(In the Future)

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I don't own Bones.

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Sometimes being eleven years older than his sister and 16 years older than his brother was a burden. There were times when he felt more like a parent than their brother.

When Parker had graduated from university, Brennan had come through for him and got him a job at a publishing house in New York. It had been exciting and once he was settled, he had brought his wife over. She had found a job quickly enough and they were happy.

Parker had assumed that once he was in the states that he would be able to see his family whenever he wanted to, but that was before he found out that his work schedule and Dene's didn't match up. Between them, the only day they had off together was on Sunday and they had a lot of personal things to take care of on that day which meant few trips to Washington D.C.

Observing Parker's phone calls to his father and the rest of the family, Dene knew that her husband wanted to be with his family when he could and she had encouraged him to go alone and not worry about leaving her behind. He had appreciated her offer, but Parker felt that was a poor way to treat her and refused to do it.

Determined to fix the problem, Dene invited Christine to come to New York to stay with her and Parker for the summer. She had checked with her in-laws first and they had agreed that it might be an excellent idea to separate Christine from her little brother for a while since all they did was argue and bicker. The fact that Hank had become so annoyed with his sister just before school let out for the summer that he had thought it was okay to head butt her was all that was needed to give Christine permission for the trip. Brennan didn't understand why her children fought with each other so much, but she found the idea of a peaceful summer attractive. Booth was at the end of his patience and hoped separating his younger children would allow them to calm down. At least there would be peace in the house for a few months.

Once Christine was in New York, Dene and Parker did their best to entertain her when they weren't at work. While Parker and Dene were away at work, they expected Christine to stay in the apartment. They were responsible for her safety and they both feared how Booth and Brennan would react if anything happened to their daughter while in their care.

Of course, being 16 years old, Christine didn't want to be buried in an apartment when there was so much to see and do. Earlier that spring, she and Emma had tried to drive up to New York City to meet some guys they had met online and to see a play. That hadn't gone well since she had been stopped in Elkton, Maryland for a burned-out tail light on her father's car, the car she had technically stolen since she didn't ask to borrow it. Christine knew that the situation could have turned out much worse, but her father had managed to talk the Sheriff into charging her with a misdemeanor. Grateful that she didn't have a criminal record, she had learned her lesson about lying to her father and mother.

Now that she was in New York, she wanted to see some of the sights, eat at famous restaurants and have enough adventures to share with Emma when she got back home. Of course, if it made her best friend green with envy how would that be her fault?

Her brother and sister-in-law had jobs and worked five days a week, but there were three days when one of them was home on a day off. That meant that if Christine wanted to explore the city by herself, she would have to do it during one of the four days when they were both at work.

She had a generous allowance and had saved quite a bit of it in her little pink bank over the years. When she had been given permission to live with Parker for two months, she had emptied out her safe and brought her savings with her. That meant she had money for the subway, buses and the occasional taxi. She could afford the entry fees to museums, art galleries, the Empire State Building and of course she had to visit Time Square. She meant to see the things she had read about and dreamed about. This was a dream come true and she would take advantage of it.

The first few weeks were interesting. Christine had visited several museums and fell in love with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and The American Museum of Natural History. Determined to go back and revisit them, she made her way back to the Botanic Garden and while she was there made a friend. Robert Tiller was six years older than she was and once he found that out, he was careful how he handled their friendship. He loved to be around younger people, but as a healthy mature adult, he didn't want to appear to be too interested in her. That wouldn't be too good for him or her. Over the next few days they met at various art galleries and ate lunch before going on their separate ways for the rest of the day. Robert enjoyed Christie's enthusiasm and their conversations took wild turns and bends which amused Robert very much.

Their friendship blossomed and Christine felt comfortable around Robert. She reminded him of her brother Parker and was amazed that someone like Robert was interested in being her friend. Careful always to be back home before her brother or Dene came back home, Christine always made sure she was on the way home by 2 p.m. After she arrived, she usually started cooking dinner and had it ready by the time Parker and Dene made it home. Her parents were excellent cooks and they had been teaching their daughter how to cook since she was thirteen.

After cooking simple dinners for days, she decided to make an elaborate dinner for her family. Once she searched the cabinets in the kitchen, she realized that she didn't have all of the ingredients she needed to make the dishes she wanted to make. Leaving the apartment, she hurried down to the corner market and shopped for ingredients. While she was there, she met a young lady that was buying wine. Christine wanted to use some white wine in one of her dishes, but being sixteen, she couldn't legally buy any. The young lady offered to buy a bottle of wine for her and a new friendship had started.

On the days she didn't meet Robert she joined her friend Kathy and they explored shops and boutiques in the area. Kathy worked in one of the boutiques four days a week and on her days off she took Christine window shopping then to lunch at small family restaurants in the neighborhood.

Unware of what was going on, Parker was always amazed how neat the apartment was when he came home considering a teenage girl was living there. Feeling guilty that he wasn't spending enough time with his sister, one day Parker took off around lunch time and found the apartment empty when he arrived home. Furious and worried, he wasn't sure where to search for Christine, but decided he couldn't sit home waiting for her to come back. After trying her phone several times and being shunted to voice mail, Parker left the apartment and started walking through the neighborhood. He was sure he wouldn't find her, but he knew he needed to make sure she was safe and sitting at home wasn't an option.

Oddly enough, he had luck finding her at a little Italian bistro four blocks from his apartment. His sister was dining with an older girl . . . woman? And both of them were drinking a glass of red wine. Furious, Parker charged into the restaurant, grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her up from her chair. "How dare you, Christine? You're sixteen years old. You're not old enough to drink wine. What's the matter with you? What do you think Dad would say if he saw you drinking wine?"

Mortified that her brother had embarrassed her, Christine yanked her arm from his grasp, slapped his face and ran from the building.

Shocked, Parker placed his hand over his stinging cheek and watched his sister run out onto the sidewalk. Embarrassed, he removed twenty dollars from his wallet and placed it on the table. "If you come near my sister again I'm going to have you arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor . . . wine . . . she's a child." Marching out of the restaurant, Parker hoped that his sister would be home by the time he got there. She wasn't.

Unable to go back to the apartment, Christine hailed a cab and asked the driver to take her to the Botanical Garden. Once she was there she walked the paths and found her friend Robert sitting on a bench reading a book. On the verge of tears, she sat down on the bench and sniffed. "I'm in trouble."

The words disturbing, Robert closed his book and turned his attention towards his young friend. "What do you mean?" He hoped it wasn't serious. "What kind of trouble?"

"My brother caught me drinking wine with a friend of mine." A tear escaped and ran down her cheek. "He embarrassed me in front of a bunch of people at the restaurant. I can never look my friend in the eyes again."

Pursing his lips, Robert saw that Christine was upset and he wasn't sure how to help her. "You're sixteen, Christine. I don't think too much of your friend if she was buying you wine."

"You too?" Christine didn't see what the big deal was. "It was just wine. Kids drink wine in France."

"But this isn't France." Robert could see that his young friend wasn't taking the situation seriously enough. "You must be 21 years old to drink in most states in this country. If an adult buys you alcohol that person is breaking the law and they know it. They are not doing you a favor. Your body is still growing and maturing. You may not know what your tolerance level for alcohol is and if you were to get drunk, it's entirely possible that someone could try to take advantage of you . . . Look, not all adults drink alcohol. I don't really drink that much. A beer once in a while . . . You have all the time in the world Christine. You don't have to race to adulthood."

She had heard her mother tell her that before and she knew that she should be taking their advice, but she felt older than sixteen. "But it was just wine and he didn't have to embarrass me by making a big deal about it in the restaurant . . . My brother treats me like a child. I'm not a child."

"No, you are young woman, but you have not reached your adulthood yet." Robert stood up. "Come on, let me take you home. I bet your brother is worried sick about where you are. If you want to be treated as an adult then you need to act like one. Running away from home is a childish thing to do. You need to go home and talk to your brother . . . and you need to stay away from your wine buying friend . . . she is not really your friend like I am. If she was, she would have made sure you didn't have wine to drink."

Reluctantly, Christine stood up. "I'll go back to the apartment, but I'm going to call my father and ask him to come and get me. I want to go home. Parker shouldn't have embarrassed me like that."

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Robert squeezed it. "You must do what you think is best, but I think you're being too harsh towards your brother. He's just trying to protect you. Come, let's go find my car and I'll take you home . . . If you do stay, you won't be seeing me anymore. My leave is up and I have to report to Fort Campbell in two days. I've really enjoyed seeing the sites with you. You're an excellent companion and friend."

"Thank you." Christine smiled at her friend. "If you'll give me your email address, I promise to write you."

"Thank you, Christine. That would be very nice." Robert moved towards the entrance. "I'm going to be deployed overseas soon. It will be my first trip overseas . . . my mother is a little worried, but I don't think it will be too bad. We'll see."

As they walked towards the entrance, Christine hugged herself. "My father was in the Army Rangers and he served a lot overseas. He was in Desert Storm . . . he was a prisoner of war, but he was rescued . . . he has scars on his feet from when he was tortured. His feet hurt him sometimes. I can tell because he limps when they do . . . My Aunt Cam told me about his being a prisoner of war." It made her think about just how mortal her parents were, how mortal she was. "I hope you have a safe tour and you make it home safely."

"Thank you." The mention of the girl's father being a POW and being tortured sent a chill down his back, but Robert knew that anything could happen in war and he was prepared or as prepared as he could be.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Entering the apartment, Christine was surprised when her brother rushed towards her and hugged her.

"I'm sorry." She had time to think it over while Robert had driven her home and she had realized that running away from her brother had been something a child would do. She was having an eventful sixteenth year and so far, it had caused her more embarrassment than it was worth. "I shouldn't have run away. My friend Robert brought me home . . . he told me that I was acting like a kid and I was."

"Whose Robert?" Parker was finding out having his sister in New York was probably a mistake. She wasn't being supervised properly.

Moving away from her brother, Christine moved over to the coffee table and dropped her purse on the table. "He's just a guy I know . . . I've been going to museums and art galleries with him. I met Robert at the Botanical Garden and he's been very kind to go with me to other places that I wanted to see, so I wouldn't be alone . . . Oh don't worry. He's just a friend." She had seen the look on her brother's face and she didn't like it. "Don't be so suspicious. You're just like Dad. It is possible to be friends with some guy and not have sex with him."

His cheeks a bright red, Parker wasn't sure what to say. "If you say so . . . I want to talk to you about drinking wine."

Exasperated, Christine crossed her arms against her breasts. "Robert already gave me the speech about under-age drinking, so don't bother."

Parker pointed at the couch and tried to control his temper. "Sit down and listen." Once she was seated, he began to pace around the room "You know that Grandfather Booth drank. He was an abusive alcoholic who beat his family when he was drunk which was most of the time. He was addicted to booze, Christine."

"I know that. Mom told me." She interrupted him. "I was just drinking a little wine. I'm not an alcoholic."

"Listen to me!" Parker was desperate for his sister to understand. "Grandfather was an alcoholic and so was Uncle Jared. Uncle Jared could never keep a job for long and he mooched from Dad all the time. Finally, he got in over his head when you were about five years old and Dad tried to save him. Dad couldn't fix it and Uncle Jared ended up dead and Dad was almost killed. My mother told me all about it . . . I don't think Dad knows I know. He tries to protect his kids from the bad stuff and well, you know that's not always possible . . . Even if he hasn't told you about it, you're old enough to remember when he was in the hospital. I'm sure you've seen the scars on his stomach. Uncle Jared almost got Dad killed because he was addicted to alcohol . . . Also, Dad is addicted to gambling." He saw the shocked look on her face. "Yeah, he's been addicted since before I was born. He goes to Gambler's Anonymous meetings, but it's something he has to fight with every day. There's no cure for that kind of addiction. Grandfather and Jared wouldn't fight to get sober or at least not for very long. Dad did get it under control, but it's not easy for him."

"Why are you telling me all of this." Christine didn't know that her father had a gambling problem and it upset her.

Parker stopped pacing and sat down next to his sister. "Booths are weak Christine. Grandfather, Uncle Jared, Dad . . . we have addictive personalities. I don't drink alcohol and I don't gamble. Hell, I barely use aspirin when I have a headache because I'm terrified I'll become a loser like Uncle Jared and Grandfather and may become addicted to pain killers . . . we have to be on guard. We can't invite trouble to knock on our door. Life is tough enough. Fighting an addiction would just make my life worse and I don't want you to go down that path either. If we stay away from things that can make us weak . . . we can accomplish anything. Look at Dad. Deputy Director of the FBI. He fought for what he got and he made it. Look at your mother. She's the leading forensic anthropologist in the country. She's a famous author. She's careful and she doesn't drink too much. She's a responsible adult and she doesn't need a crutch like alcohol. Do yourself a favor Christine. Be strong. Stay away from anything that could turn you into a loser like Uncle Jared or Grandfather. You don't have to be a loser like those two. Do you understand?"

No one had ever talked to her like Parker had. So many family secrets and so many family troubles. She had a lot to think about. "I'm not a loser, Parker."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." Parker hoped that she had really listened to him. "I loved Uncle Jared, Christine, but he never could see he had a problem. Not until it was too late. His life was wasted. Don't waste yours."

"I won't . . . I'm sorry, Parker. I thought coming here would be my chance to have a big adventure. I got in trouble earlier this year because I wanted to come here and have some fun. I got caught and Dad and Mom were so mad. I'm lucky they let me come to visit you."

"I know, but Christine, they were mad because they love you and so do I. We don't want you to get hurt. It's rough being sixteen, believe me. We all make crazy mistakes at around that age . . . maybe not as big as yours, but still no one is perfect. We just want you to think things through. Think about what you want and if what you are doing is right and don't try to grow up so fast. You're going to be an adult with adult responsibilities before you know it. Enjoy being a kid or a teenager. Just don't take crazy risks doing it."

She knew that Parker loved her and that just like her parents, he worried about her. "Yeah, I guess I've been pretty wild this year . . . Do you think Hank is going to go through this phase too?"

Snorting, Parker nodded his head. "Probably, but we can help him when he screws up, just like I'm trying to help you now. We have to stick together. It's a crazy mixed up world out there, Christine. Just look at your mother and Dad. Their lives have been filled with adventures and craziness, but they're good people and they love us. It's up to us to get it right."

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