I own none of the characters of Bones.
Over the next few months Bones, embraced motherhood with a passion, which didn't surprise her husband in the least. Despite her initial reservations, she was a great mother and she quickly learned what her daughter's cry's meant. Like any new mother, the first few days home were rough. It took awhile to adjust to the new life that was totally dependent on her parents to survive, but the kinks were quickly worked out. There were numerous times that Booth would roll over in the middle of the night to find Bones' side of the bed cold and empty. He would venture to the nursery and he would find both of his girls sound asleep in the rocking chair. In the mornings before Bones returned to work, Booth would get up with Morgan and feed her a bottle of the frozen breast milk that Bones had pumped so they could spend a little daddy daughter time together before his day began, and he would end his day by feeding her the bedtime bottle.
Six weeks after Morgan was born Bones returned to work. She really struggled with that decision. Before Morgan was born, she could never have imagined anything that would have kept her from her job but Morgan changed everything. She loved the time that she spent at home with her daughter but she also knew that what she did was very important and without her there may be people who get away with murder so she decided to go back to work but things have changed.
She no longer went in at seven in the morning. Now she arrived around eight thirty after she dropped Parker off at school and she left every day at two thirty so she could pick him up. She no longer went out into the field with Booth though she did continue to assist him in questioning suspects at The Hoover building, which suited Booth fine. The first day that Morgan was dropped at the Jeffersonian's daycare, Bones cried like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Booth came with her that day to support her and tell her that Morgan would be okay but he himself had a hard time letting go, so suffice to say both of Morgan's parents spent most of that first day standing outside of the daycare center, but everyday thereafter got easier.
Morgan was a great baby. The only time that she fussed was when she was hungry or tired. Unlike most babies who were up most of the night, Morgan only awoke two to three times per night and she was easily pacified with food and diaper change. Before Bones returned to work she would get up at night when Morgan cried but that changed once she returned to work. Instead of just one parent getting up, Booth and Bones alternated nights and it worked well for them. They were both able to function well at their jobs and at home with Parker.
Parker had taken to the role of big brother very well. At first he was jealous of his sister because she was getting all of their parents' attention and he was feeling left out. He began to sulk and disrespect his parents. Parker spent most of the first week alone in his room. Booth apologized to his son for ignoring him, explained that baby Morgan needed lots of attention because she couldn't do anything for herself, and he promised him that he would try harder and things started to get better. Parker was able to hold and help feed his sister and that helped appease the loneliness that he was feeling and within a few weeks they were once again a happy family.
--
Bones groaned as six month old Morgan's cries filled the room from the baby monitor. This was her night to get up with Morgan and it was only three in the morning and she had been up six times since midnight. She pulled herself out of bed, turned off the monitor so Booth wouldn't wake up and she shuffled to the nursery.
"What's wrong, Morgan?" Bones whispered as she picked up her daughter. "Why aren't you sleeping? Are you still congested?" When she picked Morgan up from daycare yesterday she noticed that she had a runny nose and when she picked Parker up from school he also had a runny nose with a slight cough. She picked the suction bulb that Booth fondly referred to as the snot sucker, and she sucked the nasal discharge from her daughter's nose. Morgan screamed because she hated this, but as soon as the snot was officially extracted Morgan quickly calmed down. "I'm sorry, sweetie. Mommy is so sorry, but I had to do it to help you." She leaned down and kissed her daughter's head. "Oh, Morgan, you are burning up." Carrying the baby, Bones went into Parker's bathroom, grabbed the thermometer and gently stuck it in her ear.
"One hundred and one. No wonder you are feeling so bad." Bones' first instinct was to go wake Booth up but she resisted the urge because she knew that she could handle this. She was now a mother after all. She pulled the infant's fever reducer out of the cabinet, read the directions and gave Morgan the proper dose. She returned to the nursery to lay Morgan back down but the second she did Morgan started crying and coughing. "Okay, okay, sweetie, mommy's got you." She just got Morgan calmed down again when she heard crying coming from Parker's room. She pulled herself from the rocking chair and she and Morgan went to go check on Parker.
"Mommy." Parker cried as soon as he saw her.
"What's wrong, Parker?"
"I don't feel good." He began coughing. She placed her hand on his forehead and discovered that he too had a fever.
"I'll be right back." She returned to the bathroom grabbed the thermometer again and the children's fever reducer and returned to Parker's room. His fever was one hundred and one point five. She gave him his medicine and he lay back down but he started coughing the second his head hit the pillow.
"Every time I lay down I start coughing and it hurts." He cried.
"The same this is happening to Morgan. Grab your pillow and blanket and come downstairs with your sister and me." Parker climbed out of bed, grabbed his pillow and blanket and followed the girls to the living room. Bones laid Morgan down in her play pen and she quickly got Parker situated on his father's recliner. She wanted him to try and sleep sitting up so he wouldn't cough. Once Parker was comfortable she picked up her crying daughter, arranged herself into a half sitting half laying position on the couch and she placed Morgan on her chest hoping that this position would help her sleep.
It must have worked because the next thing she knew she was being jarred awake by whimpering coming from Booth's recliner. She pulled herself and Morgan up off of the couch. The movement caused Morgan to wake up and start crying. As she laid Morgan back down in her playpen she noted that she still had a fever.
"Hey, sweetheart." She said to Parker as she laid her hand on his hot forehead.
"I don't feel good, mommy." He complained.
"What hurts?" Before he could answer her he started coughing.
"It hurts when I cough." She could hear that he was wheezing. She checked his temperature again and found that it hadn't dropped in the last couple of hours.
"I think that we need to take you to the doctor. What do you say?" He nodded miserably. "I'm going to wake up daddy. You wait here." Parker nodded.
Bones picked up the baby and headed upstairs. She entered their bedroom and flipped on the lights, causing Booth to groan and pull the blankets over his face.
"Booth, wake up." She demanded as she sat on the bed and tried to feed the baby.
"Too early." He moaned from under the blankets.
"Booth, the kids are sick. I think that we need to take them to the hospital." Booth immediately threw the covers off and sat up.
"What's wrong?"
"Dammit." She muttered. Morgan was refusing to nurse. "They both have fevers over one hundred even after I gave them some medicine. They are coughing and wheezing and Morgan hasn't eaten since last night and it was only a small amount. Every time I lay Morgan down she starts crying and every time Parker lies down he starts coughing, so Parker is in your recliner and Morgan and I slept on the couch. They both slept for about an hour and a half." Booth jumped out of bed and hastily threw on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.
"I'm going to make us some coffee and get the kids ready while you get dressed." He called to her from the bathroom. She was still on the bed trying desperately to get Morgan to nurse.
"Booth, she won't eat. It's been almost twelve hours since she last ate anything."
"She doesn't feel good, Bones. She's not hungry. Don't force her." Booth told her gently.
"I think she is dehydrated. She hasn't had a wet diaper all night."
"You shouldn't have waited to wake me up."
"I thought that it was just a cold. I didn't think it was this bad." Bones told him tearfully. All of her insecurities regarding motherhood came rushing to the surface with his unspoken accusation. By the look on her face he knew she took his words the wrong way.
"Bones, all I meant was you should have woken me up sooner so I could have helped with the sick kids."
"No you didn't. You think I'm a bad mother."
"No I…"
"I need to get dressed. Would you please go check on Parker and Morgan and I will meet you down stairs as soon as we are ready." She ended the conversation by walking into the bathroom and shutting the door.
Sighing, Booth headed downstairs to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Since it wasn't even five in the morning he knew that they were defiantly going to need the caffeine boost. Once the coffee was brewing he headed into the living room and he found his son.
"Hey, bub." Parker lifted his head to look at his father.
"I don't feel good." His son looked horrible. He was pale with dark circles under his eyes. His cheeks were red from the fever and his normally bright eyes were dark.
"I know. We're going to take you to the hospital." Booth gently told his son.
"I don't wanna go to the hospital." He called as Booth searched for his shoes.
"We have to, Parks." Booth quickly found Parker's shoes.
"Am I going to have to get a shot?"
"I don't know." Booth began to place Parker's shoes on. "Maybe, but it will help you feel better." As Booth tied Parker's shoes he began to whimper.
"I don't wanna get a shot."
"Parker, I need you to be brave right now. Morgan is sick too and you don't want to scare her do you?" Parker shook his head. "That's my boy. Now you just lay here and try not to cry because you'll start coughing again. As soon as mommy and Morgan are ready we'll go." Parker nodded as he tried to control his crying.
Booth had just filled their travel mugs with coffee when Bones and Morgan appeared. Bones handed Morgan to her father while she rushed around the house stocking the diaper bag. She had no idea how long they were going to be at the hospital and she wanted to be prepared. Ten minutes later both kids were in the car and they were headed to the emergency room.
"Bones, I don't think you're a bad mother." Booth told her over the sounds of the crying kids from the back seat. "You did everything right. I just wish you would have woken me up so I could have helped you."
"It was my night to get up with Morgan."
"That schedule goes out the window when one of the kids get sick."
"I'm sorry. I thought that I could handle it on my own." Booth reached over and took her hand.
"Don't be sorry. Just remember, you're not alone anymore, sweetheart. We are in this to together."
"I know. I just hate that they are sick."
"Of course you do. You're their mom. You probably wish that it was you that is sick instead of them." She nodded. "That's what a good mother does, mom, and you're the best mom."
--
Luckily the hospital emergency room wasn't very busy and they were taken right back. Parker wanted to be carried by Bones but Booth carried him because he was too heavy for Bones. As soon as they were in the room Booth took Morgan and Parker climbed on Bones' lap.
"Good morning. I'm Dr. Price." A friendly looking woman said. "It looks like we have some sick kids in here." She walked over to Parker. "What's your name?"
"Parker." He mumbled. "And that's my sister Morgan with my dad."
"So what's going on?" Dr. Price asked him.
"I don't feel good. I'm coughing a lot and it hurts every time that I do." Dr. Price looked at the chart. "I see you have a fever. When was the last time Parker had anything for his fever?"
"I gave them both something about 3:15. Morgan's fever was one hundred and one and Parker's was one hundred and one point five." Bones answered.
"Is Morgan coughing too?"
"She is. Every time I lay her down on her back she starts coughing and I heard them both wheezing."
"When did this start?"
"When I picked them up from daycare and school a couple days ago. They were both congested but the coughing didn't start until after they went to bed."
"I'm going to do a quick exam." Bones tried to put Parker on the table but he started crying and coughing so she sat with him on her lap while he was examined. When she was done with Parker, Booth laid Morgan on the table and she began screaming, refusing to stop until she was back in her father's arms. "Well both kids are dehydrated and I'm hearing pneumonia on both of their left lower lungs."
"Oh no." Bones said, as tears ran down her face.
"I want to draw some blood, get a chest x-ray and start some fluids." Dr. Price explained and Booth and Bones looked devastated. "The nurse will be in shortly."
"Do me and Morgan have to get a shot?" Parker cried.
"Yeah, sweetheart, you do." Parker immediately started sobbing and clinging to Bones.
"I don't wanna a shot." He said and then he started to cough which made him sob more.
"It will only hurt for a minute, bub." Booth tried to soothe but it was no use. Parker could not be calmed.
The nurse came in a few minutes later and they all went down to radiology for the x-rays. Once those were complete they went back to the little cubicle were the nightmare really began. Booth had to hold down a struggling, screaming Parker while the nurse started his IV and drew his blood while Bones sobbed into her daughter's hair. When Parker was done they laid Morgan on the table. She didn't struggle like her brother did but she did scream and it broke her parents' hearts.
About an hour later, both kids were sleeping when Dr. Price returned to the room with Parker and Morgan's test results.
"The x-ray confirms that both kids have pneumonia. Their blood work is relatively normal with the exception of the elevated white blood cell count which is to be expected with the pneumonia. I want to admit both of your children and get them twenty four hours of IV antibiotics and give them both breathing treatments to help with the wheezing."
"Is that really necessary?" Booth asked. He hated the thought of his kids having to stay in the hospital, even if it is for only twenty four hours.
"I believe that it is." Dr. Price responded.
"Can they both be put in the same room?" Bones asked. "I don't want them to be alone."
"Normally, we don't put children of the opposite sex in the same room but since they are siblings we can make an exception."
"Thank you."
An hour later, Parker and Morgan were moved to a private room. Parker was in a regular hospital bed and Morgan was in a crib. It tore Bones apart to see her little girl lying on the bed with a nasal canula up her nose, her little arms tapped up to keep the IV's in place and she was unable to hold or comfort her. As her daughter whimpered in front of her Bones cried right along with her as she ran a soothing hand around her face.
"How's Parker?" She asked when she felt Booth's arms around her waist.
"Sleeping. Morgan's fighting it." They watched as her eyes fluttered closed and then opened again only to flutter close again and this time they stayed closed. "Come on."
"I'm not leaving them."
"I know. I just want you to sit with me." He took her hand and led her to chair and pulled her down on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.
"What did I do wrong, Booth?"
"Temperance, you didn't do anything wrong. They're kids. Morgan is in daycare and Parker is in school. Germs spread. It's normal."
"I hate to see them so miserable. I wish there was something I could do for them."
"You are doing something by being here for them, Bones. I remember when I was sick and the only thing that would make me feel better was my mom. There wasn't anything special that she would do. She would just be there for me." She nodded in understanding.
"I can do that."
"I know you can." She laid her head on his shoulder. "Why don't you try to take a nap?" He suggested.
"What if they need something?"
"We'll be right here and we will hear them." She nodded. She really didn't need much convincing because she was exhausted. She settled comfortably against his chest and closed her eyes.
"You'll wake me if they need anything?" She asked sleepily.
"I know that you'll hear them but if for some reason that you don't, I'll wake you."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
--
Instead of twenty four hours Parker and Morgan remained in the hospital for two days. They weren't responding to their antibiotics as quickly as Dr. Price had hoped they would. Booth and Bones refused to leave their children so the hospital staff brought cots to the room so they could sleep at night and food was brought to the room so they wouldn't starve to death. At the end of the second day they were amazed at the difference in their kids. Parker was smiling and talking again and Morgan was back to the happy go lucky baby that she was and laughing and smiling at her parents and brother again.
"Parker, are you ready to go home?" Dr. Price asked.
"Yeah. I'm really bored and there is nothing good on TV."
"I think that you're ready to go home."
"Can Morgan come too?"
"Morgan can go home too." Dr. Price turned to Booth and Bones. "I have two antibiotic prescriptions and two cough syrup prescriptions, one for each child. You need to make them a follow up appointment with their pediatrician for the end of the week. If they develop any fever or if the wheezing I'll need you to bring them back. Any questions?"
"No I think we are good. Bones?" She shook her head. She just wanted to get her kids home.
"When can I go back to school?" Parker piped up. Since Bones had become a constant figure in his life, Parker had really come to enjoy school.
"Probably next week if you feel all better."
"Okay." He responded sadly and Booth chuckled.
"The nurse will be in shortly with your discharge papers. I hope that we don't have to meet again." Dr. Price said with a smile.
"Same to you." Booth said as they shook hands.
Once the discharge instructions were given, papers signed they were finally released after two long days. "Okay, family, let's go home." Booth said. He picked the carrier with one arm, slung his other arm over Bones' shoulders who was holding Parker's hand.
"Can we stop and get some pie?"
"Didn't like the hospital food too much, did you, Parker?" Bones asked him with a smile.
"It was gross."
"Well I suppose that we can stop at the diner and pick up a pie to take home."
"Yipee." Parker gleefully cheered as the family walked through the halls of the hospital.
--
"Parker say goodnight to your mother." Booth said.
"It's not my bedtime."
"I'm going to take a nice long hot bath and since you are still sick and going to bed early I may not be done with my bath before than."
"Oh." Parker wrapped his arms around Bones' neck and kissed her. "Night, mommy. I love you."
"I love you too." She smiled softly at Booth, then at Parker and Morgan who were both squeezed up on his lap, one of the safest places in the world.
"Enjoy yourself, Temperance." Booth said with a grin. He had showered an hour earlier.
"I plan on it, Seeley." She winked at him and headed upstairs to her bathroom.
An hour later Booth was in the bathroom holding Morgan, watching the woman he loved sleep soundly in the tub. She looked so beautiful and peaceful laying there. The worry that had become a permanent fixture on her face over the last two days was now gone since her children were home from the hospital. He hated to wake her but he knew that she would want to say goodnight to Morgan.
"Bones." He said softly. When she didn't respond he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered opened and she smiled when she saw who had woken her up.
"Hi."
"Someone wants to say goodnight."
"Did she have her bottle?"
"She been fed and diapered." Bones sat up in the tub and Booth leaned forward holding Morgan.
"Good night, sweet girl." She whispered as she kissed her daughter's head. "I love you."
As Booth left the bathroom Bones reluctantly pulled herself out of the tub. She would have loved to stay in there all night but the water was cold and she really wanted to sleep in her comfortable bed again. She had just slipped on her robe when Booth walked back into the bathroom.
"I was hoping that you were still in there so I could join you." He whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his chest.
"The water was cold." She mumbled as he placed soft kisses on her neck. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh.
"Are you cold?" His hands had traveled to the tie on her robe.
"Yes."
"How about I warm you up?" He untied her robe and slipped it from her shoulders onto the floor.
"Yes." For such an articulate woman, she was amazed at the power he had to turn her practically speechless. He lifted into his arms and carried her to the bed. "Kids?" She whispered as he stripped out of his clothes.
"Sound asleep." He mumbled as his lips found hers and his hands found her breasts.
"Seeley." She moaned when his lips left hers and traveled down to her chest, stomach and belly button.
"I love you." He groaned as they joined together. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pulled him close.
"I love you too."
Thanks again for reading and reviewing. My angst bunny took over and I couldn't end this story without a little bit more angst. The next chapter will most likely be the last. Vebbie- thanks for your help again.