A/N: this chapter isn't as lighthearted as some of the others, but Booth and Parker need to discuss some things. If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it. Laura

The early morning air was cool as Parker sat on the house's large back veranda, watching the seabirds that dove into the bay as they hunted for their breakfast. Yawning and stretching as he struggled to get his tall frame comfortable in the chair, he made a valiant effort to shake off his jet lag. He'd only been able to squeeze in a short vacation in the States between the summer sessions at school, and he didn't want to sleep the whole time he was visiting his father and stepmother.

I had to come, though...I had to see Dad for myself. I had to make sure he was okay. It still brought a tear to his eye as he remembered his mother coming into his bedroom in the early hours of a morning a couple of months ago to shake him awake.

"Parker...they've found your father.", Rebecca had whispered to him in a shaky voice. "He's alive, but he's been gravely injured. Dr. Brennan isn't sure about how things are going to turn out...she says his prognosis is uncertain." His mother had tried to be strong, but he'd heard her tears as she held his hand in the darkness.

Puffing out a shuddering sigh, Parker remembered his shock and disbelief. Even though he knew better, he'd always viewed his father as practically indestructible. I knew he'd make it, right? How could I doubt my Dad? But it had been touch and go for a few days. What a relief it had been for Parker when Bones had called him to say that his father had improved a great deal and would be going home the next morning.

And so it was that when the opportunity for a summer visit presented itself, his mother had none of her usual excuses to offer as to why he couldn't go see his father in the States. In fact, it seemed that she was more than happy to comply. That unusual amount of compliance on her part had made Parker suspicious, wondering if his father was worse off than anyone cared to admit. He rarely saw his mother this agreeable to any of his father's requests, but he figured that Bones had presented a logical argument that his mother couldn't ignore. They must've known I'd want to see Dad after everything that's happened...

Having prepared himself for the worst case scenario, Parker was somewhat surprised to find his father in relatively good health, especially considering all that had happened to him. Granted, he was still slightly stooped because of some residual pain from his wound, and he'd lost enough weight to look almost gaunt, but his actual injury was almost completely healed. Closing his eyes, Parker breathed a silent prayer. Thank God, Dad's gonna be okay…

"Hey, buddy. How about a cup of coffee?" Booth walked out onto the porch carrying some steaming mugs. "I know you Brits usually drink tea, but…"

"Geez, Dad...you make it sound like I haven't been home in years." The boy laughed as he took a mug and sipped the hot brew. "This is pretty good. I'm not sure anyone in London actually knows how to make a decent cup of coffee."

Sitting down next to his son, Booth nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Me and Bones visited there several years ago when she was speaking about forensics stuff at Oxford, and all they had at my hotel was hot tea." He chuckled as he winked at his son. "Pretty nasty shit, if you ask me."

"Yeah...it can be." Parker took another sip before glancing at his father, hesitating as he wondered how to explain what was on his mind. "Um...Dad? Mom was really worried about you when all that stuff happened to you, you know? When Bones called and said you were missing...it scared her a lot." He shook his head as he tried to forget what had happened that day. "She cried all night after she told me what was going on." Blinking back tears, he continued softly. "I think she even prayed…"

Booth sighed heavily as he stared into his coffee mug. Parker's unspoken accusation had come through loud and clear. How could you do that to my mother? Scare her like that? Make her worry? Your job is too dangerous... He'd had that same argument with Rebecca several times when Parker was a small boy, and now he'd have to explain those things to his son as well. "I'm sorry I upset her, and I'm sorry I upset you, too, Parker. I know there's not anything I can say to take those bad memories away. All I can tell you is that at the time, I felt like it was something I had to do."

"You mean helping Uncle Jared?" Parker turned to face his dad. "Why did he get involved with that mess anyway? I mean, he must've known that crazy plan was too dangerous and probably wouldn't work."

"He probably did know, but knowing something was risky or even dangerous never stopped Jared from doing something he wanted to do." Booth stared out over the bay. "He was always that way…that was how he lived his whole life."

Realizing that he might have said the wrong thing, Parker quickly interrupted. "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to say bad things about your brother…I guess I was being selfish. I know you miss him."

"Nah, don't worry about it." Settling back in his chair, Booth looked over at his son. "I'm just sorry you didn't get to know your Uncle Jared better. He wasn't really a bad guy, and he could be a lot of fun when he wasn't drinking too much. I think it was more that he was dealt a bad hand in life, you know? I mean, I know I've told you why we had to move in with Pops, since my father was abusive, but I'm not sure Jared really ever understood what had happened with that situation. I tried to tell him why we had to move away from Dad, but I was just a kid myself. Pops could never really bring himself to explain it to Jared without breaking down, and he was too proud to cry in front of us." Nodding at Parker's sad expression, Booth's expression was grim. "Anyway, I think in some ways, Jared has a form of PTSD, just like our dad did."

"Really?" Parker was obviously surprised. "I thought that was something people got from being soldiers in a war."

"It's true that being a soldier in combat can trigger it, but since I was laid up a long time when I was injured and I couldn't work, I did some reading up on it. Any sort of traumatic event can leave emotional scars on a person, and they can act out in lots of different ways because of those scars. I think us having to leave our house suddenly and move in with Pops and Nana might have been enough to trigger it for Jared."

"So why didn't Pops take Uncle Jared for counseling?" Parker grimaced in frustration as he thought over the situation. "That might have helped him deal with stuff…"

"Well, people in Pops' generation didn't like to talk about stuff like that in public. Pops always said we didn't need to tell other people about our family troubles….that we shouldn't air our dirty laundry in public." Sighing, Booth shook his head. "You have to remember that Pops blamed himself for how my dad turned out, even though it wasn't his fault. He thought taking Jared somewhere so he could talk to somebody else about how he was feeling would've just made things worse. I don't know...maybe Pops was right. Jared never listened to anybody anyway."

Parker could hear the sadness in his father's voice. "But you tried to talk to Uncle Jared about things, didn't you? You tried to help him."

"Yeah, I did...several times. I tried to get him to quit drinking...offered to pay for his rehab..but he never thought anything was really wrong with how much he drank. He kept brushing me off, telling me to mind my own damn business...that he was doing fine without me, and he didn't need me to take care of him...that is, until he wanted something...like a loan, or help with some sort of crazy project." Booth took another sip of his coffee. "Pops always said that Jared was just like my old man...always restless...always pushing the envelope...always the daredevil, and then, when he was drinking heavily, he'd become downright reckless and foolhardy, thinking he could rule the world. That's why Pops always made sure I knew that I was responsible for my little brother, because he knew that Jared would always need someone sensible to look out for him when he went off on some sort of harebrained scheme. As it turned out, Pops was right, but, in the end, unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to save Jared. He was too deep into that cockeyed plan he'd cooked up with his buddies, and I couldn't pull him out of trouble this time."

"It wasn't your fault, Dad.", Parker said quietly. "You did the best you could…"

"I know...but that doesn't really make me feel better." Wiping away a tear, Booth closed his eyes as he sank back into his chair. "Jared's still dead…"

Father and son sat in silence for a few minutes, each contemplating the horrible turn Jared's life had taken over the last few months. Finally, Parker cleared his throat softly as he ran his fingers around the rim of his mug.

"I'm so sorry he's gone, Dad, but I'm also real glad that I still have you. I don't know what I'd do…if something happened..." Brushing away some tears, Parker shrugged slightly, embarrassed to be crying like a small boy in front of his father. "I mean, when Mom told me they didn't know if you were gonna make it, I just couldn't imagine my life without you in it. I just didn't know how to handle it...I was so scared..."

"I know, Parker. I know." Booth reached over to pat his son's shoulder. "But I'm fine now, so you don't have to worry about that any more, right?" Seeing Parker wipe more tears away, he smiled gently. "I know you were scared over losing me, buddy, and I don't take that lightly. I'm not gonna take anymore chances like that, okay? I've got too much to live for. I've got you, and Bones, and Christine and Hank, and all my friends and my future grandkids...I'm gonna hang around for a long time, alright?"

"Yeah, alright.", Parker sniffled as he nodded his head. "As long as you're careful…"

"Good. Now, how's about me and you whip up some pancakes for everybody's breakfast? And then we can go down to the beach and break out the jet ski. I've been wanting to use that baby since I got here, but we've been busy with all the tourist stuff everybody else wanted to do, you know? Anyway, Bones isn't too enthused about the younger kids being on it…" Booth chuckled as he stood up to walk back into the house. "...but I really think the kids will be fine. She's the one who doesn't want to ride it, right?"

"Could be." Parker rose from his chair and followed his father into the house, thankful to have the time to spend with him.

Oooooooooo

A houseful of people filled the kitchen, packing away pancakes as fast as Booth could pull them from the griddle. Aubrey was clearly in the lead, but Hodgins and Max were giving the younger man a run for his money.

Angela leaned over to whisper to Jessica. "I think we're going to have to roll those men out of the house by the time we're done here. Hodgins is so competitive that he can't stand it if someone else wins any sort of contest."

"Aubrey's not competing...that's just how much he eats." Jessica giggled as Aubrey poured syrup on another big stack of the flapjacks. "I do think he'd do well as a competitive eater, but he says he too lazy to train for it. He prefers to maintain his amateur status."

Brennan winked at both of them. "I actually believe that Booth is the most competitive man here. He's determined to make enough pancakes to feed everybody...even Aubrey."

The women all laughed as they watched the men finish up breakfast. As Booth began to stack up the plates, Brennan and Angela washed the children's sticky hands and faces.

"Okay, let's get this kitchen cleaned up so we can go play at the beach." Booth and Parker began filling the dishwasher as Hodgins put away the few leftovers they had after Aubrey was finished eating. "I want to run that jet ski for the rest of the day."

Oooooooooo

Family and friends adjourned to the community's private beach, laughing and talking as they laid out their towels and set up their chairs. After staking out his spot, Max announced that he was ready to take a spin on the jet ski. "I've been looking forward to that since Tempe bought it for you last Christmas, Booth. C'mon...let's go."

"Dad…", Brennan began, "...aren't you too old to be riding that thing? What if you fall off?"

"Hell, Tempe...I'm probably old enough to know better, but that's what makes it fun, right? Besides, I'm gonna be wearing a life vest, and if I do fall in, Booth can save me. He's a big, burly guy. He can pull me out of the water…" Laughing as he walked down to the water's edge, Max pointed at the shiny new toy. "Let's go, Booth…"

As the two men got the jet ski ready to go, Angela and Jessica entertained the children by helping them build a sand castle. Aubrey and Hodgins had begun a lively game of one on one beach volleyball. Everyone was enjoying the warm summer's day at the beach.

Parker shyly approached the spot where Brennan was sitting under a large beach umbrella. "Hey, Bones...do you mind if I join you?"

"Of course not, Parker." She patted the spot next to her. "Have a seat." Giving him a sidelong glance, she smiled to herself, knowing what he wanted to discuss. "I suppose you're wondering how your father is really doing. I'm sure he told you that he's fine…"

"Yeah, he did, and he looks fine too, but my mom...when you called and asked her if I could come for a few days, she didn't even argue about it, and it made me wonder if there's something you guys aren't telling me, like Dad's injuries were more severe…" Parker hesitated, not wanting to give voice to his fears.

"When I discussed the idea with your mother, she was very pleased that I suggested it. I actually believe she would've suggested it if I hadn't done so. She knew you needed to see your father in person so you could finally believe that he's going to completely recover." Smiling as she watched Hank throw handfuls of sand in the air, Brennan sighed softly. "No matter what issues your parents have with each other, they both still love you immensely, Parker, and they have your best interests at heart. I can only imagine how nerve wracking it must be for your mother to send her only son across the ocean by himself, but she was willing to do that for you so you could see how well your father is doing."

"Well, it's not like I haven't made the trip before…"

"True, but the circumstances of this trip were much different, weren't they? I'm sure Rebecca had some emotional issues to deal with concerning your father's injuries as well." Brennan chuckled as she watched the younger children play on the shore. "I'm so glad you're here, and I know your father is thrilled."

"So Dad's really gonna be okay?" Seeing Brennan nod, the boy let out an audible sigh of relief. "Good." A smile began to creep across Parker's face. "I can't wait to ride that jet ski. Hey, if you want to ride it, I can watch Hank and Christine."

Brennan cringed slightly as she watched Booth and her father race around in the water. "I'm not sure I want to…"

"Oh, come on. If you really thought it was that unsafe you wouldn't have bought one for Dad, right? You might as well enjoy it, too." Parker threw in a Boothy charm smile for good measure. "Doesn't look like fun?"

"It does look like fun…", Brennan agreed. She waved to her husband as he pulled the ski up on the beach. "I think I'd like to try that, Booth…"

Parker watched as his stepmother walked over to join his father on the jet ski. Grinning happily, he plopped down next to his younger siblings as they constructed a tower for their castle, listening as Christine chattered about all sorts of things while Hank filled his bucket with sand.

After a few more hours of playing at the beach, it was time for the family to go back to the house for lunch, and maybe a nap, so they'd be refreshed for the outdoor concert they were to attend that evening. Retreating to his room, Parker lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling above him, finally feeling free from the worry that had dogged him the last few weeks. His father would make a full recovery from his injury.

Of course, he only his father's word that he'd be more careful at work, but that was enough for now. For right now, Parker was going to enjoy the next few days with his family.

As he grew drowsy, he smiled as he drifted off to sleep. He was going to have a wonderful time on this vacation.