(The Boy with the Answer)

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I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day, Brennan decided to stay at the cabin and since Booth was still trying to give her as much space as she needed, he decided to go down to the lake with Parker. After a hearty breakfast, father and son walked down the path to the lake and both were pleased to find that the water was crystal clear. Booth took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants legs and stepped into the water, mud squishing between his toes. "It's not too cold. You want to go swimming?"

Not sure if he trusted his father's opinion, the boy squatted next to the lake and dipped his hand in to the water. "It seems kind of cold to me, Dad."

Stepping back onto the grass, Booth slid out of his pants, exposing his swim trunks. Next, he removed his t-shirt and placed his clothes a few feet from the shore. "You don't have to swim if you don't want to." Running towards the water's edge, he moved into the water then waded out until he was waist deep. "If you do come in, don't dive. You could break your neck."

Since his father didn't seem to be cold, the boy removed his shoes, socks and his pants grabbing his swim trunks at the last minute as they tried to slide down his butt with his pants. Once his pants were off, he removed his shirt tossed it on top of his shoes and walked into the water. "Wow, Dad this water is cold." Shivering, he watched his father sink into the water until it covered his head and after a few seconds, his head reappeared above the water. Booth turned and swam a little ways from shore then stopped and stared at the hesitating boy. "Once you're in it gets warmer, but if you don't want to swim you don't have to. Just don't leave the lake shore, I need to know where you are. Okay?"

He wanted to be brave because his father was so brave, so the boy waded out into the water until he could squat in the water and get his body wet. After a few seconds he felt warmer and knew that his father was telling him the truth. Doggy paddling over to where his father was, the boy reached out his hand and grabbed his father's shoulder. "Can you teach me to swim better?"

Pulling the boy next to him, Booth smiled. "I sure can. I'll give a few lessons and in no time, you'll be as good as your old man."

"Cool."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

While Booth and Parker were down at the lake, Brennan moved out onto the back porch with a book and sat facing the picnic table. The air was warmer than at the lake, but a slight breeze made sure it wasn't uncomfortable. The calls of the blue jays and the occasional chickadee was pleasant to hear. Once in a while a squirrel would bark or she would hear a woodpecker knocking against a tree, but for the most part, the area was quiet with just the sound of the leaves rustling when the wind picked up.

She had planned to read the book she had brought from home, but as she sat staring at the swaying branches and bushes, she thought about the Gravedigger trial and what Heather Taffet had hoped to accomplish by verbally attacking her in court. Brennan knew that her social skills were subpar and Taffet had tried to use that against her. She despised the Gravedigger and all that she stood for.

The woman had kidnapped adults and children as a means to blackmail relatives and friends out of millions of dollars. When the families couldn't pay in time, the victims had died. She had almost died and so had Hodgins which was terrible enough, but the Gravedigger had done the unthinkable and had kidnapped Booth. After they had rescued him, it became apparent that Taffet had intended for Booth to die. Brennan and Hodgins had given her what she wanted and still she had meant for Booth to die and she would never forgive Taffet for that.

This was the source of her anger and pain during the trial and it had made her doubt herself. She wanted to be Booth's partner and help him to solve crimes, but the thought of losing him to someone that callous and cruel made her worry about her ability to back her boyfriend up when he was in danger. He had been kidnapped from the FBI parking garage which had shocked everyone. The cameras had stopped working at the exact moment Booth had been snatched and the FBI put their best techs on the case to find out why. They eventually traced the faulty cameras to an FBI tech being blackmailed by the Gravedigger.

Brennan had blamed herself for not being with him to prevent his kidnapping, but Booth had pointed out that they work in different buildings and she had a job to do which didn't include babysitting him. He had told her more than once that his kidnapping had nothing to do with her, but she still couldn't let it go. She dreamed about his kidnapping and sometimes the dream ended with his death. It was hard to bear and yet she had to if she wanted to continue to work in the field for the FBI.

The trial had been a way of sowing doubt in Brennan and though it hadn't affected the trial it had left Brennan with many questions about her ability to protect her partner. She considered herself an equal partner and she needed Booth to be confident in her. At the moment, she wasn't confident in herself. His kidnapping had brought her very close to the brink of disaster. She loved Booth and the thought of losing him worried her. She had never allowed anyone to grow close enough to her to affect her emotionally. Her parents had abandoned her, thrown her away as did her brother when she was a child and she had tried to be cautious and not allow anyone to cause her anymore emotional pain. Booth was the first person she had ever allowed to break through her wall of logic. Angela was her best friend and she had helped her become confident in social settings, but it was Booth who showed her love and accepted her for who she was. To lose him would have a profound effect on her and she was honest enough with herself to realize that if she ever lost him there would never be anyone else to replace him. She would not be able to risk love ever again.

As the morning progressed, Brennan realized that if she stopped working with Booth then Heather Taffet would claim a partial victory. She had lost her case, but if she destroyed the best partnership the FBI had then she would know that her courtroom tactics had worked. Brennan wasn't sure if Taffet thought she was the weakest link or the strongest, but to break the link would be victory for that vile woman and Brennan could not allow that to happen. She would not give the Gravedigger the satisfaction of seeing her leaving the field.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

After they had sat under the pavilion and waited for their swim suits to dry, Booth and Parker walked back to the cabin, carrying their clothes with them. The day had grown warmer and the shade from the trees was welcome.

"I'm hungry, Dad." Parker had worked off a lot of energy in the lake and he was ready to eat.

Booth picked up a small rock sitting on the side of the trail, studied it for a few seconds and carried it with him to the cabin. "We'll make some sandwiches when we get back. Since I promised you that you'd get salad every day, we're going to have to go the store this afternoon."

"Okay." Parker stopped and stared at a chipmunk sitting on the trail. "Look Dad."

Curious, Booth stood behind the boy and stared at the trail up ahead. "A chipmunk. They . . . " Before he could say anything else, another chipmunk ran onto the trail, charged at the chipmunk sitting in front of them causing the little fellow to run into the woods, the other chipmunk following. "Well, okay then."

The trail now clear, Parker started walking again. "Can we go swimming again tomorrow?"

"I don't see why not." Booth followed his son towards the cabin. "We'll need to see if Bones has any plans. It's her vacation too."

Parker was worried about her. "Is Bones going to be okay? She's awful quiet."

He was worried about her, but Booth knew that Brennan was weighing what had happened at the trial and she was considering severing her ties with the FBI. She had tried to assure him the previous evening that if she did go back to just working on old bones, that would not affect their relationship. Booth would make sure that it didn't, but he hated that he might lose the best anthropologist in the world as his partner. He could work with Clark or Wendell, but he knew that they would never be better than his Bones. "She's trying to work something out, Parker. She might not want to work with me anymore. Bones is thinking about just working on old bones again. We'll have to support her no matter what she decides because she needs to be happy. Sometimes working in law enforcement can burn you out. It's the sadness and the grief we have to work around. It can be tough to take year after year."

"Are you happy, Dad?" The boy wanted his father to be happy.

"I think so." Booth thought it was a fair question. "Sure I see a lot of sadness and grief, a lot of anger, but I help families get closure. I help find who caused the pain and grief and stop them from doing it again. It's a great job, because I can find justice for these families and the love one they lost." He hoped he hadn't gone too deep in his explanation. His son was still a child. "Do you understand?"

Parker stopped and looked up at his father. "I think so. You're the good guy and you help families that lost someone. What you do is important."

Pleased that the boy understood, Booth smiled. "Yeah, it's important. Someone has to do it and I like doing it." He really loved working with the FBI. It was the future he had hoped for when he left the army.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Entering the cabin through the backdoor, Booth and Parker found the kitchen table set and there was something delicious cooking in a crockpot on the counter. He didn't see his girlfriend, but he could see she had done more than read the book she had planned to read. "Hey Bones! We're back."

Brennan walked into the kitchen a bright smile on her face. "I hope you had fun." Brennan admired her boyfriend standing in the kitchen in just swim shorts and shoes. He had a beautiful body and she loved to look at his well-formed pectoralis major when she could. "I hope you're ready for lunch. We're having black eyed peas and steamed rice. I cooked the beans in the crockpot and they should be ready to consume."

"It smells great." Booth moved across the room and kissed Brennan. "You look kind of happy. I'm glad to see it."

Returning his kiss, Brennan took the opportunity to run her hands down his chest to his stomach, stopping before she embarrassed her boyfriend in front of his son. "I am a little happy. I've made my decision, Booth. I won't give up working with you, but I may let Clark share our cases. He needs the training and I could use the opportunity to work in bones storage. At least for a little while."

Glad to hear the news, Booth pulled her into his embrace and kissed her. "Good. I'm glad." He separated from her and smiled. "It wouldn't have been the same just working with someone else permanently. I'm used to working with the best."

"Yes, I know." Brennan moved over to the counter and lifted the lid from the crockpot, unplugging it to allow it to begin to cool. "If I quit then Heather Taffet would win and I will not allow her to win anything."

Grabbing some bowls from the cabinet, Booth felt like he'd been granted a reprieve. He had been worried that he was going to lose Brennan as his partner and he was ecstatic that he wouldn't after all. "She's the last one that should win anything." He hated Heather Taffet and looked forward to seeing her fry for her crimes. "Parker, looks like we might get some ice cream from the store to celebrate this afternoon. You want some ice cream?"

"Boy do I?" Parker wasn't sure what they were celebrating, but he loved ice cream, so he didn't care.

Oooooooooooooooooo

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