Chapter 5

"Bones!" They heard as they walked into the school. Parker ran over and gave Brennan a hug as she looked up to talk with his teacher as other kids were being picked up. "Is dad coming home tonight?" Parker asked making the Teacher look confused.

"Your father isn't staying at home?" Asked the teacher as Sweets watched her eyes roam to him curiously.

"Booth is working and is in Pennsylvania right now. We are waiting to find out when he'll be coming home." Brennan held her hand out and shook the teacher's hand. "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Temperance Brennan I'm partners with Parker's father."

"Dad works at the FBI." He said proudly. "Bones is his partner and girlfriend." He grinned up at Brennan who gave a small smile.

"Janet Karlson. Why does he work so far away? I heard he is here every Friday, is everything alright?" She asked curious. Sweets watched as Parker turned, standing in front of Brennan with a bright smile.

"Booth is working a case and in order to find more information he was needed in Pennsylvania. He is trying to come home tomorrow, but we're still waiting on some information." Brennan explained.

"I never knew Mr. Booth worked for the FBI, Ms. Stinson has just said that he in in law enforcement." She said wanting to know more about the man she saw pick Parker up every Friday.

"Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan work to solve murder cases." Sweets informed. The teacher looked from him to Parker wondering if it was a safe environment to have Parker in.

"That's my baby sitter when I go to work with my dad." Parker smiled as Sweets looked from him to Brennan and back again.

"I am not you baby sitter. I am a psychologist with the FBI, and your dad drops you in my office when he needs to work."

"So you're my baby sitter."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"I am not."

"Ya huh."

"Sweets, you're debating with a ten year old who takes after his father. You really think it's a good idea to continue to contend with him?" Sweets looked at Brennan before closing his mouth and putting his hands in his pockets as Parker smiled.

"Mrs. Karlson!" Parker said excited. "Can Bones and the squints come visit next week when we do our experiments?" The teacher looked at Brennan.

"I'm a forensic Anthropologist; I work with the FBI to identify remains. The squints he is talking about are the members of my team at the Jeffersonian. Booth calls all the scientists, squints, his belief is we squint at things."

"Are you all anthropologists?" Mrs. Karlson asked.

"No. One member is Jack Hodgins; he holds three doctorates in Entomology, Botany, and Mineralogy. There is an Artist, Angela Montenegro. She is able to do facial reconstructions along with many different things with computers. Camille Saroyan is a Pathologist and the Head of the Forensic Division at Jeffersonian Institute. We work together with Booth as our liaison, and Dr. Sweets here helps with profiling."

"It sounds like quite a great background to grow up around."

"It's awesome! You have to see the lab. It's huge and Hodgins has all kinds of bugs in the ookie room. And-" He was cut off as Brennan's phone rang making him look at her.

"Brennan." Brennan paused and looked at Sweets before she turned away.

"What's wrong? She made that face. Dad says that face means she didn't like something." Parker asked worried as he tried to hear Brennan.

"I'm sure everything is fine." Sweets said as he looked at Brennan, as she stood tense. "Parker, stay here for a minute." The boy looked at him then agreed as his teacher watched Sweets walk over to talk with Brennan.

"Who is this?" Brennan asked and paused. "You can say that all you want that does not answer my question… you must have the wrong number… What?" Brennan froze as Sweets came to her side. "Who is this?" She asked again before the line went dead. She looked at Sweets as she tried to hide the fear as she looked down at her phone.

"What's wrong?"

"I think the person who broke into my place just called me."

"What?"

"He was talking about killing those who put lives in danger. He said 'the whores must die.'" Sweets watched as Brennan became angry.

"We need to call Cullen and Booth." He said as she nodded.

"I'll talk to Booth later. There is no use in getting him upset when he is away trying to solve this case."

"Is that such a good idea? You know how he gets, and with this case…"

"I will tell him. He won't worry as much if things are already being set up." She looked back at Parker.

"Is everything alright?" The teacher asked.

"Yes, everything's fine." Brennan said trying to force a smile. "Perhaps we can discuss you meeting my team at some point." Brennan pulled her card from her pocket. "Give me a call and I'll set everything up. Come on Parker, we need to go now." She said and watch as he stared at her worried.

"Who was that on the phone? Is dad okay?"

"Your father is fine, and don't worry about the phone call. We have to go meet up with my dad for dinner." She said softly as he nodded taking her hand before saying goodbye to his teacher and leaving with Sweets and Brennan. "Sweets take me to the offices." Brennan said as she buckled her seatbelt in the passenger seat of the car.

Twenty minutes later Brennan and Sweets walked through the offices with Parker between them looking confused. Brennan walked over to where she saw Cullen talking to Charlie and several other agents. He looked up and eyed her carefully before pulling away from the agents making them look over at her holding Parker's hand.

"Dr. Brennan, is everything alright?" Cullen asked and watched Brennan bend slightly to talk to Parker.

"Parker, why don't you go in your father's office for a bit? Don't play around with anything." She warned as she unzipped his jacket and he walked off to the office to the left. Brennan looked back at Cullen. "I received a phone call from a blocked number while I was getting Parker from school. The man refused to identify himself but he continued talking about how the whores should die." Cullen looked at her for a moment.

"Did you call Booth?"

"No. My thought is to tell you about the call and get things worked out before he finds out."

"I'll get the tech team working on tracing the call. If it you get another call you get to another phone and call me immediately." He looked over at Parker as he climbed into Booth's chair. "Does he know what's going on?"

"Booth told him that someone broke in to my place. That's all he knows about the situation."

"I'll get the techs moving on the phone and I'll let the agents at the apartment to be extra cautious. I suggest you go back there and stay there until you have to leave. The more you are out in the open the more chances this bastard has." He waited to hear the famous Brennan argument and was surprised when she didn't fight back. She nodded and looked at Parker.

"Please let me know as soon as you find anything out." She said making him nod before she walked into the office to get Parker.

"Dr. Sweets." Sweets stopped following and looked at his boss. "There's something going on with her. Keep a close eye on her."

"I noticed it earlier when we were at the lab after we found out about the connections. She left to call Agent Booth and soon after, he called me. He asked if I would stay with her until he got back. He said she needed someone they could both trust to be there. I don't know what's going on but I have a feeling Dr. Brennan is deeply affected by the recent events paired with this case."

"You suggesting I remove her from the case?"

"No, of course not. If anything, I believe that will make things worse. No, I believe she just needs those she knows will help her around. That is why she is not pushing your orders away and she is not fighting me staying with her as Booth asked. I'll keep observing but I feel she is only in need of quiet support for now. I will let you know if anything changes." Cullen nodded as Sweets turned to rejoin Brennan and Parker as she zipped his jacket up again talking softly to him.

Sweets sat on the couch in silence. Brennan and Max had begun helping Parker with his homework as they cooked and Sweets and Parker sat at the kitchen table looking at his homework. After dinner, he watched as Max started playing video games with Parker before they had talked Sweets into playing while Brennan watched until Max started yawning. He said his good nights and left Brennan to take charge of the boy once again. Sweets shook his head remembering how Brennan had once again flipped from the disconnected scientist to a loving mother when she thought Sweets wasn't paying attention. She had tucked him in and turned off the light before finishing cleaning and bidding Sweets a good night. Now he sat wondering what was going on. Brennan was acting off, usually she was fighting and pushing away everyone who wanted to help and stay with her but now… now she was practically asking for the support. Sweets shifted and lay down, quickly drifting off to sleep.

"NO!" He heard making him jump to his feet from a dead sleep. He looked around before hearing cries come from Booth's bedroom. He glanced over as Parker opened his door looking afraid as they heard her cry out again.

"Is Bones okay?" He asked worried.

"Go back to bed, I'll check on her." Sweets said moving quickly towards the room as Parker still stood in his doorway. He saw Brennan toss her head as she gave another cry. "Dr. Brennan." Sweets said he moved closer calling again and still nothing. He moved to the side of the bed and called for her again. Brennan gasped as she pushed herself to sitting as tears fell from her eyes. Sweets didn't know what to do, he had never seen this woman cry before. He did the only thing he could think of, he reached out and hugged her. He was surprised as her arms wrapped around him as she continued to cry. Slowly she gained control of herself and she pulled away not meeting his eyes as she dried her tears.

"I'm sorry…. I just…. I don't…" She trailed off as Sweets shifted in his spot on the side of the bed.

"Have you been having these dreams since the break in?" He asked gently, not wanting to poke and prod but wanting to know what was going on with the strong woman who now seemed so frail.

"Since the case came in." She said softly. "I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me."

"It's fine. You were frightened by the dream you were having, it's completely understandable." He said trying to ease her discomfort of losing control in front of him. "Would you like to discuss the dream? It could help you understand why you are having these dreams."

"I already know Sweets." She said as she looked away brushing another tear from her face. "I'll be fine. I'm sorry I woke you.

Parker watched Sweets walk into the room Brennan was sleeping in as another cry rang out. Parker turned and grabbed the phone from the table and dialed his father's cell phone. He listened to it ring five times before his father's groggy voice came through.

"Booth."

"Dad?" Parker asked.

"Parker, what's wrong?" He asked worried that something had happened to Brennan.

"Bones is crying."

"What?" Booth was confused and trying to pull himself from the fog of sleep.

"We all went to bed and were sleeping and then she started to scream. Sweets went in to see if she was ok and now she's crying."

"Sweets with her now?"

"Yeah. I think she stopped crying, I hear them talking now. Dad, something is really weird with Bones."

"What do you mean?"

"she just doesn't fight with Sweets or anyone and I don't know, she just isn't Bones." He heard his father take a deep breath.

"She stopped crying?" Parker listened for a minute.

"Yeah."

"And Sweets is with her?"

"Yeah."

"She probably just had a bad dream or something. Don't worry, bud, Sweets will take care of it."

"I don't know. It was really scary." Booth looked at the time. It was almost five in the morning and he was getting more and more worried about Brennan as his son voiced his fears. "Bones never cried or screamed like that before."

"Alright, what is Sweets saying now?" He asked wanting to know when to interrupt the conversation to save Brennan.

"Um… he said something about having to talk about it."

"Okay, in a couple minutes go in and sit with her. See if you can sleep with her for the rest of the night. I'm sure she'll feel better. I want you and her to get sleep, call me when you wake up. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, I think I can." Parker said as he looked nervously at the door. "Dad, when are you coming home? Bones doesn't look like this when you're around."

"I'm coming home late tonight. Bones is strong. She'll be okay, she's just having a hard time with everything going on. Tell her to call me if she wants to."

"Okay."

"Parker, when you go in, don't tell her what to do, just tell her that she should call if she wants to."

"Okay."

"I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, I love you dad."

"I love you too, bud. Now take care of Bones for me while I'm away." They hung up and Parker crept towards the room hearing Sweets trying to talk Brennan into talking to him.

"Bones?" He asked softly making both turn to look at him. "Can I sleep with you for the rest of the night?" He asked scared. Sweets watched as Brennan gave a small smile trying to look happy and strong again for the boy.

"Sure Parker." Parker walked over and quickly climbed under the covers giving Brennan a hug.

"I still think you should talk about it, but it's your choice. Try to get some more sleep." Sweets said standing up as he saw Parker looking at her worried.

"Are you okay, Bones?" Parker asked as Sweets went into the living room again.

"Yes, I'm fine Parker. It was just a bad dream. I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's okay, now I get to sleep in here. I don't like sleeping alone when Dad's not here." He said and saw a small smile cross Brennan's lips.

"Well why don't we get some sleep before we have to go running around after my father." She said as saw him now sleepily. She kissed his forehead as he scooted down getting more comfortable in the bed before she maneuvered the extra pillows she had to make herself comfortable with her arm wrapped around Parker as they went to sleep.

The next morning Parker woke up hearing Brennan and Sweets in the living room. He slowly climbed from the bed and went to the door to listen.

"No Sweets. I do not need to talk about anything. I am fine it was a dream. Everyone has them occasionally, leave it alone." Brennan demanded as she walked around the room straightening up.

"This is a hard case especially with recent events and your situation. You really should talk about what you're feeling. Things will only get worse if you bottle them up."

"For the last time, no." She turned walking into the kitchen with him trailing behind her still arguing that she needed to talk. They walked back into the living room as Parker crept from the bedroom. "Good morning Parker. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah."

"Go get dressed and we'll meet my father at the dinner." Parker's face lit up and he took off into his bedroom. "Sweets I'm telling you this once and only this one time. I am not going to talk about a dream. It was a dream. That's all." She turned away to grab her bag and look through it when Parker walked from his bedroom dressed.

"Ready Bones?"

"Let me grab my jacket and we'll go. Get your jacket." She watched him run over by the door and pull his jacket on as Sweets silently did the same.

An hour later the three sat with Max at the dinner eating and talking about what they would do today. Max looked at his daughter as she sat quietly, eating slowly as she held her fake smile. He glanced at Sweets who would look at her occasionally as Parker continued to talk about what he wanted to do.

"Well we only have a few more hours before your mom picks you up." Max said with a smile. Even if he wasn't Brennan's son Max knew Parker was his grandson and he would treat him like one. Over the last eight and a half months, he was getting closer to the boy, spending time with Brennan, Booth and Parker, as a little family.

"Yeah I know." He said sadly.

"Why don't you go wash that syrup off your hands? You don't want to get stuck to anything." Max grinned as she boy smiled and ran off to the bathroom to wash his hands. "Tempe, you okay? You look exhausted."

"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night." She said shrugging off his concern. Sweets looked at her a minute wanting to speak but opted for looking back at his food as Max looked at him curious.

"Well why don't you go get some sleep. I'll take care of Parker until his mother picks him up." He saw Brennan about to argue. "You need sleep, especially now. We'll be fine. I'll take him to the aquarium and then we'll head back to the apartment and play games until she picks him up."

"I'm fine. I had plenty of sleep, it just wasn't all restful."

"Tempe, if you don't go to sleep, I'll call Booth. Do you really want him to get upset?" Sweets watched wondering why he hadn't thought of that.

"I am not a child. I do not have to have everything I do report to someone, especially Booth." She said becoming upset with her father.

"Tempe, you can get mad all you want, you need sleep. With everything going on how much real sleep have you gotten?" He pushed as Sweets decided to stay quiet. One word from him and he knew he would hold the wrath of the famous Dr. Brennan. "You can't push as far as you used to. Not until that little girl is born." Brennan looked at him hard a minute.

"I am capable of taking care of myself. I know my limitations and I know how restricted I am while pregnant. Booth is not my supervisor, I do not report to him and I do not take orders."

"I just want you to be healthy. The way you look right now is not healthy. Tempe, just take a nap and don't worry about anything for today." He said slightly pleading as she let her face soften.

"You'll have him home by two?"

"Yes. We'll walk the aquarium for a while and then head back until his mother picks him up." Max smiled as Brennan sighed. "You'll do it?"

"Yes, but only because I really am tired and as long as you have him back in time for Rebecca to pick him up. And." She paused looking at Sweets. "Sweets goes with you."

"What?" Sweets asked as Max smiled.

"A guy's day out." Max grinned.

"What about-"

"There are two agents outside of the door keeping watch. I am capable of taking care of myself, and the extra security is making sure no one gets in. I will be fine by myself." She saw Sweets think for a minute before he gave in. Parker came back to the table with a bright smile.

"Alright, Parker. Here's the plan. We drop Tempe off at home, and then me, you and the kid here go to the aquarium for a bit before your mom picks you up. How's that?"

"Bones, don't you want to come too?" Parker asked looking at Brennan as she gave a weak smile.

"I think it's a perfect idea for the boys to go out today. I'll be home waiting to hear about all the fun you had." Parker looked at her not knowing if he should believe that or not but decided that she knew what was best and nodded.

"Okay." He smiled as they got up and paid before dropping Brennan off at the apartment and heading to the aquarium.