Sorry it took so long. I got stuck in the dialog and lost motivation. It took me a minute to push through, but I managed. Hope it's okay!

He had a lot to think about, and he had a lot to ask, he just didn't know how to form the thoughts into words. He expertly used Bones' act to perfection. On the outside he was playful and energetic. On the inside, Parker was torn into a dozen pieces. He didn't understand how his father could be so blind as to not notice the changes in his own best friend. He wasn't sure why or how Hannah had come into their lives, but he knew it was hurting one of the constants in his own life, and he didn't like it at all. He didn't need to hear the conversation back at the Jeffersonian to know that. That's what confused him the most. How he could see her so little, but know so much more than his father seemed to.

"Bub, are you even listening to me?" Booth caught Parker's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah dad, I was just trying to remember if I had any homework or not." It wasn't a very good lie, but he wasn't ready to have his thoughts heard.

"Well we're almost to the diner, so I hope you're hungry." Booth shot him a smile and Parker gave one back. He made sure to make it extra big to compensate for not listening.

Booth pulled into a parking spot and got out of the truck. Before he could get the rear driver's side door open, Parker had jumped from the rear passenger side door and raced around the truck.

"Race ya!" Parker had punched Booth in the arm and ran toward the doors to the diner. Taken off guard, Booth trailed behind but let his son have the victory of claiming their usual table. As he walked through the doors, the waitress was already talking to Parker. Before Booth could make it to their table, the waitress was walking past him and gave him a smile.

"What did you order?" Booth gave him a smile that accompanied a skeptical look as he sat across from his son. He had a feeling there was a large chocolate milkshake heading their way.

"Just some dinner, dad." Try as he might, he couldn't contain the excitement as the forbidden dessert was heading his way. The waitress set down the parfait glass in front of Parker, and the blender cup in front of Booth. She tossed a couple straws down on the table and gave Booth a wink.

"You call this dinner, funny man?" Booth snatched the straws before Parker could react and tore the paper from the top of one. He put the straw in his mouth and blew, sending the paper missile straight into Parker's face.

"Real mature, dad!" Parker was laughing as he lunged across the table to get the other straw from Booth. He held the straw just out of Parker's reach for a few seconds then relented and gave it to him. Booth watched Parker's eyes light up as he tore the wrapper from the straw and placed the straw into the milkshake. He took a few hurried sips of the milkshake before he slammed his hand against his forehead and shut his eyes tight.

"Brainfreeze!" Booth just laughed at him.

"That's what you get for sneaking a milkshake, bub." Parker opened his eyes back up and shook his head a little. Booth was laughing at him and he couldn't help but smile. The waitress brought them their food and Parker began eating his fries.

"Dad…" His voice wasn't as strong as he wanted it to be. Before he could say anything further, Booth stepped in.

"Parks, I want to talk to you. You'll have your chance to go, I just want to talk first, okay?" Parker nodded his head. He hoped he would get some answers and not have to form the questions.

"First off, I want to say that I'm really sorry for not talking to you about the Hannah thing beforehand. I had every intention of doing so, I swear. What you think of everything; of Hannah, of us getting married, it all matters, bub. You do know that, right?"

Parker simply nodded. His head was down, but his eyes were up. He was thinking everything over carefully. The situation was delicate. He couldn't simply spout out everything he knew, everything he felt. He had to be strong; for himself, his dad, and more importantly, for Bones.

"So talk to me little man. What's going on in that head of yours?" Booth snatched a fry off of Parker's plate then dipped it into the milkshake and ate it. Parker smiled.

"Dad, you're so gross!" He felt his voice come back. He wasn't sure what he was going to say or ask, but he felt more confident now.

"Why doesn't Hannah ever talk to me?" He wasn't offended. He was just curious as to how she thought the three of them were supposed to be a family, but she never talked to him.

"Oh Parks, Hannah loves you. She really does, she's just doesn't think she's good with kids. It looked like you guys hit it off in the park that day." Parker wasn't sure which thing to address first. He decided to go on defense.

"You said that about Bones, too, but she's awesome! It was never like this with her." He looked down at his plate and moved his French fries around the specks of salt. He felt like the conversation needed to go in a better direction. He didn't want to play the Bones card yet.

"Listen bub. Hannah, she's just got to get used to being around an awesome kid like you." Booth smiled, hoping to get Parker to do the same. Parker just looked up at the break in conversation. "I know this is all new, bud, but I need to know what you're thinking so we can work this all out."

"I miss Bones." The words were out of his mouth before he even knew what was happening. He was trying to wait as long as possible, but he couldn't keep those feelings back anymore.

"I know you do, Parks, and I'm so, so sorry. I haven't been the best friend to her that I should be and you've suffered for that. I've realized that and I'm going to make it up to you. To the both of you, but I need some give here, buddy. Hannah is around and is going to be for a long time, so I need for you to try to help me find some common ground here for all of us. I promise that you can spend as much time with Bones as you want, but we've got to work with Hannah too, okay? Hey, did you know that Bones and Hannah are friends?" Parker stopped chewing on his French fry and his eyes were wide open.

"Really?" He couldn't really believe it. Either that or he didn't want to, but he didn't think his dad would lie to him. If Bones could give her a shot, maybe he should too.

"Yeah, they go out for drinks sometimes. They hang out, gossip. You know usual girl stuff. Then again this is Bones, so it's probably not 'normal' but the point is she makes an effort, ya know?" He watched his son nod his head. He knew he was running the information through his head. He was becoming more and more like a squint every day. He couldn't be more proud.

"Okay, dad. But I get all the Bones times I want, right?" Parker smiled the patented 'Booth' charm smile.

"Well, within reason, bud. You can't be at her side 24/7, but I'm sure we can work out a few days a week, if it's okay with your mom." Parker simply nodded. He knew there would be a catch.

"Now listen to me, though. I really want you to get to know Hannah better, and if there's a problem, I need you to come to me and talk about it. I need all my favorite people on the same page, okay?"

"What do I call her?" He figured the safest question to ask was the stupidest one. He had to follow Bones' lead and put on a brave face, at least for now.

"Bub, you call her Hannah. Simple as that." Parker nodded. He was working up the courage to ask some questions and he didn't want to waste any more concentration on menial words.

"Dad, are you happy?" He knew he was probably not old enough for this question, but he wanted to see the emotion in his dad's eyes. Gauge for himself the feelings that may lie hidden. Booth simply sighed.

"I am happy, Parks. I'd be a lot happier if you'd talk to me, though." He knew his son wasn't revealing everything.

Parker shifted in his seat. He couldn't bring himself to clue his dad into the changes Bones has been making. It was something he would have to figure out for himself. It pained him to allow that to happen, but he felt that if he himself was allowed to be around Bones more, at least he could make her feel a little better.

"I think I just need some time dad. I'm still trying to get use to Captain Fantastic, and he's been around for ages." He hoped by comparing the fact that the other person in his mother's life wasn't yet welcome would help the situation.

Booth nodded. He hated himself for throwing his son into something blindly. He always did his best to make sure Parker was in the loop as much as possible. He had failed this time, but he was aware of it immediately. The sooner he was aware of it, the sooner he could fix it. He knew what he had to do.

They finished their dinner and Booth stood to pay the bill. "Finish up your milkshake, bub, and we'll head home, okay?" Parker nodded and grabbed the blender cup from across the table. He tipped it backwards and finished it, leaving a brown mustache across his lip. He stood and headed over toward Booth.

"You got a little something just there." Booth rubbed his finger across his own lip, smiling. Parker laughed and used his sleeve to wipe the milkshake from his face. They walked back to the SUV and headed home.