I own none of the characters of Bones
Booth's POV
"Are you ready?" Bones asked me. We had been sitting in our driveway for the last ten minutes.
"No. Not really."
"This is ridiculous Booth. If you weren't going to come inside then you should have just stayed at the hotel."
"Let's go." I mumbled. I got out of the car and winced in pain. Late at night, after moving around all day my legs ached and it hurt to walk. My doctor at the clinic recommended that I use my cane but in my rush to leave my home, I left my cane and now I was paying for it.
"What's wrong?" Bones asked, coming around to my side of the van.
"My legs hurt. It's no big deal." I told her as I limped towards the house.
"Is the pain getting worse?"
"In the morning they are super stiff but usually by the time I am out of the shower they're fine but late at night; that's when it gets really bad. Guess it's a good thing that I didn't pass my physical to become a field agent again. We would have been screwed with all of the morning and late night calls that we got." I quipped and she didn't even crack a smile.
"You should be using your cane. Why aren't you using your cane?"
"I left it here."
"I'll get it for you. Wait here."
"No Bones. I'm good. I'll be fine."
"Well let me help you."
"No, I'm fine." I insisted but she didn't listen. She walked over and linked arms with me.
"Just lean on me." I did as she instructed. "It seems like I'm always leaning on you."
"I'm your wife. We are supposed to lean on each other, especially during the hard times." I couldn't believe that my Bones, the woman who didn't believe in marriage, telling me that husbands and wives should lean on each other. She has changed so much over the years.
The minute we stepped up on the porch the front door opened and Parker was standing in front of me. My heart broke when I saw the hurt all over his face. He stared at me and then just turned and walked away. "It's okay." Bones whispered when she felt me flinch. We made our way into the house, into the living room where I settled on the couch. Max hovered around Bones, practically guarding her like a lioness and her cubs while he glared at me. "Dad, stop glaring at my husband. If anyone is going to glare at him, it's going to be me."
"Fine." Max growled.
"How were the kids?"
"The twins were fine and Parker just hung out in his room all night." Max looked at me and then back to Bones.
"Where are the twins?" She asked.
"In the playroom."
"I'm going to go get them." Bones shot her dad a warning look and then left the two of us alone.
"I have such a strong desire to kick your sorry ass." My father in-law whispered.
"If I didn't feel so bad I would let you."
"I swear to God, if you EVER pull a stunt like this again, and hurt my girl or my grandbabies, I will hunt your sorry ass down and kick it. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal." Before Max could threaten me anymore we both heard two pairs of feet racing towards us.
"DADDY! DADDY!" My babies yelled as they threw themselves on me. I easily lifted both of them onto my lap. They wrapped their tiny arms around me and I kissed them.
"Are you home?" Michael asked.
"Yeah Bear, I'm home."
"Daddy where you go?" Christine asked.
"Daddy had to go away for awhile." I answered her and Max snorted.
"Dad. I think that it's time that you go." Max knew better than to argue with his daughter.
"Hey guys come and give your grandpa some love."
"No." Michael said.
"Go on guys. Give grandpa a hug and a kiss." I told them.
"No." Christine repeated. Sometimes she followed Michaels' lead and sometimes it was Christine who took the lead.
Normally in a situation like this, I would have had Max come over to the twins and say goodbye but I knew I could no longer let them do that. I couldn't let my three year old twins think that they ruled our household. I had to remind them, who was in charge; that their mother and I were in charge. Bones glanced at me and gave a slight nod of encouragement.
"Michael and Christine, you go and give your grandpa a hug and kiss and tell him thank you right NOW." They both just looked at me, a stubborn look that I had seen on their mother's face many times. "GO."
"Fine." Christine said as she crawled off my lap. Michael followed her. It may not have been much but as I watched my children walk over to Max I felt a small sense of accomplishment.
For the next half hour Michael and Christine talked non-stop on my lap while they ran back and forth to their rooms or the playroom bringing me toys and pictures and for the first time in two weeks I tucked my babies into bed. "Goodnight Bear." I whispered as I kissed his head.
"Night Daddy."
"How much do I love you?" I asked him.
"To the moon and back."
"How much do you love me?"
"To the moon and back."
"Sleep tight Bear. I love you." I kissed him again and slipped out of the room. Bones was coming out of Chrissy's room and we switched rooms.
"All tucked in chipmunk?" I asked her.
"All tuck in."
"How much does daddy love you?" Christine pulled her arms out from under her blankets and stretched them out.
"This much."
"How much do you love daddy?" She giggled and stretched her arms out again.
"This much."
"Now you're all untucked."
"Fix me." She demanded.
"What do you say?"
"Please."
"That's my girl." I quickly tucked her back in bed and kissed her. "Goodnight sweetheart. I love you."
"You go bye-bye?"
"No honey. Daddy isn't going bye-bye." She smiled, closed her eyes and I snuck out of the room. Again, Bones met me in the hall and together we walked towards the living room. "It was nice, putting them to bed again"
"It didn't have to be like that. You could have been here for the last two weeks tucking them every night if you would have only talked to me." She pointed out.
"I know. " I replied, miserably. "And speaking of talking, I am going to go talk to Parker."
"Do you want something for the pain in your legs? I can tell that you are hurting."
"Thanks but no. I'll be okay."
"Are you sure? You shouldn't let the pain become unbearable."
"It's all good."
"Well good luck with Parker."
"Thanks, I'll need it." With a grim smile, I slowly and painfully made my way up the stairs to Parker's room. When I got to the top of the stairs, took a deep breath and knocked. A few seconds later, he opened the door with his cell phone attached to his ear.
"Hang on." He said into the phone. "Yeah?" He asked me.
"Can I come in?"
"I'm going to have to call you back. No. My dad wants to talk. Yeah I know. Okay, later." Parker ended his call and then just looked at me. "Well?"
"Can I come in?" Parker sighed and moved to the side and I entered his room and sat on his bed. "I've got to tell you Parks, you are an amazing actor."
"It wasn't all acting dad."
"What wasn't part of the act?"
"I'm mad that you lied to Bones about being with me. You used me to stay away from your family. I don't appreciate that at all."
"I understand and accept that."
"I'm so glad that you do. It just makes everything so much better." Parker's voice was dripping with sarcasm and I chose to ignore it.
"Is that it?"
"No."
"Care to share?"
"It really pisses me off that you left Bones, Mikey and Chrissy, especially Mikey and Chrissy. I meant what I said dad. All I ever heard from you growing up, every weekend that we spent together was how much you wished that I lived with you full time. You have two kids that do live with you full time, something that you have always wanted and you left them dad. How could you do that?" Parker paused, took a deep breath and then continued. "You know what, never mind. I don't want to hear it."
"You need to hear it Parker. Will you please sit down?"
"I'd rather not."
"SIT." We experienced a stand off as we stared each other until Parker finally broke and sat at his desk. "I think that it's time that I told you about my dad and what he did to me."
"I got to see it first hand. I was there. Remember?"
"What you saw, it was just the tip of the iceberg; that was nothing. I have avoided telling you about my childhood because you were too young but you're no longer a kid and if I tell you it may help you make you understand why I left."
"Probably not but go for it."
"Do you have any idea what it's like to be terrified of going home? Of course you don't because your mother, Bones and I made sure that we did everything in our power to make sure that you had the happiest, safest childhood possible, a promise that I made to you the second I found out that I was going to be a father."
"You're doing a bang up job on the happiness part aren't you?" Parker muttered.
"I'm not perfect Parker. I've made mistakes; I've screwed up; I've hurt you and hopefully one day I can fix that."
"Good luck with that."
"Will you stop being a smart ass and just let me get this out?"
"Whatever."
"What is one of the first memories of me that you have?"
"Huh?"
"Parker please just answer the question." Parker took a minute to think before answering my question.
"My first day of kindergarten. I don't know why but I was so terrified to go into that classroom. I remember crying freaking out every time mom tried to take me in the classroom. You took me out to the playground and pushed me on the swings until I was ready to go. What I remember most is that you never forced me to go in even though mom was so impatient." I remembered that day clearly and I never understood why a socialable kid like Parker was scared.
"One of my first memories of my father is him slapping me across the face so hard that I physically flew across the room into a wall because I was sick and threw up on the floor."
"Your dad slapped you cause you puked?" I could tell that Parker was shocked.
"My dad looked for any reason he could to hit me. My first broken bone was courtesy of my old man."
"What happened?"
"He twisted my wrist, snapped it like a twig when I tried to get away from him."
"Why…why didn't you tell somebody, a teacher, a priest, a nun, your mom, gramps?"
"I grew up in a different time and during that time whatever happened in your house stayed in your house. Telling someone wasn't an option."
"Did he hit you all the time?"
"Yeah."
"Didn't anyone see bruises?"
"Most of the time my dad left bruises where no one could see them and if they weren't hidden then I guess that whoever saw the bruises acted like they didn't."
"Did he hit grandma and Uncle Jared?"
"Yeah he did. If Jared got into trouble I took the blame for whatever it was that pissed my dad off so Jared wouldn't get hurt and if I was too late and I came into the middle of a punishment, I would start something to get my dad away from Jared and on to me."
"Why would you do that?"
"Cause I'm a big brother and that's what big brothers do, protect their little brothers."
"I never knew it was that bad." Parker whispered.
"It was really bad but that's besides the point. I wanted you to know what I went through as a child so I could tell you why I left."
"Umm okay."
"I had to have lots of training to become an F.B.I. agent. I was taught about all kinds of criminals and I learned why they did what they did. One thing that was a constant was the proven fact that children of abuse, mainly men, became abusers themselves and that simple fact was drilled into my head. Throughout my years as an F.B.I. agent I saw over and over again; men who were abused children that beat and killed their family." I glanced over at Parker and saw that he was looking at the floor so I continued.
"When I first found out that I was going to be your father I was so excited but at the same time I was terrified to become a father. I was so afraid that I was going to hurt you." I admitted to my son.
"But you didn't dad. You never hurt me."
"I think the main reason for that was our situation. I lived with you and your mom until you were about fourteen months old and you were really easy to raise. You only cried when you were tired, hungry or you were sitting in a poopy diaper and those were all easy fixes. I would lay you down, change your diaper or feed you and as soon as I did that you were my happy baby again. Once you started crawling and walking you did manage to get into some things but as soon as I raised my voice and told you "No" you backed off and it was never a problem. When you got older, our time together was so precious that you were never any trouble and if you were, like when you were younger all I had to do was raise my voice and you got your act together."
"So because you lived with your other kids full time things were different?" The "other kids" comment didn't sit well with me but since I don't want to get off track. We would definitely come back to that.
"Yes. Things are most definitely different. Now don't get me wrong, the twins are just being normal three year olds, getting into things, talking back and they enable each other. What one does, the other follows suit which just doubles the trouble and things just got out of hand, which is my fault. Since the twins were born, I have been more scared of abusing them. With you, I was scared as hell but over time, the fear lessened but with your brother and sister, the fear increased, probably due to my weakened mental state because of my paralysis but who knows. Anyway, when the twins got into crap, did something that I told them not to do I would tell them no and raise my voice but it didn't work with them, they just ignored me and did it anyways. At that point I should have probably punished them but I didn't. I just told them that they were bad and let it go."
"So what changed?" Parker asked.
"One night they were being really bad, not listening to a damn thing that I was saying and it just kept getting worse and I was losing my patience. Finally after they clogged the toilet up I took them by their hands and brought them to the living room and that's when Chrissy said "Daddy stop, you're hurting me" and I flashed back to when Jared was a kid, with a busted lip, swollen eye crying saying the same thing to my father and I immediately panicked. Those words pushed me over the edge and I knew I was on my way to becoming my father so I did the only thing I could or at least thought I could, I left. I left my family to protect them from me."
"That was stupid." Parker told me bluntly. "You should have told someone what you were afraid of; Bones, Sweets or even me. You shouldn't have left."
"I know that and that's why I am sitting here."
"Dad you aren't your dad. You would never abuse any of us."
"I want to believe that Parker and I am really trying to but I'm still so scared that's it could still happen."
"So now what? Are you going to leave again?"
"No I'm not going to leave again. I am going to stay home and face my issues head on."
"I hope you can face those issues but honestly, I'm not going to hold my breath."
"Excuse me?"
"I've heard it all before. You go crazy, lose your mind, push everyone away and then you come crawling back, begging for forgiveness and swearing that it will never happen again but it always does so right now, I just don't believe you."
"Well I guess that it's on me to prove to you that it won't happen again." Parker just nodded.
"I really hope that one day you will be my dad again. You aren't the same. You do things that you never have done before like walk away from your family, you use me in your lies and you break promises. I miss you dad or the dad that you used to be." Parker had tears in his eyes and I wanted to puke for making him feel like that.
"I'm sorry son."
"Yeah. I know you are." Parker wiped his eyes and stood up. "Are we done here?"
"Almost. There is one more thing that I would like to address." Parker sighed and sat back down.
"What?"
"You made the comment "your other children" earlier."
"Yeah? So?"
"Michael and Christine are not my other children. They are my children the same as you are my son. I love them the same as I love you. I do not ever want to hear you use that term again. Do I make myself clear young man?"
"Okay, sure dad." Parker answered smartly.
"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"No matter what you think, it is different. If you manage to stay around, their entire childhood will be different then mine was. You will be here for everything. Every holiday, every birthday; you'll be there for them and you weren't for me."
"Parker I never wanted you to grow up like you did. I tried to be there for you as much as I could."
"Sometimes trying isn't enough. You have missed so much with me."
"Do you think I liked waking up on your birthday knowing that I wasn't going to be able to spend it with you?" My voice was slowly getting louder. "I hated missing most of your life. I hate that you only live with me every other weekend. I hate sitting down to dinner and seeing your empty spot. I hate that your bedroom is empty most of the time. I hate the empty feeling that I carry around with me when you aren't here. My God, I wish, more than anything that you were here all of the time."
"I hate that Mikey and Chrissy will have you with them for everything." He shouted with tears running down his face. "I actually hate them a little bit for that."
"Don't say that." I shouted back. "Don't ever say that you hate your brother and sister."
"I…I…"
"It's not their fault that you don't live here with us so don't you ever take your anger with me out on them because if you do…so help me God." I seethed.
"What in the hell is going on in here?" Bones asked walking into Parker's room. "Your shouting is going to wake the twins up."
"Of course. It's all about the twins." Parker muttered.
"I suggest you knock it off right now Parker Booth." I warned through clench teeth.
"Or what Dad? Are you going to hit me?" My son taunted. I heard Bones gasp and I simply stood up and limped out of the room.
Bones' POV
"How dare you taunt your father with the possibility of hitting you?" I angrily said to my stepson. "That was uncalled for, especially considering what has been going through his mind. I never thought you could be so cruel Parker." Parker didn't answer. He just stared at the floor with silent tears falling. "I don't appreciate your comment regarding the twins. It's not all about them. It's about us as a family and I know that if they get woken up they will be holy terrors and as a family, none of us want to deal with the twin terrors. I was just protecting all of us. When you are sleeping in I do the same damn thing for you. There is absolutely no favoritism among you and the twins. Your father and I love all three of you equally and I'm hurt that you think otherwise." Parker placed his head in his hands. "Goodnight Parker." I walked over, kissed his head and left him alone.
When I got downstairs I saw Booth looking just as miserable as Parker, getting the couch ready for bed using the sheets and blankets I had left for him. I may have let him come back home but I wasn't ready to let him return to our bed and obviously he understood that because he knew exactly why I placed the pillow and blankets on the couch and he didn't once question it. "Can I help you?" I asked softly.
"No. I go got pretty well under control."
"Do you want to talk about what happened with Parker?"
"No."
"Booth, you shouldn't keep your feelings bottled up. It's never good for anyone, especially you."
"I will talk about it but tomorrow, okay? It's been a long day and I'm tired as hell. I just want to go to sleep and start fresh tomorrow." I knew he wouldn't be sleeping much at all tonight. He never does when he has something on his mind. "I'm going to change if you don't mind."
"Go ahead. The bedroom is all yours."
For the next five minutes while Booth got ready for bed for lack of anything better to do I remade the couch for him and then I puttered around the kitchen until I heard him limp back. I gasped in delight when I saw him coming towards me in a pair of sweatpants that hung low on his hips and one of his wife-beater tank tops. He looked so delectable and I was ready to pounce. Normally my out of control hormones during pregnancy which cause me to become very horny is a good thing but right now it was a hindrance. If I wasn't letting him sleep in our bed then I sure as hell couldn't sleep with him. I know he noticed my sudden arousal but he acted as if he didn't. "Can I get you anything?" I asked as he sat on the couch.
"I'm fine but even if I wasn't you aren't my maid. I can fend for myself."
"Well then goodnight I guess." This whole situation felt so awkward to me.
"Goodnight Bones." Before retreating to our bedroom, I leaned forward and gently pressed my lips to his. Booth did not take advantage of the situation. He just simply kissed me back, somewhat respectively, no tongue or slobber.
"I'm glad you're home." I whispered.
"Me too." Giving him a smile I walked away. "Hey Bones?" I stopped and turned around to face him. "I love you."
"I love you too." I lingered for a minute more before I left him in the living room.
Two hours later I was still lying awake in bed and I could still hear the television going so I decided to go out and turn it off because he probably fell asleep with it on. When I got to the living room, to my surprise I found that Booth was still awake and from where I was standing I knew he was miserable. He was sitting up on the couch, face contorted in pain, sweat running down his face, rubbing his legs. I knew that he would rather be in pain for the rest of the night then come into our bathroom which was connected to our bedroom where his pain medication was kept then risk waking me up and it infuriated me. After debating with myself about whether or not to let him suffer I went to the bathroom, grabbed his pain medication and my bottle of water.
"Why must you be so damn stubborn?" I asked him as I sat down next to him and handed him the water and Vicodin.
"I…"
"Just take the damn pill." Without another word he popped the pill in his mouth and washed it down with a swig of water.
"Thanks."
"You don't have to be strong all of the time. It's okay to show weakness Booth." I reached out and began to massage his legs. "Does this help?"
"A little."
"How long has the pain been this bad?" Before he left his legs hurt at night but the pain wasn't as severe as it was right now.
"Over the past week."
"Have you called your doctor at the clinic?"
"Yeah. He said that it's probably inflammation of my spinal cord that is causing the pain."
"And what is going to be done about it?"
"He said that at my next appointment he will give me a steroid shot to bring down the inflammation."
"And when is your next appointment?"
"I was supposed to go on Monday but I cancelled it."
"Why in the hell would you do that? You need those shots so you can continue walking."
"Well since my insurance isn't paying and we are and I left I wasn't sure if paying for my treatment was still an option."
"You dumbass. Your injections are paid up for the year. Remember, we got a deal. If we paid for so many injections up front we got half off of two."
"I guess I forgot."
"You need to call them first thing in the morning to reschedule and maybe you and Parker could make the trip together. It will be nice for the two of you to spend time together."
"I can wait a few weeks. I don't want to leave you alone with the twins…again."
"I have been alone with the twins for weeks Booth. I think I handle a couple more days." I informed him.
"I just got back. I don't want to confuse the twins any more then I already have."
"They won't be confused. I will just tell them that you had to go get your medicine. Your health is important Booth and you need to continue with your treatments when they are due."
"Parker doesn't hate the twins. He's just hurt, confused and a teenager."
"What does his age have to do with that?"
"Teenagers don't think before they talk. They just open their mouths and the words come out."
"Everyone regardless of their age thinks before they speak."
"Bones, you know what I mean." I moved over to his other side and began my leg massage.
"Did you want to hit him?"
"No I didn't." Booth answered without hesitation.
"You are a lot stronger then you give yourself credit for." I reminded him.
"Parker…he'll come around." Booth sounded so lost and so sad.
"I think a trip to Mexico with Parker will help improve your relationship."
"Yeah, if Rebecca lets him go."
"Let me go where?" Booth and I looked up in surprise at the sound of Parker's voice.
"Your father's next appointment at the clinic."
"Mom probably won't let me go."
"Yeah. You're probably right." Booth answered.
"You two are impossible." I muttered and I saw an identical guilty expression cross over their faces.
"I was hoping that you guys were still awake. I need you guys to know that I don't hate Mikey and Chrissy. I was upset. I was pissed off and I just ran my mouth. I love my brother and sister with my whole heart but I'm so jealous of them."
"Why are you jealous?" I asked him. I couldn't imagine why a fourteen year old boy would be jealous of a pair of three year olds.
"He's jealous that Mikey and Chrissy have the family that he has always wanted; a mom and a dad that live together." Booth explained and Parker nodded in agreement.
"Parker you're father taught me that there are so many kinds of family and you just happen to belong to a family that isn't traditional but it's a family nonetheless. I wish that our family dynamic could be different. I wish that you lived here with us all of the time but since you don't we all have to make the most of what time we do have together and I hope that you know Parker that even when you aren't here you are still a very important part of this family."
"Thanks Bones."
"It's late and you should probably get to bed."
"Yes ma'am." He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Love ya Bones."
"I love you too." Parker turned to his father. "I'm sorry about what I said to you. I know that you wouldn't hit me."
"I would never. Goodnight Bub."
"Night dad."
"For what its worth I am sorry and I do love you."
"I know dad and I love you too." Booth and I sat in silence until we heard Parker's bedroom door shut.
"Did you notice that he didn't accept my apology?" Booth asked me.
"Give him time Booth. You really hurt him and I think that he just needs time."
"I'll give him whatever he needs. I will make things right again with Parker, you, and the twins." I reached out and took his hand in mine.
"How is the pain in your legs?"
"Better. Thanks for the pill."
"Come on. Let's go to bed."
"But…but I thought that you wanted me to sleep out here on the couch."
"I thought that I wanted that too but I don't. I want you to sleep in our bed with me." Booth grabbed his cane and stood up.
"I would like that. I would like that a lot." Before I knew what was happening Booth pulled me to his chest and was kissing me and I was enjoying it. The second that our tongues met my heart began to pound and I moaned into his mouth. We kissed each other until we could no longer breathe. "God, I've missed you." Booth mumbled when we broke apart.
"Just because we will be sleeping in the same bed don't even think that we are going to have sex."
"I wouldn't dream of it." He took my hand in his free hand and together we walked to OUR bedroom.
"You have to work for the privilege of sleeping with me again."
"I plan on it." As he flashed me his cocky grin I knew that Booth was going to fight for himself and our family and I was going to help him fight. I knew without a doubt that our family would be fine.