Sanity and First Impressions

When they pulled into the neat white house, Parker flew out of the car, screaming at the top of his lungs. The two adults exited at a more dignified pace and went to the trunk to get the bags.

"I'll get them, Bones."

"Sure, leave me alone with your family while you make a dozen trips."

"Was that sarcasm?" she only smiled, and then her comment reminded him of things she should know.

"Whatever my mother says, just nod and agree. And for God's sake, don't let her know that you weren't a debutante." He took the two biggest suitcases and started walking toward the house.

"What makes you think that?" she asked. He literally tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Smooth." She laughed.

"What have you done with Bones?" he demanded, getting up and brushing off his clothes.

"Your son gave me a vocabulary lesson, Sleeping Beauty.." she grinned in a most un-Bones-like way.

"Speaking of the rugrat." He said. The family had started to drift through the door as they greeted Parker and looked for his father.

"Hello, dear. I'm Lisa. You must be the Dr. Brennan we've heard absolutely nothing about." The matronly woman smiled sweetly as she shook her hand but shot a glare at Booth. Tempe studied her. Her hair was obviously dyed blonde, but it was a very pale blonde that wasn't terribly obvious. She was still pretty, but shared few of Booth's features.

"I'm Temperance. Call me Tempe."

"That's what Parker told me." she smiled. "Seeley, why is this nice lady carrying bags?"

"I tried." He said simply, coming back from the house with a similarly structured young man in tow. The stranger was not quite as tall or broad-shouldered, but their faces bore an unmistakable resemblance. Younger brother, she concluded.

"Hi. I'm Tempe." She extended a hand to him.

"Jared." He smiled. It was Booth's charm smile, but something made it less winning on another man's face. A younger woman walked out with a toddler on her hip. She resembled her mother, though less strongly than the two boys' mutual resemblance.

"Why are we greeting our guests on the lawn, Mom?" she smiled at Tempe. "I'm Lucy, by the way. Their sister. It's nice that Seeley's finally brought someone home to meet us." Her mother had turned to the boys unloading the car. Lucy put her free hand around Tempe's shoulder and steered her toward the door. "I was beginning to think he should have gone with the priest thing."

"What?" Tempe looked around for Booth, who was walking up behind her.

"One time when I was five!" he protested as his sister giggled.

"Now this is going to be a madhouse. Don't be intimidated, we're actually sane when you cut us out of the herd." She linked one arm through Tempe's, who opened her mouth.

"Just play along, Bones." He whispered in her other ear, and she could feel his breath on her cheek. "Pretend like you know what it means." He amended, before pasting on a charm smile for the dozen or so people gathered in the living room. In the next ninety seconds, she met Jared's fiancée Alice, Lucy's husband Greg, their teenage sister Katherine, the toddler Lucy was holding, Ben, and the two identical twins Parker was now playing with, Jeremy and Kyle, a tall, stooped older man, Uncle Jimmy, and Booth's father Thomas, who was built like Booth and from whom Booth had definitely inherited most of his features.

"Lilah and her husband Mark will arrive later tonight with their girls Susanna and Margaret and baby Kelsey." Lucy added. Her head spun.

"That's nice." She smiled faintly, feeling all eyes on her.

"This is – Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Tempe." Parker chimed in. "But Daddy calls her Bones."

"I'm a forensic anthropologist." She explained.

"She identifies bodies for us." Booth translated.

"Really? Real dead bodies?" one of the twins asked, eyes lighting up.

"Isn't that so cool!" Parker grinned. The adults laughed. A baby wailed.

"That's Chris." Lucy said, holding out the toddler – Ben – to Tempe, who put her hands underneath his arms and held him out away from her body awkwardly.

"Give him here." Booth took him and bounced him gently. The toddler cooed happily, blowing a wet bubble. The Booth family – family? Who were they kidding, this was a clan, a tribe – dispersed gradually, taking Ben.

"Dinner tonight will be informal, just to catch up. Tomorrow we'll do family stuff and if there's a formal party, it'll be tomorrow evening. Then Sunday, after Mass, there's cooking and eating for pretty much the rest of the day." He explained to her.

AN: Two short ones today, and since it's a really choppy ending, if I'm in a good mood tonight, I'll post another. Reviews make me happy. (This doesn't count 'cause it's extra!) This chapter is mostly description, and when I read my own descriptions, a mallet always comes to mind, so sorry. Oh, and don't worry, Bones hasn't caught up on twenty years of pop culture in a matter of hours. She'll be back to normal before you know it. And one more thing and then I'll shut up. It's been a while since my brother was five, and I was only nine, so if people with more frequent interaction with five-year-olds could give me some feedback on Parker, that would be great. I just never know if he's too mature, or not enough, or what. Shutting up now.

P.S. Thanks to all who reviewed!