(The Light in the Life)
A/N: this story idea came from anne1585.
I don't own Bones.
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The first inkling that he had that something was wrong between Booth and his daughter was when he had picked up Christine to take her to the zoo and he found out that his daughter and his son-in-law weren't living together. Stunned, Max had tried to find out why, but Brennan had told him that it was none of his business. Torn between interfering in his daughter's business and standing by and doing nothing, Max finally decided that doing nothing was just something he couldn't do.
Determined to get to the bottom of the situation, he had tracked Booth down in his office and demanded to know what was going on between the couple. "Did you get tired of her already? What the hell is the matter with you? I told you if you ever hurt my daughter I'd kill you. You do remember that don't you?"
Booth had been working on his gambling problem for weeks and having an angry father-in-law involved was the last thing he needed. "What's going on between me and Bones is our business, not yours. Go away Max."
His temper boiling over, Max closed the door behind him and stepped further into the room. "No, no . . . Tempe refused to tell me what was going on and I'm not going to let you do that too. You tell me why you aren't living with your family. What the hell did you do?"
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Booth tried to be patient. He really liked Max, but the man could be a pill. "Max . . . this is between Bones and me. I'm fixing it . . . I'm working on the problem and that's really all I can tell you."
Whatever the problem was, Booth was obviously taking responsibility and that made Max wonder what he was hiding. "You didn't have an affair did you? How could you do that? You . . ."
His patience finally gone, Booth stood up and leaned on his desk. "I would never do that to Bones, never you hear me? I gambled . . . I gambled and Bones found out about it and she kicked me out of the house." Breathing heavily, Booth finally sat back down and stared at his stunned father-in-law. "I'm a gambling addict and I let myself . . . Bones had to bail me out of a big mess . . . she did the right thing, kicking me out. She did it to protect herself and Christine. She didn't have a choice. There was no way she could let me stay while I was gambling . . . When she threw me out of the house I was in denial. I just . . . I just thought I'd made a mistake, but it was more than that. It was a lot more than that. It took a while, but when I realized that she wasn't going to let me back in, I knew I had to fix the problem . . . okay? Do you understand?"
Max sat down and stared at his son-in-law. Never would he have dreamed that Booth would do something to jeopardize his relationship with his wife and yet here they were. "I'm . . . surprised."
"Surprised." Booth shook his head. "Yeah, me too . . . I haven't gambled for eleven years . . . I guess I thought I was beyond that, but I was just kidding myself. An addict is never over his or her addiction. In my case, I'm either gambling or I'm not, but I'm still a gambler. There is no cure for something like this. It's just hard work and sadness and humiliation to get out of the hole you put yourself in. I'm going to my meetings and I'm working hard to fix my problem and it is my problem not Bones' problem. I did this, no one else."
Filled with sadness, Max crossed his arms against his chest. "Do you think she'll ever let you go back home?" God, I hope Tempe doesn't file for a divorce. Please God don't let her do that.
"I don't know. I hope she'll forgive me someday, but right now I have to prove to her that she can trust me." He hadn't wanted to talk to his father-in-law about what was going on, but now that he was, he felt a sense of relief. "Trust is a big thing with Bones, you know that."
"Oh believe me I know that all too well." It had taken years for his daughter to trust him after he had abandoned her when she was fifteen. He had thought she would never let him be her father again, but after years of proving that he wasn't going anywhere she had finally started to trust him. "I'm sorry you fell off the wagon. Do you know why you did it?"
The cause was ever on his mind and he still wasn't sure if he had the right answer. "I went undercover as a gambler to find a murderer and while I was gambling, I won a very big pot . . . it was like something twisted in me and I wanted to gamble again. All those years of not gambling and they didn't mean a thing . . . At first I won, I won a lot, but it quickly went to hell and . . . and I lost a lot of money. Bones was threatened by my bookie and she paid him off to get rid of him . . . I didn't mean for any of that to happen, but it did . . . she was pretty angry and who could blame her? Anyway, I'm working on it and I hope she lets me come home some day . . . I have an efficiency apartment I'm living in right now. It's small, but it's what I can afford and still pay my bills . . . she lets me visit Christine . . . I've been babysitting when she needs me to, so she didn't cut me out of my daughter's life."
"She's pregnant." Max was starting to worry about the stress his daughter was under.
"Yeah." Booth was worried about that as well. "I'm trying to keep an eye on her. I'm helping out with Christine when she lets me and I try to make sure Bones is resting, but I'm not at home, so I can't keep an eye on her . . . I'm doing my best to fix this, but it's going to take time."
Max tried to think of a way to help the situation, but he knew that his daughter and son-in-law had to be the ones to work through it. If he tried to interfere he was sure Brennan would just become angry. "Look, I know I can't really do anything to help the situation. You're right, you have to get your problem under control and then get Tempe to trust you again. That's a lot on your plate, but I can help you in other ways. If you get lonely or need someone to help you when the gambling bug strikes then you call me. I'll get to you as soon as I can. I don't want you to be alone."
His father-in-law's words meant so much to him and Booth knew that Max was being sincere. "Thanks . . . I'm not really as alone as you think. Bones and I have been meeting every day for the last couple of weeks. We've been meeting at the diner for a meal and like I said, I've been babysitting my little girl . . . I miss being with that little monkey. She's a great kid and smart as can be . . . I hope someday that Bones will forgive me enough to let me come back home . . . I think I do better when I'm with my family, but Bones has to trust me first . . . I really hurt her and it's so stupid because I love her so much."
"I know you do." Max shifted on his chair and finally placed his hands on his knees. "She loves you too. The only one she loves more in this world is Christine, so I think eventually she'll let you come back home. Of course you can't screw up again. You know that right?"
"Yeah, I know that." His thoughts on Brennan, Booth still couldn't believe he'd allow himself to do the things he had done. What a mess. "Believe me, I regret it all, but like I said I'm working on this mess and Bones . . . Bones is in my corner. Without her I don't know if I could kick this thing, but she is and I will do what I have to do."
With nothing else to really say, Max stood up. "If you need me you call me. Anytime, it won't matter what time of the day it is. I'm in your corner too."
Booth stood up and reached over the desk to shake his father-in-law's hand. "Thanks, Max. Thank you."
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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.