Chapter 2
A/N: One reader commented that some details about the Ford Theater Tour would be a good addition to this story. Another of my most favorite writers, Penandra, gave me some ideas about how to write this, since my family's visit to DC when I was 13 didn't include the tour they took. So, here we go back to DC….
Christine burst through the front door the moment Booth's key disengaged the lock, chattering like a magpie. "Daddy, I feel so sorry for Edwin Booth! He saved Robert Lincoln from falling in front of a train. When his brother shot the president, he must have felt terrible. The lady actor Laura Keene held the president's head in her lap and tried to make him feel better. John Wilkes Booth wasn't very smart trying to jump down onto the stage. No wonder he hurt his leg!"
Brennan stepped out of the kitchen and smiled at her daughter's excitement. "It sounds like you and your Dad learned a great deal about John Wilkes Booth and President Lincoln. It shows you there can be both good people and bad people in any family. What's important is what you do with your own life."
Hank dragged himself out of the laundry room, and grinned at his father. "Dad, I scored two goals at hockey practice after Laser Quest. Willy Preston skated too fast, ran into me, and we both slammed into the side wall. Mom says I'm gonna have some bruises from it, but we won the scrimmage!"
"Good for you, Tiger!" Booth high-fived his son. "Bones, Is that your macaroni and cheese I smell? A lunch fit for the gods!"
"Daddy, there's only one God," Christine told her father seriously.
"Monkey, that's just an expression. Means that Mom's lunch is out of this world spectacular! Don't you think?"
"Yup, Mommy makes 'lishous mac and cheese, Chrissy!" Hank declared.
"I love Mom's mac and cheese more than almost anything," his sister agreed. "Let's eat; I'm starved, Dad's PBJ sandwiches wore out a long time ago!"
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Later that night as they dressed for bed, Booth turned to Brennan. "I didn't want to bring it up in front of Chrissy, but when I called the curator to arrange our tour, she told me some very sobering facts about my family. Apparently Edwin Booth had a problem with alcohol and had given up drinking in 1863. His brother's crime ruined the reputation of their famous acting family."
"Edwin greatly admired Lincoln. He had vehemently defended the president's reputation to his brother, and later disowned John Wilkes. Edwin was so distraught that his friends William Bispham and Thomas Aldritch feared for his sanity. They took turn staying with him so he wouldn't return to consuming liquor. Ms. Hamilton said the only thing that comforted him was knowing he had rescued Lincoln's son from death or serious injury on the train platform."
"I guess addiction has run in my family for a long time. Drinking to excess didn't solve Dad's PTSD after Vietnam, but Booths' have tried drowning their sorrows in a bottle of booze long before he did. No wonder Jared and I struggle with addictions. If we'd know that history, it might have prevented us from going down the same road to self-destruction."
Brennan regarded her husband for a moment. "When we were roommates at Northwestern, Connie Hamilton was fascinated by the assassination and everything about it. She told me that Edwin Booth was barred from acting for a year due to public outrage against his brother and family."
"He refused to let anyone speak his brother's name. Edwin found solace in writing his autobiography, which started as letters to his little girl. I can relate to that. I have briefly escaped from problems and sadness by immersing myself in writing my novels at various times in the past."
Booth pulled a t-shirt over his head and walked over to embrace her. "I know I was often the cause of your sadness, Bones, and I 'm sorry for that."
She turned in his arms, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him. "Booth, we've both brought each other happiness as well as tears. But we're together, and that's what's most significant."
Booth kissed her back, then remarked, "Carrie told Christine that Edwin's acting was more restrained than the predominantly melodramatic style of his day. The three Booth brothers appeared together on stage only once in a New York benefit performance of Julius Caesar to raise money for a statue of Shakespeare which still stands in Central Park. We'll have to take her and Hank to see it someday."
"Ms. Hamilton said that the rocker Lincoln was seated in during the performance of Our American Cousin that night ended up at the Henry Ford Museum after years in storage as evidence, and then being sat in by Smithsonian workers on break. They likely didn't know it was Lincoln's last seat, but their lack of regard for history still appalled Carrie."
"She told Christine that the actress Laura Keene brought water for the President and held Lincoln's head in her lap, and was also the first woman to manage a prominent American theater. Mary Lincoln sat nearby on a sofa, nearly hysterical. It makes you realize how stalwart Jacqueline Kennedy was to maintain her composure."
"Enough of history for tonight, Booth. I'm glad you found a positive way to reveal your family's heritage to Christine. When she's older, we may have to discuss your being a sniper with her, and why that's far different from what John Wilkes Booth did. But that's not a topic I'd broach unless she asks."
"Knowing your daughter, she will," Booth sighed. "Guess I'll cross that bridge when it shows up. Now can you think of some way to distract me from my ancestor's disgraceful behavior and heinous crime?"
"Oh, I think that can be arranged, Booth," Brennan purred. "Come to bed and turn off the light."
A/N: I gleaned facts for this chapter from history dot net, a wikipedia article on Edwin Booth, and a Henry Ford Museum website article on Lincoln's rocker. Where would Fan Fiction writers be without the fascinating information available on the Internet for quick research?