8CHAPTER EIGHT

Krys hurried into her makeshift office toting a few folders tucked under her arm. She seemed quite sure of where she was going, at least that's what young Parker Booth could gather from where his little body sat in her rolling black chair.

He had been playing with the cool dinosaur figurines until the lady had entered, and now he found himself trying to behave, his little hands grasping the black arm rests of the big chair. Krys proceeded to walk toward one of the shelves, slipping the files into their place before freezing, finally realizing that the small child was still there. Slowly she'd turn around, blinking with no expression on her face, which made Parker even more curious peering out from behind his dirty blonde mop-haired lockes.

"You're still here..." Krys declared quietly, and yet carefully. She wasn't trying to be mean or anything negative. It was just that she spent most of her time with computers, not children, she wasn't even sure if she had ever been one.

"My dad said I can go anywhere but in the lab." Parker shrugged, looking very innocent and yet proud of himself for having remembered that fact. "As long as I stay out of Doctor Brennan's way."

Krys blinked, nearly phased but not quite. She knew it was Agent Booth's kid, she had seen him around the Hoover Building a few times in quick snippets but never up close, let alone being forced to speak to him one on one. "Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

"It's a Saturday." Parker sat up straight as he kicked his little legs, smiling.

"Right." Krys sighed, looking down to the floor, grinding her teeth together in thought before looking back up. "What do you know about computers?"

Parker rolled his brown eyes up in thought, eyes that matched his father's and looked back to Krys thoughtfully. "Sometimes my dad lets me play Minesweeper." Another grin. Parker knew he was quite good at Minesweeper. He had beaten his father several times.

"Great." Krys raised her fingertips up to massage her temples exhausted. It had been two minutes and already she wanted to bludgeon herself with the Almanac. "You do that and I'll..." She glanced over her shoulder with a sigh. "Slowly descent into madness before I finally end it all with a swift blow of the bookshelf to my head."

Parker looked up. "What?"

"Research." Krys quickly covered, giving a tired smile. She honestly wasn't trying to be mean or purposely cold, she was just completely out of her element. Computers she could do, but kids... That just wasn't her thing. Luckily she was soon saved.

"Doctor Sweets!" Parker called out with a bold smile, hopping right off the rolling chair.

He whisked right past Krys whom retracted as though the young boy was a wasp who could sting her. Her arms poised up in the air, her entire body ridged, something Sweets smiled at this action, but soon had to turn his attention back on young Parker. At least the boy, unlike his father, was happy to see him. Since their little session that Agent Booth made them have when Parker found remains in a bird's nest, the Psychiatrist and FBI Agent's son had an odd little friendship going on.

"Hi Parker." Lance chuckled, hands on his upper thighs as he bent forward so he was nearly eye to eye with the little Booth. "How are you doing buddy?"

Parker looked to the Psychiatrist thoughtfully before looking over his shoulder at the Data Analyst. "You're face is all red." He announced innocently causing Krys' eyes to narrow, though she was a bit surprised by the deduction. "It wasn't red before. It only got red when he came in." Parker added, pointing to Doctor Sweets as though it was a great science problem, though really, it just made everyone feel incredibly awkward.

Lance smiled sheepishly, only matching Krys' eyes for a mili-second before he looked back to the rugged floor. Krys meanwhile turned an even brighter shade of red before moving right to her desk, trying to get rid of her nerves by pretending to work. "It's red because I'm allergic to kids. And there's two of them in here right now."She came right out with in her flat voice, her eyes following her movements on the desk as she pulled a book out from the drawer.

Parker frowned a bit not comprehending what he had said or done wrong while Sweets straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. "You do realize I'm older than you."

"Sorry I guess I sometimes forget." Krys shrugged, moving about rather quickly, too fast to even accomplish something. "Must be the tie."

Lance's brow furrowed and his hands moved to lift up the red, green, and black striped necktie he was sporting. He only recently had stopped wearing clip-ons (Daisy taught him how), so what was there to make fun of? He found himself feeling something, something he couldn't quite figure out, and caught up in the moment Sweets reached out, grasping Parker by the shoulders and spun him around proceeding to do something he had seen Agent Booth do once.

"Hum." He informed Parker quickly, and without waiting his pale hands moved to clasp over the boy's ears, Krys had meanwhile looked up with an intrigued raise brow. What was he getting at? Parker began to hum 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' over and over again as Sweets spoke with a firmness, even an anger in a trying to be hushed, yet somewhat loud, angry tone.

"What the heck is your problem?!" Lance managed to get out, his brown eyes focused right at the object of his annoyance. "Did I ever do something to you that I'm not aware of to cause you to be so..?" Krys inclined her head rather calmly, awaiting his choice of words. "A jerk?!"

"No." Krys said simply, seating herself on the edge of the desk, a book in her lap that if Lance had the time to glance at the title, he would have seen that it was one of Doctor Brennan's.

Lance seemed momentarily stunned as his eyes darted back and forth searching for answers. He had been expecting a straight forward answer like that he was childish, or had been sending awful vibes, or maybe she just didn't like how he looked, but the response that he had done absolutely nothing had caught him off guard. "Then what?!" Sweets looked behind himself toward the lab to make sure that no one was coming before looking back to Krys, Parker still humming away. "I'm not some hack. I'm not a jerk. Given, sometimes I can ramble and not know how to act other certain situations that present themselves, but I don't deserve this kind of treatment! I don't like it!" A bit out of breath he proceeded to fall into quiet, other than his own breathing.

"But you still come into my office knowing that's what you're going to get." Krys stated, still very calm. A calmness that made Sweets blink in utter confusion, dumbfounded. "Face it." Her arms crossed over her chest and she gave a little smirk. "You like trying to figure me out. Because it's more difficult than say... The people you go home to every night. Nothing is black and white. With me it's a mesh of both and you can't decipher what exactly makes me tick. And you like it." Her brown eyes matched up with his exactly and she tilted her head with an all knowing smile that should have creeped him out, but for some reason did not. "You, Doctor Sweets, like, for once in your life, not knowing."

Parker, taking advantage of Sweets' surprise, managed to weasel out from under his hands, puffing out his round little cheeks. "You guys are weird." He declared with a cute giggle, Lance was still unresponsive.

"That we are Parker." Krys agreed with a calm nod, now opening the book up in her lap as if the prior event hadn't occurred.

"Parker!" Came Agent Booth's voice as he rushed into the office at a quick pace, Temperance Brennan not far behind though she appeared far less alarmed than the Agent. "I told you to stay out of the lab." The ex jock said, actually breathless as his firm hand came to rest on his young son's shoulder.

"I am out of the lab." Parker frowned, not understanding or at least pretending not to.

"I meant in the Hoover building." Agent Booth shook his head. As the days passed Parker was getting more and more like Rebecca. Booth wasn't sure he liked it. Turning his gaze onto Lance (what the hell was he doing here anyways?), he rose his brow in interest. "And what are you doing here?"

"Being confused." Lance sighed, his own arms crossing over his chest mirroring Krys' current pose, but his filled with confusion and even self consciousness.

"Great. We're all on the same page." Booth rolled his eyes, his annoyance level wearing thin.

"We're not in a book Booth." Dr. Brennan spoke up, very confused by her partner's choice of words. "So technically we can't be on a page.."

"Bones." Booth spoke up, using his free hand to rub his temples. So they were back into this again.

"What?" Bones asked exasperated. Her eyes wide with misunderstanding. "I'm an author Booth. I would know!"

Parker exchanged looks between all four adults in the room and all of the funny looks that they were currently aiming around the room. "You're all weird." He smiled, his cheeks turning red with his laughter as his dad wiggled his shoulder back and forth.

"Yes they are." Booth nodded with a sigh. No matter what he was going through at work Parker had the ability to make him feel better. He was an agent second, father first. He constantly reminded himself of that. But still, he was at work now, so he turned his attention onto Krys, still perched atop her desk. "Get a hit on those numbers?"

"They're still running through the system. But let me tell you, when they hit it'll be worth the wait." Krys responded, nodding as she turned another page of the book, something Temperance could not ignore.

"Your inability to look at any of us in the eye except for Booth is very off putting." Bones spoke up, her eyes studying the girl. Krys smiled a bit and shook her head. Had she just laughed? Bones found this all the more peculiar. "I'm funny?"

"No... I just thought it was kind of funny that you, Doctor Brennan, could find someone off putting." Krys looked up with a smile. Had the comment been meant as rude or was it a compliment? Temperance had no idea, she could only stare at the twenty year old who now proceeded to hold up the book in her lap.

"What do we have to do to be characters in this thing?" Krys asked as Doctor Brennan could only stare. "Booth got to be a dashingly handsome..." Krys shrugged and Booth noticably brightened.

"I knew it!" He turned his gaze onto his partner excitedly, as though he had won a bet. "See? I told you. I knew I was the dashing--"

"It's a book. Fictional. Not real." Bones concluded simply before making her way toward the door, pretending not to care if Booth followed or not. "We have a case Booth." And out the door she went. Everyone was wearing thin, some that everyone wouldn't have expected.

Agent Booth shook his head, patting Parker's shoulder he then moved toward the door, leaving Parker behind which caused Krys to look up. She was unable to ignore this and set the book on the desk, standing up she took a few steps forward, opening her mouth as if to remind him that he had left his spawn behind.

"Parker. You behave for Krys and Doctor Sweets alright?"

"What?" Lance spoke up, sputtering, being brought back into reality. Was Agent Booth really using him for babysitting? Again?! Even with a serial killer on the loose? Everyone knew that serial killers were driven by the psychological, even Doctor Brennan with her own vendetta against studies of the mind surely could appreciate this. "You can't--" No need to say more as Krys picked right up where he left off.

"I'm here for computers. Not to play house Agent Booth." Krys frowned, actually appearing afraid as the man fixed his suit coat and was now closer to the door.

"Listen kiddo, Bones and I just have to go do an interview, then I'll be right back to bring Parker home. Shouldn't take much more than... A few hours.." And with that last quickly added fact he slid right out the door.

"I'm as good as dead." Krys hung her head and Sweets looked just as... troubled.

"You picked the right place for it!" Came a call from Booth in the lab. Krys muttered something under her breath, shaking her head as she glanced at Sweets, both exchanging a similar expression of overall 'uh oh'.

Parker, standing in between the two, flashed a little smile, his eyes brimming with excitement. "So.. What do you guys want to do?"