A/N: Ahh! Sorry for the delay!!! It will never happen again! Well maybe never! I would like to thank Bella, brennanmars, BonesDBChippie, a911chic and bb-4ever for their reviews! Much appreciated! Hope you enjoy!
He squirmed against the leather chair and absently began tapping his fingers against the armrest. The reception in front of him smiled gently and then went back to her typing.
He was tired. The dark circles under his eyes were definitely an indicator of that. He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced down the hallway, waiting for his lawyer to come out of a previous meeting.
His mind was buzzing with thoughts, even though he was desperate to stop thinking them. His thoughts moved from Brennan to Parker and back again, like a ping pong.
Frankly he was frustrated. And angry. He knew that Bones just got freaked out about something and broke up with him because it seemed the easiest thing to do. But he couldn't help but feel frustrated with her and the situation. It had been a day and a half since she told him she didn't want to be with him anymore. It couldn't stop thinking about it. Everything reminded him of her. His work obviously, and when he got home he had to spend time with Russ who was still cooped up in his apartment.
Somehow Russ had a sixth sense and figured out that something was going on and decided to blame Booth for it. As a result, most of yesterday was spent with the two of them trying to avoid each other.
And yet Russ stayed. Booth knew this was because like Brennan, he wanted the truth. And hopefully the truth would be discovered today, with the arrival of all of the bodies to the lab.
His thoughts switched to Parker and he found himself getting angry again. Rebecca had no right, no right to just say he couldn't see him anymore. He never thought Rebecca would do something like this to him, even in spite of the Russ situation. The worst part was that he never even got to say goodbye to Parker or explain the situation.
Sighing, he leaned forward and put his head in his hands.
"Mr. Booth?"
He looked up to see the receptionist standing in front of him.
"Mr. James is ready to see you now."
He nodded, stood up and followed her down the hall. She knocked on the door and hearing a gruff "Come in" opened it and led him inside.
"Mr. Booth?" the man said, gesturing for him to sit down. "I'm Orville, but most call me Orv. Saddled with an unusual name is my lot in life."
"I know what you mean." He replied, a slight smile crossing his lips. This was not who he was expecting at all, but then after a recommendation from Caroline, it really could have been anyone.
Orville Richardson was small. 'He definitely couldn't have been more than five one.' Booth thought to himself. Currently he was wearing jeans and a dress shirt, his glasses perched on top of his curly head. He looked like a kid that got beat up in school a lot.
"I'm Seeley Booth." He said, shaking Orville's hand.
"Seeley, eh?" Orville said. "You definitely know what I mean. Well, let's get right to the point. Caroline called me. You have a custody issue."
"Yes." Booth replied. "My son Parker." He took a photo out of his wallet and showed Orville.
"Cute kid." Orville said. "That's good, judges like cute. What happened?"
"I don't know." Booth replied honestly. "One minute we were getting along fine, the next she was saying I couldn't see him anymore."
"How longs it been since you've seen him?" Orville asked.
"Since Saturday night." Booth replied, feeling the familiar ache in the pit of his stomach.
"Right." Orville said. "Do you have any reason to believe that your…well what is she to you?"
"Rebecca was my girlfriend a long time ago." He replied. "I asked her to marry me and she said no."
"K. do you have any reason to believe that Rebecca would hurt or harm Parker in any way?" Orville asked.
"What? No!" he said adamantly.
"Look, Seeley…Do you mind if I call you Seeley?" Orville asked. Booth shook his head no. "Seeley, this is what her lawyers are going to be doing and frankly they could make you into anything they want. Ever yelled at Parker? All of the sudden you are a crazy authoritarian. Ever grabbed his arm when you were angry? Child Abuser. That's just the way it works in custody law. Its all about perception."
"That's not right." He protested.
"You're right, it's not." Orville replied. "But it's what we've got to work with. Now start from the beginning."
Booth spent the next two hours telling Orville everything, from the beginning when Rebecca wouldn't see him at all, to when he had FBI agents tail Drew. While he was saying this, Orville was scribbling furiously in a notebook, his handwriting so unlegible that Booth wondered if he himself would be able to decipher it later. He had just finished telling Orville about the situation with Russ on Saturday.
"Quite the story." Orville said.
"Yeah." He replied.
"Okay, some of this stuff can be talked away. Other stuff, like leaving your kid with a convicted felon, not so much." Orville said pointedly.
"Technically he is working with the FBI in conjunction with an ongoing murder investigation." Booth replied.
"Okay, I will need a note from the FBI saying so." Orville said. "Better yet, your superior can come and testify."
Booth groaned inwardly at this statement. It looks like it was going to be time to fill Cullen in on the investigation.
"You are going to need character witnesses. Lots of them. Probably your FBI partner, definitely. What is his name?"
"Umm, it's a her. And it's Dr. Temperance Brennan." He replied.
Orville noted how Booth shifted uncomfortably in his chair when he said his partner's name.
"Are you currently in a sexual relationship with your partner?" Orville asked bluntly.
"I was." Booth replied. "We….we are having issues."
"Well, hopefully that won't get disclosed on the stand, but if it does then we need to make sure you have plenty of other witnesses." Orville said. "Doesn't matter though, she is a celebrity and if there is anything judges like more than celebrity, I haven't found it yet. Also good-looking. That will definitely help us."
"How?" Booth said, not seeing how this had anything to do with the case.
"Perception, Seeley, perception." Orville replied, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the desk. "When there is a criminal case and you testify, you have a whole sensitive cop thing you do right? Think about that and amplify it a hundred times. Custody is all about character. There is no forensics and physical evidence. It's all about you as a person."
Booth nodded.
"So, tell me now, who does Parker like better?"
As Booth walked into the Jeffersonian, he noticed the bustle of activity at the platform and strode up the steps, swiping his card along the way. Immediately he was assaulted with the smell of decomposing flesh.
"What's that?" he choked out.
"Max Keenan." Zach replied bluntly.
Booth looked down and saw that several tables had been brought up onto the platform and currently Zach was removing the bones of several skeletons and placing them on the tables. The one closest to him was still decomposing, and he knew Zach would have to do his bone cleaning thing. He wasn't sure how he felt, looking at Max Keenan, the father of the woman he loved. Max deserved to go to jail, that's for sure, but this? He didn't want this.
Angela, Hodgins and Cam made their way up to the platform.
"Almost ready?" Hodgins asked. Zach nodded in response.
"Hi Booth." Angela said softly.
"Hey guys. Listen, I need your help." He said, running his fingers through his hair. "I am going through this custody thing and anyways I was wondering if all of you would consider being my character witnesses?"
"All of us?" said the voice behind him.
He turned and looked at his partner. "Yeah." He replied.
"Okay." She said quietly. The pained look on her face did not escape his notice.
"Of course." Cam said.
"We will help you win, man." Hodgins replied. Angela and Zach nodded in agreement.
"Okay then." He replied, smiling gratefully at all of them. "Let's get to work."
I just wanted to comment and say I love Orville! He totally is going to help Booth win! Oh, and in the next chapter, the case heats up!