The idea for this chapter came from petuniatc. I thought it was a great idea.
For those who wondered about Booth thinking about his four children in the previous chapter, they are: Parker, Christine, Joseph and Hank.
I don't own Bones.
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Parker had moved back from England when he was sixteen years old. He and his mother had been living abroad for quite a while, but Parker was homesick and missed his father and that fact was not lost on her. Deciding that it might be better if her son went to live with his father, Rebecca made arrangements with Booth and Brennan for the teenager to live in the Booth/Brennan household while he finished high school.
Once he was living in his father's house, Parker found it hard to get used to living with his half brothers and sister. He had been the only child in his mother's house for most of his life and he found it hard not to be. He loved his siblings, but their constant need for his attention and the attention of his father was both alarming and irritating.
The teenager also found that he needed to be careful what he said around them. His father and step mother had rules that they expected the kids to follow and if Parker ridiculed those rules or took them less than seriously then his father became upset with him. Sometimes Parker wasn't sure if he really wanted to be with his father or not. The fact that he had to share his father with the other kids was very irksome and not what he had imagined living with his father would be like.
The first time Parker had heard about the Daddy's Handbook he had laughed. The idea of the book seemed hokey to him and he didn't understand how his siblings believed in it. After a long talk with Booth, Parker kept his opinion about the book to himself.
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Parker's mother had insisted that Parker attend a local academy instead of the local public high school. She'd attended that particular school when she was growing up and she wanted her son to go to the same school. Since it was her idea, Booth made Rebecca pay for it. Public high school was good enough for Booth and he wasn't about to spend his hard earned money on some snooty school.
One of Parkers school mates turned out to the youngest son of President Barton. Parker didn't have a lot in common with Kevin Barton and normally wouldn't have been interested in being friends with the boy. The one thing they did have in common was soccer. Parker was really good at soccer and was in fact, one of the teams stars, the other star of the team being Kevin. Their team had done very well during soccer season and in the end they had won their divisional title. President Barton, proud of his son's team, had invited the entire group to the White House for a barbeque.
Parker had at first wanted to pass on the barbeque, but Booth wanted his son to get the recognition he thought Parker deserved so he had talked Parker into going. The invitation was for the whole family to attend, but Brennan, busy with a new project at the Jeffersonian had passed on going. Booth had been a little leery about taking three small children to the White House by himself, so Angela had volunteered to come with him. Of course, that meant that Michael would also be coming with them. Booth had contacted the appropriate presidential aide and received permission for Angela and Michael to come to the barbeque.
Hodgins, a little envious of the trip to the White House, made fun of Booth for most of the week until Booth threatened to remove Hodgins' spleen with a butter knife.
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The barbeque had been a lot of fun for Parker. Booth and Angela on the other hand didn't enjoy it very much. They had found themselves in an embarrassing situation of their own making.
When it became time to meet the President and his wife, the younger kids had all balked at meeting the first couple. They had all insisted that rule 2 be followed and there wasn't anything Booth and Angela could do to change their minds. To keep the embarrassment to a minimum, Booth and Angela had Parker retrieve plates for the younger children and they sat at the end of one of the tables eating and just watching the other people at the barbeque.
The president, being a good sport, didn't try to force the little ones to meet him and merely smiled at them if they looked at him. The Presidents' wife found the whole thing very amusing.
Towards the end of the barbeque, President Barton was talking to some of his son's team mates near the table where Booth and his little entourage were sitting when a reporter approached the President and asked him what he thought of the President of France calling him a fascist.
The President laughed and patted the reporter on his arm. "Now Bill, I warned you that during the barbeque I was going to be the Daddy-in-Chief not the President. Save your question for later and I'll be more than happy to answer it for you."
Amused, Bill Duncan quipped, "Ok, Mr. Daddy-in-Chief. I can wait."
Stunned, Michael and Christine, who had been listening to President Barton talk to the reporter turned towards each other with a look of amazement on their faces. Looking at their parents, both realized that Booth and Angela had been busy talking to each other and had missed the conversation.
Christine leaned over towards Michael and sighed."See there really is a Head Daddy. You were wrong all along. I told you my Daddy doesn't lie."
Nodding his head, Michael turned around to look at President Barton. Embarrassed that he had questioned his Uncle's and father's book, Michael turned back towards Christine and whispered. "Gosh, I'm going to have to apologize to my Dad and tell him I was wrong about the Head Daddy. I thought the whole thing was just make believe."
A smirk on her face, Christine couldn't help but rub it in. "Just because you're smart doesn't mean you know everything. My Mommy says that you can never know everything and only foolish people believe that's true."
Booth noticed the very serious conversation going on between Christine and Michael, smiled and leaned towards them. "What's going on?"
Michael pointed at President Barton and apologized. "Gosh, Uncle Booth. I really didn't know there was a Head Daddy. Now I know there is. I'm sorry I didn't believe you."
Puzzled, Booth looked at Angela and saw her shrug her shoulders. Turning back to Michael, Booth smiled at the boy. "Uh, that's okay Michael. Glad to hear it." Turning back towards Angela, Booth shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
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That evening, when Brennan arrived home, Christine, Joseph and Hank ran to the front door to meet her as she stepped into the living room.
Christine, grabbing her mother's hand, gushed her news. "Mommy, guess what? We met the Head Daddy today."
Surprised with the announcement, Brennan glanced over at Booth who held his hands palm up and shrugged. Looking back at Christine, Brennan decided to question her. "Where did you meet him?"
Joseph not to be left out of the conversation, quickly answered the question for his sister. "We saw him at the barbeque Mommy. He's a big guy and has lots of guys that follow him around. They looked kind of mean to me."
Walking over to where Brennan was standing, Booth leaned closer so her lips were near her ear and whispered. "I think they think the President of the United States is the Head Daddy. I didn't tell them that, so I don't know why they believe it."
Thinking about it, Brennan whispered back. "I guess he is the Head Daddy right now."
Hank, puzzled about the reporter's question to President Barton, tugged on her hem of her blouse. "Mommy what's a fascist?"
Startled, Brennan looked at Booth. Not understanding the question either, Booth smiled and walked towards the kitchen. "Good luck with that one."
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The prompt was: What if Parker plays ball (soccer, baseball, whatever) on the same team as some future First Son. At one of their games a reporter (not Hannah) wants to ask the President questions. The President replies that today he's just the Daddy-In-Chief. Christine hears this and thinks the handbook comes from the President.
So I guess there is a Head Daddy after all. What do you think about the Head Daddy?