(The Foot in the Foreclosure)

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I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Brennan had talked it over with Booth and in the end, they hired a moving company to move everything from the apartment to the house. Their friends had offered to help them move, but Brennan wanted it done in one day. It would be more efficient and professional movers would make sure their things arrived in one piece. She worried about her antiquities and wanted professional movers to handle them during transportation.

Once everything was unloaded in to the house, Booth did get Wendell, Hodgins and Sweets to come over and help him put the beds back together and placed in the main bedroom and Parker's bedroom. They helped put the rest of the furniture in the appropriate rooms and with Brennan's help all of the carefully labeled boxes were carried into appropriate rooms and placed along the walls to be unpacked when they had the time.

Sweets and Wendell wanted to help unpack the boxes, but Booth needed to buy shelving and a bookcase for Parker's room. He also planned to buy some shelves and bookcases for the guest bedroom, the living room and the man cave, so he declined their offer. He did appreciate their help as did Brennan.

Once they looked over the rooms, Brennan put a list together of things they needed to buy to make their house a home. Besides shelves and bookcases, they needed a bed for the guest bedroom that contained the handicapped bathroom and they needed to buy materials so that Booth could build a wall between the man cave and the new guest bedroom that would take up the back half of the basement. Brennan wanted new curtains for each room and office furniture for her office. There was a lot of work to do, but they could do it at a leisurely pace. They weren't in a rush.

Once Booth's Mustang was in the garage along with his tools and the boxes he had had in storage, he was able to give up his storage unit and Booth appreciated that he would be able to use that money to help with the renovations in the basement and whatever upkeep needed done. Every little bit helped.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Booth set up the new bed in the back bedroom and made sure the attached bathroom had towels, washcloths, soap and other necessities. He planned to invite his grandfather over for a visit as soon as the house was set up, but much to his surprise the old man had done something at the retirement home and now he was at his house.

"Bones, Pops is at the house. He's going to be staying with us for a little while." Booth had just arrived back at work and he needed to let his girlfriend know that they had company.

Alright. It's a good thing the back guestroom is habitable.

"Yeah . . . look something happened at the retirement home, but he won't tell me what it was." That worried Booth a lot. "He just showed up and said he was going to visit us for a while. I know the house is still mostly unpacked boxes, but it should be okay. We can still work on them a few at a time. I'm going to stop at the store tonight and buy a television for Pops' room. I don't want him walking down stairs to the man cave when no one is around."

That sounds like an excellent idea. We can move the dresser in Parker's room into Hank's bedroom and buy a new dresser for Parker's room. I wish he had waited until we had finished setting up the rooms, but we will manage.

"Thanks, Bones." He was glad that Brennan was so understanding. "I'll cook dinner tonight. I know you're working on our case and you have your hands full trying to identify that ash body." Once the call was ended, Booth shook his head and made a few phone calls. They had a case that needed to be solved and he'd already used up some of his time driving his grandfather out to the house when he should have been working.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Hank had loved the new kitchen when he saw it and wanted to surprise his hosts by cooking dinner for them. He started prepping everything that needed to go into his lasagna, but something went wrong and a kitchen towel caught on fire. A fire extinguisher located next to the fridge helped him put out the fire on the stove, but he didn't count on the smoke detector being hooked up to an alarm company who contacted the fire department and Booth.

Booth arrived home to find a fire truck in the driveway which made him worry about his grandfather's safety. Hurrying into the house, he found Hank sitting next to the breakfast table in the kitchen with a fireman and a paramedic sitting next to him. "Everything okay?" The top of the stove was scorched and the ceiling above the stove looked as if it had smoke damage.

Captain Dunmore stood up and nodded his head. "There was a little fire, but Mr. Booth put it out before we got here. We made sure that everything was okay and the fire was completely put out. Mr. Booth was suffering from a little smoke inhalation, but we gave him oxygen and he's okay. He told us he's a heart patient and Buddy checked him out. Mr. Booth seems to be alright, but he should make an appointment to see his doctor just to make sure."

Irritated, Hank shook his head. "They're making a big deal out of nothing. I didn't call them to come here, your alarm company did that. They asked me for a password, but because I didn't have it they sent the fire department."

Relieved that his grandfather was okay, Booth shook the hands of the firefighter and the EMT before they left. "Thanks a lot." Once they were gone, Booth sat down, turned his attention to the blackened stove and sighed. "Want to tell me what happened?"

His irritation growing, Hank crossed his arms against his chest. "Nothing happened . . . okay something happened, but it wasn't my fault. One minute the ground meat was cooking on the stove and the next minute there was a fire. I put it out. I'll clean the stove and it'll be as good as new."

Trying to be patient, Booth shook his head. "Pops, I have to get back to work and I need you to come with me. I need to make sure you're going to be okay and I can't do it if you're by yourself."

His eyes glittering with anger, Hank growled. "I don't need a damn babysitter. I'll just stay in my room and wait for you to come back home. You can cook your own damn dinner."

As patiently as he could, Booth placed his arms on the table and leaned forward. "Pops, everything is new around here. I'm not even used to how the stove really works, so I don't blame you for anything, but you had some smoke inhalation and you know your heart has had some trouble lately. I'd rather you come with me, so I can make sure you're okay. I won't be able to do my job, if I'm worried about how you're doing."

His grandson sounded sincere and what he had said made sense. "Well, if you put it that way, then okay, I'll come with you. We need to put the meat in the fridge so it doesn't spoil. Want me to clean the stove?"

Booth shook his head. "No, I'll clean it tonight. It's alright." Glad that his grandfather was going to come with him, he felt that he could keep a better eye on the old man if he was with him and not have to worry about whether or not he was in trouble at home. Now he just needed to find time to call Brennan and let her know what had happened.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

The afternoon had been interesting since Hank had gone with them for a few of their interviews with suspects, but they had managed to do their job and they made sure that Hank wasn't having any complications from his little adventure. Their day done, once they were home Booth cleaned the stove while Brennan made salad for dinner. Hank tried to help his grandson, but Booth had him help Brennan instead. Once it was clean, Booth realized that the stove had received a little damage, but it was mostly cosmetic. The steel surface was darker where the towel had burned, but it was still usable and that was all that mattered to Booth. He knew that Brennan was going to be annoyed with the stained stove top, but they couldn't just buy a new stove because it looked weird. That would be absurd as far as Booth was concerned.

Their dinner was a quiet affair and Hank left the table as soon as he finished eating. He walked down the stairs to the man cave to watch a game while the couple cleaned up the kitchen. "Bones, I'm sorry about the stove. It looks like it's okay. I can paint the ceiling and that will take care of the smoke damage."

"Alright." She had looked at the stove and she wasn't happy about the discolored surface, but the stove was usable and she didn't want to replace it just because of the discoloration. "If Hank is going to stay with us, I need to see if we can get a home care professional to come in during the day while he is here."

Booth agreed. "I still need to find out why Pops left the retirement home. Maybe whatever happened is fixable. If not, I guess we'll have to find another retirement home for him. He doesn't want to stay here permanently. He needs to be with people, so he won't be lonely. We're gone too much."

"I agree." Brennan finished wiping down the table, while Booth started the dishwasher. "It's fine Booth. Accidents happen and no lasting damage was done. The home care worker can cook Hank lunch and breakfast, so he won't have to worry about that."

Grateful that his partner was so understanding, Booth stepped closer and kissed her. "You're amazing, just so you know that."

Amused, Brennan retuned his kiss. "I am and I'm glad you noticed."

Booth chuckled and kissed her again. "Oh believe me, I noticed."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Brennan wanted to catch up on some of her journals, so Booth took the opportunity to talk to his grandfather. Carrying two bowls of ice cream and two bottles of Coke, Booth walked down to the basement and found his grandfather sitting on the couch watching a Flyers game. "I'm sorry the place is messy. I can't unpack those boxes until I have my shelves up. The couch and chair are from my apartment, so they're comfortable." He handed a bowl of ice cream and a Coke to his grandfather and sat down on the chair. "It's going to be pretty nice when my stuff is on the shelves and you can see them."

Hank was embarrassed that he had caused so much trouble for his grandson. He had meant to do a good deed and had almost burned the house down instead. He guessed he was just getting too old to cook anymore and that made him sad. He had been self-sufficient for a long time and had even raised two young boys at an age when he should have been retired. It's hard to admit that your body can't do what your mind wants to do. "Seeley, I didn't mean to make a mess of the kitchen."

"Don't apologize Pops." Booth didn't want his grandfather to apologize for an accident. "Shit happens. Remember that time I tried to replace the electrical socket in the kitchen and I didn't turn off the electricity first. I melted the end of the screw driver and shocked the shit out of myself. That was dumb, but you showed me how to do it right and I've never forgot that you didn't yell at me. You just pointed out what my mistake was and told me how to correct it."

Snorting, Hank shook his head. "I didn't think I needed to yell at you. That electrical jolt scared you pretty badly. You came close to being toast, but thank God you just got the shock and that's all. Sometimes we make mistakes. We just have to hope they aren't permanent mistakes."

"Yeah, so don't worry about the stove." Booth was glad to see his grandfather smiling. "Will you tell me why you left the retirement home? I thought you were happy there. Did someone abuse you? If they did you need to tell me."

His cheeks a faint pink, Hank sipped his Coke and placed the bottle on the coffee table in front of him. "Actually, I did the abusing. I was smoking a cigar in a non-smoking area and one of the aides took it out of my mouth and I hit him . . . It was dumb thing to do. He just looked at me like I was some poor lost soul and that embarrassed me. I decided to leave for a while to let things calm down. They didn't ask me to leave, but I think they were glad when I told them I was coming here for a visit. I can't go around hitting people. It was wrong and I will apologize when I go back."

Booth scooped some ice cream in his mouth, swallowed it and rested the bowl on his lap. "So, you want to go back?"

"Of course, it's too boring around here." Hank smiled and scooped some ice cream into his mouth. It was chocolate and his favorite.

Since he had been told before he was a workaholic by his grandfather, he let it go. "Well, you can stay as long as you want to, you know that."

"I know." Hank scooped up another spoonful of the ice cream. "I appreciate that, but I'm going back tomorrow morning. You and Temperance need to get your house in order and I know it's going to take some time. You can call me when the house is set up and I'll come for a visit then. And you won't have to worry about me cooking from now on. I'll eat take-out for lunch every day while I'm here. I love pizza and Chinese food, but the retirement home doesn't serve that stuff. Too much salt they say. Humph . . . I'll need to visit you once in a while just to satisfy my taste buds."

"Any time, Pops. Any time."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

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