(The Party in the Pants)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it. It's the only way I can tell if you're still interested in my stories.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooo

Marianne had debated with herself whether it was a good idea to try to see her youngest son and in the end she decided that she deserved to see her baby boy since it had been such a long time. She had originally planned to just see her oldest child and give him her good news, but after careful thought, she knew she couldn't stay away from Jared just because she hadn't seen him since he was three years old.

Since she didn't know where her sons were living, she had contacted her former father-in-law and had asked him for the addresses for both of her sons. His reaction hadn't been what she'd expected and it was a little upsetting.

"Marianne, why do you want to see them now?" Hank had stared at his daughter-in-law and wondered what she was up to. "Those boys aren't children anymore. You haven't seen Jared since he was three and Seeley was eight. Why don't you just leave them alone. They're doing alright and I don't think they need any more emotional upheavals in their lives."

A little shocked, Marianne stared at Hank and found herself wondering why he wanted her to stay away from her own children. "I'm their mother. I have wonderful news to share with them. I'm sure they'd like to see me again. It's been so long."

"Yeah, it's been a really long time and they're living their lives." Hank shook his head. "Look, I'll give you their addresses, but don't expect them to greet you with open arms. They haven't seen you for over thirty years. My son . . . their father is dead, I'm sure you know that and their ties with the past are cut. It's what they want."

"No, I'm still their mother and I am going to see them." Upset that the old man was being so mean to her, Marianne lifted her chin with determination. "Edwin is dead, but I'm not. I've done well for myself over the years and I'm getting married now what Edwin is dead. I want my boys to come to my wedding."

His turn to be shocked, Hank exhaled deeply and tried to control his impatience. "Good luck with that." Grabbing a pen and a piece of paper from the bookcase near the door, Hank wrote down the addresses and handed the slip of paper to his daughter-in-law. "They're gown men, Marianne. They don't need their mama anymore."

Angry, she took the paper and tucked into her purse. "You're wrong, Hank. I'm alive and you will see that they do need me."

Once she was gone, Hank closed the door and sat down on the couch. "She should have stayed away. This is bad."

Oooooooooooooooooo

A little nervous, Marianne decided to approach her youngest son first. Surely he'd be happy to see her. He had been her little shadow when he was a toddler. He had followed her from room to room when he was little, jabbering away, holding his toy tiger in one hand and his other hand holding a sippy cup or a cookie. Jared had loved her so much and she knew that love never died between a mother and her child.

Standing in front of his apartment, Marianne ran her hand down her skirt making sure there were no wrinkles to be seen. She wanted to make a good first impression since it had been so long since she had been near her little boy. Clearing her throat, she decided her nervousness was silly and she knocked on the door. When it seemed that no one was home, the door opened and a fine looking man appeared, frowning at her.

"Yeah?" Jared had been taking a nap and he didn't appreciate being awakened from a sound sleep.

With a bright smile on her face, Marianne introduced herself. "It's Mama, Jared. I've come to see you."

Shocked, Jared stared at the stranger for a moment and decided it was possible this was his mother. "So? Am I supposed to be happy seeing you?" He hadn't seen him mother since he was three years old and he had given up on ever seeing her again. She had abandoned him and his grandmother had taken her place in his heart long ago.

Her eyes widened in disbelief Marianne shook her head. "But I'm your mother. Why wouldn't you be happy to see me?"

"It's been 34 years since I've seen you. 34 years. Where the hell have you been? Huh?" Jared was angry and he couldn't believe this was happening. "Tell me why it was okay for you to run away from Dad and leave me behind with that hateful piece of shit. After you left, he beat the hell out of Seeley and when he got tired of hitting him, he went after me. Why didn't you take us with you? Why?"

"I couldn't." Holding her hand out towards her son, Marianne tried to make him see reason. "The last time I was home, your father hit me so hard, I fell down the stairs and landed in the basement. I broke my hip. I was terrified to go home, so as soon as I got out of rehab, I ran away. I had to. Your father would have eventually killed me if I had returned home."

Frustrated, Jared knocked her hand away. "You could have called Pops, the police, someone and told them what was going on . . . Don't you get it? Dad almost killed Seeley. Pops came over that morning and saved him. If it wasn't for Pops, we'd probably both be dead now."

Horrified, Marrianne shook her head. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't." Jared closed his eyes for a moment and knew he needed to control himself. "Look . . . I get it. You came to see me. You've seen me now so you can leave. I needed a mother 34 years ago I don't need one now."

Hurt, Marianne felt a tear fall down her cheek. This was not how she had thought this would go. Not by a long shot. "I'm getting married . . . I wanted to share my good news with my sons."

"Great, good for you." Shaking his head, Jared suddenly felt calm. His mother was the past and he had vowed to live in the present. "Bye Mom." He closed the door and leaned his forehead on it. He used to dream of seeing his mother. For years, he had searched the faces of every woman he passed in the street, hoping to see his mother, but he had given that up after he graduated from high school. He had known it was a foolish dream and he couldn't afford to live in a dream world. The real world was a harsh and unforgiving place and by the time he had graduated from high school, he had realized that he didn't want to see his mother again. His grandfather and brother had raised him and they were his parents. They were the ones he loved. His mother and father were just incomplete images from his childhood, mere shadows in his memory, incomplete pictures of their faces haunting his dreams. He had become a man without them.

Pushing away from the door, he entered the kitchen and for the first time in months, he wished he had some beer in the fridge. He had given up drinking alcohol a year after he had met Padme. His biggest fear was he'd turn into his father and he could never let that happen. Padme had helped him give up alcohol and he couldn't betray her now.

Back in the living room, he sat down on his couch and called his grandfather. "Pops, you'll never guess who showed up at my door."

Your mother.

"Well, yeah . . . you gave her my address, didn't you?" He wasn't angry, just curious.

I wasn't going to, but then I decided it was up to you if you wanted to see her . . . How'd it go?

"How do you think it went?" He kept his temper in check. There was no need to get angry with his grandfather. "Sorry . . . I told her that she's 34 years too late and I don't need a mother anymore. I closed the door and that's that. I'm sorry Pops. I don't know what game she's playing, but I'm not interested."

She's getting married. I guess she wanted you to know.

"Yeah, she told me." Why she had told him was beyond him. "Maybe she'll have better luck with that husband. I suppose you gave her Seeley's address."

Yes.

"Okay, well that should be interesting."

Yes, it will be.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.