Bones

"Paternal Instincts"

Summary: Bones' young new assistant has a secret…he is Booth's son.

Author's Note(s): Takes place after the whole "Widow's Son" storyline, so Zack is gone.

Warning: This story will contain spanking of a teenager.

Disclaimer: The only character I own is Seth. Booth, Bones, and the Squints I don't own.

Chapter 7: A Little Sweets Goes a Long Way

The next morning, Booth came out of the bathroom and headed into the kitchen to find Seth already up, dressed, and eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hey there," he greeted the boy. "How'd you sleep?"

"All right, I guess," Seth said. "You?"

"So, so," Booth said, smirking.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Seth said. "I mean, yesterday morning I was just somebody staying with you for a little while…"

"No, you were my friend who was staying with me for as long as he wanted," Booth corrected him, firmly.

"…and now I'm your son," the boy finished, smirking.

"Technically, you were my son yesterday morning too," Booth reminded him. "We just didn't know it then."

"You know," Seth said, "I've often tried to picture who my parents were, but somehow I never really could."

"Did I disappoint?" Booth asked him, curiously.

"No," Seth told him, as he took a seat at the table. "I think you're pretty great."

"Thanks, pal," Booth said, feeling a warm fuzzy feeling inside, "and just for the record—I think you're pretty awesome, too."

"Me?" Seth said, shrugging. "I'm just a geek with big brain. Nobody special."

"Hey now," Booth told him, "you're not a geek—you're a Squint. There's a difference. Secondly, you're a Booth. That automatically makes you special."

Seth blinked at him. "I hadn't thought of that," he said. "I guess am. A Booth, I mean."

"Yeah, you are," Booth told him. "Would you like to have your name changed? Legally?"

"Could I still keep Carter?" Seth asked him. "I mean, I know I don't remember them, but the Carters must have cared about me if they adopted me, right?"

"Exactly," Booth told him, "and Seth Carter Booth has a nice ring to it."

Seth smiled. "It does," he said, "but I'll bet it will be weird for Dr. Brennan."

"Why?" Booth asked him, curiously.

"Because she calls me Mr. Carter now and you Booth," Seth told him. "When we change my name I'll be Mr. Booth, then."

"So, she'll have two Booths in her life," Booth said, smirking.

Three, technically, if you counted Parker—whom Bones actually got along with, unlike most other kids she was around.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Booth looked to his stove-top clock.

"It's eight o'clock in the freakin morning," he muttered, getting up. "Who the hell could it be?"

Opening the door, he found a smiling Lance Sweets on the other side.

The young man held up a bag in one hand and a carton with three Star Bucks cups in the other.

"I've brought coffee and doughnuts," he said, cheerfully. "Who's hungry?"

"You gotta be kidding me," Booth said, shaking his head. "What do you want, Sweets?"

"Dr. Brennan called me," Sweets said. "She asked me to come by and check on you two."

Booth made a mental note to kill Bones later.

"Come on in," he said, stepping back out of the way, "and hand me one of those coffees. I think I'm gonna need it."

Sweets stepped in and handed him a cup. He then headed for the kitchen.

"Seth, dude, how's it hanging?" he greeted the teenager. "Want some coffee and doughnuts?"

"Sure," Seth said, pushing his bowl of cereal away. "Got any chocolate filled ones?"

"Of course," Sweets said, pulling out a large glazed, chocolate-filled doughnut. "Here you go, bud."

"Got any not chocolate-filled ones?" Booth asked, pulling out a chair, spinning it around, and straddling it.

"And for the old guy," Sweets said, "we have a couple of éclairs."

He set two of the French pastries down in front of Booth.

"Do you have any idea how fattening these things are?" Booth asked him, though he still took a large bite out of one of them.

"Oh, please," Sweets said, handing Seth a cup of coffee. "Like you don't get plenty of exercise in the field."

Seth smirked at that. "He does have a point," he told his father, taking a bite of his own doughnut.

"Humph," Booth grunted at that, "and I'm not old."

"You're older than us," Sweets reminded him, grinning.

"That means you should be showing me some respect," Booth said, "but so far all I'm getting is guff."

"Right," Sweets said, rolling his eyes. "So, how are you two dealing?"

"With what?" Booth asked him, grumpily.

Sweets snorted. "Dr. Brennan told me about last night," he told him. "I know the big secret."

"Yep, definitely gonna kill her," Booth muttered, referring to Bones. "I don't think it's any of your business…"

"Actually it is," Sweets told him. "Seth is Dr. Brennan's assistant and Dr. Brennan is your partner. The three of you are going to be working closely together, so I need to determine if his being your son is in any way going to harm your working relationship."

"Wow, Sweets," Booth said, rolling his eyes, "you almost sounded just like a real psychiatrist—not to mention an adult."

Seth grinned. "C'mon," he said, "cut him some slack. He just wants to help."

"He can help by keeping his nose out of my ass," Booth told him, "and yours."

"I'm not a dog, Booth," Sweets told him, scowling. "But seriously, this has got to have thrown you both for a loop."

Booth snorted. "Is that a clinical term?" he asked, sarcastically.

"You know what I mean, jackass," Sweets growled, losing his temper.

The look of shock on Booth's face was too much for both young men and they burst out laughing.

"Sorry, Booth," Sweets said, seeing the glare being sent his way. "I do only want to help, you know."

"You can help by just being supportive," Booth told him, seriously, "and by being Seth's friend."

"I'm your friend, too," Sweets reminded him. "Aren't I?"

For just a second something flashed in his dark eyes that Booth recognized as vulnerability and he saw not the young FBI shrink but a still very young guy wanting—no needing—an older buddy to lean on.

He sighed. He so needed to work on ignoring the lost little boy look.

"Yeah, we are," Booth told, honestly, "but that still doesn't mean I'm not gonna bust your ass when you go overboard with this whole 'express your feelings' thing."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Sweets said, grinning. "So, truthfully, how does all this make you both feel? Seth?"

"Like I told him," Seth said, nodding at his father, "it's weird, but comforting. My father is no longer a stranger out there—he's someone I know and actually respect."

"That's a cool way of looking at it," Sweets said, and then glanced at Booth. "And you, Dad?"

"Don't call me that," Booth growled. "Coming from you, it's creepy. There's definitely no way you're my kid, too."

"It was a joke, lighten up already," Sweets told him, grinning. "How does this make you feel?"

"How do you think?" Booth growled. "I had a kid for sixteen years and didn't know it. Part of me feels like I've been kicked in the balls a few times and the other part of me thinks 'hey, I got another son. Wow'."

Sweets nodded. "Betrayal is a common emotion for this type of situation," he told him. "You wouldn't be the first father to discover a child many years later…"

"Yeah, I guess I do feel a bit betrayed," Booth said, sipping his coffee, 'but mostly I'm just pissed."

"At Sarah Jane or yourself?" Sweets probed, narrowing his eyes.

Booth sighed. "Both, I guess," he said. "I keep feeling like I should have known somehow…"

"I told you I didn't blame you," Seth reminded him. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't been so selfish, so caught up in my own pity-party at the time," Booth said, "I might have actually called to check up on her."

"What do you mean?" Sweets asked, curiously.

"I mean," Booth said, "that I felt like crap after Sarah Jane broke up with me. Before then, I had always been the one to break off a relationship—if you can jumping into the sack a few times a relationship—and I guess it went straight to my ego."

"So, your pissed at her for not telling you about she was pregnant," Sweets said, "but you feel guilt over her death. You think you could somehow have prevented it, while at the same time taking care of her and Seth."

"Uh, I guess so," Booth said, hesitantly. "But as far as Seth being my son—I'm one very proud papa."

Seth smiled at that. "Really?" he asked, hopefully.

"You know it," Booth said. "Parker has always been my pride and joy—and now I have two great kids to be proud of."

"Do you think he'll hate me?" Seth asked. "Parker, I mean."

"No," Booth told him, "I think he's going to love having a big brother. He keeps asking for a little brother, too…"

Seth smiled at that.

"So when are you and Dr. Brennan gonna give us one?" he asked, mischievously.

Booth spewed the coffee he'd just taken a sip of all over the place.

"Excuse me!?" he asked, trying to talk and cough at the same time.

Sweets and Seth burst out laughing.

"Dude," Sweets told the teenager, "you so nailed him with that one!"

"I know," Seth said, still laughing.

The two of them gave each other a high five.

Booth tried very hard to look fierce some and intimidating, but all that did was seem to make them laugh harder.

"You're so gonna get it," he muttered, wagging a finger at the teenager.

"Sure thing, Dad," Seth told him, rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say."

He froze, realizing what he'd just said and then blushed.

"Sorry," he muttered, biting his lip.

"For what?" Booth asked him. "I am your dad. It's okay coming from you."

"So, you wouldn't mind if I called you that?" Seth asked. "In private, I mean."

"I'd love it, kiddo," Booth told him, reaching over to ruffle the boy's hair.

"Ah," Sweets said, "I wish I'd brought my camera."

Booth and Seth glanced at each other, and then promptly threw their empty coffee cups at him.

"Hey!" Sweets said, chuckling. "It was just a joke!"

Booth and Seth gave each other a high five.

Booth then looked at the clock.

"C'mon, you two," Booth said, standing up. "Let's head on over to the Jeffersonian."

"We've got a murder to solve."

TBC…