A/N Inspired by the Foot in the Foreclosure - without those few lines of dialogue this chapter would have been reduced to "Two men drank coffee."
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Clark Edison was doing his cool down after an early Saturday morning run on the Mall when he spotted a familiar if unexpected figure near the Korean War Memorial. Not sure if Booth would be seeking company, he slowed his pace a little more to try and gauge the agents mood. It had been three weeks since his release from prison, and Booth was understandably still on edge. Clark hoped for the agents sake he would soon find peace, the guy definitely deserved it.
As Clark neared him he noted with sadness the changes in the FBI man. He'd lost weight, his normally tan skin was pale and his posture was tense. Like most law enforcement he had always been aware of his surroundings, but now he was hyper alert and seemed to do an evaluation of every person he saw gauging their danger to him. Right on cue, Booth spotted him and offered a small wave to the scientist. Clark walked over, "Hey Booth. Surprised to see you around here. " Taking in the agents attire of sweats, " Out for a morning run?"
Booth grimaced a bit, "No just out. Ribs aren't healed enough for running yet."
"Kinda early to be out and about." Clark commented and then wanted to kick himself. It was obvious that Booth hadn't been sleeping well and he felt like an ass for bringing attention to it right after after he'd reminded him of his injuries.
"Yea, Bones told me to get lost." At the shocked look on Clark's face, Booth quickly amended, "Just for a couple of hours. " Damn, he thought, the last thing he needed was rumors of marital problems on top of everything else, not that Clark would spread rumors. Trying to explain he added, "Christine is having some separation anxiety. She's fine if both of us are gone, but she freaks out a bit if Bones is home without me. So, we told her last night that I'd be gone when she woke up but she could call and I'd come home."
"Oh. Damn, that's rough. "
Booth shrugged. That pretty much summed up his life these days.
"So what brings you here?" Clark asked desperately trying to find a topic of conversation without emotional land mines.
"Um, today would be Pops 86th birthday. I won't make it to the cemetery today, but, this was one of his favorite spots in DC."
And, strike three Clark thought. "I'm sorry. I got to meet your grandfather at the wedding. He seemed like a great guy. Reminded me a lot of my Gramps."
Booth offered a half smile at the recollection. Pops had died six months after the wedding, but he had thoroughly enjoyed the reception. "Thanks. He was." Booth noted Clarks damp t-shirt and jacket, "I should let you go, you've gotta be getting cold."
"Little bit" Clark admitted, "There's a cafe about a block from here. Their vegan cinnamon rolls are the reason I run on Saturdays. Care to join me? We can swap grandfather stories." Seeing Booth's horrified reaction he added, "they have regular cinnamon rolls too."
Booth thought about declining then realized that the company would be helpful, he still had an hour or so before Christine woke. Truth be told it was not just his daughter that was having separation anxiety. This was his first non work related outing on his own and he was fighting the urge to just call the whole thing off and go home. He nodded to Clark, "Sounds good. Lead the way."
It was still early enough that the cafe was mostly empty which made Booth relax a bit. He still wasn't handling crowds in unfamiliar places very well. Pastries and coffee purchased, they sat at a table in the corner. Booth took a bite of the cinnamon roll, closed his eyes and let out a small groan of pleasure. Clark smiled at that, finally he had done something right.
They ate in silence for a while. Halfway through the gooey treat Clark said, "So, grandfather stories. Why did yours call you Shrimp? He was about to tell Hodgins at the wedding, but then Ms. Julian came over and your grandfather decided he'd rather dance with her than chat with us."
Booth chuckled at the memory of the pair on the dance floor. "When I was about 4 I told Pops that I hated my name. He asked what I wanted to be called and I said anything but Seeley. He was never clear on the reason for Shrimp other than it was a favorite food. " He shrugged, "Or I might have been an ugly baby and he was trying to spare my feelings. Anyway, I think he figured I would change my mind about Seeley but I thought Shrimp was an improvement, so it stuck. Did yours give you a nickname?"
Clark nodded, "Doc. I was the youngest of his 30 grand children and he was determined that at least one of us would be a doctor. I'm not sure that I'm the kind of doctor he had in mind, but I think he'd be okay with it. He died when I was in middle school."
"That must have been tough. Sounds like you were close."
"Yea. He lived with us. My grandmother died shortly before I was born, and he didn't want to be alone and with ten kids my parents could use the help. I'm the youngest by 6 years so it was kind of easy for me to get lost in the shuffle. He made sure I didn't. He was a retired teacher, but had dreamed of getting more than a teaching certificate before a family responsibility, lack of finances and opportunity made him settle. But, he never stopped learning and he was always reading stuff to me. National Geographic was a favorite. He's definitely the reason I got into science."
Booth smiled, "Pops claimed his tales as an MP led me to the FBI. He was probably right."
"Did he serve in Korea?" Clark asked.
"Yea. Most of his career was stateside, but he spent a year over there. That's why the memorial was a favorite spot. Plus, he thought the statues there were amazing."
They continued to exchange tales of the men that had meant so much to them and determined that their grandfathers would have enjoyed each others company. Booth was surprised when his phone rang and he realized they'd been talking for over an hour, the rolls long gone but the staff had kept their cups refilled. He explained to his daughter that he was having coffee with Uncle Clark and he'd be home soon. The scientist smiled at the moniker, any remaining desire to keep out of his colleagues personal lives had been destroyed with the arrivals of Michael Vincent and Christine.
Coffee finished, they left the cafe, shook hands, and went about their respective days.
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