(The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

"Are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself?" Booth was very nervous leaving his grandfather alone in the apartment, but he and Brennan had a case. "I'll just be a phone call away if you need me."

Annoyed that his grandson was treating him like an invalid, Hank waved his hand towards the door. "Will you go already? I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for years." He saw his grandson still hesitating and he was losing what little patience he had left. "I'm going to lay on this bed in this room and watch television when I'm not going to the bathroom every fifteen minutes, damn diuretic."

Starting to lose patience herself, Brennan tugged on Booth's arm. "Booth, the doctor said that Hank could be alone since he's recovering quite well and we do have a home care nurse coming at eight. He's only going to be by himself for one hour. We need to get to the crime scene before someone contaminates it."

Reluctantly, Booth turned and walked to the doorway only to pause and glance back. "Pops, if you need anything call me."

Glad to see him leaving, Hank waved his hand. "Yeah yeah." Once his grandson and Brennan were gone, he picked up the remote and turned on the television, found a rerun of MASH only to drop the remote on the bed and get out of bed. "Damn it, I hate taking a diuretic. Piss all day, piss all night."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

"Bones, I think we need to look for a house now." Booth had wanted to wait until he was one hundred percent better, but that looked impossible now. "I know we said we were going to wait, but . . . Pops can't live by himself anymore . . . I . . . uh . . . Would it be okay if we bought a house and Pops lived with us?" He held his breath and hoped Brennan would think it was okay. There weren't a lot of options available for his grandfather. He certainly couldn't live with Jared. The man wasn't reliable at all.

She had already come to the conclusion that Hank would need to live in a situation where he could be monitored. "I think that would be fine, Booth. I just think that might not be the best solution to your grandfather's situation."

Puzzled, Booth glanced at Brennan and then back at the road. The day was a bright sunny day and they had to drive out to the suburbs for their current case. "What do you mean?"

Brennan liked Hank and wouldn't have minded if he lived with them, but she felt that Booth needed to be practical. "We work long hours. Somedays we're barely home for nine hours. In the past, we've had situations where we've had to leave town for several days. Hank wouldn't get the proper care he needs . . . I think he would be better in an assisted living home. He would have someone monitoring his health. They would make sure he ate three nutritious meals a day. He would have people his own age to interact with. Living with us . . . essentially he would be living by himself. He'd be isolated. Don't you see?"

He understood what she was saying, but it just seemed wrong. "Yeah, but I should be able to take care of him . . . he took care of me when I needed it . . . it just seems like I'd betraying him when he needs me the most."

"You aren't betraying anyone Booth." Brennan hated it when Booth seemed to take the weight of the world on his shoulders. She knew that burden could be crushing. She had seen the sleepless nights he had when she was sick, the way his brother used him and thought nothing of it. "If you wish for Hank to live with us, then we can try. It will be awhile before we can buy a house since we need to start our search and make sure we buy what is best for us. In the meantime, Hank can live with us in our apartment and see how he manages with our work schedule. We'll have someone come in a few hours each day to prepare his lunch and make sure he is taking his medication properly."

Her plan seemed reasonable and he was thankful that she was so open to letting his grandfather live with them. "Sounds like a good plan. We can start looking at listings for houses today and see what's out there and Pops can get used to living with us. Maybe he'll do okay with us, but if he doesn't then I can talk to him about a retirement home . . . Thanks Bones. I know you didn't count on taking care of Pops when you let me move in with you."

"You're welcome, Booth. Hank is part of our family." And she meant that. Booth was her family and that meant that his grandfather was her grandfather too. She had never had a grandparent in her life and she actually liked the experience. It was pleasant. "The only family I had as a child were my parents and Russ. My father claims there were no other family members, but who knows. Max lied about so much when I was growing up. I can't really trust what he says."

"Well, Pops is your grandfather now, so you have a grandparent after all." Booth turned off the road and entered into a cookie cutter subdivision. "We made good time. Hopefully no one screwed around with the body."

Brennan searched ahead for the crime scene, eager to begin work. "The techs had better have followed proper procedure."

That sounded menacing to Booth, so he hoped his techs hadn't messed up. He had seen his girlfriend make techs cry before and that was not a pretty sight.

Ooooooooooooooooo

Hank found it rather boring to be living with his grandson and his girlfriend. He was alone most of the time and he missed his friends from his neighborhood. He had hoped that he might be able to go back home, but he was starting to believe that wasn't going to happen. His health wasn't the best and he was a little afraid to live alone now that he had had a heart attack. Marge had saved his life, but it had been luck that she had been there when he had needed someone to help him.

While he loved his grandson and Temperance, they were workaholics and he only saw them in the morning before they rushed off to work or late at night. He wasn't sure how they kept up that grueling pace and it worried him that his boy was still recovering from brain surgery. He had tried to make dinner for them when he had felt like he was stronger, but they had come home so late, he had stored everything in the fridge, cleaned the kitchen the best he could and went to bed. After that, he just made a sandwich in the evening and watched television until he was too tired to stay up and went to bed.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

For once, Booth made it home around six and hurried into the apartment. Brennan was still working, but she would be home in an hour or so. After he changed clothes, he left his bedroom and found his grandfather sitting in the dining room as he passed by on the way to the kitchen. "Hey Pops, we're going to have Cacio e Pepe. Bones loves it."

"Okay." He had given his grandson his wife's handwritten cookbook when he had asked for a copy. Hank loved to cook, but he kept it simple since he lived on his own and he knew his boy loved his grandmother's recipes. "Sounds good."

Before he entered the kitchen, Booth walked over to the dining room table to see what his grandfather was working on. "Whatcha doing?"

"I'm writing down all of my assets. I'm thinking of moving into a retirement home and I need to start thinking about selling my house and my car." Hank loved his grandson, but he really thought he would be better off in a retirement home. "If I sell my stuff and I add my retirement from the force and my social security, I should be able to afford a nice one. Not a fancy one, but maybe one where I have my own room and I can have some of my own stuff with me."

A little stunned, Booth sat down. "Bones and I thought you might like to live with us. We're looking for a house and we're going to make sure it has a handicap bathroom and we'll have enough bedrooms so you can have one."

Hank patted his grandson's hand. "I appreciate that Shrimp, but you people are hardly ever home and it's kind of boring by myself. That young lady that comes by is nice, but she thinks the Vietnam War was ancient history. She's just not a good conversationalist and television isn't all that great anymore . . . If I were in a retirement home, I'd be with people my age who know what it was like to live through World War II and Korea and who knows who Jack Paar and Johnny Carson were." He saw that his grandson was upset, but he needed to move on with his life and he didn't want to be an unnecessary burden. "I know you want me to be around, Son, but it would just be better for me and for you if I moved out as soon as I can . . . Okay?"

"Alright." Booth was disappointed, but if his grandfather hated living with him, then he wouldn't stand in his way. "I'm going to go make dinner."

"Seeley." Hank stood up and leaned on the table. "I really appreciate what you and Temperance hve been doing for me, letting me live here and all, but it's for the best. I love you, but you have your life to live and I have mine. You can visit me whenever you want to and I can come visit you when you have time for me. This will be good for both of us . . . Okay?"

Booth nodded his head and smiled a rather sad smile. "Sure I get it." As he walked into the kitchen, Booth heard his grandfather move his chair and he looked back as the man sat back down and continued to write.

He knew he was doing the right thing and Hank was sure that his grandson would see it was for the better once he was in a retirement home. He appreciated that his boy was in a great relationship with a wonderful woman who loved him and looked after him. It was what he had always wanted for his grandson and he knew that if he stayed she might grow to resent his presence. It was not his intention to make her regret becoming involved with her boyfriend. He considered Temperance like a granddaughter and he hoped that someday that she would make him a great-grandfather. She was kind and compassionate, but she also worked too hard along with his grandson and they needed to be able to come home and have alone time. He would just be in the way. He was sure he was making the right decision for everyone.

Ooooooooooooooooo

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