What I Wish I Could've Said

Rated: T

Disclaimer: I own nothing... Obviously. Just playing in someone else's sandbox for a bit.

Summary: Hindsight is always 20/20. Everyone has a single moment that they wish they could have said something better than what they actually did. A completely random series of what-if vignettes.

Ch 3: That Time Booth Got Asked That Question

Booth, still a bit uncomfortable about unexpectedly running into Brennan's father on occasion, wanted to downplay the effect Max had on him. If there was one thing that Booth knew, it was that Max Keenan was very, very good at reading people, and he didn't want the ex-con to know he had a slight – as in very small, almost to the point of insignificance – advantage in his dealings with Booth. Nodding at him in greeting, Booth was somewhat surprised at the subsequent words that came out of Max's mouth.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Tuning around to face him, Booth nodded jovially. "Sure."

Only hesitating for the merest fraction of a second, Max came straight out to the point and bluntly asked, "You- are you, uh... are you sleeping with my daughter?"

Whatever question Booth had been anticipating that Max might ask him, it hadn't been that one. Nope, that question hadn't even come close to what Booth had expected. A bit startled, and definitely discomfited, a bit too quickly, Booth sharply answered, "No!"

At Booth's vehement denial, a look of confusion settled over Max's face. "But, why? Are you gay?"

Chuckling a bit, this time genuinely amused as he quickly regained his composure, Booth shook his head. "No."

"Then, what's wrong with Tempe?" Max inquired. "Is she not your type?"

"No," Booth said truthfully. "No, that's not it at all. She's very much my type. She's gorgeous, Max. Smart, confident, funny, warm, tender, sexy as hell—"

"Then, did you try to pull the trigger, and Tempe shot you down for some reason or something?" Max asked. "Kid, help an old guy like me out here. What am I missing? If you aren't gay, Tempe's your type of girl, you think she's pretty, then seriously... what gives?"

"Nothing," Booth said. "It's just, me and Bones. We're—we're just not like that."

"I still don't get it," Max insisted. "Why not?"

"Because," Booth said, brow furrowing in frustration. "It's just... that's just the way it is, okay?"

"So, you've never wanted to make a move on her?" Max asked.

"I didn't say that," Booth said, a bit uncertain how much he should be telling to Max Keenan, of all people, who also happened to be Brennan's father.

"Then, you have made a move, and-?"

"I didn't say that either," Booth vascilated. "Come on, Max. Why you so curious? Seriously, Bones would freak out if she knew you were trying to play the overprotective-dad card now, of all times, with me."

"Booth, cut it out," Max grumbled. "This is not a difficult situation. If you're attracted to my daughter, why aren't you 'like that'?"

"I told you," Booth repeated. "That's just not- we're just not like that."

"But, you want to be," Max insisted, crossing his arms in certainty of his statement's claim. "Don't bother denying it. I can see it every time you look at her. Obviously, you're attracted to her."

"I'm not dead, Max," Booth laughed. "Any guy in a ten-mile radius of Bones is attracted to her."

"Stop evading the question," Max said, leveling his gaze at Booth. "Look, I know you think I might be trying to make up for lost time in sticking my big fat nose into Tempe's business, but I'm not. I, just—I really want her to be happy. But, sometimes she too much like me for her own good, so, on occasion, Tempe needs to be told what'll make her happy. It's for her own good, really."

"Meaning what, Max?" Booth asked. "Because, this, I gotta hear... telling Bones what to do for her own good? Yeah, right. Dazzle me with how that works and neither one of us end up eating our own spleen."

Tilting his head in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Brennan, Max said seriously, "She's so afraid of being happy, when the happiness is right there in front of her, ripe for the taking, she gets too afraid to reach out and grab on to it for all she's worth. Tempe just stops and stares, and never gets into the game herself because she's scared and is afraid she's gonna get hurt. Her mother, thank God, wouldn't let me get away with that, and Tempe needs a man who'll do the same thing for her." As he finished speaking the last sentence, Max's eyes narrowed at Booth, who instantly took the meaning of the older man's look.

"That guy's not me, Max," Booth sighed, a bit of wistfulness coming into his voice.

"Why not?"

"I just know, okay? I know, Bones. And, I know, as much as I wish it might be different, that guy... the guy who's supposed to do that for her, be for her what her mom was to you? That guy's just not me."

"You sound awful certain about that," Max observed.

"I am," Booth admitted. "But, even if it were just for a split second that I thought I was wrong, I'd move so fast and so hard to lock Bones down, she wouldn't know what had happened until it was too late. I wouldn't let her run away from me, Max. But, since I'm not that guy, it's not like that will ever happen, so-"

"You sure about that, kid?" Max interrupted Booth with a penetrating stare.

"Which part?" asked in slight confusion.

"All of it," Max laughed at him. "All of it."

-TBC-