For most people, a family dinner is just that. It's a relaxing meal at the end of the day with the people that you love. You vent your worries for the day. You take in stride that maybe your day wasn't nearly as bad as you thought. Your mother and father give you advice, you may pick on your sibling, or laugh at a story that someone told about their work day.

That's for most people. My family is a little different. First and foremost, we all work in the same general vicinity, and in the same field. We all interact with either the same people, or persons in a similar position. It's either law enforcement, or the lab. The only exception to this is my half-brother, Parker. Working with the United States Government office of Homeland Security, Parker is a technical consultant for the cyber forensics division. Basically, he builds computers for the government. That's all he's really told us, apparently the details are a 'need to know' issue, and I've never actually felt that need. His job keeps him busy, and since his wife died nearly a year ago, his twin sons keep my parents very busy.

Family dinner for the Booths is a weekly event. On occasion we have guests, but mostly it consists of my mother, father, me, and my sister Grace. Occasionally the boys will join us, and even rarer is a visit from Parker. Those dinners are quiet, civil, and there is never, ever conversation about our jobs. Personal lives, weekend plans, and personal news are fair game. Phones are left on the kitchen counter, and stresses of the day are left at the doorstep.

Guests however, they are privy to an entirely new world when they enter the dining room of the Booth residence for dinner. Mom says that it is important to make our guests feel welcome, Daddy loves to talk. I simply refer to our dinner guests as victims of a hostage situation. Between force feeding, interrogation, and the occasional bout of water torture, it's a wonder that we get any guests to return.

The family and their guest filed into the dining room with an air of familial companionship. Aiden looked around as each family member found their seat. Booth glanced around at the set up and then to his daughter.

"Toni?"

"They set the table," she said quickly, nodding toward her nephews.

"Do you think it's wise to put a new guest between them?"

"On the bright side, he'll get a healthy dose of vegetables." Antonia shrugged.

Aiden's eyebrows lifted.

Grace pulled her phone out of her pocket and set it on the counter beside her parent's cell phones. "On the bright side, he's not wearing a white shirt," she smiled at their guest.

"Alright, that's enough," Temperance warned while she placed the chicken and pasta on the table. Booth glanced at the table and moved toward the refrigerator to get drinks for everyone. "There's no need to initiate our guest into our little comedy of errors."

"Fitz, beer?" Booth asked, looking to Aiden while holding up a bottle.

"Uh, no thank you, Sir. I don't drink alcohol. Water or milk is fine."

"Fitz, we're in my home, no need to call me 'sir'," Booth chuckled.

"That's correct. There's no need to inflate his ego when it's already reached its maximum capacity," Temperance quipped.

"Funny, Bones." He replied when everyone laughed softly. He sat down with the rest of the family, and dinner commenced quietly.

At first, things were going well. Everyone ate in silence, though there was the occasional story or comment about how delicious the meal was. Aiden ate quietly and when he saw a fork slip onto his plate slowly and drop a carrot at the edge, he looked over to the young boy beside him.

Nate held his finger to his mouth and silently shushed him. Aiden smiled at the little boy, and noticed a fork from the other side dropping off another carrot.

"Boys," Booth said without looking up.

Aiden looked across the table at Toni and Grace, and could tell that they were each stifling a smile.

"Agent Fitzgerald, you come from Chicago?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied, glancing to Temperance.

"And your father is a doctor," she stated.

"He is a cardiothoracic surgeon, Ma'am."

"Ew! Blood and guts!"

"Luke," Temperance said to her grandson, admonishing his behavior. The boy's eyes fell to his plate immediately. Although her voice was stern, there was a bit of a smile on her lips. "You can call me Temperance, Aiden. There is no need for formality here."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said, and his cheeks burned a bit in embarrassment. The boys on either side of him giggled.

"Please, eat more," Temperance smiled.

"Oh, I don't think I could eat another thing," he said with a smile.

"Don't forget to save room for dessert," Grace smiled across the table. "Daddy makes the best apple pie known to man."

"Dad didn't make the pie." Toni argued.

"I'm sorry," Grace corrected. "Dad knows where to find the best pie known to man." Rolling her eyes at her sister.

"You'll have to forgive Grace. She has the distinct habit of exaggerating just a bit."

Grace shot her sister a glare and reached for the bowl of carrots. The brief moment of tension was dispelled by Temperance once again. "Is there any particular reason that you don't drink alcohol, Aiden? Is there a history of alcoholism in your family?"

"Bones," Booth said with a bit of a warning tone. She raised her eyebrow at him and he simply rolled his eyes.

"No history of anything like that. I just don't like what alcohol does to people when they over consume. I've seen my share of…" he paused, remembering that they were eating dinner, and this particular subject matter wouldn't be entirely suitable for the dinner table.

"Diseased liver?" Temperance supplied.

"EW!" the two boys exclaimed, dropping their forks onto their plates with a loud clank. "Blech!"

Grace started to laugh at her nephews as they proceeded to feign throwing up, and Antonia and Temperance both went red in the face with embarrassment. Aiden bit his lower lip to keep from laughing, and Booth stood up quickly. He grabbed both boys by their collars and started to bring them from the room.

"Alright, that's enough," he said as the boys jokingly flailed against his grip. Nate swung his arm and hit a glass of water on the table, sending it flying onto their guest's lap. As soon as the glass landed on the ground, both boys stopped wiggling and Booth swept them into the living room.

Antonia jumped from her seat to find a towel, and Temperance moved across the table to assess the damage. Grace was no help at all, and was paralyzed by a fit of giggles across the table. Her eyes met Aiden's shocked expression, and he couldn't hold it in any longer. His hold on the moment shattered, and he started to laugh uproariously. He pulled his chair out and thankfully took the towel that Antonia offered, as she too broke out into a fit of giggles.