CHAPTER 7

"Mommy!" Parker cried out. He was crying uncontrollably. "Mommy! Mommy!"

Brennan ran through the bedroom door and quickly turned on the lamp. "Parker, hey, it's okay. Shh, it's okay," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed and helped Parker sit up. "Did you have a bad dream?" she asked him.

"Yes…Dr. Bones…really…bad…dream," Parker managed to say through nearly choking sobs. Rufus had woken up from his slumber and now had his head on one of Parker's knees. He looked up at his owner, shifting his eyelids.

"Breathe, Parker, breathe. It was just a dream, you're alright," Brennan said, soothingly, rubbing his shoulder.

He continued to cry, unable to control his chest from heaving. "Where's Daddy?" he asked, the tears streaming from his eyes.

"Daddy's working late. Parker, you need to calm down," Brennan tried again to soothe the little boy. He continued to cry. "Hey, do you want to tell me about your dream, Parker?" Brennan asked, looking into his eyes.

Parker hesitated for a moment and then he looked up at Brennan. "Mommy…the bad man…grabbed me like he did that day in the park…and Mommy was…" Parker's chest heaved again and sobs spilled out.

"It's okay, Parker. You can talk to me. What happened?" Brennan asked, very gently.

"Mommy was screaming and the bad man was…pulling me and I tried to hold on to Mommy…but I couldn't…and he kept pulling," Parker continued, "and then…he hit Mommy," Parker finished as the tears continued to flow.

"Parker, I'm so sorry you had a bad dream about the bad man. I know we don't want to remember him, do we?" Brennan replied.

Parker shook his head. "He was scary."

"I know he was. But you know what? He can't hurt us anymore, Parker. He's gone forever," Brennan said.

Parker paused for a moment, his breathing starting to calm. "Like Mommy's gone forever?" Parker asked through glistening eyes.

Brennan's heart broke as Parker spoke the words. "Yes, Parker," she began and then realized the truth probably wasn't the best for him right now. "I know you miss your Mommy, Parker. But do you remember what Daddy told you? About how you can make believe that Mommy is here?" Brennan asked him.

"Yes," he replied, his chest slowing. "But it's not the same."

Brennan looked at Parker with an open heart. "I know it's not the same. It's not as good as if she were really here, is it?" Brennan asked.

Parker shook his head as he rubbed his eyes, sniffling. "No."

"I know it's sad and you miss her, Parker," Brennan told him simply. "I'm sorry you have to be so sad. I don't want you to be sad."

Parker looked up at Brennan through a blonde ringlet, his eyes wide. "Dr. Bones? Are you my new mommy?" he asked.

Brennan's heart nearly broke again. "No Parker, I'm not your new mommy. I could never take the place of your mommy," she replied. A thought sprung into her head and she smiled. "But you know what? I'm kinda like a second mommy. You can tell me anything you want and I'll always listen. You can even tell me things you want to keep secret from your Daddy," Brennan said, smiling brightly at Parker.

"Really? You'll keep a secret?" Parker asked, his interest now peaked.

"Yup. I promise," Brennan replied.

Parker sniffled for the last time. "Cool!" he exclaimed as he reached down and rubbed Rufus on the head as if just now realizing that he was there.

"Do you want a drink of water?" Brennan asked him.

"No, I'm okay. I think I can go back to sleep now," Parker replied as he started to get back under the covers.

Brennan smiled, thankful that he was doing better and that she could help him. "Alright, let's get you tucked back in," she said as she picked Rufus up and placed him back at the end of the bed and pulled the covers up. Rufus curled up at the foot of the bed, watching both of them.

Parker reached for the ground where his Spiderman doll had fallen.

Brennan smiled and bent down. "Here's Spiderman," she said as she handed the doll to Parker.

"You know what Daddy always says when he tucks me in?" Parker asked as if Brennan would really know.

"No, what does Daddy say?" she asked him.

"He says, 'you're snug as a bug in a rug,'" Parker said, smiling and nodding his head with every word.

"Well then, you are as snug as a bug in a rug," Brennan said as she tucked the covers underneath him tightly.

Parker laughed and smiled brightly. Brennan smiled back at him.

"Good night, Parker," she said as she started to get up.

Parker raised his arms in the air, reaching for Brennan. She smiled at him and bent down as Parker wrapped his arms around her neck.

"I love you, Dr. Bones," Parker told her.

Brennan couldn't help but smile. She pulled out of the hug and tapped Parker on the nose. "I love you too, Parker."

Parker smiled as he reached his hand up and tapped Brennan on the nose. She wrinkled it and took his hand, kissing it.

"Alright, back to sleep," Brennan said, rising from the bed.

"You know what else Daddy says?" Parker asked enthusiastically.

"What?" Brennan inquired.

"He says, 'good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite,'" Parker chanted in a sing-song tone.

"That's right. No bed bugs for you. Good night, Parker," Brennan said as she reached down and ruffled Parker's hair.

"Good night, Dr. Bones," Parker said as he snuggled into the covers, grasping Spiderman tightly.

Brennan turned off the lamp, watching Parker's eyes droop as she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

As she entered the living room, the front door opened and Booth walked through it.

"Is Parker asleep?" Booth asked.

"He was. He just had a bad dream, but he's going back to sleep now," Brennan explained.

"Does he need me?" Booth asked, pointing towards the bedroom door.

"We had a little talk and he's alright now," Brennan told Booth, smiling to herself. She looked over at Booth, who looked exhausted.

"Your Dad still hasn't been back to see you yet?" Booth asked her, hoping to get a report on a new Max Keenan sighting.

Brennan shook her head. "No, he hasn't. I still don't know what to do. Part of me wants him at our wedding and another part of me just…cringes at the thought of it," she replied.

"I'm not going to arrest him, Temperance," Booth informed her as he moved closer.

"Are you sure? What about Cullen? If we invite him, won't he be required to arrest him?" Brennan inquired.

"I've already handled it," Booth replied, smiling softly at her.

Brennan squinted her eyes and pursed her lips, looking quizzically at Booth. "Really?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it," Booth replied, stepping forward and placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

"Well, I guess I can invite him and Russ. What about your brother? Have you asked him to be best man yet?"

"Well, I talked to my parents and to Jared to let them know that I'm getting married. I thought you might want to ask Russ to be best man," Booth replied.

"Well, Angela is the maid…matron of honor and she's my best friend. You can ask Jared to be the best man, that's fine. I don't think it's right to ask Russ, anyway," Brennan said.

"Are you sure?" Booth asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure," Brennan replied, smiling.

"Mom and Dad are really excited to meet you," Booth told her.

"How much have you told them?" Brennan asked.

"Oh, they've been hearing about you for a good few years now," Booth replied, smiling widely. "I think Mom's exact words were 'it's about time you proposed.'"

"Oh really?" Brennan said, smiling at him. "I'm that popular, am I?"

He put his left arm around her and took her left hand in his, gazing at the ring. "We don't have to get married in a church, Temperance," he said out of nowhere.

She looked up at him, a quizzical expression on her face. "What? I thought it was important to you?" Brennan questioned, a furrow in her brow.

"Not as important as you are. And I understand how it could make you uncomfortable and I don't want you to feel that way on our wedding day," Booth explained, smiling sweetly at her.

"Booth, I don't want you to have to give up anything for this. It was never about not respecting your beliefs," Brennan replied.

"I know that. Like you said, you've always respected me and I should do the same for you. No church," he said.

"Are you sure? We can still have a minister," Brennan offered.

"Okay, that sounds like a deal," Booth replied.

"Why don't we have a winter wedding?" Brennan suggested. "Then I would finally have something to look forward to every Christmas season."

"Yeah, that'd be nice. You know, we could even have it outside and get a tent and some really big space heaters. Don't you think that would be cozy?" Booth asked.

"I think that would be perfect," she replied, looking up at him. He stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. She felt so safe and warm in his arms and it was almost as if nothing else existed…like everything else in the world just faded away.

She reached up and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I think it'll be the wedding of the year," Booth said softly as he kissed Brennan on the forehead.