Booth had spirited his young daughter and his infant son away from the crowded funeral reception in St. Agatha's parish hall as soon the baby began to wail loudly. It was a welcome excuse to leave...too many people were milling around the stuffy room, and he was beginning to feel somewhat anxious in the crowd. They found a secluded bench under a large oak tree in the church courtyard and Booth sat down, rocking the baby gently in his arms as he talked softly and cooed to little Hank in an effort to soothe him while Christine played quietly nearby. "Okay, Tiger, now that's enough. Mommy's getting some lunch ready for you…" The newborn squealed, waving his tiny fists in the air as he got ready to bring forth another round of noisy tears. "Hey, Buddy, I know. It's gonna be okay. I know you're hungry, but I don't have the goods to help you with that…we gotta wait for Mommy." He slowly bounced the baby back and forth, keeping time as he softly sang the Eagles' fight song to his son. "Never too early to learn about football, Hank...or hockey for that matter, but the Flyers' fight song isn't as good...Sissy's gonna let you borrow her Phillie Phanatic soon, but you'd better be careful with it. No spittin' up on it or chewin' off it's nose, okay, little man?" Booth brushed away a tear with the back of his hand. "Your great grandpa would've been so proud of you, Hank. You've got some big shoes to fill there, son, being named after him…you're great grandpa was a fine man. Yes, he was..." Booth smiled down at the baby, who paused his crying for a few minutes to watch his daddy make funny faces.
Hearing the gravel softly crunch on the path behind him, Booth turned suddenly, expecting to see his wife, but instead he saw a man approaching him who appeared to be in his fifties. "Oh, I'm so sorry!", the man exclaimed. "I didn't mean to startle you and your baby. It's just...well, I need to leave soon to catch my train and I was afraid I wouldn't get to speak to you. My name is Kieran Flaherty...Mamie was my mother."
"Of course! I remember." Booth moved to one end of the bench. "Care to join me?"
"Sure, thanks." Mr. Flaherty leaned over to look at the baby in Booth's arms. "What a beautiful little boy. I heard Father Tinoro say that you've named him after your grandfather...that he is part of Hank's legacy."
"Yep...this here is Henry Joseph Booth...also known as Hank, or Tiger. My grandfather was like a father to me, so it seemed fitting to name my son after him. I guess Pops was really proud of that, too." Booth took a minute to study the man sitting next to him. "My Pops was really devastated when your mother died, Kieran. He loved her a lot. He told me that he imagined my Nana Martha was gonna tell Mamie all sorts of stories about him in Heaven before he could get there and explain the truth about things for himself. He said he might have to ask St. Peter to run interference for him with those two girls." Both men chuckled as they thought about that celestial scenario playing out.
"Well, what I wanted to tell you, Mr. Booth, was that your Pops made my mother so happy while she was living there at the retirement center. My dad died suddenly when I was sixteen, and my mother took it really hard. She was still fairly young...only 39." Kieran pulled a picture of his mother from his wallet to show Booth. "That's us at my high school graduation. She swore she'd never be able to love anyone else as much as she loved her Tim, and I think she really believed that until she met Hank. It became too difficult for her to stay in her own home by herself, and I'm an international pilot with an erratic schedule and no other close family. She decided she had to move into that place for practical reasons, but she missed her house with all the memories it held, and she became terribly depressed. She even began to neglect her personal appearance, which was unusual for her. It was a real struggle for both of us." Kieran smiled as he remembered his mother. "However, I still remember when I came to visit a few months after she'd moved in, and my mother shyly told me that she had a 'beau'. She was giggling like a teenaged girl. Her hair was combed so nicely, and she had on this fancy pink flowered dress and her fancy strand of 'genuine pearls'. She looked like a million bucks, all so she could impress a fellow named Hank Booth and steal him away from Mildred Heavener. And then, when your grandfather came to introduce himself to me, I knew he was going to be the man who would make my mom happy again."
"My Pops scoped out the 'girls' as soon as he moved into the retirement center...or at least that's what he told me. My Nana died several years ago, and he'd lived by himself after that, but he's always been a social fella, and I knew it was just a matter of time before he had himself a girlfriend. I guess he picked out your mom right away. He told me he had his eye on a 'real cutie' there at the center." Booth chuckled as he shifted the baby from one arm to another. "I guess if Pops had been younger, he might've been called a player, but as it was he said he liked to 'crochet', and if he had a choice, he wanted Mamie to 'crochet' with him." Booth raised an eyebrow and grinned at Kieran, wondering if he'd get the joke.
"Yes, I think there was a lot of crocheting going on between them at the retirement center." Kieran chuckled again, gesturing at Hank as the baby became fussy again. "Looks like it's time for dinner. I won't keep you...I just wanted to let you know how much your grandfather was loved by my mom, and how much he meant to me. I know you're going to miss him, but maybe it'll soften the blow if you remember how happy he made other people." He offered his hand to Booth. "I'll be thinking of you. It may be rough over the next few weeks, but we know he's happy in Heaven with his girls, right?."
Shaking Kieran's proffered hand, Booth nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Kieran. You're right...that's gonna help. Oh, there's my wife. Have you got a minute?" Getting a smile in the affirmative, Booth motioned for Brennan to come meet the man standing with him. "Bones, this is Kieran Flaherty, Mamie's son. We've been talking about how much Pops and Mamie loved each other."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Flaherty. I only spoke with your mother a few times, but I know that if Hank loved her, she must have been a very special person." Brennan reached over to take the baby so he could have some dinner. "Why don't you let me have Tiger so you can go greet some more people at the reception? Christine can stay here with me." Smiling sympathetically, she patted his arm. "I know it's hard, Booth, but you need to go say hello to Hank's friends…"
Booth grimaced as he scratched his nose. The last thing he wanted to do was to mingle with a bunch of people who were going to tell him how sad they were that Pops was gone. I already know that much...oh, well, better go make the rounds...it's the polite thing to do, I guess. Booth walked toward the parish hall with Kieran. Waving to Mamie's son as he left, Booth knew he couldn't procrastinate any longer. Taking a deep breathe, he walked into the hall, and found several of Hank's friends sitting around a table with their coffee, laughing as they shared funny stories about his life...stories about fishing, and work, about going to ballgames and playing dominos and about how much he enjoyed having his grandsons for the holidays...stories that brought back really good memories for Booth. This is how a funeral should be...remembering the good things and forgetting the bad….I can remember Pops this way instead of as a frail, sickly old man...He shook hands with a few of Hank's cronies from the retirement center and a couple of his domino playing buddies from Philly when he heard someone cough quietly next to him.
"Mr. Booth?" A young woman stood at his elbow. "I don't think we've met before...I'm Sandy Jensen. I was the aide who was assigned to help care for your grandfather at the retirement center."
"Oh...you're Jensen?" Booth was shocked. This attractive woman was definitely not the 'old battle ax' that Pops had described in loving detail. "Hey, it's good to finally meet you. You know, Pops talked about you all the time. He said he liked your backbone...you know, your strength of will? He often said that if he'd had a daughter, he'd want her to be just like you."
"Hank was one of the good guys, Mr. Booth. I wanted to talk to you before I left so I could let you know how special he was to me. I mean I've had a lot of patients to care for at the center, but Hank was special." Ms. Jensen blew her nose as she remembered the ornery old man she had grown to love. "My parents and my husband's parents live in Montana, so my boys don't get to see their grandparents very often. When Hank found that out, he insisted that I bring them to see him, so he could be like a grandfather to them." Smiling through her tears, Jensen continued. "I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but there were days when I knew he didn't feel well, and he still wanted to see my sons so they could talk about baseball or football. He also adored your little girl...his sweet little honey bee, he called her. He was so proud of how smart she is…he kept her picture on his nightstand, you know..."
Booth sniffled a bit as he listened to Jensen. Of course Pops would go looking for some kids to help...that's what he did his whole life…
"My husband got called up, Mr. Booth. He's on a naval vessel in the Persian Gulf. It's been hard on the boys, having their father away, but Hank helped me so much...reminding them about how they should behave for their mother, helping me to talk to them about what their Daddy was doing, listening to me when I told him how afraid I was about my husband being deployed. He took a shine to my husband, too...my Jeff cried like a baby when I called to tell him Hank had passed. I know you're gonna miss him, sir, but it might help to know you won't be the only one...a burden shared makes the burden lighter."
"Thanks, Ms. Jensen. I appreciate that. I know that you helped him a lot, and you helped me, too...I mean, I got here as often as I could, you know, but with work and stuff, it was hard…" Booth shrugged as he jammed his hands in his pockets. "It was good to know that Pops had people like you at the center to take care of him when I couldn't be here with him. That made things so much easier for me and my wife, knowing that you cared so much for him…that you were like family to him…and we really appreciate it."
"It was my honor, Mr. Booth. Take care." She shook his hand and quickly walked away.
"Booth?" Brennan and Christine walked over to where he was standing in the parish hall. "Hank's finally asleep. It looks like things are wrapping up here…" She looked around the hall as people began to leave in groups of two and three. "It was a lovely service, Booth. Pops would have been so pleased."
"I think so, too. I'm glad we arranged for a graveside service with military honors after the Mass. I really liked Father Tinoro's homily, too. I guess he went to see Pops about once a week at the retirement center when Pops couldn't make it to church any more." Booth chuckled as he picked up a leftover funeral service bulletin and looked through it. "Some of those stories he told about Pops...I never thought I'd hear a priest talk like that in church, but that's probably why Pops liked him so much…" Sighing as he looked around the room, Booth brushed away another stray tear. "Jesus, Bones...I miss Pops so much already. It's gonna be really hard not having him in my life, you know? I keep thinking about things I need to tell him when I call him next week…and then I remember that I won't be able to call him next week or any other time..."
"I know. I miss him, too." Brennan smiled down at her son as he wiggled slightly in her arms. "I didn't spend much time with my grandparents as I was growing up, so it was nice to experience that kind of love from Hank. He was a sort of surrogate grandfather to me. I loved him very much, Booth."
"Pops loved you, too, Bones. He was so thrilled that I got my shit together and finally figured out how much I loved you, and he was so relieved that I hadn't ruined things between us. He was the biggest cheerleader for our relationship, you know? He made Angela look like a rank amateur when it came to the matchmaking department." Booth chuckled as he thought about his grandfather. "He was never one to mince words, anyway, and if I showed up for lunch without you, he sure let me have it, asking where you were and when I was gonna make you my girl permanently…" Booth looked at his watch and then reached down to hold Christine's hand. "I guess it's time to go. Me and Christine are gonna go say thanks to Father Tinoro and then we'll be ready to hit the road."
"Alright. I'm going out to take Hank out to the car. I'll see you in a few minutes."
Christine watched politely as her father thanked Father Tinoro for officiating at the funeral mass. Booth shook hands with the priest, and then they turned to leave the parish hall. "Daddy? Are you okay? I know you're sad about Pops going to Heaven to see Jesus. Is that why you've been crying? Because you won't get to see him any more and you're going to miss him so much?"
Booth smiled to himself as he heard his grandfather's voice ringing in his ears. Of course I'm not crying! Damn allergies! "Yeah, you're right. I've been crying because I'm sad. I'm gonna miss Pops while he's in Heaven, you know? But I'm gonna have you and your brothers and your mommy here with me for a long time, and that'll help make me feel better, and then some day, a long time from now, you'll be a mommy, and then I can be Pops for your babies, just like he was Pops to me, alright?" He reached down to tousle her hair a bit. "C'mon...we'd better not keep Mommy waiting, right, Honey Bee?"
The little girl nodded as she grinned up at her father. "Right, Daddy."