Hi sweeties! Thank you all for your reviews!!! I know it took me longer than planned to update this fic, but here we go now... finally the next chapter is ready...
Chapter 21:
A knock at the door startled them and Brennan quickly pulled back. The door opened and Parker Booth raced in, followed by his grandparents. A knowing smile tugged at the lips of Booth's mother, but she did not say a word... Which would have been impossible anyway, because Parker's merry voice filled the hospital room only an instant after he had come in.
He told his father about the animals they had seen and Brennan found herself enjoying the little boy's report. Parker's words suddenly were stopped by a big yawn.
Booth smiled at his son. "Tired, buddy?"
Parker shook his head, but another yawn betrayed him and he sighed a "Yes... but only a little."
"Only a little, hm?" Booth grinned, when he saw how Parker started to play with a strand of his hair. He had always been doing this when he had become tired, even as a baby. "So you had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa?" Booth asked, his voice gentle.
"Uh-uh. But I want to go to the zoo with you too, Daddy." Parker said, giving his father a pleading look.
Booth ruffled his son's hair and answered. "We'll do that, when I am out of here, okay? Maybe Bones can come with us? Then you can ask her questions about the animals, I bet she knows all the answers..." Booth smiled at his partner and took a moment to admire the stunned and nearly shocked expression on her face.
"Okay... how come she knows so much, Daddy. Is she a ...a...striver?" Parker asked curiously, eyeing Brennan with new interest. Mary Booth tried to hide the grin on her face and quickly turned away.
Booth laughed, then grimaced as he felt a wave of pain. "I bet she was very good at school, Parker. But you don't call people strivers, okay? You can say that she is really smart."
Parker smiled widely. "Okay, Daddy. But, Bones, what do you do if you don't know the answer?"
Brennan looked stunned for a moment, then she smiled at the boy and said: "I just keep looking until I find it, Parker." Her gaze wandered to Booth and she saw in the look of his eyes, that he had caught the double-meaning in her words. She always kept searching... kept looking, both in her private and her professional life. And that was one of the many things he admired about her.
Booth's parents had been watching the scene... Mary Booth with a knowing and understanding smile on her face, while Robert Booth tried to stifle a yawn.
"Looks like we are all tired." Booth's mother said and grinned at her husband. "It was nice seeing you again, Dr. Brennan... maybe we will meet again tomorrow? We are going to stay in DC until Tuesday." Brennan nodded. "I'll be here tomorrow."
"Thanks Mom, Dad, for taking Parker to the zoo and bringing him here. " Booth said. "Oh, and Mom.. on the nightstand is Rebecca's mobile. She must have lost it, when she visited me with Parker... they found it in my room at the ICU. Can you give it to her?"
"Of course. I will make sure she gets it." Mary Booth took the phone and threw it into her purse.
"Oh, dear... now it's lost." Bob Booth murmured sarcastically, watching the phone disappear in the depths of his wife's bag.
Mary gave him an annoyed look. "Very funny. Our son asked ME to take it and give it to Rebecca, because YOU would manage to make a muddle of it. Again."
"Just because I made ONE mistake..." He gave back, only to get interrupted by his wife's statement: "Yeah, a HUGE one."
Booth and Brennan watched the bickering in silent amusement. "Daddy?" Parker suddenly asked. "Why do Granny and Grandpa argue?"
"The more you tease, the more you please, Bub. You'll understand when you are older." Booth answered, smiling broadly, his gaze on Brennan. An understanding smile appeared on her face. They both were thinking of their own endless bickering.
Mary Booth laughed out loud, when she heard what her son had told Parker. "You remember that?"
Booth winked at his mother. "Sure. You know, I've got a reminder around."
So, her suspicions about her son and his feelings for his 'work partner' had been right, Mary Booth thought, a satisfied smile on her face. "Do you now? That's good, Seeley... really good."
Temperance Brennan and Robert Booth exchanged a look of confusion. "What was that..." they both started to ask but stopped instantly, when they realised they had been speaking the same words at the same time. Astonished they exchanged another look.
Mary Booth just waved it off. "I'll explain it to you, Bob. Later... Because I think we really should take our grandson home before he falls asleep."
"Right." Booth's father said. "See you, son. Try to stay out of trouble until tomorrow." Then he looked at the woman standing beside his son. "Until tomorrow then, Dr. Brandon."
"Brennan, Grandpa." Parker corrected in a tired, somehow resigned voice.
Brennan chuckled and offered him her hand. "Call me Temperance... or Tempe."
He took it and shook it briefly. "Well, I am Bob."
"And you can call me Mary, dear... " Booth's mother added and smiled at her.
"And now, we are going to leave. Parker is tired and visiting hours are nearly over anyway. And I am sure Rebecca will be glad to have her son and her phone back."
She opened the door and motioned for Parker and her husband to come with her. Before the door closed behind them, Robert Booth's voice rumbled: "And what was that about before, Mary?"
"Yeah" Brennan watched the door close and then looked at Booth. "What was that about before, Booth?"
"That" he said, giving her his best charm-smile "was my mother approving of you and me."
Her eyebrows rose in disbelief. "You needed her approval?"
"No." Booth gave back. "Even if my parents would not like you, it would never change how I feel about you. But it's nice to know she likes the idea of us being together, isn't it?"
Brennan nodded in understanding. "But you don't know if your father likes me, do you?"
"Oh, trust me, Bones, you two will get along just fine..." Booth grinned. At least his father now had somebody he could share confused glances with.
"If you say so." She gave him a puzzled look, but accepted his statement. "Well... I guess I have to go now, too. Visiting hours are nearly over... and I promised Angela to buy her a few drinks... she wants to celebrate... this." She gestured between Booth and herself.
"What, this?" Booth feigned ignorance.
"The you and me thing." Brennan explained, smiling wryly. "She said I owe her at least one drink because I never believed her, when she told me ...that you..." Her voice trailed off and she smiled sheepishly.
"That I love you." Booth completed. "Well, she was right. Tell her one of the drinks is my treat."
Brennan snickered. "I already told her she can have as many drinks as she wants."
Booth winced. "Oh-oh. These things never end good."
She smiled, ignoring his comment. "I love you too." Then she stepped closer to him to press a kiss on his lips. "I'll come back tomorrow. And Angela and the others probably too."
"Okay. Have fun. Oh, and Bones... take care of yourself." Booth squeezed her hand gently.
"I will try. To have fun AND take care, I mean. Sleep tight." She smiled at him and her heart warmed at the look of love in his eyes. She gave him another quick kiss, then she left his room, both feeling sorry for being forced to leave him and also looking forward to spending the evening with her best friend.
Okay now... As many people asked for, Parker and Booth's parents appeared again ;) Next chapter should be about Ange/Bren... I think... We will see ;)
Reviews make me very, very happy!!!