(After 'The Change in the Game')

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The past year had been hectic and just a little on the bizarre side and Booth was looking forward to some vacation time. Rebecca had informed Booth that Parker could come to the U.S. the first week in July and could stay until the first week in August. One of Booth's biggest fears had been that Rebecca would not allow Parker to come for a visit.

He misses you, Seeley. I think it should be safe enough. There should be no more threats against Parker since I'm in England and no longer taking cases in the States and that crazy case is over that you were working on. He wants to come and I'm going to let him.

"Max plans to babysit Parker while Bones and I are at work. Parker really likes him and I know we can count on Max to keep Parker safe." Booth was relieved that Rebecca wasn't going to use the past year as an excuse to keep his son from him. "Just to let you know, we plan to take a trip somewhere while Parker is with us. Bones and I have been talking about it and we thought we'd drive up to Gettysburg and to Antietam. She's writing an article for some anthropology magazine and she wants to do some research before she writes it."

I think Parker might like that . . . I'll email you with specifics about Parker's flight.

"Okay." Booth ended the call.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A dinner invitation to his daughter's house was a real treat as far as Max was concerned. His daughter and her boyfriend knew how to cook and he enjoyed whatever they served. He wished he could cook as well as they did, but he never quite got the hang of it. His meals were simple and usually involved a crockpot. "Wow, that pasta dish was great." Max wiped his lips with his napkin.

"I'm glad you liked it. My grandmother taught me how to make it when I was a little kid. Pasta Carbonara was one of her favorite dishes." Booth had his grandmother's cookbook and had made every recipe in the book. "She believed that boys should learn how to cook not just girls. Of course, she didn't have any granddaughters, so she didn't have a lot of choice."

"I'm glad to see that you're not in your wheelchair anymore." Brennan sipped some mineral water and placed the glass back on the table afterward. "Booth and I appreciate you volunteering to watch over Parker when we're at work . . . We plan to take a vacation the third week in July. If you'd like to come with us, you may. We're going to visit Gettysburg and Antietam. We don't think we'll be gone longer than a week."

Max appreciated the invitation, but walking through old battlefields didn't sound like fun to him. "Thanks for the invitation, but I think I'll pass. I can't do a lot of walking right now. I'll let you guys have a family vacation with Parker."

"Alright." Brennan was disappointed that her father didn't want to join them, but it was his decision and she accepted it. "It should be very educational. If we have time we might visit Manassas National Battlefield Park. I'm working on an article for 'Anthropology Now' and I'd like to take some pictures of the each of those battlefields."

"Sounds cool, Tempe." Max finished his wine. "I used to love visiting historical sites when I was younger . . . Are you going to sign Parker up for the science program at the Jeffersonian this year?"

Booth placed his fork down on his plate. "We don't know yet. I want to see if Parker is interested. He's ten years old and I want him to have a say about his vacation. If he does, we'll let you know. Since your hip is still recovering, we'd like you to stay in Pops' room while you're here. It has a walk-in bathtub in the attached bathroom and the bed is lower, so it's easier to get in and out of. Pops plans to stay with us for a week while Parker is here. When that happens, you can stay in Parker's bedroom and the boy can sleep on the couch in the living room."

"Wow, that seems like a lot of trouble, but thanks." Max wasn't sure if he could handle the staircase leading down to the man-cave, so he appreciated not having to stay in the guest bedroom. "I'll stay at my place while you're traveling around."

"I'll let you know when we're going to make the trip." Booth finished eating his pasta, stood up and picked up his plate. "I have some cannoli if you'd like dessert."

Amazed, Max leaned back and patted his stomach. "Sounds great, but I'm stuffed . . . Maybe I can take a couple of them home with me."

"You got it." Booth walked into the kitchen and started to clean up. He wanted to give Brennan a chance to visit her father.

"How is therapy going?" Brennan was curious about her father's surgery but wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it. He could be very secretive about the most mundane things.

Pushing the plate to the side, Max leaned on the table. "It's good. I only have two more weeks of therapy . . . how are you doing? Any morning sickness?"

Brennan shook her head. "Not now. I did for a few weeks, but I seem to have moved past that phase of my pregnancy. I found out that eating spicy food was one of the main causes of my bouts of regurgitation. Once I switched to a bland diet it stopped."

"That's good. Your mother was sick for most of her pregnancy with you and with Russ. It worried me, but she'd just call me an old mother hen and laugh it off. Your mother was a real fighter." The thought of his wife made him sad, but he had loved her so much and he liked to talk about her. "When she was pregnant with Russ she carried him all up front. She looked like she'd swallowed a beach ball. When she was pregnant with you she looked like she was fat, no beach ball. Of course, I didn't tell her that. She might have killed me. She had quite a temper when she was pregnant." Max waved his right hand up and down. "She was like a mama bear on the prowl."

Surprised, Brennan glanced at the kitchen doorway then back towards her father. "I find that my temperament seems to be rather short lately . . . I yelled at Booth for leaving his socks on the floor yesterday. He has always done that, but for some reason I found it quite irritating the last time it happened."

Shrugging his shoulders, Max smiled. "It won't hurt for him to pick up his socks . . . Tempe, are you going to get married?" He was hoping that she had changed her mind about marriage.

"No." Brennan leaned over, moved her father's plate under hers, stood up and picked up the plates. "Don't ask me that again. I have already explained to you that I don't believe in marriage. Nothing has happened to change my mind."

Wary, Max nodded his head and watched her enter the kitchen. Okay, a little touchy.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

That evening, much to Brennan and Booth's surprise, Caroline came over for a visit. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop in Cher'."

"Come in, you know you're welcome here anytime." Booth stood aside and let the prosecutor enter the house. "Bones and Max are in the living room. Want something to drink?"

"A beer would be fine." Caroline moved into the living room and greeted the occupants. "I thought I'd come by and give you this." Moving closer to Brennan, she handed the scientist a gift bag. "I heard congratulations are in order."

Puzzled, Brennan took the bag and opened it. "A baby's costume . . . how do you know I'm pregnant? We've only told Hodgins, Angela, Cam and Max."

Not willing to give away her source, Caroline sat down and accepted the bottle of beer from Booth. "I'm not at liberty to say, but you should know by now that something like that cannot be kept a secret forever. Gossip is almost an Olympic sport in the District . . . I'm surprised that your fans haven't found out yet."

Irritated, Brennan placed the onesie back into the bag and nodded her head. "Thank you for the present . . . I was going to make a formal announcement through my agent next month. I suppose I had better do it tomorrow. I hate gossip. It isn't very productive and most of the time, the gossip is wrong."

Amused, Caroline smiled. "Yeah, but we don't have any control over it. It's just easier to ignore it or ride it out."

"Thanks for the present, Caroline." Booth sat down and sipped some of his beer. "Bones plans to work in the field as long as possible."

"Of course, she does." Nothing surprised Caroline when it came to Dr. Temperance Brennan. "I worked until the week before I had my baby. Of course, I wasn't going to crime scenes . . . I think you'd best remember that crime scenes can be dangerous. Working is one thing but placing your baby in harm's way might not be the best thing to do." She looked at Booth and saw the scowl on his face. "I'm just saying that when bullets are flying being eight months pregnant might make the situation a little awkward for everyone." She noticed Booth nod his head and knew that she had best change the topic. They had obviously considered what she was saying. "So, Brodsky is going on trial on July 24th, so if you're still planning to go on vacation, make sure it's before the trial. It may be a long trial since we're going after him for multiple murders plus attacking a Federal Agent and killing a Federal employee."

Surprised, Booth glanced at Brennan. "Thanks for the heads up. I guess we'll go the week before the trial."

Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, thank you for the warning." Brennan pulled the onesie back out of the bag and looked at again. "It's a very nice costume."

Pleased that her gift was appreciated. Caroline nodded her head. "I don't suppose you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

Shaking her head, Brennan returned the clothing back into the bag. "I have an appointment next month. We might find out then."

Silent until then, Max spoke up. "I bet it's a girl." All eyes on him, Max shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I've been through this twice and I'm telling you it's a girl."

"Since speculation is useless, I will wait until I've had the ultrasound before I talk about gender." Brennan placed her hand on her stomach. "Booth and I don't care what gender the baby is. We will be happy if the child is a boy or a girl."

Booth nodded his head. "As long as the baby is healthy. That's all I'm asking for."

"Amen, Cher'." Caroline nodded her head.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Not much happened in this chapter. Just moving my story along and setting up a few things.