Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, but I am obsessed!

Author's Note: While I was truly inspired for the premise behind these stories, a few of the words were a creative stretch. This word is one such stretch. I hope you still enjoy.

Chapter 8: Jayus

Jayus: Indonesian – "A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh"

"Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" Parker burst into a fit of giggles at revealing the punch line. Brennan's brow furrowed as she looked at the boy. When she didn't laugh Parker tried to explain. "Don't you get it, Bones? Orange? It's like aren't? Orange you glad I didn't say banana? Aren't you glad I didn't say banana, again? The whole point is that you are tired of hearing the word banana. So I said orange. Get it?"

Finally, Brennan's brow uncrinkled and she let out a hearty laugh. She kept laughing and had to catch her breath as she explained back to Parker, why the joke had been amusing. "It... is... clever because... it... is... a play... on words."

Now it was Parker's turn to look confused. "Isn't that what I said?" A slow smile spread on his face at the amusement on Brennan's face. He liked hearing her laugh.

The loud closing of a door interrupted the conversation, accompanied by the smell of Chinese. Booth called into the apartment as he made his way to his two favorite people. "Sorry, guys. Sid's got a new delivery boy. Apparently, he isn't very skilled at telling left from right, or reading maps. I think it's still warm, so we should probably dig..." His voice trailed off when he caught his partner still laughing and wiping a stray tear from her eye. "Buddy, what is up with Bones?"

Parker shrugged, "I was trying to tell her a knock, knock joke."

Booth groaned, "Bones, please tell me you have heard of a knock, knock joke before."

With one last gasp, Brennan turned to the agent. "Yes, Russ used to try to tell them to me as a child, but I never found them amusing. There was one about an interrupting cow that I remember. In the middle of it, he would moo at me. I found it quite rude."

Parker grinned, "Oh I like that one. It's always funny. Hey here's a good one. Knock, knock."

Booth rolled his eyes as Brennan turned serious eyes to the boy, eager to try out the newly remembered protocol. "Who's there?"

"Little old lady."

"Little old lady who?"

"Wow, Bones, I didn't know you could yodel!" Parker looked at her expectantly, waiting for the punch-line to sink in. Booth shook his head and set the food on the table, making his way to the kitchen to grab plates and utensils. He had just opened the fridge to remedy the beverage situation when he once again heard his partner's choking laughter. As Booth returned to the room laden with a six-pack of root beer balanced in one hand and the plates on the other, he was surprised by Brennan standing next to him explaining why Parker's joke was so amusing.

Booth handed over the drinks, "Yeah. I've heard it before. You don't need to explain the jokes. When they are funny, people laugh. But knock, knock jokes, by definition, they aren't funny. You don't laugh."

Brennan quirked an eyebrow, "But they are called jokes, why aren't you supposed to laugh?"

"Cause they are awful puns and stupid plays on words. You are just supposed to groan and walk away."

Parker grabbed a fork and the carton labelled with a 'P' and a smiley face. "Dad. Be nice. If Dr. Bones wants to laugh, let her laugh."

Brennan tilted her head, "Thank you, Parker. It is nice to know that one Booth supports me."

Booth settled into his chair, heavily. "Wait a minute. Just to be clear, I will always have Bones' back. We are partners."

Parker rolled his eyes and slurped up a noodle, "Jeez, Dad. I know. Get a sense of humor."

Booth's response was to flick a peanut from the Kung Pao chicken at the boy's face. "Just you wait, kid, until your hockey team gets off to a bad start and you get the 'Owen' jokes."

Parker looked up from his dinner. "Owen jokes?"

"Yeah. Knock, knock. Who's there? Owen. Owen who? Owen two or three or ten. All depends how bad your team is."

Brennan looked up from her fried rice. "Oh, I understand. A way of reporting a team's statistics is to announce the number of wins followed by the numbers of losses and ties, if applicable. A team that is winless is zero and however many losses you have. That is very clever. O and ten. That would be a very bad team." She chuckled a bit and went back to her rice. The silence of the room drew her attention, and she noticed both Booths staring at her.

Parker's lower jaw was unhinged. "Did you just explain a sports joke to us, Bones?"

Brennan shrugged, "I have been studying various cultures for many years. Although I don't quite see the appeal, the prevalence of sports in our present day culture is something that I have attempted to understand. And I do find the various statistics and mathematical applications involved to be quite stimulating."

Booth turned back to his chicken, "Way to take the fun out of it, Bones. You are telling me that you now enjoy sports because of the math?"

Brennan nodded. "Observing your hockey games I have come to appreciate the physics involved and have noticed the importance of angles and force. Did you know that you score eight percent of the time when you shoot from an angle of less than sixty degrees from your left side, but only two percent of the time when the angle is greater than that?"

Booth set down the egg roll that he had been attempting to eat. "OK, math and sports, I'm in. After dinner you are going to tell me everything that you know about the shooting percentages of the entire team. I know that you have the entire thing in your pretty little head. Then I am going to use that information to slaughter the LEOs next week. I'm telling you Bones, my skills and your brains. It's always a winning combination."

Brennan nodded, "You should ask Hodgins about it too. He has all of the data that he has collected entered into a spreadsheet. He tried to show it to you once, but you told him that he was being too squinty and to stop pestering you with mumbo jumbo."

Parker joined back in the conversation, sighing a bit at his father's obtuseness. "Dad, I know they are the smart ones, so why don't you listen to them? They'd be the best coaches on Earth. Hey, Bones? Can you come to my next hockey game and tell me what my team does? Coach would be really impressed, if I could tell him that sort of stuff."

Brennan beamed, "Yes, I would be happy to attend your next competition and give you a report of my findings."

"Thanks!" Parker looked at his empty container. "Well, I'm done. Ice cream, anyone?"

Brennan declined, but Booth's bottomless pit thought that a scoop of chocolate would round out his meal nicely. The trio sat around the table and chatted, enjoying spending time together, until Parker yawned and Booth decided that it was bedtime. The boy hopped off to his room after giving the anthropologist a hug and a promise to have his dad bring Brennan to the next game. Booth smiled at the pair, appreciating the scene.

Brennan watched the boy leave and turned to her partner. "Thank you for inviting me to dinner. I had a very nice evening." Booth nodded and helped his partner shrug into her coat. "I appreciated Parker's jokes. He is a very amusing child."

"Yeah, he is. Thanks for coming by. I'm glad you were here, it was a fun night." Booth reached out and pulled out a strand of hair that was caught under Brennan's collar. She smiled her thanks and tried to open the door. She was stopped by the agent. "Hey, before you go! I've got a good one. Knock, knock."

Brennan sighed, but played along. "Who's there?"

"Interrupting Booth." Brennan eyed him suspiciously.

"Interrupting Boo..." She was cut off by the press of Booth's lips on her own. It was merely a peck, close-mouthed and chaste. Booth was sorely tempted to deepen the kiss, but Brennan pulled away, laughing.

"That was very humorous. Interrupting Booth. You did interrupt me. That was a good one. Very clever." She laughed again. "Goodnight, Booth. I'll see you tomorrow for lunch."

She let herself out of the door, and Booth relaxed against the shut door and sighed. He hadn't meant it as a joke. He'd never been more serious about anything in his life.

He shook his head and let out a chuckle. Maybe someday, she'd get the punchline.