Thanks to EB_SOA for the nice compliment of thinking of me when she heard that today (April 27) is Tell A Story Day. I have marked it on my calendar so I can be sure to celebrate the occasion every year!

I'm adding this little piece here because the last chapters of 'Roots and Wings' are already spoken for, and also because it's been too long since I've shown Max some love (and I do love me some Max). Like the rest of this collection, however, it fits in the R&W universe.

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The sound of applause and a little girl's high-pitched voice greeted Booth and Brennan when they opened the front door.

" … and the monkeys never ate Jello again! The end!"

They rounded the corner into the living room just in time to see Christine bend low in an elaborate, sweeping bow for an audience made up of Kennedy, Max and Zach, who seemed more impressed with the plastic cups he was stacking into each other than with his big sister.

"What's going on here? Sounds like we missed all the fun!" Booth's laughing comment drew all eyes their way; Christine squealed and ran to jump into his arms while Zach threw his toys aside, scrambled out of Max's lap and toddled as quickly as his two-year-old legs could carry him to Brennan.

"We're telling stories," Christine informed him. "Kennedy told one about a mouse that lived in a piano and I told one about a monkey who didn't like green Jello. Now it's Max's turn!"

"Oh, it's Max's turn." Booth sent his father-in-law a glance filled with warning as he and Brennan settled onto the opposite sofa, still holding their children. "I can't wait to hear it. It's a good one, right?"

Max's blue eyes twinkled in a way that immediately set Booth's teeth on edge. "Of course it's a good one," he said, as innocent as a choir boy. "What other kind are there?" Without giving anyone a chance to respond, his face scrunched up in thought. "Now, let's see …"

Kennedy interrupted quickly. "You have to say once upon a time. That's how all the good stories start."

Max gave the little girl a tender smile and hauled her up on his knee. "Right you are, sweetheart, right you are. Okay, once upon a time …"

An expectant silence fell. His voice faded as his gaze fixed on the couple sitting across from him - his daughter, her husband and the two children they'd made together. When Brennan's head tilted curiously, Max smiled.

"Once upon a time, there was a princess."

Christine jumped in Booth's arms. "Oh! I love princesses! Was she pretty?"

Max was still looking at Brennan. "She was beautiful. She was the most beautiful princess the king and queen had ever seen and they loved her very much. But one day, the king and queen had to go away and they couldn't take the princess with them."

Kennedy gasped and turned her face up to look at him. "They left her?"

Max nodded solemnly. "Yes, they did. It was the hardest thing they'd ever done but it wasn't safe to take her with them."

"Why not? Where did they go?" Christine's initial excitement at hearing a princess story disappeared. She huddled back against Booth and watched Max through huge, round eyes. Even Zach seemed to pick up on the somber mood. He tucked his dark head beneath Brennan's chin and nibbled on the end of one thumb.

"They went far, far away," Max answered. "There were … dragons and monsters and evil giants to fight. They promised to come back, though, and they really wanted to come back. But they never did."

Near tears, Kennedy tugged at one of the bright red balls that hung from the tips of her braids. "Never?"

Max shook his head sadly. "Well, not for a long time."

"But what happened to the princess?" Christine's chin wobbled. "Who took care of her? Is that when a handsome prince saved her?"

Max found Brennan again, and pride mingled with regret on his face. "No," he said quietly. "The princess saved herself. You see, she wasn't only beautiful, she was smart and strong and brave. When the king and queen left, she had to fight dragons, too, and monsters and giants. And you know what? She did it. She fought them, all by herself, and she won."

While Brennan swiped discreetly at a tear that slipped over her cheek, Max kissed the top of Kennedy's head and gave Christine a big smile.

"You know what else the princess did? She built her own castle, all shiny and bright the way she liked it. And she found her own knights, too, to live with her in the castle and help keep the kingdom safe."

"But what about the prince? There has to be a prince." On that subject, Christine was firm. Kennedy nodded, too, just as determined.

Max knew what he had to do.

"Well, of course there was a prince," he assured them, and this time, he looked right at Booth. "When the king finally came back, he found out that the strongest, bravest prince in the land was already protecting the princess. That made the king very happy, because he knew his little girl deserved the very best."

Christine didn't see her father tip his head to acknowledge the compliment. Instead, she asked one last question. "And then what happened?"

Max winked at her. "They lived happily ever after, of course."

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With all due respect to Kennedy, I think all the best stories end with happily ever after. :-)

Thanks for letting me tell you stories.