Brennan turns onto their street and glances in the rearview mirror, smiling. Booth and Parker are both asleep in the backseat, leaning into each other. She flips on the blinker and pulls into the driveway. She continues into the open, half empty garage and turns off the car. She twists her body and sighs. She doesn't want to wake either of them up. She unbuckles her seatbelt, grabs her purse, and gets out of the vehicle. She opens up Booth's door and shakes him. "Booth." She shakes him harder. "Hey, Booth, wake up, we're home."

Booth's eyes shoot open and he sits up straight. "Huh? Is Parker alright?"

Brennan snickers at the dazed look on his face. "We're home, Booth. I'm going to bring the bags inside and come back for the box of gifts."

He nods. "I've got Parker."

"I figured." She pops the trunk and gathers their bags, heading into the house.

Booth turns to Parker and shakes him gently, whispering, "Parker, buddy, wake up." He pauses and raises his voice slightly. "Parker."

Parker rubs the sleep from his eyes and looks around.

Booth smiles. "See? I told you everything was gonna be fine."

Parker shrugs and opens his car door. He waits not so patiently for his father to assist him. He's glad to be out of the hospital, but this just feels weird. It's Wednesday. He never goes to his dad's house on Wednesdays.

Booth gets out of the car, walks around to the trunk, and retrieves his son's wheelchair. He unfolds it and locks it. He helps Parker out of the car and into the chair and shuts the door. "Christine's gonna be so excited you're home, bub."

Parker nods, looking down at his hands, which are clasped in his lap.

Booth kisses the top of his son's head and smiles, but it quickly fades. "What's wrong?"

Parker shakes his head, not saying a word.

Booth walks around to the front and squats down, resting his hands on his son's knees, much like he did in the hospital parking lot. "Look at me, Parks." He lifts his head with his thumb and looks into his golden brown eyes. "Tell me what's bothering you. Please. I wanna help, but I can't do that if I don't know what's wrong."

"Can you bring my mom back from the dead?"

Booth sighs.

"That's what I thought. You can't help, dad."

"Hey, I know it's not fair, but God obviously has other plans for you. Big plans. There's a reason you didn't die in that accident, bub. There's gotta be." Booth leans over and presses a kiss to Parker's cheek. "Let's go inside and say hi to Max and your sister." He stands up and pushes the wheelchair towards the door leading into the house from the garage.

Brennan passes them on her way to retrieve the box from the trunk. "Christine's taking her nap, Booth, so try and be quiet." She follows Booth and Parker into the house and shuts the door behind her.

The second Booth and Parker reach the living room, Christine comes bounding down the stairs in her pajamas. "Parky's home! Parky's home! Parky's home!" She jumps up and down in a circle and flails her arms.

Brennan cringes at the high pitched screech. She has the beginnings of a headache, so as much as she loves her daughter's enthusiasm and had been expecting the little girl to be overjoyed by the arrival of her big brother, she wishes her daughter would go about showing her excitement in a more subtle, quieter manner. "Christine, honey, lower your voice. There's no need to scream."

Christine ignores her mother and runs right past her to get to Parker. She squeals and manages to throw her arms around him. "Hi," she gasps out.

Parker winces and shifts. He nudges her off of him and messes up her auburn hair. "Hi, Teeny." His voice is raspy and barely audible.

Brennan clears her throat. "Christine, come over here and stand by me, please."

Christine proceeds to climb onto her brother's lap as if she hadn't heard her mother's order.

Booth helps her, trying to prevent both of his children from getting hurt. He looks at Brennan and holds up his hand. "She's fine, Bones. She missed him. It's okay."

Brennan nods and sets down their bags. She heads into the living room and puts the cardboard box on the coffee table.

"Welcome home, Tempe."

Brennan jumps, startled by her father's presence. She turns her head and smiles. "Oh, hello, dad." She sniffs the air and raises an eyebrow. "Are you cooking us dinner?"

Max nods. "Lasagna. Just the way your mother used to make it."

Brennan smiles. "Thank you for everything, dad. I know the original plan we discussed was for you to watch Christine for no more than a week, so we appreciate you keeping her safe for us."

"She's my granddaughter, baby. I love that little girl to pieces. I love spending time with her. She's great company. She's a talkative little thing. It's never boring when she's around."

Brennan laughs. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"Chrissy? Never," Max says with a chuckle.

Brennan turns her head towards the foyer and smiles.

"I should get going."

She looks at Max and shakes her head. "Why don't you join us for dinner, dad?"

"Thanks for the offer, Tempe, but I don't want to intrude. You haven't been home for two months. I'm sure you and Booth want to spend the evening with your family."

"You are our family," she points out.

Max smiles. "You know what I mean, Tempe."

She nods. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. You need this time to settle in. I'll just get in the way."

She sighs. "I'll call you tomorrow and let you know how Parker's doing. Perhaps you can come over for dinner sometime this weekend. We should be settled in enough by then."

Max nods. "I'd love to."

She walks her father to the door and gives him a quick hug. "Thank you again for watching Christine for us."

"It's no problem at all, Honey. You needed to focus on Parker. I'll watch Christine any time you need me to. If you and Booth ever need or want an evening alone, just give me a call."

She nods. "Uh, dad?" She begins, absentmindedly brushing her thumb against the makeshift engagement ring on her finger.

Max nods. "Yes?"

"Never mind. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Are you sure? There seems to be something on your mind."

"I don't want to discuss this here."

Max opens the door and motions for her to follow him onto the front porch. "Then let's discuss this in private."

Brennan glances at Booth, who nods. She flashes him a smile and follows her father outside, shutting the door behind her.

Brennan sits down on the porch swing and pushes off the deck with the tips of her shoes.

Max joins her, twisting his body towards his only daughter. "Is everything alright, Tempe?"

Brennan nods, her eyes drifting from her hand to her father's face.

"Are you and Booth having problems? 'Cause if he—."

Brennan places her hand on top of Max's, cutting him off. "Booth and I are wonderful, dad." She smiles. "We're getting married, actually—in a couple days."

"That's fast and sudden."

"We're planning on having a ceremony later this year, but the most logical decision for us right now is to go ahead and make things official as soon as we can."

"Congratulations, baby. I'm happy for you. It's about time you and Booth got your acts together."

Brennan nibbles on her bottom lip and nods. "Seems Booth and I can only take steps forward when something traumatic happens," she says, half serious, half joking. She lets out a breath and stands up.

"Are you pregnant?"

Brennan coughs and looks at Max, her eyes wide, her forehead wrinkled. "Excuse me?"

"I can believe that this accident is the only reason that caused you and Booth to reevaluate your relationship, but I have to ask, are you pregnant?"

Brennan laughs. "No, and there are no plans on that changing any time soon, especially not with what's going on with Parker." She gives her father a kiss on the cheek when he stands up, and she heads to the door.

Max follows Brennan inside. "Chrissy, I'm gonna head home now."

Christine slips off her brother's lap and hugs her grandfather. She tilts her head back and pouts, her blue eyes shining. "Do you hafta, Gampa? You can stay."

Max kneels down in front of her and smiles. "I have to go, but first, I have a present for you. I found it on one of my trips and I instantly thought of you."

Christine grins. "What is it, Gampa? I wanna see it now."

Brennan clears her throat.

"Please, Gampa?"

"Close your eyes."

Christine covers her eyes with her hand and peers through her fingers.

"No peeking."

Christine giggles and holds out her hand.

Max pulls something out of the pocket of his khaki pants and places it on his granddaughter's open palm. "Okay. Go ahead and open your eyes."

Christine drops her hand away from her face and looks down at her other hand. She picks up the object and smiles even wider, letting out a squeal. "Mommy, look. You gotta look at it. You gotta, you gotta, mommy." She holds up her hand and tilts her head back, looking up at her mother. "Look what Gampa got me."

Brennan takes the object from between her daughter's fingers and looks at it more closely. "It's a bouncy ball with a small dolphin inside. Your two favorite things, Honey. What do you say to your grandfather?"

Christine turns back to Max and throws herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Gampa. I love my present."

"You're welcome." Max separates from her and stands up. "I should really get going." He gives Booth a look, which is softened by his smile.

Booth swallows and takes the older man's outstretched hand.

"You better be getting my daughter a proper ring, Booth. A twist-tie is no way to show a woman how much she means to you," Max whispers.

Booth laughs, but his expression turns completely serious with just a hint of a smile when he glances at Brennan and says under his breath, "I don't think there's anything in this world that would show her just how much she means to me."

"Goodnight. The lasagna's in the warming drawer." Max waves, grabs his bag, which is conveniently by the door already, and leaves.

Booth shuts the door and locks it. "Lasagna?"

Brennan nods. "My father cooked us dinner. I guess he figured neither one of us would be in the mood to prepare anything ourselves." She looks at Christine and smiles. "Honey, come help me set the table for dinner."

"Is Parky eating dinner with us, mommy?"

"If he would like to, but it's been a long day and he's probably very tired."

Christine sighs. "Oh." She takes her mother's hand and looks back at her big brother. "Is mommy right, Parky?"

Parker nods.

"But you live here now, so you'll be here for breakyfast!" She smiles and walks with her mother towards the kitchen.

Booth sighs.

"Dad, can you help me to my room? I'd rather just lie down. I'm tired."

Booth nods. "Sure, bub." He helps him stand and then climbs the stairs, his arm around his son's waist, his son's arm hooked around his neck.

Brennan stops right before the kitchen and looks back towards the staircase.

"No Parky, so one," Christine points to herself, "two," she points to her mother, "three plates," she announces proudly, beaming.

"Scratch daddy off that list too, Honey. It's just going to be you and me for dinner."

Christine drops her hand and stomps her foot. "Why?"

"Because your father needs to be with Parker," Brennan says with a sigh. "It's temporary, sweetheart." I hope. "When Parker's feeling better, both of them will join us for dinner. I promise."

"When?"

Brennan shrugs. "I have no idea, sweetie. Let's just set the table for dinner. You can help me bring some food up to them later."

Christine smiles. "Okay, mommy." She grabs her mother's thumb and tugs her towards the kitchen. "Come on."

Brennan laughs and follows her daughter into the kitchen.

This chapter was really difficult to write. I wrote many different versions of their homecoming but none of them seemed right. I'm still not completely happy with the version I chose, but I hope you liked it.

:)