Chapter 44 Wind
Nope, no Bones owned here in this corner of the Fan Fiction sandbox.
Parker had always loved to fly kites. He had spent many a Saturday afternoon, at the park with his father hanging on to the string for dear life as a colorful kite bobbed in the sky over his head. When he was small, Booth would launch it into the air for him, holding it high over his head and giving it a good strong toss to catch the breeze. Now that he was older, they brought two kites and competed to see whose would stay aloft the longest.
Now that Christine was old enough, Parker had experienced the big-brother fun of introducing her to his favorite spring pastime with their dad. They made a big production of taking her to the nearest Wal-mart to procure new kite kits one Saturday when Parker was spending the weekend with Booth and Brennan. Christine chose a My Little Pony kite, and Parker selected a Batman one for old times' sake. Their dad picked out a colorful Captain America kite at Parker's urging. It reminded him of when his dad had called Brent, Rebecca's boy friend, Captain Fantastic. Christine told him it looked like the Fourth of July, so it was a little early for that type of kite, but she liked the flag colors and decided it was a good choice, deigning to give Daddy his little princess's royal approval.
Having packed folding chairs, lemonade, water, granola bars and carrot sticks into the SUV earlier that morning, Booth tossed the sack holding their purchases into the back and made sure Christine was properly buckled into her car seat. He and Parker had decided to try a different park which had a wide open field in whithey could run without being impeded by overhanging tree branches, so that Christine would have an easier time flying her first kite with a optimal chance of success. On this particular Saturday, the wind was fairly strong, with gusty updrafts just perfect for kite enthusiasts. The three of them sat down on a blanket Parker had spread out under a tree and got to work with the sticks and paper, assembling their kites.
Brennan had sent along glue sticks and plenty of tape, cellophane, masking and duct tape to insure sturdy building results. It took a good forty-five minutes to get everything ready. They might have worked faster, but Parker wanted to give Christine a chance to do as much by herself as she could. He still had fond vivid memories of his dad patiently overseeing his clumsy youthful efforts. This many years later, he realized that the work made the experience all the sweeter. The thrill of achievement added to the excitement of seeing your creation bobbling around in the sky. He had finished his kite quickly, but didn't say so to give Christine the opportunity to believe she was first.
Booth seated one of Christine's slats a bit more securely, and put the finishing touches on his own patriotic kite. He rose to his feet, his knees protesting, and gave Christine a big grin. "Ready,honey? Let's go get these babies into the air!"
"They're not babies, Daddy, they're kites. Mommy would say you can't fly a baby because it might get hurt from falling."
"She thinks just like her mother, and absorbs everything Bones does. What a little sponge!" thought Booth. He wished that Brennan had come along this morning, but he knew she was trying to meet a deadline for her latest book, and so he didn't press her.
"Come on, Daddy, let's go get my ponies flying!"
"If you can't fly babies, how can you fly ponies?" Booth asked her with a serious expression on his face
"Daddy they're pretend ponies, just paper. Not real ones, silly. And anyway, they'd have to be unicorns with wings to be able to fly!" Christine looked at him disapprovingly, as if daddies were supposed to know such things without having to be told.
"Okay, Chrissy, here goes. Hold the reel of string in one hand and grab the bottom point of the kite with your other hand, hold it over your head, run a little and give it a good toss!" Booth took his kite and demonstrated for her, but didn't release it. He watched as she gave a good imitation of what he had showed her. The kite promptly took a nose-dive into the grass.
"Try it again, honey," he encouraged her. After several failed attempts, Christine's kite caught a breeze and took flight briefly before fluttering to earth again. "See, you did it!" Booth exclaimed.
"It fell again, Daddy, " the disappointed little girl said. "I'm not very good at this!"
"Chrissy, you got it up after only four tries. The first time Dad took me, I had to try it eight times before I got mine to fly at all! You're doing really good!" Parker encouraged her.
A few more attempts didn't go too well, but finally Christine's hot pink, yellow and lime green kite took off. It stayed up and rose steadily. "Look, Parker, I did it!" she cried happily.
"You sure did, Chris! I'm proud of you! You didn't give up, and now your kite is way up there in the sky," Parker told her.
She flew it several more times, then walked to the blanket and addressed her father. "Daddy, can I have a drink of lemonade and some carrots. I'm kind of tired."
"Sure, honey. Why don't you drink one of these juice boxes and sit down with your carrots? You want to watch Parker and I have a race?"
"Oh, yeah, Dad!"
The wind had picked up as Parker tossed his kite into the air, followed quickly by his father. The two kites rose higher and higher, diving and swooping back and forth. The two of them ran along, feeding out the string to allow their kites to gain altitude. They steered the kites a little to keep them in the area around Christine, so they could also keep an eye on her.
Just then, Parker caught sight of a familiar figure striding toward them. "Bones! I didn't think you were coming!"
"Hi, Mommy! I flied my kite! It's real windy and the ponies got very high up in the sky!"
"You flew your kite, Christine, not flied. What a pretty kite, it's very colorful," said Bones leaning over to hug her beaming daughter
"Parker, I didn't mention coming as I didn't want to possibly disappoint you all, and I wasn't sure how much progress I'd make on my book, but my writing went much faster than I expected , and I should meet my deadline for the publisher to review on schedule. Since I accomplished more than I thought I would, I decided to surprise you all and come see how the kite flying is going. I also packed some drinks and sandwiches in case you are hungry. That's a pointless conjecture. I know you are hungry. Growing boys your age are always hungry, aren't they?" Brennan asked with a grin.
"Bones! You made it! I thought you might try to come," Booth said happily, walking over to kiss his wife. "You got here at a good time; the wind is even gustier than it was, so Parker and I are going to have another contest to see whose kite stays up longest. You're just in time to watch and cheer us on."
"Well, Booth, I will be glad to encourage both your competitive efforts, but I'm certainly not going to take sides. I could never favor you over Parker, nor him over you, If you are amenable to those terms, I will be happy to be your peanut gallery. "
"Cheering section, Bones, not peanut gallery. That's from Howdy Doody."
"I know, Booth, that's why I interjected it into our conversation. Russ and I used to enjoy the reruns on Saturday morning television each week. We found Clara Belle quite amusing. She communicated very effectively despite never speaking."
"Of course, you did, you love classic TV shows as much as old movies, right Bones?" Booth smiled fondly.
"When you and Parker have held a few kite races, you may each compete against me," announced Brennan slyly.
"How, Mommy? You don't have a kite to fly."
"Oh, but I do, Christine, and you are going to help me build it, now that Daddy and Parker showed you how. I stopped at the Kmart and purchased one before I arrived at the park," Brennan informed her, pulling a red, yellow, and blue kite kit from her bag.
'Who is it, Mommy?" Chrstine asked.
"I bet Dad knows without even looking," chortled Parker as his father grinned at him."Yup, I was right; Wonder Woman!"
"Who else could it be?" Booth laughed.
And the little family spent the rest of the afternoon watching colorful kites fill the sky.