Chapter 14- High-Low
Booth and Nik had been walking around D.C. for about an hour, talking about this and that.
"What has been the most terrifying moment in your life?" Nik questioned.
"Wow, there have been a lot of things that have terrified me. The first time I realized that I felt more than friendship towards Bones, the first time I had Parker over night by myself, when Bones was threaded by a gang leader, when I had to take Parker to the emergency room at 2 in the morning with a very high fever, when Bones was kidnapped and almost fed to dogs, when Rebecca threatened to never let me see Parker again, when I saw the look in Bones eyes after she killed Epps accomplice to save my life, when Rebecca almost moved to Hawaii with Parker, when Bones was buried alive with Hodgins, when Parker told me that one of his babysitters would touch him when he was taking a bath, when Bones father left her again, when Parker woke me up from a nightmare and he was the one who comforted me, when Epps went after our team, when Epps went after Parker, when Bones was dating Sully, when Parker asked me if Dr. Bones was my soul mate when he was 7, when their were people were killed in the manner in which they were killed Bones second book, when I arrested Bones father, when Drew hit Parker, when I arrested Bones brother, when I came home one day when I had Parker for the weekend and I saw blood trailing up to the front door into the bathroom and all over the bathroom sink, when we got blown up by Gormogon and I saw Bones still body in the passenger seat, when Caroline made us kiss under the mistletoe, when I saw Crazy Pam pointing a gun at Bones, the look on her face, how hurt she was, that she didn't know that I was still alive, when there was a bomb threat at Parkers school, when I first asked Bones to dinner as a date and not a conclusion to a solving a case, when I told Parker when he was 9 that I was dating Bones, when I asked Tempe to move in with me, when Tempe called to tell me about someone trying to kidnap Parker, when I asked Temperance to marry me, when Parker told me he wanted to join the Army, when Tempe told me she was pregnant with tears in her eyes. There have been a lot of terrifying moments in my life."
Nik just blinks. "I don't even know how to respond to that."
"Sorry, you asked and sometimes I don't even realize how many close calls that I have had."
"So the most terrifying moment has nothing to do with when you were a Ranger?"
"No. Not even close, I wish that that was the most terrified I had been. What about you?"
"When I was in P.O.W. camp, being tortured and starved. There have been a few things with my boys, but nothing like what you have been through."
"Don't get me wrong that camp was hell, but I would go through it all again if I knew that Tempe and Parker would never be in trouble again. They are my life, and thinking about them in danger kills me, thinking about them in pain, it makes me heart sick. I am not saying that you don't love your family, but your wife have never been kidnapped, or buried alive, she wasn't my wife then, but I knew that I loved her."
"That is true, I have never had to take my boys to the hospital, let alone in the middle of the night. After hearing you say all those things I actually feel better that my most terrifying moments were in that hellhole of a camp. For a long time I hated the fact that I had nothing worse than that, but now I realize that I am glad that was the lowest point of my life."
"Glad that you could realize that, but I would also have to say that there have been way more high points in my life, yeah the lows were down there but they are what make the good times good."
"What would be on your list of good things?"
"Parker. Holding Parker for the first time, seeing him smile for the first time, when Bones gave me my ID for the Jeffersonian, when Zach made me the coolest dad by giving me a robot for Parker, when I got to dance with Bones in Washington state, when Parker got his first hit in t-ball, when Bones did me a favor and worked on Epps case, when Parker runs up to me and launches himself at me after he has not seen me for over a week, when Bones forgave me for giving her family troubles to the prosecutor so that we could win the case, when Parker met Bones for the first time and how great she was with him, even though she though she was horrible with kids, when Bones held on to me so tight after I saved her from Kenton even though I could barley stand and then when she canceled her date to sit and watch TV with me, the way that Parker looks at me and he knows that I love him, when Bones was in New Orleans, the look on her face when I waked into the exam room, and the look on her face when I gave her her mothers earring, when Parker was six and there was a snow day and we spent the whole day playing in the yard, making snow people, when Bones helped Cullen find out what happened to his daughter Amy, when Parker asked me if I though Bones was my soul mate and I did, but couldn't say anything, when Bones put her hand on my arm after I told her about my last target, when Parker won the science fair because of the help that Bones gave him on the project, when Bones told me that one of the reasons that she bet on me in the underground fight was because of her beginners luck and that meant I couldn't lose, when I saw that dust cloud rise, and then when I felt her hand instead of dirt when I was digging her out, and how they first thing she did was worry about Hodgins, and then smile at me, when Parker told me that he hated Drew because he wasn't his daddy, but he tried to pretend he was, when Bones didn't sail away with Sully for a year, when Parker got his first crush on a girl and he called me to ask me what he should do, when Bones and her father rushed in and saved me from being tortured, the way all she cared about was me, when Parker asked me if Dr. Bones was going to be his other mommy, because Rebecca told him that she was my special friend, when Bones jumped on my back when we walked into the room of snakes, when Parker kept asking when he could call Dr. Bones mommy, when Bones kissed me under the mistletoe, when Parker and I gave Bones a tree for Christmas, when Bones said yes to dinner as a date, and to moving in with me, and when she said that she would marry me and be Parkers other mother, when she told me that she was pregnant, and that she was happy about it, when Parker asked if he could live with me from now on, and when he said yes to being Aubreys God Father. Believe it or not, that is the short list. How about you man?"
"I have a good list, but nothing like that. My wedding day, when I found out I was going to be a father, when I held Ryan for the first time and he didn't blink for what seamed like hours, he was just looking at me, when I found out I was going to be a daddy again, when Ryan woke me up one night to ask me if I though he would make a good older brother, and when I got your letter, letting me off the hook, in my mind at least, for what happened to us all. I have more, but I think it is time that we go get your wife."