Friday, August 31st- Evening
By the time Booth pulled into his parking space near his apartment, Brennan's hold on his hand was loosened, and her head was resting on her shoulder. Her eyes were closed delicately, and it was clear that she was sleeping peacefully. He couldn't hear any movement from the baby in the backseat, and he alone was awake in the car. He pulled his hand from hers and soundlessly put the car into park and pulled the key from the ignition, his eyes focusing on the moment. He sat in his seat below the gauzy streetlight's beam watching as Brennan's chest gently rose and fell with each breath. He caught himself counting them, as he counted his blessings, thanking his Lord for sending him home into her arms. Booth knew that he couldn't tell her what he had done, but he was sure that she knew his need for prayer and thanks, just as she understood his desire for karmatic balance.
He could tell the moment she awoke, probably from the lack of movement of the car and the quieted engine. He reached for her hand and took it in his own, and he watched her lift her blue eyes to his face. "I fell asleep." She said, her voice deep with a sleepy grumble.
"You had a very long day." He replied, keeping his voice down, his thumb gently running over hers. She hummed her affirmative response and squeezed his hand. "I'm proud of you, Bones. I'm very proud of you."
She smiled slightly, taking a slow breath as she glanced into the back seat, trying to stifle a yawn. "I can't continue my late nights at the lab." She said, letting out another yawn without even bothering to try to stifle it. "He deserves more of my time." She said, looking over at the curious look on Booth's face. He had a small little smirk, and an eyebrow raised. "What?" she asked, tipping her head curiously.
"It sounds like you've already made a decision." He said, chuckling at her now narrowed eyes. "I still haven't even told Parker anything."
"Booth." She said, surprised that the boy had been told nothing about the possible addition to their family. "He should know."
"Well, we hadn't gotten the paperwork until today, and you and I still haven't really discussed it, and everything that has to be done for preparation if we were to decide to adopt him. We'll talk to Parker together. Rebecca is dropping him off at the diner tomorrow at noon. You and Michael are invited to lunch too, unless you had some things to do. I'd understand." Booth said, watching her gaze as she sat still unsure. "Listen, for something big like this, something that had the potential to maybe hurt Parker's feelings, or something we'd have to discuss with him fully. I'd rather do it in person than on the phone." He shrugged.
"I understand." She nodded. "Do you think he'll be amenable to it? Do you think he'll be upset? Do you think it'll hurt his feelings?" She asked, clearly concerned about Parker's reaction. She wasn't panicked, but the tone of her voice indicated that she was quite anxious.
"I have no idea what he'll think of it, but we'll spend the weekend with him, talk to him about it. Okay? He's a pretty easy going kid, Bones. I don't think a baby is going to scare him off." He laughed.
"I want him to be happy. He means a lot to me." She said, swallowing. "I love Parker very much, Booth."
"I know, and he loves you." Booth said, giving her hand a squeeze. "And he has never failed to tell me exactly what he was thinking about you, or anything." Booth said. "Let's get inside, go to bed. I missed out on sleeping next to you last night. I am looking forward to holding you tonight."
She smiled. "So needy." She sighed dramatically, listening to his laugh, as Booth climbed from the car to get Michael, and they made their way to the apartment together.
Saturday, September 1st- 12:00pm-
Booth looked up from his phone when the sound of the bell on the door rang through the crowded diner. He smiled at the grin on his son's face, as he excused himself quickly through the crowd, followed by Rebecca who looked like she had walked from her apartment to the Diner. "Hey, Dad!" Parker said excitedly, wrapping his arms around Booth as soon as he got to him, he pulled from the smile and laughed a little. "Where's Bones?"
"So that's all I get? I get 'Hi Dad', and then it's 'Where's Bones?' Where's the 'I love you', or the 'it's good to see you'?"
"Hi Dad, I love you and it's good to see you! Where's Bones?" He asked, giggling loudly when Booth tickled him, just as Rebecca made it to the table.
"Hey, Beck." Booth said, nodding to Parker to sit next to him, he smiled across at Rebecca.
"Hi." She said, sitting heavily in the chair. "It's been a long day." She sighed.
"How's your mom feeling?" He asked, knowing that she had been under the weather for several days, and it was one of the reasons Rebecca was okay with Booth taking Parker for the long weekend.
"She's doing a little better. She says hi." Rebecca sighed, watching Booth smile. "Oh wipe that smile off your face. You know my mom loves you." She said, shaking her head.
"Grandma says you're..." Parker started to say, but caught his mother's glare. "Grandma says you're nice." He said, swallowing hard, he lifted the menu up and stared at it, knowing that he'd get in trouble if he said anything else.
Booth simply smiled and shook his head. "So you're sure you're okay with us having him all weekend?"
"Well, he had a good time with you and Doctor Brennan, and... you know, he missed you a lot." She shrugged. "Do you have plans for the weekend?" She asked, just out of curiosity.
"Uh, well... maybe just some swimming today." He shrugged, noting that Parker was watching him very closely. "I hadn't checked with Bones yet, but I was thinking on taking them to a baseball game. Nationals are in town this weekend." He said, listening to the slight squeak from the excited boy beside him. "We have a few other things planned, maybe a barbecue with some friends at the park." He shrugged. "Nothing too big."
"Okay." She nodded. "Are you guys in the middle of a case or anything?" She asked curiously.
"Just finished one up, but we're working on an easier schedule." He shrugged.
"Getting wedding plans together?" She asked, lifting her eyebrow with a rueful smile, watching as Booth's jaw dropped slightly, and his head snapped to his son. Parker whipped the menu up to cover his face, but couldn't help giggling.
"Yeah, I didn't think that little secret was going to last very long." Booth said, narrowing his eyes at the menu next to him. He shook his head. "No wedding plans yet, it just kind of came up."
"It just kind of came up?" Rebecca asked with a laugh, clearly amused by the redness in Booth's cheeks.
"She asked me, okay?" Booth said, keeping his voice down. "She asked me first." He said, keeping his voice down.
"A brave, brave woman." Rebecca said, a laugh in her throat as Booth pointed his finger at Rebecca, trying to keep his cool. But he couldn't help it, he let out a laugh as he pointed at her, trying to find his words.
"Stop it." Booth said, trying not to laugh. "Beck, just... just stop it."
"I'm just..." She grinned, still laughing a bit. "I'm just surprised. I thought Doctor Brennan wasn't into the whole marriage thing."
"Well, she's had a change of heart." He said. "We're keeping things on the down-low. Okay?" Booth said, keeping his voice down. "Just... trying to keep our personal life personal, and work life at work. She had a lot of time to think about things when we were separated, and, well, we picked out a nice ring, nothing big and gaudy. It's just... I... I don't want to talk about this with you." He sighed. "No offense."
"I get it." Rebecca said, still smiling across at Booth. "I get it, Seeley. I do." She said, touching his hand. "Where is Doctor Brennan anyway?" She asked, looking toward the door.
"I dropped her off at the lab to get her car. She had a couple of errands to run, and was going to meet us here at 12:30." He said.
"Ah." Rebecca said. "Didn't know if she was avoiding me." She said, winking at Booth.
"Bones doesn't hide from anyone." Booth replied, glancing over at Parker, who was still hiding behind his menu.
"Well, I'll let you guys enjoy your lunch." She said, standing up. She pointed to the backpack she had set on the seat beside her. "This is his clothes, baseball mitt, and a few other things he wanted to pack for some reason. I'll see you Monday at your place." She said, watching Booth nod. "Parker?" She said, watching the boy's dark eyes focus on her from the top of the menu. "I love you, please be good for your dad and Doctor Brennan."
"Okay." The small voice said, nodding. "I love you too, Mom." He said, hazarding a glance to his father, whose eyebrows were raised, and the smile on his face told him nothing.
"Bye, Seeley." She said, and with a quick wave, she made her leave from the diner.
Booth sat quietly as he watched Rebecca leave the diner and climb into her car, his fingers lightly drumming on the table for a moment. "You couldn't keep your mouth shut for one week?" Booth asked.
Parker looked over at Booth and sighed. "Dad, I couldn't keep my mouth shut for one day." He said, as if the biggest weight ever was on his shoulders. "Are you kidding me?"
"Kid." He sighed, shaking his head, giving Parker a nudge. "Geez."
"Are you mad at me?" He asked, swallowing hard.
"Nah." Booth shook his head. "I'm not mad at ya." He said, watching Parker's eyes sparkle again as he smiled. "Hey, look... there's Bones." He said, nodding as he watched Brennan's car pull up to the curb, he watched as Parker's head snapped in that direction.
"What's she doing?" Parker asked, watching as Brennan climbed from the driver's side and went to the back seat.
"Uh, well... we kind of have a little something that we wanted to talk about with you." Booth said, cringing a little as Parker gasped.
"Dad?" Parker asked, watching as Brennan carefully pulled Michael from his car seat, and reached for the diaper bag. "Why does Bones have a baby with her?" He asked.
"Well, that's kind of what we have to talk about." He said, watching as Parker turned his head with wide eyes. "You alright?" He asked, watching Parker swallow hard, his facial expression unreadable. "Parker?"
"I'm fine, Dad." He said, sucking in a breath as he watched Brennan walk through the door holding Michael in her arms.
She approached the table a bit cautiously, and could instantly see the widened, almost petrified look on the boy's face. "Parker." She smiled, watching his eyes water a bit, he looked like he was about to cry. "I'd like you to meet Michael." She said, tipping her head, she started to sit down, holding Michael in his arms.
Suddenly, Parker stood straight up, his eyes on the baby in Brennan's arms. "I have to go to the bathroom." He said quickly, and with that, he took off like a shot toward the restroom.
As the restroom door closed behind the boy, the two sets of eyes that followed him finally met. "Well... that didn't really go as well as I thought it would." Booth said with a cringe. He watched Brennan shake her head. "I should probably..."
"Yes. You should." She said, nodding toward the restroom.
"I'll be right back." Booth said, as he stood up, and quickly made his way toward the back of the diner.