Sorry for the delay. Thanks Caroline for your help!!

Hope you like the chapter, so let me know what you thinke about it...

Chapter 11: Good news…bad news… (Part I)

It was Brennan's birthday; Parker was asleep and Booth was making breakfast for all three of them. He was in a considerable amount of pain: his back had been throbbing again and his legs seemed to be weaker than usual for the past days. But he figured that, it being Brennan's birthday and all, the least he could to was wrestle his way through it. Booth decided to make French toast and scramble eggs, but making breakfast without making any kinds of noise was a great adventure for him.

At around eight he decided to wake Parker. Standing at the bottom of the stairway, he drew a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for the painful minutes that were surely coming. His son's room was at the second floor and Booth had long since found out that stairs and backaches did not match. They had tried a few times to get him into the second floor, but every time he decided not to. He looked once more to the stairs in front of him and sight. Lets do this. Booth grab the hand rail and move his left leg into the first step and start climbing toward the second floor.

After a few minutes and several deep breathing, he managed to get to the second floor in one piece. Booth walked into the hallway until he found Parker room. He slowly opened the door and looked inside. Parker was hugging one of the pillows and all the bed covers were on the floor. Booth smiled remembering how bad Parker slept at nights. Booth walked toward his son and sat on the bed with him. Booth remained looking his son before decide to waking him. Parker opened his eyes as he felt a soft hand caressing his face. When he finally saw the owner of the hand he sat and hug his dad.

"Daddy" Parker said half slept as he hug his dad neck.

"Good morning bub." Booth replied with a pain grim on his face.

"You came to my room!" Parker looked again to his father just to be sure that he was there sitting with him on the bed.

"Ok Buddy, here is the deal. You remember that today is Bones birthday, so we are going to surprise her." Parker gave his father a huge smile

"Can we make breakfast for her?" Parker gave his father a sad puppy eyes and Booth ruffles his hair.

"I already did it. Now, can you go to my room…" Booth told his son something and Parker ran out of the room while Booth made his way toward her room.

Both of them arrive at the room door at the same time. Cautiously, the two Booths entered her bedroom. She was still fully asleep, chest heaving and falling with every deep breath she took. A ray of sunlight fell through the only half-closed curtains, throwing a light beam over her still figure and creating a spectacle of shadows on the covers of the bed. Booth loved the way her auburn hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. He felt like he could just sit happily and watch her sleep for a long, long time, but then –

"Daddy, can we wake her up?" Parker asked impatiently. He held a bouquet of daffodils in his hands – a present they'd picked up yesterday with Angela's help and that Booth was able to hide in his own room.

Booth nodded in agreement and sat down on the edge of the bed, Parker on his lap. They began to sing Happy Birthday. By the time they'd gotten to the second sentence, the anthropologist grumbled and stretched herself out, then opened her eyes. A smile lit up her face.

Brennan bolted upright smiling like a maniac. She remembered when her mom and dad wake her up on her birthday singing. "This is amazing," she grinned brightly. "Thank you so-"

"Bones, Dad made us breakfast," Parker decided to interfere giving her the flowers.

She turned to Booth. "You shouldn't have," she told him sternly.

"I wanted to," Booth replied lightly. He gently lifted Parker off of his lap and stood, a bit wobbly. "Okay, Park, let's give the birthday girl some space. We'll be down in the kitchen."
He started to make his way out of the room when she called out his name. "Booth."

It caused him to stop in the doorway and look over his shoulder.

"Thanks," Brennan said simply, sitting with her back against the wall, the blankets and covers crumpled at some point below her knees.

"You deserve it, Bones." Booth's response came, followed by a playful wink. "Let's get moving."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

After breakfast, Brennan was sitting in the living room with Parker next to her on the couch. Booth was cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. She'd wanted to help him, offered to help him, but he'd been unmovable in his decision not to let her. So that's why she was curled up on the sofa watching horribly colorful cartoons, when suddenly a loud BANG emerged from the kitchen. She and Parker traded a shocked look, and then both ran towards the kitchen.

Her heart stopped beating for a second when her eye fell upon the image that awaited them: Booth was on the floor.

"Booth!" Brennan gasped.

"Daddy!" Parker said at the same time.

They kneeled next to him as he struggled to sit up, and failed. He was in too much pain to even get on to his knees. As he turned his head sideways to look at Brennan, she asked, "Can you sit up?"

He just shook his head "no".

"Okay, Parker, will you go and get a pillow for your dad, please?" she turned to the blond boy, who'd been observing everything terrified.

Parker hopped up and ran to the living room, returning a few seconds later with a pillow as large as himself. He put it under his father's head and sat down again, a crease of worry between his eyebrows. Brennan hadn't moved from her position at Booth's side, holding his hand, and blinking furiously to get rid of the tears forming in her eyes. She wouldn't cry.

They stayed that way for five minutes before Booth was ready to try and get up. Brennan knew that he had to be in a lot of pain, so she waited patiently. When she noticed he was trying to move, she jumped upright and questioned, "Did you want to stand up?" softly.

"Yes," the answer came.

Brennan gave Parker some quick instructions on how to help his dad, and they cautiously got Booth to stand up and sit down again one of the many vacated chairs in the kitchen. Afterwards, he closed his brown eyes and put his head in his hands. Parker threw his arms around him and Brennan noticed his small grimace of pain.

"Booth, we need to take you to the hospital," she told him.

"No – I'll be fine. I just need some rest," Booth hissed through clenched teeth.

"But Dad, you're hurt," Parker interrupted, his eyes as big as platters in shock and fear and something else Booth couldn't quite put his finger on, but was sure he never wanted to see in his son's eyes again.

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "Just help me – help me get to bed."

Brennan instinctively knew he could've bruised some ribs – judging by the pain he was obviously in – but by now, even she knew not to push him.