So this update is later than I planned, but to make up for the wait, I made it longer than usual. Enjoy :)

By 7:30 AM, Brennan was on her second cup of coffee. She leaned back against the headboard, mug in hand, and looked down at the body curled up beside her. She ran her fingers through his dark hair and exhaled. He was finally sleeping. She looked towards the door when she heard footsteps and smiled.

Booth passed through the doorway into their bedroom, Hank cradled in his arms. He walked over to the bed and set the toddler down in the middle of the mattress.

She sipped at her coffee and watched as Booth slipped back under the covers. He yawned and pulled the sheet up so it covered both boys. "So what happened last night? You were asleep when I got back and I didn't want to wake you. Why'd you walk home? I mean, I can guess—" He let his voice trail off, looking over at Eli.

She put her mug on the nightstand and shifted to try and find a more comfortable position. "I met Lynette in the E.R., and together we went up to Eli's room. It was going okay. Eli was quiet, but that was to be expected. It was all going okay until—."

"Until what?" Booth prompted.

"Until we reached the parking lot." She swallowed. "He was exhibiting signs of anxiety. He was looking around constantly and he was trembling. The closer we got to my car, the worse he seemed." She sighed, absently dragging her index finger through Eli's curls.

"He was scared to get in the car," Booth figured out.

She nodded. "Yes. He attempted to run away, but he ran into me instead." She closed her eyes for a second, letting out a breath.

Booth reached over the boys and squeezed her shoulder.

She smiled at him. "He fell asleep, so I took that opportunity to buckle him into the car seat. Lynette mentioned he had a stuffed animal in his backpack. I know how much better Christine seems to sleep when she has her bunny with her in bed. I thought Eli might benefit from having his stuffed animal close to him, so I asked Lynette to retrieve it for me."

He smiled, but it faded when she continued.

"I foolishly thought we would make it home without incident. We almost made it. We were on our street, less than five minutes from the house, and he was still asleep." She shook her head. "He started screaming and—he was having a nightmare or a—."

"Flashback?" he guessed.

She nodded. "Yes." She blinked. "I couldn't put him back in the car. I just—. The only option I had was to walk."

He leaned over and she met him halfway. He pressed a soft kiss to her head and then pulled back. "Guess we'll be staying in for the weekend," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Look, we've had a rough night. You should try to get some sleep."

She nodded, unable to fight off the yawn that escaped. She carefully shimmied down until she was lying flat on the mattress, her head cradled by her pillow, facing Booth. She closed her eyes and let out a breath.

"Goodnight, Bones," he whispered. When he knew for sure she had fallen asleep, he relaxed and soon found himself asleep, as well.

It was a quarter after 10 when Brennan stirred once again. She rolled onto her back and stretched, careful not to disturb the small body beside her. Looking down, she realized that Booth and Hank were no longer in bed with her, only Eli was.

"Mommy?"

Brennan blinked, startled by the small voice.

"Mommy?" Eli opened his eyes and sat up, looking around. He hiccupped and his breathing came in hurried puffs as he searched the unfamiliar room for a familiar face.

She scooted closer to him and gently placed her hand on his arm. "Eli."

He jerked his head towards her, staring.

She smiled. "Hello." She sniffed the air, noticing the enticing aroma of pancakes coming from the kitchen. "Booth is making pancakes for breakfast. Are you hungry?"

He didn't respond, but his stomach rumbled, answering for him.

"Booth makes excellent pancakes. Christine and Hank enjoy them immensely." She pulled back the covers and slipped off the mattress. She put on her robe and stepped into her slippers. "Would you like some pancakes, Eli? If you do not like pancakes, we have eggs, cereal, or oatmeal, as well."

He plucked at a loose string on the wrinkled sheet and his stomach gurgled again.

"What do you normally eat for breakfast?" She sighed. She turned her head towards the door when she heard a scream, followed by the pitter-patter of little feet against the hard wood floor.

"Hank, no, mom is sleeping and—." Booth's voice got cut off by another joyful scream.

Hank ran into the room and climbed ungracefully onto the bed. He looked from Eli to Brennan and then settled his gaze on Eli. He crawled across the mattress and poked at Eli's leg. "Bwuver," he mumbled. He giggled, poking him again. "Bwuver!"

Brennan reached out for Hank and picked him up. "Yes, sweetheart. This is Eli. He will be staying with us for a few days."

Hank waved. "Hi!" He squirmed in Brennan's arms, so she put him back on the floor.

"Mommy! Daddy! You better get in the kitchen 'fore I eat all the pancakes and you get nothing!" Christine shouted, her voice muffled by her laughter.

Booth shook his head. "Don't you dare touch my pancakes, Monkey!" He called back. "Let's go."

"I will be there in a minute, Booth." Brennan looked down at Hank. "Hank, go with daddy, okay? Mommy needs a minute."

Hank tugged on her pajama pants. "Come now."

She shook her head. "I will be there soon."

"Soon not pwucite."

She laughed. "I see Christine has been doing more than simply reading to you when she climbs into your bed every morning." She paused and scooped him into her arms once more. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and tickled his stomach, causing him to laugh and wiggle around. "I will see you in one minute. Save me three," she held up three fingers, "pancakes."

"Bwuver too?" Hank curled his fingers around the collar of her shirt, his face buried in her neck.

She nodded. "Yes, Eli will be joining us for breakfast."

Hank smiled. "Yay!"

She handed him off to Booth, and soon, she was alone with Eli once again. She sat on the edge of the mattress and looked at the little boy. "Christine was not joking earlier. She will eat all the pancakes if we are not out there in five minutes." She paused and stood up. She picked him up and settled him on her hip. She blinked at the slight dampness she felt. "Oh." She set him back on the floor and without a word, quickly stripped the sheets. "It's okay, Eli." She sighed.

She disappeared into the closet and emerged dressed in new pajamas. She reached for Eli's hand, holding it firmly in hers. "We need to change your pajamas and underwear. Lynette said you had a few outfits in your backpack, but she did not specify whether or not you had another pair of pajamas with you. If not, we can find something of Hank's for you to wear until these are washed and dried. There should be something of his that will fit you."

Eli didn't say anything, but he did walk with her down the hallway to Hank's bedroom.

She let go of his hand and looked inside Eli's backpack. She smiled. "Here we go." She grabbed the small pair of briefs and held up the pajamas – turquoise and navy plaid pajama bottoms and a turquoise short-sleeved shirt with a monster truck in the center of it. She tucked the clothing under her arm and took his hand again, walking with him to the bathroom.

He just stood there as she cleaned him off and redressed him.

She smiled. "All done."

He looked down at his new shirt, tugging on the hem.

She nodded. "It does appear to be short on you, but it will have to do for now." After throwing the pajamas and the sheets in the high-capacity washing machine, the two of them finally headed into the kitchen.

Booth looked up from his stack of pancakes when Brennan and Eli walked into the kitchen. If he noticed the change in clothes, he didn't say anything. "Hey. Finally."

Brennan smiled and shook her head at the array of pancakes on the counter – blueberry, chocolate chip, banana, strawberry, and of course, plain. She helped Eli onto one of the stools at the island and grabbed a plate. "Do you have a preference, Eli?"

Eli stared at the stacks of pancakes, his eyes bouncing from one platter to the next.

Christine leaned over and pointed to the chocolate chip pancakes. "Those are my favorite. Daddy makes 'em extra chocolatey just for me," she whispered. "Hank likes the blueberry or the banana ones."

"Nana!" Hank interrupted.

Christine continued. "Blueberry's okay, but the banana ones are gross." She stuck out her tongue and shook her head. "Bleck." She paused. "I'm Christine. You're Eli. I know that 'cause Mommy and Daddy said so. They also said that you are going to live with us for a few days." She furrowed her brow and looked over at Booth and Brennan. "Why isn't he saying anything?"

Booth shook his head. "You didn't give him a chance to, Angel. You're talking too fast."

Brennan sighed. "Give him some time, Christine. He is in a new house, with new people, and his mother—his mother is not here. He is scared and confused. He will speak when he is ready."

"When will that be?" Christine asked, glancing over at Eli.

"I am not sure, Sweetheart."

Christine shrugged and went back to eating her pancakes, excepting her mother's answer.

Brennan turned her attention back to Eli. "Did you decide which kind of pancakes you want for breakfast?"

Eli pointed to the chocolate chip pancake stack.

Brennan smiled and placed two pancakes on his plate. She drizzled the small stack with syrup and set the plate in front of him. "Would you like some fruit?" she asked, pointing to the bowl of strawberries and blueberries.

Eli shook his head, poking at his pancakes with his fork.

Brennan poured him a glass of water and then helped herself to some of the plain pancakes.

Booth came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "It's going to be okay. He'll be fine."

Brennan nodded, leaning back against him for support. "Lynette will not have any information until Monday. I find I am anxious to find out more about Eli. I would like to know where he and his mother were going."

"His mother was probably running from someone."

"Or to someone," Brennan countered. "Or she and Eli could have simply been going on vacation."

Booth nodded. "He's safe now."

She looked at the three children sitting at the island and smiled.

"He kind of looks like you," Booth observed.

"You are only saying that because he has a similar hair color to me and his eyes are blue. While less prominent than brown hair and brown eyes, the combination of brown hair and blue eyes is still not as rare as you may think."

"Whatever you say, Bones."

She speared a piece of his pancake on her fork and shoved it in his mouth. "Just eat your pancakes."

Booth swallowed. He smiled at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Don't you—Booth, what are you—." Brennan stopped talking when she felt him smear a streak of syrup on her cheek. She glared at him and wiped off her cheek with a napkin.

"Better eat your pancakes, Bones, before they get cold."

Brennan was about to say something back, but Christine interrupted her.

"Mommy, Daddy, there's no more syrup." Christine shook the empty bottle of syrup in the air.

"There's another one in the pantry, Sweetheart." Brennan took the empty bottle and tossed it in the recycling bin before retrieving the new bottle from the pantry.

Christine looked over at Eli and frowned. "Daddy? I don't think Eli likes his pancakes. He's not eating them."

Booth nodded. "Just let him be, Monkey."

Brennan returned, handing Christine the syrup.

"Thank you, Mommy."

Brennan smiled. "You're welcome."

"Can we go to the park today?"

Booth and Brennan looked at each other before meeting their daughter's hopeful gaze. Booth sighed. "Not today, Princess, but we'll do something fun at the house. How about a couch fort?"

"But I want to go on the swings." Christine pouted, pushing her plate away. "We always go to the park on Saturday."

"Not today," Booth told her. "I bet Eli's never built a couch fort."

Christine crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't wanna."

Booth shrugged. "Then you can watch the four of us build it." He finished his breakfast and started clearing the dishes.

Brennan let him clean up without a fight; she was too focused on watching Eli slowly nibble on his pancakes – at least he was eating something. She shook her head, feeling Booth nudge her. "Hmm?" she mumbled, her eyes shifting momentarily to Booth and then back to Eli.

"What do you say, Bones? Couch forts?"

Brennan shrugged. "We have yet to browse through that service you insisted we needed. What was it again? Nitflex? Why don't we put on a movie? A Couch fort might be too much, too soon, Booth."

"Netflix, Bones. It's Netflix." Booth laughed. "That sounds great. We can move the coffee table out of the way and put all the cushions on the floor. I'll grab some extra blankets from the closet and we can all lay on the floor. It'll be great."

Brennan smiled. "I'll get the blankets. You can set up the cushions and start browsing through the available films."

Booth nodded. "Got it." He clapped his hands. "Alright. Who wants to watch a movie?" He lifted Hank out of his booster seat and held out his hand for Christine. "I know you're bummed about not going to the park today, Angel, but we do go to the park every Saturday." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I promise today will just be as fun. It's not every day mom lets you make a mess of the couch, huh?" He paused. "C'mon."

Christine hesitated just a moment before she jumped off the stool and took his hand. She turned her head and smiled. "Eli, do you want to watch a movie with us? We're gonna put all the cushions on the floor and lay on them under blankets."

Eli blinked and looked towards the hallway where he knew Brennan had disappeared to.

"She's coming back, Eli. She's just getting the blankets," Booth assured the boy.

"Dog," Eli mumbled.

Booth blinked. "What? We don't have a dog, though I've been trying to convince Bones we need one."

"He's talking about his stuffed animal, Booth," Brennan explained, emerging from the hallway, a pile of folded blankets in her arms. "I'll go get it." She set the blankets on the coffee table and disappeared again.

When Brennan returned, Booth had finished setting up and he, Christine, Hank, and Eli were already lounging on the cushions. Booth looked up at her and patted the empty space beside him. "Saved you a spot." He winked. "Hey, Jared had a stuffed animal just like that when he was little."

Brennan looked at the plush dog as she handed it to Eli. "He did?"

Booth nodded. "Yeah."

Brennan settled down beside him. "So you would say it was mass produced?"

Booth raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"If your brother had one, that would mean there was more than one of these stuffed animals made," she clarified.

Booth shrugged. "I guess. I don't think it's one of a kind if that's what you're saying. What's this about?"

Brennan shook her head. "Nothing."

Booth squinted and after a minute, he said, "I know. You had one too, right? Did Max give it to you?" Booth sighed.

Brennan swallowed. "I do not remember ever not having it, so I do not know who gave it to me originally. I suppose it could have been a gift from my father, though he never explicated said it was from him." She blinked. "Can we just watch a movie now?"

Booth nodded. "Yeah."

"Daddy, can we watch Despicable Me?" Christine asked, nudging her father to get his attention.

"Again?" Booth mock complained.

Christine nodded. "Uh-huh."

Booth picked up the remote, ready to make the selection. "The first or the second?"

Christine closed her eyes and pursed her lips, thinking. "The first one," she finally said.

Booth nodded. "Okay."

"Don't worry, Daddy. If you need help understanding the minions, I can help translate. I'm fluent in minionese." Christine giggled.

"Minionese is not a real language, Christine," Brennan said, frowning.

Booth smirked. "Don't listen to her, Monkey. Mommy's just jealous that out of the million languages she speaks, she doesn't know Minionese." He selected the movie and set the remote down, waiting for it to load and start playing.

Brennan rolled her eyes and looked at Eli. "Have you seen this movie, Eli?

Eli shook his head.

"Christine seems to enjoy it, so I am sure you will, as well." Brennan tucked the blanket around him and smiled. "If you need something, let me know. We can pause the movie at any point."

Eli didn't say anything; he just stared at the television, hugging his stuffed animal closer to his side.

Halfway through the opening credits, Brennan tapped Booth on the shoulder. "Booth?"

Booth turned his head. "What?" he whispered.

Brennan shook her head. "Never mind."

Booth shrugged. "Just watch the movie, Bones."

Brennan nodded.

Booth glanced at her. She had turned her focus back to the television, but he could tell she was distracted. By what, though, he wasn't sure.

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Until next time...