(The Gamer in the Grease / The Goop in the Girl)

Thank you for reviewing my story. It is the only way I can tell if you are still interested in my story.

A/N: Fanfiction has been acting up for about a week. Sometimes notifications works and sometimes it doesn't. If you are interested, I posted a new story yesterday 'Mardi Gras'. I don't think anyone received an email about it.

I don't own Bones.

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Within seconds after knocking on the front door, it was opened and Rebecca found herself facing Booth. "Is Parker ready?"

Stepping back, Booth motioned for her to come in. "Not yet." As she entered the house, Booth moved into the living room, careful to keep some distance from his ex. "Before you leave, we need to talk."

The coldness in his tone of voice told Rebecca that the next few minutes were probably going to be very unpleasant. "I take it that Parker told you about Switzerland?" She had hoped Parker wouldn't mention it and give her the chance to talk to his father first. "As you know, my father hasn't been doing well and he wanted one more family Christmas together before it's too late. Dad wants the entire family to be together and that means Parker too. He's paying for the trip for everyone. That's how badly he wants his family to be together . . . I was going to tell you today. I know you get Parker during Christmas, but Dad wants his grandson at the family gathering. I have to make sure that happens. It could be the last Christmas my father is going to get."

He had been through a lot in the last few months with his grandfather, so Booth was sympathetic towards Rebecca's father, but he also felt that he was being used by Parker's mother. "And what was your excuse last year when you and Drew wanted to take Parker to Connecticut to ski during Christmas? We had an arrangement. I get our son during Christmas."

"And you do, but things happen and you can't always get your way, Seeley." She was losing her patience. "I have custody of Parker. I allow you to visit with him. You should be grateful for that. You see him two weekends a month. You need to be careful or you could lose that privilege."

Booth suppressed his rage. He knew that it was important to remain calm. Brennan and he had known this was going to be rough conversation and he was using all of his skills to make sure he remained calm. "That's where you're wrong. I've been paying child support since Parker was born. I have the cancelled checks to prove it. My name is on his birth certificate and I am his father . . . Just to let you know, you can take Parker to Switzerland, but things are going to change next year . . . I'm taking you to court to formalize my rights. No more of this shit you keep pulling on me. I have rights and I'm not going to let you take them from me."

A cold chill ran down her spine. Rebecca hadn't counted on Booth asserting himself. He never had before. "This is your girlfriend's doing ins't it? Well, if you want to take me to court then do it. It may not turn out the way you think it will."

"What the hell does that mean?" It sounded like a threat and Booth didn't rollover when threatened.

"It means, if you push this, you could lose all of your rights." She needed her ex to understand that she was a damn good lawyer and she would protect her rights.

Brennan had had enough and stepped into the room. "I don't think so . . . Booth will have the finest lawyer available and he will prevail."

Filled with anger, Rebecca shook her head. "I'm a great lawyer, one of the best. Seeley will lose if he takes me to court."

Amused, Brennan laughed, "You may think you're intimidating, but you really aren't. Booth will be fine."

Not happy to be cut out of the conversation, Booth folded his arms against his chest. "Rebecca, you'll hear from my lawyer after Christmas." Raising his voice, he called out his son's name and watched the boy enter the room from the man cave below. He had asked his son to stay downstairs while he talked to Rebecca. "Parker, your Mom is here. Come give me a hug."

The boy raced across the room and hugged his father. "I wish I could be here for Christmas."

"I know Parker. It's okay." Booth would not spoil his son's skiing trip. "We'll celebrate Christmas when you come back." As the boy walked over to hug Brennan, Booth turned to face Rebecca. "Merry Christmas, Rebecca." Moving over to the suitcase sitting next to the door, Booth picked it up. "I hope your father gets what he wants."

"Thank you." She had always vowed not to argue with Parker's father in front of the boy. He needed to know that his parents loved him. She just wasn't sure what was going to happen in the future. Rebecca didn't want to separate Parker from his father, but she would protect her custody rights. "He will."

Once Parker and Rebecca were gone, Booth reentered his house and moved over to where Brennan was standing. "Maybe this is a mistake."

"No it isn't." Brennan believed that Booth was doing the right thing. "If you don't do something now it will just get worse and you know it."

He knew she was right, but it worried him. It worried him a lot.

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Even though Parker was going to be in Europe for Christmas, Booth decided that Christmas would be celebrated in the Booth/Brennan household anyway. He bought a tree and decorated it. The living room was spacious and that allowed him to buy a tall, well filled out tree. This was his first large tree and he loved it. His grandmother's angel sat on the top of the tree and he was filled with pride. "What do you think, Bones?" He knew she wasn't a believer, but she was getting used to celebrating at least some of the traditions that went with the holiday.

"The tree is lovely, Booth." She liked the numerous decorations that were spread out on the tree. The chaos was actually charming. "Do you think it will live long enough for Parker to see it?" She had her doubts.

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "I hope so. If it doesn't then we'll take it down. I have a ceramic Christmas tree that belonged to my grandmother Alice. She gave it to me the year before she died. She didn't want it to be thrown away and she was afraid that if she gave it to anyone else it would be. I can put it on a stool where the tree is right now and Parker's presents will surround the stool. It'll be okay. He likes the ceramic tree. I used to place it on the dresser in his bedroom in my apartment. I promised him that he can have it when he's an adult."

"Alright." As long as the tree wasn't a fire hazard, Brennan was fine with keeping the tree up as long as possible. "Dad came by before you came home. He'd like to spend Christmas with us." She wasn't sure if she wanted to do that or not. She was still trying to forgive him for his years of absence and his abandonment of her, but Booth has assured her that time would fix it. She wasn't sure if that was true, but she did want her father in her life. What he had done was unforgivable, but at least he was trying to be a father again. "He says that he is in contact with one of my relatives, a cousin, and he would like to invite her to come for the holidays."

"Sounds okay to me." Booth glanced towards the man cave. "I have the wall up, but we don't have any furniture in the guest bedroom yet. Max could stay in Parker's room I guess, but the bed is a twin. He might not like that. Pops needs to use the back guestroom . . . I guess we can go furniture shopping this afternoon. We need to get a bed, a mattress and a dresser . . . oh and a lamp . . . sheets, pillows . . . I think we better go now. It's going to take time to find that stuff and we need to have it delivered before Christmas."

Brennan was surprised that Booth was alright about Max staying with them. She knew that he wanted her to reconcile with her father, but she was never quite sure how her boyfriend felt about her father and he did like his privacy. "I think a full bed will fit in the room. We can place it along the back wall and that will leave the room with space to allow for a chair. There aren't any closets in the room, so we should consider buying a chifferobe."

"Alright." Booth knew that was a lot of expense up front, but once everything was in place the room would be available whenever Max needed it. "We'll tell Max it's his Christmas present."

Brennan shook her head. "I don't think we should tell him that. That would mean he could remove the furniture since it would be his."

He wasn't sure if she was serious or not, but she did have a point. "Yeah, he is a conman." He liked Max, but he didn't trust him. "You know there isn't a bathroom down there. Maybe we should think about putting in a half bath someday. It wouldn't have to take up too much room. A small room with a toilet and a small sink."

"That's an excellent idea, Booth." Brennan smiled. "That also means you won't have to go up and down the stairs during a game."

"Yeah, I thought about that too." He was thinking a little fridge in his man cave for beer would probably be a good idea. "You know I thought this house was going to be too big for us, but the way we're going we're going to use up every bit of space. You did a good job picking out the house . . . Someday when we have a kid, this house will be perfect. We can build a treehouse in the backyard or one of those little play houses and the yard is fenced in, so our child would be protected . . . and when our kid gets older and he's mad at us, he can move down to the guest bedroom in the basement and ignore us." He laughed. Just dealing with Jared when he'd been a teenager was enough to make Booth realize that raising a child might not be a bed of roses, but that was okay. He wanted a family and he was prepared for anything.

Surprised that Booth was talking about a child, Brennan smiled. "Do you think we're ready for a child?" She knew that Booth was still worried about his brain tumor and the odd changes that he had gone through, but if he was thinking about a child, then he was obviously becoming more confident in the future.

"Sure I do . . . well, I think I am." He wasn't sure if he had a future, but Brennan wanted a child and maybe it was time to make sure she had one before it was too late. He didn't know if his tumor was going to come back or not, but he needed to move on with his life. Waiting to die was a grim way to live. He leaned over and kissed her. "It will be fun trying anyway."

Happy to hear that Booth was ready, Brennan decided to make an appointment with her gynecologist in the next week or two. She would need to stop taking her birth control and she needed to make sure she was healthy enough to carry a baby. Since Booth had had his tumor, she realized that things could take a drastic change for the worst. "I think it will be fun too."

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