(After 'The Beginning in the End')

I don't own Bones.

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"How's Booth?" Angela leaned against the doorframe of Brennan's office and noticed the distracted look on her friend's face.

Startled, Brennan turned to face Angela. "He's fine. He's talked to Rebecca's lawyer and made sure that his visitation rights are still covered. He's upset that he won't be able to see Parker three times a month, but it is what it is."

"He should fight." Angela stepped into the room. "He should sue for parental custody. I'm sure he'd win."

Brennan shook her head. "He won't fight for custody and he has his reasons. I will never treat Booth the way Rebecca has treated him. He is a good father and he deserves to be in his son's life more than he is . . . He's talked to Parker twice since he was whisked off to England and the child is calmer now that he knows that Booth isn't angry with him. Parker is caught in between a rather no-win situation, but Booth made sure that Parker knows that he's loved and that we look forward to seeing him when we can."

"Poor kid." Angela sat down on the couch. "My Dad always took me with him on tour, so I can kind of see why Rebecca did what she did, but I didn't have a Mom, so not really . . . it's just a mess."

"Yes, it is." Brennan hated that Booth had been blindsided by his ex. If she had talked to him, Brennan felt that Booth would have felt less used, made to feel like his role in Parker's life wasn't very important. She knew that she could never be as cruel as Rebecca is. "Rebecca is ambitious and apparently she won't allow anyone to get in her way . . . there are two other lives involved in her life, but she has decided that they don't really matter when it comes to her aspirations . . . When I was working hard to get where I am, I was single. The only person that my decisions affected was me. Now that I have Booth in my life, I know that I would evaluate the situation and I would do what was best for both of us, just like he would. It's alright to be ambitious, after all I'm ambitious. It is not alright to be heartless and cruel while seeking fame and adulation in your chosen field."

Angela sighed. "Booth is pretty strong. Me? I'd I have probably have gone ape shit . . . When can he see Parker again?"

"Parker is coming back the first week in July and will be with us until mid-August." Brennan smiled. "Booth is trying to talk his friend into letting him use his cabin for at least a week in late July. Parker loved that cabin . . . I think because of the nearby lake. The boy loves to swim."

A crash down the hallway got both of their attention. "I don't think I want to know what just happened."

Brennan laughed. "Hodgins is supposed to be doing an experiment to determine what the liquid is that was found on the body of our latest murder victim. The viscosity is disturbing. Our victim didn't drown, but the body is covered in a rather sticky gel. Hodgins thinks that it might point to the murder scene since no such liquid was found where the body was dumped."

"Well, if he's fooling around with sticky liquids, then I am definitely staying away." Angela stood up. "I had to have the car detailed the last time one of his experiment went wrong. I think this time, I'm going to make him take a shower in the decontamination shower before we leave. I may even make him wear a towel and throw his clothes away . . . he does look rather yummy in a towel . . . or nothing at all for that matter."

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Sweets wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew that Booth wasn't being himself. The man had remained silent during Deputy Director Bishop's meeting. That was very unusual and from the stares the agent had received during the meeting, he wasn't the only one who had noticed.

Straightening his tie, Sweets felt nervous but determined. "Hey Booth, may I talk to you for a minute?"

"No." Booth wasn't in the mood for one of Sweets nosy psychobabble sessions. "I'm busy." He continued to type an email to Agent Rogers and hoped that his young friend would take the hint and leave.

He didn't of course. Sweets walked into the room and sat down on the chair in front of Booth's desk. "If you and Dr. Brennan are having problems . . . I want you to know that I'm here if you need an ear to bend."

Exhaling deeply, Booth saved his draft and turned to face the younger man. "Why the hell do you think I'm having a problem with Bones?"

The tone Booth was using was dangerously hostile, but Sweets knew that if there were problems between the couple, Booth had few friends that he could talk to about it. The man was very private. "You never said anything during the meeting this morning. You have shadows under your eyes and you look like hell . . . I may not have an answer to whatever your problem is, but I can listen and maybe help you find a solution to your problem."

"It's not Bones." Booth debated whether or not to talk about his problem or not. "Bones and me are good. We aren't having any problems." He hoped that would satisfy the psychologist.

Of course it didn't. "If you're not having problems with Dr. Brennan then something else is causing you emotional turmoil. I'm here, talk to me."

"Rebecca, my ex, has moved to England and she's taken my son Parker with her." That seemed clear enough. "She packed up her house while I was on vacation and when I brought my boy back, she left for the airport. No warning. She just flew to England with my son. I didn't find out what was going on until it was my turn to have Parker for a weekend."

"Oh." Sweets knew that Booth loved his son and that being separated from the boy would be a hardship for the Agent. "Will you have any visitation rights?" This was very worrisome.

"Yeah . . . yeah, I get him for a couple of months in the summer and a week during Christmas and Easter." Booth was still angry with Rebecca and that anger didn't seem to want to go away.

The look of hate on Booth's face was all he needed to see. "But you won't get to see him every week or so . . . have you considered fighting for custody?"

"Why is that the first thing people keep asking me?" Sweets was not helping the situation as far as Booth was concerned. "Bones, Pops . . . you. You don't think I want my boy full time? You don't think I want to be a full-time father? Of course, I've thought about it, but that isn't going to happen. Parker needs his mother. Children need their mothers."

He knew that he had touched a sore spot and that had not been his intention, but he was worried about Booth. "Children need their father's too."

His emotions very high, Booth noticed that his hands were trembling. Placing them on his knees out of sight, Booth leaned back against his chair. "You don't know what it's like to be raised without a mother. To be abandoned and left with a monster who thinks it's okay to beat the shit out of his kid just because he hates the world. You told me that you were adopted as a young boy and that you consider the couple that adopted you as your parents. You had a mother and a father . . . decent loving parents . . ." He didn't want to talk about his parents. "I don't want my son to grow up without his mother. She's very protective and she'll make sure that nothing ever happens to him. She'll protect him and love him and never just leave him behind . . . "

"Unlike your mother." He knew about Booth's background. He knew exactly what Booth was talking about.

"Okay, yeah . . . like my mother." Why was his life so complicated? He just wanted to be a father and a great partner to his Bones. Why couldn't he have a simpler life?

He wanted to help Booth, but Sweets wasn't sure how to go about it. The man was a very private individual. "What you hate about this is that Rebecca moved to England and didn't consider your rights as a father . . . but you appreciate that she is a great mother to Parker and will always protect him."

"I can count on Rebecca to make sure my boy will be safe while he's growing up." Booth was always conflicted when he talked about his ex. "When she was having trouble with Drew, she kicked him out of her house. Parker's safety and peace of mind came first. She loves our son and she protects him the best she can. She even has a nanny to watch him when he's not in school. It's been like that since he was little. Rebecca has never hit Parker, never. If she ever did I would sue for custody, but I don't have to worry about that . . . she doesn't care about me and that's alright, but she does care about our son. That means more to me than you can imagine . . . I just wish she would have stayed in this country. Being in England . . . It means that I get to see my boy less that I use to, but I do get to see him more in the summer . . . I think I'm angry, because she was underhanded about the new job. If she had been honest and up front . . . I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have accepted it . . . The way she did it, leaving like a thief in the night . . . it was like she was afraid of me . . . afraid of me. I've never done anything to make her afraid of me, never and yet . . . she made me feel . . . " He couldn't continue.

"She made you feel like you were your father, dangerous and untrustworthy." Sweets could see where Booth was leading and he hated it. "You are not your father, Booth. Think about it . . . she did what she did not because she was afraid of you . . . come on, you know that's not it."

Curious, Booth leaned forward and placed his folded arms on his desk "No? Then why? Why treat me like the enemy?"

Sweets smiled. Booth had asked the question he needed him to ask. "She's a coward. She didn't want to be the bad guy in her son's eyes, so she did all of this to avoid it. She knew she was taking Parker from you and she knew that you and your son were going to be upset. She didn't want to face you and she didn't want to deal with her son until she had to. Once she had Parker in England there was nothing to fight. If you make a big deal about it then you become the bad guy . . . it's simple. She just wants to be the good guy and still get what she wants."

"Damn. I didn't think of that." It made sense. Except for their son, Rebecca never was one to fight for what she wanted when it came to personal relationships. If things were going bad she just changed the game. His gambling drove her nuts and instead of fighting for him, she had kicked him out of her life. When she and Drew were having trouble, she kicked him out of her life too. She wanted her life to run as smoothly as possible, but life was messy and she hated it when it got bumpy. "I think you're right." His anger was still there, but not as intense as before. "Well, if she counted on me making a big stink and making myself look bad to my son, then she has another think coming . . . no, the way this is right now, I'm not the bad guy at all. Me and Parker are the ones that have been wronged. She may not want to be considered the bad guy, but that didn't work out, not really. Parker hates what she did and he blames her not me. I've done everything I can to make sure he knows that I love him and that what happened isn't his fault . . . I guess it kind of backfired on her . . . she never did understand me."

"No, clearly not." Sweets could see the Agent growing calmer and more relaxed as they talked. "I think you've handled the situation as well as can be expected . . . You do still get to see Parker in the summer and for holidays and I suppose you could fly to England to see him. It's a bad situation, but it could have been a whole lot worse . . . I admire the fact that you're placing Parker first in all of this. You're a fine man, Booth. Rebecca should appreciate it."

He was flattered. It wasn't often that he received compliments from anyone. "Yeah . . . I plan to set up a Skype account for Parker so we can talk together at least once a week or when he needs to talk to me . . . we'll work it out." He felt calmer. Maybe talking to Sweets had been what he needed. "Bones has been great during this. She was willing to back my play no matter where I took it . . . I'm pretty lucky to have her in my life."

"Yes." Sweets stood up. "If you need to talk about stuff, remember I'm available. I'm your friend and I have your back too."

"Thanks." Booth turned to face his PC. "Now go away. I have a lot of work to do."

Amused, Sweets left the office. The Agent was someone he liked and he knew that Booth like him. If he was gruff, then that was all just part of who Booth was.

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