Booth's asleep, hunched over the edge of his son's bed, his head resting on the empty sliver of mattress beside Parker, who coincidentally is also asleep. Brennan is wide awake, sitting on the couch, with Christine tucked under her arm, the five year-old pressed against her mother's side. It's rare; Brennan awake and Booth passed out, but has happened occasionally. She closes the book she had been reading to her daughter and sets it on the side table. She shifts on the cushion and looks down at Christine. She takes in a breath and lets it out, getting ready for the conversation she's about to have with Christine, a conversation that needs to happen. "This is all pretty scary for you, isn't it? You don't quite understand what's happening with Parker or why it's happening," she begins, attempting to make this conversation as easily understood as possible. She has to keep reminding herself that she's speaking with a child.

Christine glances at Parker and then back at her mother. "Is he gonna be okay, mommy?" She looks down at the braided bracelet on her wrist, the one her brother made her for her fifth birthday, and tugs on it. She runs her thumb across the 'C' bead, tears dripping down her pale cheeks.

Brennan wraps her arms around her daughter and holds her tight against her side. She sighs. "Yes, Honey. He's going to be just fine. He's just having a really hard time right now." She lifts Christine's chin up with her thumb and presses a kiss to her forehead. "You just love him, okay? There are a lot of changes going on in his life at the moment, so you have to treat him like nothing has changed, Christine. Can you do that for mommy? Can you do that for him?"

Christine shrugs, not understanding what her mother is trying to say.

"He's going to be living with us soon and that's only because Ms. Rebecca has passed away. He knows that's the only reason he'll be living with us full time and he's going to be reminded of that every time he wakes up in his bed at the house. You can help. You can show him that not everything is changing. Treat him like you've always treated him. Pretend he's not living with us. Pretend life is just as it's always been. Just love him."

Christine nods. "I do love him, mommy. I love him lots."

Brennan smiles. "Act like you always act when he comes to stay with us for a weekend. Just pretend it's a weekend."

Christine nods. "Okay, mommy."

Brennan holds her daughter tighter and kisses the top of her head. "Thank you, Honey." She pauses. "He's going to get angry sometimes and frustrated that he's not getting better as fast as he wishes. I want you to be prepared for that. Sometimes he'll be sweet and like the Parker you've always known, but sometimes he won't seem like himself at all. That might happen a lot in the coming months until he learns to trust in the recovery process, so don't be scared. He loves you. Always remember that."

Christine clutches her mother's shirt, tears rapidly falling from her eyes. Her chin quivers as a couple sobs escape her parted lips, and she clings to Brennan more.

"He's going to struggle to do a lot of things, Honey. He needs to retrain his body to do simple everyday things, like standing up, walking, and pouring milk into his cereal in the morning. He's going to need a lot of help and sometimes he might not like to admit that. He hates that he needs so much help, but you're like a rainbow after a storm, as your daddy would say. You make him happy, you make him, even it's only for a moment, forget about things. That's big, Honey. It's an important job. Are you up for the task?"

Christine nods. "Yeah, mommy."

"Good. You also make your daddy forget about things too. Every time you smile, every time you tell him a story, every time you just talk to him and ask him questions, he feels just a tiny bit better. You're very special."

"I'm special?"

Brennan nods. "Of course you are, sweetheart."

"I love you, mommy, and you're special too."

Brennan smiles. "Thank you, Christine, and I love you too." She leans back against the couch and closes her eyes. "You can help Parker by also giving him encouragement."

"What's that mean?"

"You remember when daddy taught you how to tie your shoes? He went step-by-step through the process and then you tried to follow his instructions, but you couldn't do it right away. Do you remember how he sat by your side, telling you to keep trying, to focus, telling you that you could do it? That's what encouragement is, Honey." Brennan pauses. "When Parker tries to walk, he may not trust himself right away, he may not be able to do it the first time, or he may get tired fast or want to give up trying, so that's where you come in. Hold his hand and tell him he can do it. Just keep telling him that."

"Okay, mommy. I can do that. I can, I can."

Brennan smiles. "Good. He's going to need you, sweetie."

"When's he gonna go home?"

Brennan shrugs. "I don't know. Perhaps this week."

"Yay!"

"I said perhaps, Honey. That means maybe. I can't say for sure yet. We have to wait and see, but you'll know when we know."

Christine curls her body against her mother's and closes her eyes. "He's gonna live with us, mommy. All the time. Every day. Not just weekends." She's stating facts, not asking questions.

Brennan nods. "Yes."

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Is Heaven real? Daddy says that Ms. Rebecca's in Heaven."

Brennan swallows. "Uh."

"He says everybody goes to Heaven when they die. It's pretty and nothing hurts up there. Is that true, mommy? Did Skippy go to Heaven too? 'Cause daddy says they got a special Heaven for aminals."

Brennan rubs her cheek. "Um, I think your father would be better equipped to answer your questions."

"I axed him already, mommy. I wanna know if it's true."

Brennan's not getting away from this one. "Um." She hesitates, not sure what to say. She doesn't believe in God or Heaven or any of that. She never has and never will, but that's her choice. She swallows and nods, deciding there's no harm in agreeing with Booth, allowing her daughter the option of believing. "Yes, Christine. Heaven's real."

Christine smiles. "Is there a special heaven for aminals like daddy says?"

Brennan nods. "Yes. Your fish is up in Heaven, but in a different Heaven, in a special place just for animals."

Christine lets out a breath. "Mommy?"

Brennan braces herself for another question she's not prepared to answer. "Yes, Christine?"

"When are you and daddy gonna join in holy mattress-money like Jenna's mommy and daddy?"

Brennan cocks her head and raises an eyebrow. "Mattress-money?" She utters to herself, trying to translate her daughter's obvious mispronunciation. Then she remembers that they went to Jenna's parents' wedding recently. "Oh, you're asking when daddy and I are getting married."

Christine lifts her head and nods.

Brennan swallows. She knew this was coming. She shouldn't be surprised. She takes a minute to think and then answers, "I don't know. Your father and I haven't discussed the subject in a while, sweetie. Maybe we'll talk about it after Parker gets out of the hospital, but this will be our little secret, okay? Don't tell your father we talked about it."

"Okay, mommy. I promise."

Brennan kisses the child on the top of her head and smiles.

Christine snuggles into her mother's side more and ends up falling asleep against her.

Brennan strokes her daughter's hair, running her fingers through the little girl's soft auburn waves. She closes her eyes and takes in the silence. Her exhaustion ultimately takes over, and soon, she's asleep too.

Brennan opens her eyes and yawns. She blinks in quick concession, clearing her vision, and notices that Booth's staring at her, lips tight, jaw clenched, eyes dark and zeroed in on their target, and eyebrows knitted together. She swallows and shifts on the couch. She quickly realizes that Christine's no longer tucked safely under her arm, and panic flashes across her face and her chest tightens. "Where's Christine?"

"Angela stopped by with Michael Vincent. She offered to take Christine for the afternoon."

"Is there a reason you're watching me sleep? I realize you do that frequently, but usually you're—Angela calls it something, I don't remember." She pauses to think and then nods. "She says when Hodgins looks at her like that that he's undressing her with his eyes. I assume the phrase is universally associated with the look you give me on occasion." She sighs. "But now, you seem almost angry, or upset, or maybe confused or scared. I'm not sure, but the look is not the same."

He sighs. The truth is he's thinking about the conversation they were having earlier before Christine ran in and interrupted them.

"Booth?"

He looks away from her and turns to Parker, who's fortunately still asleep. He can't look at Brennan anymore, his mind racing with possibilities of what she has to ask him. It could be anything, and although there are plenty of good things, all he can think of are the bad ones.

"Talk to me, Booth. What's wrong? Is something wrong with Parker?"

He shakes his head. "Parker's fine, Bones. He's sleeping, so keep your voice down," he whispers.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asks, thinking maybe he overheard her conversation with Christine and somehow she said something inappropriate. It wouldn't be the first time that has happened.

"You were gonna ask me something before Christine came in. You said you had been thinking about this thing for a while, so I have to ask, what is it?"

She knows exactly what he's talking about, but she shrugs. "I remember that conversation, but I can't recall the thing I was meaning to ask you."

He doesn't buy it, but decides to go with it. "If you remember it, tell me, okay? It's been bugging me."

She nods, feeling guilty for withholding information from him. She's not ready to tell him. She still has more thinking to do. She had every intention of telling him earlier before they were interrupted, but maybe this is the universe's way of telling her it's a bad idea—not that she believes in that sort of thing.

I hope you liked this chapter :)