"Well, girls, what kind of adventures did you have today? Did you see any wild elephants or polar bears? Were there any pirates or astronauts?"
"Daddy, you're silly. Mommy and I went to the grocery store. There aren't any elephants there. We saw some firemen and their truck and that's all."
"Is that all you saw? You didn't hunt for wild tigers on the cereal aisle or chase monkeys around the parking lot? Did you look for treasure?"
Brennan rolled her eyes. "I don't think it's a good idea to tell Christine stories like that, Booth. We went to get food and came home. Christine, put the toilet paper in the bathrooms, please."
Booth was surprised by Bones' attitude. "I don't see any harm in telling her little stories like that from time to time. It might make going to the grocery store fun if she looks for pictures of animals on boxes and stuff like that. You know, encourage observation and word recognition. You said that was important for her language development."
"She seems to be developing adequately without indulging her in excess fantasy. Could you help me bring in the groceries, please? I need to go to the lab for a few hours and I'm running late."
Booth knew something wasn't right. Bones had never said anything about his little stories and jokes with Christine before today. She'd been happy when they left for the store. Something must have happened while they were gone. Christine provided the answer.
"Daddy? Mommy got in trouble."
"What happened?"
" She got a call from work so we had to hurry at the store. Then a policeman stopped her. He said Mommy was speeding and gave her a ticket. I think it made her mad."
"I see. Alright...I'll talk to Mommy. Christine...no more tattling, okay?"