Whew! Finally got this one done. I told myself when the break started that I would get more writing done, but then I got side tracked with the sequel to a story I read by NatesMama. I have read several of her fics, and decided to read just about all of them the past few days. So between reading her stuff, writing for this fic and ignoring my others, and feeding my Fallout 3 addiction, this one is finally out. And if you haven't read any of NatesMama's fics, you should.

R&R

The ride from the Hoover to the Booth residence was filled with more inquiry from Angela as she drove them home.

Married sex is a thousand times better, isn't it?

Did you even leave the villa?

Did you guys have sex on the beach?

Oh, did you make use of the other two villas?

What about the pool?

OH! Did you make any sexy honeymoon videos?

The list of question went on and on, and each one was met with silence and the occasional nervous cough from Booth and a light chuckle from Brennan as Angela's mind just spouted each question like a fountain does water, never stopping.

As they sat in the back dodging questions, Angela thought that it was cute that they wanted to be so near each other. She watched them through the rearview mirror, not missing a moment of their interaction and reactions to her questions. Some of their body language—and sputtering coughs from Booth—alone answered a few of her questions. The amount of love and care in their actions towards each other floored her. How had she not noticed their relationship until almost seven months into it, and only because Brennan needed her help? Now, just over five weeks since finding out, she sees that they hadn't really changed much about how they treated each other in public except that the touches between the two of them were slightly more intimate (but still appropriate in the presence of other people), but the looks on their faces haven't changed since…for as long as she could remember now. How could I have missed what was right in front of my face? I'm glad they both finally caught up to their own realities.

"Okay, Ange. That's enough, really. We need to concentrate on Parker now," Brennan halted her friend's endless line of interrogation. "You can stop making Seeley uncomfortable now. I would really rather prefer it if he didn't have a myocardial infarction before our baby's arrival."

"Yeah, and that doesn't mean you get to resume questioning as soon as he's born either. I would rather not ever have a myo-what-she-said." Booth added.

"I know you're curious as to how things went for us, Ange," Brennan looked up to the front at her friend, "but let me assure you that it was an amazing experience. I know you and Jack didn't have a chance for a honeymoon yet, you should definitely try to do so sometime. I definitely recommend that you go where we went. Complete privacy except for the few wait staff and chef that comes by to clean and prepare meals."

"Hodgins would love the bugs and stuff on that island; it was really incredible." Booth said as he lightly squeezed Brennan's thigh.

"Yeah, he showed me some of the pictures you sent him. He was super jealous of you guys for seeing that beetle and some of the fauna. It may not be hard to persuade him into taking me." Angela said with a hopeful smile. "So, do I get to know anything?"

"You get to know exactly what Parker gets to know." Booth said, smiling at Brennan.

"Aw, you're no fun." Angela feigned disappointment.

"Or maybe you're just too nosy for your own good."

B&B

They all walked up to the apartment together talking a little about the strategy they should use to talk to Parkr to see if he would be willing to come out of his closet for Booth and Brennan when they stepped off of the elevator on their floor they saw Sweets standing at the door.

"Oh, hey guys. I was just about to knock," he said lowering his hand.

"Sweets what are you doing here?" Booth regarded him suspiciously.

"Cullen called me. He said you thought it was a good idea."

"Yeah, he said he was going to tell you to call us to set something up, not just show up here unannounced with no plan. I would like to see how Parker is for myself before we allow someone else to just swoop in and try to help." Booth said, all but getting in the kid's face. "After your little game of Spanish Inquisition at our wedding reception, I'm not sure I can handle talking to you like the adult you think you are right now."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep; I just wanted to…Booth, I'm here as a friend. I don't have to be here in a professional capacity. Not if you don't want me to."

"No, I know you. You can't turn the head shrinking off. It's what you do. It almost got you shot with that cannon Bones had tucked into her boot at our reception."

"Booth, head shrinking is not a practice that…" his look told her that she had taken him too literally, "oh that was a jab at his profession. I get it." She paused considering her next words. "Maybe we should let him in. Parker doesn't even have to know he's here. We can go in and try to talk to Parker and Dr. Sweets can sit out of sight in the hall or something so that he can observe the situation. Then, maybe we can prepare a strategy for how to cope with this situation."

"Bones, I would rather not have someone spy on my son. I would also rather not just cope with the situation." Booth said with more malice than he intended. When he saw her expression change and saw her recoil at his words he so carelessly spat at her, he moved toward her to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close not caring that the twelve year old and inquisitive best friend were watching them closely. "I'm sorry, Bones. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that…this is my son," his voice betrayed his emotion slightly, "ya know? I don't really know what to do, but I don't want him feeling like we are ganging up against him."

"Agent Booth, you're absolutely right in not wanting him to feel like that." Booth stiffed in Brennan's arms about to say something in relation to the fact that the kid was butting into his business, but he stopped when he realized that Sweets had actually agreed with him. "As it is, he probably already feels that way. Cullen filled me in on the case regarding Brent and the abuse. For now, I'm going to ignore the fact that you guys didn't trust me with that information when I could have helped you get through that." Booth glared at him, so he quickly moved on. "Well, two people he was fairly close to have betrayed him. He is probably not so trusting of those close to him right now. His almost stepfather abused him and his mother, and now one of his close friends shot and killed other friends and peers from his hockey team. Not only that, but he was one of the intended targets. He most likely does feel like people he cares about are ganging up on him. Cullen mentioned that he wouldn't come out of his closet, not even for his mother or to come get you guys from the airport. This is bigger than finding a human finger in a nest, Agent Booth."

Booth nodded in agreement. Brennan grabbed his hand that he had clenched into a fist, and it instantly relaxed into hers, lacing their fingers together.

"Let's just go in and sit down." Angela suggested.

Booth relented and was just about to turn the key in the lock as the door opened.

"So, are you guys going to come in or are you going to continue to stand out here and talk loud enough for the whole floor to know your personal life?" Hodgins said as he opened the door wide enough to step aside and motion the others inside.

"We were just about to come in, Jack," Angela said. "You guys all have a seat and discuss what you want to do." She grabbed a hold of Jack's arm, "Jack and I will get you guys something to drink." She pulled him into the kitchen.

Booth dropped their luggage by the door and shut it behind everyone as they walked in. He gestured for Sweets to have a seat in the leather armchair. He took his coat off and helped Bones with hers. He hung them up in the hall closet and sat next to Brennan on the couch adjacent to the chair.

In the kitchen, Angela was getting glasses out of the cupboard. She poured some orange juice for herself and Brennan and iced sweet tea for Jack, Sweets, and Booth. "Here you take these in there," she shoved the tray into his hands. "Make sure to mediate that conversation. It was getting pretty intense in the hallway. I'm sure the last thing Parker needs is for people to raise their voices in here."

"You've got it boss."

As he walked into the living room he heard Booth start to get angry, "We are not going to allow you to spy on my son!"

"Alright, fine. Then you both go in there and talk to him. See what you can accomplish and then you can relay to me what you observe."

"That's better than having you eavesdrop on him." Booth stood.

"Okay, I have some questions I need you to ask him if he is willing to answer."

"I investigate people for a living, besides this isn't an interrogation! I know what I need to ask my son. I don't need your intrusive list. I know there are things that we need to know. We need to know what he saw. We need to know where he was in relation to the shooter. We know that he knows he was on that kid's hit list, but we need to know how he found out. Did the cops tell him, or did he hear it from Rebecca or someone else? I know." He turned to look at the man who entered back into the room a few seconds prior. "Hodgins?"

Jack looked up, having not expected anything to be directed toward him. "Yeah?"

"Did you get Parker out of his closet any while you were here alone with him?"

"Uh, about ten minutes before you got here he came out to go to the bathroom. He walked out here, very briefly and timidly, and asked if Dr. Bones was home yet. I told him I would send you in as soon as you got here. He can no doubt hear voices. Maybe you should go in there soon."

"He asked about me? Why me and not Booth?" Brennan asked looking at the hurt on her husband's face. She linked her arm in his and leaned into him more.

"Dr. Brennan, I understand that you were the one to initially help him when he went through the investigative part of the abuse case, correct?" Sweets asked, having already developed a theory.

"Yes. I was the one to take photos of his bruising and ask personal questions regarding the type of abuse." She replied. While everyone else seemed to sense where this was going, she still remained clueless, so he explained.

"It's possible that during that time, he developed a level of trust with you that he doesn't really have with anyone else. He confided in you then, so maybe he needs that now, and he is waiting for you."

"Okay, Bones, go talk to him."

"Uh, not so fast, Agent Booth." Sweets held up his hand. "Dr. Brennan, I need you to ask some of the questions that Booth brought up earlier. We need to figure those things out before we can really come up with a plan of action."

"Okay. Maybe I should take a piece offering of some sort in order to get him to come out to me. Angela, was there any chocolate milk in the refrigerator?"

"Yeah, there was. I'll go pour him a glass."

"Thanks. Maybe if he'll come out to talk to me rather than talk through the door, it'll be a positive thing."

"Absolutely. I agree. If you can get him to come out, even through bribery, so that you can talk to him face to face complete with the trust of eye contact, then it might be possible that he will be comfortable enough to not feel compelled to go back in." Sweets said. "It's also possible that just the fact that the person he was asking for is going in there to talk to him, would make him feel comfortable enough to stay out."

Angela walked in the room with the glass, "Here you go, Sweetie. I poured some extra syrup in there to make it extra sugary for our mini-Booth."

Booth was certain that Brennan was going to complain about adding more chocolate syrup to an already plenty chocolately treat. Instead, she brought the glass to just under her nose. She sniffed at the liquid and shut her eyes as the smell of chocolate hit her olfactory sensory neurons and sent axons through her olfactory nerve and to her brain.

"Booth," she looked pointedly at him, "I expect one of these to be waiting for me when I get back."

B&B

"Parker? It's me."

"Dr. Bones?" she heard the muffled call come from the closet.

"Yep. We're home."

"Is dad out there, too?"

"No. He is in the living room. Jack said you were asking for me, so he wanted to give us some time alone. If you want him in here, I can call him in."

"No. I just want to talk to you."

"Okay. He understands. Hey, guess what."

"What?"

"I have chocolate milk here. There's extra syrup in it."

"But you always say that I can't have extra syrup."

"Well, this time it's okay." She sat on his bed and made herself comfortable. "And actually if you don't come and get it, I just might drink it all. Your baby brother seems to really want some chocolate right now."

"NO! I'll come out." He opened the door, and practically ran and jumped onto his bed. "You weren't really going to drink my milk, were you?"

"No. Your dad is supposed to be making me one, right now."

"Okay good. I really like chocolate milk."

"I know." She smiled at the boy as he chugged a fair amount of the milk. "Slow down. You don't want to make yourself sick."

"Uh, hello. I have the Booth family stomach of steel. I won't get sick." He said with the same cocky smile his father often wore as he pointed at his stomach. "How's your stomach?" He asked, moving one of his hands to her belly. "Mom said that you got really sick on the way to where you were going."

"I'm fine now. On our way to the islands, I did get motion sickness, but on the way home, Jack was kind enough to arrange better transportation for us so that I wouldn't get so sick. I think it worked."

"Good, I don't like it when you're sick, or when mom is sick, or when dad is sick, or me. Being sick is no fun."

"No it isn't. Hey Parker?"

"Yep?" He took another gulp of milk, and then set the glass down.

"Why haven't you come out of your closet since…" She trailed off not knowing how to put it delicately. Booth always told her she lacked tact.

"Since Brian killed my teammates and friends?"

"Yeah. I was trying to be more sensitive than that."

"Dr. Bones, one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you over anyone else is because you say things how they are and you don't treat me like a baby. Mom practically smothered me asking me if I was okay every two minutes. It was annoying, so I just decided to lock myself in my closet and ignored her."

"Why didn't you come out when Jack and Angela got here to take you with them to pick us up from the airport?"

"Well, because dad is like mom. Too many questions. I knew that the second he saw me, he wouldn't let me leave his sight. I need my space. I'm ten years old now."

"You are ten, and you do need your personal space. Your father knows that, but we came very close to losing you. He just wants to make sure you're okay. It's what parents do. You should feel lucky that you have your mom and dad…and me to make sure you're okay like that. Not everyone has that."

"Oh. You mean, like you didn't have after your parents left?"

"Yeah, like that, but I was lucky when they were there. My parents always made sure I was safe, and unfortunately that meant ultimately leaving Russ and me behind to protect our lives. However the foster parents I was placed with, they never cared enough to ask how I was."

"I'm sorry." He paused for a second. "I think I might have hurt mom's feelings."

"How so?"

"Well, I kept asking for you, and eventually she just left me food and left me alone."

"She didn't tell us this on the phone." Brennan said concerned. "But I can tell you that your father was also slightly hurt that you wanted to see me over him. He won't ever come out and say it, but I know him well enough to know that it did hurt him."

"I didn't mean to hurt him either."

"I know, baby." She reached her arms around him and pulled him into her side kissing the top of his head. "So, you know how you like it when I just say or ask what is on my mind?"

"Yeah."

"I have a few things to ask you. They may not be the easiest questions to answer. It may be harder to talk about than when I asked you about Brent, okay?"

"Okay."

"This is going to be difficult to talk about. I know; so take your time answering if you need to." Parker nodded and she continued, "I also need you to understand that this is just so that your dad and I know what you witnessed so that we can help you through this. This isn't official and will not be reported to the police. I understand that you have already given your statement, correct?" Parker nodded once more. "Okay good. First thing, I need to know. At the time that the shooting happened, where were you in relation to Brian?"

"I was on the same side of the gym. That's where it happened. It was P.E. and we were all playing dodge ball. We were supposed to be outside but it started snowing so they brought us in to play dodge ball. We were on the same team." He paused and looked up at Brennan as if he just figured out while all of this happened in the first place. He may not have known the connection between Brian and his dad, but he certainly figured out that this was about the All-Star hockey team. "We were on the same team, Bones." He repeated again, emotion finally seeping through. "He was one of my best friends."

"I know, baby. Can you tell me what happened?" She reached over to his nightstand, plucked a few tissues out of the box, and handed them to him.

He wiped his eyes and nose before speaking, "We were playing dodge ball, and I am not sure what happened to set it off, but he…he pulled the gun out of his sweatpants. He started firing at some of the kids across the line on the other team. It was so loud, Bones; it was so loud." He took a shuddering breath. "There were a lot of kids shot…and blood; there was so much blood. Kids were running everywhere. I couldn't just stand there."

"What do you mean by that?"

Parker looked at Brennan, dreading telling her what he did. Scared of telling her what he felt he had to do. He hadn't even told his mom. He told the police that questioned him, but only because his mom was not sitting there with him.

"I didn't run, but I couldn't just stand there and watch it happen."

"Parker, what did you do? You need to tell me. I don't mean to push you, but you're starting to scare me." Brennan said with tears in her eyes.

"I don't want you to be scared, Bones. I'm fine, okay. I'm here." He took the time to move away from Brennan slightly so that she could see that he was fine. He hugged one of his pillows as he began to talk again. "I did something that I don't think dad is going to like. I—" He paused again to take a deep breath. "I kicked the gun out of Brian's hand. It was risky, but I was behind him, and I had a clear shot to kick it away. It was already too late as it was. He shot so many people. I had just learned this really cool kick in martial arts, and it just seemed like the right thing to do, but I know that dad is going to hate me for not running and putting myself in danger like that. Mom too, she won't like that one bit. That's another reason I have stayed in my closet. I couldn't face mom after I didn't tell her what I did. It was almost like a lie, and they say in church that it isn't good to lie. It makes me feel bad when I do." Everything came out in a rush causing Brennan's head to spin trying to catch up to the information coming out of her stepson's mouth.

"Parker, come here," she held her arms open to him again and he willingly went into her embrace. "You did the right thing. Yes, it was dangerous, but you were in danger regardless of what you did. You may have saved many other students, including yourself. You know that, right? You did the right thing."

"I guess, but I still feel like I lied."

"Well, then, how about we talk to your dad? Is it okay if I go get him? I could really use that chocolate milk right now." He gave a knowing half smile to her, which she returned, relieved to see that he was truly okay. "But first, I have to ask you one more thing."

"Okay."

"How did you find out about the list?"

"Do you mean the list in general or how did I find out that I was on the list?"

"Both."

"I saw the list in Brian's hand as he looked at it between shots. It was almost as if he made sure not to get the wrong people. At the time, I couldn't make out what was on the list because I was trying to figure out what to do. After I kicked the gun to the ground the P.E. teacher rushed over to hold Brian down, and another coach ran over to the gun to make sure that no one touched it."

"Hmmm, maybe that coach would make a good addition to one of my crime scene teams."

"That's funny, Bones. I thought the same thing. I know how you are about your evidence. I heard dad chewing some poor guy out on the phone once." He laughed and then turned more serious when he continued. He was grateful that Bones was trying to lighten things up a little. "I found out that I was on the list from the cops that questioned me. I was shocked then, but I think I know why now. I realized it earlier. It was because of the All-Star team, right?"

"Yes, Parker."

Parker looked down and swallowed hard. He nodded and then looked back up.

"Dr. Bones?"

"Yes?"

"Are Angela and Jack still out there?"

"Yes, and so is Dr. Sweets. He wanted to make sure you were doing okay, too."

"Good, I want to see them. I feel bad for ignoring them earlier, and I like Sweets. Maybe he will play the Wii with me."

"Maybe. Do you still want me to bring your dad in? Or do you want to go out there?"

"Eh, I'll go out there. Jack and Angela are family. Sweets, too I guess. I think they'll all be glad to know I'm okay."

"Do you want me to tell your dad about your heroic actions or do you want to?"

"I'll tell him. I feel better having told you at least. I know I will feel even better if I tell him, too. And maybe I can show you all my awesome new kick!"

"Alright, then, let's get out there." Brennan stood, she wobbled slightly and Parker reached across to steady her in a motion that reminded her so much of his father.

So much like his father he really was. Always doing the right thing, no matter how scary or dangerous. It must be engrained in the Booth family DNA. She wondered what kind of Boothy attributes the child she was carrying was going to display in their future. It humbled and scared her at the same time. Booth was a good man, but sometimes his actions scared her. Now Parker was displaying some of the same characteristics. It only stood to reason that their offspring would turn out the same way.

Leave a review to me know what you think.

XOXO,
CrayonClown