Thank you all so much for the reviews and alerts. I will try to get to individually thanking everyone later today. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Chapter 11

As the serenity and solitude of the park soothed his frayed nerves, Lance started to relax. He reluctantly picked at the M&Ms as he laid back on the grass.

"You gotta admit it was a rush." Skye said as she snuggled up next to him. Lance looked at her incredulously.

"Not so much..." he said. "I honestly thought I was gonna have a heart attack..." Skye giggled.

"That was because you were excited...see you did enjoy it." Lance wanted to tell her that he didn't enjoy it, that this was not fun at all and he wanted to get up and go home...really he did. But he didn't. He laid there next to Skye...the MOST annoying girl in his class and he ate stolen candy and giggled at the silly shapes could see in the clouds. Finally he looked at his watch...time to get back. He certainly didn't want to risk Booth coming looking for him...

"I have to go." he said.

"Already?" Skye asked. She was disappointed. She'd thought they were getting along really well. "Stay a bit longer?" she asked sweetly.

"Really...I can't." Lance said with a sigh. He didn't know why but he felt bad leaving her there all sad.

"Can I have your number then?" she asked. Lance bit his lip. It would probably be a mistake to give it to her...

"I dunno." he said. Her face went from smiling to sad.

"I thought we were friends." she said. Lance didn't want to hurt her feelings and he didn't want to make her mad...no telling what she'd do to him at school if she got mad...besides, they'd had fun. He went for the obvious solution.

"I don't have a pen." he said.

"I do." she said with a smile. Of course she did, Lance thought. She produced a pen from her pocket and put out her hand."Write it on here." She offered the back of her hand with the pen.

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

The oblivious Bones and Booth were sitting out on the back patio, enjoying the afternoon sum on the hole that would soon be there were discussing what they would grill out there for dinner.

"Lance has been a while." Bones said.

"That's a good thing Bones." Booth grinned. "Means he must have made some more friends. Probably in the middle of a game..."

"I guess so."

"I know so." Booth said confidently. "That's what the weekend is for boys Bones... friends...the park...playin ball..."

"Soon maybe he and his friends will be swimming in the pool."

"Oh yeah Bones...soon the yard will be filled with Marco...Polo...Marco...Polo."

"How do you know those will be his friends names?"

"No Bones...Marco Polo..."

"I don't know what that means..."

"It's a game. Someone calls Marco...and the other calls Polo..."

"It doesn't sound like it's much fun Booth."

"Yeah well I guess you have to be there. Don't worry Bones, I'll teach you how to play."

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

AS Lance approached the house he sighed. He felt like what he'd done was written all over his face, not just his hand. As the guilt ridden preteen stood on the driveway, he tried to school his features into what he hoped was an innocent look. Finally he gave up...he'd just have to brave it out and hope for the best. He took a step towards the front door and then changed his mind and decided to go around the back.

"Speak of the devil." Booth said. Lance jumped as he rounded the yard and found Booth and Bones sitting on the porch.

"Hi." he said with a squeak.

"Hi." Bones said. "Did you have fun?"

"Um...yeah." Lance said... "I...ah...I ran into someone from school."

"See." Booth said. "I told you you'd have fun."

"Um yeah...it was fun." Lance blushed annoyingly.

"Whatya do?" Booth asked curiously. The red that had filled his face so quickly now drained away leaving him pale and feeling kinda weak."

"Nuthin much." he said.

"You play baseball... run around kicking a soccer ball...?" Booth said offering up options.

"There was some running." he said. He didn't add that the running involved theft and a quick getaway. Somehow he didn't think that would go over well.

"Well good Lance." Lance went to go inside when the phone rang.

"I'll get that." he said.

"Do you think he's alright Booth, he seems I don't know not himself?"

"He's probably just tired and hungry...all that fresh air." Booth said happily. "Better fire up the ole grill huh?"

"Don't put my vegie burger next to the meat Booth." Booth rolled his eyes.

"I know Bones I haven't forgotten...I have your designated no meat section." His thoughtfulness earned him a kiss and for a few minutes the burgers and Lance's apparently being not himself were forgotten.

Lance snatched up the land line with a roll of his eyes. It wouldn't be for Bones or Booth...their calls almost always went to their cells. He knew it'd been a bad idea to give her the number. There was no way she was gonna leave him alone for a second.

"Skye... I..." he started.

"Skye?" Joel said with shock. "Um why would Skye be callin you dude?" Lance sighed with relief.

"Oh thank God it's you." he said as he sagged into a chair. "I thought it was..."

"Skye..." Joel said slowly. "We got that far...why the hell is SHE calling you and how'd she get your number?"

"I kind of gave it to her."

"Oh man..."

"I know right...I don't know what I was thinking...she can be kind of..."

"Crazy?" Joel said with a laugh.

Hmmm...there was that, Lance thought. "No she has a way of getting to you you know?"

"Nope the only thing she does to me is annoy me."

"She is kind of pretty." Lance said quietly. And now he was defending her. Joel giggled..

"Of all the girls you could have picked to like...you have to pick her."

"I didn't pick her...I don't even LIKE her." Lance defended loudly. "It's complicated."

"Ok, ok..." Joel said. "Anyway I was just ringing to tell you I'll be back next weekend."

"Finally..." he said. If his friend had come back this weekend he wouldn't have been in this mess.

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

They ate their burgers outside, well Bones and Booth did. Lance pulled his burger to pieces and played with the insides. Snarling at a slice of tomato like it was a foreign being.

"Problem Lance?" Booth asked. "You love burgers."

"Not hungry..." he said sullenly. Bones and Booth looked at each other. That was worrying...Lance was always hungry.

"Are you sick?" Bones asked bluntly.

"No." he answered vacantly. He kept looked inside at the not ringing phone. Skye hadn't rung. That was good wasn't it? He didn't want the stupid girl to ring him at home where his folks could hear. But he did wonder WHY she hadn't called. Maybe she'd just been scamming him...pretending to like him...maybe she was going to do something awful to him on Monday at school...

Suddenly when the phone DID ring and it was like a fire alarm going off in his head. He jumped up from the table managing to knock over everyone's drinks in his rush.

"I'll get it!" he said ignoring the coke that dribbled down his leg.

"Hi." he said into the phone.

"Hi." Skye said. Lance smiled and found the only emotion he felt at that moment was relief.

"Hi." he said again.

"I think we covered that already." Skye said. Lance looked out to the patio where both Bones and Booth were mopping up the mess while trying to hide the fact that they were listening.

"I'm just gonna go upstairs." he said quietly.

"Why?" she asked.

"I dunno." he answered.

Booth chuckled.

"What?" Bones asked.

"I think our Lancey has a girl."

"Oh." Bones said. "I guess he's getting to that age...in some tribes twelve..." Booth through down the the towel he'd been mopping up with. He could see where she was going with this.

"Whoa whoa whoa... " he said. "This isn't a tribe...this I America..." Bones rolled her eyes and sighed. "And IN America when a twelve year old boy likes a girl he usually just...uh...you know...treats her like a pretty boy."

"Oh really." Bones said with a smile. She loved when Booth was so embarrassed the tripped all over his words and meaning.

"Well no...not like a pretty boy pretty boy. I mean...look I can't explain it. But it's innocent Bones...innocent fun."

"Well good because all I was going to say was...that... he would soon be reaching puberty."

"Oh God." Booth said. Well at least he's a boy, he thought. He couldn't imagine where this conversation would have gone if he was girl. "Let's get this mess cleaned up." he said.

BONESBONESBONESBONESBONES

"Ok. I'm in my room." he said.

"Good."

"So what ya doing tomorrow?"

"Dunno...play video games I guess."

"Wanna meet me at the park again?"

"Um...maybe..." he said. He really did but he was a little worried about what she had I mind.

"You don't want to do you?" Skye asked with a hitch in her voice. Oh God he'd made her cry, Lance thought.

"Yes, yes I do." he said.

"Well good." she said all sign of her tears now gone from her voice. "I'll see you tomorrow. Same time, same place." And with that she was gone. Lance flopped back onto his pillows.

"Man..." he said out loud to no one. The possibility of looming trouble sizzled through him making him feel...odd. Unfortunately it wasn't an odd that felt terrible.

TBC