Parker's sitting in a wheelchair right outside his hospital room, staring down what seems like a never ending hallway. At the end, there's a large circular window with an unoccupied gurney stationed below it. The hallway is relatively empty since it's still pretty early in the morning. This is Parker's fifth attempt at walking down the length of this never ending stretch. He's taken a couple steps, and yesterday, with the aid of a walker, he made it a quarter of the way down, but the pain, the fatigue, it sets in quickly and he has yet to find the motivation to push through it. He's getting frustrated. He doesn't want to fail again. He wants to leave the hospital, and the only thing standing in his way of that, is this godforsaken hallway.
Everyone is being quiet, allowing the teenager the silence he needs to be able work up the courage to try again. Parker tugs on his hospital bracelet and leans forward, adjusting the Velcro straps on his air cast. He tilts his head up and looks at his father. "Dad, uh, can you help me stand?" His collarbone is healed, but fragile. The amount of force he needs to exert in order to push himself out of the chair will certainly put stress on his clavicle, which could cause the bone to fracture again, not to mention that it's still pretty sore. Plus, standing up on his own will take more energy than he has to spend, so he's had to suck it up and ask for help.
Booth nods and lifts his son out of the chair, waiting until the teenager establishes his balance before stepping back. He pulls the wheelchair away and loops his arm around Brennan's waist, pressing a kiss to her temple before whispering in her ear, "He's gonna do it today."
Brennan looks at him. "How do you know that?"
Booth shrugs. "I just feel it."
Brennan leans into him slightly. "I hope your gut's right today, Booth. I fear what another failed attempt could do to him."
"My gut is never wrong, Bones."
Parker tunes out the whispers and the watchful eyes, and steps forward, left foot, then his right. He feels himself getting a little dizzy and his muscles tense, but he forges on, taking a couple more hesitant steps forward. He swallows, becoming a little unsteady on his feet.
Booth notices this right away and immediately gets the walker. He sets it in front of his son and smiles. "You got this, bub. You can do this. One foot in front of the other."
Parker wraps his hands around the bars of the walker and steadies himself again, blowing out a puff of air through his nose. He turns his head and looks at his dad.
Booth nods, his hand resting on top of his son's. "You can do this." He pauses. "I was in your shoes once, bub, so I know what you're feeling. I was tortured. Some men whipped the soles of my feet with a hose over and over again. I had to learn how to walk after my broken bones healed, so I know how difficult this is." It just slips out. "I know it hurts and it sucks, but you can do this. I know you can." He squeezes his son's shoulder and steps back, his heart racing, his hands shaking.
"Booth?" Brennan calls, taking a step towards him.
Booth swallows and fiddles with his watch. He straightens up when he feels her hand gently come to rest on his back. He lets out a breath and looks at her.
Parker takes it all in. If my dad can do this, I can. He tightens his grip on the walker and squints at his target. Pain shoots up his right leg, but he keeps going in spite of that, pushing through it, just like his dad had done years ago. He passes by a potted plant into uncharted territory. He's in the homestretch, only a few more feet and he'll be at that gurney, he'll have made it. Abruptly, he stops, his left leg feeling a bit numb. His knees buckle and he holds onto the walker to keep himself from collapsing. He's so close. He lets out an earsplitting screech and falls to the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks, his chin and lips quivering.
Booth runs over to his son, the memories of his capture and subsequent torture instantly disappearing the second he hears the scream. He gets down on his knees. "Parker, buddy, what happened? Are you okay? Answer me!"
Parker clutches his right arm, keeping it close to his stomach. His eyes are pinned shut and he's shaking, pain paralyzing him.
Brennan rushes to get help and then goes over to her partner. "What happened?"
Booth just shrugs. He hasn't been able to get anything out of his son yet.
"I'm. Sorry. Dad," Parker croaks out, through heavy breaths.
Booth shakes his head and takes the teenager's hand. "You did great, Sport. That was great. You have nothing to be sorry about, okay? Nothing. I'm still so proud of you, Parks."
Dr. Reagan, who has been checking on another patient in a nearby room, comes out to see what's going on. She sees Booth and Brennan kneeling on the floor and then she notices they're hovering over Parker. She walks over to them, picking up her pace a little. "What happened?"
Booth and Brennan turn to look at the same time. "I don't know," they reply in unison.
Dr. Reagan joins them on the floor and looks at Parker. "Hey, Parker, it's Dr. Reagan. Can you tell me what happened?"
Parker sniffles and clears his throat. The pain is intense, but he nods, keeping as still as possible. "My legs went numb and I held onto the walker to keep from falling. I don't know what happened. The pain was just so intense and it burned. I couldn't hold myself up anymore and I just fell to the floor."
Dr. Reagan nods and carefully pulls at the young man's hospital gown. She runs her index finger along his right clavicle, figuring that's the most likely culprit.
Parker jerks back instantly and cries out, more tears cascading down his cheeks.
Dr. Reagan sighs. "I'll have to get an x-ray to confirm, but I'm pretty sure he re-fractured his clavicle. The x-ray will show how severe the break is. I'm not expecting the break to be too bad. It's probably only a small crack in the bone."
Parker rolls his eyes. "No!"
"I'm sorry, buddy," Booth says, trying to comfort his son. This is yet another setback.
Brennan stands up, and without warning or explanation, she heads down the hallway, walking with purpose.
Booth turns his head. "Bones? Bones! Bones, where are you going?"
"You'll see. I'll be right back," Brennan calls to him before disappearing into the elevator.
Booth sighs and looks at Dr. Reagan. "You don't think he'll need surgery, right?"
"I'm not expecting him to, no, but I can't rule it out completely until I see his x-rays."
A nurse helps Dr. Reagan lifts Parker onto the gurney.
"You can come with us, Mr. Booth," Dr. Reagan says with a comforting smile.
Booth holds his son's hand as they head for the elevator. In the back of his mind, he's still wondering where Brennan went. She just ran off without any explanation and it's freaking him out a little. His fears that she might leave him are resurfacing, but he quickly dismisses them and focuses on his son. It's just a setback. It's not the end of the world. He reassures himself and squeezes his son's hand. "It's gonna be okay, Parks." He's said that so many times, heard that so many times, that those words are beginning to lose their meaning, but faith's the only thing that's keeping him from losing his mind completely. When are they—err—when is Parker going to catch a break?