554Laura (yes, just like him), topaz270 (completely agree with your take on Angela), hushedgreylily, GalaxieGurl (yes Brennan is lucky on both counts), LoveShipper, RobinAngelena, JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett, Vmf447, FaithinBones, Lauwy, ZinaR, ratgirl71 (a sequel to this one-shot would depend on whether the inspiration strikes), regbride12, jsboneslover, mendenbar (your review left me laughing). Thank you for your thoughts and reviews. Enjoyed reading every one of them.

Don't be too hard on Angela, she only has Brennan's best interests at heart.

This story is a follow up to Sunday Dinner and makes reference to another story in this series, Checkered Past.

Heartbreak

It was a weekday night and the Booth family was about to sit down to dinner when the doorbell rang.

"You expecting anyone Bones?" Booth asked.

"No." Brennan shook her head as she stirred the sauce simmering in the saucepan.

"I'll go see who it is."

Booth made his way to the front door, opening it he was surprised to see who it was.

"Parker. What are you doing here? Why didn't you just let yourself in?"

"I um… I didn't wanna intrude, I didn't call ahead to say I was coming over."

"You kidding me? C'mon in. What did I tell you when you moved back from England huh? You're welcome here any day, any time. Why else would I give you the key to this place?"

Booth stepped back, allowing his eldest son in.

"Hey Bones." Parker called out to his stepmother as she entered, "Sorry I turned up unexpectedly."

"Nothing to be sorry about. Have you had dinner? We're about to start on ours."

Before Parker could answer, Hank ran up to his big brother. "Parker! You're here!"

"Yeah, guess I am buddy."

"Parker! Mommy didn't tell us you were coming for dinner." Christine piped in, now appearing behind Hank.

"Yeah I kinda didn't tell her."

Turning to Brennan, he answered her question. "I had a late lunch. You guys go ahead Bones."

"We have plenty, come join us." Brennan replied.

"Yeah, I'll set another place at the dinner table." Christine quickly added.

Booth patted Parker on the shoulder. "Bones is trying a new recipe tonight. She'll love for you to try it."

"Okay." Parker agreed.

The family sat down to dinner. "So what brings you here tonight Parker?" Booth asked.

"I uh, I was hoping I could talk to you."

"Of course." Booth nodded.

"After dinner. You know, man-to-man."

"Sounds serious." Booth chuckled.

When Parker didn't smile back, Booth knew something really was up. Brennan must have picked up on it too. "I'll get the kids ready for bed after dinner."

"Mom!" Christine whined, "It's early."

"I'll let you read for a little bit before bed."

"Why don't you tell me if anything interesting happened in school today, Christine?" Parker asked.

Christine and Hank now distracted, happily filled their big brother in on the goings on in their school.

With the business of filling their stomachs over, Brennan led the two younger children to their rooms after they had kissed their father and brother goodnight.

Parker had plopped himself on the couch. Booth retrieved two bottles of beer from the fridge and took a seat next to Parker. He handed Parker a bottle who took a swig out of the cold, bubbly liquid.

"The sauce was great, Bones should keep that recipe."

"Yeah you should tell her that later."

"I will."

"So what did you wanna tell me son?" Booth asked, hoping his son wasn't going to tell him that he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Sohpie had been over a couple more times for dinner and he had grown to like the young woman.

Parker blew out a breath. "Sophie and I broke up."

"Really? When?"

"Yesterday."

"She dump you?"

"Something like that."

Booth remained silent, allowing Parker to gather his thoughts. After another sip from the beer bottle, Parker spoke.

"She said I was pressuring her… said we were moving too fast."

"Pressuring her?"

"Look it's not about sex Dad. We've done it a bunch of times. It's not about that. We've been together almost six-months now and I kinda asked her if she wanted to move in with me, since you know I've got an apartment and she's still living in the dorm. That was a week ago, then yesterday she broke up with me."

Booth nodded, understanding.

"You're surprisingly calm knowing that I've already slept with my girlfriend."

"Hey I was your age once. I see the way you two look at each other."

"I don't know what I did wrong Dad."

"She wasn't ready. She told you."

"Was I reading the signals wrong? She spent almost all her time at my place anyway."

"It's about the commitment Parker. She wasn't ready."

"Yeah she could've just told me. I'd have understood. She didn't have to break up with me."

"Look you're still young okay Parker? Sophie isn't the only girl out there for you. You've got lotsa chances with other women."

"What if I don't want anyone else?"

Booth regarded his son for a moment, trying to recall if at Parker's age he could be that certain about a woman. He wondered if Parker really understood what it was like to love a woman like he loved his Bones. He decided he should give his son the benefit of the doubt. Parker did seem more certain about a lot of things in life than he was at that age.

He placed a hand on his son's shoulder, squeezing gently. "You really love her huh?"

"Yeah." Parker ran a hand through his hair, upset.

"I'm sorry." Booth knew it was a rite of passage Parker had to go through. "You know your mother broke my heart a bunch of times. And boy did it hurt."

Parker knew his father was referring to Brennan. He couldn't remember when but as the years passed, Brennan had become as close to Parker as Rebecca was. "Yeah but you guys still ended up together."

"And who's to say you and Sophie won't huh?"

Parker sighed, "How'd you make the pain go away?"

"I told myself I had to move on. Still be friends with Bones. I mean if I had given up on our friendship, we probably wouldn't have made it to where we are today. It hurt of course, seeing the woman you love all the time but not being able to love her the way you want. And seeing her with another guy… that really sucks too. But you don't give up. You can still be friends with Sophie right?"

Parker shrugged. "I guess. I mean I haven't spoken to her since yesterday."

"You should give it a couple of days, then go talk to her. Tell her no hard feelings, you can still be friends."

Parker was silent, deep in thought.

"You know what? That old truck of yours is still in the garage. I tried to start it the other day but it kinda just sputtered. I've been meaning to take a look. Wanna help me out?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah, it'll take your mind off things."

"I guess."

Parker followed his father into the garage.

"Why'd you still keep it?" Parker asked. "It's a piece of junk."

"Hey you didn't think it was a couple of years ago. You actually liked driving it around when you visited for summers."

Parker grinned. "It was a mistake to paint it electric blue."

"The indiscretions of your youth?"

"Dad…"

Booth laughed. "Pop the hood will ya, see what we can do. Maybe we'll keep it for Christine."

"I don't think so Dad."

Father and son worked under the hood of the truck, like that hot summer's day years ago, when Booth had told Parker about his abusive father.

"I'm sorry for turning up just like that." Parker shrugged.

"What did I tell ya huh? You're welcome here any time."

"Kinda embarrassing that my girlfriend dumps me and I come running home."

"Nah. I'm glad you still find your old man helpful."

"Of course you are Dad. I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think you could help."

"I thought you two might be hungry." Brennan appeared at the door to the garage, "I have sandwiches in the kitchen."

"Thanks Bones." Parker said.

"Wash your hands first."

"Yes Mom." Booth teased.

As the Booth men entered the kitchen, two plates of ham and tomato sandwiches and a bowl of chocolate and mint ice cream each awaited them.

"Ice cream always made me feel better when I was sad." Brennan explained. "It's rather late. Why don't you spend the night in your old bedroom. You can drive back to your apartment in the morning."

Parker smiled. "Thanks Bones. How'd you know?"

"A combination of visual cues and a little eavesdropping on your conversation in the family room. A metaphorical broken heart mends itself in time."

"Yeah being here with you two definitely helps."

"I'm glad we could help." Booth pulled Parker to him for a brief hug.

"Now let's dig in, I always love a late night snack."

Parker hadn't been able to sleep well the night before, but tonight in his childhood room where he slept in for the times when he visited, he slept soundly. He woke to the smell of pancakes and bacon. Following the delicious aroma, Parker entered the kitchen and in contrast to the night before, it was his Dad doing the cooking that morning.

"Smells great Dad."

"Parker!" Hank jumped off his chair, running towards Parker. He caught his little brother and settled him in his arms. "Daddy made pancakes."

"I can see that."

"They're yummy!" Christine added.

"I remember." Parker smiled at his sister.

"Sleep well Parker?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, and I'm feeling better."

"Give it some time, don't rush anything. You'll be okay." Booth said as Parker settled Hank back into his seat and took the empty chair at the kitchen counter.

Brennan stood, pulling Parker to her for a hug. "Well, I have to get Christine to school."

Christine jumped off her chair, giving Parker a hug. "Are you coming over for Sunday dinner?"

"You betcha. But no pranks okay?"

"Fine."

"Christine, remember what we talked about?" Brennan asked.

"I promise Mommy."

"Grab your things." Brennan moved to press a quick kiss to Booth's lips.

"Bye. Love you two." Booth called out to them as they left.

"You wanna stay another night?" Booth asked.

"I've got classes later and I think I'm good. But like I told Christine, I'll be back on Sunday. Being around you guys kinda helps."

"Glad we could help."

Parker took his first bite of the pancake his Dad had made. It was delicious like it always was. He watched as his Dad slid another pancake onto Hank's plate then pour a generous serving of maple syrup over it. He was one of the lucky few, he knew that. He had a great father and a equally encouraging stepmother. Not to mention his mother back in England.

He remembered the advice his Dad had given him the night before. He decided he would call Sophie in a couple of days. It still hurt terribly to think about her, but being home made the ache lessen. He wasn't sure how things would turn out but he knew that no matter what, he could always count on his Dad.

Don't get mad at me for breaking the young couple up. As Brennan would say, anthropologically speaking, this is something all young males in society must go through. If you're wondering if there'll be a continuation to this, no promises yet but I do have ideas.