(The Party in the Pants)

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I don't own Bones.

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Booth rarely thought about his mother. She had run away from home when he was nine years old leaving him and his brother Jared at the mercy of his abusive father. Edwin Booth had beat her unmercifully and one dark rainy night after he threw her down some stairs she had been hospitalized and Booth had never heard from her again.

Those first months after his mother had fled had left Booth as the brunt of his father's foul temper. The beatings had increased and it wasn't unusual for Booth to wear long sleeve shirts that summer to hide the numerous bruises on his arms and chest. He had been uncertain what he was going to do when school started back up and he had to take gym. He knew that once he was in a t-shirt and shorts his coach and the other kids would see the damage done to him and he was afraid his father would kill him for betraying him. He contemplated committing suicide and was on the verge of doing it when one day his father had gone over the edge, beat him and started to choke him. The only thing that had saved him was an unexpected visit from his grandfather.

The older man had walked into the house, spied Jared lying on the floor in the living room, blood smeared on his mouth. Scooping up the boy, he had heard his son ranting in the kitchen, walked in to the room and found Edwin choking his young son, Seeley. Furious, Hank had placed Jared on the floor, grabbed Edwin and forced him from young Seeley and struck the ranting man, screaming at him to get out. In a daze, Booth had stared up at his grandfather who was crying and lifting him up in his arms. He had never loved someone so much as he did his grandfather. He had been praying for a miracle and his grandfather had saved him. Thank you, God. Thank you.

Hank Booth had made sure his oldest grandson wasn't in physical danger from the beating and hugged the small boy against his chest while they had both wept. Jared had stumbled over to where his grandfather and brother were, grabbed his older brother's hand and had cried. Jared had been terrified that his father was going to kill his brother and to have his grandfather save him was almost more than the boy could take in. "Thank you, Pops, thank you."

Not sure why, Booth never bothered to try to search for his mother. Perhaps it was because he knew that she couldn't handle having a family. After all, if she could take care of her sons wouldn't she have taken them with her when she ran away? She had disappeared and Booth assumed she didn't want any connection between her and her sons. If she ever wanted to renew their family ties, then it would be up to her. He would never force her to do anything she didn't want to do. Her husband had terrified her and her sons were a burden she couldn't handle. So be it. He had created his own family and he would make sure to honor and protect his family as long as he lived.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

To say that Booth was shocked would have been an understatement. Out of the blue, his mother had shown up in his office and at first, he wasn't sure how to react. She looked healthy and happy and she wanted to connect with her children. He had hugged her and felt emotions that he hadn't felt in a long time. He had been certain that he would never hear from her in his or her lifetime and yet she had made the first step forward for reconciliation. Anxious to keep in contact he had invited her to stay at his house. He knew that he should check with Brennan first since it was her house too and Marianne was a stranger, but he hadn't thought about that until after Marianne had left his office. He called his partner. "Bones, you're not going to believe this, but my mother came to see me." The silence on the other end was deafening. "Bones?"

I'm here . . . Is she planning to stay in town for a while?

"Um, yeah . . . I invited her to stay with us. I didn't think it was right to make my mother stay in a hotel room when we have three extra rooms." Booth hoped that Brennan understood what was going on. He needed to visit with his mother. He needed that connection.

That's fine. She can use the guest room Hank uses unless you plan to invite Hank over for a visit. If that is the case, she can use the guest room downstairs.

"No, I hadn't planned on Pops visiting too . . . She can use his bedroom." Booth could hear the reserve in his partner's voice, but he put that down to Brennan not knowing his mother. "Okay, If I can I'll get off early and cook dinner tonight."

No, Booth. I'll leave a noon and make sure your mother is settled in unless we have a case.

Surprised and yet not surprised, Booth smiled. "Thanks Bones. I'll be home as soon as I can."

Once that call was complete, Booth called Jared. "Hey, do you have time to talk to me?" He didn't want Jared to get into trouble at work over a personal phone call.

Yeah, it's quiet around here. I'm just doing some paper work.

Not sure why he was nervous, Booth cleared his throat. "Mom is in town. She came by to see me. She's going to be staying with me and Bones if you want to come and see her.

Why would I want to do that?

Puzzled and just a little bit angry, Booth glared at the top of his desk "You mean you don't want to see Mom? Why not?"

I needed a mother when I was four, Seeley. I needed a mother when I was a kid, but I didn't have one. I had Pops and I had you. She didn't want me or you and left us in the hands of that psycho that was supposed to be our father. If she had loved us, she would have taken us with her, but she didn't. I don't have a mother, Seeley and neither do you.

"Dad beat the shit out of her, Jared. She ran away because she couldn't take it anymore, but she's back and she's trying to connect to our family."

She ran away and left us behind. I don't have a mother, Seeley.

There was nothing he could do to change Jared's mind, so he didn't bother to try. "Okay, I have to go."

Wait . . . Seeley be careful. You don't know her. You don't know what she wants.

"Bye, Jared." The call ended, Booth sat behind his desk and shook his head. "He was too young. He barely remembers her, but I remember. I remember."

Ooooooooooooooooo

Things had not gone as well as Booth had hoped. They had sat down and had a conversation in the park near his home. Marianne had contacted her son to let him know that she was getting married. She had played in night clubs for a long time, moved in with her piano player boyfriend and helped raise Reggie's kids. Now she wanted her oldest son to come to her wedding and celebrate a new phase in her life.

He had heard her news and he had been appalled. Booth had thought his mother had run away and left her sons behind because she couldn't handle raising kids. For some reason he would never understand, he had come to think of his mother as being fragile and that was why she had abandoned her family, but that hadn't been it at all. She wanted a family, just not her family. She wanted children, just not the children she had given birth too. Disappointed, outraged, hurt, he had raised his voice and told Marianne how he felt about her and she had moved out of his house.

Feeling lost, Booth had met Brennan at the Royal Diner for lunch, but he wasn't hungry. He sat on the bench outside the diner and didn't make an effort to go inside. Not sure what was going on, Brennan sat down next to him. "What's going on, Booth?"

"She came back to let me know she's getting married." He was subdued. He'd had time to think about the scene in the park, when he had lost his temper with his mother and he was afraid. He was afraid that when push comes to shove, he wasn't any better than his father. "Mom wanted to share her good news with me . . . I lost it. I told her some things that I probably shouldn't have and she said she was leaving . . . I told her that leaving was great news . . . I treated my mother like my father did. I yelled at her. I didn't let her explain. I can't believe I did that."

She could see the self-loathing in his face and she couldn't abide that. "Booth, you are not your father. He was abusive. He struck out whenever he was angry and beat his family. You have never raised your fist towards me or your children."

"Ha! You'd kick my ass if I tried."

"I would, but you have never been tempted to hit me or the children. That is not who you are. You could never hurt your family." Brennan needed to get through to her mate. She needed him to see that he was a good man. "Why do you think her marriage announcement made you angry enough to have words with Marianne? What were the things you told her?"

Embarrassed, Booth clasped his hands together and stared at the ground below his feet. "She told me that she's been living with some piano player for years and that she helped raise his children . . . I thought she left Jared and me behind because she couldn't handle having a family. Dad had knocked that right out of her and I understood that. I really did, but then I find out she raised someone else's kids. She was okay raising kids just not her kids and I lost it. She left us with a man that tried to kill me. The only reason he didn't do it was because Pops came over that day and stopped my father from choking me. She ran away and left her kids behind without a second thought . . . I yelled at her and I didn't let her explain. How could I do that to my own mother?"

Afraid that Booth was taking too much responsibility for what happened. Brennan placed her hand over his clasped hands. "She left you behind when you were nine years old. The memories you have are a young child's memories. You found a way to excuse what she did to you and your brother and now she's come back and she's destroyed your construct. Your theory about why your mother ran away without you was not based on empirical data, it was subjective and now you have to deal with reality . . . You feel betrayed and it made you angry, but you didn't hit your mother. You didn't abuse your mother. You yelled at her because you felt betrayed by someone who should have protected you and didn't. You're not perfect Booth and you do have a temper, but you didn't physically harm her. Under your circumstances, I am fairly certain I might have reacted the same way . . . truthfully, I have reacted that way in the past towards my father."

"I don't know." Booth was trying to figure out how and why he had reacted the way he had and perhaps he knew and didn't want to admit it. "She threw me away along with Jared. She ran from her abusive husband and because we were his children, she didn't want us either. It's the only explanation . . . I called Jared and I told him she was in town and he told me that he didn't want to meet her because he didn't have a mother . . . He was right. We don't have a mother. She shouldn't have come back, Bones. She should have stayed with her happy little family and her happy little life and she should have left me alone."

She agreed, but Brennan felt bad for her mate. Placing her arm around his waist, Brennan hugged him. "I'm sorry that your visit with you mother didn't turn out well, Booth, but in a way, you have closure. Now you know that she's alive and well and is living a life that she wants. You don't need to worry about her anymore.'

"Yeah, I guess so . . . I made a family for myself a long time ago. You and the kids are my family. Pops, Jared, Cam, Hodgins and Angela. I have the family I want and I'm fine with that. My life could have ended up badly, but I met you and you're the best thing that ever happened to me, Bones. Mom . . . Mom can live her life and I'll live mine and we don't have to meet again." Exhaling deeply, Booth shook his head. "I asked Pops about Mom when I was young about what he thought had happened to her and he told me that sometimes people go searching for unicorns and find them. I never really understood that until now. Marianne had found her unicorn and she can have it."

Ooooooooooooo

Of course, Marianne couldn't leave without having the final word. She entered Booth's office and explained that she was happy and that he couldn't take that away from her. "I make mistakes, clearly big ones. I should have handled this differently coming here. There's nothing I can say to make you forgive me, but I sure as hell am gonna forgive myself because I have a little time left and I'm entitled to try and be happy. I wanted you to taste a little bit of happiness that I had because it seems like all I've ever done is give you misery . . . I stayed away all of these years because I couldn't face that. Your father hit you, beat you and I couldn't stop it. I left and I didn't take you with me . . . I wish I had done things differently but I can't turn back the clock and neither can you." She shook her head and sighed. "I was so happy to see you again, Seeley. I don't regret seeing you."

It was pointless to say anything and Booth remained silent. Once she was gone, Booth sat down and stared at the picture of Brennan and his daughter sitting on his credenza. "She's right. I can't change the past. I've always said it's a mistake to live in the past and I'm right. Bones and Christine and Parker . . . they're my future and I'm damned happy to have them in my life. Mom can enjoy her family, more power to her, but Jared was right. We don't have a mother anymore."

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

A/N: I really hated Marianne. The thought of leaving her children behind with an abuser just makes me angry when I think about it.