Saturday, September 1st-

Parker seemed to perk up a little over lunch, telling Brennan and Booth a few stories about how everything had been since the previous weekend. He talked with an animated expression, but it was clear that his excitement was a bit tempered. Brennan and Booth both could tell that he wasn't exactly moving at full speed, and they both had concerns about it. Michael sat on Brennan's lap, reaching for every thing he could get his pudgy little hands on, and while Brennan was kept busy by this, she watched Parker closely.

As lunch finished, and they packed their things, Booth grabbed Parker's bag as they stood up. Parker was looking at the bill as he scratched his temple a moment. "Did you figure out the tip?"

Parker continued to stare at the numbers on the bill, and looked up at his father, smiling. "Five dollars and sixteen cents." He said, his grin brightening. "I did twenty percent."

"That's a good tip." Booth said, nodding as he handed Parker money to leave on the table. "Good job." He said, taking the ticket from him.

"I can do math really easy in my head." He said, his eyes flicking to Brennan, who was watching with a slight smile, his cheeks turned a bit red, and his eyes flicked away from her bashfully.

"I'm very proud of you." Brennan said, noticing that Booth was watching the exchange. She stood up as well, hefting Michael into her arms as she reached for the diaper bag.

"I can get that, Bones." Parker said, reaching for the bag, he lifted it with no problem, he looked to Booth who was holding his overnight bag. He smiled up at Brennan and they all headed toward the exit. Booth stopped briefly to pay the bill at the register, and as they piled out onto the sidewalk, they paused for a moment to make a decision about the afternoon.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Booth asked, glancing to Brennan and then to Parker.

"I dunno." He shrugged.

"Swimming?" Booth asked, watching Parker's eyes brighten, he glanced to Brennan holding the baby and they dulled a bit. "We can all go swimming, it's okay."

"Are you sure? He's really small, Dad. What if I accidentally splash him?" Parker whispered.

"Then be careful." Booth shrugged, unsure of why Parker was so concerned. He could see the worry start to knit the boy's brow. He turned to Brennan and she seemed to have a matching concern. "Bones, why don't you go on to your place with Mikey. Parker and I are going to go pick up a few things at the store, and we'll be over in about an hour."

"Okay." She nodded, giving Booth a supportive smile, she leaned toward him and dropped a kiss on his lips. Her blue eyes focusing on him for a split second longer than usual. He flashed her a smile, and she couldn't help but smile slightly. "I'll see you guys soon." She said, glancing to Parker holding the diaper bag. "Parker, can you help me put that bag in my car?"

"Sure, Bones." Parker said, smiling tenderly as they walked toward the car. Brennan unlocked the back door and he put the bag inside.

Booth watched as Brennan strapped Michael into his seat, and Parker faced her for a moment when she stood up. Booth watched her put her hand on his head of curls and say something softly, leaning down to kiss his forehead gently, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and she held him for a moment. When they pulled from the hug, he looked up at her with a grin. "Go on with your Dad, and I'll see you soon."

"See you soon." Parker said, his eyes sparkling at her smile. He turned and walked toward his father as he waited. "Sorry, I hadn't given Bones a real hug yet." He said with a shrug.

"Yeah, yeah. Putting the moves on my girl. I get it." He winked as Parker laughed. "Let's get in the car." Booth said, waving to Brennan as he and Parker made their way toward his SUV.

Once on their way, Parker glanced to his father knowingly. "You want to talk." Parker sighed.

"Is it that obvious?" Booth asked, sending his son a quick smile.

"I'm okay, Dad. I promise." Parker said, looking out the window as Booth drove, glancing to his boy with a concerned expression.

"Well, I wanted to give you an opportunity to talk to me about the situation. Everything is moving at lightning speed, and I want to be completely sure that any of your questions get answered." Booth replied.

"I don't have any questions." Parker sighed, rolling his eyes at the window.

"What if I told you that Bones and I are thinking of adopting Michael?" Booth said, watching his son's head snap in his direction, his brown eyes wide.

"What?" Parker squeaked. "I thought you guys were just looking after him. I thought you were just helping." He said, a bit of panic in his voice, he watched his father's calm eyes and swallowed hard, allowing no more words to come. "Dad?"

"Michael doesn't have any parents, Parker. He's young, and Bones doesn't want to see him go into the foster system." Booth explained. "He has no family."

"So he's just going to go and take mine?" Parker snapped, feeling a pit of jealousy and anger rising from his stomach.

"Parker, I already told you that you're my number one priority." Booth said.

"Yeah, until you decide that baby is your number one priority." He scoffed, feeling hurt and confused.

"Parker, this is why we wanted to make you part of this, talk to you. We want you to be comfortable with the idea." Booth explained.

"Oh, so if I'm not comfortable with the idea, then you're going to send him away? You want me to be the bad guy? You want Bones to hate me? I see how she looks at him. She wants a baby, Dad. I'm not going to be the bad guy!" He exclaimed. "That's not fair!"

"Hey! Woah... nobody is asking for you to be the bad guy, Park!" Booth said, seeing the angry tears in his son's eyes. "Hey. I'm not asking you to be the bad guy." He said calmer. "We're trying to see if this will work for us, Parker. We're trying to see if we can do it too. It's not all about you. We have busy schedules, a dangerous job. It's not up to you, but you're an important part of our family. Your thoughts and feelings matter to us." Booth said, watching the defensive posture of his son as he turned his head to stare out the window, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Parker, that's why we're talking about it."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." He sniffled. "I just want to go home, just take me home."

"You don't want to go to Bones' place and go swimming?" Booth asked, watching his son's glare as he turned his head and clashed his eyes against his father's. "Fine, we'll go home." He said, not wanting to argue with him. "I'll call Bones and let her know we're not coming over." He said, watching Parker look back out the window.

Booth continued to drive, glancing to Parker once in a while, trying to read his expression and posture. It was clear that the boy didn't want to talk right now, and Booth sighed as he decided to let it rest for now, as he made his way toward his apartment in silence.

Hey everyone! Comments and thoughts are ALWAYS appreciated. I wanted to extend a HELLO to my new readers... this quarantine stuff has been pretty good for the ole fanfiction circuit. Haha... I apologize for delays in postings... sometimes the muse doesn't work as quickly as I'd like, but I'm still here... still well, still trying to find time and patience to write. As for my other stories... once this one is finished, I will finish up some unfinisheds... and maybe start up that sequel to Silver Bells. ;) Keep healthy, keep safe. - PJ.