Chapter 10- Visit From an Old Friend
Booth was sitting at his desk working on the paperwork for April Garland, the body that was found in the creak. "Hey Booth," Cullen walked into his office. "There is someone here to see you, he doesn't have any type of clearance. The name sounds familiar though, a Nik Kaehr, isn't that one of the names you asked me to find an address for?"
Booth looked up, he had not really paying attention to Cullen. "What was that I was just finishing up the last of this paperwork on April Garland."
"Nik Kaehr is here to see you." Cullen said.
Booths eyes went really big. "Really, uh, where is he?"
"Right here, hey Seeley." Nik said as he walked into the office from the hallway.
"Hey man, how have you been?" Booth asked softly.
"Good, I got your letter." Nik nodded.
"Well Booth, have a good weekend, I'll see you on Monday." Cullen said as he grabbed the report off Booths desk and walked out reading it. Booths phone rang and he reached for it.
Before he answers he said, "Sorry Nik, this is either Bones or Ange and I really need to talk to one of them." He picks the phone up, "Booth… Hey Ange…okay good, yeah can you fax it over here, yeah I was but something came up and it is kind of important… yes I realize that she will be a little upset, but once I talk to her she will understand… will you please take her to lunch for me… one of us has to make sure she eats, you know she won't stop working unless someone makes her. She forgets that she is 5 months pregnant with twins… okay thanks… make sure you tell her that I am sorry and that I love her… bye." He hung up the phone and looked at Nik with a smile. "Sorry about that work stuff."
"You love your 'work stuff?'" Nik asked with a smile. "That sounds a little strange buddy."
"Well, my wife is also my partner." Just then his cell phone rang and he knows that it is Bones because 'Phone rings in the middle of the night, My father says what you gonna do with your life' started to play. "Oh man," He picked up the phone again, "I'm sorry." He covered up the mouthpiece, "I'm going to take this in the hall, give me just a minute." He walked out of his office and closed the door, "Hey, hey, hey, Temperance… will you just… please let me explain… okay thank you. Nik Kaehr showed up at my office today… one of the guys who made it out of the POW camp with me… yeah, I think I should invite him to dinner or something… crap Parker is bringing Aderyn over tonight… I don't know, I'll call Parker later… I love you too, it's okay I knew that you would be upset… I'll see you at home, and I will let you know if Nik will be coming with me, bye." He hung up the phone and walked back into his office.
Nik was looking at the pictures that were on Booths desk. There is one of Parker when he was about 4, one of him and Booth from about six months ago when they went on a fishing trip, one of Booth and all the squints and one of Booth and Bones on their wedding day.
"Wow, your wife, how did you land her?" Nik said with a laugh.
"Good question, she is way to good for me. It is hard to explain though, from the day that I met her, I just wanted to be close to her. Then she got into trouble with a gang leader, and when he put a hit out on her, I threatened the guy that put the hit on her. That was when I realized that I wanted to be with her. Then she got kidnapped, because of me, I had gotten blown up and told her to go with the guy that tried to kill her, when I broke out of the hospital and got there just in time and held her, that was when I knew that I loved her." Booth said.
"Hold on, a few quick questions. How did she get in trouble with the gang leader?"
"Well, she beat him up in the hallway," He pointed out into the hallway, "right there actually."
"You got blown up? And she got kidnapped? You guys have had a," He paused, "a weird relationship."
"To say the least. That is only a small part of it. There is still all of the stuff with her family, my family, my past. It has been hard, but we are together now and happy, for the most part." He said with a smile. "What about you man? What is going on in your life?"
He held up his left hand to show his wedding band. "Me too. We got married, oh, I'd say about 15 years ago. Her name is Abby. We have two kids, 10 and 13. They are both boys and Abby wants to have one more, but I don't know. It has been so long since there has been a baby in the house, that I don't know if I could go back."
"Yeah, Parker is 18, and Tempe is pregnant with twins. I think I am going to go crazy. There is so much that I am afraid that I won't remember how to do it." He said with a laugh. "But I still can't wait, all of us are excited about it too."
"Even Peter?"
"Parker, but yeah, he is actually kind of sad he is going to college in a few months, and he won't be around that much. He is going to be the Godfather for Aubrey."
"Wow, most older kids don't want younger siblings."
"Parker has been begging us forever. I also think that he is old enough to know that babies take a lot of time and energy."
"Yeah, I don't know though, for me two kids is enough, but I see how happy you are about having kids, I remember feeling like that with the first two."
"Yeah, hey do you want to go grab some lunch?"
"Yeah that sounds great."
"Okay so we have the dinner, which sounds kind of gross but in all reality is good, and then we have Sid's, where you don't pick what you are going to have, he just knows and brings it right out for you."
"Well I don't know what I want so let's go where he picks for me."
"Okay, sounds good. Let's get out of here. Just let me stop in and see Cullen." Booth walked out of his office again leaving Nik alone. He started to look around, noticing small things that show he has a family, and that he has worked on many important cases. There were finger paintings that had turned yellow with age, thank you notes, and pictures of smiling people. He was looking closely at the finger painting when Booth walked back in.
"Yeah I should probably take that down, it was the last one he ever gave me, but I don't have the heart to. We can go now."
They walk out of the building laughing about old stories, and catching up on each other's lives. "So how long are you staying in DC?"
"I don't know exactly. I told Abby that it could be as early as tonight and as late as Sunday night."
"Where are you staying?"
"No place yet."
"Well we have a couch, and it has your name written on it if you'd like it."
"Yeah, I might take you up an that."
They walk into Sid's and took a booth in the back. Sid walked up almost immediately. "Hey G-man, how are things?"
Booth smiled at Sid, "Things are good, this is my friend Nik Kaehr, we were in the Rangers together."
"Hello, nice to meet you," Sid offered his hand to Nik, and he shook it, "How is the Bone Lady?"
"She is great, well as great as a 5 month pregnant woman can be. Did we tell you that we are having twins?"
Sid smiled big, "That is fantastic! Do you have names or know the sex of the kids?"
"Yeah, we are having a boy and a girl. Jameson and Aubrey."
"Wow, well I'll bring your food right out." He walked away and Booth and Nik sat in silence for a few minutes.
"So, what made you write the letter?'
"Well.. Parker made a very good point, I blame myself and I kind of think that you blame me because you never said 'hey this wasn't your fault' but then again I never said it to you either. I don't want to know for sure if you do blame me but I want you to know that I don't blame you."
"I understand, I know when we first got back I was a mess, I would go to sleep and dream about it. Or I would wake up and be terrified for a few seconds that I was back there, that we never got out. I did wonder, and kind of fear that you blamed me for it also. I guess it is one of those things that we just have to blame on the war its self, and not on a particular person." Booth nodded as Sid walked up with a tray of food and set it down in front of them.