Bones

"Paternal Instincts"

Summary: Bones' young new assistant has a secret…he is Booth's son.

Author's Note(s): Takes place after the whole "Widow's Son" storyline, so Zack is gone.

Warning: This story will contain spanking of a teenager.

Disclaimer: The only character I own is Seth. Booth, Bones, and the Squints I don't own.

Chapter Five: A Little Squinting

Booth and Seth walked into the Jeffersonian side by side, each drinking a whipped crème chocolate latte.

"Ah, they're bonding," Angela said to Brennan, who was examining a set of bones found in Peru and sent to them for identification.

"Given that neither is aware of the possibility you proposed to me," Brennan replied, "I highly doubt it is on purpose."

"C'mon," the other woman said, smiling, "you know I'm right."

"I admit," Brennan told her, "the evidence certainly points in that direction—"

"Screams it, more like," Angela said, smirking.

"—however, you can't be conclusive without a DNA match," Brennan finished, giving her a pointed look.

"Well then," Angela said, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "We'll just have to get a DNA match, now won't we?"

"And how do you propose we get a sample from them without coming out and asking them for one?" Brennan asked, curiously.

Angela just grinned.

"Watch and learn, Sweetie," she told her, and then strolled purposefully towards the two males.

"Are you two finished with those?" She asked them, pointing at their coffee cups.

"Uh, yeah," Booth said, "why?"

"Great," Angela said, snatching the cups from them. "Thanks."

She then spun on her heels and headed in the opposite direction, winking at Brennan as she passed her.

"Uh, I wasn't exactly finished with mine," Seth called after her, hesitantly.

"Don't even try to figure that one out," Booth told him, shaking his head. "Trust me, you'll just give yourself a migraine."

"If you say so," Seth said, and then brightened. "Good morning, Dr. Brennan."

"Morning, Seth," Brennan said, coming over to them. "How did you like sleeping with Booth?"

"Whoa, whoa, Bones," Booth said, his face pained. "He did not sleep with me in any way, shape, or form."

"He knows what I mean," Brennan said, rolling her eyes. "I simply meant that—"

"I understand," Seth said, "and yes—it was a nice night. Dr. Sweets even stayed over."

"Sweets?" she asked, glancing curiously at Booth. "Why?"

"His apartment was being fumigated," Booth told her. "He asked to crash on my couch."

"Why didn't he simply check into a hotel?" Brennan asked, even more puzzled.

"How the hell should I know?" Booth told her. "He said he didn't like them and that he didn't want to be alone."

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend?" Brennan asked next.

"She dumped him," Booth and Seth answered at the same time.

"I think he was still a little down about it," Booth admitted, "and figured a little male bonding time would help."

"Did it?" she asked, curiously.

"It seemed to," Seth said. "He was singing in the shower until Agent Booth walked in on him…"

"You walked in on him in the shower," Brennan said, glancing at Booth.

"Not really," Booth told her. "He wouldn't hurry it up, so I threatened to throw him out the window if he didn't get his rear in gear."

"Naked," Seth added, smiling. "He was out in five seconds flat. It was hilarious."

"What can I say?" Booth said, smiling. "I have a way with people."

"Uh huh," Brennan said. "Are we going to talk to our victim's friend?"

"Absolutely," Booth told her. "Be my wing man?"

"Wing woman, you mean," Brennan told him, grinning, "and I really wish you wouldn't use military connotations."

"Military connotations?" he asked her. "That wasn't a military connotation, it's a popular phrase used to ask for somebody's help."

"Then why don't you simply say 'Will you help me'?" she asked him, pointedly.

"Well, because," he said, "just because. Look, Bones, we need to do some squinting now. Are you ready to go?"

"Of course," Brennan said, removing her lab coat.

"What would you like me to do while you're gone, Dr. Brennan?" Seth asked, eagerly.

"Just continue trying to find the murder weapon," Brennan told him. "If you get any ideas, run them by Cam to see what she thinks."

"Ah, a little squinting," Booth said, sighing wistfully. "Don't you just love it?"

"Absolutely," both Brennan and Seth said at the same time.

"Dumb question, huh?" Booth said, chuckling. "C'mon, Bones, let's roll. Later, Seth man."

"Bye, Agent Booth," Seth said. "I'll get started right away, Dr. Brennan."

"We should be back in about an hour," Brennan told him, "barring any unforeseen circumstances—such as Booth's hazardous driving."

"Excuse me?" Booth asked, indignant. "My hazardous driving? What's that mean?"

"What do you think it means?" Brennan told him, continuing towards the exit.

Booth hurried after her, demanding an explanation.

They continued to argue all the way out to Booth's SUV.

"You know," Booth said, once they were on their way. "Seth isn't really such a bad kid."

"I know," Brennan said. "You two seemed to have 'bonded' well."

"Putting up with Sweets will do that to you," Booth said, snorting.

"It must not have been too terrible a night," Brennan concluded, "seeing as how you were both laughing and smiling when you entered."

Booth shrugged. "We shared a pizza, talked a bit, and then went to bed," he said, simply. "That was about it."

"What did you talk about?" Brennan asked.

"Uh, just guy stuff," Booth said, not about to tell her she was the topic of their discussion.

"Ah," Brennan said, "women, then."

Booth smirked. "Pretty much, yeah," he said. "Speaking of which, I think you might want to have a talk with Seth before too long."

"About what?" Brennan asked him, curiously.

"C'mon, Bones, didn't you notice he was dressing a bit nicer today?" he asked her.

"I did notice," she told him, "I just don't understand the significance."

"That because you aren't a guy," Booth said. "When a guy likes a girl, he tends to do things to try and impress her."

"And your point is…?" Brennan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Seth dressed up nice today because he's trying to make a nice impression on you," Booth told her, "and not just as his boss, either."

"That's ridiculous, Booth," she said, "he's only sixteen—there's no way I would ever be attracted to him."

"Which is why you need to talk and set him straight right now before it hurts him too much," Booth said. "Guy's egos, Bones, are fragile things—trust me on that one."

Brennan sighed.

"So, you're saying I should tell him I'm in no way interested him romantically before he likes me so much that any kind of rejection would devastate him, correct?"

"See? You can understand men when you want to," Booth teased. "And yes, that's exactly it. Right now, it's just a little puppy love thing happenin'. He'll be disappointed, but not overly crushed."

"I'll speak with him as soon as we get back to the lab," Brennan told him.

"Just remember," Booth told her, "let the kid down gently. Try to at least sound sympathetic. Okay?"

"I can be sympathetic," Brennan told him.

"Right," Booth said, grinning. "Now, let me do all the talking. I'm an old friend, remember?"

"So, what exactly am I supposed to do?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"A little squinting," he told her, smirking. "Watch her for any signs that might give us a clue she's lying or hiding something."

She nodded, understanding.

They arrived, got out, and rang the doorbell.

A woman in her early to mid thirties answered it.

"Can I help you?" she asked, curiously.

"Are you Alison Carmichael?" Booth asked her.

"I used to be," the woman told him, "before I got married."

"You probably don't remember me," Booth told her, "but I dated a friend of yours when you were both in college. Sarah Jane Sanderson."

"Of course," Alison said, recognition dawning in her eyes. "You were the army man she was dating. Booth, wasn't it?"

"That's right," he told her, "but it's Special Agent Booth now." He flashed his badge.

"FBI?" she asked, confused.

"Yes," Booth told her, "this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

The two women shook hands.

"What exactly is this about, Agent Booth?" Alison asked, pointedly.

"Yesterday, the remains of Sarah Jane were found buried under an apple tree on the university campus," he informed her. "Evidence proves she was murdered."

"Oh my God," she gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

"May we come in?" he asked, gently. "We'd like to ask you some questions."

She nodded. "Yes, of course," she said, stepping away from the door to let them in.

She led them to her living room, where they all sat on the sofa.

"I just can't believe it," she said. "Everybody liked Sarah Jane, I mean, the girl was a certified genius."

"I remember," Booth told her, quietly.

"She was a genius?" Brennan asked, curiously. "In what way? Figuratively or literally?"

"Both, really," Alison answered her. "She was very creative, but her I.Q. was the highest I'd ever seen. She was only eighteen and yet she was getting ready to graduate."

"Interesting," Brennan said, thinking that Angela's theory might not be so 'crazy' after all.

"Alison," Booth asked, "when was the last time you actually remember seeing Sarah Jane?"

"Oh, it was the last day of classes," Alison said, sighing. "She seemed preoccupied, but I simply thought it was nerves over graduation, you know."

"She was the valedictorian, correct?" Booth asked, trying to remember that far back.

"Yes, she had the highest grade point average in our year," she told him. "She was wonderful, even though she still seemed preoccupied."

"What about after graduation?" Booth asked her, gently.

She shook her head. "I looked for her, but somebody told me the saw her leave," she told him. "I just assumed her and her folks went out to celebrate. The next day, I went to get my stuff from the dorms and her stuff was gone—so I assumed she'd gone home with them."

Booth nodded. He had thought the same thing.

"Did you try calling her?" he asked. "Writing her?"

"No, I'm afraid not," she told him. "I had been offered a job and I guess I was so wrapped up in establishing myself. Those first few years were hectic ones. Then I met my husband, got married, and started a family."

Booth nodded. "I need you to try and remember if there was anybody at all that might have had it in for Sarah Jane, anybody at all?"

"Well, there were a lot of people jealous of her," Alison told them, "but…no one that would have killed her, I don't think. Although…"

"Although?" Brennan asked, puzzled.

"Well, it might not be anything," the woman told her, "but there was this one guy who seemed a little obsessed with her. She never thought anything of it, but I always thought he might have been stalking her."

"Do you know who this man might be?" Booth asked her.

"His name was Ralph Edmond, I think," she told him. "I want to say he worked at the university as a maintenance man or something…but its been so long…"

Booth stood up and so did Brennan. "We understand and I want to thank you for you help," he told her, shaking her hand. "Would it be all right if we came by again, should we need anything else?"

"Yes, of course," Alison told him. "Sarah Jane was my friend, Agent Booth. I loved her."

"So did I," Booth told her, gently. "Have a good day and thanks again."

She showed them to the door and they headed back out to his SUV.

"Well?" he asked Brennan, as they headed back to the Jeffersonian.

"She seemed to be telling the truth," Brennan told him. "I just don't understand why no one seemed to think it strange when this girl went missing?"

Booth shrugged. "After she broke up with me," he told her, "I was sent on a mission—a long one."

"So, you just forgot about her?" Brennan asked, disbelieving.

"No, of course not," he told her, "but she made it clear it was over between us."

"So, you never thought about calling her?" she asked, curiously.

"I did a couple of times," he admitted, "but I always chickened out. After that, I left the army, joined the Bureau, met Rebecca, and had Parker."

"So, you moved on with your life," she concluded.

"And I just assumed she had done the same," he told her, nodding.

They arrived back at the Jeffersonian and headed inside.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth," Seth came up to them immediately, "how did it go?"

"All right," Brennan told him, "did you find anything?"

"Yes, I did," he said, proudly. "Judging by the size of the fracturing of her rib cage, I determined that it had to be something pretty heavy and hard, but quite wide that made them."

"And?" Booth asked him, curiously.

"And it wasn't any of the items we thought it was," the boy told him, smiling. "It was a car—or rather the grill of a truck, actually."

"A truck?" Booth asked. "You mean, somebody ran her over!?"

Seth nodded. "It appears that way," he told him. "I would say that it had to be a utility vehicle of some kind."

"Like the type that a maintenance man would drive," Booth said, smiling. "I think ole Ralph the maintenance man just moved to the top of our suspect list."

"Now," Brennan said, "we just have to find him."

"Leave that to me," Booth told her, "don't you and Seth have something to discuss?"

"We do?" Seth asked, worriedly. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Brennan assured him. "You're doing very good work, in fact. There's just something I need to discuss with you in my office."

Booth patted the boy on the shoulder and then said, "I'll come back later and give you a lift back to my apartment, okay?"

Seth nodded. "Sure thing, Agent Booth," he told him.

"And Bones is right," he told him. "You're doin' good, pal." With that, he left them alone.

"Let's go in my office," Brennan suggested, gently.

She let him down as best she could, but she could tell he was still very disappointed.

Booth returned a few hours later, reporting that he had put out a search for one Ralph Edmond.

He said they would have something in the morning.

He and Seth left after that, headed back to his apartment.

Angela and Cam joined Brennan in her office, and she explained what their talk had been about.

"Poor kid," Angela said, sighing. "He looked really bummed out."

"He'll get over it," Cam said, confidently. "He's a kid. They're resilient."

"Yes, they are," Brennan agreed, "so what brings you both by?"

"Well," Angela said, smirking, "Cam did a little squinting for us and has some news regarding my theory."

Brennan raised an eyebrow. "You did a DNA test?"

Cam nodded. "Yes, I did," she told him, "and it seems Angela's hunch was correct."

"Then that means…"

"Yep. Seth is most definitely Booth's son."

TBC…