I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow, but I'm in a good mood, and the best parts of this story are coming up and I can't wait to see what you think of them, and I've found a way to circumvent the system, and ... hey, how many excuses do you need?

I still don't own any of these characters, but I promise to take good care of them. This story is set when it is written, BTW, which is between season 1 and season 2. I'm not making any money out of this writing, but I did out of some other stuff I did, which is why I'm in such a good mood :-)


New activities can be tried whilst on vacation...

Saturday afternoon

After lunch, Booth had recovered enough to agree to a walk to the park. Parker got excited at the prospect, and started asking Booth to take his trainer wheels off. Booth shook his head. "I'm not really up to that yet, Bub," he said. "Tomorrow, maybe."

"But you promised, Daddy." Parker stuck out his jaw, and turned to Brennan. "You said we could, Dr. Bones."

Brennan looked at Booth. "You did promise," she reminded him.

"I promised I would help him ride his bike this weekend, yes. I wasn't planning on getting shot at the time. It will have to wait until I'm better."

"But I can help him ride his bike. I don't mind." Brennan couldn't bear to see the boy disappointed.

"Please, Daddy!" Parker was jumping up and down.

Booth looked down at his son for a long while, then nodded reluctantly. "As long as Dr. Bones doesn't mind running up and down with you." He seemed disappointed, and Brennan felt suddenly guilty at pressuring him into letting her help Parker.

He fetched a spanner, and Brennan bent to help him as he fumbled one-handedly to remove the training wheels. Parker wheeled his bike happily along the sidewalk to the park, while Brennan walked with Booth behind him. Brennan cast sidelong glances at her partner, who seemed unhappy about something. She touched him lightly on the arm. "Are you sure you're okay with me helping him?"

"I said it was all right, didn't I?" He sounded grumpy, and she felt guilty.

"If you'd rather wait until you're able to do it..."

"It's a bit late now, Bones. You can't just tell him no."

"But learning to ride a bike has significance..."

"...above the basic mechanics. Yeah, I remember." Booth shook his head. "I'd rather not disappoint my son, Bones; that's important too."

She nodded, but still felt bad about it. At least Booth was there to watch, she consoled herself, but it didn't ease the feeling in the pit of her stomach that she'd upset her partner.

When they reached the grassy area near the children's playground, Booth sat down on a bench. Brennan held the back of the bike steady while Parker climbed onto it. She helped him put the pedals in the right place, then they started off together. Parker wobbled dangerously, and Brennan found she could not let go without risk of him falling off, so she ran alongside, bent over awkwardly. They reached the tree at the far end, then she helped him turn the bike round so that they were facing back towards Booth.

"Come on, Parker! You can do it," Booth called encouragingly, as the two of them headed back towards him. This time Brennan was better at running half-bent over, and Parker seemed happier pedaling merrily. As they neared Booth again, just for a few seconds he seemed to be balancing, and Brennan let go of the back of the bike, but Parker made it only a couple of yards before wobbling violently. He lost control and the bike fell to one side. Parker lay on the ground for a moment, as if stunned, then sat up crying. Brennan had stopped when she let go, but now she ran towards him, worried. Parker stood up, abandoning his bike, and ran towards his daddy, who pulled him onto his lap and comforted him. Brennan was left picking the bike up and wheeling it back towards the bench, feeling wretched.

"Is he okay?" she asked, as she got close enough to talk to them.

"He's fine, Bones, don't worry," Booth reassured her, having checked Parker's knee for signs of injury.

"I'm sorry, I thought he was balancing."

"I said it was okay." Booth sounded a little cross. She didn't blame him. Bones had been broken in such simple accidents.

Parker slipped off his dad's lap. "I'm going on the swings," he announced, and ran off, not even looking at his bike. Brennan and Booth looked at each other and Brennan found herself starting to laugh. Booth answered with a wry grin.

"Well, I guess that solves that problem," he said. "Looks like you don't get to help him either."

She sat down on the bench next to Booth, who sighed and stretched his legs out in front of him, rubbing his shoulder distractedly. "Sorry, Bones, I know we're messing up your weekend."

"No, not at all. I can't remember the last time I played games, or went to the park, or sat and enjoyed the sun." Brennan turned and smiled at Booth, and he smiled back; she felt her heart leap at the sight, and hurriedly looked back across at Parker. Somehow it was easier to manage her feelings when Parker was nearby. Now she was alone with Booth she felt a strange excitement, and it made her uncomfortable. It wasn't as if either of them was about to declare their love, for goodness' sake; so why did she feel so tense?

They sat there in silence for a while, watching Parker play on the equipment. Brennan was struggling to think of something to say to Booth. Despite all the time they'd spent working together, she was starting to feel like he was a stranger to her. She'd been living in his apartment. She'd even picked out the clothes he was currently wearing. But she had no idea what he was thinking, or how he felt about her.

When Booth suggested he'd had enough and that perhaps they could head home, she felt relief, but also disappointment. It was the first time since Booth had been shot that she had been alone with him, and the time she'd spent among his things had made her miss him sharply. She tried to summon up the courage to tell him how much she had come to enjoy Parker's company, but the boy came running back as he noticed them stand up, and the moment was gone.

Parker refused to push his bike, so Booth held his hand while Brennan walked bent over, pushing the small bike along. Occasionally she would catch her ankle or shin on the pedal, and more than once she bit back a swear word. Booth offered to take over, but she still felt guilty about helping Parker ride his bike, and refused to relinquish control of the bike. Still, by the time they reached home Booth was definitely walking more slowly, and again he sank thankfully into his chair. Parker grabbed a storybook and jumped into his lap, leaving Brennan to stow the bike in the corner, and head to the kitchen to make coffee.

For those of you who are keeping check, there'll be more on the clothes in the next part. Don't forget to review :-)