Disclaimer - I don't own Bones.

So, I have a few things to say... First, I'm sorry but I'm not going to be able to post a chapter next week. I've got 3 essays to write this week that I've been putting off and I can't put them off any longer :( Yeah, school's lame like that sometimes. Second, THANK YOU! Reader, reviewers, my beta(NerdyGerl) - ya'll are awesome! Happy reading :D

Chapter 38

Taking a deep breath, Brennan looked to each of her boys and after a moment of hesitation, began speaking, "Well... first of all I'd like to apologize to you two, Parker and Sidney. I was unaware of how you've been feeling lately and I'm sincerely sorry for that. I am still unaccustomed to being a full-time parent, and while I am learning…" She paused and looked between the boys. It was evident in her expression just how truly heartfelt her apology was. "I still don't know, what that is exactly that you're feeling, but I want to help you as best as I can and I hope you can share it with me."

She now looked to Booth who nodded, reassuring her.

"I admit that lately I have been more preoccupied than usual with Elsie and with my pregnancy. And while I love all my children the same - you two, Elsie, this baby," she said as she laid her hands on her belly and shot a watery smile at her partner. "This is not my first child, but it is my first pregnancy. All of these changes going on inside my body are ones that I've never experienced before and sometimes that scares and distracts me. However, I find that I feel extremely bad that I lost sight of the other important things in my life."

Guilt hadn't been the response Brennan was hoping for when she spoke, but it was definitely what Parker and Sidney were feeling at that moment.

"It-it's alright," Sidney started out.

Then Parker cut in. "Yeah, Bones, we understand. A lot of stuff has happened to us, but I kinda forgot how much change happened for you guys. We're sorry, too."

Wiping a fallen tear, she sniffed. "Thank you. I just want everyone to be pleased with the way our lives are playing out - lately I've come to realize that what I thought would bring me happiness is not my work or my achievements as a scientist, I now find great satisfaction in my family. When all of you are happy, I'm happy and when you're sad I feel the need to make everything better. Your father taught me that."

Booth was beyond proud at the scene that had just taken place in front of him. He'd never expected Bones to be so open in this setting, but like always, she was a constant surprise. Admitting her thoughts and fears aloud? It was a miracle by his standards. A damn beautiful miracle. Parker and Sidney had handled it so well, too. They were good boys. He was helping to raise good sons, and that simple fact gave him more peace of mind than he had had going into this meeting. He was simply blown away, maybe the rest of this meeting wouldn't be so bad.

"Booth," Brennan said, brows raised in expectation. "I believe that it is now your turn."

Then again maybe he was wrong.

Six eyes were turned on him, waiting for his feelings to come forth.

"Well, uhh..." he stumbled, his eyes downcast and voice matching that feeling. "It's hard to follow Bones after that, but right now, at the moment, I'm angry." he looked at his sons, realizing what he'd said and corrected himself hastily. "I'm angry at myself for not noticing that anything was even wrong until Sweets pointed it out. And I should have figured it out - I should have seen that something was off and been able to do something about it before it came to this, a family meeting. I mean who has family meetings anymore?" he half-heartedly asked, trying to lighten the mood.

A few chuckles escaped the others at the lame attempt at a joke.

"So basically I really just want to help you guys, but you gotta tell me what's wrong. What happened today?" He looked pointedly at each boy, lips pursed, hoping that he was not accusing them with his tone.

Parker looked down guiltily before he locked eyes with his father. "I think what happened was kinda my fault, so... I guess I'll go first."

But Booth stopped him there. This was what he had feared - Parker and Sidney blaming themselves. They were still just children, trying to learn and grow, and Booth belatedly realized that they were learning from him. He was hardly communicator of the year. He was now just starting to learn how bottling up his own feelings could affect his children. "I don't think anything that happened earlier today was anyone's fault, Parks. No one can blame you for feeling a certain way. What's upsetting you?"

The boy shrugged, unsure of whether he actually believed that to be true or not. "I-I... you..." pausing he took a deep breath and looked to Brennan and Booth. "You told me last," he mumbled.

"We told you what last, Parker?" Brennan questioned gently.

"That the baby was a girl." He ignored the looks from his parents as he said it, he needed to get this out. "Sweets said that you didn't mean anything by it, and that I shouldn't take it personally, and that you probably had your reasons why, but from my end they all just sound like excuses to me. I'm your son, I get that Sidney and Elsie and this baby are your kids too now, and you love us all the same, but then why did you tell me last? Why didn't I get told with Sidney? Or at least before somebody? Did you just forget about me?"

Parker took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice and continued. "I know you didn't really 'choose' to love me like Sidney and Elsie, cause I'm your kid, you have to no matter what, but I still think I deserved to know I was gonna have a sister before some people." Parker finished with tears rolling down his face, mirroring the ones on his Dad's.

Brennan and Sidney were both on the verge of breaking as well.

Booth started fiercely, "Parker-"

Brennan laid a gentle hand on Booth's arm, stopping him from continuing. "Booth, I think it would be better if we let Sidney say what he needs to before we talk about this, don't you think? Isn't that what Sweets told us?"

As a matter of fact it was exactly what Sweets had told them. He'd been fearful that overly comforting one child before the other had the chance to state their own feelings could potentially affect their confidence in themselves, making them less likely to share their feelings.

Looking from Brennan to Parker, then to Sidney, and then back to Brennan, Booth agreed with her point. Looking to the younger boy, Booth asked, "What would you like to share, Sidney?"

The thought of speaking his thoughts in front of other people caused the boy's breathing to become shallow. Especially when he imagined what Parker would think of him. It was one thing to tell your parents about your feelings, but telling your brother and best friend would just be humiliating. Maybe Parker wouldn't understand, would think that Sidney was just a big baby, and not want the boy for a brother anymore. But if this was what he had to do to stay a part of this family, he'd find a way to push through his fears.

Sidney took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "S-som-somtimes I g-g-get sca-scared that I'm g-gonna do something t-to make you get r-rid of me. Parker said that wha-what happened earlier w-was his f-fault and you s-said it was n-nobody's fault, but i-it f-feels like it wa-was mine. I was the one th-that brought up t-the b-baby in the first pl-place, it was m-my fault. And I-I don't w-want t-to go back, p-please." His voice cracked on the last word as the tears finally spilled over, making their way down his cheeks.

"Please d-don't s-send me away. And d-don't ch-change or... or make me do the phonebooks..." He knew it was childish to beg for things and begging would do nothing to change whether something happened eventually or not. Nonetheless he continued, "Please... please, I-I don't w-wanna d-do the phonebooks!"

Sobs, one after another, came from the boy as he curled in upon himself. His arms were now wrapped around his legs as he cried into them. Seeing his brother in his current condition unsettled Parker further and more his own tears poured out.

It was a heart crushing sight, seeing their boys across from them, crying amongst themselves, and the partners could take it no longer. Each going to the child directly across from them, Booth to Parker and Brennan to Sidney, they enveloped each boy in their arms, murmuring comforting words.

"Shhhh it's okay," Brennan comforted Sidney while next to her Booth did the same. "We won't do the phonebooks, I promise. We'll never do phonebooks, Baby."

Over Parker's head Booth gave his partner a questioning look, no doubt wondering how she was able to know what 'phonebooks' meant, or whether she really did at all.

Covertly shaking her head in the negative, Brennan mouthed, 'not now' to him. She'd tell him later.

The partners gave up on the comforting words and stayed silent, holding their boys close, trying to convey their love to them through touch. Communicating with their eyes, the partners both reached out a hand and clasped them together, giving each other strength.

Eventually - seconds, minutes, hours, they didn't know - there came a time when Brennan's eyes started to droop. Sidney's cries had finished some time ago and he was unmoving in her embrace, possibly asleep, she did not know. The answer came not a moment later when the boy slowly pulled back from her, jolting her from her tired state.

Sadly, the boy looked at his Mom's shoulder and said, "I'm s-sorry about your shirt."

Absently, the anthropologist brought her hand up to touch the wetness his tears had caused. "The shirt's not important, Sidney. Are you alright?"

"Yes," the boy lied.

Brennan saw right through it. When it came to Sidney there was a connection between them, a certain bond between two people from similar situations.

"It's okay if you're not," she told him gently as she watched Parker pull back from Booth. "Both of you," she spoke to Parker now too. "I wouldn't expect you to be fine."

She turned to address Parker more easily. "Parker, I need you to listen to me very closely okay? Because this is the truth - I always tell the truth don't I?"

He nodded, yes, she always told him the truth.

"Maybe it is biologically programmed into your father that he must love you, but I can guarantee, that his love is not any less special than the love he has for me or for your brother and sisters. Your Dad," she continued glancing at the man himself. "He is a big believer in fate and in God's plan. He believes that all of us were meant to be brought together for a reason, that it was destined. So it doesn't actually matter where you came from, that maybe you weren't a conscious choice of his, he loves you all the same."

"While I may not believe in those things as he does, I can personally promise you that you are loved by me. I love you like a son. When somebody asks me how many kids I have, I'll tell them that I have two sons and two daughters."

Looking behind him to his Dad, Parker asked, "Is what she said true, Dad?"

"Of course, Bub. Every last word. And you wanna' know something else? Until Friday, I was dying to tell you about the baby! But, you know... I just wanted it to be special, I wanted to tell you in person and you weren't coming over till Friday, so I waited, and then I just blurted it out in the car. In hindsight, I probably should have figured out a way to tell you sooner, and I'm sorry that I didn't. I'm really sorry I didn't. And Bones and me, both of us, we'll be better. You don't get to live with us full-time, but we don't want you to feel left out. Even when you are not here, we'll never forget about you. I promise you that."

The older boy nodded his understanding. Sweets had explained almost exactly that to him earlier, he should have believed him. But then again, he felt really good after getting it off his chest to his father. And even if he was growing up, he wasn't too old to still need his dad.

Then Booth lifted his head to Sidney, trying to convey his truthfulness with his eyes. "Bud, I promise you. Me and Bones? We aren't ever going to change our minds about you. And I know that somewhere deep inside you do know that, that you've known only the bad side of people for so long it's hard to imagine that there are good ones."

Brennan cut in. "I know what you're feeling Sidney," she said quietly. "So does Booth. I can see it as clearly as my bones at work. And I also know that words probably mean very little to you, you don't know us that well and you probably don't trust us yet either, but we'll do everything we can to gain it, okay? We'll follow through on what we say; you just have to be patient. One day you'll find that you will no longer only see the bad."

She'd tried to use simple terms to get her point across to the boy, and she hoped that maybe her words had comforted him in the slightest bit. Though his silence made her nervous.

"Do you get what we're saying, Sid?" Booth asked.

Slowly he nodded, his eyes darting back and forth between his parents. "I want to trust you," he whispered. "But it's hard."

Once again the partner's eyes met over their boy's heads, a pain-filled glance passing between them. One thing Brennan had learned from becoming a parent was the anguish she felt when her child was hurting.

"We understand, Sidney," she said. "Everything happens eventually, you'll just have to be patient."

Booth gave her a knowing smile.

Not much later, Booth and Brennan stood side by side at the kitchen sink washing the leftover dishes from dinner and the well-deserved ice cream they'd consumed after the meeting's conclusion. The boys had gone to bed just minutes prior. They had remained mostly quiet for the rest of the evening, emotionally drained, but they had hugged their parents good-night, and had worked up the energy to good-naturedly fight over who got to use the bathroom first. It was mostly for the benefit of their parents, but it did feel good to tease each other a bit without truly hurting feelings.

"That was tougher than I expected," Booth commented, breaking their companionable silence as he handed over a clean bowl to be dried.

"Yes," Brennan replied absently as she wiped the bowl. "Though I knew it would be beforehand, I was still caught off guard." She put away the dried dish.

Booth shut off the tap, handing his partner the last dish. "I think it was good though, I think we needed it."

Brennan nodded, and closed the cupboard, turning sideways against the counter. "We should probably thank Sweets, you know."

"Yeah, probably." He sighed. "It's probably gonna suck. I hate it when he's right."

She looked pointedly at him. "After what happened today, I think it will be bearable. I highly doubt that he'll flaunt it. He'll just be happy that we were successful."

"Maybe." He pushed off from the counter, jotting his head toward the bedroom. "I'm heading to bed, you coming?"

Pushing off herself, she said, "In a minute, I'm going to check on the kids."

Accepting her need to be close to them right now, and forcing back his own, Booth went to bed as Brennan headed the opposite way.

She peeked at Elsie first, tiptoeing silently to the crib, placing a soft kiss on her forehead with a whispered 'I love you', and revering in the content little sigh that followed.

Next she entered Parker and Sidney's room. Both boys were in bed as she had expected, seemingly asleep.

She headed toward the bottom bunk first, smoothing back Parker's curls, and touching her lips to his forehead. "Sweet dreams, I love you."

He stirred but did not wake.

Silently, Brennan planted her feet on the edge of the bottom bed to reach high on the top. After placing a kiss on Sidney's forehead she pulled back surprised to see half asleep green eyes staring tiredly back at her. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear as she softly said, "I love you, Sid. Sweet dreams."

Once again closing his eyes the rest of the way, Sidney mumbled, "Love you too, Mom."

Brennan left the room stunned.

She walked to her room in a dazed state, wondering whether she had heard her son correctly, and fighting with herself over what she hoped was the truth. In her bedroom, the light was already off and a lump was on the right. She lifted the covers automatically and climbed in, scooting to the center and laying her head on Booth's shoulder.

A moment of silence passed before she whispered to him, "Sidney called me Mom."

As he looked down, his brown eyes met Brennan's blue ones. And under the glow from the full moon, he smiled, kissed her hairline, and they both drifted off for the night.

Please review! Ya'll were practically begging for this chapter, so let me know what you think! Please?