Message from FictionWriter91: Hi, guys. I'm sorry for the long wait (and for the confusion around why the chapter wasn't able to be seen the last time I posted...turns out the site was having a glitch). There has just been so much going on in my life including some tragedies, which caused me to shut down for a while. I'm rallying around, but it seems the bad news just keeps coming, and I'm bracing myself for impact. I'm trying to write again to help distract myself from it all. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. We have two more chapters to go for this story plus an epilogue, which are currently being edited and will be posted very soon. I'm trying to get back into The Ghosts in the Babies, but it's really hard right now to talk about people being medically sick. I promise to try as sometimes it's therapeutic for me to write emotional material, which I've done in the past to help cope through stuff. Anyway, thank you for your patience, and happy reading.

Booth opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Brennan still asleep beside him. He couldn't help but smile to himself. This was the sixth morning in a row he'd woken up next to her, and it still felt surreal. It seemed to be an unspoken thing between them that he stay there every night. He sometimes worried she would change her mind, but he felt confident that things would be okay.

"Why are you staring at me?" Brennan asked, not even opening her eyes.

"How do you do that?" Booth questioned, amazed.

"I can hear you blinking."

"You cannot," he laughed.

"I can! It's louder than you think," she smiled, finally opening her eyes. "Just like I can hear you smile."

Booth smiled wide, and he realized his mouth did make a noise when he did so. He did it a few more times just for fun. She gave a small laugh at his silliness.

"All right, I'll give you the smile, but there's no way you can hear me blinking," he argued.

"I have better hearing than you," she shrugged.

"I disagree..."

He went to tackle her then, and she laughed as she tried to fight him off. It ended with her distracting him by kissing him. Then there was a knock on the door, and they knew Parker was awake.

"I got it," Booth said, rolling out of the bed and hitting the floor like a cat. He hiked his pants on and threw a t-shirt over his head before opening the door.

"I'm gonna be late for school," Parker said.

"Naw, we'll get you there on time," Booth insisted. "Come on, let's get you some food."

Brennan smiled as she heard them talking and going down the hall. She loved this, more than she thought she would. Then her phone rang, and she groaned.

No rest for anyone it seemed.

...

"I think it's time," Booth said as they drove to the crime scene.

"Time for what?" Brennan asked cautiously. She was thinking about the body they were going to see. At least, they thought it was a body. It was in a crater apparently.

"Time for Parker to meet his grandparents," Booth said. "Michael and Janet."

Brennan had forgotten all about them. She pondered this and knew Booth had a point. They were Parker's biological grandparents.

"They won't fight for custody, will they?" she asked, worried suddenly.

"No," Booth snorted. "I think they'll be thrilled to meet him. It's like getting a piece of Rebecca back, you know?"

"He's not Rebecca..." she started.

"No, but he's her son. Therefore, he is a piece of her."

"Okay," Brennan said, trying to understand.

"I want to do this for them," Booth went on. "The last time I saw them was to tell them how Rebecca had died, and it was one of the worst moments in my life. At the time, I didn't know Parker was my son, so I had no news for them about their grandchild. Then everything got so confusing and muddled, and I just wanted the right time to bring him to meet them, and I think now is the right time."

"You don't have to plead your case," Brennan assured him. "I'm fine with it."

"Good," he smiled. He thought back on his last visit with Janet and Michael. It was right after Brennan had been buried alive and he'd solved Rebecca's case. Janet had been angry and emotional. Even Michael had been enraged and crying by the time Booth had finished telling them. He had kept his distance since then because it was too hard to be around them. It made him think of Rebecca and how she died, and he couldn't handle it most of the time. He felt bad for not fighting harder to be in her life. If he had, maybe she'd still be alive. He doubted they would be together, but she'd at least be alive. It was hard to think about.

"Booth?" Brennan's voice brought him back.

"Huh? Yea?"

"Turn here," she gestured.

"Right," he nodded, putting his blinker on and changing lanes. It was time to focus on the case.

...

It was an interesting case. It involved an astronaut who had fallen out of an airplane or had been pushed out of one. It definitely got Hodgins riled up about aliens, and Booth easily got exasperated with his theories. Now, he and Brennan were going to speak with Commander James. They were walking towards the building when Brennan spoke.

"What if they don't like him?" she asked.

"What if who won't like who?" he asked back, confused.

"Michael and Janet. What if they don't like Parker?"

"Have you met the kid?" Booth asked, incredulous. "What's not to like about him?"

"Yes, I have met Parker. Obviously. I'm just feeling overprotective, that's all," she said. "I've never met them, though. I don't know what they're like."

"They're great people, and they'll love him. I promise," Booth said.

Brennan did her best to take his word for it. They met with someone who said Commander James was going out to the A300 Zero-G and they could go with him. James was clearly upset about the victim's death. Then the conversation turned to the area of whether or not someone had it in for the victim, Cal Howard, and James assured them there wouldn't be anyone but promised to help if they needed it.

"We're going to be weightless for about 20 seconds," he said now, and Brennan looked at Booth, who was grinning. She started to laugh as she went into the air. It was an incredible feeling, and when it was over, she really wanted to do it again.

"You have something else you wanted to share with us," Booth said, looking at James.

"Right," James nodded. "Well, Cal talked to the S.T.C."

Booth and Brennan looked at each other, having no clue what he was talking about.

...

Hodgins happily explained to them what the S.T.C. was. Space Travel Coalition, which was a funded tourism and space exploration group. This led them to speaking with the head of the organization, who claimed he had been abducted multiple times by aliens. He also shared that Cal Howard had seen something in space on one of his missions and was looking to going back up to help the S.T.C. out. Then Cal changed his mind because his family and the agency "got to him."

"Phew," Booth said as they went to his SUV to go talk to Cal's wife again. "That was intense."

"I think he should consider medication for his post-abduction syndrome," Brennan said.

"You think it really happened?"

"He believes it happened, so in saying that, he's still experiencing those feelings and should try medication," Brennan shrugged.

"I wonder what Cal saw," Booth mused. Brennan didn't want to think about the case anymore. She was thinking about Parker and him meeting his grandparents.

"I do think it's a good idea," she said, making him look at her.

"What is?"

"Parker meeting his grandparents. He seemed intrigued with my father, so I think it would be good for him."

"You're still thinking about it?" Booth asked. "I thought you already agreed it was a good idea."

"Yes. It's still on my mind."

"Do you want to meet them first?" he offered.

"No," she shook her head. "I trust your judgment."

"You're welcome to come if you'd like," he told her.

"I think it should be a father and son trip," Brennan advised.

"Okay."

He reached to put his hand on top of hers, curling his fingers around hers and squeezing. He still couldn't believe they were together sometimes. He felt really lucky, and he never wanted that feeling to go away.

...

"Hi, Angela," Parker smiled when he saw Angela waiting for him at school.

"Hey, bud," she smiled back.

"Are Bones and my Dad on a case?"

"Yes, they are."

"Cool, so we get to hang out?" he asked.

"For sure," Angela nodded. She was a little spaced out because she was still thinking about the marriage proposal she got from Hodgins. They walked to her car, and Parker got in while she got into the driver's seat.

"Can we get pizza?" he asked hopefully.

"Sounds great," Angela answered. She pointed her car in that direction. They drove in silence for a moment until Parker spoke again.

"Are you sad?" he asked.

"Me? No," Angela replied, shaking her head.

"You seem sad," he insisted. "Did Hodgins make you sad?"

"No, not at all," Angela denied. "In fact, he did something really wonderful. Can you keep a secret?"

"Yup," Parker nodded.

"What am I talking about. Of course you can," Angela chuckled. "All right. He asked me to marry him."

"Really?! Cool!"

"Right? It is cool," Angela agreed.

"Did you say yes?"

"I didn't," Angela sighed. She didn't know why. Well, she sort of knew why. There just wasn't a feeling when he had asked. She didn't know how to explain it.

"Don't you like him anymore?" Parker asked.

"I love him. I don't know why I said no."

Parker was quiet as he thought. Angela hated to admit that she felt afraid. If she said yes, and they got married, would their relationship change and go sour? She loved how things were now. Getting engaged just seemed like a huge step, and she wasn't sure if she was ready.

"If he loves you, then I think he will be okay with waiting," Parker finally said. Angela felt her heart tug at this. Who needed a therapist when you had a young boy who had more wisdom for his age than any other child she'd ever met?

...

Brennan loved solving a case. It gave her a rush of adrenaline that was hard to explain. Based on what Zack had found in Cal's leg, they surmised he was planning on going to space again, which led them to realizing that would be making it so that someone else wouldn't be going. They arrested James and his wife for murdering Cal because he told James he wanted to go back up into space, and James's wife got upset and slapped him, causing him to step back into the plane's propellers. Then they panicked and dumped the body.

"I'd bury a body for you," Booth told Brennan as they went to relieve Ashley from babysitting, who had come over to take over from Angela so she could go on her date with Hodgins.

"Don't say that," Brennan scolded. He laughed and put his arm around her, kissing the side of her head.

"I think Parker would love zero gravity," Booth went on.

"Yes! Maybe one day we could take him to do it," she suggested.

"I'll have a chat with them. See if it's possible," Booth agreed.

"Hi, guys," Ashley said as they went inside Brennan's apartment. "He's all fed up and ready for bed."

"Thanks," Brennan smiled, handing her some cash.

"Bye, buddy!" Ashley called.

"Bye, Ashley!"

Brennan went to set down her bag while Booth picked up Parker, who had run over to him.

"Angela said your case included an astronaut?" Parker asked, excited.

"Sure did," Booth grinned.

"Cool!"

"It was pretty cool. We also got to go weightless on a plane," Booth shared.

"That's so awesome! Can I do that one day?"

"We'll see."

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Booth asked Parker now, setting him back on the ground.

"Sure," Parker nodded. Brennan stood and watched from the kitchen as Booth led him to the couch and sat down beside him.

"What if I told you that you have grandparents," Booth started. Parker was instantly alert.

"I have grandparents?" he asked. His voice was intrigued.

"They're your mother's parents," Booth went on. "They're sad that she died, but I think they would really like to meet you if you want to meet them."

Brennan felt sad for Parker in this moment. The boy knew his mother was dead. The story had been told to him by her and Booth in a child friendly way to help him understand why he was in foster care in the first place and why Booth didn't know he was his son. Brennan recalled the dream Parker had about Rebecca, and Parker had put it together that she was his real mother after all when he heard the story. He didn't remember the two adults who claimed to be his parents that had him in the car and died in the accident, which was the story he had been originally told.

"I want to meet them," Parker said immediately.

"Okay," Booth smiled. "I'll take you over there tomorrow."

"Okay!"

"Their names are Michael and Janet," Booth went on.

"Isn't that the name of our old social worker?" Parker asked, confused.

"So it is," Booth said, realizing. "Well, look at that. It's a common name after all."

"It's a pretty name. I like it," Parker grinned.

"I think you'll like them," Booth promised.

"I can't wait to meet them," Parker said excitedly.

Booth looked over at Brennan, who smiled back. He would get some family history and learn more about his mother. She knew that would be important for him.

She just hoped they would love him as much as she did.

...

Parker held Booth's hand as he rang the doorbell. They waited, and soon a man answered the door.

"Booth," he said, surprised. "Hi."

"Hey," Booth said back. "Is this a good time?"

Michael looked at him and the boy, and he got an expression on his face that could only be described as hope.

"Yes," he said. "Come in. Janet!" He called her name as he let Booth and Parker inside. Janet came from the basement, dusting off her hands on her pants.

"Hello," she said, seeing Booth. "What brings you here?"

Booth looked at them and then at Parker before resting his hand on Parker's head.

"This," he started, "is your grandson."

There was a moment of silence, and then Janet clutched her heart and mouth and started to cry and laugh. Michael stood there looking like he was either going to cry or be jubilant.

"Are they unhappy to meet me?" Parker asked, looking at Booth.

"Oh, no!" Janet exclaimed, going down onto her knees in front of Parker. "I'm so, so happy to meet you! I just got overwhelmed. You look like your mother." She fussed over Parker before pulling him into a tight hug. Michael hugged him next before they all went to the living room. Booth stepped back to let them interact with Parker, who was beaming and chatting with them about school and things. Janet kept reaching out to touch him while Michael kept marveling at how much Parker was grown up and how wonderful he was.

Booth smiled. He wished Brennan could have seen it, but he knew she had an idea of what this reunion would look like. He felt glad that he had done this. Seeing their faces had been worth it. Seeing them love him instantly was worth it.

It was a beautiful image he would never forget.