(After 'The Past in the Present')

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A/N: a few people told me that they didn't get a notification when I posted chapter 129. If you haven't read 129 you might want to do that before you read chapter 130.

I don't own Bones.

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Summer break had finally appeared and Parker arrived at the Booth/Brennan household to find his Uncle Jared living in the house. He rarely saw his uncle, so he was surprised that the man was actually living in the basement for the moment. Curious he had asked why.

"Well, your uncle was in a car accident a few months ago and he was hurt." Booth saw the surprised look on his son's face and hastened to continue. "I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want you to worry. Jared is fine now and he's living with me and Bones until he can save some money to move into his own place. You don't need to worry about him. He's fine. I promise."

"Okay." Parker watched his father unpack his bags and place his clothes in the dresser. "Dad, is Pops going to come visit us?" He missed his great-grandfather and wanted to see him.

The bags now empty, Booth closed the dresser drawer and faced his son. "He sure is. I'm going to go pick him up from the retirement home on Saturday. He's going to stay with us for a couple of weeks. I think Max plans on visiting next week."

"Cool." Parker liked Max and enjoyed visiting with him. "I'm hungry Dad. I didn't like the stuff they gave me for lunch. Baked fish is awful. I ate the bread and the green beans and I had some crackers, but I'm hungry."

His son was growing up and so was his appetite. "We're going to eat in about an hour, but if you'd like a snack there are some apples and grapes in the kitchen."

"Grapes sound good." Parker moved towards the doorway. "I just hope they aren't green."

Amused, Booth followed his son down the hallway to the kitchen. "We have red and green grapes. Eat what you want." When he entered the kitchen, he found Brennan stirring a pot of something. "Bones, we're going to have a little snack. They served baked fish on the plane."

"It was gross." Parker sat at the kitchen table and pulled some red grapes from a vine in the bowl and placed them in front of him. "I mean really gross."

Chuckling, Booth moved over to the stove and kissed Brennan before he lifted the lid to see what was in the pot. "Parker is not a fan of fish."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not making baked fish." Brennan shook her head. The previous year, Parker had loved baked fish. She wondered why he had changed his mind about fish but decided not to ask. The child's logic was confusing sometimes. "We are having baked ziti with a lot of cheese since you and your father never think there is too much cheese on anything. We are also having mixed vegetables, salad and slices of Italian bread."

"Oh boy." Parker stopped eating his grapes and placed the rest back in the bowl. "I love pasta and I really love cheese."

Jared entered the room and interrupted the conversation. "God, who doesn't like cheese?" Moving over to where his nephew was sitting, Jared tousled the boy's hair. "Welcome home, Parker. It's been awhile since I've seen you. Maybe we can play some video games after dinner."

"You're on Uncle Jared." Parker loved video games. "Grandpa Max bought some the last time I was here for me. They're kind of cool."

Grabbing a grape from the bowl, Jared popped it in his mouth. "Great, of course I'm going to be hard to beat."

"I'm pretty good too." Parker glanced at his father. "Maybe Dad can play too." He hoped so. His father wasn't very good at video games, but he was fun to play with.

"I sure can, Sport." Booth grinned at Brennan. "Bones and I bought two new games to add to the collection downstairs."

Glad to hear that Parker raised his fist in the air. "Alright!"

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Jared had been having difficulty finding a job. He has applied to several companies, but his stint in the Navy hadn't prepared him for a civilian job and he couldn't get a civil servant job because of his dishonorable discharge. If he tried, he knew that his application would be rejected because he couldn't pass the security clearance.

Frustrated that his brother was having so much trouble getting a job, Booth decided to see if he could find him something. He contacted a few people that he thought might help and was actually pleased when a former Ranger, now Sheriff of Fairfax County said he would consider hiring him to work in the Sheriff's office. He was looking for someone to man the front desk freeing up a deputy to go into the field and he thought Jared might do. "He'd wear a uniform, but he wouldn't patrol or respond to emergency situations. I have other deputies for that. I need someone that's good with the public and you said your brother used to smooze big-shots at the Pentagon. I need someone that can take abuse from the public and not reciprocate. Believe me that's hard to do. He'd have to handle complaints and deescalate situations when it was needed. Think he can handle that?"

"I think he can." Booth hoped his brother could. "I need to let you know something . . . Jared is recovering from a bad leg break. He's out of his cast and he had two months of therapy. He can walk, but not run, at least not right now . . . He was in a car accident and to be up front about it, he was driving drunk. He's in AA now and he's determined to succeed. Jared can't drive right now because his license is suspended but he should have his license back in about 9 months. If you hire him, I'll arrange to get him here, it's just a 26 minute drive from my house. If it works out, I'm sure he'll move here."

"Thanks for letting me know." Sheriff Wilkins leaned back against his chair. "I know about the dishonorable and I think it was bullshit. He saved your life, but the Navy obviously didn't care. The fact that a serial killer was caught should have stopped the dishonorable, but again, the Navy didn't care, damn squids. You bring him by and I'll talk to him and see if he's what I'm looking for. I think I can use him, but . . . well, let me talk to him first."

Grateful, Booth stood up and shook his friend's hand. "Thanks Bill. I'll see about getting him here in the next few days."

"Sounds good."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

"The Fairfax Sheriff's office? I don't have any training as a police officer." Jared was shocked that he was being offered the job. "I don't know anything about being a cop."

As patiently as he could, Booth explained the situation. "Bill Wilkins is looking for someone to man the desk in the Sheriff's office. He isn't looking for a deputy to patrol. If you took the job, that would free up the deputy manning the desk now. He needs someone that can be diplomatic that can keep situations from escalating in the office. The pay isn't bad . . . He knows about your dishonorable and your DUI, but he's willing to give you a try. Bill does want to talk to you first and I don't blame him. He needs to make sure you're what he's looking for . . . This is your chance Jared. You can take the job and if later you want to be a deputy you can take classes and get some training. If you don't want to be a deputy that's up to you, but this will get you some work experience and a way to make a living."

Since he didn't have a lot of options, Jared knew that he'd give it a shot. "So, you're going to drive me back and forth to my job? It's an hour drive isn't it?"

"About 26 minutes on a good day and yeah or maybe I can get Max to do it for a while." Booth hoped that his brother was taking this seriously. "After you've saved a few checks you can move to Fairfax county . . . At least consider it."

"I am considering it. It's not like their beating my door down wanting to hire me." Jared rubbed his knee and knew that his brother was right. It was a decent job and he might not get a better offer. "Okay, if you or someone could take me up there, I'll interview with the Sheriff. Hopefully he's still interested."

Relieved, Booth smiled. "He's interested . . . I know this isn't what you had in mind, but you will be in the family business. Pops was a police officer and so was his father and I'm an FBI Agent . . . Pops will love it. You know he wanted you to try out for the Philadelphia Police department when you graduated from college."

"Yeah, but I'd always wanted to be in the Navy. Fat lot of good that did me though." Jared held up his hand. "I don't regret what I did, Seeley. Your life was on the line and I'd do it again if I had to."

"Thanks." Booth checked his watch. "Let's get you to your AA meeting."

Jared grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and followed his brother out of the house. He prayed that the job didn't fall through. He was running out of options and he wasn't sure what he would do if he didn't get the job. He didn't intend to give up. That wasn't an option. He needed to get a job, earn some money and then see if Padme would take him back. It was all uphill, but he knew the reward would be worth it if it worked out.

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