It was around seven in the morning on the following Saturday and Brennan was sitting outside on the deck on a lounge chair. She had Ryder, who was enjoying a bottle, cradled in her arms. She caressed his cheek with her knuckle and leaned back, closing her eyes, allowing the light, cool breeze to lull her into a state somewhere between sleep and consciousness.
The French doors leading onto the deck from the kitchen opened and she heard the pitter patter of socked feet on the wood slats. She didn't open her eyes, however. "Good morning, Parker."
Parker plopped down on the adjacent lounge chair and yawned, running his hand back through his dirty-blonde curls. "Morning, Bones." He swung his legs around, lying back against the cushion.
She finally opened her eyes, squinting at the rising sun, and turned her head towards the young child. "Did you sleep well?"
He nodded. "Yep," he said, popping the 'p'.
"Good." She smiled. "What do you want for breakfast?"
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Um, how about eggs?"
"How would you like your eggs cooked? Scrambled, sunny side-up, or poached?"
He thought for a second and then smiled. "Scrambled."
"Are you hungry now?"
He shook his head. "Not really."
She nodded and set the empty bottle on the small table between the two chairs. She lifted Ryder, so he was now sitting up, and looked over at Parker. "Well, how about we get ready for the day and I'll start making breakfast at eight? We'll leave for the rehabilitation center at around eleven after RJ wakes up from his nap."
He nodded and stood up. He leaned over and kissed the top of Ryder's head. "Morning, Rhino."
Ryder looked up at his big brother and let out a squealing laugh when Parker started making funny faces at him. He waved his arms up and down and wiggled on his mom's lap. Somewhere in between his laughing and wiggling, he burped.
She quickly wiped Ryder's mouth and stood up, transferring the infant to her hip. She followed Parker into the house, but nearly toppled him over when he stopped abruptly at the foot of the stairs.
Parker turned around and looked up at Brennan. "Are you and my Dad gonna get married?"
She coughed. "No. What made you think that?"
Parker shrugged. "Well, you're gonna be living together and you kiss all the time. Plus, you had a baby together and you say 'I love you' a lot. My friend, Mark's mom and step-dad did all that stuff before they got married last year." He paused. "Are you ever gonna marry my Dad?"
She sighed. "I can't possibly answer that question, Parker. I can't tell you what's going to happen an five minutes from now, let alone what's going to happen hours, days, weeks, months, or years from now." She paused. "Right now I have no plans to marry your father. I don't believe in marriage. I have no desire to change what your Dad and I have to go along with what society deems an inevitable outcome for two people who are in a loving and committed relationship."
"Oh," Parker said, trying to figure out what she was talking about. He nodded, chewing on the inside of his right cheek. He only stopped when he tasted metal on his tongue. "I think I understand."
She hoisted Ryder higher on her hip and smiled at Parker. "Even though I have no desire or plan to get married, I do love your father very much, Parker, and I am committed to this relationship."
Parker nodded again. "I get it, Bones." He paused. "But you know, my Dad's gonna wanna marry you someday." With that, he turned around and headed up the steps.
She blinked. She knew Booth believed wholeheartedly in marriage, she also knew that he always saw himself getting married at some point in his life, but as she stood frozen at the bottom of the staircase, Parker's words slammed into her: 'Dad's gonna wanna marry you someday.' The future of her and Booth's relationship was unknown, but there was a possibility that they could get to a point where Booth would want to marry her and actually propose to her. Would he still want to be with her even though she didn't want to get married? She shook her head. There was no point in dwelling on this now. They both had bigger things to worry about than whether or not they would get married sometime in the distant future. She sighed and went upstairs.
Brennan was stopped in traffic, halfway home from the rehab center, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tight her knuckles were white. She heaved a sigh and blinked slowly. She just couldn't get the whole marriage thing out of her head. While she realized Booth knew her stance on the subject, she had made it clear enough times over the years, she still couldn't help but think that maybe he would chalk that up to her not being in the "right" relationship.
She turned her head and stared at him.
Booth was sitting in the passenger seat, looking out the window and squeezing a stress ball in each hand.
She needed to make it clear to him that she had no desire or plans to get married, to him or to anyone. If he chose to break up with her because of it, it would be better for everyone involved if he just did it now. She cleared her throat and swallowed.
He looked over at her when she cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow. "Bones, y—you okay?" He asked, seeing the confused and slight sadness clouding her beautiful eyes.
"I don't want to get married," she blurted out.
He blinked. "Uh, I wasn't aware that I pr—propose—d," he teased.
"I mean, I don't want to get married—ever, to you or to anyone."
"I kn—ow that, Bones." He smiled. "I kn—ow you."
"I'm not going to change my mind."
He laughed.
"I'll never believe in marriage."
"And I'll alwa—ays b—elieve in it," he countered. He saw a flash of even deeper sadness in her eyes and then it was gone, replaced by emptiness and determination not to show how she was truly feeling about his declaration. He sighed. "Hey."
She glanced at the traffic, which was not letting up, and then locked her eyes on his.
"I lo—ove you."
"But," she supplied.
"No, but, Bo—ones."
She swallowed.
"I would someda—ay like to marry you, but if it doesn't h—ap—pen, th—at's fine." I love you enough to live in sin, he added silently, not wanting to ruin the moment with another religious debate. "You know, Bones, I w—wanted to be with you for a w—while now, e—ven if that meant P—arker would be my o—only kid and I would ne—ever get married."
She smiled hesitantly as her eyes bore into his. She saw the sincerity in his gaze. After a long couple minutes, she nodded and focused on the road again. She eased on the gas when the cars in front of hers started inching forwards again.
The car fell silent, with her looking ahead at the road, him staring out the passenger window once again, Parker enthralled in his Nintendo DS, and Ryder fast asleep.
A little over fifteen minutes later, Brennan pulled into the driveway and pressed the button on the garage door opener.
Booth stared at the house through the windshield, his eyes wide. The house was expansive with an attached two car garage perpendicular to it. The house itself was covered in medium-dark tan colored stucco, the chimney and entry way arch, though, were both covered with muted brown, grey, and orangey-gold cobblestones. The double entry doors were dark-stained wood, like the garage door, and a grey slate path with the same colored cobblestones framing it led up to them. There were no stairs, which would make getting in and out much easier for him. Looking around more, he noticed that the landscape was clean and organized, mostly greens with some pops of color with various types of flowers, and the right side of the house was basically a wall of windows.
She cut the wheel to the left and guided her car into the right side of the garage. After putting the car in park and removing her key, she turned her head and looked at Booth. "Is something wrong?" She asked, observing the stunned and slightly uncomfortable expression on his face.
"No, Bones, just," he cleared his throat, "this ho—ouse is huge." It was much larger than he imagined it would be and the pictures made it seem.
"Compared to my apartment or yours, yes, but compared to the other dwellings in this neighbor, it is actually quite small." She unbuckled her seatbelt and unlocked the doors, opening hers and getting out of the car. She bent down to the pop the trunk and then walked around to the back. She pulled Booth's new electric wheelchair out and set it up. She kicked up the breaks and opened his car door.
He scooted to the edge of the seat and allowed her to take his arm and hook it around her neck. He took a moment to just take in her scent before he pushed off floor with all the strength he had while she lifted him up by his torso. Once settled in the chair, he closed his eyes, breathing heavy.
She opened the back door and gently shook Parker awake. "Parker, wake up."
Parker moaned in his sleep and shifted.
"Come on, Parker, we're here."
Parker stretched and rubbed his eyes before opening them, yawning. "Huh?"
"We're home."
Parker unbuckled his seatbelt and slid out of the car.
Brennan went around and took Ryder from his car seat. She grabbed the stroller from the trunk and unfolded it, locking it into place. She strapped the infant into it and looked at Parker. "Go open the door for your father, please."
Parker nodded and skipped off towards the door leading into the house from the garage. He held it open, happy that his Dad was out of the hospital now. "You know what the best thing about you being in a wheelchair is, Dad?"
Booth just looked at his son skeptically. There wasn't anything good about him being in a wheelchair, as far he could tell. He hated it and what it meant.
Without waiting for a response, Parker continued, "You can give me and Rhino rides." He laughed. "And when you're sitting on the couch or lying in bed, I can take it for a spin," he added with a smile.
Booth couldn't help but smile at Parker's excitement, but it was a slightly sad, self-pitied kind of smile. He sighed and pressed the button to activate the battery. He pushed the joystick forward and made his way through the doorway and into the house.
Brennan followed close behind, with Parker bringing up the rear. "I haven't had much time to decorate yet. I have a few pictures I need to hang up and some more of my artifacts and other items I've accumulated from my travels to find places for."
Booth stopped at the end of the hall, which lead right into the large kitchen.
"Are you hungry? I have some leftover macaroni and cheese in the refrigerator."
"A l—little."
"I have to call the nurse and let her know you're home from rehab. Your room is the first door along that hallway," she said, pointing in the general direction. "I set it up exactly how you told me to. I even painted the walls that horrendous blue-grey color you wanted." She laughed. "The door is open. I'll either call or come find you when lunch is ready."
He nodded and headed out of the kitchen and down the hall.
Parker hopped onto one of the stools at the island and looked at Brennan as she took the container of macaroni from the fridge. "I think my Dad's sad, Bones, but I don't know why. I thought he'd be happy to leave that stupid rehab and to see us. Is he okay?"
Brennan peeled off the lid and nodded. "Your Dad's fine, Parks."
Parker sighed. "If you say so, Bones." He slipped off the stool and his face lit up. "I'm gonna go show him the pool. That should cheer him up."
She laughed. "Go ahead. You can give him a tour of the first floor and backyard."
Parker nodded and ran off in search of his Dad.
She scooped up a sleeping Ryder in her arms and while the macaroni was heating up, she headed upstairs to put him down for the remainder of his afternoon nap.