(The Corpse at the Convention)
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Though they had to deal with Hank's death, Booth and Brennan still had a job to do. While Brennan attended a convention that had invited her to be the guest speaker, a person was murdered and that meant they had a case to solve. Add to this they had to work on the arrangements for Hank's funeral. Booth wanted his grandfather to be buried next to his wife Marie, so they had to think through the logistics to make that happen. They decided to hold the funeral at a church near the Retirement home where Hank had lived just in case some of his friends would like to come to the funeral.
Most of Hank's friends were dead and he had very few relatives left to come to his send off. Booth and Brennan didn't expect very many people to attend the funeral, so the church they chose was a modest sized building. The parish priest had done several funerals for those who had lived at the retirement home and he was prepared for a light turn out.
On the day of the funeral, Booth drove up to Philadelphia with his wife and child. Jared followed behind in his car with Padme. They were two hours early and planned to visit with anyone that showed up for their grandfather's funeral. Booth had received a phone call from the retirement home the day before and the manager had asked if it was okay for a few of Hanks friends to attend. Booth had been more than happy to tell him that anyone that wanted to come could come. At least the funeral would have someone there besides his immediate family.
As the minutes progressed towards the funeral, the pews slowly filled up in the church. At first, the seats were filled with several of Hank's friends and Booth and Jared spent time with each one talking to them about Hank, but soon the seats were filled with interns from the Lab and shortly afterward Cam, Hodgins and Angela arrived together. Next Jared was surprised to see Sheriff Bill Wilkins walked in with his wife and sit down in the back of the church.
"Bill, I didn't expect to see you here. Thanks for coming." Gratified that the Sheriff had been kind to come to a funeral for a man he didn't know, Jared shook his hand. "Thank you."
Since he was a friend of Seeley Booth and the employer of Jared Booth, the Sheriff felt he was obligated to come. "Your grandfather served in Korea. His death should be noticed."
"Thank you." The church was starting to fill up with retired veterans from the local VFW who tried to make sure veterans weren't buried alone and Brennan was pleased to see that Hank's funeral would be well attended.
While Jared was talking to Wilkins, Booth noticed Deputy Director Stark enter the church with Agents Morris Harris and Charlie Burns and their spouses. Before he could approach them, there was a hubbub at the door and to the shock and amazement of everyone in the building, the Vice President of the United States walked down the aisles and approached Booth. "Agent Booth, the President wanted to come today, but business wouldn't allow it. I've come in his place. I hope that's all right."
"Sir, of course it is." Astonished, Booth motioned for the VP and his wife to have a seat in the front with the family.
Declining, Vice President Baker smiled and pointed at the second row of seats. "That's for family. Nancy and I will sit in the next row."
Two Secret Service agents sat behind the VP and his wife and four more agents stood near the entrance. This had not been a planned event and they were being extra cautious.
Not sure what to make of what was happening, Jared walked over to where his brother was standing and before he could speak, he noticed Congressman Billings, the representative for the Pennsylvania 2nd Congressional District enter the church with his wife and two aides. "My God, Seeley, this is getting a little crazy."
In agreement, Booth waited for the congressman to finish walking down the aisle. "Thank you for coming to my grandfather's funeral Congressman."
"It's the least I could do, Agent Booth." Congressman Billings knew that Seeley Booth was from Philadelphia and he had been proud when Booth and his people had stopped what was clearly a coup going on in the country. The congressman had been mortified to know that there had been several congressmen and senators who had betrayed his country. One of them had been a friend of his and he was determined to wipe that stain from his honor. The best way he could do that was to honor the grandfather of the man who had brought down Glen Durant. "Hank Booth was a veteran and I had heard that he didn't have a lot of family left. I wanted to honor his service … and yours Sir."
Shaking the congressman's hand, Booth felt that if his grandfather could see what was going on, he'd be so proud he'd probably pop a few buttons. "Thank you, would you like to sit in the front row?"
Aware that the VP was sitting in the second row, Billings knew that he'd better do the same. "I think I'll sit with the Vice President, but thank you for the honor, Agent Booth."
More than a little shocked with the attention his grandfather's funeral was getting, Jared looked around the church and found that the pews were full except for a few seats in the front row and there were people standing in the doorway waiting politely for the funeral to begin. Feeling a tear escape his lashes, Jared didn't bother to brush it away. His grandfather was going out in style and he was so proud.
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Hank was buried with the honor most veterans receive. Once it was over Booth, Jared, Brennan, Padme and Christine waited until everyone who had attended the grave site service had left before they decided to leave. The priest had given a wonderful sermon at the church and the grave site as far as the family was concerned and Booth was proud that the VFW had arranged for a piper to play at the close of the funeral. "Pops would have loved this. He really would have."
His brother agreed. "Hell yeah, he went out in style. Pops deserved it too." Jared was so proud that his grandfather had been honored and he would never forget the people who had gone out of their way to attend a funeral they hadn't needed to attend. "People can be nice, Seeley. People can surprise the hell out of you and be nice."
"Yeah, they can." With Christine in his arms, Booth and Brennan started to walk back to the SUV while Jared lingered at the grave site with his wife. He didn't want to say good-bye, but he knew he must.
"Thanks for saving me and Seeley when we were little kids, Pops." Feeling like his heart was going to break into tiny pieces, Jared sniffed. "I never really said that to you. I'm not sure why . . . I guess I thought you knew how I felt about you, but I should have said it out loud . . . I'm going to miss you, Pops. You were my father and grandma was my mother. You . . . You treated me like a son and I feel blessed that you were there when I needed you . . . Bye Pops. Don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine. I'm not drinking anymore. I have a good job and a great boss. I like my job and I like my life. I won't go back to what I was. Count on it Pops. Padme and I are going to try to have a baby. We think we're ready and we want to give you another great-grandchild. Boy or girl, I hope our child will be just like you." Placing his arm around Padme's waist, he kissed her cheek. "Seeley and Temperance showed me the way and Padme gave me a second chance . . . I won't blow it, Sir. I won't let you down."
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