"He just doesn't like me, Seeley." Hannah glared across the kitchen table at her boyfriend. "I can't believe you put me in that situation. I mean, how awkward was that? Having to explain why I was there instead of Temperance? Seriously. I am your girlfriend, after all."

"I think you're overreacting, Sweetheart." Booth smiled, trying to appease her. "He's always been fond of Bones. They hit it off right away. She helped him organize his prescriptions and stuff like that. But that doesn't mean he won't grow to love you as much as I do."

"Hmph. An old man like your grandfather is set in his ways. Face it, Seeley...Pops and I will never be able to get along with each other." She sighed dramatically. "I'm going to bed." Hannah got up and walked quickly toward the bedroom, leaving Booth to fume at the table. This was not the outcome he had expected when he introduced Hannah to his grandfather.

oooooooooo

After much cajoling, Booth had convinced Hannah to go with him to visit Pops at the retirement home. He couldn't figure out why Hannah had been so resistant to the idea, and she didn't understand why Pops was so important to him. Booth chalked it up to the fact that all of her grandparents had passed away when she was very young.

Booth hadn't mentioned to Hannah that Pops was more of a father to him than his real father had been. It didn't seem relevant at the time. He wanted to keep things between himself and Hannah light and happy. No need to drag all the details of his childhood out in the light.

Booth and Hannah had decided to join Hank for lunch. They walked into the dining room, looking for him, and Booth saw the slight look of distaste that passed over Hannah's face. She was obviously uncomfortable, which surprised Booth. Hannah had been in some of the wildest and most remote parts of the world, doing dangerous things, and yet she seemed afraid of elderly people.

Pops was sitting in the back of the dining room waiting for them. "Shrimp! Over here!"

Hannah snorted. "Shrimp? What kind of stupid name is that?" She rolled her eyes at Seeley.

"It's been my nickname as long as I can remember. I like it." The hard edge in Booth's voice quelled her laughter.

"Pops...how ya doing? Hey, this is my girlfriend, Hannah Burley. We met in Afghanistan. Hannah, this is my Pops...Hank Booth."

"How do you do, Mr. Booth?" Hannah smiled sweetly, wanting to make a good impression.

"Fine.", Pops said gruffly. He turned to his grandson. "When you said you were bringing your girlfriend, I assumed it'd be Temperance. I see I made a mistake." He motioned to the chairs on either side of him. "Sit down and let's eat. I'm hungry. It's pot roast today."

The look on Pops' face said it all. It always amazed Booth that one stern glare from Pops could make Seeley J. Booth, badass FBI Major Crimes Unit Special Agent in Charge, feel like a gawky eleven year old kid again. Pops was polite, but he made it obvious that he wasn't impressed with Hannah.

"Seeley's told me so much about you, Mr. Booth. You served in the Korean Conflict?"

"Yep." Pops concentrated on his pot roast. "Battle of Inchon."

"Hannah's a war correspondent, Pops."

Pops never looked up from his plate. "Okay."

"How's the fishing been lately, Pops?"

"Fine." Pops glanced at Hannah. "You fish?"

She shook her head and went back to picking at her plate. Any other attempts at conversation were met with terse words from the older man.

After an hour, Booth gave up. "We gotta get going, Pops. I'll see you soon."

Pops looked at Hannah and then at Booth. "I don't think so."

oooooooooo

After a week of stewing over what had happened between Pops and Hannah, Booth went to visit his grandfather again. He poked his head into the doorway of Pops' room. "Hiya, Pops."

"Hi yourself, Shrimp. Did you bring Blondie with you today?" He grimaced. "That girl grates on my nerves."

"Pops, please don't talk about Hannah that way. She's my girlfriend, and I love her. I'm gonna ask her to marry me. I want you to like her…"

"I don't think so." Hank turned away from his grandson. "I think you're making a big mistake. You need Temperance….."

"Listen, Pops…" Booth interrupted. "That's long gone. She didn't love me like that…"

"You're a damn fool if you believe that, son. I don't know what happened between you two, but I know she loved you at one time, and she probably still does. I could see it in her eyes."

"Yeah, well, it didn't work out, so I've moved on and found someone new."

"So Temperance said that she didn't love you like that, and you just gave up? You didn't try to convince her otherwise? What's wrong with you, Shrimp? She's a keeper. She's a scale from one to ten, she's an eleven."

"It's a long story, Pops, but I'm with Hannah now, and I'd like you to be happy for me. I'm gonna want you at my wedding."

Pops sighed. Once Seeley had his made up his mind, he would stick with his choice, no matter what happened. Pops just hoped Temperance would be around to help his grandson pick up the pieces once Hannah was gone. He could tell that Hannah wasn't the marrying kind.

"Okay, Shrimp. I'll be happy for you. I'll even try to be nice to Blondie, just for you. Okay?" Pops gave his grandson a hug.

"Great, Pops. That's great. You'll grow to love her. You'll see. Hey, I've gotta go. See you soon, okay?" Booth grinned at his grandfather.

"Yeah, okay. Bye now." He watched Shrimp walk away, praying that his grandson's heart wouldn't be permanently broken by Hannah…..