(After 'The Past in the Present')

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Determined to have a good time, Booth packed up his SUV for the drive to Martha's Vineyard. He made sure Christine's favorite doll was in the truck along with her favorite blanket. No sense in making his little girl unhappy on vacation. He checked to make sure he had snacks and a cooler loaded with drinks and cups of fruit and yogurt in the truck along with a large bag containing beef jerky, chips and crackers. Brennan threw in some apples and oranges and smirked at Booth when he threw in a bag of Oreos. "I'm sure they have stores on Martha's Vineyard."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth picked up the sack and carried it to the kitchen door. "Who knows what they have or don't have? Packing snacks that I like won't hurt anything and it'll save me some hassles." Once the bag and the cooler were in the truck, he carried out their luggage and stowed it away. "Damn, did we forget the kitchen sink or what?"

Unamused, Brennan ignored her mate and placed Christine in her car seat while Booth walked back into the house to make sure all the windows were locked and the doors were secured. He checked the garage door and made sure it was locked too. Once that was accomplished he joined Brennan in the truck. "Okay, here we go."

"Angela called and she said they're leaving now and they should be there when we arrive. They're flying up on a Cantilever owned plane." Brennan was looking forward to their vacation. She was tired and she hoped the vacation would energize her or at least help her relax.

"Sounds good." On the street, Booth checked to see if anyone was watching his house and didn't see anyone or any car that shouldn't be there. The day before, he had asked Mrs. Moore to keep an eye on his house. Some of his neighbors didn't know that she had been a '911' operator before she retired and she was someone that Booth respected and trusted. He had liked the way she had handled Flynn when he showed up at the house and her professionalism was spot on. Flynn had complained, but Booth had reminded him that Mrs. Moore was being paid to take care of Christine and as far as he was concerned she had done the right thing.

After she glanced back to check on Christine, Brennan leaned over, turned the radio on and lowered the volume. She enjoyed music and she and Booth shared the same taste in music, well accept for folk music. He didn't understand the complexities of some folk music and assumed it was just simple music. It was far from that, but she had given up on his ever appreciating it. She had decided that it was his loss and listened to it in her car when she was alone.

Oooooooooooooo

The trip to Martha's Vineyard was uneventful and they arrived at the Hodgins's estate a little after 6 p.m. The trip is normally a nine hour road trip under normal circumstances, but having a small child in the vehicle can alter that time line dramatically. "Twelve hours, I guess that's not too bad." Glad to have arrived, Booth left the SUV and stretched his back while Brennan walked over to the front door and knocked. After a few minutes, the door finally opened.

"You made it." Angela hugged Brennan and stepped past her to motion towards Booth. "Hey let me get Steve to help you unload your stuff." Turning she walked into the house called out and in a few seconds a middle aged man appeared and left the house to assist Booth.

"Sir, let me know what you need me to carry and I'll show you to your room." Steve waited patiently while Booth considered what he wanted to do.

"Yeah, I'll carry some of the stuff, you can carry the rest. I'll come back for the cooler. Just show me to our room." Uncomfortable, Booth felt a little foolish having someone carrying his luggage. He wasn't helpless and he didn't like to be waited on unless he was in a hotel and he was paying for the service. He didn't begrudge anyone a job, but having a servant was just over the top for the agent.

Following Steve into the house, Booth looked around as they bypassed a stair case and approached a hallway that contained an elevator. "An elevator?"

Amused, Steve chuckled. "Yeah, it comes in handy sometimes. One of the past owners had a heart condition and he had the elevator installed. I use it when I have to carry a lot of stuff from one floor to the other. Beats breaking your back."

Once they were on the second floor, Steve led Booth down the hallway. Hearing voices ahead, Booth followed Steve into a spacious bedroom and found Brennan, Christine and Angela. Booth placed the luggage down and looked around. "Where's Hodgins?"

"He's in the backyard. He set up the barbecue this afternoon." Angela checked her watch. "We should be ready for dinner in about an hour or so. If you'd like a snack we can go to the kitchen and get something."

"I can wait." Booth nodded at Steve. "Want to show me how to get to the backyard . . . we can use the staircase this time."

After he placed the luggage he had been carrying on the floor near the dresser, Steve nodded his head. "It won't take you long to figure out where everything is." After they left the bedroom, Steve led Booth down the hallway. "There are nine bedrooms in this house. It was upgraded a few years ago, so there are two full bathrooms on each floor, there are in suite half baths in four of the bedrooms and the master bedroom has another full bath. There used to be more bedrooms, but they used the space they took up to add the bathrooms. Your bedroom has one of the half-baths. Dr. Hodgins isn't here that much, so I take care of the place along with Anne who's the cook and two ladies that come in three times a week to clean and dust. I mow, take care of the garden and trees and do general repairs."

Now on the first floor, Steve turned and walked down the hallway towards the back of the house. "Dr. Hodgins had an outdoor grill station installed on the back patio last year. He likes to barbecue when he's up here, when it's not snowing of course." Passing through the kitchen, he waved at Anne. "This is Agent Booth. His partner and their child are upstairs with Ms. Angela." At the back door, he opened it and stepped out onto the patio. "Dr. Hodgins is over there." Pointing to the left, he smiled. "He's really proud of his barbecue pit." Once Booth was on the patio, Steve went back in the house closing the door behind him.

"Hey, Hodgins." Booth walked over towards the entomologist while he took in the back yard and the garden. "Nice cabin."

Amused, Hodgins laughed. "Cabin my ass . . . My family made sure that the neighbors knew who they were when they moved up here and this house was their calling card." Closing the lid on the barbecue, he opened the door of the small fridge which was located next to the grill, removed a bottle of beer and handed it to Booth. "I was going to sell this place when I graduated from college, but my uncle talked me into keeping it. He said I'd appreciate it when I got older and he was right. I don't come up here very often, but when I do, it's peaceful and quiet. Steve keeps the place running and he makes sure that the place doesn't fall down . . . Do you like your room? Angela wanted to give you the room across from our room."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth opened the bottle of beer and drank some of the contents. "Yeah, what's not to like?" Drinking more of the beer, Booth walked over to the grill, lifted the lid and looked at what was cooking. "What kind of sauce are you using on the brisket?"

"A secret family recipe . . . I stole it from Great Uncle Thomas." Hodgins chuckled. "He guarded that recipe and would never tell anyone what was in it. I analyzed it and figured out the recipe that way. I was fifteen at the time and I thought Great Uncle Thomas was going to find a way to have me kicked out of the family . . . I miss that guy."

"Thanks for inviting us up here." Booth walked over to a lounge chair and sat down. "Bones wanted to go somewhere for vacation and then Angela offered, so thanks. She deserves a break especially after Pelant murdered her friend and tried to set her up for the murder . . . the bastard."

Still feeling angry with Pelant himself, Hodgins picked up his half full bottle of beer from the work station on the other side of the grill and sat down. "I went over the particulates, the chair and the ropes he used to tie me up and I didn't find anything to prove that he had been in the warehouse or that he kidnapped me. He was careful about how he handled Ethan Sawyer too . . . He's not stupid and he's going to be hard to catch . . . I'm worried about what he might try to do next. If he goes after Angela or . . . Michael Vincent . . ." He couldn't finish that statement.

"You have guys watching over them and Bones and Cam . . . thanks by the way." Booth drank some of his beer. "I wasn't sure I liked you doing that, but now that's it saved Bones from being a murder suspect . . . well, thanks."

"You're welcome." Hodgins felt that had been money well spent. "We're all in this together . . . So, we can go fishing tomorrow. I have a boat . . . or we can go golfing. There are three public courses and two private ones. I don't belong to the private ones . . . my father hated the waste of money . . . or we can all go to the beach. You're choice. I'm game for anything or nothing at all if you just want to hang out here."

His mind on Pelant, Booth forced himself to consider what Hodgins had said. "Let me check with Bones and see what she wants to do. I want this to be about her. She deserves it after what she went through. I'll be happy doing what she wants to do."

After he finished his beer, Hodgins stood up, threw the bottle in a recycle bin near the fridge and checked the meat on the grill. "We can eat whenever Ange says she's ready . . . I have an entertainment room, if you want to watch a movie later this evening or a game. I have a 102 inch television with surround sound . . . you've never seen Star Wars until you've seen it up close and personal. Man, you should see Jurassic Park on that screen . . . that t-rex looks like it's right on top of you when it's chasing the jeep."

Grateful that Hodgins was willing to share his media room, Booth smiled. "I may take you up on that. Thanks."

Ooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.