For being so awesome, here's a longer chapter for you...Enjoy :)

Brennan walked down the stairs and grabbed her jacket from the hook near the door before heading into the family room, where Booth was in the recliner watching a recorded football game. She draped her thin jacket over her arm and approached him. "Booth, are you ready to go? If we don't leave soon, we'll be late."

Booth just grumbled and went back to watching the game.

She knew there was something wrong because he was just casually watching the TV. Normally, he'd be screaming and cheering. He was quiet. She rested a hand on his shoulder and sidestepped, so she blocked his view of the television.

"Bones, I was wa—atching that."

She gave him the onceover and sighed, realizing he was still in his sweats and a baggy, faded FBI t-shirt. "Why aren't you dressed? I told Dana you needed to be ready by a quarter to seven." She turned and called out for the nurse, an angry and annoyed edge to her voice.

Dana came out of the laundry room and clasped her hands in front of her. She nodded and swallowed hard. Admittedly, Brennan terrified her when she used that tone of voice. "Yes, Dr. Brennan?"

"I specifically told you that Booth needed to be dressed by 6:45. Obviously you did not listen to my instructions."

"I tried," Dana said, her voice shaking," but he refused to let me."

"Well, you should have tried harder, Dana." Brennan turned around to face Booth again, dismissing the nurse with her action. "I guess I'll go by myself then, but I'm not going to be the one who explains to your son why you didn't show up." With that, she left, nearly slamming the front door on her way out.

Booth flinched at the sound and closed his eyes, sinking down in the leather of the chair. He sighed and clutched the remote, tears threatening to fall. He should have just told Brennan the reason why he wasn't dressed yet. It wasn't like he didn't want to go. Back-to-School night was always his thing. Rebecca was always busy, so he went instead. He didn't get a lot of say in his son's life, but being able to meet his teacher and learn about what Parker would be doing for the rest of the school year, made him feel like he was a bigger part of his kid's life than he actually was. This would have been the first one he had gone to in two years, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave the house. The only time he ventured out was when he had doctor's appointments.

He couldn't face the stares and the questions and the pity. He should have just sucked it up and did this for Parker, who had been so excited. His thoughts of disappointing his son morphed into thoughts of Brennan and the fact that she was going to a function for a child that wasn't even hers and he felt even worse. He had been making great progress physically and he and Brennan had even made strides in their personal relationship after their talk a couple weeks ago, but it seemed like since he woke up from the coma, he always took one step forward and two steps back.

He sighed and opened his eyes. He stared at the TV screen through blurry eyes until the unshed tears cleared and his vision went back to normal. He wasn't even watching the game anymore; he hadn't really been paying much attention to it in the first place, though.

Suddenly the front door opened and Brennan walked in.

Booth looked to the side, completely surprised, and started to speak, but Brennan cut him off.

"No, no. You are going to turn that game off and allow Dana to help you get dressed. Then you and I are going to go to Parker's school and meet his teacher," she said, sternly, not giving him any room to argue. Without waiting for a response, she walked out of the room to talk to Dana.

He blinked, his eyes fixated on the spot where she had just been.

She returned, followed closely by Dana. "I made it halfway down the road when I realized I couldn't let you blow this off. You would have regretted it and Parker would have been very upset. I understand you may feel embarrassed about your current situation and are probably not looking forward to the stares and questions you will inevitably receive from the other parents, but whether you want to or not, you cannot stay in this house for the rest of your life. I won't let you."

Dana approached the recliner, getting Booth's wheelchair into position. She looked at Booth and silently asked if he was ready.

He just nodded in response, still taken aback by Brennan's display, especially because not only was she concerned about him, but she was also thinking about Parker and how it would affect the boy if he didn't go. It made his chest tighten and a small smile to grace his lips.

"Thank you," Brennan mouthed as he followed Dana to his room.

He nodded and turned the corner.

She sat down on the couch and waited for him to emerge from his bedroom again, hopefully dressed in jeans and a shirt that actually fit him and didn't look like he had pulled it from the bottom of the hamper.

A little over five minutes later, Booth came back out and looked up at Brennan.

Brennan smiled and stood up, buttoning up the coat she had unbuttoned accidentally and absently while waiting for him. She bent down and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Just ignore them, Booth. You are there for Parker, not to answer questions about your health."

He nodded. This would be the first time he had left the house for something other than a doctor's appointment and he was nervous.

"If the other parents get to be too much, just let me know and I'll beat them up for you," she said with a laugh.

"Goo—ood one, Bones." He smiled back at her and even laughed at her attempt at humor.

"I'm becoming quite amusing, but seriously, Booth, let me know."

"Ye—ah, 'cause my girlfriend fight—ting my battles is so much be—etter," he mumbled.

"Excuse me?" She asked, genuinely not hearing him.

He shook his head. "No—othing."

Dana accompanied them to the car and helped Booth into the passenger seat. She then folded up the wheelchair and stowed it in the back seat. "Have a good time tonight." She waved and went back into the house.

Brennan started the car and moved her hand from the gear shift to his, which rested on the center console. She linked their fingers and squeezed, meeting his gaze. "I'll be right by your side the entire night, Booth. It will all be fine." She leaned over and gave him another quick kiss, before she took her hand back and put the car in reverse, backing out of the garage.

He exhaled and balled his hand into a fist, missing the warmth her hand had provided.

"Parker will be glad you came tonight."

He nodded. "I kno—ow."

"You're his hero."

He opened his eyes and looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

"He looks up to you. He sees how determined you are; how no matter how hard it gets, you've never given up. He knows you never will. He loves you very much. What you're doing tonight, takes a lot of courage. I'm proud of you and it gives Parker something else to aspire to. You're an excellent father, Booth, even though you can't be the father you wish you could be right now. Everything matters when you're a parent."

He nodded, a wider smile forming on his face.

The rest of the car ride was silent, save for the radio playing faintly in the background. Brennan had, once again, effectively helped Booth feel better, without even meaning to, and he loved her so much more for it.

When she pulled into the school parking lot, he looked at her. "Tha—anks, Bones."

She smiled. "For what?"

"Just tha—anks."

"Oh, in that case, you're welcome, I guess." She parked and got out of the car. She retrieved the wheelchair and unfolded it, locking it into place. She made sure the brake was on before she helped him into it. He was able to hold more of his weight now, so the process went quicker and was much easier than it had been in the beginning. She kicked off the brake and locked up the car, dropping her keys in her purse. "Ready?"

He let out a breath and then nodded a couple minutes later. "Yes."

"Parker said there would be a surprise for us when we got to his classroom. I'm curious as to what this surprise will be." She paused. "I'm also excited to hear about this year's curriculum."

He just shook his head. "You didn't ha—ave to come."

"I went last year and I promised him that if I wasn't busy, I would come again this year. I asked him if he still wanted me to come because you were able to attend this year, but he said that it didn't matter, the more the merrier. I think it's a great idea for teachers to host Back-to-School nights and Parker seems to really enjoy the projects that he gets to showcase for us."

His heart swelled again. Every time she mentioned his son and something she did with him or for him, it just made him so happy. "He lo—oves you too, you know."

She nodded. "I know." She smiled. "He's told me before." They went around to the handicapped entrance and made their way through the hallways until they reached Parker's classroom.

Thankfully when the couple entered the room, the parents were still walking around, looking at all the artwork and various other projects the students had done. The teacher had yet to start his presentation. They had barely made it through the door before the teacher approached them, extending his hand to Brennan. "Hello, I'm Mr. Davis."

Brennan shook his hand. "Hello, I'm Dr. Brennan, and this is Seeley Booth, Parker's father."

Mr. Davis shook Booth's hand next. "Ah, yes, I'm glad you two could make it. Parker was very excited that his 'two favorite people' were coming tonight." He smiled. "Feel free to walk around. I will begin the presentation in five minutes or so."

They nodded and looked around. They both noticed the paper cutouts taped to the children's chairs and Brennan laughed. "I guess that's our surprise? I think they're supposed to be representations of the students. We need to find Parker's desk," she said, already walking around and in between the tables, looking for Parker's nametag.

Booth stayed where he was until she found the right desk, and then went over to her. His face brightened when he saw his son's paper cutout of himself. Paper Parker as the 'hello my name is…' tag stuck to the cutout said, had a smile on his face, crazy brownish-blonde hair, and was wearing a blue and green striped shirt and a Philadelphia Flyers' cap. If you squinted at it, it really looked like the young boy.

"It's pretty good," Brennan commented and then noticed there was something on his desk. She picked it up and read the acrostic poem out loud:

A Poem About Me

Pie is really yummy.

Awesome is my middle name (not really, it's Matthew)

Rabbits are fluffy and I want one

Kind

Explosions are cool, unless people get blown up, then they're not cool

Recess is my second favorite subject

Basketball is my favorite sport

Olives are gross

Orange is my favorite color

Tyrannosaurus Rex is the best dinosaur ever

Hi, Dad & Bones!

Booth had a goofy grin on his face after she had finished reading it. He even laughed.

Brennan set the poem down and moved on to the wall adjacent to the students' cubbies. There were cutouts of each child's head, wearing construction paper sunglasses with pictures on the lenses. Stapled to each head was a piece of paper with a typed account of their summers. She found Parker's. He was the third one from the left. His cutout had on orange sunglasses. She motioned Booth over and proceeded to read him the short essay:

My Awesome Summer

This is what I did this summer. It was the best summer ever. First, my Dad woke up from a really long sleep. Bones says he was in a coma and she's really smart, so I believe her. It was cool. I didn't think he'd wake up and then he did. I'm really happy because of that. Then Bones and my Dad talked and now she's my dad's girlfriend. They're gonna get married one day. I just know it. Oh, right I'm supposed to be talking about my summer. My dad and Bones moved in together in her new house, which is huge and it has an awesome pool. I love my new room. I got to swim in the pool with her and my baby brother, Rhino, I mean Ryder. He's almost one and I love him. I got to spend a lot of time with Bones and my dad when he got out of the hospital and it was really fun. He was sad for a while, but Bones cheered him up, so now he's happy again. She's good at that. My dad always smiles when she's around. She's awesome. My summer was really cool and next year will be even better because my dad won't need his wheelchair anymore and we can play basketball and football again.

By Parker Booth

Booth blinked and Brennan had to read the words over again just to make sure she had read them correctly the first time.

"Okay, parents and friends, we're about to get started, so please find your child's desk and have a seat. There are refreshments on the table by the window, so help yourselves. There are cookies, brownies, water, lemonade, and coffee. Once everyone is seated, Mrs. Snider and I will start the presentation."

Booth followed Brennan to Parker's desk and pulled the chair out for her.

She rolled her eyes and ignored the chair. "Do you want a cookie or something to drink?" She looked at the table and nodded. "It looks like there are oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, and sugar cookies available, and chocolate frosted brownies."

"I ca—an get it. Do you wa—ant something, Bones?"

"We'll go together. You can get the cookies and I will pour the drinks." She smiled.

He nodded and the two of them made their way to the table, waiting patiently in the line that had formed.

The woman directly in front of them turned and smiled at Booth. "What do you want? I can get it for you," she said, reaching for an extra napkin.

"I ca—an get it myself, ma'am."

The woman laughed. "Oh, please, don't call me ma'am." She extended her hand. "I'm Marie Fitzgerald, Colin's mom. You're Parker's Dad, right? Parker and Colin are good friends." She looked at Brennan and extended her hand. "And you must be Parker's mom. It's nice to meet you."

Brennan swallowed. "Um, no, I'm not his mother, but he's a great kid. We are quite close."

"My mistake." Marie looked at Booth again. "Are you sure I can't get you anything?"

He shook his head, proceeding to prove that her help wasn't needed. He grabbed a napkin and looked up at Brennan. "What ki—ind of cookie, Bones?"

"Chocolate chip, thank you. Do you want lemonade?"

He nodded and reached for a chocolate chip cookie. He wasn't sure if she had chosen that because she really wanted that or because it was the one closest to the table's edge, either way, he was happy to get it for her. He grabbed a sugar cookie for himself and followed her back to Parker's desk.

She sat down, setting the cups on the table top. She took her cookie from him and broke off a piece. She popped it in her mouth and smiled. "Those are good. I may have to get another one." She wiped the crumbs off her lip with her finger and turned her focus to the front of the classroom where Mrs. Snider, the classroom aide, began to speak.

After the presentation and a quick question and answer session, the parents spent about five minutes talking to each other about their children and about the upcoming school year.

Brennan snuck off to the refreshment table for a quick second to grab another cookie and then returned to Booth's side. She sighed. He was talking to another man and what she assumed was his wife and Booth didn't look very happy. She caught some of the conversation as she walked up to him.

"Have you heard about stem cell injections? Doctors have had some success with that. There are studies documenting patients who have gotten some feeling back," the man explained.

Brennan cut in then, "I have heard about that experimental treatment and while it has had some success, it is not needed. Booth is not paralyzed." She paused. "We should get going. It was nice to meet you—." She trailed off, not sure of their names.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter," the man answered, his wife just smiling at them. "We're Maddy's parents."

"Yes, it was nice meeting you," Brennan dismissed and tapped Booth on the shoulder. "Let's go."

"Di—id you get your cookie?"

She showed him the napkin that held the cookies and smiled. "Yes, I did. I got you one too."

"Thanks for that, Bones, but I could have han—andled it."

"You didn't seem to be handling it very well." She paused. "I think this is the proper time to use the phrase, 'You owe me one'?" She questioned with a smirk.

He smiled at her, proud. "Yeah."

They made their way to the car and she helped him into the passenger seat. She folded up the chair and stuck it in the backseat before walking around the car and getting in.

He exhaled and looked out the window. While he could have done without the unwarranted advice, medical or otherwise, the stares, questions, and unnecessary offerings of help, he was glad he came tonight. Seeing the projects that his son created, hearing what the teacher had to say about the upcoming school year, and knowing his attendance would make Parker happy, it was all worth it. He turned his head and looked at Brennan as she backed up and pulled out of the parking spot. "Tha—anks, Bones, for ma—aking me come."

She smiled. "You're welcome, Booth. I knew you would regret it and I couldn't let you upset him again."

"Again?"

"Yes, though I understand the other times were out of your control."

"My co—oma?"

She nodded, not giving him anymore explanation; he didn't need it.

He sighed and looked out the window again.

"This year's curriculum sounds promising. It will definitely stimulate him and it seems like it could strengthen and increase his intellect."

"The field trips sound coo—ool," Booth commented, looking at her.

"Yes, they do. They will enrich the education he will receive in the classroom. I strongly support outside field trips."

He nodded. "You're good wi—with him."

"With Parker?"

"Yeah."

"He's a good kid, Booth. We've gotten very close."

"I—it shows."

She flashed him a smile and then focused on the road again.

The rest of the car ride to Max's apartment, like the ride to the school, was spent in silence, her looking out the windshield and him staring at her with adoration in his eyes and a smile on his face. She was an exceptional partner and an even more exceptional woman.

Next up: A setback for Booth and some 1st birthday party planning