(After 'The Beginning in the End')

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I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Max was impressed with the cabin. He liked the layout and the fact that there was an indoor bathroom. The fact that it was a composting toilet was rather odd, but it was interesting too. It was decided that he and Parker would share the guest bedroom while Booth and Brennan used the master bedroom.

Once the luggage was put away, Parker and Max went outside and picked up sticks and branches and carried them over to the barbecue pit while Booth hooked up the new propane tank on the back porch. Once that was accomplished, he got the mower from the shed and mowed the front and back yard.

Brennan took the opportunity to carry her new birdfeeder and a short post out to the backyard and over to the tree line behind the barbecue pit. She retrieved a shovel from the shed. Carried a bucket of water to where she planned to set up the birdfeeder and finally retrieved a small back of Quickrete from the SUV.

Once the yards were clear of branches, Parker and Max helped Brennan dig a hole for the post for the birdfeeder, poured the quickrete in the bucket and stirred it, placed the post with the birdfeeder attached into the hole and Max poured the concrete into the hole surrounding the birdfeeder. That accomplished, Parker carried the empty bag to the trash can on the back porch while Max waved at Booth who was now mowing the back yard and helped Brennan carry the buck and shovel back to the shed. Brennan washed out the bucket and placed it on a shelf.

Their task accomplished, they went back to the SUV and retrieved a large bag of bird seed and an empty plastic 20-gallon container that came with a lock down lid. "I'm going to leave the container next to the birdfeeder. Bill can feed the birds whenever he is up here." Pleased that she had accomplished what she had set out to do, she washed her hands and stepped into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Eager to show Max the lake, Parker pointed at the path. "Come on, I'll show you the lake. It's so cool."

Glad the boy was happy, Max smiled. "Lead the way. Maybe we'll see some ducks."

"We saw some last time." Parker hurried to the path. "We saw some chipmunks too."

Max called out. "We don't have to run, Parker . . . I gave up running a long time ago."

Slowing down, the boy waited until Max caught up with him. "I'm sorry. I forgot you're old."

"Yeah, old, that's me." Where had the time gone? It only seemed like yesterday when his Tempe was Parker's age. "Well, getting old can have its advantages . . . No one can make me eat cooked liver or brussels sprouts."

"Wow you're lucky." Parker really hated liver. "Mom makes me eat that stuff. She says I need to eat it to be healthy.

Max laughed. "Well, I'm done growing and I can eat healthy without liver and brussels sprouts."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The grass cut, Booth placed the mower back in the shed and entered the cabin looking for Brennan. "Need help with lunch?"

Brennan turned to look at Booth. "No, we're just having salad and sandwiches. I want Parker to be able to tell his mother that he had salad . . . Rebecca is ridiculous. Parker eats nutritious food when he's with us. Just because we indulge him by serving him pizza once in a while does not make us terrible parents."

Amused at her outrage, Booth pulled her into his arms and kissed the end of her nose. "Pizza is one of God's perfect foods."

She laughed. "I don't think so, but it isn't terrible if you eat it once in a while. We eat vegetables and fruit and Parker is not being given an empty calorie diet." She kissed him. "Your diet has improved since living with me, but you did eat vegetables regardless of what she says."

He liked the kiss and returned it. They let their hands move over their partner's body until they remembered that Parker and Max were around somewhere. "Maybe I'll go look for Parker and see what he and Max are up to." Her released her, reached around, grabbed a small tomato and bit into it. "How long until lunch is ready."

"It should be ready in about twenty minutes." She returned to her cutting board. "I saw them walk down the path towards the lake."

"Okay, I'll be back." Once he was out of the cabin, he took in a deep breath. He loved the smell of cut grass. Moving over to the path, he finished eating the tomato and thought that owning a cabin might not be a bad idea. If only he could afford to buy a vacation home.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Max was impressed with the pavilion. It kept the chairs in the shade and it had a great view of the small lake. Parker was busy wading in the water, staying close to the water's edge. "We'll have to come down here tomorrow morning and go swimming."

Parker stopped kicking the water and faced the older man. "Dad has been teaching me how to swim. He's a good swimmer. So is Bones. They can swim to the middle of the lake." He admired his father and hoped to be like him someday.

"I used to be a good swimmer when I was a kid, but I'm out of practice." Max noticed a stranger standing on the other side of the lake looking at them with binoculars. "Parker, it's time to go back. It's probably lunchtime."

Reluctantly, the boy left the water, found his shoes and put them on. "I hope Bones makes salad. Mom likes me to eat salad every day."

"Your mother is obsessed, Parker." Max believed in a healthy diet, but he thought Booth's ex might be a health nut from the way the boy talked about her. The man was moving around the lake and Max didn't like it. "Come on. Let's go."

As they moved towards the path, Booth emerged out of the woods and smiled at them. "Hey you two, it's almost lunch time.

Max looked back and saw the stranger turn and walk away. Pointing at the retreating figured, Max made sure Booth saw the man. "We had a visitor."

His eyes boring into the stranger's back. Booth felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. "I see him." He watched the retreating figure until he disappeared in the woods. "The forest on the other side of this lake is National forest. No one owns land over there."

"Good to know." Max patted Parker's head. "Okay, let's go see what Tempe made us. I hope she made fried eel."

"Eww." The boy's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Who wants to eat eels? Yuck."

Amused, Max shrugged his shoulders. "You live in England now. The English eat eels."

Booth placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and began to walk up the path. "They eat eels in this country too. A buddy of mine is from Maine. He eats eels."

"Well, I'm not eating eels." They could make him eat liver, but Parker drew the line at eels.

Chuckling, Booth assured the boy. "We aren't eating eels. Bones is a vegetarian remember? We're having sandwiches and salad."

Relived, Parker sighed. "Thank goodness."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

After lunch, Parker and Max went outside so that Parker could birdwatch. Brennan had given him a hard-back copy of 'The Sibley Guide to Birds' and he was eager to start checking off birds as he identified them.

"There was a guy down at the lake watching Parker and Max." Booth wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. "Max said he had binoculars."

A little alarmed, Brennan draped the dish towel on the edge of the sink. "Did the man approach them?"

Booth nodded his head. "Max said he started walking around the lake until he saw me and then went back into the woods . . . That's not suspicious at all." Damn it. "Yeah right . . . Maybe we're being paranoid. He might be a bird watcher or something."

"It's the something I'm worried about." The fact that someone had tried to kidnap Parker a few months prior to this was on Brennan's mind. "If Parker is being targeted . . . Like you, I think someone wants to manipulate us and since they couldn't get us to leave the country they chose another path. I think Rebecca is wrong and this had nothing to do with the case she had been working on. It's not about money either. I could be wrong, but I have a theory. I think that if someone were to kidnap Parker and ordered you to sever your partnership with me, not romantically, I'm talking about our working partnership . . . I think you would do it. Parker must come first."

A chill ran down Booth's spine. "You're right. I would . . . Damn it!" Booth ran his hand through his hair. "Until we find out what's going on, we have to assume that this might have something to do with Asshole at HLS or Congressman Abbot. I wish I knew what was going on and why they want you and me to stop working together . . . I don't know. You could be right or we could be blowing up a string of coincidences . . . although you know I don't believe in coincidence. Damn this is confusing. Danny says not to worry about it, but my gut says we need to . . . Why are we so special? This only makes sense if this has to do with Kirby, but even then, the guy is dead and was linked to a string of murders. If Abbot wants to be a big shot in government, getting revenge for Kirby will backfire on him. He'd be a fool to be involved in a kidnapping. None of this makes sense."

There weren't enough pieces to the puzzle. So far someone had tried to break up their partnership and someone had tried to kidnap Parker. They had to be connected, but there were too many questions at the moment. "Do you want to go home?"

Booth shook his head. "Nope. I have a plan."

Oooooooooooooooo

The next day, while Max and Parker swam at the lake and Brennan stayed at the cabin doing various chores in in the backyard, occasionally opening the back door and pretending to give Booth advise or instructions, Booth moved through the woods on the other side of the lake searching for binocular man. He was determined to see what was going on and to see if his boy was in danger.

As he tracked the footprints into the woods, he moved cautiously and quietly. Soon he saw a man approaching the lake down a faint path. The stranger was wearing camouflage and was carrying binoculars. Confident that this was the stranger that Max had seen, Booth stood behind some thick brush and waited for the man to pass him. As he followed the stranger from a distance, Booth noted the military bearing and the confident way the man moved through the woods.

Once the man was standing on the edge of the lake watching Max, Booth moved closer, pulled his pistol from his holster and aimed it at the man's back. "Why are you watching my boy and my father-in-law?"

As careful as he could be, the man slowly turned to face Booth making sure his hands were up. Once he was turned around, he lowered his binoculars. "I'm not watching the man and the boy. I'm bird watching."

"Why do you need a gun to bird watch?" Booth pointed at the bulge under the man's lower left pant leg.

Chuckling, the birdwatcher shook his head. "Danny said you'd make me."

Surprised, Booth didn't lower his pistol. "Danny who?"

Amused, the man placed his binoculars on the ground and pointed at his vest pocket. "May I?"

"If you try anything, I'll blow your fucking head off." And Booth meant it.

Very carefully, he removed his wallet, flipped it open and showed his CIA identification card. "Danny told me to make sure I was carrying this . . . Max isn't your father-in-law. Just so you know I know that . . . My name is Tom Jones."

Angry, Booth lowered his gun. "What the hell are you doing watching my boy and Max?"

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "Danny wanted someone to help watch your son. He and the boss talked over your situation and they decided to have me shadow Parker while he's in the country. My cover right now is a birdwatcher. If you saw me, I was going to show you my birder's list to prove it. I think you're a little more dangerous than Danny thinks you are . . . that's a good thing by the way."

"Has something changed? Does Danny know what's going on?" Booth was worried. Too many people were interested in his family. He didn't want to be part of some bullshit political game.

"Nope." Tom shook his head. "They just want to keep everything copacetic. The boy can have his vacation and once he's back in England, we think whoever is interested in him will lose interest . . . We hope so anyway. By the way, I'm officially on vacation. I'm not doing this in an official capacity."

Booth holstered his gun. "You guys are driving me nuts. Danny tells me not to worry about what is going on and then you follow my son around as a bodyguard. This is shit and you know it."

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "Look, so far we haven't heard anything to make us think that you and your family is in danger, but someone tried to snatch your son . . . Danny is having that looked into . . . unofficially. A friend in another government agency is doing us a favor. This isn't just about you and Dr. Brennan anymore. Get it?"

He did. "Fine, but when the guy is found that tried to kidnap Parker, I want to know about it,"

"Of course." Maybe not. Tom wasn't sure what Danny and the Boss planned, but keeping Booth happy for the moment wouldn't hurt anything. "I'm sure Danny will keep you in the loop."

Suspicious. Booth suddenly laughed. "Don't fucking kid a kidder. I worked a few operations for the CIA during my Rangers days . . . Go ahead and watch Parker. I can use the help. Next week he's going back home. No one is going to use my boy . . . I'll make sure that Rebecca gets someone to watch Parker for the time being. She can afford it."

The CIA agent smiled. "Ms. Stinson is pretty smart. I think she'll do that too once you talk to her and I'm sure you'll talk to her. Just don't do it on the phone or with your computer."

Booth nodded his head. "Max is taking Parker back home. I'll have him talk to Rebecca."

"Good." Tom glanced at his watch. "I'm going to stay here until you take the boy back to the cabin and then I'll break for lunch . . . nice job hunting me down by the way."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

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