Author's Note: Thanks so much to all of you that have hung in there with me. I appreciate all of the positive reviews I have received, as well as the constructive suggestions. I'm sorry this has taken so long - I didn't realize what would be involved in order to do justice to the story the way it unfolded in my mind, and this has run way longer than I originally intended. Sorry for the "cliffie's", but I promise a few more chapters and we'll be all done! I hope you'll enjoy the next few chapters, and as always reviews are definitely appreciated and encouraged!

Chapter 12

Booth's heart pounded as he ran down the last hallway to the main entrance. It had never been necessary for him to traverse through the entire museum, much less when it was as dimly lit as it was after normal business hours. All of his trips to the museum had been thus far limited to Brennan's lab, and his unfamiliarity with the floor plan was now adding to his urgent frustration.

The security guard had not given any details, just insisted that he come right away. His mind flooded with the possibilities, wondering for a terrifying moment if the doctor had changed his mind and sent a "gift" from one of his victims ahead of schedule. He rounded the last corner, his heart and lungs nearly bursting from his chest from the exertion and anticipation of what he would find.

The security guard saw him coming and stepped out from behind the desk, motioning to someone behind him that was sitting in a chair next to the wall. It took Booth only a moment to recognize the light brown curls, and he nearly fell at the boy's feet as his eyes filled with tears.

"Parker!" he gasped, before grabbing him off of his chair in a tight hug and burying his face in his hair. "Oh my god," he sobbed. "Parker...are you okay?" He pulled himself back slightly to check him over for injuries.

"Are you hurt? How did you get here? Do you know where you were? Where is Bones?" His questions were coming too fast and too numerous for already scared little boy, and his eyes began to well with tears.

Booth's heart constricted. The decision was immediate; he needed be a father first. The impatient and heartbroken FBI agent that would still be desperately searching for his missing partner could wait for just a few more brief moments in order to relish the fact that his son was indeed alive, well, and here in his arms. All that mattered in this moment was that his little boy was safe. He pulled him into another strong protective hug, closing his eyes and sending a silent thanks to God for answering one of his prayers. "It's all right buddy. It's okay, you're with me now."

Several long seconds passed. "Daddy," Parker finally whimpered. "Where's Mommy?"

Booth opened his eyes but didn't loosen his grip on his son, knowing that now was not the right time to explain to him about Rebecca's death. "We can talk about that later, Park. Right now I just want to make sure you're really here." He squeezed him tighter and wondered who he was trying to reassure when he said, "It's all going to be okay now."

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Parker had calmed quickly once they were back in Brennan's office, especially after Angela produced a small pint of ice cream from the freezer. His father hovered at his elbow, glad to see that he did not appear the least bit traumatized at his ordeal, but still seemingly afraid that if he let him out of arms reach he would disappear again. He was also very interested in the details of Parker's "adventure" over the last few days, and once he saw that his son was genuinely at ease he wasted no time in gently probing for answers.

"Hey, Parker," he began, "let's talk for a minute. Did you see Bones today?"

He was happily spooning ice cream into his mouth. "Yeah. We talked a lot."

Booth exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. Thank God, at least she was still alive at some point today.

"What did you and Bones talk about?"

"Lots of stuff. She told me all about the bones in the human body, and how each one in important in its own way. And how people in places all over the world have different types of parties and celebrations, and that there were people on the planet thousands and millions of years ago..."

Booth smiled in spite of himself, trying to cover his mouth with his hand. Leave it to you, Bones, to make a kidnapping an educational experience for my son.

"...and she told me about all these different countries and how she's met people that talk all sorts of different languages. And hey, Dad, did you know Bones has a magic wand?"

His head shot up at this, and he felt the familiar tightness return to his chest. "What?"

"Yeah! That was one of the things she wanted me to tell you. She said it was real important." He turned his attention back to his ice cream.

"Parker," he settled directly in front of his son and raised his chin with his finger to look him in the eye. "What exactly did she want you to tell me?"

Parker visibly took a moment, and then recited exactly what Bones had told him to say. "She wanted me to tell you that it looked like she would be able to use her magic wand after all." At his father's aghast expression, he was afraid he had said something wrong. Booth just stared at his son, the tendrils of understanding beginning to take root as he remembered their conversation.

...If there was anything I could do to make this right, I hope you know that I would do it...

...I know you would. You and your magic wand would be working overtime...

"Dad, what's an adu...less...ant? Is that some type of bug?"

Booth had to shake his head, and Parker repeated his question. "What? Do you mean 'adolescent', Park?"

Parker's eyes lit up. "Yeah! That's it. Bones said something about me not even being an adu...less...whatever that word is, and that it was the most logical choice for me to come home now." He stared at his father, still slightly scared at the blank and nauseous look on his face.

Oh, Bones, he thought. What have you done? His anger at her intensified as he thought about how rational and logical she would have been about the whole situation. Of course she would have seen that the rational choice between the two of them was for Parker to live. His Bones would never have even considered any other option. Problem is, I didn't think it was her choice...how in the world had this happened?

His heart heaved at the thought of her contemplating Booth's dilemma, inexplicably knowing that Booth would choose his son over her. She knew he would make that choice anyway, so why would she have forced the issue sooner? Why would she have made the decision to willingly sacrifice herself instead of just waiting for him to perform the ultimate betrayal himself? The answer was one that he knew was true in his heart well before the evidence was pieced together in his head.

She had made the decision for him. She had removed his free will choice from the equation, releasing him from whatever culpability he would feel or atonement he would seek after her death. By sacrificing herself, willingly, she had forfeited Booth's right to carry the blame for her eventual death and had taken it upon herself. Somehow, and indeed in some "magical" way, she had managed to twist the situation for the kidnapper's benefit, most likely dazzling him with logic and reason until her sacrifice somehow meant more to him than the guilt-trip that he was striving for.

That's a lot of heart, Bones. A whole lot of heart.

"Was she right, Dad?" Parker asked. "Was it time for me to come home?"

Booth grabbed his son again, crushing him to his chest and willing the tears not to fall. "Yes, Park, it was definitely time for you to come home to me." He hugged him tightly, for a moment simply savoring the feel of his son's presence.

His cell phone obviously had other ideas. It began to buzz and Booth looked at his watch.

Ten o'clock.