*Gulp* So... I haven't updated in... I don't know how long. I really hope you will continue to read this story even though I'm a terrible updater. I promise I will update this next one faster. Really.
I hope you enjoy this chapter! (and I don't own Bones, although I do own season 1-4 on DVD)
"I think apple slices would be a bit healthier than chocolate chips, Booth," she said, raising an eyebrow as she watched him sprinkle the little candy pieces into the pancake batter. He laughed.
"Explain that to any eight year old and actually get an enthusiastic response, and I'll be highly impressed."
"Healthy eating at a young age can greatly affect nutrition later in life. If a child grows up relying on junk food and rejecting anything healthy, they'll be much more likely to grow up not considering health to be important, and continue with the pattern of eating which was early engrained into-"
"Okay, okay!" He cut her off. "It's Rebecca that makes sure he eats balanced meals and all that. And he likes oranges and corn on the cob, I do know that. But, Bones, I only get him every so often for a weekend, and I like to give him something his mother usually wouldn't, to make it more... special. She would be putting in apples, believe me."
"I... accept that," she agreed thoughtfully. "Although, it might turn him more against his mother and make him favor you more."
"Not a bad side-effect," he muttered.
She stared at him in concern for a moment, then glanced towards the hallway leading to her bedroom and the guest room. "How late will he usually sleep 'til?" she asked, changing the subject.
He shrugged. "Maybe about eight, sometimes nine depending on how late of a night he had and how long of a day... you know, typical factors towards how late anyone gets up. He'll be in here pretty soon though, once the bacon and the pancake smell reaches him."
Another nod from her. A memory flickered into her mind... waking up on a Saturday morning to the smell of French toast and eggs... running to get Russ up and going to watch cartoons while they waited for the food to be ready...
"You want nuts in yours?" The question startled her back to reality.
"Um... yeah, sure. Thanks."
He nodded and scooped a handful of nuts out of the nearby bag, letting them rain down onto the pancake next to the chocolate chip dotted one.
"You've been... acting kind of out of it all morning," he said hesitantly. "Is... everything okay?"
Damn. She'd been hoping he wouldn't have noticed anything out of the ordinary, but apparently her lack of normal conversation since they'd woken up and her tendency to refer to facts rather than normal early-morning chat had caught his attention. She shouldn't have expected less, but still, now she was going to have to come up with an explanation. And not the truth.
"It's nothing. I guess I'm just... I'm not used to having a child around. I don't want to do something wrong, or say the wrong thing... I'm not very good with kids."
He snorted, and she frowned in confusion. "Oh come on, Bones," he said, throwing his hands slightly up in the air when he noticed the look on her face. "You seriously don't give yourself enough credit. 'Not very good with kids,'" he muttered, using air quotes as he repeated her last words. Another snort of disbelief. "You barely try at all, and Parker adores you. That's called something like natural talent."
She made a sound of assent, and internally felt a warm rush of pride at hearing him say he thought she was good with his son, as well as a sort of relief that he had not seen right through the quickly thought up cover story. They faded into a sort of silence, the sizzling pancake batter the only sound in the air. She occupied herself quickly with getting out plates and cups and pouring them each some orange juice.
How could she tell him what she'd heard last night, what was really worrying her? She couldn't bring it up, not when it would lead into a discussion about marriage itself, and... that was something that she really did not want added to her plate for today. It would only make things... challenging. And she knew she'd end up hurting him with all her reasoning for not wanting to get married.
"Bacon!" a little voice exploded, and she nearly jumped. Turning, she saw Parker grinning from just behind her, staring up with eyes that shone with excitement at his father.
Booth laughed and ruffled the already-rumpled curly blonde hair, "That's right, little man. Bacon and yummy pancakes!"
"With choco chips?"
He gave her a look with a raised eyebrow, which clearly translated to 'told you so!' and then he grinned as he turned back to Parker and nodded.
"You got it, bud."
"Parker, don't you think it would be nice to have some banana pieces in with the chocolate? You like bananas and chocolate together, don't you?"
"Mom and I dipped bananas in chocolate and froze them before. That was awesome."
She grinned, "So, would you like to try some banana in your pancake?"
He tilted his head to the side and stared upward, scrunching up his face as he contemplated the idea. Finally, he nodded vigorously, "Okay. Bones... do you like bananas and chocolate together?"
"Yes, I do," she answered, still smiling. She cast a sidelong glance at Booth, who rolled his eyes in defeat. A moment later banana pieces had been pressed into the still soft parts of the batter on Parker's pancake, and she was still grinning triumphantly while he mocked looking hurt by this.
"So, what should we pack for lunch today?" Booth asked, directing the question mostly at his son. She decided to answer anyways when the boy didn't speak immediately.
"We should go grocery shopping before we do anything else. I want to pick up some watermelon and some fresh apples, plus we're low on almost everything we have at the moment anyways. And I'm sure Parker could find some things to bring along with us on the picnic that he might like."
"Yeah!" the boy said, grinning hopefully at his father, who nodded.
"Sounds like a plan to me, Bones."
"No, Booth... those go in the right cabinet."
He rolled his eyes, opening the other door and sliding in the boxes of crackers.
"I suppose you already have a cookie spot picked out, too?"
"Well, I've never really had cookies here before... I suppose we should probably get a jar."
He slid the package into the corner of the counter and then pulled a jug of milk out of one of her reusable grocery bags and passed it to her.
A crunching sound indicated that Parker was attempting to help, and she turned away from the refrigerator to take the bag of chips from him before they could become any more crushed. She tucked them into the correct storage location, and then suggested that maybe he could put the canned goods into her lazy-Susan cabinet. The small boy readily agreed, curls bouncing up and down, and set to work.
She smiled softly at him as he diligently put one can after the other into an opening, a look of utmost seriousness on his face.
Booth grinned as well, passing her another milk jug.
"Well, I don't have a picnic basket or anything like that... but I suppose we could use just a normal basket... I might have one in my hall closet, although I'm not sure if it's big enough."
"I'll get it," Booth offered, stepping around her and heading up the hallway. She just nodded to herself and continued to take care of the groceries.
"I think this will do," Booth said, placing the basket on the counter. She felt him step up behind her, and then his warm arms wrapped around her waist, and he softly kissed the back of her neck. "You've got enough towels in that closet for an army, Bones. They almost killed me when I tried to get that basket out."
She laughed and tilted her head back against his shoulder. "Sorry if my towels are so threatening to you, Booth. Maybe you need to work out more."
He chuckled and released his hold on her. "We nearly done with this?" he asked, glancing around at the empty bags that now littered the floor and counters.
"Yes, I think so-" she started, but Booth interrupted.
"Parker, what are you doing?"
She glanced over towards where the boy was now finished with the cans, but was still sitting in the corner, apparently staring intently at the wooden door.
"Waiting for you to finish with the mushy stuff," he said, and she was fairly certain he'd probably scrunched up his face as he said it, the typical sign of 'ew' from him.
Booth laughed, and then walked over and pulled the boy up to his feet. "Come on, little man, help me and Bones pack for this picnic of ours."
It didn't take them long at all to fill the basket to overflowing, and then Booth insisted on digging through all of her storage locations to find a properly-colored blanket. Apparently it was important that it be red and white checkered.
They didn't have any luck with that, though, and they ended up settling for a blue one, having wasted quite a bit of time searching fruitlessly. But... she had to admit that the search itself had actually been enjoyable. Booth found a variety of objects in her closet that she'd forgotten she even had, including a box of comic books which she offered no explanation on, several rolls of colored duct tape, and a lava lamp.
"Seriously, Bones?" he had asked, raising an eyebrow as he held up a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. She'd actually blushed.
"Well... I got it a while back and just never read it," was the only excuse she offered. She didn't admit, however, that she'd actually read the first few chapters and had simply become too swamped with work to have time to read it. That had been years ago, though. And she wasn't about to tell him that she'd actually been pretty happy with having the opportunity to fill herself in on the entire story. After all, she was nearly finished with book five at the moment.
They arrived at the local park not long after she'd neatly folded up the blanket and led the way down to her car, and Parker took off running, eagerly searching for the 'perfect' location.
Booth tossed the football he'd brought along lightly from hand to hand, and then smiled mischievously at her. She looked at him warily.
"Come on, Bones, go long!" he cried.
"Booth..." she complained, rolling her eyes. But he didn't give her much opportunity to protest... he placed the basket on the ground and started running in the opposite direction from her. She sighed, and took a few steps away from the basket, following him with her eyes as he got farther away.
"Here it comes!" he shouted, throwing back his arm and then letting the ball fly. She judged the distance and the angles, and then dashed to the left and back a little... with a quick lunge she snagged the ball from the air and then held it up, grinning with stupid triumph. She didn't care... this was someplace she was supposed to have fun, after all, wasn't it?
"Touchdown!" Parker shouted, running towards them. "Throw it to me, Bones, throw it to me!"
She laughed, and then positioned the ball in her hand the way she'd seen it done before. It couldn't be too difficult, given the coordination skills she now possessed, so very different from those she'd had as a teenager with not athletic talent at all. And it was actually immensely satisfying, the feeling she got as she thrust the ball forward through the air and saw it spiral towards the boy.
"Whoa!" Parker shouted, attempting to run far enough back to catch it. He didn't reach it before it hit the ground, but that didn't seem to bother him much. "Bones, Bones! You throw like... better than dad!"
The three of them met up at the basket again, and Parker's wide eyes focused on her. "Where'd you learn to do that?"
"Actually, Parker, I never learned it, per se... I just judged off of observing experience and general calculation skills. Plus, Booth mentioned something before about the way you're supposed to flick your wrist to get it to spin."
"Not fair, Bones," Booth complained, although she could tell he was actually impressed. "You're not supposed to show me up and then act like it the easiest thing in the world. Here, give me that," he added, and Parker lightly tossed the football into his dad's hands. "I'll show you a real throw."
"Whatever you say," she replied, grinning.
"Go ahead, buddy, run for it!" he said to his son, who immediately took off as fast as his little legs would go.
"Seriously, you're telling me you've never thrown a football before, and you were able to do that?" he asked, glancing at her as Parker got further away from them.
She shrugged. "I actually have quite a bit of natural athletic skill, Booth. It's developed after years of martial arts and karate training. I've attempted basketball a few times and find that I'm quite adept at aim and precision."
"And yet you still used to pick on sports?"
"Truthfully, sports are a way for males to show off what they perceive to be their best talents and their worthiness as mates. Sometimes, that can be a foolish task and downright ridiculous to the levels some of them take it. Plenty often, women are attracted to men for different reasons than just athletic ability."
He chuckled, and then murmured, "Okay, watch this..." he positioned his hand carefully on the football, and then let it fly with more force than she had been able to generate on hers. It arced up rather high as it traveled.
"Not bad," she commented, although the throw was very impressive. Honestly, she was trying to get a reaction out of him. Which she succeeded at.
"Not bad?" he questioned, sounding hurt.
She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "I was kidding, Booth. You are very athletically talented, and I'm sure Parker has learned a lot from you in that area."
"Thank you," he said, lifting his head up in the air in an over embellished show of pride. She laughed and shook her head.
"I'm going to get the picnic set up, if that's okay with you."
"Sure, I'll help," he offered, bending down with her as they both reached at the same time for the blanket. She pulled it out and he grabbed an end of it as it unfolded in their hands, and they spread it out on a smooth patch of grass.
"You threw it a lot farther than he could have gone to catch it, you know," she said, glancing towards the retreating figure of Parker.
"I was showing off," Booth offered, but he frowned and stood up. "I'll keep an eye on him."
She nodded and started to set out the paper plates they'd brought. Luckily there wasn't much of a breeze at the moment, but she still gathered a few nearby rocks to weigh them down just in case.
"That was awesome!" Parker's voice drifted to them as he started back, ball in hand.
Booth smirked and glanced at her with raised eyebrows. "See? Awesome."
She laughed and didn't look up from her task.
By the time the boy had arrived, all the food had been set out, and she'd placed their respective meals on their plates. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Parker, ham and cheese sandwich for Booth, and a simple salad for her. She passed out the watermelon, taking some for herself and offering an extra apple to Parker, who questioned, instead, about whether or not she'd packed dessert.
"I figured we'd stop by the diner on the way back... you two can get some pie and I'll find something else."
"I love the pie at the diner," Parker said eagerly, speaking around a mouthful of gooey sandwich.
"Mouth closed, Park," Booth said, raising an eyebrow. The boy's jaw snapped shut and he chewed exaggeratedly.
The boy ravenously finished the rest of the sandwich within minutes, getting jelly all over his chin and around his lips.
"Can we play more football now?" he asked eagerly.
"Wait for me to finish, buddy."
"I'm done; I'll play with you, Parker," she spoke up, passing him a napkin as she did so.
He took it and scrubbed at his face, jumping quickly to his feet when he was finished. He snatched up the football and took off running.
She laughed and stood as well. "Hurry up and finish, slowpoke," she teased him.
He scowled, "I wasn't aware it was a race, Miss Speedy."
"Throw it to me, Parker!" she shouted, ignoring Booth's latest comment.
"Okay!" the boy called back, and she watched him hurl the ball with all his strength. She had to dash forward to catch it, but she had to say she was quite impressed with the throw.
"Taught him well, didn't I?" Booth said, grinning as he came to stand next to her. "Hey, Parker!" he shouted, "Bones has the ball! What does that mean?"
The boy tilted his head to the side and then started dashing towards them.
"I'm confused," she stated, frowning. "What does that mean?"
"It means now he's going to tackle you," he whispered in her ear, still grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes widened and she glanced in the direction of the small boy that was rapidly getting closer. "I think... you should run."
"Thanks for the advice," she muttered, although she knew her eyes gleamed with humor. Then she promptly spun on her heel and took off, shouting back over her shoulder, "Where's the goal?"
"It's called an end zone, Bones!"
"Whatever!"
"The tree line!" Parker answered her question for her. She turned to look back and saw the child hurtle past his father. She hesitated for a moment, wondering what Booth would do in this situation. Should she attempt to succeed and score, or let the boy tackle her?
Booth would probably take the latter option.
Smiling slightly to herself, she slowed her pace just slightly, calculating it so that he'd be able to stop her just before she scored.
And sure enough, she was almost to the trees when a small body hurtled into her legs and she tumbled forward, turning herself as she did so that she caught Parker and landed on her back.
"Gotcha," he stated, grinning the same grin as his father.
She chuckled, "I see that."
"Did you see, dad, did y'see?" he asked eagerly as Booth strolled over to them.
"You bet I did, Park. You didn't break Bones, now did you?"
"Uhh..." he said, eyes wide. They flicked to her almost worriedly.
"Relax, Parker, I'm perfectly fine," she said with a smile, and then pulled herself into a sitting position. "What's that, Booth?"
"Uhh..." he stammered, sounding exactly like his son.
"It's a camera," Parker stated matter-of-factly.
She gave him a disapproving look.
"Oh, come on, Bones, all in good fun, you know? Besides, I couldn't resist. The two of you... well you'll see once we get it developed."
"A digital camera would be far more efficient," she commented, getting to her feet and pulling Parker up on his.
"Yeah, well I like traditional," he defended, tucking the disposable camera back in his pocket.
"One more thing I'll never fully understand."
"Hey, it's one more thing to love, right, Bones?"
She rolled her eyes, but when Parker picked up the ball and started walking ahead of them back towards the center of the field, she leaned towards him and kissed him softly. He smiled softly at her, and his eyes melted to that color that she loved so much. If Parker wasn't there, she was fairly certain she would have pulled them into another kiss.
But as it was, the boy dragged her away from Booth only a moment later, insisting that she was on his team, because he really wanted to beat his dad.
Booth looked mildly hurt by that, but she knew he was doing it for her benefit. She whispered teasingly in his ear before they started the so-called game, "Ready to lose, Booth?"
"Oh, you're going down, Bones," he hissed back.
"Hey, no whispering!" Parker called indignantly from a short distance away.
She laughed and pulled away, trying to imagine what on earth things would be like without these simple relaxing weekends that she'd been enjoying so much now that she had Booth.
She decided she didn't want to, and then caught the ball and, laughing, dodged past her partner... who was so much more than that, and always would be.
I don't deserve feedback after how long it took to put this up, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't love it. Next chapter I will jump ahead to October, because I want to make sure I get to post the Christmas chapter when it's actually Christmas.
(Oh, and if anyone knows how to legally get Parker in Booth's custody without killing Rebecca I'd love to have some suggestions.)