Chapter 21 Comfort

A Saturday morning, sometime in the future. Christine is a sophomore in high school.

Christine came downstairs with her AP History book under her arm. "Dad, I'm supposed to write an essay on Desert Shield. I thought it was called Desert Storm. What's the diff…" She stopped her question in mid-sentence. Her normally exuberant sports fan father was seated on the couch staring out the window, paying no attention to the Flyers game in progress on the television. She waited for him to respond, but he obviously hadn't heard her enter the room. Christine watched him for a few minutes, silent. She approached the back of the couch and put her hand on Booth's shoulder. "Dad?"

Booth startled at her touch and turned to look up at his daughter. He surreptiously swiped his knuckles across his cheeks. "Sorry, honey, I didn't realize you were there. What did you ask me?"

Christine looked more closely at her father, and realized he had tears in his eyes. "Daddy, what's the matter? Is Mom okay? Parker? Hayley?" she queried, concern in her voice.

"Oh, honey, everyone's okay," Booth assured her.

"Then why were you crying? What's wrong?"

"I'm just missing Pops. For some reason, when the National Anthem started, it made me think of when he used to watch Flyers games with me sometimes when he wasn't working Saturdays. It just reminded me of him, that we can't do that ever again and I just wish he was still around…" Booth sighed.

"Oh, Dad, I'm sorry!" Christine moved around the couch, sat down, and reached over to hug her father. "You want me to call Mom at the lab? She said she needed to re-examine some bones, but she told me it wouldn't take more than a couple of hours. She's probably about done by now."

"No, no, we don't want to get between Bones and her bones," Booth declared. "You know what we could do, though? Fix lunch before she gets home. You could help me make some grilled cheese sandwiches like Pops used to when I was a kid. He told your mom and me once that he learned to make them during the Battle of Inchon in the Korean War. Said the American cheese they used reminded the soldiers of home. I guess grilled cheese sandwiches were the original comfort food! Your mom loves them as much as I used to. Still do, actually." He got to his feet and started toward the kitchen.

Christine just turned and looked at her father wryly. "Dad, you think I haven't had one of Pops' grilled cheese sandwiches? Parker used to make them for me all the time when he babysat me while you and Mom went out. I thought Parker made the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the world."

"Yeah, well, he learned how straight from Pops. They used to make them when Parker was little. He'd get the bread slices out of the sack and lay 'em on the plate while Pops sliced the cheese. Then he'd peel up the cheese slices off the plate and hand 'em to Pops. Kept him busy so he didn't get close to the hot skillet and burn his fingers."

"Oh, Dad, speaking of Inchon, that reminds me why I came downstairs in the first place. I need some help on my AP US History essay for Monday."

"Sure, honey, let's get lunch ready first, and then I'm all yours!"

"I wish Pops had lived longer, so I could've gotten to do that too. I never had much chance to get to know him very well," Christine mused sadly.

"Oh, Chrissy, Pops was so happy when your mom and I told him you were on the way. He was so excited to have another great-grandchild! And the first time he saw you, I thought he was gonna burst with pride. He was so thrilled Bones and I'd had a daughter. Said he'd finally gotten his little girl, and he was gonna spoil you rotten. When you got a little bigger, we took you with us to visit Pops at Willow River. He was so proud of you, and all the little old ladies at the retirement center wanted to hold you. Of course, your mom took a dim view of that, worrying about germs and such," Booth recalled fondly. "Once you were a toddler, though, she was pretty good about letting them sit you in their laps for a few minutes. Pops even baby-sat you a few times for us before you started kindergarten. We didn't really need him to, but he just loved having you to himself for a little while. So we'd go get lunch in town a few miles away, and bring it back to eat with Pops at the center."

"I sort of remember being there," Christine said. "I think his room was on the second or third floor, and I loved in riding the elevator. I was fascinated by all the buttons on the control panel. Pops would lift me up so I could hit the button for his floor. He always had some candy hidden away for me. Said it was our secret, and not to tell Mom."

"Oh, your mother knew, but she also knew it delighted Pops to treat you to some goodies. So she never said anything, just let him have his fun with you. He was quite a character. We once had to take him with us on a case to a place called 'Club Jiggle.' We told him to stay put at a table while we talked to some employees, but the next thing we knew, he was up dancing like he was 40 not 79," Booth recalled, laughing.

"He had a long life, 85 years, but it never seems long enough to the people who love someone," he finished quietly.

"I know you must miss him a lot, Dad," Christine moved to put her arms around her father.

"Yeah, I do. I'm glad I've got you around to give me hugs. You're getting tall enough, you don't hardly have to stand on your tip-toes anymore to reach my neck, honey. I'm just as proud of you as Pops was. Now that Parker is living in L.A., you're a real comfort to your mom and me. Maybe you should think about going to American University when the time comes to choose a college," Booth said.

"I don't know about that, Dad. I think I want to go out of state. I'm not staying home forever!"

A/N: We're halfway through this dang hiatus. I'm getting antsy. I hope they pay some tribute to Ralph Waite's character. I'm kind of surprised they didn't deal with Pops' passing away in the earlier part of this season, but then I don't know how far ahead of episodes airing their filming schedule is. At any rate, I'm tired of waiting!