(In the Future)

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I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

"Dad . . . hey Dad, Christine's birthday party is coming up and I need to come up will a really cool joke I can use at her birthday party." Michael Vincent and Christine had started a duel over the summer and it was still going on. MV had started it by gluing a candy bar on Christine's bicycle seat. Christine's younger brother Hank had spent the better part of fifteen minutes trying to take it off the seat of the bike until he went in to the garage and came back with a screw driver. He removed the candy bar, but ripped the seat of the bike and left a strip of candy paper covered in melted chocolate still glued to the bike. Christine and Booth had not been happy with the joke or Hank's response, but MV had thought it was hysterical.

Christine had paid back the joke by gluing a quarter on the floor outside his bedroom door. Angela had not been very happy about the situation when the coin had finally been pried from the hardwood floor and the finish was found to be ruined. It had to be repaired and since Christine had caused the damage, Brennan had paid to have the hallway floor revarnished.

After a stern lecture by both sets of parents the pranks were toned down so that nothing was damaged. Neither child had enjoyed losing their allowances for a while. Christine had also learned that no joke was worth having to memorize one hundred words from the dictionary. Her mother had made sure that all of the words she had chosen began with 'X' and she considered that to have been the worst word list ever. Christine now knew that xerasia was defined as excessive dry hair, not that she was ever going to use that word in her entire life. She would be careful not to cause property damage from that point on.

"What did you have in mind, Buddy?" Hodgins closed the lid on the aquarium that held his latest pet, a scarlet king snake named Bob. "I don't mind helping you, but you can't break anything or cause Christine to break anything."

MV had learned that lesson well. "Of course not Dad. I just need something that will make her and her friends scream. It wasn't fair when Christine let my plated lizard out of its aquarium and I got in trouble for it. Mom was really upset and I told her that I didn't do it, but boy she didn't believe me and that just makes me mad. I want to get even for that."

"You know, Michael Vincent, sooner or later you two are going to need to stop with the jokes." Hodgins worried that their friendship was going to be damaged if they kept it up. "What if you take a step too far and you ruin your friendship with Christine? Do you really want the Booth kids to be against you? They're practically your sister and brother."

MV knew that his Dad had a point, but he needed to get even about his lizard. "I get it Dad and I will stop, but I need to get even for Christine releasing Fred. You know Mom wanted to make me give Fred away and that wasn't fair at all. I take care of my pets just like you do."

Hodgins scratched his head and thought it over. "Okay, if this is the last prank, I'll help you. You might as well go out with a bang."

"Um, Dad. I don't want to blow up anything." MV knew his Dad well and even a small explosion would probably get him grounded by his mother until he was eighteen.

"You know, you're too literal for a twelve year old kid." Hodgins shook his head. "I'm not going to make a bomb or anything. It's just a saying, sheesh . . . okay, let me think about it and I'll see what I can come up with . . . Don't tell your mother or I won't help."

MV rolled his eyes, "Are you kidding me? Mom has a terrible sense of humor."

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MV carried his revenge in a plastic bag in his jacket pocket. His father had come through and the boy believed he had the best joke ever in his pocket. As he entered the Booth/Brennan house, he noticed that there was a big cake on the kitchen island and that there were a few kids in the living room eating cupcakes.

"Hello, Michael Vincent." Brennan spied the boy as he walked by the kitchen as she removed a tray of chocolate chip cookies from the oven and placed it on the counter below the island. "You can leave your present on the table near the picture window in the living room. We have games set up in the back yard and there are snacks on the bar. Uncle Booth is in the backyard barbecuing. He's grilling hot dogs, hamburgers and vegetable kabobs. I have two types of salads if you want some plant based food on your plate."

His mouth suddenly salivating, MV licked his bottom lip. "Wow that sounds great. I thought we were just getting cake and punch."

Amused, Brennan shook her head. "When have I ever thrown a party and only served food that contained empty calories?"

"Never, Aunt Temperance, never." MV looked closely at the cake and appreciated the star field design on the cake. "The cake is pretty."

"Thank you." Brennan scooped the cookies from the tray with a spatula and placed them on a plate. "As you know, Christine is interested in astronomy at the moment."

His social obligations complete, MV walked into the living room, placed his present on the table and noticed that Christine had quite a pile of presents. Next, he walked over to the bar, looked over the snacks and decided that the cupcakes looked delicious. Cautiously, he glanced around and while no one appeared to be interested in the snacks, MV removed the baggy from his jacket pocket and dumped the contents in the punch bowl. After stuffing the bag back into his pocket, he picked up a cupcake and poured a dipper of the punch into his cup. He hoped that would set up his joke and make him look innocent.

Turning, he spied his friend Christine standing near the fireplace talking to her friend, Emma. "Hey Christine, happy birthday."

Glad to see MV had come, Christine walked over to the bar and placed her hand on the boy's arm. "I'm glad you could come. It wouldn't be my birthday if you didn't come to my party. I'm sorry I got you in to trouble with your mother. Dad was mad that that happened and I promised him that I wouldn't play anymore jokes on you. It's bad that your Mom wanted to get rid of Fred. I didn't really think that joke through. Sorry."

MV heard her apology and he knew it was sincere. Having second thoughts about his joke he was about to warn Christine about the surprise in the punch when Emma walked around the bar, ladled up some punch and as it was poured into her cup she noticed an eye looking up at her. Terrified, she dropped her cup and screamed.

Christine ran around the bar to see what the problem was while MV tried to rush around in front of her to pick up the fake eyeball from the floor. Booth, who had heard the scream rushed into the living room holding a grilling fork in his hand determined to save whoever was in trouble. Brennan rushed from the kitchen worried that one of the children had somehow hurt themselves.

In the bedlam, MV squatted down in front of Emma, picked up the eyeball and blushed a deep red. "It was a joke. Sorry."

Annoyed, Christine placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "An eyeball? That's your revenge? I told Mom you'd do something, but really Michael Vincent, I expected something more original. That's just stupid."

Now that Booth knew that his house hadn't been invaded and the kids were alright, he placed the fork on the bar and stared into the punch bowl. "How many are there?"

"Five." MV was an honest child. "My Dad made them for me." Too honest.

"I see." Booth used the ladle and scooped up the fake eyeballs and placed them in a cup. "Your Dad is in deep shit."

"Booth." Brennan didn't approve of cursing in front of minors.

Holding the cup, Booth nodded his head. "Sorry ladies and gentlemen. I meant to say that Dr. Hodgins is in deep trouble."

Glumly, MV nodded his head. "They do look real."

"Yeah." Emma was over her fright. "That's why I screamed . . . still they are kind of cool looking. Your Dad did a good job."

The other kids in the room agreed. Once the party was continued, Booth followed Brennan into the kitchen. "Okay Bones. I'm counting on you. I want you to put these in Cam's office, maybe on her desk. Use a new cup, place the eyeballs in the cup and fill it with coffee, make sure you use a lid."

"I don't understand." Brennan was confused. "How is this going to teach Hodgins a lesson? That is what you want to do, isn't it?"

"Really?" Booth leaned closer and lowered his voice. "She's going to pick up the cup. Maybe she'll drink from it or maybe she'll just open the lid and look inside to see if it's fresh or not. When she sees the eyes, who do you think she's going to blame? Not you. You only play jokes on me. Hodgins will be blamed. You see?"

"I do." Brennan laughed. "I think this will teach him a lesson. He should have never agreed to make these for Michael Vincent. They do look real . . . He did a good job creating these. Perhaps I can get him to make me some for our Halloween party this year."

Booth stared at the fake eyes. "Yeah, I don't think so. He might put explosives in the eyes to get even . . . they do look real though."

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