A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. They are appreciated.
Let's see what's going on with Booth and Parker as they travel to Philadelphia to see Pops.
After much discussion, Rebecca had finally given her consent for Booth to take Parker out of school for a couple of days so the boy could go see his Great Grandpops over the weekend. Booth had been somewhat annoyed with her reluctance to agree to the plan, but after many assurances that he'd make sure that Parker would make up his missed schoolwork, he'd finally convinced her that the trip was important for the emotional well being of both his son and his grandfather.
So on a cold, blustery Friday morning, Booth and Parker walked swiftly through the busy Washington Union Station to find the correct platform so they could leave for Philadelphia. They paused for a few minutes along the way to admire a giant Christmas tree decorated with thousands of lights while a nearby Salvation Army brass band was playing seasonal music loudly, hoping to be heard above the bustling crowds. Smiling in appreciation for their efforts, Booth pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and slipped into their red kettle.
Smiling happily, one of the musicians called out to him. "Thank you! Merry Christmas, sir!"
"Merry Christmas to you, too."
By the time they reached the platform, Parker was literally bouncing with excitement as they waited to board their train. "This is gonna be so much fun! I can't wait to see Pops! And I'm so glad we get to ride on the train! I love trains, don't you, Dad? Are we gonna do fun stuff in Philadelphia? I told Ricky that I get to miss school and ride on a train, and he was so jealous! He said it was 'no fair', but I told him it's not my fault that my Pops lives in Philadelphia. When I go to Vermont with Mom over Christmas I wonder if we're gonna take a train there, too. That would be fun…"
Booth chuckled to himself as he listened to Parker's chatter. "Okay, okay...one question at a time, okay? Yes, I like to take the train to Philadelphia...it's a lot easier than driving. And yes, we're gonna do some fun stuff in Philly this weekend…"
"ALL ABOARD!," the conductor called. "Amtrak train 102, nonstop to Philadelphia, boarding now. Please present your tickets upon boarding…"
The Booth men quickly grabbed their bags and scrambled up the steps to their car. After finding their seats, Booth stowed their bags in the overhead compartment before settling in for their trip.
Parker's eyes shone with delight as he looked at his surroundings. The train cars had been decorated with festive red garlands, entwined with small twinkling lights, which had been strung between the windows. The windows themselves were frosted with snowflake decals, and tiny star shaped lights were suspended from the ceiling.
Parker tugged on his father's arm as he pointed out the decorations. "Wow, Dad...it's so cool! It's like that book I have where the boy takes the train to go to the North Pole to see Santa Claus!"
"Oh, you mean The Polar Express? Yeah...I love that book." Sighing softly, Booth tried to quell his ongoing resentment towards Rebecca. It seemed like many years had passed since he'd last read that story to Parker on Christmas Eve, and he'd miss that tradition again this year. I've gotta put my foot down...next year I want him to spend Christmas with me…
Clad in a bright red jacket with a sprig of holly pinned to his lapel, the train steward came by to check on his passengers as the train pulled away from the station. "May I offer you something to drink, gentlemen?"
"I'll have a black coffee with a couple of packets of sugar…" Booth pointed at his son. "...and he'll have a hot chocolate with lotsa extra marshmallows, and maybe a couple of cookies if you have any available.."
"Very good, sir." Tipping his cap, the steward walked down the aisle, taking drink orders as he went.
Parker laughed out loud. "Extra marshmallows? Thanks, Dad."
"No problem." Booth pointed at Parker's backpack. "It's gonna be about ninety minutes until we get to Philly, so you need to get some math done."
"Aww...do I hafta? C'mon, Dad...I'm on vacation." Parker pretended to pout a bit, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. "Why do I hafta do it now?"
"I promised your mom and your teacher that you'd keep up with your work, so chop chop. Get started on that division, okay?" Booth shook his head at his son's complaints while he unfolded his newspaper. "Seriously, what is it? 20 problems or so? You should have that done in no time, right?" He winked at his son. "And then you can do your spelling. If you want to get a good job, you have to be able to do math and spell."
"Why?," Parker groaned as he pulled his math workbook out of his bag. "I hate division…and spelling is boring..." Seeing his father's stern expression, he sighed. "...but I'll do it anyway."
"Good choice." Chuckling to himself as he looked over the paper's front page, he nodded as he murmured to himself. "Yeah...he's right. Spelling is boring…"
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After making sure Parker had started his work, Booth tried to concentrate on his newspaper, but it seemed he had too much on his mind. Pulling out his phone, he sighed softly as he saw the missed calls. "I guess I should've returned Max's call before we left...," he muttered to himself. "...but I knew I couldn't handle all of his nosy questions about me and Bones and what's going on between us without blowing my top, so ignoring him was probably a better idea for now. After all, it's not like I actually know what's going on with her…" He watched the scenery pass by as he thought over the enigma that was his Bones. "...and I'm not sure I'll ever know. Still...not calling Max back was a real chicken shit move on my part, wasn't it?"
Grumbling softly, he sent a quick text to Max and put his phone away. "I'll call him when we get home next week…"
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About thirty minutes had passed when Parker looked up from his schoolwork. He was surprised to see that his father hadn't finished his coffee, and that the newspaper had been tossed aside, obviously unread. Instead, his father was staring out the train's window with an unhappy look on his face.
"Dad, can I ask you a question?"
Turning to his son with a faint smile, Booth nodded. "Of course. You can ask me anything you want, Buddy."
"Okay. Um…" The boy hesitated for a minute, twisting the hem of his sweatshirt nervously. "Are you sad about something? Is it because Hannah left? Did I do something that made her leave?"
Shit! Why would he bring her up now? Trying to be calm, Booth shook his head as he patted Parker's knee. "I may be a little bit sad right now, but it's not really because of Hannah...and no, it wasn't anything you did that made her leave. She and I just weren't right for each other, so she moved away, okay? Unfortunately, it took a long time for me to figure out that we shouldn't be together, but that's how things work sometimes."
Parker's brow furrowed as he thought about his father's answer. "So if you knew that you and Hannah shouldn't be together after all, and she left DC, why are you sad?"
Why? That's the million dollar question, isn't it? Shrugging, Booth turned to look out the window again. "I think it's because I've made some mistakes that hurt somebody's feelings, and I don't know how to make things better. It bothers me, that's all." He turned back to Parker with a weak smile. "But that's not gonna keep me and you from having fun while we're visiting Pops, okay? When we get there, we're gonna check into our hotel and then go have a cheese steak sandwich before we go over to his place. We're gonna eat dinner with him tonight, and then tomorrow we'll go back to see him and then, guess what? Tomorrow night we're going to a Villanova basketball game! Sounds like fun, right?"
"Yeah!" Parker nodded happily at the prospect before changing the subject again. "But, Dad…"
"Yeah?"
"If you're feeling sad, why don't you talk to Bones about it? She always makes you feel better…"
Sighing softly, Booth scratched his chin. It was true...even Parker knew that. Talking to Bones usually made him feel better. The problem was getting her to talk to him in return…
"I tell you what...when we get home, I'll call her, okay? But for now, I want us to concentrate on having fun on this trip. Pops is gonna be so glad to see you…"
They spent the rest of the train ride talking about their plans for the weekend, but a nagging thought still lingered in the back of Booth's mind.
I need to talk to Bones...
A/N: I won't be publishing a chapter tomorrow but our story will resume soon. Wishing all of you Happy Holidays. Laura
