Booth scrambles to his feet and his chocolate eyes meet his son's dark brownish-gold ones. He lets out a breath, more like a gasp, and fiddles with the drawstring of his sweatshirt.

The sheet moves when Parker wiggles his fingers again. He closes his eyes and swallows. The oxygen mask fogs up as he takes in and lets out shaky breaths.

Booth smoothes the pad of his thumb across Parker's cheek and rests his hand there. He tilts his head down and looks right at his son, a smile plastered across his face and his eyes filled with moisture.

Brennan grabs his arm and hooks hers around it, pressing her side against his. She smiles up at him and squeezes his bicep.

"Dad, hey," Parker utters, his voice hoarse and again, muffled.

"Shhh, don't talk, Bub, save your energy." Booth blinks away tears and clears his throat. "I'm so glad you're back, buddy."

Brennan lets go of his arm and rests her hand on his back, sliding it up towards his shoulder. She gives him a gentle, comforting squeeze and smiles at Parker. "I'm glad you're back, as well. Our family just wouldn't be the same without you, Parker."

Booth turns his head, blinks, and as he stares at her, his smile widens and he swallows a couple times. He looks back at Parker a few seconds later and sits down in the chair. "Christine's gonna be so happy you're awake. When Max calls Bones, Christine always makes him give her the phone. She then orders me to put it on speaker so you can hear her. Every time she comes to visit, she insists on telling you about everything, even if she already told you on the phone."

Parker's eyebrow twitches and he swallows, a tiny smile visible through foggy plastic.

There's sudden commotion outside the room, which causes Booth and Brennan to turn their heads towards the door. A second later, Christine comes barreling in.

Max follows shortly after. He hunches over, huffing and puffing. "That girl, that girl is fast. Whew, I'm too old for this," he jokes.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I'll let Chrissy tell you that." Max sits down on the couch, trying to catch his breath.

Brennan scoops Christine up and rests her on her hip, kissing her head. "Hi, honey."

"Mommy, I maked Gampa bring me to the hopsital 'cause I dreamed Parky waked up."

Brennan blinks. "You dreamed that Parker woke up?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh." Brennan sets Christine down and swallows. She's not sure what to think about that.

Booth turns his head and smiles at his daughter. "Guess what, princess?"

Christine stands up straight and looks right at him, her blue eyes sparkling and her smile wide. "What, daddy?"

"I said guess."

"Yay a game!" Christine taps her finger against her chin and furrows her eyebrows. "Hmmm, um, I don't know, daddy."

"Guess, baby."

"You love me."

"Well, yeah, that's true, but that's not it."

"Uh, you love mommy."

"Yeah, that's true too," Booth answers, stealing a look at Brennan before adding, "But nope, that's not it either." He pauses. "Do you give up?"

"Yep."

"Dreams really do come true."

"I know that, daddy. Cinderelly teached me that."

Booth laughs. "No, I mean—come here, princess."

Christine climbs up into his lap and gives him her full attention.

"What I mean is that your dream came true." Booth shifts and nudges her.

Christine cocks her head. "Huh?" Her confusion quickly disappears when she hears Parker clear his throat. She turns her head towards her big brother and her face lights up when she sees his eyes open. "Parky! Parky! Parky!"

Booth laughs and squeezes her shoulder. "Inside voice, baby."

"Parky," Christine whispers, leaning forward. "It's really you."

Parker clears his throat again and swallows. He moves his eyes towards his little sister and a faint smile appears on his face. "Teeny," he mutters, his voice still breathy and quiet.

Christine bounces on Booth's lap and kicks her legs up and down. She claps her hands together and sniffles. "Daddy, do you see it? Parky's up. Parky's up."

Booth nods. "I see that, princess. It's exciting."

"Is he all better now?"

Booth shakes his head with a sigh. "No, Christine, he's not. He's better, but not all better. It'll take time."

"But he can see me now, I hearded him too."

Parker lifts his arm slowly and bends it, displacing the sheet in the process. He breathes in and out and reaches his hand out slightly.

Christine grabs it gently and their fingers intertwine. She gives it a squeeze, and she gets even more excited when he squeezes her fingers back. Tears rolls down her cheeks and she's getting antsy on her father's lap, wiggling around as her smile grows wider.

Parker wets his lips. "Hi, Teeny," he says, his voice clearer now.

Christine slips off Booth's lap and stands on her tippy-toes, leaning over the side of the bed. She kisses Parker's shoulder because she can't reach his cheek and lets go of his hand. "I love you, Parky. Get better soon, please. Mommy and daddy say I get whatever I want if I say please," she explains.

Booth stands up, giving his daughter the chair. Once she sits down, he pushes the chair closer to the bed.

Christine sits on her knees, allowing the chair to be pushed up flush against the mattress. She leans over and presses her lips against Parker's cheek. "Muaaah." She sits up straight again and smiles even wider, as if that were even possible. "You sleeped for a long time."

Booth listens for a couple seconds, but then walks over to Brennan and Max, who are standing near the door. He loops his arm around his partner's waist and kisses the side of her head.

"You are aware that it's just a coincidence that Christine dreamed that Parker woke up on the same day that he actually woke up, right?" Brennan asks, eyeing Booth suspiciously.

Booth nudges her. "Aren't you always telling me that there is no such thing as a coincidence?" He teases, diving for her neck and brushing his lips against her collarbone.

"I'm going to head home, Tempe. Call me when you need me to pick up Christine."

Brennan nods and gives her father a quick hug. "Thanks for bringing Christine, dad. I was going to call you and set up a time for you to bring her by, but you beat me to it."

"I read your mind, I guess." Max smiles and leaves the room.

Booth and Brennan turn their heads towards Christine and Parker, listening to the siblings' conversation from their post by the door. They can only hear snippets of it, though, and it's mostly Christine telling her big brother all about her day so far, as usual.

Brennan leans against Booth and hooks her arm around him. She tilts her head and looks into his eyes. "I can't say for sure, but today is looking like it's going to be a pretty awesome day."

Booth nods, closing the gap between their lips. "I agree," he whispers, his forehead still pressed against hers, a smile plastered on his face—the biggest, most genuine smile that has graced his lips since before he got that phone call. Today is definitely awesome. He couldn't agree more.