Booth was lying on his back in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He sighed and absently stroked Ryder's back as the toddler slept on his chest. Craning his neck, he pressed a kiss to his son's hair.
Ryder stirred, but didn't wake, only gathering the fabric of his dad's shirt in his fists.
Brennan, who was lying on the opposite side with Parker curled up against her side between the two adults, reached over carefully and poked Booth in the shoulder. She gave him a sleepy smile when he glanced at her, even though she'd been up for an hour already, and shifted under the covers. "I imagine you're quite nervous about the inevitable confrontation with Rebecca this morning. Is that why you can't sleep?"
Booth shrugged, but then changed his mind and nodded. "Like you said, Bones, it's inevitable, but I just don't want to make things worse, you know?"
"I don't see how things could be worse." She traced his jaw with her index finger and offered him a soft smile.
"But I know the alternative of me not saying anything and I can't live with that. I'm tired of her games. She's taken this whole thing too far by even considering taking Parker out of the country."
She continued to stroke his jaw and then moved her hand down his neck to his shoulder, kneading her fingers into his skin and muscles, in attempt to relieve some of the tension. She was careful not to move too much; she didn't want to wake Parker up. "If she does, we'll just follow her."
He laughed, but abruptly stopped when he realized she wasn't joking. "Oh, you're serious."
She gave him an odd look and furrowed her brows. "Yes. I am a world-renowned forensic anthropologist, Booth. I'm the best in my field. My expertise is valued all over the world. It wouldn't be difficult for me to find work and I could always teach."
"Bones, that's crazy."
"It wouldn't be ideal, but it's still an option." She dropped her hand from his shoulder and started weaving it through Parker's curls. She glanced down at the sleeping boy as he rolled onto his stomach, still deep asleep. "You will both benefit from having each other in your lives."
"Bones, stop, just stop. We are not moving to England."
"Well, would you object to vacationing there several times a year if Rebecca and Parker do, in fact, move. We could purchase a second domicile and split time between there and D.C." She paused. "I realize you had a difficult time acclimating to the lifestyle and customs the last we were in England, so you may not be amendable to this idea."
"Yeah, England and I don't get along very well, but it's a good Plan B. I'd sacrifice everything, even my sanity, for Parker."
She closed her eyes and stifled a yawn.
"Go back to bed, Bones."
She nodded, though she was already halfway back to sleep.
He relaxed and closed his eyes, thinking about what he was going to say to Rebecca when she came by later.
Sometime after breakfast, which no one really ate, Booth was sitting on the couch with Ryder on his lap. He was looking up stupid Youtube videos and they were watching them together. He couldn't get enough of the sound of his son's laugh and with each new video, it seemed to get louder. He looped his arm around his son and clicked play on another video.
Meanwhile, Brennan was in the kitchen, cleaning up and putting away the leftover pancakes. She glanced over at Parker, who sat at the kitchen table engrossed in a particularly difficult level of Angry Birds on her iPad. She occasionally heard a grunt, a groan, or a hushed yes from him, but otherwise he was silent. "Is your bag packed?"
"Take that, stupid pig."
"Excuse me?"
Parker shook his head and looked over at Brennan. He held up the device and pointed to the screen. "I wasn't talking to you. I beat the level."
"Ah, I see." She paused. "Is your bag packed?"
"Yep."
"Your mother is going to be here soon. Put the iPad down and go get dressed."
Recognizing her no-nonsense tone, he set the iPad on the tabletop, grumbling. He stood up and headed for the stairs.
She shut the refrigerator, draped the damp towel over the lip of the sink, and went into the living room.
When he heard footsteps, Booth looked up from the laptop screen.
Ryder chose that moment to slam his hands against the keyboard, inadvertently pressing the spacebar. He pointed at the screen as a video started to play and bobbed his head to the background music. He wiggled around on his dad's lap and let out a string of husky giggles when a gorilla started dancing. "Da-Da."
Booth took his eyes away from Brennan and glanced at the video.
"Der."
"You like the gorilla?"
"Gilla," Ryder jabbered.
"Yeah. He is kinda funny, huh?" Booth asked when the gorilla turned to the camera and shook his butt.
Ryder pouted his lips when the video came to an end. He leaned forward and slammed his hands against the keyboard again. It worked the last time, right? He did a little shrug with his shoulders and did it again when the video refused to play.
Before the toddler broke the keyboard, Booth pressed the spacebar, causing the video to start again.
Ryder squealed, reaching out and grasping at the screen. "Gilla."
Brennan smiled and started walking towards them when the doorbell rang.
Booth stiffened and looked at Brennan.
She made her way to the couch and lifted Ryder up, settling the toddler on her hip. She pushed the lid down before scooping her laptop up, holding it under her arm. "I will keep Parker and Ryder occupied while you speak with Rebecca."
Booth nodded. As much as he wanted her there, he knew he needed to talk to Rebecca alone. "Thanks, Bones." He blew Ryder a kiss, and unexpectedly, Ryder reached out and grasped at the air.
When the doorbell rang again, Brennan gave Booth one last smile before leaving the room. She set her laptop down momentarily to answer the door. "Booth is in the living room." She grabbed her computer and padded up the steps.
Booth needed to calm down. His jaw was clenched, his hands were balled up into tight fists, and his eyes were pinched shut. Rebecca had just gotten done explaining her side of it all, but he was still unsure of one thing. "Why? Because it seems awfully suspicious that you've decided to take this job now even though you've been offered it before."
Rebecca shifted on the couch. "Grow up, Seeley. Not everything is about you."
"Well, this isn't just about you either, Rebecca. You obvious couldn't care less how this new opportunity is going to affect our son."
"Don't you dare say that. I'm doing because of him," she defended.
He clenched and unclenched his fists and let out a frustrated growl. "You know I can't just let you take Parker out of the country, right?"
"I didn't have to tell you I was moving, Seeley. I'm doing you a favor."
"Some favor," he muttered. "I didn't want it to come to this, but maybe we should go to court." The sound of laughter echoed from upstairs and he saw Rebecca shutter. He narrowed his eyes and then it hit him. "This isn't just about the bigger paycheck and better benefits, is it, Rebecca? That's all just to disguise the real reason you decided to accept the job offer this time around. You're doing this because you feel threatened." After a brief pause, he continued, "Parker's been asking you to spend more time here, hasn't he?" When she didn't answer, he raised his voice and asked again. "Hasn't he?" He shook his head, getting even more frustrated when she still remained silent. He didn't need her to answer, though; he knew he was right.
She shifted uncomfortably. "She's not his mother," she mumbled.
Her voice was so low that he barely heard her, but he did. "And she's not trying to be." He paused. "And you think I'm selfish? Wow." Wow, he mouthed.
"I—."
"No, no, you don't get to talk because I don't want to hear your explanation, excuse, or whatever the Hell you want to call it. You don't like that Parker wants to spend more and more time here, so when your boss came to you asking if you were finally ready to accept this transfer, you jumped at the opportunity, not because it pays more or offers more benefits, but because it would take him away from her."
She stood up and walked towards the stairs only to come face to face with Parker and Brennan, who was standing behind him. She took a step back and smiled. "Parker, Honey, we're going home."
Parker shook his head. "No, I don't want to." He turned and disappeared upstairs again.
Brennan adjusted Ryder on her hip and looked at Rebecca, narrowing her eyes at the blonde. "Goodbye, Rebecca." She cleared the last step and walked into the living room.
"I'm taking Parker home," Rebecca said, stepping closer to the staircase.
Brennan stopped and turned back around. "This is my house. You're not welcome. Goodbye."
"And Parker's my son."
"He's mine too," Booth seethed from the couch.
"Parker obviously does not wish to go with you and whatever method you choose to get him to go with you will likely result in physical evidence that can be used against you if Booth decides to take you to court. I should also remind you that I'm trained in three types of martial arts and though I'm still recovering, I will risk my own health to make sure you do not hurt Parker."
Rebecca got the message and left, slamming the door a little harder than was necessary.
Brennan relaxed and kissed Ryder on the top of his head. "Let's go see daddy, RJ." She carried the toddler into the living room and set him down on Booth's lap. "Are you okay?" Sitting down, she rested her hand on top of one of his fists.
Booth nodded, starting to relax a little with Brennan's presence beside him and her soft touch.
"I'm sorry. I tried to keep Parker upstairs, but I wanted to make sure you were alright and I told Parker to stay with RJ, but he insisted on following me."
He shook his head. "Why are you apologizing?"
"Because Parker shouldn't have heard what you and Rebecca were discussing, at least not yet."
"That was pretty tame. We've had more heated arguments over the years."
"Am I—do you think I'm overstepping my boundaries?"
"Don't listen to her, Bones. She's jealous and being petty. You're not doing anything wrong. If loving my son the way you do is wrong, then please, please never do what's right." He flashed her a smile, the tension and irritation in his body slowly melting away with each absent stroke of her thumb against his hand.
She leaned into him, and resting one hand on his cheek, she pressed her lips against his. She slid her hand around and cupped the back of his neck, arching into the kiss.
One arm snaked around her back and he pulled her closer.
Ryder squealed, nuzzling in between his parents.
She pulled back abruptly and looked down at the small body pressed against her. Smiling, she sat back and glanced at Booth. "I'm going to go make sure Parker's okay." She stood and left the room.
He looped an arm around Ryder and dropped a kiss on the top of his head. "Your mom's amazing, Bub, but you already knew that, huh?"
Ryder wiggled and looked up at his dad, beaming. "Ya," he jabbered.
He tapped the toddler on the nose, eliciting a giggle from him, and smiled. Nodding, he helped Ryder down, seeing as he was getting squirmy, and watched him toddle over to his toys and proceed to dump them all out. He shook his head and allowed his body to relax and forget about what had happened not even five minutes before.
