make decisions was here. Still, nothing could take away his happiness over the done deal with Parker's custody. He was one happy guy, and everything was done with a huge smile on his face while whistling or singing to the tunes that came from his stereo.
When Hannah arrived everything was ready for a perfect romantic evening: the table was set, candles included; the wine was open; dinner was ready to be served. He was showered and dressed as if it were a date: dark jeans and black dress shirt.
Booth was still happily whistling with the music when he heard the door open. "Hey, Hannah, baby, dinner's ready," he called out.
"Wow," Hannah said when she entered the dining room.
She was looking a little shocked with all the preparations he did for their evening; probably within reason considering they were supposed to talk about those issues that he was so sure they needed to talk about. She didn't see the point. From her point of view, they were just two adults enjoying a good relationship and having a good time. But she suspected Booth didn't see it that way, he probably wanted more than that: marriage, family, kids… Those were things that she didn't want because she wanted her independence and her trips, and she knew that Booth guessed as much. So why the romantic evening?
Seeing how stunned Hannah looked Booth decided to explain. "We said we would talk today, right? So why not do it with style?" he said waving his eyebrows and smiling.
"You look happy," she commented softly, not wanting to question his statement, knowing it probably was a way of having one last good night. "Did the meeting go that good?"
"Oh, yeah, Rebecca was pretty reasonable for her and we got it signed before lunch," he told her smiling like a kid at Christmas.
"So, how much time did you get?" she asked a little worried but trying not to show it.
"50/50 all the way," he answered. His smile grew even bigger, something Hannah hadn't thought possible a second before.
"What does that means for us, Seeley?" Hannah asked apprehensively. She suspected nothing good, or at least not what she wanted. She sighed, messed her blond hair with her hands and walked nervously to the living room closely followed by the agent.
Booth looked at her, really looking for the first time that night. He studied her, and he saw that she wasn't happy with the outcome. She wasn't ready for a family or a kid running around the house all day.
"Depends. Do you feel up to the challenge that having Parker here half of the time would be?" Booth asked her seriously. "Look Hannah, I love you, I really do, but Parker is my number one priority, and I need to know that you're okay with me being a father before our relationship gets more serious; before I fall completely in love with you. You deserve to know what you're getting into before you get into it deeper too."
"I'm good with you being a father, Seeley, but having Parker every other weekend is not the same thing as having him here all the time," she said letting herself fall on the couch.
"Hannah, if Parker being here is a problem, then you are not good with me being a father," he answered smiling sadly and sitting beside her so he could look at her face. "I know you love me. The question here is if you love me enough to get the whole package or not, because the reality, Hannah, is that I am a packaged deal."
"I don't know if I'm ready for that, Seeley. I love you, I do, but I'm not sure I'm ready to settle down," Hannah told him softly.
Booth nodded dejected. Even if he had expected the answer, it still hurt. "Do you have an answer now or do you want to think about it?" He had promised himself that he would give her time to think about it if she wanted and he was going to do it.
"Can I think about it?" Hannah asked confused.
"Well, if you already know what you want, then there's no need for it, but if you're not sure then, yes, you can think about it. I have Parker next weekend and then the new contract will kick in, meaning he'll be here a month starting Monday. You can have until Friday before I pick him up."
"I came to D.C. for you. I changed my job for you and now I get six days to decide if I want more changes. That's not fair, Seeley," Hannah said irritated, getting up from the couch to face him from a higher position.
"Life's not fair, Hannah," was Booth's simple answer. "I didn't ask for all those changes you made; you made them. You knew that I am a father and about my intention of changing the custody agreement. It's not my fault that you didn't really understand the implications."
Hannah took a deep breath trying to calm down. She loved Seeley and she didn't want to lose him but a family was too much.
When she finally spoke, she said the only thing she could say to keep him a while. "I was offered to go with the President on his trip to London this week. I'll leave tomorrow morning and I'll come back next Sunday night. It'll give me two extra days to think about it. Is that okay with you?"
Booth nodded accepting her offer, and she took her bag and got ready to leave. "I'm gonna go to the hotel and think. Ultimatums don't really help my libido."
Booth smiled tightly but said nothing and let her go. He knew with that last comment that she really never understood what being a father meant to him, and it only confirmed that she didn't want him as a whole, she just wanted what she perceived as the fun part: the agent, the soldier, the lover… but not the difficult parts. She didn't want the father, or the man behind the suit or the fatigues. She didn't want the guy who worried about his son every day constantly or had nightmares about his dead friends. He knew she would call during her trip to tell him that she had reached a decision and she wanted her trips and not roots. That he didn't fit in her life.
Thanks for reading. Please, let me know what you think. :-)
To all my readers: Sorry for the delay. I know I should have updated yesterday but I simply didn't have the time.
For those who are asking themselves 'where the hell is Alex?' don't fear, she'll be back with us next chapter.
Julianne: I'm very happy to see that you're still liking my story. Your reviews always make me smile :-)
I've never liked how Rebecca played with Booth's rights as a father in the show, she comes out as a childish-vindicative woman who wants to get back at Booth for the pregnancy, the broken relationship or whatever. Then they turn her around in 1 episode of S.2 (the only time she's nice) and tells Booth that he's a good father, yet seconds (or episodes) later she's back to playing with Booth's visitation rights. She'd always annoyed me.
Anyway, I decided to have her act like in "The Truth in the Lye", recognize that Booth is a good father and act accordingly and fairly. I hope you liked my solution.
As for Hannah, I can only say that you're a smart cookie! The new chapter already told you were dead on.
One of my problems with Hannah/Booth relationship in the show was that Hannah seemed to be very shallow and interested in a "good time" and not in a relationship. This made the relationship look a little immature. I think that a more mature relationship suits Booth's character better so that's exactly where I'm going.
I hope you liked this chapter...
Kwapple: Thanks for your review. Knowing that you don't follow stories that don't get B&B together, having you read this long and review is a big compliment. :-)
I'm glad that you think that my portrayal of S6 is accurate. For me B&B distance and awkwardness was natural and even an important part of Brennan's evolution, I think it helped to take her to see her mistake in tDitP.
As for Hannah, I agree with you, she seemed like a shallow character... so I'm saying 'goodbye' to her very soon :-)
