Hey guys! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while but I'm here now! Here is Chapter 5!
Booth and Brennan walked hand in hand into the diner. They both looked around for Joe. Booth nodded towards Joe; he was sitting at a table staring into his coffee cup. Brennan kissed Booth on the cheek and let go of his hand. She took a seat at the bar not to far from the table. She watched Booth closely as he composed himself before he went to the table. He sat down across from his father and shuffled uncomfortably. Joe smiled softly at his son,
"Seeley. I'm really glad you called." He said. Booth just nodded. He ordered a coffee and tried to avoid eye contact. He wanted Bones to be next to him, helping him through this whole mess. His anxiety eased knowing that she was close incase he needed her. The pair sat in awkward silence for a little bit. Joe broke the silence after a couple of moments,
"Listen Seeley, I don't expect you to accept my apology. The things I did to you and Jared are unforgivable and absolutely horrible. I wanted to meet with you because I just wanted to tell you that those things will haunt me for the rest of my life. I'm sorry." He said. Booth sighed and spoke,
"You're right. I can't accept your apology. While I appreciate you coming here and trying to apologize I can't accept it because it haunts me too. I have a child and one on the way and in the back of my mind I'm terrified that I will snap and do to them what you did to me and Jared. Or that I'll hurt Bones the way you hurt Mom. Even with you coming here that fear will be in the back of my mind and I can't accept your apology knowing that its still there and you're the one who put it there." Joe hung his head in shame and nodded. Booth turned to look at Brennan. She was watching the father and son pair very closely, waiting for the time she needed to swoop in and comfort him. He gave her a small appreciative smile. She smiled back at him. He turned around and looked at his father again. Joe sighed and spoke,
"I'm also sorry for going to Dr. Brennan to get to you. I shouldn't have done that." Booth just nodded his head in appreciation. Booth sighed and spoke,
"Hey, I have a question. Why did you come back after all this time? It's been 20 years. Why now?" Joe inhaled deeply and spoke,
"I'm... dying Seeley. I have advance liver cancer. The doctors only gave me a couple of months. I wanted to make amends with everyone I've wronged and you were on the top of my list." Booth was shocked but grew slightly angry at his fathers confession,
"Wait, you only reached out to me because your dying and you don't want to go with regrets?" He asked with a hint of anger in his voice. Joe quickly shook his head,
"No! Thats not all it. I've been wanting to do this for years and the sudden decline in my health made me grow a pair and finally find you. I've always been scared that I would come back and things would turn out way worse than how its going now." Booth nodded even though he was still angry about the reason for his fathers sudden reappearance in his life.
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you agree to talk to me? Not that I'm not grateful that you're here it just that when you called me and that day in Dr. Brennan's office you seemed pretty admin about not wanted to talk to me." He asked. Booth sighed and gave him a small smile,
"Bones talked me into coming to talk to you. She wanted to help me like I helped her." He said. Joe smiled,
"She sounds like an amazing woman." He said. Booth looked back at Brennan and smiled,
"Yeah, she is." He said not looking away from her. She smiled at him. Booth turned back to Joe,
"If its alright with you I would like to apologize to Dr. Brennan for ambushing her. I would like to get to know her too if thats alright with you. After all she's the mother of your child and your wife?" He asked at the last part. Booth shook his head,
"We aren't married. We are in a very serious relationship." He said smiling. Joe smiled back at his son. Booth excused himself and escorted Brennan from the bar to their table. She was a little admin about officially meeting his father but he reassured her that everything was going to be fine. She sat down next to Booth and shook Joe's hand,
"Hello Mr. Booth." She said politely. He smiled at her,
"Please call me Joe." He said. She smiled softly and accepted his name. She grabbed Booth's hand under the table and rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand. He smiled at her gesture. Joe spoke once more,
"So, how long have you two been together?" He asked. Brennan smiled and spoke,
"We've been partners for seven years now but we've only started dating seven months ago." She said. He smiled and spoke,
"How far along are you?" He asked. She rubbed her stomach and spoke,
"I'm 26 weeks pregnant." She said. Joe smiled,
"Well congratulations to you both." The partners thanked him. They talked a bit more until Booth and Brennan had to get back to work. They began getting ready to leave when Joe spoke,
"Listen Seeley, I would like to talk some more. I'm in DC for a few more days. Give me a call and we will get together again before I head back to Chicago okay?" He asked. Booth nodded and said goodbye to his father. The partners walked hand in hand to the SUV and all the way back to the lab.
Okay guys I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm looking to end this story in a few more chapters so stay tuned! See ya on the flipside guys! -J.A.
