The knob of the bathroom door jiggles and then the door opens.

Booth jerks back, practically jumping away from Brennan. He swallows and turns his head, staring at his son.

Brennan wipes the corners of her mouth and her eyes drift around the room before settling on Parker. She blinks and smoothes down the front of her loose-fitting shirt.

"Yeah, that's not obvious at all," Parker mutters.

Brennan glances at Booth and down at her hand.

Booth shakes his head and mouths, "Not yet."

She nods.

Parker looks between the two of them, holding onto his walker. "You guys are weird."

Brennan laughs. She slings her bag over her shoulder and picks up the box that's filled with Get-Well-Soon and sympathy cards from classmates and teachers from Parker's high school, as well as gifts and flowers from Booth's and Brennan's friends and colleagues, both at the Jeffersonian and the Hoover. She looks at Booth and Parker and smiles. "You two ready to go?"

Booth helps his son into the wheelchair and pushes him to the door. He smiles at the nurses and doctors outside the room, who are clapping. He looks around and then follows his partner to the elevator.

Brennan presses the down button and turns to Parker. "So are you excited about getting out of here, Parker?"

Parker adjusts his sling and shifts uncomfortably on the seat. He only nods and stares at the numbers across the top of the elevator.

"Christine's very excited that you're going to be living with us, Parks," she adds as she steps into the elevator cart. She presses the ground floor and stands near the back left corner. As the doors slide shut, she says, "I get it, Parker. I get what you're going through."

Parker turns his head and looks up at her. "Yeah? How?"

Booth looks at her too, reaching out to rest his hand on her shoulder.

She shrugs his hand off almost as quickly as it was placed there. "As you know, my parents disappeared when I was fifteen and a few months later, my brother left me too." She swallows. "I got put into the system and sent from foster home to foster home. The government calls them foster homes, but many of them aren't homes at all. Some people are fortunate enough to find a home. I certainly wasn't. The closest place that's ever truly felt like home to me after that is the Jeffersonian. I mean, before your father and I moved in together." She glances at Booth, a small smile on her face.

Parker sighs and looks down at his lap, fiddling with his hospital bracelet.

"Let me make myself clearer. I know it's possible to find home again, Parks." She keeps her eyes trained on Booth and takes a side-step towards him. "Because I did."

"Bones, wow, uh, that's—." Booth leans in close to her and whispers in her ear, "Without even being prompted, whoa, I'm really proud of you, and I really appreciate you telling him that. Thanks." He finishes with a kiss against her cheek and smiles.

She lets out a breath. She blinks back unshed tears and sniffles. She has no idea where it came from or why she said it. It just sort of popped out. She didn't think. She just spoke. It felt right. She doesn't know if it did any good, but she can't unsay it now.

The elevator doors ding and she's the first to step out. She holds the door open for Booth and Parker and the three of them head out into the parking lot.

Booth unlocks the car and pops the trunk. He opens a backseat door and squeezes his son's shoulder. "Put your arm around my neck and I'll help you stand, bub."

Parker shifts and claws at one arm of the wheelchair, staring into the empty SUV. He swallows, his body starting to tremble, his breathing turning erratic, his heart racing. His legs feel numb, his toes tingling, and his eyes glisten with tears. "I—I—I."

"Come on, bub." Booth nudges him.

Parker shakes his head. "Um, no, I, no."

"What's wrong, Parks?" Booth tries to help his son stand up, but the teenager resists, pushing him away. He sighs.

Brennan walks around the car after putting the box and their bags in the trunk. "We should get going. Traffic is usually heavy this time of day, Booth." She pauses and looks between the two Booth men. "Uh, is there a problem here?"

"Parker won't get in the car." Booth nudges his son again. "Please."

Parker shakes his head. "I can't." He closes his eyes, tears dripping down his flush cheeks, his chin quivering, his body shaking even more violently.

Booth looks at Brennan. "Bones, you're good with finding out solutions to stuff, so uh, you got any ideas?"

Brennan shrugs. "No, I don't, but I can think for a minute, see if anything comes to me." She leans against the side of the SUV and crosses her arms over her chest. Her eyes focus on a patch of smudged white paint on the asphalt as she tries to come up with a solution. After a couple minutes, she sighs. "Sorry, Booth."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. I'll keep thinking, though." She smiles at him.

Booth squats down, resting his hands on his son's knees and looking up at him. "It's gonna be okay, bub. I'll drive slowly and if you need me to stop, just tell me and I'll stop."

Brennan stands up straight. "I got it."

Booth gets up and stands beside her. "Okay?"

"Why don't we give him a sleeping pill? I'm sure the hospital has a sleep-aid that's stronger than any over-the-counter sleep remedy," she whispers.

"That won't work, but thanks for trying."

"Why not? It's brilliant. He'll be asleep the entire drive home, significantly decreasing a chance for a panic attack."

"We're not drugging Parker, Bones."

"Well, do you have another solution? He's scared, Booth. The last time he was in a car, his mother died and he almost did. I highly doubt you're going to convince him to get in the car by just telling him you'll drive slowly."

Booth sighs. "I just—he's—it just feels wrong to force him, unwittingly, to do something that completely terrifies him right now."

"I'll drive. You can sit in the back with Parker."

"I don't like it, Bones."

She sighs. "I don't either, Booth, but what else do you suppose we do?"

He shrugs. "We're not doing that. How are we even supposed to get him to take the medicine? There's gotta be another solution."

She lets out a breath. "I guess I can keep thinking. If there's one solution, there's bound to be at least one more."

Parker's tuned them out. He's preoccupied. He breathes in and out slowly, scraping his nails against the leather of his wheelchair, his jaw clenched, his eyes closed tightly. He fights off sobs and swallows.

Booth pushes away from the SUV and tugs on Brennan's wrist, pulling her against him. He wraps his arms around her, burying his head into the crook of her neck, tears wetting her soft, pale skin.

She blinks, and without hesitation, she melts into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him. She closes her eyes and gently caresses his back with her hand. "It's okay, Booth. Parker's going to be fine. This is just another obstacle. He's strong. He'll get through this," she whispers. "I promise."

Booth nods against her and clutches her shirt in his fists. His breath catches as he separates from her minutes later. He wipes his tears off her neck and cups the side of her face, leaning in to brush his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. He pulls back and a faint smile forms on his face.

She smiles too and reaches her hand up, running her fingers through his hair and tugging gently. "Let's try and get Parker into the car, at least, and get him settled in the backseat. Then we can figure out our next step."

Booth nods. "Yeah, okay." He squats down in front of his son again, lets out a breath, and says, in a calm, quiet voice, "Here's what's gonna happen, bub. You're gonna put your arm around my neck and lift yourself up. I'll snake my arm around your waist and help you stand up. Then we'll take a couple steps towards the car and I'll help you into the backseat. Bones will hop into the driver's seat and I'll slide in next to you. That's it. We'll just sit there for a while."

Parker gives in, not opening his eyes or unclenching his jaw.

Booth looks at Brennan and smiles, mouthing another "thanks". He stands up and walks to the side of the chair. He dips his upper body and bends his knees so Parker can hook his arm around his neck. He waits until the teenager is hovering above the chair before he loops his arm around his son's waist and helps him stand up the rest of the way. They take a few tentative steps towards the open car door and stop once they reach it, Parker refusing to go any farther. "It's okay, bub. We're just gonna sit in the car, remember?"

Parker nods, pulling back his arm and grabbing onto the door.

Booth helps him into the backseat and shuts the door. He smiles at Brennan as he walks around to the other side, sliding in beside his son.

Brennan folds up the wheelchair, stows it away in the trunk, and then hops into the driver's side, turning her head. "Everything okay?"

Booth glances at Parker and holds his hand. He nods and continues to look at his son. "Deep breaths, Parker."

Brennan slowly starts the car, looking back at the two of them in the backseat again, watching Parker closely. She notices he tensed up when the engine roared to life, but has since relaxed again.

Booth squeezes his son's hand and reaches over to grab the seatbelt. He buckles the teenager in and leans back against the seat, watching him.

Parker's skin is pale and covered in a thin layer of sweat. He's shaking still and breathing heavy, but he seems calmer than he was before.

Brennan puts on her seatbelt and looks at Booth, one eyebrow arched.

"Right, I promised." He tugs on his seatbelt and soon he's clicked in too.

Ten minute later, she shifts gears and starts to pull out of the parking spot.

Parker stiffens. "Stop!"

She stops, putting the car in park once again. She twists her body and stares into the backseat.

Booth sighs.

"I'm going to call my father and tell him we're going to be a little later than we originally planned." She turns back around and pulls her phone out of her purse. She dials their home number and leans back against the seat. She hangs up a couple minutes later and slips her phone into the cup holder. "How's he doing, Booth?"

Booth shifts and squeezes his son's hand. "Just breathe, Parker. It's gonna be okay. I promise. You're gonna be just fine."

Brennan sighs.

It takes almost another half hour, but Parker eventually falls asleep.

Brennan makes it out of the parking lot and heads down the highway, glancing in the rearview mirror ever so often, not only to check the traffic behind her, but also to make sure Parker stays asleep.

Almost didn't write this chapter, but I hope you liked it.

Next chapter will be lighter. (Hint: B&B talk about their upcoming wedding)