(In the Future)
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I really don't own Bones.
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Following his instructions, Christine found her brother parked on the side of the road where he said he would be. The hood of the mustang was propped up and her brother was standing on a toolbox placed on the ground in front of the car. Grateful that he wasn't hurt, she parked behind him and got out of her car, hurrying around the Mustang. "Hank are you insane?"
Glad his sister had finally arrived, the boy pointed at the engine and sighed. "I think it might be the carburetor. Could you look at it and see what you think?"
Furious that Hank had borrowed their father's car, Christine crossed her arms against her breasts. "Dad is going to be furious when he finds out you borrowed his car."
Since the deed was already done, the boy shrugged his shoulders. "I get it, I'm in trouble, now please look at the carburetor and tell me if I'm right or wrong. I need to get Dad's car back home before he realizes it's gone."
Pushing the boy from the toolbox, Christine stood on the toolbox and pulled the air filter away from the carburetor. "Okay try to start it."
Grateful for her help, Hank hurried around the car, popped onto the driver's seat and tried to start the car. After a few spluttery tries, he realized it wasn't going to start and flipped the key off. Holding the steering wheel tightly in his hands, he knew that if they didn't get home within the hour they'd have to call their Dad and that wasn't going to end well.
Christine flipped the butterfly valve open on the carburetor and held it open as she called out to her brother. "Try again."
Desperate, Hank turned the key and this time the car started. Almost in tears, the boy was careful to keep the car running.
Satisfied for the moment, Christine pulled the air filter toward her and dropped it near the tool box. Once that was done, she also placed the lid of the carburetor cover on the ground and watched the car run for a few seconds. Her hands now dirty, she stepped down from the toolbox and carried it, the air filter and the cover around to the back-passenger side of the car and opened the door. After she placed the toolbox, filter and cover on the floorboard, she closed the door and stepped over to the driver's side window. "Ok this is what's going to happen. You wait until I get into my car. Once I've flashed my lights, you enter the road and drive exactly three miles under the speed limit . . . not the speed limit, not over the speed limit, but three miles under the speed limit. Use your turn signals for every turn you make, no exceptions. Stop the car for every red light. Don't run any yellow lights. When we get home drive up to the garage and wait for me to open the door and then drive in. No fooling around, don't draw attention to yourself. It's dark so no one should be able to see you're a kid. If a cop decides to pull you over, do it and don't make any trouble. You be good as gold and you might survive this mess."
He knew his sister was giving him good advice and he was going to make sure he did everything she said. Hank realized that he should have left the mustang alone, but he was itching to drive it and now he realized the car had a problem he didn't know about. Thankfully his sister was interested in cars and tinkered with the mustang right along with their father. "I will Chrissy, I'm sorry. I promise to do what you said."
Exasperated that her brother was causing her so much trouble, Christine reached in through the open window and slapped the back of his head. "Dummy."
"Hey, I said I'm sorry." Hank rubbed the back of his head and glared at his sister. "Just follow me home and I promise I'll never do this again."
Grimly, Christine shook her head and walked back to her car. "God, please get us home safely. Hank is a very stupid 14-year-old boy and he still has a lot to learn. Thank you and Amen."
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The trip home was uneventful and for that the siblings were truly grateful. Once the boy parked the car in front of the garage door, he waited for his sister to open the door while he kept the car idling. Once Christine was out of her car, she opened the garage door and wasn't really surprised to see her father sitting on a lawn chair in the middle of the garage, his arms folded against his chest glaring at her. "Um, Dad, hey . . . uh, hi."
Slowly, Booth stood up, collapsed the lawn chair and carried it to the back of the garage. Once it was on a shelf, he turned, beckoned towards his son and pointed sharply at the floor in front of him.
Ever so carefully, the teenage boy drove the car into the garage and stopped it about one foot from his father. Turning off the key, he pulled it from the ignition and slowly got out of the car. Not sure what was going to happen next, he handed the keys to his father and waited for him to say or do something.
His eyes hooded, Booth pointed at the kitchen door leading from the garage and said nothing. Hank silently obeyed his father and left the garage as quickly as possible. Once the boy was gone, Booth turned to look at his daughter. "Well?"
Nervously, Christine licked her lips and decided to be truthful. "Okay, Hank took your car for a drive, but he didn't know it had a problem. He went to McDonalds and drove through the drive through for a coke and some fries. Once he was back on the road, someone cut him off and he slammed on the brakes and the car started spluttering so he parked on the side of the road. He turned off the engine . . . big mistake, when he tried to start it again it didn't start. I told you the carburetor had a problem Dad . . . anyway he called me and I went out and got the car started and we came back."
"You're nineteen years old, Christine, almost twenty." Booth tried to remain calm. "A woman, not a child . . . I thought I could count on you, but I guess I can't."
Her cheeks a crimson color, Christine felt her heart rate increasing. "I went out and got Hank and made sure he came home safely. I protected him and that's the thanks I get?"
His anger spiking, Booth glared at his daughter and tried to control his anger. "He's fourteen for God's sake. When he called you, you should have told me that he was in trouble. Instead you hid what was going on. You took a huge risk letting him drive the car back. You're both lucky you aren't sitting in a jail cell right now or worse a hospital."
"He's tall for his age." Christine couldn't believe she was in trouble for helping her brother. "He can pass for seventeen and even older in the dark. As long as he obeyed the traffic laws I knew he'd be okay."
"Wrong, he can pass for a tall fourteen year old boy." He knew his daughter thought she had done the right thing and that worried Booth the most. "You need to think, Christine. You say you protected him, but you didn't. You let an unlicensed, untrained teenage boy drive a car in the dark. A car that you knew was having mechanical problems . . . Instead of being mad at me why don't you think about what you did and take responsibility. You're an adult now and you need to start acting like one. You endangered your brother's life . . . yes, he stole my car and took a joy ride and he is going to be punished, but you . . . you just made the situation worse . . . your mother is going to be very disappointed in you . . ." Unable to continue, Booth walked around his daughter and out onto the driveway, walking down the pavement to the sidewalk running in front of the yard he turned right and continued on.
Christine watched her father until he was out of sight and knew that she had caused him pain. Whenever his anger was hot, he went for a walk because he was afraid he might do something he shouldn't. She knew about her father's father and Christine knew that Booth protected his family by walking away when his temper was high. "I'm sorry Dad."
"Perhaps you should tell him that when he can actually hear you." Brennan stood in the kitchen doorway and stared at her daughter. "Hank told me what happened. You exacerbated the problem, Christine. You're an adult now and I do think it is time for you to start to take responsibility for your actions."
Mortified, Christine nodded her head. "I was trying to protect Hank from Dad and you, but all I did was make Dad hate me."
"He doesn't hate you, Christine. He's just disappointed." Not sure there was anything else to say, Brennan pointed at the garage door. "Close the door and make sure the car doors are locked. Once you're done, come inside. I'll go look for your father. Make sure Hank takes a bath and goes to bed. It's early, but it would be better for him if he's in bed when his father comes back."
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She found him a few blocks away sitting at a bus stop. Sitting down next to him, she studied his body language and she could tell he was upset, but not angry. "She made a mistake, Booth. Hank knows he's in trouble and Christine realizes now that she made a mistake."
Staring at the toes of his boots, Booth shook his head. "We can't watch them all of the time and what they did tonight really worries me. Joy riding is dangerous and I guess we're going to have to keep the car doors locked from now on, but Christine . . . she really disappointed me. She should have told me or you what was going on."
Brennan placed her hand on her husband's knee and squeezed it lightly. "She was trying to protect her brother and she thought she could handle it by herself. She loves him and like you, she wants to protect the ones she loves . . . we all make mistakes, Booth. None of us are perfect, but we do learn from our mistakes. She won't make that particular mistake again."
"She does love her brother." Booth sat up straight and placed his arm around his wife and partner. "I'm glad . . . I never did get along with Jared and you and Russ have had your troubles, but so far our kids get along really well and they have each other's back. I am proud of them for that . . . still . . . Hank shouldn't have stolen my car and Christine should have told us what was going on . . . it might be a while before I trust either one of them. They've really disappointed me tonight."
"They know." Brennan saw the bus coming down the street and stood up. "Let's leave before the bus driver stops. He will be quite annoyed if he stops and we don't get on the bus."
Following Brennan down the sidewalk back towards their house, Booth waved at the bus as it drove by. "Bones, thanks for looking for me. I needed the company."
Slowing down, she let her husband catch up with her and she placed her arm around his waist. "Anytime Booth."
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