Feathers In Her Hair

Plot outline: Brennan baby-sits Parker for an afternoon, and they end up playing Indians. But when Booth comes home, he finds Parker alone and scared- Brennan has vanished. At first he is angry, but then the horrible truth starts to unfold. Where is Brennan? And why is Parker so scared? Booth's world is about to be turned upside down, and now he has no-one to talk to………..

I feel the need to write something dramatic and creepy- also it may contain some strong language.

Sorry- I am troubled at the minute. Once again, Parker is supposed to be about six or seven here.

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Booth walked backwards up the garden path, facing Brennan. His voice contained a hint of concern.

"Booth! We'll be fine! Won't we Parker?" She knelt down, so she was at eye level with the small boy.

"Yep. Dad, Bones promised we could play Indians! And she brought feathers and swords!"

He brandished a plastic sword and ran at his father with it.

Booth laughed and scooped him up.

"Well you go easy on Bones, she is a lady remember."

"No she's not, she's an Indian chief, and she's coming to get me!" He screamed as Brennan strode up to Booth and lifted him down. His screams turned into hysterical laughter as she tickled him to the ground, trying to avoid the plastic sword he was waving wildly.

Booth stood and watched for a minute, a smile spreading across his face.

"I gotta go. You guys have fun! And be careful!"

He bent down and kissed his son's head, whilst Brennan momentarily stopped tickling him. He smiled at her and stood up.

"I got my phone if you need me, ok?"

She nodded and regained her hold on Parker, smiling.

"See you at six."

She began the tickling again, laughing as Parker rolled and squirmed in the grass.

Booth got in his car and grinned to himself. If anything made him extremely happy, it was seeing the two most important people in his life as happy as that. He knew he didn't have to worry whilst Parker was with Brennan.

Parker frowned.

"Bones, you have to play properly. You aren't a real Indian without feathers. And you have to have your war paint put on too!"

Brennan clapped her hands together and smiled.

"Well I'm not really sure how to do it, so perhaps you could help me?"

Parker took her hand in his and led her towards a chair.

"Sit down," he instructed.

She did so and watched him clamber up onto the table, a brown paper bag in his hands. He knelt up to face her and opened the bag.

"Wow! These are really good!"

He took out a fist full of coloured feathers and laid them in a pile on the table.

"I think we should do your hair first, because then it wont smudge your war paint."

He spoke matter of factly, sounding very mature for his age. His head was cocked on one side and he had a hair brush in his hand.

"Right." He began to scoop up her hair, and smoothed it all out of her face. He fixed it back behind her ears with the hair pins she had provided, with surprising gentleness.

When he was satisfied, he took the feathers, and poked them one by one into her hair. He altered them a few times, and sighed when stray strands of hair didn't go his way, but eventually he sat back and picked up a mirror.

"There. Look!"

He handed her the mirror and grinned, extremely pleased with his work.

Brennan looked at her image and tried hard not to laugh. She had feathers poking out of her hair, which was secured in scruffy bundles either side of her head.

"Wow, I look like Tiger Lilly!"

Parker's face lit up.

"From Peter Pan! Dad reads me that, and we have the video! Can we watch it later?"

Brennan laughed and nodded.

"Of course, but first you have to finish my new Indian look." She handed him the box of face paints she had brought with her and sat very still.

Outside the clouds were shifting.

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"Ha! I found you savage!"

Brennan screamed. Parker had found her hiding place and come up behind her, making her jump.

"I will never surrender!" She yelled, brandishing her sword. She was taller than him, but this didn't seem to bother Parker. He drew his sword from his trousers and scowled at her.

"Neither will I!"

They had a mock sword fight, which Parker eventually won as Brennan tripped over a plant pot and tumbled to the ground.

"Ha! I win!"

Parker put the tip of his plastic sword to her throat, his paint stained face staring down at her triumphantly.

She threw her sword aside and held up her hands in defeat.

"Yep, you got me fair and square. Time for juice and biscuits I think."

Parker held out his small hand and heaved her up, escorting his prisoner Into the house with his sword.

Once inside, she poured Parker a glass of juice and handed him a packet of biscuits.

"Can we watch Peter Pan now?" he said, yawning.

"Of course, lets see how its really done."

She followed him into the living room and put the video on for him. He curled up on the sofa, staring intently at the television screen.

Her face felt sticky with the face paint he had applied thickly, so she reached for her hand bag and wiped some off with a wet wipe. Parker was too engrossed in the film to realise. Then the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's me. You guys ok?" It was Booth.

"Yeah we're fine. Why are you calling, is everything alright?"

Parker had cuddled up to her on the sofa.

"Yep. I just wondered, that's all. What have you been doing?"

Brennan sighed.

"Well, I got made up as Tiger Lilly the Indian, then I got absolutely slaughtered in a vicious battle. Did you know your son is a grade A swordfighter?"

Booth laughed.

"I bet he's whacked now."

"Brennan put an arm around Parker. He was asleep.

"Well, he would be if he was awake. I'm watching Peter Pan on my own now. Oh, hang on, I gotta go, someone rang your door bell."

"Ok, see you at six then."

"Six."

Brennan hung up and got up as quietly as she could. She padded across the living room to the hall, and closed the door behind her so as not to disturb the sleeping child. She opened the door as the bell rang again.

Outside it had begun to rain.

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