Later in the afternoon, Brennan stirs from a short, but restful nap and finds that she's being watched by a certain six year-old with bright blue eyes. She smiles and squints at the fluorescent lights. "Hi, Honey. Where's your father?"

Christine perks up, seeing her mother's eyes open and hearing her voice. "Daddy's talking to Parky about girls. He says I had to stay here with you. Parky said he doesn't wanna talk about that, but daddy said he isn't gonna talk to him about that 'cause he already did."

Brennan nods. "Ah, I see." She sits up, pushing herself back against the pillows. She lifts a small cup of water and swallows the lukewarm liquid.

Christine wrinkles her brow. "What is that and why would daddy wanna talk to Parky about it?"

Brennan lifts her eyes, setting the plastic cup on the tray slowly. "Excuse me?"

"Parky doesn't wanna talk about that, but daddy says he isn't gonna talk to Parky about that. What are they talking about, mommy? What's that?"

"Oh." Brennan pauses. "Well—." She stops, unsure of how to continue. By the inflection in her daughter's voice, Brennan knows exactly what that is, and while she knows how to explain it with great, disturbing, accuracy, she recognizes that that explanation is not appropriate for a six year-old. "Well, Sweetheart, I'm not sure what your daddy and brother are talking about," she lies and decides to change the subject sort of. "Did they say when they were going to come back?"

Christine shrugs and grabs her stuffed bunny, which is wedged between her left leg and the side of the chair. She holds it out for her mother and smiles, seemingly forgetting her curiosity for the time being.

Brennan takes the proffered bunny and raises an eyebrow. "Why are you giving me your bunny, Honey?"

"I'm not giving you my bunny, mommy. I'm giving Little Alien my bunny."

"But it's yours."

Christine nods. "But I want him to have it."

"Are you sure?"

"I have tons of stuffed animals, mommy. He's got none."

Brennan smiles. "You keep it for now, okay? Tomorrow when we get home, we'll give it a quick wash and then you can put it on Henry's bookshelf in his room."

Christine nods. "Okay, mommy."

"That's very nice of you, Sweetheart, giving him your favorite bunny."

Christine shrugs. "I'm a very nice person."

"Yes, you are. You're going to be an excellent big sister."

Christine beams and slips off the chair. She scurries over to the bassinet that houses her sleeping baby brother and she peers over the edge, smiling at him and reaching up to tenderly brush her thumb against his cheek.

Brennan smiles at her daughter. "Be gentle, Honey."

"I am, mommy."

Henry opens his eyes and yawns, sticking out his tongue as his lips come back together. He searches around the room, focusing on Christine's nose for a few seconds before his eyes fall shut again.

"Mommy!" Christine runs back over to the bed and points, waving her hand in the air.

"Calm down, Honey. What's wrong?"

"Little Alien opened his eyes again."

"He was looking for you."

"Does he know who I am, mommy?"

"He'll recognize you in time, Sweetheart, soon."

Christine goes back over to the bassinet and looks at her baby brother. "Little Alien, it's me. I'm not a stranger." She touches him again, playing with the strands of hair that peek out from the edge of his knit cap. She turns back to her mother and frowns.

"He'll recognize you soon. Subconsciously, he recognizes your voice because you've been talking to him so much."

Christine's face brightens, but then she scrunches up her face. She turns to look at her baby brother. "You stink."

Brennan bites back a smile and tears off the sheets. "Do you want to help me change his diaper?"

Christine shakes her head. "No way."

Brennan loosens the blanket wrapped around the now fussy newborn and lifts him up and out of the bed. She carries him into the bathroom, leaving the door open in case her daughter changes her mind.

Christine creeps over to the bathroom and peers inside, listening to her mother sing softly to the baby as she changes him. She hurries in when she hears Brennan gasp. "Mommy, did he kick you in the face like he did to daddy?"

Brennan turns around, wiping her face off with a hand towel. "No, Sweetheart." She grumbles at her failure to remember Booth's advice and many warnings. She looks at her son and tickles his stomach.

Henry's eyes are open now, looking around. He's waving his arms in the air, slowly and choppily, and sucking on his bottom lip.

Brennan smiles at him and presses a kiss to his bare tummy. She finishes his diaper change and scoops him up again once he's redressed. She nuzzles her face into his and pecks at his cheek and temple.

Christine follows her mother out of the bathroom and over to the bassinet, watching closely as the older woman lowers the newborn and wraps him cozily in the blanket. "Mommy?"

Brennan looks up and nods. "Yes, Honey?"

"Do you like him?"

Brennan smiles. "I like and love him, Sweetheart, just like I love and like you."

Christine dips her head in mock bashfulness and smiles down at her feet. "I love and like you too, mommy."

"I'm glad to hear that." Brennan watches as her son drifts off to sleep, his stomach full and his diaper fresh and dry. She walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge. She gets comfortable, lying down and pulling the sheets up. "Come here, Sweetheart."

Christine obeys and climbs up onto the small bed. She snuggles into her mother's side and wraps her arms around her, resting her head on her chest.

Brennan winces slightly and sucks in air.

Christine lifts her head. "Did I hurt you, mommy?"

Brennan shakes her head. "No, Honey. Mommy's just a little sore." She kisses her daughter's hair and motions for the little girl to lower her head again.

Christine lowers her head against her mother's shoulder this time and curves her body against Brennan's side. "I love you, mommy."

Brennan smiles. She'll never get tired of hearing that, especially not from her kids. "I love you too, Sweetheart." She strokes her daughter's hair and feels the girl relax. She closes her own eyes, and though she tries to fight against her exhaustion, she drifts off to sleep.

Booth and Parker are sitting in the stairwell on the other side of the hallway, a somewhat awkward silence hanging between them. The teenager turns his head and stares at his dad for a long minute before clearing his throat and swallowing. He opens his mouth to speak, but quickly closes it and looks away again.

The stairwell door opens and the slapping of flip-flops against concrete echoes in the small space. "Hey, you two."

Parker and Booth turn their heads and look up at the woman leaning over the rail. Booth's eyes flash with concern. "Hey, Angela, is Bones okay?"

Angela makes her way down to where the two Booth men are sitting and nods, leaning her hip against the railing. "Bren's fine." She smiles. "So, what are we talking about?"

Parker looks up and shrugs. "I have a girlfriend and dad wants to talk to me about, you know."

Booth shakes his head. "I'm not going to talk to you about that, Bub. This isn't that kind of talk."

Angela nudges Booth with her foot, telling him to scoot over. She lowers herself onto the step with Parker and Booth's help and turns to the teenager. "Have you and your girlfriend kissed yet?"

"Angela."

Angela waves her hand at Booth and smiles at Parker. "Have you?"

Parker bites his bottom lip and looks down at his sneakers. "Uh, yeah."

Angela pats him on the shoulder. "Way to go, Stud."

Parker shrugs. "She, um, eh, she kissed me first."

"A girl who isn't afraid to go after what she wants—I like her already."

"You've met her. It's Cody." Parker looks up and smiles. "Isn't she great?"

Angela nods and looks over at Booth, who's looking a bit pale. She cups his shoulder and smiles. "You okay, there, Booth? You look like you're gonna be sick."

Booth swallows. "I'm fine."

Angela turns back to Parker. "Listen, kid, sex, sex is wonderful—."

"Angela!"

"Let me finish." Angela pauses. "Sex is wonderful, but it's even better when you really know the other person. Take it from me. I've had meaningless sex with a lot of people, Parker—."

Booth rolls his eyes and groans. "Get to your point faster, Angela."

She smiles. "Anyway, my point is, don't have sex yet. Wait. You've got plenty of time." She pauses. "Focus on getting to know Cody first."

Parker nods.

"Just be you, Parks, and treat her with respect." Angela turns to look at Booth. "How was that?" She manages to get up off the step, bracing herself with the railing. "Now, come on you two, you're taking me out to lunch."

Booth looks at Parker and smiles.

Parker nods, getting the message, and stands up.

"Thanks, Ange."

"No problem."

"You sure Bones is okay? And Henry?"

"Bren, Henry, and Christine are all asleep. They won't even know you're gone."

Booth nods and follows Angela and Parker out of the stairwell.

This chapter gave me some issues, but I hope you liked it.

Next Up: Pops meets Little Henry :)