A/N: Let's see what Hank has to say about how things are going for Booth...


Booth patted Parker's shoulder as they walked up to the front door of the retirement center. "Now remember what I said...you have to be careful when you give Pops a hug, okay? He might lose his balance if you're too rough. You don't want to knock him over, right?"

Parker regarded his father with wide-eyed concern. "Is Pops sick, Dad?"

"Nah, not really." Booth shrugged as he pulled open the door. "He's just getting older, and sometimes, when people get older, they aren't as strong and steady on their feet as they used to be. Just take it easy, and everything will be fine. You'll see…"

After checking in at the front desk, he pointed to a wooden bench. "She said Pops would be down in a bit, so let's wait here."

A few minutes later, Hank Booth was beaming as he saw his visitors. "Shrimp! And Little Shrimp, too! Well, let's have a look at you two…" He gave his grandson a hug before tousling Parker's hair. "You're gonna have to keep an eye on this one, Shrimp...he'll be taller than you before you know it! He'll be able whip his old man pretty soon if you're not careful..."

"You're looking good, too, Pops. Hey, we brought you something…" Booth held out a box of chocolate covered cherries. "You're favorite, right?"

"Yep...I love these things!" Grinning happily, Pops pointed toward the large community lounge. "Hey, let's go sit down in there. It's a bit too cramped for all three of us to spend much time in my room."

As they made themselves comfortable, Booth looked at his son. "So, Parker, tell Pops what you've been up to…"

"Okay." Parker took a deep breath before launching into a list of his exploits. "I've been playing hockey on an under twelve team, and we practice twice a week and we won our last 3 games. I'm a right winger and I've scored a goal. And I'm going skiing with my mom in Vermont over Christmas...I like skiing...oh, and I'm gonna be Blitzen the reindeer in the school's winter play. Can you come watch it, Pops? It'll be in a couple of weeks. Maybe you could take the train like we did when we came here. It's called 'Rudolph goes to Hollywood', and I get to talk in it and sing and dance and wear a costume and everything…"

"You know, kiddo, I might just do that." Hank gave Parker a sly wink. "I'll have to see what your dad says…"

Rolling his eyes, Booth laughed. "As if I'd ever actually say no to a visit from you, right? Of course you can come if you want, Pops. You can stay with me instead of getting a hotel, okay? I've got plenty of room. In fact, you can spend all Christmas week with me if you want."

"Well, I probably won't stay that long." Wearing a silly grin, he winked at his grandson. "I've got a date for the center's Christmas Eve party. Her name's Mamie Flaherty, and she's a cutie, okay? Can't miss that..."

"Oh." Surprised at that news, Booth cleared his throat. "I see. Well, that's...good."

"You got that right. So, Parker…," Pops said in a serious tone, turning to his great grandson. "Are you making good marks at school?"

"Um...yeah, I guess so. I'm pretty good at math, except I think division is hard, and I usually get good grades in History and reading, but spelling is so boring! Did you have to learn to spell hard words when you were in school, Pops?"

"Of course! I had to learn to spell all sorts of big words when I was in school! You know, that was a long time ago, and we didn't have a computer to check our work for us. We had to just know, okay? And if we had a word spelled wrong, our teacher would mark through it with a big red X, and if you got too many X's, you got a big fat F!"

Slightly worried that his grandfather was going to regale them with long winded tales of walking uphill both to and from school, Booth gently interrupted. "Parker did real well in the school's science fair, too…"

"I did okay, I guess." The boy shrugged as he studied his nails. "I got third place this year. I probably would've done better, but Dr. Brennan couldn't help me with it. She was real busy with work, and anyway, I don't think she liked Hannah too much..."

Great. I should've known that was coming. I walked right into that one, didn't I? Cringing as he saw Pops' disapproving look, Booth spoke up quickly. "Hey, Parker...why don't you get out your tablet so you can read your library book for a while before we eat, okay?"

"Okay." Digging around in his backpack, the boy wore an ornery smirk. "If I read for 15 minutes, then can I play a game?"

"Yeah, that's fine." After making sure Parker was out of earshot, Booth turned to his grandfather, grunting angrily as he saw the older man's glare. "Don't even start with me about Bones, Pops. Seriously...I don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah, I bet you don't!" Hank rolled his eyes in exasperation at his grandson's scowl. "What? I'm just surprised that you deprived that boy of getting some extra help on his project, that's all. I mean, he was disappointed about not doing better, right? And Temperance coulda helped him…but it seems like you let Hannah get in the way of the boy's education, right? That's not like you, Shrimp."

Realizing that he might've sounded disrespectful, Booth quickly apologized. "Look, I'm sorry if I sounded abrupt, but it's not as simple as that, Pops, and you know it." Exhaling slowly, Booth leaned back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. "Things were just really weird between Bones and Hannah, that's all…"

"Yeah, right. I bet you were surprised by that little development, right?" Hank grunted in annoyance, wondering how his smart grandson could possibly be so dense.. "So let me get this straight, Shrimp. You propose to that blonde reporter, and when she dumps you, Temperance comes to your rescue, picking up your drunken ass from the bar and taking you home so you don't get nailed for being drunk in public. She makes sure you're okay, right? She's stood by you no matter what, right? Through your brain tumor? Through all of your ups and downs with Rebecca and with work? Through your fling with Blondie? She even tried to be friendly with that reporter, right? She's put up with all your shit without batting an eye, right? And you still can't figure out what that means?" Pursing his lips with a sour expression, Hank shook his head. "I thought I'd raised you better than that."

Stung by his grandfather's scolding, Booth responded angrily. "You raised me to respect women, and that's what I'm doing...I'm respecting her personal space, okay? She's been abandoned before, Pops...you know that, right? And in a way, I abandoned our partnership...and her...when I started up with Hannah. I know now that it was a huge mistake to try to be in a permanent relationship with Hannah...and I know I've hurt Bones badly with all my stupidity. I know she feels like I'm a jerk, okay? And I want to fix things, but I don't know how. I don't know what to say to make her listen to me…and that's enough on that topic, okay? I said I don't want to talk about it..."

"Listen, you can call it 'respecting her personal space' if you want, but ignoring things between you and her isn't gonna make it better, okay?" Shifting to get comfortable in his chair, Hank Booth smiled gently as he patted his grandson's knee. "Just tell her the truth, Shrimp...tell her that you love her…"

Booth groaned in frustration. "You make it sound so easy, Pops...but I don't even know if she'll give me the time of day...let alone listen to me long enough for me to tell her that."

"You're a smart boy...you'll figure it out. I bet you'll know what to do when the time comes." Hank pointed towards Parker, who was sound asleep in the big overstuffed chair he'd chosen. "Looks like that boy has the same problem I do...reading puts me to sleep, too. How about a game of dominos while he takes his nap?"

Booth nodded, trying to sound happy with the idea. "Yeah, sure thing, Pops."

But no matter how hard he tried, Booth couldn't concentrate on the game. One thought kept swirling through his brain.

I've gotta talk to Bones...


I hope you've had a wonderful holiday season. We have a way to go before this story is complete, so please check back soon.

I appreciate the kind reviews. Thank you. Laura.