Well here's another short installment in "A Day with Parker". This is just something that popped into my head while working on my next fic, and I decided to add it here. As always, please read and review, let me know what you think. Cheers


May 2011

"Bones?" a small voice sounded in her ear, waking her almost instantly. She opened her eyes and looked at the nine year old standing in front of her.

"Parker? What is it? Is everything okay?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I want some water," he said in a meek tone. She realized she hadn't been asleep for ten minutes yet and smiled softly at the boy as she stood up.

"Sure." She led the boy out of her room and into the kitchen. Booth had been sent on an undercover assignment two months ago and, per orders, she hadn't heard from him since. When Brent and Rebecca had gotten engaged, Brennan had agreed to keep Parker for the weekend while they celebrated. The boy had been ecstatic at spending a weekend with Bones, but she could tell he still missed his father.

"Here you go," she said as she handed him a small plastic cup filled with filtered water from the fridge. He smiled at her and let her take him back to the guest room. She watched as he drank half the contents and set the cup on the nightstand before climbing back into the bed.

"Night Bones," he said, and she responded before pulling his door to. Before she even made it to her bed, she heard her name being called again. Padding back over, she pushed the door open slowly.

"Yes Parker?"

"Could you tell me a story? I can't sleep," he was sitting up in bed, and she sighed.

"I suppose," she replied as she sat on the edge of his bed and thought for a moment. "What story should I tell?" She didn't remember a lot from her childhood, and she hoped he would pick one she knew.

"Tell me the one about the billy goats," he asked politely, and she smiled.

"That was one of my brother's favorites," she admitted, "but I don't really remember all of it." Parker leaned over, switched on the lamp, and pulled a book from the shelf below his nightstand. She grabbed it and thumbed through the book of tales before coming to the Tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. She smiled at the boy as he settled down for his story. Half way through, Brennan furrowed her brow.

"Okay, that's not how I remember it," she mumbled, but continued on through the ending. But when the eldest Billy Goat Gruff butted the troll with his horns into the river she shut the book. "This is incorrect," she told Parker, and the boy looked confused.

"What do you mean, Bones? This is the book of tales Nana gave me for Christmas." Brennan opened her mouth to retort, but as she played over the tale's original ending in her mind, she heard a voice that sounded a lot like her partner chiding her for her tactlessness. That's not a good ending for a nine year old, Bones.

"Well then," she forced a smile, "this is probably right. To sleep now," she ordered, and turned the table lamp off.

"Night Bones," the boy yawned and Temperance heaved a sigh of relief as he seemed to drift off. She tucked the covers up and left him alone, returning to the warmth of her own bed. She was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"Bones?" she opened her eyes quickly and looked at the frightened young boy at the foot of her bed. "There was a noise," he said simply. Brennan held back a groan and stood up again, following the boy to the source of this "noise." When he pointed to the kitchen, she turned the light on and showed him the empty room.

"Probably just the downstairs neighbors," she told him. "Your dad lives on the ground floor, remember? You're just not used to it. Now back to bed, it's late." Or early, she noted as Parker clambered back under his covers. She pulled his door to once more and snuggled down into her sheets in peace.

"Bones?" this time her eyes snapped open to berate Parker for waking her again, but the chastisement died on her lips as she saw the boy's eyes filled with tears.

"What's the matter, Parker?" she sat up and wasn't at all surprised when he climbed into her bed.

"I had a bad dream," he said simply. She pulled the covers back as he got settled. She knew there would be no convincing him to go back to his own bed; he was too much like his father for that.

"What was your dream about?" she asked as he squirmed down into the large queen size bed. His soft brown eyes met hers and she saw the unshed tears he held back.

"I dreamed Daddy wasn't coming back," he said in a small voice, and she ignored the hitch in her own chest. Recalling a long ago memory from her childhood, Brennan reached out and ran her fingers through the boy's mop of blonde hair. Her heart broke for the pain in his eyes, but she knew Booth was going to be okay.

"Parker, your father is the strongest man I know, and I just bet he's counting the days till he gets to come home to you." Parker yawned and closed his eyes as he mumbled sleepily.

"And you too, Bones, cause Daddy loves you." She smiled at the boy and smoothed his hair down before laying down.

"Get some sleep now," she told him. "Your dad will be home before you know it." She, too, closed her eyes, thankful for the remaining four hours until her alarm sounded.

Some time later her eyes snapped open. She strained her ears for any sound that would have woken her, but there were none other than the normal sounds of her apartment. She stretched and turned to look at the boy sleeping peacefully beside her. His nightmares from earlier seemed far away, and she noted in the dim light from the moon outside that he did look a lot like her partner. She smiled to herself and, as her head turned to check the time, her heart froze.

There, in the doorway left open by Parker's earlier entrance, was the outline of a man. He wasn't moving, and Brennan realized she wouldn't have even seen him if it weren't for the faint glow of Parker's night light from the guest room. He made no indication that he knew she'd noticed him so, feigning a sleepy stretch, she fingered the baseball bat she kept by her bed. If this man had harmful intentions, he wouldn't lay a finger on Parker.

But something made her take a second look at the man, and she realized with a start that she recognized the silhouette. And in the darkness of her bedroom, she felt her heart start beating again.

"Booth?" she whispered, and he took a step forward.

"I didn't mean to wake you Temperance," he returned just as quietly. "I just…I needed to see…" and his eyes fell on the lump of a person under the covers next to her. Now that he'd moved into the moonlight, she saw the shadows beneath his eyes and his unkempt appearance. She also saw the hardened expression that took over his face.

"I'm sorry Bones, I didn't mean to…I mean I didn't know you had company. I'll go. Call me tomorrow," and as he took a step toward the door she shot her hand to stop him.

"Wait, let me wake him."

"No," he seemed horrified, "You don't have to -" but she was already reaching for her companion's shoulder and she shook gently.

"Hey," she whispered with a tenderness he hadn't heard from her in a while. "Someone to see you." Booth heard the disgruntled moan of someone being woken up well before he was ready, and he realized with a jolt that he recognized that moan.

"Parker?" he whispered incredulously. "Why? How?" Brennan smiled softly as she once again shook the boy.

"Whazzit?" he mumbled, and Brennan merely pointed to the door. Parker turned his head and his eyes opened wide. With a flurry of covers the boy was up and in his father's arms in a matter of seconds.

"Dad!" Booth laughed and hugged his son to his chest.

"What are you doing here Parker?"

"Mom and Brent got engaged," he said matter-of-factly, "So Bones said I could stay here for the weekend while they went out." Booth looked up at his partner of nearly six years and smiled his thanks.

"He had a bad dream," she added, "So my bed got invaded." Booth looked back down at the boy who was quickly losing his steam and falling asleep on his shoulder.

"Bad dream?"

"He thought you weren't coming back," she clarified, and Booth hugged Parker tighter. He dropped a kiss onto the boy's head, smoothing back his hair in an unintentional mimic of Brennan earlier. His intense stare met with hers and for a moment terror seized her.

"There was a moment…" but he trailed off, knowing that wasn't a discussion for Parker to overhear. "Was he in the guest room?" he turned quickly, ignoring Brennan's questioning look. "I'll take him back."

"He's fine, really," she said, standing up herself. "You and he should stay here, I'll go take the guest room. It's a smaller bed." Booth laid the boy back down, but grabbed Brennan's arm quickly as she tried to escape.

"Thank you Temperance, it means a lot to me." She saw the haunted expression he held, and she knew that tomorrow would hold some horrific moments for them. But for tonight she was content to let father and son get reacquainted. She nodded and leaned in to him for a brief hug.

"Welcome home, Booth." She exited then, leaving Booth to gaze down at his son lying in his partner's bed. As he pulled off his jacket and shoes and laid down next to Parker, he took in his surroundings and heaved a deep, satisfied sigh.

Home.


I swear Parker gets cuter and cuter every season. I hope they include more of him this season. Please R&R as it feeds my creative spirit to know there are people out there actually reading and enjoying.