Hey friends! Thanks for sticking with me and taking the time to read my story. This makes me happy.
There are a couple of things I wanted to say before this chapter gets rolling. The first is that I was reading a story yesterday (which I usually don't do, I prefer just to write my own stuff) in which Angela just happens to find out Brennan is preggo when she asks for decaf tea. Lame, right? I feel like I should make sure you all know that my chapter was published several days before the other one, just in case you weren't sure. I don't plagiarize. Never have, never will. Besides, at the risk of sounding arrogant, I liked mine better :-)
A bunch of you have sent me private messages asking how on earth I know so much random science info. The answer to this is simple: I'm a medical student. I just happen to love writing (and one of my undergrad majors was actually English), and this is the best way I know to de-stress and get out of my own head, so to speak. I also sometimes have this weird compulsion where I research the medical scenarios on shows like House and Bones to see if those situations are feasible in the real world. The only time I've really been disappointed was Booth's brain tumor, which was ridiculously not even close to realistic (I'm sure you don't care why. If for some reason you do, let me know and I will tell you).
So there you have it. And now,
CHAPTER 7
Brennan arrived at Booth's apartment at exactly 1:00pm. She rapped on the door and just a moment later heard Booth's voice call out.
"Parker, could you let Dr. Brennan in, please?" A few seconds passed before she heard rapidly approaching footsteps and took a step back from the door as it swung open, revealing Parker. He was grinning.
"Hey, Dr. Bones!" he said happily. "It's so cool you could come putt-putting with us today! It's about time, too. I haven't seen you in like…forever." He opened the door wide so that she could enter the apartment, and he closed the door behind her.
"That's not true, I saw you last month, when your dad brought you to the Jeffersonian for your science project," Brennan said, slipping off her shoes.
"That doesn't really count. I only hung out with the bug doctor and one of your assistants. My science fair is in June, and I needed all the help I could get to think of something really cool so I could blow that cheater Ben Bradley out of the water this year."
"Well, you should be able to accomplish that with your exploding watermelon experiment."
"I dunno," Parker said, suddenly looking very disappointed. "My teacher says it's too dangerous to explode things in front of other people. I might have to do somethin' lame instead."
"Maybe not," Brennan said, smiling at him. "We have lots of explosive shields at the lab. It might be possible for Hodgins to find you a plexiglass box of some sort in which you can set fire to the watermelon without it being hazardous to your classmates." Parker beamed.
"Really?"
"Really. So what else have you been doing?"
"We just started up Little League again for the season! I'm so pumped, my team rocks this year! Our first real game was two weekends ago, and we creamed the other team!"
"Well done," she said, happy for the boy.
"And the best part is, I got moved from second base to shortstop!" Brennan had no idea what this meant, however from the thrilled expression on Parker's face, she could tell that the change meant a great deal to him.
"That's wonderful, Parker!" There was a brief pause, and Brennan wondered if she should speak to Parker about her relationship with his father, but Booth chose that moment to enter the room.
"Hey Bones!" Booth greeted with a grin. "Lunch is just about ready." He looked like he wanted to greet her properly, with a hug or a kiss, but held back.
"Great. Thanks for having me, Booth."
"Always a pleasure," he said sincerely. "And you, mister," he addressed Parker, "had better finish the front half of that math worksheet because we're not going putt-putting until you do."
"But it's almost done." Booth gave his son a stern look and Parker groaned theatrically, but scampered off to his room anyway.
With Parker out of the room, Brennan made her way toward Booth and hugged him in greeting, but when Booth leaned forward to kiss her, she pulled back.
"Ouch," he said, looking crestfallen.
"What, have I stepped on your foot? Oh," she said. "You're metaphorically injured because I rejected your advance."
"Well, yeah, I'm a little hurt. Are you okay?"
"Perfectly fine. I just think it would be poor form for Parker to learn of our new level of intimacy that way." Booth pouted, but as usual, he had to admit that Brennan had a point.
"Alright," he said. "Look there are fries baking in the oven—with olive oil, no trans-fats—" he grinned, answering her question before she had to ask it. "They've got about 10 more minutes to bake. Why don't you go and talk to Parker now—that is, if you're still up to it."
"Of course," she said matter-of-factly. "I told you last night that I wanted to, and I do not change my mind overnight." They shared a smile, and Booth reached out and took her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Okay," he told her reassuringly. "I'll be out here if you need me."
Brennan smiled at him and squeezed his hand in return before releasing her grip, and she turned to head down the hallway toward Parker's room. She found that the door was ajar several inches, and Parker was laying on his bed with a workbook open in front of him, chewing the top of his pencil in concentration. Brennan knocked softly and he looked up.
"Oh, I don't need help with m homework," he said. "It's just long division. Easy stuff."
"I am glad to hear it, but that isn't why I'm here," she said, still standing in the doorway. "I would like to speak to you about something. Would that be alright?" Parker shrugged.
"Sure." Brennan smiled as she entered the room. Parker remained on his stomach at the foot of the bed, his legs kicking at the air behind him, and Brennan pulled Parker's desk chair over near him, sitting and facing him. "What's up?"
"I would like to know," she began, resting her elbows on her thighs and leaning forward slightly to match Parker's eye level, "how you would feel if I became your father's girlfriend." There was a pause, Parker's mouth fell open, and he looked at her as though she might be crazy. Now was perhaps not the time to remember how very much Parker's eyes resembled Booth's. She kept her face arranged into what she hoped was a calm expression.
"Wait, are you serious?" Parker asked, frowning. "No way!"
This was definitely not the answer that she had hoped for, nor the one she had anticipated receiving. She frowned slightly.
"Can I ask why?"
"Because you're awesome." Brennan tilted her head, unsure of how to respond to this.
"I fail to see your reasoning." Parker pursed his lips and nodded, his mop of curly hair falling into his eyes in the process as he scooted closer to the edge of the bed and sat up.
"Look," he said, sounding very levelheaded. "My dad's girlfriends are never around for long. And I like you," he repeated pointedly.
"I see," Brennan said with a note of understanding in her voice. "You believe that if your father and I begin a romantic relationship, then I will be gone, too?"
"Yup. That's how it works."
"I see," Brennan said, tilting her head to the side. "How about I make a deal with you?"
"What kind of deal?" Parker asked, still frowning slightly and tapping his chin with his index finger.
"What if I told you that even if I was your dad's girlfriend, and we broke up, that you could still come visit me at the museum anytime?"
"Really?" He asked, a smile blossoming on his face. She couldn't help but smile back.
"Of course, Parker."
"Why?"
"Because you are an exceptional child, and I enjoy spending time with you," she answered honestly. She watched as Parker, still smiling, fiddled with the pencil in his hands.
"I like hanging out with you, too. You're pretty cool for a girl." Brennan grinned.
"Well, thank you," she said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her right leg over her left. "So what do you think?"
"I think it's okay if you sleep with my dad," Parker said. "How come you're asking me, anyway? Usually when Dad gets a new girlfriend, I don't get a choice, he just tells me to be nice."
"Because I respect your feelings and I wanted you to be honest." Parker nodded, grinning.
"Could I still call you Dr. Bones?"
"Of course. You can call me Dr. Bones, or just plain Bones, or if you'd prefer you can call me Temperance."
"Okay. So does this mean you're going to be spending the night and stuff?"
"Most nights, we will spend the night together. But I would only sleep over while you are here if it's okay with you."
"Lemme think about that one. But if you want to be my dad's girlfriend, it's cool as long as you're in it for the long haul."
"I know what that means," Brennan said, smiling at Booth's son, wondering how he even knew that expression, "and that is my intention."
Parker nodded and reached out to her with a closed fist. For a second, Brennan was unsure of what to do, but then she remembered a similar situation during which Zach had taught her about bumping fists. She, too, held out her fist and Parker bumped it with his.
Booth was just taking the fries out of the oven when Brennan reappeared at his side, and he navigated around her to avoid burning her with the metal pan.
"How'd he take it?" Booth asked, but when he turned around to face her, the expression on her face made it clear that his question was unnecessary. Brennan was smiling from ear to ear. "See?" He said, chuckling with relief. "Nothing to worry about."
"Actually, it took a bit more convincing than I thought," she said, leaning against the wall, still radiating excitement from the knowledge that Parker had given his limited approval for them to be in a relationship. She looked so beautiful that Booth couldn't help but rest an arm on the wall beside hers and leaning in close, half-pinning her there. She smiled when he leaned in to kiss her, and when he broke apart, both of them were smiling with contentment.
"I'm surprised that he needed to be convinced at all, he loves you," Booth said, unable to tear his eyes from hers.
"It turns out that is precisely why he did not take well to the idea of us—for lack of a better word—dating." The expression on Booth's face when she said this was full of confusion, so she elaborated, touching his bicep reassuringly as she spoke. "Parker's experiences with your past lovers have, in large part, been brusque and ephemeral. He applied that experience to our intimacy and concluded that if our relationship became intimate rather than solely amicable and centered around our work, then I would meet the same fate in his life."
"Whoa, wait," Booth reacted, straightening up. "My kid really thinks I'm that bad with women?" Brennan didn't speak, she only gave him a look that she hoped conveyed sympathy. "What did you tell him?"
"I reassured him that I value his opinion, and I told him that if our relationship failed and he still wished for me to be present in his life, that it could be arranged," she said. "Also, I agreed not to sleep over during his time here."
"For how long?" Booth asked, thinking of how empty his slumber, and his bed, had felt the previous night without her by his side. He didn't like it, and was not keen to make this separation a habit.
"For as long as it takes before Parker feels comfortable with our relationship," she said this with a gentle assertiveness, letting him know that she understood his dislike of the situation, but that Parker's feelings on the matter were of the utmost concern to her. He nodded, knowing that it would take some time, but Parks was tough, and he'd get used to the changes.
Especially since the most impactful of these changes was still unbeknownst to him.
The rest of the day passed without incident. Mini golf turned out to be much more amusing than Brennan had remembered, and she did so well that both of the Booth boys were looking at her in astonished disbelief by the time she had scored her third hole-in-one. Parker had been quick to ask for pointers. Booth, a man who was not accustomed to losing, had mumbled something indiscernible under his breath, though Brennan thought she caught the word 'squints' among the nonsense words. All in all, it was an enjoyable day, despite the fact that Brennan and Booth slept separately that evening.
Sunday arrived and with it, a spirited brunch at a nice restaurant with Angela. It had been Angela's idea to go out and be able to speak freely without worrying about interruption or running into people that they knew. Brennan was surprised to find when she met her friend that Angela was lugging a plastic bag that appeared to be filled with books.
"I had to smuggle these out right under Hodgins' nose," Angela had said conspiratorially, patting the heavy bag as it sat on her lap. "Every one of my pregnancy books. You can borrow the parenting books, too, whenever you'd like. Hodgins went buck-wild and pretty much bought out Barnes and Noble when he found out I was pregnant with Michael."
When Booth let himself into her apartment later that evening after dropping Parker off with Rebecca, he found her curled up in an armchair with a cup of tea, reading a book titled The Mother of all Baby Books. She greeted him without looking up, and he approached her, sitting on an arm of the chair and kissing the top of her head.
"Whatcha reading, Bones?" he asked curiously. She turned the book over so that he could see the cover.
"Angela is letting me borrow some literature on pregnancy," Brennan told him. "She says these books helped."
"What do you think? Is that one helping?"
"In general, the authors offer some helpful advice. There is even a very helpful timeline included."
"A timeline for what?" Booth asked, moving to sit on the sofa cattycorner to Brennan. "For the baby's development?"
"No, Booth, this particular book is about the nuances of becoming a mother," she said, and she couldn't keep her face from turning up into a soft smile at the words. The idea of being mother to a child, while technically true, was still surrounded by an almost ethereal fog in her mind, as if her brain struggled to comprehend what it meant. Lack of understanding was a feeling she did not encounter often. "The timeline consists of the specific rituals that encompass the preparation for the infant, designed to prevent pregnant women from becoming overwhelmed with the tasks at hand."
"Ah, I see," he said. "Well, you have fun with your books, I'm gonna go grab a glass of water. You want anything?"
"No, thank you," she said, indicating the tea on the end table nearby. "Oh, and you shouldn't feel left out, Booth. A number of these books were written specifically for expectant fathers. I'm sure you could benefit from reading them."
"Aw, I dunno, Bones," he said from the kitchen, his voice raised so that Brennan could hear him. "That science mumbo-jumbo definitely is not my thing."
"I know," she said. "But Angela informs me that these books are written in colloquial language, making them both easy to understand and humorous as well as helpful."
"Like the For Dummies books?" Booth asked as he reappeared with his glass of water, peering at her, looking just a little skeptical that he could actually enjoy any book that Temperance Brennan was recommending for him. In response, she slipped a bookmark into the pages of her book and reached into the plastic bag at her feet. After a moment, she emerged with two paperback books.
"Here," she said, handing them to him. Booth looked at the books, titled Breathe: a Guy's Guide to Pregnancy and My Boys Can Swim!, and chuckled.
"Okay," he said, "these look do-able. Thanks, Bones." Booth reclaimed his seat on the sofa and set the books beside him.
"Thank Angela," she said. "So how was your day with Parker?"
"It was great," Booth said, grinning, still emanating the upbeat attitude that she had come to associate with Parker's presence. "We went to church and then hung out at the park, played some ball, got a bite, then it was time for him to go back to Rebecca."
"Has Parker given any additional indications as to how he feels about our relationship?" she asked out of curiosity. Following her conversation with him the previous day, he had not shown any emotion aside from indifference at the relationship change.
"Yeah, he asked me about it," Booth said. "I told him, you know, that we're together together, and he said it was cool. He really likes you, Bones, and you are great with him. I told you it would all work out." They shared a smile and Booth continued. "He asked a lot of questions, though. He wanted to know if we were getting married, having more kids, still working together…"
"He is quite an inquisitive child," Brennan said, a note of approval in her voice. "Although I am curious—" she was interrupted by the shrill ring of Booth's phone.
"Hold that thought," he said, flipping open the phone. "Booth."
Brennan watched as Booth's expression changed quickly from anticipation to interest to the grimace that meant he was receiving too many grisly details, and so she was unsurprised when he hung up the phone and stood.
"We've got a case."
That's all she wrote, for a few days at least! Please R&R, your feedback makes my day :-)
Liria
