A/N: So this chapter starts out kind of sad, but becomes light and sweet in the end to give you guys and angst break! Hope you like it, and please review :)

Parker woke suddenly, from his restless sleep. He didn't know what woke him, because the house was silent. He sat up slightly, and winced. His back was sore, and his head was hurting. He thought about the past two weeks, and teared up. He didn't understand. Was he being bad? He didn't think so. Even when he went out of his way to be a good boy for his mom, it seemed like he couldn't do anything right. He got out of bed and walked into his Dad's room. The door was cracked, and he peeked his head through the threshold.

"Daddy?" He whispered, his voice cracking.

He saw a figure sit up, and get up quickly from the bed.

"Is everything alright, Parker?" Brennan's voice asked.

He shook his head as tears streamed out of his eyes. "I'm scared." He croaked out.

She got out of the bed, and walked over to the small boy, kneeling down in front of him. "You don't have to be afraid here, Parker. It's safe here, and we will never hurt you. Do you understand?" She said.

He continued crying, and he shook his head. "That's what Mommy said, but she lied. She hurt me." He sobbed.

Just then, Booth sat up and said, "What's going on, Bones?"

Parker looked up at his dad's voice. "Daddy, don't take me back to Mommy. She hurts me. I wanna stay here. Can I please?"

Booth go out of the bed and wrapped his arms around his son. "You don't ever have to go back, Buddy. You can stay here. There's no is your home, and you'll always have a place here." He said.

Booth picked his son up and and kissed his hair. "You stay in our room tonight, okay? You sleep with us. It'll be alright."

Parker nodded, and Booth laid him down in the middle of the bed. Brennan stayed where she was and looked at Booth questioningly.

"Bones?" Parker said, "Will you snuggle with me?" he asked.

Brennan smiled and nodded. "Of course." She said, lying back down and wrapping her arms around the small boy's body. "How's that?" she asked.

Booth placed his arms over Brennan's arms and settled. Parker fell asleep quickly, and Brennan kissed the boy's curly hair. Booth witnessed this gesture and smiled. Brennan shrugged and smiled back.

The next morning Christine's phone buzzed, and she opened it up. There was a text from Zack, reading: "Here."

She opened her bedroom door and tiptoed towards the front door making sure she was quiet.

"Going somewhere?" Booth's voice sounded from the kitchen.

Christine jumped, and followed the voice.

"How'd you hear me?" She asked.

"Sniper training. They teach us how to listen really closely." He said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just going for a quick walk with Zack so he can give me my birthday present." She said.

"Were you going to ask, or did you just figure we can read minds?" He asked.

"Hey I thought you were asleep." She said defensively. "I left a note on my bed. It's not like I was sneaking out." She said.

He nodded. "Alright. But be back soon. We have a lot of stuff to do here today."

She was walking towards the door and said, "Yeah. I'll be back soon, I promise."

Christine rushed down the stairs, and met Zack in front of the building.

"Hey" She said.

Zack smiled and said, "Hey Chrissy. Happy late birthday."

"Thanks. You wanna go for a walk?" She asked.

He nodded and followed her in the direction that she was walking in.

When they were tired of walking, Christine suggested that they sit on a park bench.

"Christine, I'm sorry that your birthday wasn't all you expected it to be." Zack said as they sat down.

She nodded. "I'm not really upset about that. I'm... I'm just upset for Parker, and I wish that it hadn't happened. Not because it's my birthday, but because he's my brother, and I don't want anything bad to happen to him." She explained.

Zack listened intently, and pulled something out of his pocket. "Well, I got you a birthday present. Maybe it could maybe make you feel better?" He said.

Christine perked up and took the box. "What is it?" She asked eagerly.

He shrugged. "Open it up." He urged.

She ripped off the wrapping paper, and opened the box. There she saw a charm bracelet with three charms on it. One was a bone, the second was a music note and the last was a Chinese word. It was shiny and new, and the charms dangled evenly from the bracelet.

"Oh, Zack. It's beautiful." She whispered, examining the charms.

"That one..." He said, pointing at the bone. "...is a symbol for your bright future in forensic anthropology. I know you're not sure if you want to major in that or psychology, but I picked a bone because I know how gifted you are in anthropology, and I know that your future is very bright." He said.

He pointed to the next one, the music note, and smiled. "This one is a symbol for the first time I heard you sing. Remember in your mom's office? It was a really beautiful sound, and I wanted to hear more of it. Can I maybe hear you sing again sometime?" He asked.

She looked up at him and blushed. "Maybe."

He smiled and nodded, a little bit of home creeping into him.

She picked up the next one and asked, "What's this? Chinese?"

He nodded. "It's the Chinese symbol for strength. Your life story... It's hard to hear sometimes, because I hate how people have treated you. You've been forgotten, and neglected; but you... You're strong, Christine. You're really strong. You've been through things that I can't even imagine, and you've taken care of Kasey... I wish I had your kind of strength." He said.

She smiled tearfully at him, and choked on her words. "That means a lot, Zack. I... Nobody has ever told me that I'm strong. Thank you. I love my gift. It's very beautiful." She said, trying to clip it on.

"Here, let me." He said, taking the bracelet. He clipped it on her wrist and she jingled it a few times.

"I'll get you some more charms, and you can buy some yourself if you want. I think it looks very pretty on you." He said, admiring her flawless skin.

She hugged him tightly, and said. "Thank you, Zack. It really is beautiful. You didn't have to do this." She said.

Smiling, he shrugged. "I wanted to. You're... you're my friend." He said, thinking of how weird it sounded.

She laughed. "How ever lame this sounds... you're my only friend at the moment." She said.

"Don't worry." He began. "You'll make plenty of friends when school starts. You have many features in which other social individuals find attractive."

She gave Zack a confused look, and asked, "Are you saying I'm hot?"

Zack turned a deep pink color in the cheek area. "N-no... I meant that you are very intelligent, and funny... a-and you posses qualities in which other appreciate." He tried to explain.

"Like being hot?" She teased.

"Uh...I.." He stammered.

She laughed, and got up from the bench. "I'm just messing with you, Zack! Now come on, have to get back home."

Zack, still flustered, nodded and stood up. "Yeah, okay."

Christine smiled, and rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, did I permenantly damage your virgin ears?" She asked teasingly."

"Let's just go." He mumbled.

Christine knew she was on the verge of crossing the line, so she nodded and shut up.

"Thank again for my gift." Christine said as they stood in front of the apartment building.

He nodded. "I'm glad you like it so much. I see you later." He said.

As Christine began to walk towards the door, Zack said, "Oh, and by the way; I'm not a virgin. Nowhere near in fact."

Christine's mouth dropped, and Zack smiled. "See you later!" He called out from inside the cab he hailed.

Flabbergasted, Christine climbed up the stairs and up the her apartment.

A/N: I'm going to leave it there for now. If you have any suggestions for me, let me know. And please review! I've gotten less and less reviews lately, and I don't know if it's because no one's reading anymore, of if it's no good anymore. So, please if you enjoy my story, just write me a little note to let me know! Thank you for reading! XOXO- Mary