(After 'The Past in the Present')

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

A few quiet months passed by and Jared was finally free from his cast and his special boot. His therapist had worked with him to make sure he had good mobility and he could walk and stand unaided. The therapist was thanked for doing such a good job and was paid for his last visit. Now plans had to be made about what came next.

Booth called a family meeting and Brennan, Jared and Max joined him in the living room. Once everyone was settled, Booth started the meeting. "Okay, first Bones and I have a few things to say to you Jared and I need you to listen." He saw the wary look on his brother's face and he knew that Jared might not like what was to come, but it was already done. "As you know I was Dad's sole beneficiary. I didn't ask for that and I don't need his money . . . I've used part of my inheritance to pay off your hospital bill and the therapist bill. Next, I've bought you a used car. It's being delivered here tomorrow morning. You can't drive right now because of the court order, but when you can it will be here waiting for you."

Embarrassed, Jared interrupted his brother. "Hey, I pay my own bills. All I have to do is get a job and then pay them. I don't want you using your money to pay my damn bills."

Holding up his hand, Booth stopped his brother's rant. "It isn't my money, it's Dad's money, okay? And as for you paying off the hospital bills, Bones paid off the bill the day you left the hospital and I paid her back as soon as I got my inheritance. I didn't think it was right for her to pay it even if she didn't mind . . . Thanks Bones."

"You're welcome." Brennan hadn't wanted Booth to pay her back, but she knew he felt strongly about the situation and she saw no reason to upset him since she had been paid back with Edwin Booth's money and not Booth's.

"You can't walk to work Jared and the bus service might not get you where you need to be. For now, once you get a job, Bones or I will get you to your job." Booth knew his brother was embarrassed, but he didn't care. Jared needed a boost to get his life in order and he and Brennan were giving it to him. "Now, unless Padme and you are back together again and you didn't bother to tell me." He paused to see what Jared would say, but all he got was a head shake. "You can live with us until you get a job and you've saved enough money to pay the first and last month's rent for an apartment. Remember you also have to have enough to pay utilities and food too. Once you've saved up a nice nest egg you can move out. It might be a good idea to just live here until you can drive again since that would be more convenient for me and Bones, but I guess that's up to you."

He appreciated what Booth was doing for him, but he wished he could turn it down. He hated being dependent upon anyone and this situation had been going on for months, but he was broke and he still needed help. "Alright, thanks. I'll try to move out as soon as I can."

Booth nodded his head and smiled at Max. "Max, thanks for putting your life on hold and taking care of Jared for us. You were a life saver."

"Yes, thank you." Brennan smiled at her father. "Christine has enjoyed your stay here. She loves you being here."

Filled with happiness, Max returned her smile. "Hey, my life wasn't on hold. I'm retired which means I don't really have any pressing obligations. I liked being here and taking care of Christine sometimes and getting to play with her. She's a real gem."

Glad that Max hadn't felt burdened, Booth interrupted the conversation. "Don't take this the wrong way, because I'm not sure how I'm supposed to say this, but you can go home now. Jared can use the guest bedroom downstairs and free up the room he's been in. Pops has been wanting to come for a visit, but Jared was using his guest room. If you want to visit us, Parker's room is always available Max, anytime."

Sad that he was no longer needed, Max nodded his head. "Hey, I understand. My apartment is waiting for me. I just need to buy some groceries and I'm all set." He had warned the apartment manager that he would be living with his daughter for a few months during a family crisis, but he had paid his rent on time and his small utility bills. The manager checked on his apartment from time to time to make sure no one had bothered it, so he was set to move back.

The meeting had come to an end and Booth stood up. "I'll help you pack, Max. You can leave tomorrow if you want to wait. I'm sure Christine wouldn't mind you staying one more day. We'll move Jared's stuff downstairs after you leave."

"Sounds good." Max stood up and stretched. "Hey, let's have pizza night tonight. My treat."

Booth wasn't about to turn down free food. "Thanks, we'll do that." Leaving the room, Booth paused in the doorway. "Bones, I'm going to a meeting. I'll be back by one or two."

Once he was gone, Brennan stood up, walked into the kitchen and over to the dishwasher to begin unloading the clean dishes. Feeling like he should start helping around the house, Jared helped her put the dishes away. Feeling a little melancholy, Max walked over to the play pen Christine was playing in and picked her up. "Hey Munchkin. Do you want to go in the backyard and look at the vegetable garden? I bet you do." Once he was out of the house, Christine in his arms, he moved over to the garden and started pointing out the plants to his granddaughter. God, I'm going to miss being around Christine and Tempe every day. Jared's accident was a blessing for me as bad as that sounds.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Booth didn't stand up during every Gambler's Anonymous meeting, but today he felt compelled to say something. The crowd was small since it was a Saturday morning, so he was more comfortable than when the meeting was full. "My brother has been staying with me. He was in a serious car accident and he's lucky he isn't dead. My partner and I have made sure he's been taken care of and . . . anyway, he and I have a lot in common. We're addicts. He likes to drink and I like to gamble. Lately, I've wanted to throw it all away and play pool or play poker, maybe drive up to Atlantic City, but I can't do that. I can't betray my partner and daughter like that. I can't let them down and that's what I'd be doing if I gave in and gambled . . . I guess the chaos in my life lately has left me feeling out of control, but I know it's temporary and if I go down that rabbit hole and begin gambling that won't be temporary. I don't know . . . I have good reasons not to gamble, it's just getting harder and harder to say no, but I have to." He didn't know what else to say and sat down.

The meeting over, Booth's sponsor, Gavin Shadwick came over and sat down next to him. "Hey, I noticed you've been coming to more meetings than normal. You want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, I think I do." Booth crossed his arms against his chest and stared at the floor in front of him. "My Dad died a few months ago. He was an alcoholic . . . a bad one. He beat the shit out of his family whenever he was drunk and that was almost every day. I hated the guy and I'm not sorry he's dead, but . . . but I'm afraid I might turn into my Dad. Not the drinking. I'm careful not to drink too much and I'd never ever hurt my family . . . it's just that he drank and he didn't care about the consequences. He loved drinking more than he loved his wife and his kids. He tried to fix his problem a couple of times, but drinking was more important and he'd go back to his old ways. I don't want to be that guy, but lately I want to gamble. Sometimes it's really bad and I really have to fight to keep from doing it. I'm afraid." He hated to admit that, but he wanted to be honest. He needed to be honest.

"In the last few months your father died, your brother was in an accident and was almost killed, you have a baby in the house . . . I can see where you might think you're losing control. Change can be a good thing or a bad thing, but it is change and sometimes it leaves us floundering. I've been where you are. I lost both my parents in one year and believe me, it affected me. The only time I felt in control was when I had a deck of cards in my hand. I started gambling again and my wife, God bless her, she confronted me and told me that she and my son loved me, but she said she wouldn't let me lose everything that we'd gained . . . She knew that I hadn't really mourned my parents loss and that my gambling was a form of denial. Peggy is a smart lady. Smarter than I am. We talked about what was going on and I finally allowed myself to cry. I finally confronted that fact that I'd never see my parents again and that nothing I did would bring them back. I cried . . . I cried and it released me from my demons. Peggy drove me to GA meetings and I used them to get my shit together . . . I don't know what the answer to your problem is Booth, but maybe you're in denial about something, maybe you're angry that life is piling up on you. I don't know, but you need to figure it out and coming to the meetings can only help you. You're here and that's a good sign, but you need to figure out why you feel out of control."

Grateful that Gavin was his sponsor, Booth closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to control his emotions. He'd been on an emotional roller coaster ride for a while and he wanted to get off. "I've been thinking about it and maybe I'm just afraid I'm not good enough. Maybe I'm not good enough to take care of my family . . . My brother got into a wreck because of me. I made him angry and he drove off like that. He'd been drinking and that didn't help, but if I'd kept my mouth shut, he might have stayed for lunch that day and he might have been safe."

"Or he could have got drunker and drove off and killed himself and someone else." Gavin shook his head. "If your brother was driving drunk then that is not on you. That is on him. You can't be responsible for everyone else's failures. I learned that lesson a few years ago. It took me years to get that, but I did and you need to get that too. You're only responsible for the shit you do, no one else . . . Look you've been taking care of your brother. Whether it's been out of guilt or out of love, only you can say, but you have been taking care of him and that's no small thing. As for your father, you may have hated him, but he was your father and you need to allow yourself to mourn for him. At least for a few hours. Let yourself remember the good times, there had to be some and then let him go. I think your hate is what is keeping you from letting him go. Mourn your father then let him go from your life."

It made sense. Booth had been struggling with his father's death for months and Gavin might have found his problem. His father was a hateful drunk, but he had been his father and there had been a few good memories. Not many, but there were a few. "Thanks Gavin. I need to go home." Once he was in his truck, Booth paused before starting his truck. Thinking about what Gavin said again, Booth knew what he had to do. He couldn't allow his father to dictate who and what he was.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.