Chapter 9: Far and Near

The rest of the week was just as busy as the previous week had been, but the couple managed to strike a better balance this time around between time spent at work and at home. Brennan also forced herself to go to bed at a reasonable hour of the night so that she woke up refreshed, and able to accomplish more work; though one night she was forced to stay up late to take part in a video conference with the team in Maluku.

Missing a day of work meant Booth spent the first two days back playing catch up. By then it was Thursday and he had to work his tail off to have everything ready for the start of his first class on Monday. Fortunately it was a class he was tag-teaching with Chris, and the older man showed him how to structure his lessons to make the most of the time he had.

Friday was their most hectic day yet. Brennan was speaking at a fund-raising event in Baltimore, which Booth would've attended had he not had to pick Parker up in DC for the weekend. They both had that much work to accomplish that they didn't go on their run that morning, or get to meet for lunch in the afternoon like they'd planned.

Booth was so busy that he ended up having to call Jared to get Parker from school and to his relief his brother offered to drive his nephew down to Quantico as well. Even with that reprieve he barely got everything in place for the following week before five hit and it was time to go home. He swung by the lab and picked up a very harried Brennan.

Fifteen minutes after they'd gotten home, Jared and Parker showed up and ten minutes after that Brennan rushed out the door muttering about her GPS getting her there on time. Jared stuck around for dinner and a few rounds of Wii Baseball and all three of them had a blast. After Jared left, Parker begged to play more Wii but Booth nixed that idea knowing from experience it would only hype the boy up and make bedtime impossible. Instead, Booth pulled out a well-worn copy of The Hobbit and read until Parker's eyelids grew heavy and he fell asleep on Booth's lap.

He was in bed reading his own book some time later when "Hot Blooded" sounded from the nightstand.

"Hello, Beautiful," he smiled, picturing her in the sophisticated evening gown she'd left in, her hair piled elaborately on her head.

"Hi," her voice was flat with exhaustion.

"Free of the mob yet?" he joked.

There was a stifled yawn as she answered, "Only just."

"You should crash at a hotel tonight," he suggested. "Get some real sleep before you come home."

"That's what I'm calling about," she roused herself. "I've been invited to speak at a conference in Harrisburg tomorrow."

"Harrisburg, right," he hid the disappointment from his voice.

"So you think I should accept?" asked Brennan.

"You were asking me?" he was surprised.

"Isn't that what couples do?" she sounded confused. "Consult one another on decisions that impact them both?"

"Yeah, Bones," he felt guilty for jumping to conclusions. "Yeah, they do, and if you want to go to the conference that's fine with me."

"I won't be able to attend Parker's game."

"You probably wouldn't make it back anyway unless you came home right now and it's way too late for that so don't worry about it," he waved off her concern.

"Parker's expecting me," she insisted and it touched him that she was so concerned about his son.

"He'll be fine with it, Bones, trust me," he reassured her. "I'll explain what happened in the morning, okay? He'll still have a bunch of people cheering for him and we'll call and let you know how he does."

"Did you have fun with him tonight?" she asked.

They talked about Booth's night with Parker and Brennan's at the dinner. She told him the food was just as bad as the banquet the two of them had gone to and it hadn't been as enjoyable for her because there weren't as many scientists this time. The conference the following day, however, would be all scientists, so she'd be in her element.

When she couldn't stop yawning he made her hang up and go find a decent place to sleep for the night. She promised she would call when she safely reached Harrisburg the next day and they hung up.

B&B&B&B&B&B

As Brennan bade Booth goodnight and began contemplating what hotel she should go to it struck her that she didn't have any clean clothes with her to wear for the conference.

"Oh, Victor, I apologize," she said when she just narrowly avoided running into him at full speed. "I didn't see you there."

"No harm done," the other anthropologist assured her. "Looking for a hotel?"

"Actually, I already have a place to stay," she realized, a smile crossing her face at the thought. "My apartment in DC isn't far away at all."

By that point the other scientists had joined them, all discussing their own plans for the night. Marcie flagged Brennan down, looking to confirm whether or not she'd be going. As it turned out, all seven of them could attend and Marcie told them she would arrange for transportation for them all, giving a time and location to meet the next morning.

Before she could be waylaid any further, Brennan excused herself and left. The drive was slightly longer than she'd anticipated, but was more than worth it when she was able to soak in her own bathtub and sleep in her own bed. She didn't mind the bed that she and Booth shared at their new house, but she couldn't deny how much faster she fell asleep on her own mattress.

The next morning she woke up much more well-rested than she would have been had she opted for a hotel room. She had no food on hand, of course, but her coffee was still fresh and she left herself enough time to get breakfast before she left to meet the others in Baltimore.

A fifteen-passenger van, along with Hugo, the driver Marcie had hired for the day, picked them up at precisely eight o'clock and was soon filled with lively academic debate. The closer they got, however, the more subdued they became as they began preparing their speeches. Brennan would be addressing the group at the last main session before the lunch breaks began, and the rest would be giving shorter presentations in various workshops throughout the rest of the afternoon.

When they arrived they were greeted by Dr. Ted Lowry, the conference's chief administrator and the man who had invited them the night before. He provided them with official name tags and schedules, and informed them he'd managed to arrange a question and answer period for them after the last main session of the day. Brennan had just enough time to send Booth a quick text letting him know she'd arrived safely, before she was whisked backstage for her first appearance.

The day passed quickly enough and was every bit as enjoyable as Brennan had supposed it would be. While the Maluku team was given time to share what they were doing, it wasn't the main focus of the conference and there was plenty of down time for Brennan to take part in the workshops of her choice. The day was also punctuated with regular updates from Booth on the status of Parker's game, including a final one composed of all capital letters announcing that they'd won.

A feeling of warmth and pride had filled her as she read the updates, and instead of going to one final workshop, she surreptitiously slipped out the back door and called Parker to congratulate him. The phone was passed between father and son multiple times until she felt quite certain she would not have gathered any more details had she physically attended the game herself.

There was a loud shout of excitement as Parker, who was enjoying his celebratory meal at the diner, finished his meal and received the small custom cake Brennan had ordered for him earlier that morning when she'd eaten a quick breakfast there.

"It looks like a baseball!" Parker exclaimed, snatching the phone from his dad to thank Bones himself. "But how'd you know to put 'Good Job' on it? I mean, he hadn't even won yet."

"Whether you won or lost I have no doubt you would have done your best," she explained, knowing that Booth had passed down that work ethic to his son.

After proclaiming her to be "awesome" one last time, Parker went back to his cake and handed the phone to his dad. A much as she would've enjoyed talking to Booth longer, she heard the announcement being made that the final session was about to begin. Booth promised to wait up for her that night and they said their goodbyes.

As she and her team were waiting backstage for the question and answer session to begin, her phone was barraged with pictures from Jared and Booth's phones of the game and ensuing celebration, including one of Parker and Booth posing with the small baseball cake which she immediately set as her background picture.

"Your family?" Sue Grey asked, pointing at the screen.

After a moment's hesitation Brennan decided that was an adequate definition of what the pair on the screen were to her and she nodded.

"You're a lucky woman," Sue commented.

"Yes," Brennan's smile was wide and genuine. "I am."