You guys blew me away with that last chapter. I'm SO glad you all like it. I hope this one will go over just as well.
This chapter got to be VERY long, so I split it into two parts which is why there isn't a flashback as the end of this update. The second part will be up in a few days when I finish it (hopefully, as long as no problem comes up). For those of you who are dying for BB scenes, I'm stealing the immortal words of our god Hart Hanson, "Be patient."
It was far too early before anyone should be awake on a Saturday let alone dressed and strolling into the busy Dulles International Airport. It was definitely too early for a certain tired, five year old little boy who had to be carried in by his daddy. Booth strode at Brennan's side, holding a snoozing Parker with only one of his arms. The other was pulling a large rolling suitcase.
After a long discussion and a week of planning, the crime fighting duo had come to an agreement. The three of them would fly to Illinois, accompanying Brennan to Evanston. Booth and Parker would stay the weekend and then they'd fly to Philadelphia to visit their extended family. After a week there, they would fly back to Illinois, spend a little time sightseeing in Chicago with Bones, and then they'd all return home. Booth had wanted an opportunity to go back to his stopping ground for years. Some of his relatives had never even met Parker. Now that Parker's school year was days from finishing and Brennan was heading north for work, he knew it was time. The duration that father and son would spend in Chicago was going to be treated like a little vacation. The time that Brennan was alone at Northwestern was going to be totally dedicated to work. The adults knew their plan was going to be hectic, but it was no doubt going to be a memory making experience.
Brennan towed two medium sized pieces of luggage behind her. She also had a carryon bag slung over one shoulder. As the trio waited in line for reach the ticket counter, she let the rolling bags stand on their own and groggily leaned against Booth. They were both exhausted, not having been able to get Parker to sleep until 10 pm the night before. He had been bouncing off the walls for days about their vacation.
After ten more minutes of waiting, Brennan collected their boarding passes. One of their biggest debates arose when she insisted on paying their airfare. She argued that she was the reason for the trip in the first place. Booth argued that he couldn't let her pay for him or his son. They decided that Brennan would pay their way to and from Illinois, and Booth would pay for the tickets to Philly.
When they arrived at their gate inside the main terminal, Booth spotted a cafe already bustling with the early morning crowd. He didn't want to bring his sleepy son into the chaos, but the man was desperate for a morning jolt. "Can you stay here with him while I get the coffee?" He motioned to the bench where Brennan had just set her carry on.
"Of course." Brennan moved closer to Booth and stood slightly at his side. Once her arms opened, the father shifted his son towards her. Parker fell into her arms with ease. His only movement occurred when he turned his head, so he could bury his face into her neck. Booth sent her a small smile when he realized they'd become pros at that exchange. Brennan returned the grin and sat down next to her bag.
Her hand moved mindlessly on its own along the boy's spine. She felt horribly guilty for pulling him out of bed when he'd only received half the hours of sleep that was recommended for his age group the night before. She gently rested her head against his. Her eyes closed and the noises of the airport dulled as she focused on his steady breathing. It was that moment when she realized how grateful she was that he and Booth weren't at the airport to say goodbye. She couldn't imagine the feeling of culpability that would loom over her if she had to walk away from Parker this morning. He wouldn't have understood that she'd eventually come home. He was fragile, still suffering with the consequences of Rebecca's abandonment. With their cleverly crafted travel plan, Parker saw the next week and a half as a fun trip with daddy and Bones, and while Bones had to spend boring time working, he was going to get to have lots of fun with daddy's family in the place he grew up.
The line at the coffee counter shortened one by one; now Booth was two people away from ordering. He read over the chalk written menu several times. Every few seconds he'd gaze at his partner cradling Parker. His sniper trained senses centered in on an older woman looking at him with a smirk played her thin lips.
She glanced over his shoulder. Booth's eyes followed and landed the bench holding his entire world. Her smile grew wider. "You have a gorgeous family." She spoke kindly.
Without thinking he replied, "Thank you," with his most endearing charm smile.
After finally receiving their drinks, he maneuvered through the café crowd, but before he exited the same old woman stopped him again as he wiped condensation from Parker's juice box. She chuckled and looked directly at him. "He seems like a real mamma's boy. My little Leon was the same way. Tell her to enjoy it. They grow up too fast."
He didn't have the heart to correct her, so he gave her another smile and simply walked away. Brennan breathed a sigh of relief when the coffee cup was presented to her. Booth almost handed it off but stopped when he considered the difficulty of drinking with a child in your arms. "You want me to take him?"
"Not yet." The words tumbled out before she considered them. Brennan was never shy about her adoration for Parker, but sometimes she wondered if Booth ever felt uncomfortable with her attachment. Most of the time however his expression turned practically giddy when she returned the boys "love you"s, so she didn't worry often.
She balanced Parker with one hand while she used the other to take a long sip of the caffeinated drink. "I got him some apple juice and a muffin. Poor kid needs an energy boost." Booth informed as he sat down next to her. Because the bench was small, their bodies were touching from their shoulder down to the thigh. "6:45 is too early to fly. Maybe we should ask Hodgins to call the F.A.A. again and delay it a few hours?" He jokingly whispered in her hear.
When the sensation of his warm breath on her ear overwhelmed her, she briefly closed her eyes to savor the feeling, before replying, "It's illegal."
Booth shrugged and sipped his coffee. "Didn't stop us the first time." He looked at his son. "He's got to wake up. Rise and shine, buddy." His voice gently coaxed the boy out of sleep soft.
After a few minutes of dream interrupting comments, Parker fist rubbed his tired eyes. He looked up at the person holding him. "Bones?" His voice was heavy with the confusion of first waking up.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." She responded with a sweet smile.
"We're at the airport, bub. We have to take off in a little while." His father added.
Brennan helped Parker turn in her lap so he faced outward. He shifted slightly and rested his legs on his father's knees. "How much longer til we get on the airplane?" The child questioned before closing his lips around the straw of his juice box.
"We'll be called first to board and that should happen..." Brennan glanced at her watch. "…in about twenty minutes."
"How high are we gunna go?"
"Most commercial aircrafts fly around 35,000 feet." The scientist took the role of answer man. Parker had been on an airplane once as a toddler, but this was the first flight he was going to remember. He had new questions about it every hour since they told him that flying was how they would travel.
He asked several more. "How fast are we gunna go? Can I sit by the window? Can I see where the pilot sits? Can you really get sucked out if you go potty?"
Luckily, before he came up with another, their section was called. The stewardess scanned their boarding passes and they strode down the expandable hallway to the plane entrance. Parker grabbed hold of both their hands before they stepped onto the jet. Another woman greeted them with a polite "good morning." Booth returned the courtesy and led the way to their first class seats. They sat on the right side of the business class in a row of three. The Special Agent didn't want to begin to guess their price. He had refused to look at the computer screen when Brennan purchased them online. He let Parker enter the row first so he could sit by the window. Brennan put her bag into the overhead compartment and then sat in the middle seat, leaving Booth with the end.
Parker was practically shaking with excitement. He sat on his knees in the seat and looked out to see other airplanes taxiing in and out of multiple gates. His little jaw dropped when he watched one in the distance speed up like a bullet shooting out of a gun before flying into the air.
"Bones? Do we go fast before we fly?" He asked, knowing she'd have an answer.
"Yes. The pilot will guide the plane to the runway and come to a complete stop before we sped up. That's what builds up the lift to make us fly into the air. If we don't go fast, there wouldn't be any lift and we'd stay on the ground." Brennan impressed herself by her relatively simple answer. She consciously worked on simplifying her vocabulary around Parker. He would eventually stop communicating with her if he never understood her speech.
"Okay." He sat correctly in his seat and buckled up. The rest of the passengers filed in and before he knew it the flight attendant was going over safety instructions. When she put a yellow cup on her face with a plastic bag and string attached, he spoke again. "What's that for?"
"It's an oxygen mask." Booth took the liberty of responding.
"That's what we breathe right?" The adults nodded. "But if can already breathe, why do I need a mask?"
"If there's a problem with the plane, the oxygen levels can get low and the masks are there to make sure that everyone can breathe if that happens."
He looked at the stewardess who was how pointing to a pamphlet that had a picture of a person floating in water, holding what looked like the cushion he sat on. "Are we gunna crash in the water?"
"No!" Booth and Brennan answered in unison. "Don't be scared, bub. Everything will be fine." The father added. The last thing he needed was to be kicked off the plane for his son making a scene.
Parker quickly unbuckled his seat belt. "I don't wanna sit by the window!" He stood in front of Brennan and tugged at her hands. "Please switch with me, Bones."
Brennan sympathetically shifted to the window spot. Parker jumped into the middle seat and strapped himself in tightly. A minute later, the plane jolted to life. The boy clasped his hands over his eyes. "Parker, airplanes are the safest way to travel. They fly the same way a bird does. They don't just fall out of the sky. The chance of something going wrong is extremely low, practically non-existent."
"I just don't wanna see." He retorted, snuggling into his dad's chest.
The plane rolled steadily before halting. Parker reached for one of Brennan's palms. His eyes stayed clenched shut. A second later they were racing down the runway. Their seats quaked under them before finally going still. "What happened?" Parker's muffled voice asked. His face was still pressed into Booth's shirt.
"Why don't you look and see?" His father encouraged.
Slowly, Parker's brown eyes opened and darted around the cabin. A calm blue was visible through every window. Orange streaks of the morning's sun cut through the tranquil hue. Collections of fluffy white clouds randomly dotted the sky. "Cool!"
(***)
After landing at the airport and picking up their baggage, Brennan and the two Booths rode a small bus down the road to pick up their rental car. They stopped to eat a late lunch and then drove the half an hour to Evanston, IL where Northwestern was located. Upon arriving in the city, they checked into a near hotel which at Brennan's request was a Hilton. A local convention put a wrench in their plans however leaving only one suite available. Once their lodging was taken care of, they drove to the University so Brennan could meet the team she would work with for the upcoming week and receive a preliminary report to comb over during the weekend. By the time the other professors and scientists let her go, it was dinner time. At a quarter after 9 pm, the three ambled through the doorway of their hotel room. The exhaustion from the day's activities weighed heavily on them.
The adults dropped their suitcases a few feet into the room. Parker set his own child sized bag on the floor. He inspected the spacious room. A circular table equipped with two chairs sat under a large window. The bathroom from what he deduced was just as normal as the one at home. There were glass doors leading to the balcony that had a nice view from their third story room. In the middle of the space was one large king sized bed. To him, it looked like fun to jump on. He glanced at his father and Bones. They were silent and eyeing the bed warily. Being the boy he is, Parker decided to break the silence. In one swift move, he kicked his shoes off and hopped onto the mattress.
"Parker, you're not at home. No jumping." His father reprimanded, though he smirked at his son's enthusiasm.
The boy bounced again. "But you don't let me jump on my bed at home, daddy."
"You're right. Now knock it off." He raised his voice slightly and opened his suitcase to pull out a pair of the boys pajamas. He took the liberty of putting his son's clothes in his bag. Parker's was mostly full of toys. "Come on, you need a bath."
Parker sucked his teeth. "Do I gotta?"
"Yes. You smell like airplane." His father teased.
Parker face scrunched. "I don't smell like the plane, do I Bones?" Brennan smiled and moved closer to the bed.
"Hmm." She leaned close to him and nuzzled her nose right under his ear, pretending to sniff him. He giggled at the ticklish sensation. "Actually, I think you smell more like the pine scented air fresheners in the rental car. Either way, I think a bath is definitely in order."
Parker grimaced. "Fine." He stuck his feet out from under him, causing him to bounce onto his bottom once before scooting off the bed. He darted into the bathroom, secretly hoping the bathtub would have a fun faucet to play with.
"Hey, how come when you say he needs a bath he doesn't fight about it?" Booth joked while digging travel sized children's shampoo from his bag.
She shrugged. "He likes me more."
Booth rolled his eyes. "Maybe he's finally taking to heart all those conversation about smelling good for the ladies we've had." He teased, knowing he'd get a rise out of her.
Brennan gave him an incredulous look. "When are you going to stop trying to turn him into some heartbreaking Romeo?"
He laughed. "I would love to continue this conversation, but he's going to flood the place if I don't get in there." He stepped towards the bathroom and saw that Parker was standing with his shirt off already messing with the hot and cold handles.
An hour later, everyone was bathed and dressed for bed. Parker got a few minutes of cartoon time while Brennan was busy doing her nightly beauty ritual of removing makeup and applying moisturizer. Once she was finished, the TV channel switched to the local news channel where a late night TV host was doing his opening monologue. Booth was lying on the left side of the bed. Parked was cuddled next to him, drifting to sleep. All lights in the hotel room were turned off, except for a small lamp on the table by the window.
Booth had been anxious about this part of the night. Nervousness always settled over him before he slept in a bed with Brennan. It didn't happen often enough for him to ever get used to it. Luckily though having Parker right between them did help keep his wicked thoughts at bay. He watched her pull the file she'd received at the university from her bag. "Bones, what are you doing?"
Brennan couldn't bring herself to look at him. She knew what she'd see. The large, warm, comfortable bed. Parker, adorable, snuggled into a fluffy pillow. Booth, shirtless, resembling a Roman god. The whole picture would look very inviting. "I need to start examining Dr. Blake's findings to make sure they don't contradict. I only have until Monday and I know we have a full weekend planned."
"Put that down. You're exhausted." The alpha-male inside him took over.
"I'm fine, Booth. I slept on the plane."
"For forty minutes."
"I'm not that tired."
"Not that tired is still tired."
"I need to work. Stop being so protective."
"Why do you keep saying that like I can just turn off my need to protect you?" His words hung in the air. Booth hadn't intended to start a serious conversation at this time of night, but he had to make her realize that he genuinely worried about her welfare.
Her blue eyes bore into his brown orbs. Despite the room hardly being lit, the intensity of their gaze held for a silent moment. "It shouldn't be a need, Booth."
"But it is." He glanced down at his son who was slumbering peacefully, undisturbed by their voices. "I care about you, Bones. You're not someone I work with. You're my best friend. You're my family. You're our family." He whispered, motioning to Parker.
Brennan was taken aback by his declaration. "I…I thought we were just…just partners." She stumbled over her words.
Booth shook his head slightly. "Bones, you know we're not just anything."
She looked down at the file in her hands. "I just want to look this over once tonight."
He smiled. Though she was jumping back into work, he knew his assertion had an effect on her. "You got twenty minutes before I drag you over here."
(***)
To Brennan's liking, Booth didn't watch her like a hawk during her allotted time. He fell asleep about five minutes after settling his head on the pillow beneath him. It was now almost 11 pm. The scientist pulled her eyes away from the official papers when a soft sob came from Parker's lips.
He had drifted away from his father and now on the right side of the bed. The sound he made was small She didn't think twice about reacting to it until another one followed. His limbs started to stir, but his eyes remained closed. He whimpered, "Mommy, mommy." Before she had time to organize the reports correctly, Parker let out a tortured whine. Brennan was at his side in an instant.
She slid under the blankets and pulled him against gently against her. Her hand stroked his face. "Parker, wake up. Open your eyes. You're only dreaming."
A few seconds later, his dilated pupils focused on her. "You were gone." His small voice confessed. "I woke up at home and I couldn't find you."
Brennan wrapped an arm around him and pulled him upward slightly so his head would rest right under her chin. He snuggled into her. "I'm here."
"I kept callin' for you but you didn't answer."
Her brow furrowed. Parker hadn't been calling for her. He was calling for his mother. He often did during when he had night terrors. Ignoring the mix up, she brought his hand to the left side of her chest and placed it over her heart. "Do you know what that is?"
"Your heartbeat."
"That's right. As long as you can feel it, you know I'm right here." She kissed his hair. "Go back to sleep."
For a solid five minutes, the only sound that could be heard in the room was their breathing. Brennan's eyelids were getting heavy. She was trying to stay conscious until she knew Parker was asleep again. Exhaustion caught up with her. Right before she slipped into a dream world, two small words echoed in her ears.
"Goodnight, mommy."
Without a second thought, she mumbled, "Goodnight baby."
Unbeknownst to Brennan, the FBI Agent who hadn't moved a muscle wasn't anywhere close to being asleep and over heard the entire exchange.
You like? I had to go into detail about their new setting and what was going on so excuse the lack of plot. There will be plenty next chapter! Please let me know what you think!