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Booth picked up his duffel off the rotating shelf at baggage claim and made his way through the busy airport. His ears were ringing. He hadn't slept at all on the four-hour flight to Chiloquin, making this his thirty-ninth hour awake running on about three hours of sleep.
He noticed an envelope sticking out of one of the outside pockets on his duffel and reached for it. Inside was an address written in neat handwriting and a motel key along with a car key and remote were folded tightly in the crumpled paper.
All of this only slightly surprised him. He knew as long as he did his job, everyone else, whoever that might be, would do theirs and hopefully this mission would be over in a matter of days.
Outside the active airport he hit a button on the remote and a black Sedan beeped and flashed it's lights out in the parking lot. He found it, threw his stuff in the trunk and drove away. It was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate on the traffic though, his thoughts kept drifting to Bones and Parker.
Why this weekend of all weekends? He hardly ever got to see his son, he hated that he had to choose killing someone over being with him.
Booth shook Parker's face out of his mind. Thinking of his son and his wide-eyed innocent view of the world was not going to make what he had to do any easier.
The address in the paper belonged to a run down looking motel that reminded him of the night of his Junior Prom. After pulling his duffel out of the trunk, he jogged up to his room, the number that was indicated on the motel key.
Nearly choking on the smell of bleach and cigarettes inside the tiny room, Booth rubbed his face tiredly. Throwing his duffel on the bed, he sighed and closed his eyes. he was starting to get a headache and rolling his head from one shoulder to the other, trying to loosen the knots that were forming in them, wasn't helping much.
When he opened his eyes again, he noticed the nondescript wood box in the middle of the floor.
He walked carefully toward it, lifting the lid he pursed his lips at what he saw. He wasn't surprised, actually kind of pleased. He didn't know what sort of weapon he would be using for the assignment, and using the wrong gun would make things harder on him.
This was not the wrong gun. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Booth smiled tightly in a sort of militant appreciation as he lifted the heavy rifle from the box. Finding this M107 LRSR in his room was really the only good thing that had happened to him so far. It meant this mission would be quick and soon he could get back to his life.
He set the butt of the rifle on the ground and leaned it against the bed. Then he reached for the 5-round magazine that was still in the box and set it next to him as he settled heavily on the mattress.
Pulling the picture the Colonel had given him out of his back pocket, he studied it for clues as to where he would find the target. He knew all the information he needed was probably in this photo since it was all the information he had been given.
He squinted at the photo in the dim yellow light coming from an outdated lamp in the corner of the room. The photo seemed to have been taken in some sort of wooded area, and he could see the target was standing next to a sign .
'Crate' was all he could make out of the first word and 'Nationa' was all he could get of the second.
Booth thought for a moment and he realized the picture had to have been taken at Crater Lake National Park not fifteen miles northwest of where he was staying.
He yawned widely, reminding him of how tired he was and he laid back on the bed, allowing the picture flutter to the floor. Booth was exhausted and knew he needed sleep, but couldn't seem to find it. He tried to relax his mind by taking in every inch of the room.
The ceiling was speckled with water spots varying in size from about a dinner plate to a car and a there was a ;arge crack ran along the south wall. He could see the yellowish wallpaper peeling near the ceiling in several places and completely gone in others. He didn't even want to see the condition of the bathroom and made a mental note to sleep on top of the covers that night.
If I sleep at all, that is.
Finally, growing increasingly bored and depressed with taking in his surroundings he grabbed the remote off the TV and flipped it on. He was greeted with static on most stations and some sort of whale documentary on the one channel that came in semi-clear.
Sighing heavily, Both put the remote aside and laid back down on the bed, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep. He'd already decided to begin his search for the man in the picture the next day and he didn't know when his next opportunity for sleep would be.
In spite of his exhaustion, Booth still couldn't find a way to relax. His mind was restless and his body ached.
He tried counting sheep. He tried relaxing each muscle in his body one-by-one and not moving. He even tried to solve math problems in his head, hoping to bore himself to sleep.
But nothing worked and the constant whirling thoughts and conflicting emotions coupled with impending insomnia threatened to send him over the edge.
After almost two hours the little nagging in his mind defeated him and he pulled out his phone, dialing Bones. He knew it was probably not a good idea, against protocol and all that, but he wanted to talk to her and to Parker and knew it was his last chance at finally relaxing enough to find some much needed slumber before the long mission that lay ahead of him.
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Brennan pulled up in front of Parker's school a few minutes after the bell had rung. The mass of movement astounded and overwhelmed her as she searched for Parker's face amongst the sea of screaming and running children. She felt out of place walking among the students as they rushed toward buses and waiting parents, she was at least two feet taller than the majority of them.
They're like Pygmies. She thought to herself, a small smile of amusement playing on her lips.
Finally she saw him. The short mop of curls was standing near the curb, gripping the straps of his backpack and looking out over the crowd, searching as well.
"Parker!" She called to him. He heard his name and looked toward the sound, his face immediately brightening when he saw her.
"Dr. Brennan." He grinned and hugged her legs. Brennan smiled and leaned over, giving him an awkward, almost upside down hug.
"Are you here with my Daddy?" Parker let go of her legs and looked past her, hoping to catch a glimpse of his father. The grounds had grown quieter as the buses pulled away and the sounds of singing birds and barking dogs could almost be heard.
"Um, no Parker. You're Daddy had to leave town unexpectedly. He asked me to take care of you for a few days."
Parker drew his eyebrows together in confusion which quickly transformed to hurt.
"He's not here?" He asked in a small voice.
Brennan realized he was upset and knelt in front of him, bringing herself to eyelevel. "Parker, I know how much your Dad loves spending time with you so whatever he had to go do must be very important, you understand?"
Parker nodded, though his mood didn't brighten.
"Would you like to come home with me?"
Parker's face broke into a smile and then quickly turned serious again.
"Do you know the password?" He questioned.
Brennan straightened to her full height and looked down at him.
"Password?"
He nodded emphatically, shaking his blonde curls all over the place.
"Yeah. Daddy and Mommy say never to go with anybody that doesn't know the password. And not to talk to strangers. But I know you so I can talk to you, but you have to know the password."
Brennan frowned and felt her heart rate quicken. Booth hadn't given her a password, how was she going to get Parker to come with her?
"Do you know it Dr. Bones?"
Then it hit her. That had to be it.
"Parker, is the password 'Bones'?"
The immediate wide grin that took over Parker's chubby face told her that was a 'yes'. He reached out, took Brennen's hand, and allowed her to lead him to her car as he regaled her with the tale of his day.
Hours later Brennan and Parker had finished their Pizza Hut dinner, Parker's favorite. They'd done the dishes and given Parker a bath and were passing the time until bedtime with a spirited game of 'Go Fish'.
"Parker you have to have a four of clubs, it's the only logical thing left." Brennen persisted, but Parker continued to shake his head from side to side.
"Nope. Sorry Dr. Brennan. It's time to go fishing."
Brennan was about to pick a card from the pile in he middle of the table when her phone rang.
"Brennan." She said automatically without checking the caller ID.
"Hey, how's everything going?" Booth's voice was hoarse with fatigue, but Brennan immediately recognized it.
"Fine Booth. We're playing a card game that has something to do with fishing, although there seems to be no correlation between the card game and the actual outdoor activity of sport fishing." Her confusion was genuine, but she smiled at remembering Parker's face when she told him she didn't have any fish or fishing gear for him to use for the game.
Booth chuckled softly on his end and felt the weight he'd been carrying around for the past few hours start to lift a little.
"It's okay Bones. Thanks for humoring him."
Brennan shrugged, difficult to do while holding a phone between her shoulder and her ear. "It's fine. He's a good kid."
Parker smiled up at her, knowing she was talking about him.
"Booth?" Brennen sat her cards down and left for the kitchen to hopefully get out of Parker's earshot. "Is everything okay? You sounded a little strange earlier." She hoped she could get him to give her more information about what was going on with him.
"Yea. Everything is fine Bones." Booth said rather unenthusiastically.
"No it's not Booth. I can hear it in you're voice." She glanced out at Parker, who was carefully arranging the 'fishing' pile into something a bit more orderly on the table.
There was a heavy sigh in Brennan's ear.
"Bones it's just a short mission, I'll be back soon and everything will be fine."
Just keep telling yourself that Seeley. You might even believe it after a while.
"Mission?" Brennen's ears perked up. "What do you mean 'mission'?"
Booth cursed himself. He'd screwed up and now Brennen was going to be more determined than ever to find out what was going on.
"Case! I meant case." He said frantically trying to think of a way to rectify the situation. "Can I speak to Parker please?"
Brennan was about to protest, but she knew how much he must be missing being with Parker so she called him over.
"Daddy!"
"Hey Bub. How was school?" Booth tried to sound upbeat for his son, though he didn't know how convincing he was being. Parker didn't notice.
"Today we learned how to write the whole alphabet and we could pick whatever colors we wanted to write it with and then…" Parker's words began to run together in Brennan's mind as she thought about Booth.
He seemed particularly on edge the day before, he sounded exhausted on the phone and he'd said 'mission' not 'case'. As much as she hated conjecture, Brennen couldn't help but think whatever was going on with Booth was something that crossed the wires in his life. Usually he kept the personal away from the professional, but something had his two worlds melting together and he was being personal about something professional.
She could just tell. Now why wouldn't he?
"But Daddy, I want to see you." Brennan returned to her side of the Booth conversation.
"Yes, she's very nice…no…okay Daddy, I'll be good….you promise?…okay, love you too."
He handed the phone to Brennan and walked back to the living room, where he ignored the cards and settled down on the couch.
"Bones, thanks for taking such good care of him, I'll owe you forever." Booth's conversation with Parker obviously lightened his mood, although he hated to dissapoint the child.
"It's okay Booth, no problem." Then, noting the pain in his voice she added, "Parker's a smart boy, he understands why you're not here. He'll be okay, Booth."
Booth nodded though she couldn't see him. "See ya later Bones."
Dial tone.
Brennan shut her phone and came to sit next to Parker. She saw his face was red from holding back tears.
"Miss your dad Parker?" She asked gently, rubbing circles on his back as she waited for a response.
"Yes." He looked up at her and nodded, then quickly he crawled over to her and settled in her lap. "When will he be back?"
Brennan suppressed the shocked look that wanted to break out all over her face from having Parker in her lap, and thought for a moment about what to say. "Soon Parker. He'll be back soon."
Parker unexpectedly grabbed her left wrist and inspected the watch on it. "When is soon?"
"What?"
"Both you and Daddy said he would be back soon. Show me. When is soon?" He pointed to her watch and looked at her hopefully.
"Parker, Soon doesn't have a specific time. It's just...'soon'."
Parker furrowed his brows in confusion. "But when? When is 'just soon'?"
Brennan closed her eyes for a moment.
How do you explain to a small child that certain words are simply place holders, that he can't mark on a calender when his dad will be back. Patience is a difficult concept for a five year old, I imagine.
"Dr. Brennan? When is 'soon'?" Parker asked again urgently, determination blazing in those sleepy brown eyes.
"Soon is after 'now; and before 'later'." Brennan said finally, lifting the boy off her lap and taking him to bed.
"Ohhh." Parker nodded slowly, resting his head on her shoulders as sleep took him.
"Okay, Daddy promised he would be home soon. I'll wait." He muttered sleepily.
Brennan laid him on her bed and tucked the blankets in around him closely. "Goodnight Parker." She said, going to the door.
"Have good dreams." She added. Such a sweet boy deserves a peaceful night of sleep.
Across the country in a lonely cold motel room, Agent Seeley Booth had fallen into a fitful sleep that was neither peaceful nor restful. As he had feared, the new mission had him plunging back into memories he'd rather he didn't have. Opening up old wounds that had barley begun to scar over.
It was going to be a long night.
I hope there's people out there still reading. If so...let me know...