They still don't belong to me, although I keep asking. And I can't afford to buy them, especially since I get nothing but the pleasure of writing (and reading reviews, of course) from these stories. Check out Kathy Reichs for a real master (mistress?) of writing, and check out the TV programs to see the characters we all love in action..

I'm feeling generous, and can't wait to see what you think of this part, so you're getting this update sooner than I'd thought. Enjoy - and don't forget to tell me what you think!

Sometimes we have to spend vacation time doing things we'd rather not do...

Friday morning

This time she had remembered to unset the alarm, and they slept in until nearly eight o'clock. Brennan quickly jumped up and had a shower, leaving Parker to play with his toys. Then she tried to get him settled to breakfast.

This morning, he decided he didn't want Fruity Pebbles. Or Coco Puffs. Or anything, in fact. Brennan sighed in despair, then she poured him a bowl of Fruity Pebbles anyway. "You eat that or you go hungry," she told him firmly. Parker looked at her, his eyes wide. "You can pull your puppy eyes on me as much as you want, but that won't change things. Eat or go hungry," she repeated.

Reluctantly Parker spooned cereal into his mouth, watching her over the top of the spoon the whole time. Brennan felt unnerved. To get away, she moved to the living room and phoned the hospital, relieved to hear Booth was feeling much better.

"Come on," she said briskly, re-entering the kitchen. "Time to get dressed, then we can go and see Daddy."

Parker ran out of the room, and came back soon after, dressed in his muddy jeans from the day before.

"You can't wear those," Brennan scolded him. "They're dirty. Let's dress you up nicely for Daddy." She found him some clean, smart clothes, but found herself having to dress him, as he stood woodenly staring at the floor.

"What's the matter?" she asked, but he shook his head and refused to say anything.

He maintained his silence all the way to the hospital, and Brennan was starting to feel worried. As they walked across the parking lot towards the building, Parker started dragging his feet and walking slower and slower. Eventually Brennan stopped and crouched down in front of him. She took hold of his arms gently. "What's the matter, Parker?" she asked. "Don't you want to see Daddy?"

To her surprise, Parker shook his head. Tears were starting to build up in his eyes.

"Why ever not? Daddy will be sad if we don't go and see him." Brennan was starting to feel irritated. After living in Booth's house and seeing his things, and even smelling his scent all around her for the last couple of days, she was missing him desperately, and could not wait to see his cheerful smile.

Parker looked at her. "My Daddy's going to die, isn't he," he said, and started crying in earnest.

Brennan stared at him in shock. "What on earth put that idea in your head?" She gathered the small child up in her arms and carried him to a nearby bench. They sat together, his arms entwined around her neck.

His sobs quietened a bit. "Daddy's real sick in hospital, and when Granddad was sick and I had to put my best clothes on he died, and they put him in the ground and buried him and I don't want to put my best clothes on and I don't want Daddy to die and be buried in the ground," he blurted out.

Brennan smiled through the tears that were prickling the back of her own eyes. "That's silly," she said gently. "Daddy's not going to die. Daddy's just hurt his shoulder, and he felt real sick yesterday, but today he feels a lot better."

"So why did we have to dress up?" Parker sniffed, looking up at her.

"Because…" Brennan thought for a moment. She couldn't let Parker wear muddy jeans, that much was true, but just why had she taken such care with her own dressing that morning? She decided to skim over that one.

"Because it will cheer Daddy up when he sees us looking all nice," she finished.

Parker was not convinced. He sat pouting, with the occasional tear still sliding down his cheek.

Brennan had an idea. "When you hurt yourself, or feel ill, what do you do?" she questioned him.

Parker thought. "I go to Mummy or Daddy and they cuddle me and make it better," he said at last.

Brennan nodded. "And that's why we have to go see Daddy now. Because Daddy's feeling bad because his shoulder hurts, and he's stuck in here where it's really boring, and he wants to get better. So he needs someone who loves him to give him a kiss and cuddle to make it all better so he can come home again," she explained.

Parker brightened up at that, and jumped off her lap. "Come on then, Dr. Bones, let's go kiss Daddy better," he said.

Brennan smiled and stood up, taking his hand. "I'm coming," she answered, happy to have dealt with that crisis reasonably successfully.

As they entered the room they could see immediately that Booth was feeling stronger. He was sitting up in bed watching TV, with an array of puddings on the movable tray across his legs. He was trying to hold on to one pot with his left arm, still in the sling, while he spooned some of the sweet concoction into his mouth with the other hand.

"Hey, my two favourite people," he greeted them cheerfully, putting down both pot and spoon and pushing the tray away.

Parker walked forward, still holding Brennan's hand tightly. "We've come to kiss you better, so you can come home," he explained. With Brennan's help, he climbed up onto the bed and put his arms round his daddy's neck, giving him a great big kiss, then he climbed back off again and looked expectantly at Brennan. "Your turn," he said.

She stared at him. "What?" she managed.

"You said that Daddy needs kisses and cuddles from people who love him so he can get better. You do love him, don't you Dr. Bones?" Parker looked expectantly up at her, as she struggled to know how to answer him. She heard an amused chuckle from the bed, and looked up to see Booth watching her closely, looking slightly embarrassed himself.

"Sorry, Bones, he will get ideas into his head," he apologized, obviously trying to make her feel better. "You might be best to give in – otherwise you could just dig us both into a very big hole."

Brennan smiled nervously. "I didn't exactly say…" she began.

"It's alright, Bones, just give in and do what the boy tells you. It won't hurt, I promise."

"'Cos Daddy loves you too, don't you, Daddy?" Parker persisted.

Booth bit his lip, trying to fight off his own embarrassed grin, and Brennan leant forward, trying to save both their blushes.

"Thanks, Bones," he whispered in her ear as she kissed him gently on the cheek and gave him a small hug. He hugged her back, more tightly than she had expected, and she felt a warm feeling come over her as she caught his scent, even more familiar from the nights spent between his sheets.

As she stood back, she found herself feeling rather flustered, not a common feeling for her. She was far more used to feeling detached and in control. She looked helplessly at Booth, not sure what to say, but Parker came to the rescue, picking up the pot and spoon and trying to feed his dad with pudding. Booth laughed and tried to help, but wasn't allowed, and soon Parker had emptied the pot and was licking the spoon off. Brennan found herself searching for tissues for Booth to clear the last of the pudding from his face, nose, and – inexplicably – his left ear. Their eyes met for the first time since the kiss, and Brennan found herself grinning stupidly at him, meeting a similar grin on his face.

"I gather you're having fun taking care of my son?" he commented with amusement.

Brennan gave Parker a quick cuddle. "We're looking after each other, aren't we, Bub," she said, realising only after she'd said it that she'd used Booth's pet name for his son. A sneaky glance revealed that Booth either didn't mind or hadn't noticed, so she went on, "We're missing you. Do you know when you're coming out yet?"

He shook his head. "I'm hoping tomorrow," he answered. "But there's no guarantee on that yet. Are you still okay to hang onto him?"

"No problem," she assured him with a smile. "Parker and me – we're doing just fine together." And for the first time since she had taken responsibility for the young child, she was sure that was true.

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