(The Psychic in the Soup)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooo

Aware that he might be opening up a wound for his brother, Jared decided to try once more to have a barbecue at his brother's house. This time, he planned to invite some of his friends and several of Booth's friends. His brother had taken their grandfather's death badly and only in the last few weeks had the situation seemed to have improved.

Jared also had an ulterior motive. He had two announcements to make and he wanted Booth to be part of it. A little wary about how the conversation would go, he called Brennan first to make sure that having a party at her house was okay. Once she gave the go ahead, he called his brother.

Booth.

After taking a deep breath, Jared started to speak. "Hey, it's me, Jared. I have a favor to ask."

What's the favor?

Alright, so his brother did sound a little surly, but in for a penny in for a pound. "I'd like to have a party at your house next Saturday afternoon, a barbecue really. I already have the brisket . . . I know the last one didn't turn out too well, but I have some good news I want to share with you and Temperance and I thought a small party with some of my friends and your friends would be okay. You know my apartment is small and well . . . what do you think?"

I guess so. Why do you want some of my friends there?

"For one thing, it's your house and one of the friends I want to invite is Cam. I just want to have a nice barbecue, Seeley. I'd like to meet some of your friends. Maybe you can invite Max, I like him." Not sure how he would respond, Jared stopped talking and hoped his brother would say yes. They could all use a nice get together. Hank's death had left everyone depressed and he knew his grandfather would disapprove of that. The man had believed that life was for living.

Alright, check with Bones and make sure she's okay with this. I'll call Max and see if he wants to come . . . Want us to make anything, provide the drinks or something?

"No, Padme and I are going to provide everything this time, unless you have some beer you want to drink. I'm not providing alcohol." He would have preferred no alcohol at the party, but he felt he was strong enough to be around booze and he'd make sure he went to a few AA meetings after the barbecue, just in case. "Thanks for letting me have my barbecue there, Seeley. I appreciate it."

Sure, it's okay.

The call ended Jared sighed. "That went better than I thought it would."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Aubrey had been surprised when he'd been invited to a barbecue at Booth's house, so he made sure to bring a case of beer, some cupcakes, a cake and a couple of loaves of French Bread to help with the party. No one had asked him to bring anything, but he felt obligated anyway. He was still the new guy on the team and he wanted to fit in. Booth didn't consider him a partner since he had made it clear Dr. Brennan would always be his partner, but since she was in the Lab more, he was the one that backed his supervisor up in the field. He admired Booth and he wanted to learn from him, to be his friend and to someday achieve the things Booth had done. As a young man starting his career, he had a lot of ambitions and he wanted to be the best at whatever he did.

Entering the Booth/Brennan house, Aubrey had carried his load of goodies by Brennan who stared in amazement at the younger agent. "You didn't have to bring anything Aubrey. Booth's brother has supplied almost everything. Booth bought beer for those who wish to partake of alcoholic beverages."

"I know, but I thought I'd bring extra stuff just in case you're light on dessert and I brought the beer I like." Moving into the kitchen, he placed his stuff on the kitchen table. "Help yourself to anything I brought. You should try the cupcakes they're butter pecan and the cake is birthday cake with birthday cake frosting. I love that stuff."

"Thank you, Agent Aubrey." Padme started to load Aubrey's beer into a cooler she had set up near the backdoor. "I will try one of the cupcakes later."

"James or Jimmy, please, no need to stand on formality." The young agent saw the counters were filled with bowls and platters of food and heard his stomach rumble with anticipation. "I haven't been to a decent barbecue for at least a year. Thank you for inviting me."

"Temperance gave us your name." Padme moved over to the counter and started to toss the mixed green salad trying to mix in the celery, cucumbers and sliced carrots. "We wanted to make sure we invited friends of Booth as well as a few of our friends. There is brisket, sausage and vegetable kabobs cooking on the grill. We have some vegetarian dishes provided by Temperance, so there should be plenty to choose from." She had heard Aubrey's stomach rumble and almost laughed. "Booth, Jared and Max are in the backyard."

Brennan placed the cake and cupcakes on the free counter space and pointed at the backdoor. "Booth is checking the grill I believe."

Since he was in the way, Aubrey stepped out onto the patio and hailed his supervisor. "Hey Booth."

Lowering the lid on the grill, Booth glanced towards the backdoor. "Hey. We have beer in the cooler over there." Pointing towards several coolers aligned against the back wall, Booth laid the meat prong down on the table next to the grill. "We also have Coke, Sprite and water." Sitting down on the chair near the grill, Booth turned to talk to Max who was sitting on a chair next to his. "That's Agent James Aubrey, he works with me."

Gratified to hear Booth say 'works with' and not 'works for', Aubrey sauntered over to where Max was sitting and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Sir."

"Max, I'm Tempe's father." Trying to gauge the young man, he shook the Agent's hand a little hard and found it amusing that Aubrey squeezed his hand back. "Okay, partner. I'm old, don't need to break my hand."

His cheeks red, Aubrey frowned at the old man. "Yeah, okay."

Aware that Max had started the handshake contest, Booth laughed. "Max, don't put Aubrey on the spot like that." Amused, he watched as Aubrey grabbed a bottle of beer from one of the coolers and sat on a chair near the edge of the patio. "You're early. The rest of the guests should be here soon . . . at least I hope so. I'd hate to be stuck with all of this food."

"Don't worry about it, Booth I can take leftovers home." Anticipating lunch, he knew he could always make room in his fridge for brisket and anything else he could snag.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Watching Jared tossing a ball to Christine in the yard, Booth noticed that Christine was getting tired and was now sitting on the ground with her little arms crossed against her chest. "Uh oh, a meltdown might be on the way." Standing, he walked out into the yard and scooped up his daughter into his arms. "Someone looks tired. You want a nap, Sweetheart?"

Rubbing her eyes, Christine twisted and reached for her Uncle. "No . . . no nap."

He knew that his niece was tired, but Jared felt he could help prevent a meltdown. Moving over to where his brother was standing, he took Christine into his arms and smiled. "I'll take the little munchkin over to the blanket I have under the tree. It's shady. She might go to sleep if I just sit with her."

"Alright." Booth watched as Jared sat under the tree and held Christine in his arms. He talked to her for a few seconds and soon the child was asleep. "Not bad." Moving back to his chair, Booth grabbed a bottle of water from the table near the grill and sat down. "So, Max how's it going?"

Relaxed, Max watched Cam and Sweets step into the patio and wave at Booth. After Booth greeted both of them, Max turned to look at Booth. "I'm fine. Pete Jackson and I drove up to Quebec a week ago to visit his cousin and her husband. Nice people. We did some tourist things and came back a couple of days ago. Pete was a little depressed about a death and I wanted to cheer him up. It's been awhile since he's seen his cousin. She's a card I have to tell you. No one can stay sad around her."

Several of Brennan's interns walked around the side of the house and waved at Booth and Cam as they sat next to the picnic table. The party's invitees were starting to arrive and Booth decided to check and see if Brennan and Padme needed help in the kitchen.

While he was gone, Sheriff Bill Watkins and his wife arrived along with two deputies that worked for him. Caroline Julian arrived carrying a gallon size freezer bag full of homemade pralines and a large sun hat and Jared's friend, Kevin O'Donnell arrived carrying a bottle of wine and a six pack of beer.

The back yard was getting a little noisy and Booth looked out of the kitchen window to check on their guests. "Caroline is here. I wasn't sure if she was going to come. She's been working on the Krueger case and she's almost ready for trial."

Glad that wasn't their case, Brennan handed Booth a large bowl containing some chips and a small bowl of dip. "You can take this out for our guests. It will allow them to snack while we wait for your cow to cook."

Kissing her on the cheek, Booth carried the bowls to the door. "Make fun of the brisket Bones, but I guarantee most of it's going to be gone by this evening and your meat substitute will still be hanging around." Back on the patio, he placed the bowls down on the picnic table and checked on the brisket and the kabobs. Satisfied, he closed the lid and sat down. It looked like the barbecue was going to be a success and for that Booth was grateful.

Oooooooooooooooooo

After lunch was eaten and Aubrey was picking at some cake crumbs on his plate and debating whether or not he had room for some pralines, Jared stood up, took Padme's hand and with her by his side, grinned at the crowd now looking at him. "Okay, so my brother and sister-in-law allowed me to have this barbecue here and I want to thank them. I had a purpose having the party and now me and Padme are going to reveal what it is. First, I got a promotion." Nodding his head at the Sheriff, Jared explained to the waiting crowd. "I'm now a corporal."

After the clapping had stopped, Jared placed his arm around his wife. "I started making a mess of my life a few years ago, but I caught a break. I was in a car accident that almost killed me . . . It made me take a good hard look at my life and with the help of Seeley and Tempe I made a big change in my life. I gave up drinking. I proved to Padme, my lovely wife that I wasn't a loser and we've been doing really well together . . . so well that Padme and I are going to be parents."

Surprised, Booth stood up, walked over to where his brother was standing and hugged him. "Congratulations." Hugging his sister-in-law, Booth knew that if his grandfather was alive, he'd be so excited. "Pops would have loved having another great-grandchild. Congratulations, Padme."

Slightly embarrassed with all of the well wishes aimed at her by the crowd sitting around the patio, Padme ran the palm of her hand down her stomach. "I am going to regret losing my girlish figure, but it will be worth it."

Raising a bottle of beer in the air, Max called out. "I'm available for babysitting, Padme."

"Thank you, Max." Padme moved closer to Jared and kissed him. "We will keep that in mind."

His eyes sparkling, Max nodded his head. His family was small, but it looked like it was growing bigger. Jared might not be a blood relative, but he was Booth's brother and he considered Jared to be his family because of it. "Jared, I'm happy for you."

"Thank you." Jared turned and looked right at Brennan. "Tempe, thank you. You and Seeley gave me a second chance and I have everything that I ever wanted. Padme and me both owe you our gratitude. If you hadn't helped me through that mess I made, well, I'm not sure where I would be right now . . . Thank you."

"You're welcome." Brennan appreciated the gratitude. Jared had been a pill when he was younger and drinking and Cam had considered him Booth lite. She now knew that Jared might not be his brother, but he wasn't lite. Not anymore.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. I appreciate it.