AN: Okay, I'm skipping ahead (again) because if I continue day by day this story will never end! Did that make any sense? Clear as mud, huh. Okay. This chapter takes place several months after their vacation in Myrtle Beach and I really want to include Parker in all these ramblings about home, family and such.
Chapter 44 Museums and 'Marital' Arts
Temperance sped as quickly as she dared down Rebecca's street, pulling her silver sports car to a stop in front of the house and immediately exited the vehicle. Jogging to the front door she rang the bell and was soon rewarded with calls of "Daddy! Daddy! Dr. Bones!" as Parker rushed out to meet her.
Rebecca opened the door and Parker launched himself into Temperance's waiting arms; he squirmed and looked around before asking,
"Dr. Bones, where's Daddy?" she smiled as she collected his overnight bag from Rebecca and they walked to her car.
"He's in a long, boring meeting at work and asked me to pick up a little leprechaun and take him to…" she paused, allowing Parker to fill in their destination.
"The park! The zoo! Jeffis-onian? Ice cream!" She laughed at his enthusiasm.
"Daddy's not in that long of a meeting, buddy. How about the Jeffersonian and when Daddy's done we'll get dinner and ice cream?" Temperance compromised, as she buckled Parker into his booster seat.
"Yeah!" he agreed happily, eager to visit the museum again.
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Two hours later, Booth found them in the natural history wing of the expansive museum, Temperance balancing Parker on her hip so he could see the large display of insects up close. As he drew near he could hear his son say,
"That one's pretty, Dr. Bones."
"It's a blue morph butterfly, Parker. And yes, it is very pretty."
"She's shiny, Dr. Bones." Temperance nodded and shifted the child's weight slightly.
"Actually, Parker, it's a boy butterfly."
"How a come the boy's pretty and shiny?"
"He's iridescent because males use their coloration for intrasexual communication."
"Iri- what?" Before Temperance could continue the lesson, Parker spotted Booth approaching.
"Daddy!" he shouted, but made no effort to move from Temperance's arms, "Look atta blue, boy butterfly!"
"I see him, Parker," Booth pouted in exaggeration. "Don't I get a hug?" He asked, smiling widely when Parker squirmed from Temperance's grasp to his father.
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"Children! Seriously, just a couple of children!" Temperance yelled from the kitchen as she dried the dinner dishes. The 'children', Seeley and Parker, were rough housing in the living room, having pushed aside the furniture and begun wrestling with vigor. Frequent crashing and shouts of victory and defeat carried through the small space, but Temperance could hear Seeley smiling and Parker's giggles.
The room quieted, which usually indicated an injury. Temperance threw aside her drying towel and moved to the first aid cabinet and was reaching for the door when Parker ran in the kitchen and attached himself to her legs. She smiled, enjoying the weekends Booth had custody of his son more than she'd ever let on.
"Hey, Parker. Are you having fun?"
"Uh huh," he nodded seriously, tugging on her hand until she squatted down to his eye level.
"Daddy says you're a marital artist expert, just like you're a bones expert!" Temperance smiled as his mispronunciation, as nothing could be further from the truth.
"Yes, Parker. I practice martial arts."
"Can you play with me? Please, Mommy?" She was already nodding when he called her 'mommy,' a term he'd only ever applied to Rebecca and his first grade teacher once when he got sick in class. Temperance froze, not sure what to say. Should I correct him? Ask him to call me Dr. Bones?
"Yeah!" the boy cheered, dragging Temperance to the living room. She pushed aside her fears and worries and focused on the wrestling, quickly tiring out Parker who then sat on the couch and watched as his Daddy and Dr. Bones continued to spar, albeit on their hands and knees, with enthusiasm. Parker had fallen asleep, despite the excitement, by the time Temperance was spent, exhausted from the play. Resting on the floor, curled up to Booth's side he gently kissed her temple.
"Thank you, Bones. It meant a lot to Parker." With the simple reminder of the little boy who called her 'Mommy,' fear coursed through her veins and gripped her heart. Temperance stood abruptly and moved to their bedroom.
"I need a shower. Can you get him into bed, please? We need to talk." Temperance walked down the hallway, ignoring Booth's response. She stood in the shower, letting the water wash over her and rinse away her sweat and tears. But her muscles refused to relax and her worries remained. The water was running cool and her fingers starting to resemble prunes when she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel.
"Temperance." She visibly jumped as Booth called to her from the doorway, watching her towel dry her hair.
"Booth, you scared me." She tried to brush past him into their bedroom. "Is Parker in bed?" But he held a strong arm at her waist, gently pushing her back.
"Booth, stop. I need to get dressed. We're dropping off Parker early tomorrow and I promised him waffles in the morning."
"Temperance. You are not avoiding me or whatever this is. Talk to me." He reached up to gently tug at her necklace, the heart, his heart, which she always wore. Guilt tore through the scientist and she suddenly wished for the cold comfort of the lab, to be surrounded by her bones and concerned with nothing more than the cause of death.
Instead she looked Booth in the eye and asked him simply to sit on the bed and wait while she dressed. He complied and watched her as she dressed in her favorite pajamas and took her seat next to him, pulling her legs underneath her.
"Parker called me 'Mommy,'" she started, her voice soft and wavering slightly.
"Oh, Bones." His hand was on her knee, as he calculated how much his son's mistake could cost him.
"Let me finish, Booth." He nodded and waited for her to continue. "Of course I freaked out initially, but in the middle of that last tickle fight, I thought, it wouldn't be too bad. Which caused me to freak out again. I don't know yet what this means. I don't know what Parker was thinking or feeling I just know that I am not prepared to be a mother, in any capacity." She hung her head, ashamed of her confession, knowing he must hate her inadequacies as much as she did.
"Bones, look at me." She did. "You have nothing to worry about. Most likely Parker just slipped instead of calling you Dr. Bones. Thank you for telling me."
"You're welcome." To her she sounded weak and pathetic. He smiled and stood, pacing in front of the bed.
"I have some questions for you, will you answer them without knowing why I'm asking?" She gave her assent and he began.
"What kind of waffles will Parker eat tomorrow?"
"Blueberry with syrup and powdered sugar."
"What are we doing next weekend?"
"Meeting with my publisher, Parker's soccer game and dinner with Angela and Jack."
"Why did I stop gambling?"
"Parker was born."
"What did we buy Parker for his birthday next month?"
"A Gameboy and a chemistry set."
"What did we agree not to buy Parker for his birthday?"
"A puppy."
"Why would you possibly think you would be a bad mother when you're already so amazing at the job?"
Temperance was speechless. She'd answered his previous questions so quickly, without thinking, that she had to stop herself before she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. Because I'm just like my mother. Because she left me. Because I don't want to leave Parker like my mother left me. Booth sat on the bed again and pulled her into a soft embrace.
"Temperance, you don't have to answer that last question, as long as you think about it now and then. I'm serious when I say that I would never have dated you, have lived with you had you been anything but wonderful with Parker." He felt her tense in his arms and continued. "I'm not talking about being perfect, no parent is, I'm talking about how much you care, your attention to detail, how committed you are to his health and happiness. It's more than I would have asked of you and you did it all on your own. Whether you have the title or not, you're one of Parker's mothers and I hope you know how much that means to me."
END Chapter
AN: I know that it seems like I just cut this chapter short but there's a good reason. Namely, things are not settled yet, Bones is in flux, trying to figure out her role here. The next chapter we'll figure out what Bones is thinking, without delving too much into a case or other problems.
BN: Okay. So that's two chapters down, about 15 more to go. About 50 pages on Microsoft Word. Yup. I guess I've got a lot of work to do today. But since I'm not allowed to a) go back to sleep or b) go take a shower because my dad's expecting a package… I guess I've got nothing but time here. Oh well. I'll shut up now. REVIEWW :)
