Authors Note; Great, now that we're all caught up, chapter eight is already in the works. C: So yup! And any misspellings when in the character of "Ellie" Are intentional as I'm trying to show you how she talks. :) Enjoy! R&R.
Disclaimer: Pay attention! |: I own nothing but Ellie and Jackson.
Chapter Seven
I'm A Thief, Not A Killer
Booth kept his hand on the small of Brennan's back as they sat down at a wooden picnic table. Parker was on the other side, staring at the table and digging into the wood with a penny. Booth sighed lightly and wrapped one arm around Brennan's waist as she folded her arms onto the table and clasped her hands. "C'mon you two, stop looking so down. I know things aren't the best right now, but…Let's just try and have a nice relaxing time today." Booth swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he got dirty looks from both Parker and Brennan. This day was going to be lovely... It's not like he wanted to forget about Ellie, he just meant that they all needed to get out of the house.
It took a lot, but Booth had dragged the two of them out and to the park. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and it wasn't too hot, yet not too cold. Just perfect. The three were silent until Booth spoke yet again. "Let's just eat, I'll get the Thai food out of the truck, now." He sighed and pushed himself up and began to walk toward the SUV.
Brennan watched as he walked away and then looked over at Parker who was still digging into the Table with a penny. "Parker…" Brennan spoke, waiting to see if he'd look up. He did.
He set the penny down and stared at her. "Hmm?" Brennan bit the inside of her cheek before she spoke.
"I think we should do as Booth says. Perhaps it would be nice to relax and try to stop stressing. It's not helping our situation any…Especially not mine…" She looked down briefly at her stomach and then at the table.
Parker merely nodded. "Okay. I'll try." He sat up from his previous slouching position and rested his elbow on the table, letting his head fall in his hand. He winced, forgetting about the bruise around his eye and then leaned the other way instead.
Brennan looked behind him, her eyes searching for Booth. She found him standing near the SUV with the door open, his cell phone plugged to his ear. She bit her lip, watching his facial expressions and guessed It was about the case.
"I want their phone records, and every time she was allowed to make a phone call. Yes. Yeah. Alright. Call me with anymore news. Thanks, Hacker. You too. Bye." Booth clicked his cell shut and shoved it back in his pocket. With a sigh, he leaned into the truck and proceeded to get out the tai food, and shut the door behind him. As he came back up to the picnic table, he set the bags of food onto the picnic table and took his seat next to Brennan.
After 30 minutes of eating in silence, Brennan and Booth sat with their backs facing the table, silently watching Parker as he talked to a young girl. Booth chuckled a little, as he gently wrapped his arm around Brennan and pulled her close. She leaned into him, feeling safe in the crook of his arm. "What are you laughing at?" She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around him.
"Nothing. Parker just looks so awkward and shy around that girl…I was pretty good with girls when I was his age." Brennan rolled her eyes and smirked.
"Not everyone is good at intimacy, Booth. Parker is sweet and shy…Though I'm quite positive it's just an act…" She watched him carefully.
Booth looked down, brows furrowed lightly. "An act? What do you mean?" Brennan looked back up at him, her eyes squinting a little and looking back at Parker.
"Parker is just as much a…Charmer, if that's what you call it…As you are. He has that stupid grin you have…" She narrowed her eyes up at him as he looked back innocently.
"What grin?" He questioned, smirking a little.
Brennan kept her eyes narrowed, but there was a smile on her face. "That dumb grin that seems to get every woman in bed with you…"
Booth chuckled. "Well I only use that on one woman these days. And I assure you, she doesn't always fall for it…" He grinned his charm smile now and she rolled her eyes and placed her hand on his cheek, gently pulling his face towards hers and kissing him softly.
As they pulled back, she looked at him lovingly. "You know for some reason that most of the time…I can't resist that smile." She sighed and looked back at Parker. "See? Look there it is!" She nodded to him, looking between the two Booths.
"That a boy…" Booth beamed with pride. Brennan sat up and slapped his arm. "Owww, What'd I doooo?" He puckered his lower lip in a pout.
"How would you feel if that was Ellie over there being schmoozed up by some horny teenage boy?" She crossed her arms and watched Booth's facial expression change into a look of disgust.
"I'd take my gun and shoot him, and lock Ellie up till she was 35..."
If Brennan thought he wasn't serious, she would have laughed. "Yes, and you encourage Parker's biological urges on that poor girl there." she looked over at them a moment and back at Booth, who suddenly looked guilty.
"Well that's…I mean…" He stammered, trying to come up with a counter argument.
"It's a double standard, Booth." She knew she had won this, smirking slightly. Booth scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I didn't mean 'that a boy, go have sex' I just meant…it in a 'way to impress the girls' sort of way…" He cringed.
"I should hope that's what you meant…You don't want to be a grandparent, do you?" Now she was just screwing with him to watch his face.
"What!" For some reason his voice came out in a high pitched tone and the color in his face was gone. "Of course not, I mean-I-he's" He was stammering and Brennan started to laugh which now agitated Booth. "What's so funny?" He tried to clear his throat so his voice didn't squeak.
"I'm kidding, Booth. Parker isn't having sexual intercourse…yet." Her smile faded as she turned her attention back to the two teenagers.
"What do you mean, yet? And how should you know what he's doing?" Booth raised his brows.
"Well, Parker is more sensitive and shy…Like I said before. He's not going to have sex, JUST to have sex like a lot of teenage boys these days. I'm quite confident that…He's waiting. But, just in case you should give him condoms." Booth never understood how she could talk about sex so casually.
"Alright, alright. I'm done talking about my son's none-existent sex life. It's staying none-existent as far as I'm concerned…The only sex life I care about right now is mine…" Brennan smirked.
"I had no idea you had a sex life, Booth…" Booth looked back at her with a worried look.
"I'm kidding…I'd only be torturing myself if I did that…" Booth let out a sigh of relief which only made Brennan laugh more.
B-B-B
"So, are those your parents over there?" The young girl pushed a strand of her blond hair behind her ear and glanced over at Booth and Brennan.
Parker chuckled and his face flushed lightly. "Yeah…They're pretty embarrassing. Bones isn't my real mom…" The girl gave him weird look as he spoke Temperance Brennan's nickname for the Booth boys. Parker laughed. "Her name is Temperance…My dad nicknamed her Bones when they first met because she's an anthropologist, you know…Works with bones?" The girl grimaced.
"Ew…But that's kinda cute, I guess." She thought for a moment, twirling her hair as she did so. "Wait, so your mom…I mean step-mom…She isn't the famous novelist, Dr. Temperance Brennan, is she?" Parker chuckled. Of course.
"Yup, that's her. She's just Bones or mom to me, though…" He watched her face beam with excitement.
"Oh my gosh, my mom and I totally love her books." She practically squealed.
"What a surprise…" Parker's voice was soaked with sarcasm, but the girl didn't really notice.
"What's she like? That's totally cool. You're sooo lucky." She flashed Parker a gorgeous smile which made his heart rate pick-up slightly.
Parker cleared his throat. "I don't know…But I can say that I am definitely lucky. She's a great mom to me, and she's kinda funny too cause she doesn't always catch on to pop culture and dumb jokes. And she speaks her mind. I could…get her to sign a book or something." He shrugged, trying to play it cool.
Again, the girl practically squealed, but this time it was louder. Parker winced at the high pitched noise. "Are you serious! Oh my gosh, that would be so cool! You are so awesome, Parker." She smiled again, but looked down as the pink phone in her pocket began to vibrate. "I've got to go. My mom is calling." She rolled her eyes as she said it. "But-" The girl reached in her bag, grabbing a pink sharpie and then pulling on Parker's arm. "Here's my number." She proceeded to write her number and her name and then let go of his arm, grinning more. "It was great to meet you, Parker. Call me." She leaned in and kissed his cheek before turning on her heel and walking off toward a parked car with a woman in the front seat.
Parker's whole face turned red and he was frozen. He stood there, stock still for what seemed like forever until he heard a familiar voice behind him. "You okay, there Parks?" Booth tapped his shoulder lightly, trying not to smirk. Brennan was trying her hardest not to laugh.
Parker snapped out of his stare and shook his head. "huh?" his face turned even redder. "What? Yeah. I'm fine." He cleared his throat and turned to walk towards the car, but before he continued to walk, he turned and smirked, looking at Brennan.
"Thanks, Bones…" He chuckled, shaking his head and turning back around to hurry to the SUV before any questions could be asked.
Brennan's brows furrowed as she stared at him and then looked up at Booth who simply said, "I have no idea…" He placed his hand on the small of her back and walked her to the car. Brennan's forehead wrinkled in thought as she tried to figure out what Parker was thanking her for.
B-B-B
"Lou, I don't think I can do this…I may be a thief, and I've bashed a couple a heads…But I ain't no kid killer." The tall large man leaned in to whisper the last part.
The other man, known as Lou slapped the side of his head. "Would you shut up, Frankie! She just shut up." Lou was a little shorter than Frankie, and he wasn't as big. Big meaning muscular. Both men were very fit, but Frankie was huge. The two of them sat at an old kitchen table, playing cards.
Smoke fogged the air as Lou took a toke of his cigar and blew it out of his mouth. He stared at his cards intently. "I'm sorry, Lou…But look at her, she's just a kid. I mean I got a couple a nieces her age…I-" He was cut off.
"Just shut up Frankie! If were lucky, we wont have to do anything to her…We just do what she says, and we get paid. We'll figure it out if we gotta cross that bridge. Now just shut the hell up and play your damn hand." Lou slammed his palm onto the table, causing the cards to jump, as well as the little girl in the corner of the room. She hugged her knees and stared at her captors.
Her eyes we're blood shot, and her face was blotchy from crying. She had cried and cried until the tears just wouldn't come anymore. They had brought her to an abandoned house. She was cold, tired, and hungry. She had been here for two whole days and the only thing she had had to eat was a piece of bread that Frankie snuck to her. He really wasn't all bad. He couldn't stand to see those big blue eyes look so sad at him.
She had screamed and cried the whole way here, calling out for her parents, and her brother, to anyone that would listen. Frankie kept whispering that he wasn't going to hurt her. She had one of those child halters on, and a short lead attached to it, the other end was tied an old pipe protruding from the wall. It was high above her head, so she was unable to untie it and free herself. The lead had a complicated child lock on it and she wasn't able to figure out how to get it off, and to make things harder, the hook of the halter was in the center of her back, making it hard to reach.
A tiny sigh escaped her lips as she rubbed her eye with the back of her little fist. "Hey mistorsss." Her tiny voice echoed the dusty old house and the two men looked her way. "I'm hungwry…"
"Give the kid some more bread." grumbled Lou as he stared back at his cards. Frankie nodded and grabbed a piece of bread from a bag that sat in one of the kitchen chairs.
As he walked over to hand it to her, she shook her head. "I don't want dat…" She crossed her arms and frowned.
Frankie knelt down to be at her level. "Well it's what you're getting' kid." He replied, smirking lightly at her facial expression.
"I said…I don't want dat…Mommy fixes me granola cereal and cuts up annanas and puts dem in it. I want dat." She glared up at him, pouting.
Frankie laughed, his whole body shaking with him. "And I want a Salisbury Steak, but I ain't get'n one. This is what ya got. So take it or starve, kid." He held out the piece of bread and watched as Ellie thought out her options. After a couple of moments, she snatched the bread from his grimy fingers and took a small bite.
Just as Frankie was about to get up, Ellie spoke once more. "Why do you keep calling me kid? Dats not my name." She shook her head and stared at him. "My name is Ellie, Ellie Cwistine Booth." Of course she meant Ellie Christine Booth. She was still trying to get over pronouncing her Rs like Ws.
Frankie looked at her solemnly. "It's so I can distance myself." He stood up before she could ask any further questions. Frankie took his seat back next to Lou, heaving a sigh. "When do we go to wait for the next phone call?" His voice was monotone as he spoke.
Lou looked up from his cards and puffed out smoke from his mouth. "Later on taday. She gets her phone call around 5." Lou rubbed his cigar into the table to put it out.
Frankie nodded. "Alright. I guess I'll stay with the kid this time." He mumbled as he picked his cards back up and glanced at them and then back at Lou.
