Thank you for your reviews. Lauwy, kareneb, topaz270 (yeah kudos to them), dms517, nirkamo, Poppyblue5, LoveShipper, 554Laura, latetobones (keep reading and reviewing!), MstgSzy (yeah I can't believe it's been 5 years too), RobinAngelena (yeah cheeky little girl), adorkablesalad, FaithinBones, Vmf447, mendenbar.

Christine's inherited some of her Mom's smarts and combined with her Dad's intuition, she's gonna be a force to reckon with when she grows up. My one-shot muse has been very active lately.

A Helping Hand

"How was your playdate Sweetheart?" Booth asked as he pulled out onto the street from the Hodgins residence.

"It was okay. We had fun but Michael-Vincent is sad."

"Sad that you had to come home? You can always go over again soon. Or he can come over if he wants."

"It's not about that Daddy."

"Then why's he sad?" Booth asked his nine-year-old daughter.

"Michael's school is having their Father-Son games and because Uncle Jack is in a wheelchair, Michael can't join in."

"Oh. Maybe he can ask Aunty Angela to talk to the school. There are many sports that people in wheelchairs can play."

"Michael says he doesn't want to upset his Mom and Dad."

"I see." Booth nodded his understanding. Michael-Vincent was a sensible child. Booth being Booth wanted to do something to help. Then an idea came to him. That night after the kids were in bed Booth broached the subject with Brennan.

"So Christine told me today that Michael's upset cause Hodgins can't take part in his school's Father-Son games with him."

"That's not fair. Perhaps Hodgins or Angela can speak to the principal. There are many sports Hodgins can still engage in despite the fact that he's confined to a wheelchair." Brennan replied, looking up from the book she was reading.

"Yeah that's what I suggested too but Christine said Michael didn't want to upset his parents. I get that."

"Michael-Vincent is rather wise for his age."

"You know what I was thinking? Maybe I can sign up with Michael and he can get to play."

"That is a good idea Booth. But you should speak with Hodgins first."

"Right. I'll do that."

The next day, Booth picked up Michael-Vincent from school. It wasn't unusual for him to do so as there were times when his parents were stuck in the lab working on a case. School runs then became his job as Booth was left waiting for evidence before he could proceed with moving the case forward.

"So I heard from Christine about your school's Father-Son games."

"She told you?"

"Yeah. What would you say if I signed up with you?"

"Are you allowed to do that?" Michael asked rather excitedly.

"Yeah. I talked to your teacher and she said it would be okay for me to stand in for your Dad."

"Cool." Michael-Vincent knew how athletic his Uncle Booth was and knew he would be the man for the job. Then he thought about his Dad. "Do you think it'll make my Dad feel bad?"

"I kinda worried about that too but I asked him and he's okay with it."

"Awesome."

"So what was it that you wanted to play?"

"Basketball. My friend Josh and his Dad are in the team."

"I played football and hockey when I was in school but yeah I can play basketball too."

"You'd do that for me Uncle Booth?"

"Of course buddy!"

"That's awesome. I can't wait to tell Christine."

"You won't have to wait long to tell her." Booth chuckled, "We're on the way to her school now."

Game day arrived and Booth took to the court with Michael-Vincent and his friends , along with their fathers. It was a close game with Michael-Vincent and Booth's team leading by four points and a minute to go in the game. Booth called for a substitution and to everyone's surprise, Hodgins wheeled himself onto the court, giving Booth a high-five. The exhilaration and joy on Michael-Vincent's face was evident to all.

Booth grabbed a towel and took the seat next to the girls who had front row seats to the game. He wiped the sweat from his face and arms, then reached for Hank who was sitting next to Brennan. Hank sat on his father's lap, happy to be provided a better view of the game.

"Go Michael!" Hank shouted excitedly!

"What's this?" Angela who was sitting on Booth's left, asked as she bounced little Katherine Temperance on her knee.

"A little secret Hodgins and I were keeping all week. I talked to Principal Armstrong and convinced him to let Hodgins in for the last play of the game. He was worried about Hodgins getting hurt and all that liability hooey but I told him Hodgins does way more dangerous stuff in the lab. Armstrong relented after Hodgins agreed to sign a waiver." Booth rolled his eyes. "Given the crazy experiments he does? I think Camille should make him do the same."

Angela laughed.

"I also told him that maybe next year they should have Parent-Child games instead. That way Moms can play too. Told him to think about kids who didn't have fathers. Or who have Dads just like Hodgins."

"Did Principal Armstrong agree?" Brennan who was sitting on Booth's right asked.

"He said he'd think about it but I think he seemed pretty sold on the idea."

"That's really nice of you Booth, thanks!" Angela grinned.

Booth shrugged. Suddenly the crowd roared. "Look Uncle Jack has the ball!" Christine exclaimed.

The three adults turned their attention back to the game. Hodgins had passed the ball to Michael-Vincent who went on to score the final basket in the game, allowing his team to win. Elated, the boy ran up to his father throwing his arms round him in a hug.

As Hodgins wheeled himself and Michael-Vincent who was now perched on his lap round for a victory lap, everyone stood and cheered. Brennan interlinked her fingers with Booth's.

"That was a wonderful thing you did for them." She pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Yes," Angela agree, her eyes growing teary. "Thank you Booth."

"Hey just lending a helping hand to a friend."

"Did you see that Mom?" Michael-Vincent asked as he ran up to Angela.

"I did."

"Thanks Booth." Hodgins said as he wheeled himself towards Booth. "I may have said some things about you before, about what you did in the Army – "

Booth held up his hand. "Look, no need to explain."

"Thanks for making my boy's day."

"Nah that was all you Bug boy."

"Couldn't have happened without you."

"Yeah, it's no big deal. You and Angela have been there for me and Bones lots of times." Booth thought back to when Hodgins and he were stuck in the lab that had been decimated by Kovac's bomb. He remembered Hodgins' words. He hadn't been thinking straight and Hodgins had stopped him from possibly putting them all in further danger or worse, killing them. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself. "What are friends for right?"

"Right." Hodgins grinned. "Hey what say we all head to the Diner for milkshakes? On me."

"Yeah!" The three older children cheered.

"That's a great idea. But we gotta hit the showers first."

Brennan watched as Booth, Hodgins and Michael-Vincent started towards the men's locker room.

"Studly always comes through doesn't he?" Angela asked, grinning at her best friend. Beside their mothers, Hank and Katherine Temperance played with the basketball that had rolled towards them.

"Yes, he always goes." Brennan replied, smiling proudly.

Being a parent of a child in a wheelchair, I just wanted to write this chapter to say that so much more can be said and done for inclusiveness. It's not nice to point and stare, or to park in handicapped parking lots (even for five minutes just so you can run into the store) or use handicapped toilets. It's also not nice that schools plan events that people in wheelchairs can't participate in. Life is hard enough already for the differently abled, why make it even harder for them? Having said that, there are people out there who, just like Booth, know how to make people like Hodgins smile. So if you're one of them, keep on doing that.