"I think I'm going to take Hadley home. I don't want her at the lab too much. I'm not too fond of the idea of her being exposed to the case."
"That's a good idea, Bones. I'll drive you two home."
Brennan shook her head. "That's not necessary, Booth."
"Actually, it is, Bones. I drove you two to the lab." She didn't argue anymore and sat quietly.
"Can we go to your place instead?"
"What?"
"You have a TV. I don't."
"Oh. Oh! Yeah, that's no problem, sure."
"Thank you. I don't want Hadley to be bored at my apartment."
Booth chuckled a bit. "Don't you have board games or something? Even a deck of cards?"
"I believe I have a deck of cards, but last time they were used, my father and I were playing a game on the balcony, and he became frustrated when I won and he flung several cards over the edge, causing me to have an incomplete set. I need to buy some new cards."
"You beat your dad in a game of cards, he got mad and threw a fit so he ruined your deck of card?"
"Yes. I'm not surprised though. He used to beat me all the time as a child. I've simply become better than him."
"He never let you win?" Booth was shocked. He almost always let Parker win. It was something as a parent you just did.
"No. Never."
"Wow. Well, I'm glad you won then."
"Hadley, what would you like for dinner?"
"Whatever."
"That answer will not suffice."
"Huh?"
"She means she really wants your opinion. Bones wants to make sure we get something you'll eat. Oh! You know what? Let's just take her to Wong Fu's," Booth suggested.
"What is that, Chinese?" Hadley asked.
Brennan and Booth paused for a moment and then answered at the same time. "I'm not sure." "Yes."
Booth parked the SUV just outside of the restaurant and Hadley followed her guardian inside to a booth.
"Hey, Booth! Hi, Doctor Brennan!" Sid greeted them, "Who's this?"
"Sid, this is Hadley. Hadley, Sid owns the place."
Hadley smiled at the man and Sid gave them their customary menus, though Booth and Brennan didn't bother to look at it. Hadley eagerly grabbed it and began to look it over.
Booth snatched it quickly and hid it from her view.
"Hey! I wasn't done!"
"You don't order here," Booth told her, "Sid knows what's good and he brings you food. Just let him. Trust me"
"Otherwise, you'll be sorry. Ask Doctor Hodgins if you don't believe us," Brennan added.
Hadley looked at them skeptically. "Fine. I'll be back," she told them as she stood and went to the bathroom.
Brennan and Booth watched her walk away and then looked at each other, waiting for someone to speak.
"I want to thank you, Booth," she said.
"For what?"
"Helping me with Hadley. Keeping her mind off of things. It's going to get rough. It hasn't set in yet. I can tell. It hasn't hit her yet. Thanks, Booth."
"Bones, you don't have to thank me. You've helped me with Parker. You're my village, so you can expect the same from me."
She smiled gratefully at him and fought the strong urge to hug him as Hadley returned to the table.
As they arrived at Booth's apartment later that evening, Booth received a frantic call from Parker.
"Dad?"
"Bub? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Dad, I wanna live with you."
It was obvious that Parker was crying.
"Buddy, you gotta stay with Mom. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll come get you soon okay. We get the whole weekend together!" Booth tried to sound excited for his son, but his heart was breaking at the sound of Parker's sobs. Booth could hear Rebecca in the background trying to wrangle the phone away from Parker. He knew something had happened to make Parker say he wanted to live with him and he knew he needed to stay calm when talking to his ex, otherwise things were just going to go downhill.
"Seeley," Rebecca's voice came over the phone, "I'm sorry he bothered you. You're probably working."
"Rebecca, you know he can call me anytime, no matter what," the urgency and emotion in Booth's voice getting the better of him.
"Yes, I know," was all she said.
"Rebecca, what's going on? Is Parker okay?" he tried not to sound upset, but he could still hear his son crying and all he wanted to do was hug him and tell him things were going to be okay.
"Everything's great. Parker's just having a meltdown."
"Eleven year olds don't just meltdown. Can I talk to him again?"
Rebecca didn't answer and Booth knew this wasn't going anywhere. Something was wrong. His gut was telling him something wasn't right.
"Sure," she relented. He could hear the phone exchanging hands and Parker's ragged breathing in the receiver.
"Dad? Will you come get me?"
"Bub, I can't come get you 'til tomorrow. Do you wanna talk about it?"
Parker sniffled a bit and said, "Yeah, hold on." It was a moment before Booth heard anything. Brennan and Hadley were looking at him, waiting for an answer as to what was going on.
"Okay, I can talk now," Parker whispered. He sounded muffled.
"Where are you, bub?"
"I'm sitting in my closet. It's dark in here and it stinks. I'm sitting on my hockey bag."
Booth had to choke back a laugh. "Yeah, bub, hockey stuff normally smells pretty bad. You wanna tell me what's going on?"
Parker was quiet again for a minute. "Mom and Brent are getting married."
"Oh. Wow, bub. That's exciting."
"No, it's not. I don't like Captain Fantastic," he whispered.
"Parker," he scolded, "What did I tell you about that?"
"Can I live with you, Dad?" Parker asked, ignoring his father's words.
"It's not that simple, Park."
"Yes, it is. Just tell Mom you want me to live with you. I already told her that I want to live with you."
"Parker, it doesn't just work like that."
He could tell Parker was getting frustrated again and was crying openly.
"Dad, can you please just tell Mom? Please?"
Booth sighed. He didn't know what else to tell Parker. "I'll see what I can do, bub. I can't promise anything. But I'll bring it up to Mom tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Dad."
"No problem, bub. Get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay. I love you, Dad."
"I love you, too."
"Is everything okay, Booth?" Brennan asked.
He plopped down on the couch next to Hadley and looked at the two women who were waiting for his answer.
"I don't know," he said honestly.