(After Season 6)

This is a sequel to chapters 209 thru 211.

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I don't own Bones.

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They were sitting in the living room of Booth's apartment watching a documentary on the Serengeti. Parker had called his father to remind him to watch it so they could discuss it the next time he called. Booth had agreed to watch the show even if it meant cutting into his alone time with Brennan, but he couldn't disappoint Parker. The boy was in London with his mother and he wanted to do as much with his son as he could even if it meant doing it long distance.

Munching some popcorn, Booth swallowed hard as he saw an elephant give birth. "Oh my God, my son is watching this."

Amused, Brennan reached into the popcorn bowl and gathered up a few popped kernels. "He's ten years old, almost eleven, Booth. I'm sure he will find this interesting. He is bright and he already knows how human procreation works."

"How does he know that?" Suspicious, Booth turned to look at Brennan. "I didn't tell him how babies are made. I was going to wait until he was thirteen or so."

Shrugging her shoulders, Brennan continued to watch the documentary. "He told me a month before he moved to London when he showed me his book 'Big Cats of the World'. He said his mother had explained reproduction to him after he witnessed the birth of some puppies a friend of his owned . . . I don't know how much detail she gave him, but if she watches this documentary with him, she will answer his questions if he has any. She appears to be open and honest with Parker when she can be."

"My boy is growing up too fast and I'm not there to help him through the rough patches." A little depressed about the situation, Booth sighed and placed the popcorn bowl on the coffee table. "Talking on the phone just isn't the same as being with him . . . I'm worried that he might think I don't care about him anymore . . . kids can get those ideas in their heads." His thoughts turned to his mother and he knew that her leaving him when he was a child had probably been good for her, but not for him. Not by a long shot.

"Booth! That is not a possibility and you know it. Rebecca is the one who moved to London and she took Parker with her, you are not responsible for the separation." Worried, Brennan grabbed his hand and stared at him. "He loves you and he never misses talking to you on Saturday morning . . . well, late Friday night. He knows you care. Why would you watch a documentary and agree to talk to him about it, if you didn't care? He knows you care very much." As far as she was concerned, she was telling him the truth and it wasn't speculation. She knew that Parker adored his father and was very proud of him.

Slowly nodding his head, Booth gave her a sad smile. "Thanks . . . I just needed to hear someone say that." Turning his attention back to the television, he watched the baby elephant try to stand. "Come on, little guy. You can do it."

While they continued to watch the documentary, Brennan thought about the past year and the emotional upheaval both she and Booth had gone through. She didn't blame Booth for seeking an intimate partner after she had turned him down in front of the Hoover. He had warned her that he would move on, but she couldn't overcome her fears. She hadn't trusted her ability to give Booth the emotional relationship he needed. Her partner was a heart person while she was a brain person or at least that was what Angela had told her many times. Booth wore his heart on his sleeve, not literally of course since that was impossible. Why must idioms be so inaccurate, so nonsensical? She had feared that she didn't have the heart that he did and that he would finally realize that she was too cold and he would leave her. It had taken a long separation to make her see that she didn't want to live without Booth in her life and it had taken his finding someone else to help her see that she would never be happy if Booth was committed to anyone else but her. At least they'd had a second chance to start a new relationship, something she had feared might not happen.

"Booth, when you were with Hannah you came to me one day and told me that someone had learned something about you that was bad and embarrassing. I recommended that you be honest with that person and you agreed to talk to them . . . I didn't want to pry since you were upset at the time, but . . . would you like to talk about it further?" Brennan didn't know why she was bringing this up, but she supposed she wanted to make sure the issue had been resolved. "Did you talk to the person about this issue?"

Surprised that Brennan remembered the conversation, Booth turned on the couch so he could see her clearly. "Hannah found out I was abused as a child. Jared told her . . . believe me I talked to him and he understands he'd better not talk about me to anyone else . . . um, well and yes, I talked to her. I told her about my childhood because not talking about it would have made it look like I had something to hide, but I told her to never bring it up again." He didn't know what else to say about it. He hadn't been happy about the situation, but Hannah never talked about his past again which is what he had wanted.

"I know talking about your childhood is difficult, Booth . . . it isn't something to be embarrassed about though." Not sure she could really explain what she meant, she tried anyway. "The first time I talked about my experience with Foster Care I just mentioned the list of names I had kept of the families that didn't want me . . . the second time, I told you and Sweets about being locked up in the trunk of the car of my foster parents. Up until then I had never told anyone about that and it felt strange and made me feel vulnerable, but in the end, I knew I had told that to people I could trust . . . In a way, it was cathartic to tell you. Keeping bad memories to yourself . . . I suppose we do that to protect ourselves from humiliation and embarrassment, but . . . why should we feel those emotions? We were the ones who were ill-used. If anyone should be humiliated it should be the ones who were the abusers . . . Does that make sense? You know I'm not very good when it comes to psychology, but it seems to me that we have been looking at our past the wrong way. I wouldn't publish a book about my experience, but I no longer see why it is important to cringe from the memory and you shouldn't either. You had no control over what your father did to you. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

It was quite a speech, but Booth could see she had put some thought into it. He realized that she had probably figured out that it had been Hannah that had discovered some secret from his past and like the good friend she was, she hadn't pumped him for information at the time. "No, it does make sense . . . and you're right. I was a kid when my father beat the shit out of me and almost killed me . . . I don't think I told you that before . . . um, one day I spilled some milk and my father lost it . . . he grabbed me, threw me on the floor, beat the hell out of me then tried to strangle me. If Pops hadn't come over that day and stopped my father I probably would have died . . . I don't like to talk about it, but well . . . I guess I shouldn't keep that from you since you told me about the car trunk story . . . It's weird, but both of us almost died when we were kids, but we didn't and we did good with our lives . . . we beat the system, both of us. We proved we weren't losers and . . . well, you're right, I'm not embarrassed about my childhood anymore. It happened and the first nine years of my life is not going to dictate how I live the rest of my life."

Slowly nodding her head, Brennan knew he was right. "And my three years in Foster Care doesn't reflect who I am. I know there are people who look down on foster children, but their ignorance is their problem, not mine. I used to get upset when people disparaged foster children, but I don't anymore. Those people speak from privilege and have no idea what living in Foster Care is like. We aren't worth less because we didn't have parents and I refuse to allow them to treat me like I have no value."

Taking her hands in his hands, Booth leaned over and kissed Brennan. "Hey, Bones . . ." He kissed her again. "You value to me. You value to Angela and Hodgins and Cam, your Dad, your brother and your nieces and God knows Pops loves you." He kissed her once more. "You and me . . . I love you, Bones." His lips brushed her lips. "I will always love you."

She felt a shiver run down her spine. She had never loved anyone like she loved her partner and his kisses made her feel loved and wanted. "I love you, Booth. I may not say it as often as I should, but I do love you."

"I know, Bones. I do know that."

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