December 21st-
There was a level of anxiousness in Booth's exit from the bedroom that was not lost on the young man who had just stepped out of his own bedroom. "Dad?" Parker said, lifting his eyebrows. "Are you okay?" Parker asked.
"I'm fine." Booth said, lifting an eyebrow in suspicion. "Why?"
"You look like you're about to be sick." Parker said, watching his father's face scrunch.
"I do not," he replied indignantly. A slow smile rose on Parker's lips. "Go get ready for school, will you?"
"I would." Parker said, looking to the closed bathroom door, "Toni is in the bathroom right now."
"Well… get… Seeley and Grace up then." He said, shaking his head. "I'll get breakfast ready."
"Alright." Parker said, watching his father for another moment. "Are you sure you're not going to need the bathroom first?" He teased.
Booth lifted his eyebrows, and Parker let out a laugh before disappearing into his bedroom. He glanced down the hallway to the farthest room, the room of his youngest daughter. He wanted to be the one to wake her, he wanted to be the one to help her get ready for school. He also knew that it was best that he just take everything one step at a time.
He turned for the stairs and climbed down quickly, turning the corner, he realized that all of the lights downstairs were still on from the night before. He quickly switched off any unneeded lamps and made his way toward the kitchen. As he stepped into the kitchen, he realized that Parker's assumption hadn't been that far off. His stomach was churning in an anxious knot. He took a deep breath and started the morning ritual that he had seen Temperance perform every school morning since he had returned from the hospital. He needed to focus on each of the children separately and take this all one step at a time.
November 23rd- 10:00AM
Temperance had just left with Parker and Antonia, and the room seemed increasingly quiet. Despite the sounds of the machines he was hooked up to, it just felt far too quiet for his own comfort. The pain wasn't as intense as it had been that morning, and the air in the room felt stale. Between the emotional reunion of him with his children, and the loving and caring look in Temperance's eyes, he just needed to get out of that room. He needed some air, he needed reality.
Booth pushed his blanket to the side, instantly feeling the sharp sting of pain in his side, he ignored it and shifted closer to the edge of the bed.
"Trying to escape?" A voice made him jump, and he looked to the partially opened door. A wheelchair sat shoved in the doorway, and Ace's eyes pierced across the room at his friend.
"Jesus, Ace… are you trying to make me fall out the bed?" Booth snapped.
"If you weren't teetering on the edge of the damn bed, we wouldn't be having this conversation." He said, pulling himself into the room, carefully maneuvering his extended broken leg around the bed. "So you're feeling better, I see."
"No." Booth said gruffly. "Have you talked to Bones?" He asked.
"She said your brain box is scrambled." Ace replied. "That's all I needed to know."
"What happened to you?" Booth asked, looking down at his friend's broken leg. He pushed himself back onto the bed. It felt good to have another familiar face in the room. The vulnerable feeling that was suffocating him seemed to disappear into the stale air of the room. He knew that Ace wouldn't coddle him. He knew that if he wanted a straight answer, this is where he'd get it.
"Your brother happened to me. Jared ran me off the road when we were in pursuit of the suspects. It's just a broken leg… nothing I can't shake off. Becca has been waiting on me hand and foot…and…"
"Rebecca?" Booth asked, surprised by his friend's admission. "I don't understand. You and Rebecca?"
Ace paused. His eyes widened as he realized that what Temperance had said was true. Booth's memory was a complete blank. It wasn't just trauma related, or connected to the case. His memory was completely eradicated. "Rebecca and I are married." Ace said. He kept his voice even and clear, stating a fact that he hoped wouldn't set Booth off on a tirade, or a fit. He watched his friend's brow furrow, his nose flared for a moment and his eyes moved to a blank spot in the room. He took a slow, deep breath, and then focused on Ace again. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah." Booth replied. "It's just… a lot to take in."
"I know." Ace replied. "And before you say anything… I didn't mean to shoot you." Ace replied. "You were the one that came charging, and…"
Booth let out a chuckle, his eyes sparkling behind the pain and confusion. It felt good to laugh, to not feel pressured to remember. It felt good to just be alive and know that the person in front of him wasn't expecting anything from him. "Bones told me what happened." Booth replied. "Though I'm pretty sure a gunshot feels a whole lot better than what I've got going on here." He said, touching the bandage on his side.
"You're alive, man. That's all that matters to me." Ace said with a level of sincerity that brought silence to the room.
The pause was long, but friendly, and Booth could tell that his friend was giving him a moment to collect his thoughts.
"Booth?" Ace said, grabbing his friend's attention, he rolled the wheelchair closer. "Do you mind if Parker spends a few days with me and Becca?" He asked sincerely. "I mean, I figure it might be easier on Doc if there is one less kid to deal with, and honestly, I think I could use some help getting around when Bec isn't around." Ace could see the confusion in Booth's eyes. "You and Temperance have custody of Parker during the week, Booth… he lives with you."
"Parker lives with us?"
"He has his own room and everything." Ace shrugged. "Though I think he's agreed to share with Seeley until all of the arrangements are settled. Doc mentioned Seeley, right?" Ace asked, wondering if he was revealing too much information, Booth shook his head.
"No, no." He said softly. "No, she… she told me about Seeley. She told me about him. I haven't seen him yet. I haven't seen Jared… or Grace."
The silence that followed his soft pause was tender, and Booth's eyes were questioning. "She is the spitting image of her mother." Ace said softly. "But her personality is all you. She's sensitive, perceptive, and very stubborn. She is tough too…"
"Tough?"
"She doesn't put up with anyone's bull. She's a fighter, just like her father."
"We named her after your mother." Booth said, catching the glint in Ace's eye, the other man smiled and nodded.
"She's my Goddaughter."
Booth swallowed hard, trying to hold back the emotions that were chiseling away at his resolve. "I… can't remember her, Ace. I can't even picture her in my mind."
"Once you see her, you'll never forget her again, Deuce." Ace said with a reassuring smile, hoping that somehow, his friend would forgive himself for something he had no choice in.
Booth's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of feet pounding down the stairs, and chattering of Antonia, and Parker. Then the sound of four more feet pounding down the stairs, as Grace ran through the room toward her seat at the table.
"Breakfast, here I come!" She exclaimed, climbing onto her chair, she dug her spoon in the bowl and looked up to see that it wasn't her mother standing by the kitchen sink preparing lunch, but Booth.
"Where's mommy?" She asked, wide eyed and suspicious.
"She's sleeping." Booth replied quickly. There was no pause or worry in his voice. In his head, the mantra of 'just be yourself' played over and over again. The little girl went back to eating her cereal. All of the children were dressed and ready, their hair brushed, their voices full of happiness and chaos.
Seeley was standing by one of the chairs, and looked over at Booth. "Hurry and eat… your ride is going to be here soon." He said. Seeley looked slightly confused, but climbed into his chair and ate his breakfast.
"Daddy! I can't find my bookbag anywhere!" Antonia said from her seat at the table. Booth hooked his finger on the bag that was sitting on the other side of the counter and lifted it over to her. She grinned brightly. "There it is!" She said, grabbing the bag, she chattered her thanks and started rooting through it to make sure that she had all of her things.
"Dad, Bones was supposed to buy cookies for our Christmas party today." Parker said, looking in one of the cupboards as he turned around to see that the cookies were already out on the counter. "Awesome." He said, grabbing his lunch bag.
"What are you having for breakfast?" Booth asked Parker.
"Granola bar." He said, grabbing a box from one of the cupboards, he leaned against the counter and peeled back the wrapper.
"All done!" Grace exclaimed, dropping her spoon in the bowl, she looked up happily.
"Alright, bowl in the sink…" Booth said, trying to think if he had forgotten anything that he had seen Temperance do over the past few weeks as part of their morning ritual. Grace stood up and grabbed her bowl, hurrying over to the sink, she tipped it over the edge and listened to the sound of the plastic bowl hitting the bottom with a clunk. She was followed by Seeley, who dropped his bowl into the sink as well.
The doorbell rang suddenly, and Grace grinned. "Time for school!" she exclaimed, running for the door.
Booth followed after her, and was quickly followed by Parker, Antonia, and Seeley. Grace swung open the door, and Angela smiled down at her. "Hey, Gracie."
"Hi!" She said happily.
Booth didn't see the surprised look on Angela's face, turning when Parker passed him. "Got to get to the bus." Parker said, passing his father. "See you, Dad."
"Bye Daddy." Antonia said, leaning up for a kiss, he obliged and watched as she ran out of the door with her backpack on her shoulder, hurrying to keep up with Parker.
Booth looked up and caught Angela's eye. "What?" He smiled.
"Nothing." She said in a teasing tone. "Hodgins is in the car with JV… are they ready to go?"
"Yep. All ready." Booth said.
"Daddy." Grace said, a bit of frustration in her voice. He looked down at her, and she eyed him. "Where's my jacket?"
"Right!" Booth said, moving into the house, he ushered Angela in to keep the cold outside, and hurried to find Grace and Seeley's jacket.
"You wear the green one, right?" Booth said jokingly to Grace.
"No! No Daddy, the pink one, the pink one is mine!" She said giggling as she grabbed the coat from Booth. He helped her put it on, while Angela helped Seeley.
"So where's Bren?" Angela asked, glancing to Booth as he put Grace's winter hat on over her eyes, just to hear her laugh.
"Sleeping." He said quickly. He helped Grace get her mittens on and stood up. "I figured that I had done enough sleeping on the job lately… it was her turn."
Angela smiled at his reply, standing up as she gave Seeley a pat on the head. "I hope this is the beginning of a little normalcy around here, huh?" She said encouragingly.
Booth nodded and glanced to Grace and Seeley. "Are you guys ready to go?" He asked, smiling as they both cheered happily. "Alright..." He said, crouching down to the kids. "I love you."
"Love you, Uncle Seeley." Seeley said with a hug. He then headed out onto the porch.
Grace paused before she hugged Booth, taking a long look in his eyes. "Thank you." She whispered softly, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"I love you, Grace."
There was a short pause as she hugged him tightly, closing her eyes for a moment. "I love you, Daddy." She whispered.
She pulled from the hug and turned quickly, skipping out toward the porch. Booth stood up and for a moment held his breath. He looked to Angela and slowly released it. "One step at a time." He said softly. "Thanks for taking them to school, Ange."
"Not a problem. It's a half day today… don't forget. And when Bren wakes up… tell her to call me."
"I will." Booth said, giving her a kind wave as she stepped out onto the porch with the kids. "Have a good day."
Angela waved, and Booth closed the door, watching from the sidelight of the door as the kids made their way to the car. He waited until they were secured in the seat and the car was pulling from the driveway before he tore himself from the view of the window. A small smile made its way onto his lips and he took a deep, cleansing breath.
Chaos bore peace, and for some reason, it just seemed right.