Title: A Time to Grow
Author: Megan Faye
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.
Bodies came and left the Jeffersonian, as they normally did. Since Brennan's return, they had been old remains from old digs, occasionally, there were samples sent to them by Daisy in Maluku, but mostly old remains in Limbo that they were trying to give a name to.
Parker was doing well in his summer camps. He tested very high and was able to qualify for intense classes. Intense and Advanced were different. Advanced classes skipped ahead to the good stuff, skipping over the fundementals. Intense classes were between regular and advanced. In Parker's opinion, they were harder, but he flourished. He would need a math tutor, to keep up the intense class, but it took care of child care two afternoons a week. He would be meeting with the tutor at the school's library, from 3:30 to 6:30.
A week before school began, Brennan asked him about the other two days. There were two options; sports, or music. She was only mildly surprised when Parker chose music. Brennan was more surprised at the choice of intrument. He wanted to play piano. Apparently, his mom has a keyboard that he played with from time to time, and enjoyed it. So, she signed him up for piano, and asked about the required supplies.
Of course, he needed a keyboard or a piano to practice on at home. Brennan considered a grand piano, as it was a cross between an instrument and a peice of art work, but settled on a sleek black upright that had caught her eye online. She decided it would be an incredible birthday gift for Parker, later that winter if he still played. For now, a very nice keyboard would suffice. Something with volume control in an apartment made the most sense for now.
She grinned and saved the page.
"Nice," Hodgins said, peeking over her shoulder. "Do you play?"
"Parker wants to. For now, a keyboard with volume control, and this for either Christmas or his birthday in January."
"If you want to see how he really feels about it, come over for dinner some time, and let him tinker with the one I got for Zach." Brennan's eyes shot up.
"You gave him a piano?"
"He didn't have room, or money for a real piano. So I bought one, and he would play it...often. All night if we were on a tough case. He was really good. When he saw it for the first time, it was almost like that time he was given regular instead of decaf." Brennan laughed at the memory. Zach did not fair well on caffeine. Why don't you guys join us for dinner on Sunday? We're thinking of making it a thing."
"Making what a thing?"
"Home cooked dinner, once a week, no bodies or work allowed. Just dinner, a game or two of pool, maybe a movie, or video games." Brennan thought about it for a moment. "Angela thought it would be a good way for Parker to still feel a sense of family. She wants to teach him how to paint."
"That sounds wonderful. Should we bring anything?"
"If you bring your macaroni and cheese, I'll toss steak on the grill, Angela wanted to decorate a cake for the first Sunday, and Cam and Michelle are bringing veggies to grill."
"Sounds great. I know Parker loves steak, even if it is meat."
"Hey, I'm a member of PETA," Hodgins defended.
"People Eating Tasty Animals is not PETA."
"Look at that fracture," Clark said, squinting at the bone in front of him. "No other marks on the bones, at all, except right here." Brennan frowned.
"Not a single anomaly. That in itself is an anomoly. He never fell down, stubbed a toe, or anything." She gagged lightly and dashed from the room.
"Gotta love morning sickness," Cam said as she moved over the bone to study.
"Or she's just upset that we're working on a fresh case," Angela commented. "It isn't the same without Booth."
"Could we try to figure out why this is a body and not a person?" Clark asked. "And that new FBI guy...he gives me the creeps." Cam chuckled. Clark was finally loosening up and trying to fit in more.
"What about this?" a small voice from the microscope called. "This looks kind of weird."
"Parker," Cam said, noticing him in a nook down off the platform. "Why are you examining bones?"
"Temperance set it up, and said look for anything weird."
"An 11-year-old spending a Saturday in a lab with dead people. That's weird enough," Cam quipped.
"There's little holes in the bone that don't look like the others." He pressed the buttons, just how Brennan showed him and the image came onto a screen. He frowned and refocused the scope.
"Good work, kid," Hodgins called.
"What is it?"
"Cause of death. That could only be cause by boiling in-"
"Hodgins," Angela called, and pointed to Parker. "Nightmares, Sweetie." He clamped his mouth shut. "Parker, why don't you check on Dr. Brennan? Maybe bring her a bottled water?" PArker nodded. The first time he heard cause of death, he didn't sleep very much.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge in Brennan's office, and went into the ladies bathroom. He knew it was wrong to be in that room, but it was a private lab, and Brennan was likely the only person in there. He heard her gag and vomit hard in the last stall.
"Temperance?" Another vomit. "I brought you a water to rinse with." He handed it under the door and started to leave. Just as he got to the door, the vomitting stopped for a moment.
"Thanks, Parker," she called, and then started throwing up again. He waited until it stopped again.
"I thought it was just morning sickness."
"Morning, late morning, mid afternoon, evening, night, midnight, and all points between." Brennan left the stall to wash her face and hands. "I have a new respect for women who do this more than once. If my mother was still alive, I would call to apologise to her, for putting her through this." Parker handed her a towel.
"Can I spend the night at a friend's house next time you have to be in the lab on the weekend?" he asked. "I'm starting to think like a Squint."
"What makes you say that?" Brennan lead him out of the bathroom.
"I discovered the cause of death."
"Yes, you may. Or you may bring your XBox and hang out in my office." Parker nodded.
"How pregnant are you?" he asked curiously.
"Today is August 21, so I'm 8 weeks and 4 days. The baby is due to be born March 30." Parker looked deep in thought. "What is on your mind?"
"Where is the baby going to sleep?" Brennan looked like a deer in headlights.
Brennan liked things a certain way. Her cute little car was perfect. Her 2-bedroom apartment was perfect. Her work hours were perfect. All these things were perfect, for someone with no children. Luckily, there was a three-bedroom available on the other side of the building. Lukily, her car was new and would be easy to trade in for something bigger. Luckily, she could change her hours to be at Parker's school to pick him up, and have dinner before he was too tired to see the meal in front of him.
Luck. It was still hard to hand over the keys to her car in favor of the larger one. She had been a Toyota fan for a while, so the 4-Runner seemed like the best option. Parker had the room he needed in the back for all of his stuff, and there was still room for a stroller. The car seat she liked fit the larger SUV very well, and it would be easy to take camping.
By week 14, the nausea and "morning" sickness was gone, she was showing just a little, and they were moved into the new apartment. Brennan had the 'space lights' moved with them into Parker's new room.
Parker was in his second month in the new school, and having more fun than he expected. No one ever teased him, as he was bigger than most of the kids his age in the school. He thought it was funny, being the coolest geek in school. Angela reminded him geeks are hot, and he can date the prettiest and smartest girl in school. He shrugged. The non-prettiest girl in school was much more interesting, and was teaching him to play chess. She also played soccer. (And he thought she was better than pretty. She was beautiful, like Temperance, and Cam, and Angela.)
"I like this one," Angela called, with Parker by her side. Brennan, who was walking slower than before weaved through the cribs to see what Angela was talking about.
"It is very...colorful. We're here to get a cradle or a bassinet for my bedroom until the baby is old enough to sleep in his or her own room. There isn't a point to looking at full-sized cribs until we know the baby's gender."
"Spoil sport."
"Besides," Brennan said, nudging her friend. "I like that one."
"Sweetie, it is black. Babies don't have black cribs. They have white, or wood, or colorful metal."
"Not if the baby is a boy. I could get this black set, and have a very elegant space theme. Retro rockets on the walls, and stars lighting the ceiling, like in Parker's room."
"Look at this set," Parker called out from where he'd wandered. Brennan found him easily. He pointed out a set in white. It had a changing dresser, an amoire, a crib, a glider and ottoman, cradle and high chair. Hanging over the crib were two blankets. One was a light pink on one side, the other side was sage green with little flowers on it, the other was navy on one side, light blue on the other with retro airplanes and stars. "Do you like this one?"
"I do," Angela said softly.
"I think I like it. I think this is perfect. We only need a cradle for a while though."
"Excuse me," a sales woman said. "This style is being discontinued, and will only be available for the next week. It is heavily discounted-"
"Money isn't the problem. I'm only 14 weeks in. We don't need-"
"Temperance, think about this logically; you will need it eventually. You can afford it. You want it. If you don't get it now, you probably won't be able to get it later. Once it is in the house and put together, and all the boxes are gone, you'll be happy to have that part out of the way," Parker reasoned. "It makes sense to get it now."
"Oh, good Lord, Brennan. We've turned him into a Squint." Brennan laughed. "He's so right, Sweetie. You love it, and you know you do."
"You are both correct. I do love this set." She turned to the woman helping them. "Do you deliver?"
"We deliver, unbox, assemble the crib, high chair, and cradle, and remove the boxes, for a fee. It will take 4 weeks, as we're a little backed up." Brennan nodded and looked at the red tag on the dresser. It said 75% off. She didn't need the discount, but it did add to the logic of the purchase so early.
"We'll take it," Brennan said, staring at the two blankets over the crib, and feeling how soft they were. She silently wished she knew the gender of the baby. Parker high-fived Angela.
"Are you excited that your mom is having a baby?" Angela and Brennan froze. This was the first time anyone called her his mom, other than the one time Angela told her to be a mother to this boy. Three silent seconds later, Parker spoke up.
"I'm really excited. Can you help me pick something out for the baby? I don't know very much about this stuff."
"Of course," she said. "Let me get someone to assist your mother with the purchase, and you may follow me." As they walked away, Brennan heard parker inform the sales person of their relationship.
"She isn't my mother. She's my mom. My mom and stepdad were killed in an accident in May, and my dad in June in Iraq. She was my dad's best friend, and is my mom now."
"That is wonderful that the two of you are so close."
"She's the best. She's my mom, in every sense of the word. She loves me." They conituned toward the service desk and out of ear-shot. Angela brushed a few stray tears away before looking at Brennan. She expected a tear or two, but instead, tears were streaming down both cheeks. Angela handed her a tissue from her purse.
"That is one beautiful kid, Bren."
"In every sense of the word beautiful."
"He needs to get out of the lab, though. Booth would kill you if he heard Parker using 'statements of logic' to reason with you." Brennan choked out a laugh.
Thanks for reading! Plenty more to come :)