AThe weekend after they got back from the beech house Booth and Brennan stopped Michael as he I went out to his swing. "Michael, come here for a minute mom and I want to tell you something."
"I go swing."
"You can go swing in a little while."
"Okay." Michael sat on a stool, Brennan put her hand on his to focus him on what she and Booth were going to tell him.
"We know art class was your favorite at school and now that you don't go to school anymore you miss it."
"Yeah, I like art class…"
"We know. Aunt Angela talked to one of her friends who teaches art at Georgetown, were Parker went to school, and they said they would give you art lessons on Saturday mornings if you want to. You'll be the only one in the lessons. Do you want to take them?"
"Uh-huh."
"Good. Dad and I will take you to Georgetown University at 9 in the morning on Saturday and pick you up at noon. We'll walk you to the classroom, but we can't stay with you…"
"Okay…"
Brennan chuckled and shook her head, "Angela will take you to the art supply store tomorrow to get what you need for your class. You can get more paper and whatever else you need to draw here too."
"Okay. I go swing now…"
"Okay, have fun, buddy." Michael nodded and headed outside.
"That went better than I hoped it would. I thought he'd balk when I told him we couldn't stay with him at his art class…"
"He's growing up, he's starting to not need us as much…"
"I'm happy that he's growing up, but it's making me a little sad."
"Me too, but he'll always need us. "
"I know. I wish we were dropping him off at Georgetown like we did Parker."
"Me too, but we get to watch him have an amazing opportunity."
"Yes, I can't wait to see him in the class. I think he'll do wonderful in the class."
"He will." Brennan sent Angela a text letting her know that it was okay to pick Michael up in the morning and take him to the art supply store.
Booth's phone sounded with text, he looked at it then looked up at Brennan. "Parker's getting married, Addison accepted his proposal."
'That's great news, I'm very happy for both of them."
"Me too. I can't believe he's old enough to get married. Sometimes I think he's still the shy four-year-old who wouldn't say 'hi' to you the first time he met you at the playground…"
"I remember that. I didn't know that you went to that park every other Saturday. I was just jogging on the path and spotted you playing catch…."
"Yeah I was happy to see you there."
"I was happy to see you too and meet Parker even though he hid behind your legs the whole time."
"Yeah, after a while though he got used to usually seeing you there and say hi and give you drawings…"
"I have every drawing and card he's ever given me in a file box in our closet. I have boxes for Christine and Michael too. I don't save every one of Michael's drawings, there are too many, but I take a picture of the ones I don't save and it's uploaded to the server at the lab. Angela actually used them to show her friend at Georgetown, that's what convinced him to give Michael private lessons on Saturdays."
""That's good for Mikey."
"Yes. If he'd had to choose which drawings to show he wouldn't have been able to. It would have caused his anxiety to go into overdrive and he would have had a major meltdown."
B&B
The next afternoon Angela sat across from Brennan in the kitchen.
"Thank you for taking Michael to the art supply store and getting his supplies."
"You're welcome, Bren. It was a little weird watching him pay for his own things. I did have to help him count the money though."
"I know. We're working on counting money again, but he's having a really hard time grasping the concept. We'll keep trying though ."
"Brennan he's doing so well now. Lat year we wouldn't have been able to go to the art store and him pay for things even if we gave him money and had him hand it too sandy. He would have had a major melt down."
'I know, I'm so proud of him. I'm also grateful to your friend for agreeing to give Michael private art lessons. I think he's excited about taking them."
"Steve is more than happy to do it. He's an excellent art teacher. He knows that Michael has issues learning things and will take things slowly. He's really impressed with Michael's artistic abilities; he says he hasn't seen anyone that talented in a while."
Brennan smiled, "I'm glad Michael is good at something that not many people are…" Brennan looked down at her coffee.
"I understand, Brennan…"
"I'm nervous about him going to Georgetown…."
"I know. You and Booth can walk him to the studio and Steve won't let him leave without you or Booth. we've talked about this he understands Michael isn't a normal student…. Plus, he's a tiny bit afraid of me so nothing will happen to Michael. Don't worry…"
"How did you meet?"
"We were in the same art history class sophomore year and we got paired up for a project. We have been friends ever since. He went the professor track and I went the odd path that led me to you and working at the lab for almost 25 years. Have you and Booth given any thought to retirement?"
"Possibly when Christine graduates high school. Booth would love to move to the beach house…so would I to be honest…"
"Sounds nice. Brennan…"
"It does and it will be when we get to actually do it."
"Yeah. I'll take you two to meet Steve Friday afternoon."
"Thanks Ange."
B&B
Friday afternoon Angela led Brennan and Michael who was death gripping Brennan's hand to Steve's office. She knocked lightly on the door. Steve answered it in a few seconds.
"Angela! It's so good to see you again. How are Hodgins and the kids?"
"Hello Steve, it's good to see you again. Hodgins and the kids are good. How is Maggie?"
"Maggie is good, she's slowing down a little these days. Anybody showing an interest in art?"
"No, JJ is a athlete and Katie is into bugs slime and plants, just like her dad."
"Aw well. Let's all get together for dinner soon."
'We will."
Steve turned to Michael, "You must be Michael?" Michael nodded. "it's nice to meet you. Angela has showed me a lot of your drawings, they're some of the best I've seen in a long time." Michael grinned.
"You should be proud. What we'll do for your art classes is, every Saturday you'll come to the studio down the hall and I'll give different things to draw and we'll go over techniques and different things. We'll also explore other mediums like painting and sculpture , but we'll stick mostly to drawing. Does that sound good?"
"Yeah."
"Good let's go take a tour of the building and studio." Steve stood up and walked around his desk.
"Okay." Michael death gripped Brennan's hand and followed Steve out of his office.
B&B
Saturday after a breakfast of extra cheesy eggs and chocolate milk.. Brennan turned to Michael. "Do you have everything you need for your class in your bag and your phone and wallet in your pocket?"
'Uh-huh."
"Okay get your shoes on then get your bag so we can go…"
"Okay." Michael went to his room.
Booth walked over to Brennan, "You okay?"
"Yes, but I find I'm very nervous for him, more than I was when he started working."
"That's normal, I'm nervous for him too. he'll be fine, he's going to draw for three hours he's going to his happy place."
"His happy place is the beach.."
"Well, he's doing the activity he enjoys the most."
"Yes, and for that I'm grateful."
"Me too. gotta love the squints."
"I ready." Michael walked into the kitchen.
"Alright let's go." Booth followed Brennan and Michael to the SUV. Twenty minutes later Booth and Brennan left Michael in the studio down the hall from Steve's office.. Booth put his arm around Brennan as they walked outside. "You okay, Bones?"
"Yes. I never thought Michael would be able to do something like this…"
"Me either. I'm happy that he can do it through."
"Me too. He didn't even seem nervous…"
"He wasn't…"
"What if he has a delayed meltdown? It's happened before…"
"Steve has my cell number yours and Angela's. He knows to call us if Mikey starts to meltdown…."
"But he's not a special education teacher….he's a college professor!"
"Janet isn't a special education teacher and she does fine with him…"
"She has a special needs child; she knows how to do this…at least to an extent…"
"Bones it's crazy, but Mikey can do this. If Angela didn't think he could handle an art class with a college professor she'd be teaching him herself. You know that as well as I do. Trust Angela. Trust Mikey. Trust Steve."
"I do. It's just hard…"
"I know. Let's get some coffee and take a walk…"
"Okay."
B&B
Three hours later Booth and Brennan were waiting in the hall outside the studio when the door opened and Michael waked into the hall. "MOM, DAD!"
"Hey, buddy did you have a good class?"
"Uh-huh. I liked it."
"'That's great. I'm glad you liked your class."
"Michael did great today, no issues…"
'That's great, I'm glad he had a good first class."
"Me too. goodbye Michael I'll see you next week."
"Bye."
Brennan put her arm around Michael's shoulders and they started walking to the SUV. "I'm SO proud of you Michael."
"I hungry."
Brennan chuckled and kissed the side of Michael's head. "Let's go get some tacos, then."
"Okay."
B&B
Michael had been working for four months and things were going better than Brennan and Booth could have ever hoped for. He rarely waited for Brennan to walk him in in the mornings, but he always met Booth in the lobby at the end of the day and they would walk to Brennan's office together, Booth always let Michael be the one to tell her it was time to go home. Booth and Brennan always took Michael to the diner on Friday's. He was excelling in his art class and enjoying it more than he'd enjoyed any of the activities he'd tried over the years. All in all, the last four months had been the best of Michael's life. It was a busy Monday for all departments Brennan was wrapped up in her paperwork that the loud lockdown alarm startled her. Brennan got up to see what the problem was when Cam walked into Brennan's office. "Brennan, theirs a disturbance on the first floor the security along with the police and FBI have the entire building locked down."
"I need to get Michael…"
"You can't, everyone is required to shelter in place…"
'But…"
"I know. They're trying to resolve it quickly…"
'I need to call Janet.."
"You can't…"
"Sweetie, I know this is hard for you, but you need to trust Michael, you have to trust that you and Booth have given him the skills to handle this on his own…."
"Ange, we've never worked on situations like this, apparently we should have…."
Brennan you couldn't have predicted this… Just try to relax…"
"I can't. If this is how Michael feels during one of his anxiety episodes I feel worse for him than I normally do. I need to call Booth…"
"Brennan, we can't make calls… The FBI is here, I can almost guarantee Booth is here too…"
"I need…"
"Sweetie, you don't have to do anything right now, lets just sit here and talk about what we're going to do for Thanksgiving …" Cam left Brennan's office.
"You, Hodgins and the kids are having dinner at our house and the kids will have a sleepover until Saturday like always."
"Okay, now that that's settled we can discuss the menu…"
"Booth will cook the turkey and I will make a tofu substitute for myself. We'll both make the sides. Michael will make the veggie tray. You can bring desert… same thing we've done since Michael was two…."
"Okay…"
Just then Brennan's phone vibrated with a text, she looked at it, then she looked up at Angela. "It's Booth, he says he has Michael and he's bringing him here, to the emergency door. I'm not to open the door until I see him." Brennan got up and hurried to the door. Cam started to follow, Brennan held up her phone, Cam read the text and nodded. Brennan got to the door just as Booth, dressed in full tactical gear appeared with Michael. Brennan entered the code and the door slowly opened; Michael threw himself in her arms. "you're okay, Michael…" Booth put his arms around both of them and quickly pulled back.
"I got everybody lunch, ham and cheese or turkey sandwiches, chips, brownies, and water. I got you a salad. The container of chicken salad and cheese crackers is for Mikey. "
"Thanks Booth."
"You're welcome, Bones. I gotta get back…"
"Be careful…"
"Always…" Booth stepped back and waited for the door to close and lock before he headed down hall. Brennan turned and smiled at Michael. "Let's go tell everyone that dad brought lunch."
Michael nodded and grabbed Brennan's hand and let her lead him through the lab. They told everyone that Booth brought lunch and everyone headed to the lounge. "It was nice of Booth to bring us lunch." Angela handed Hodgins a ham and cheese sandwich. "No pickle?"
"It was."
"it would be better with pickles…" Angela looked at Hodgins and shook her head.
"Did Booth say anything about what's going on?"
"No, but he was in full tactical gear when he dropped Michael off, if that tells you anything…" Brennan opened Michael's water and put her salad on the table.
"That's a good and bad thing…"
"Yes, at least the lockdown is not from biological contamination from our lab…" Brennan grinned a little.
"Is everyone going to bring that up every chance they get for the rest of my life? I had to share the decontamination shower WITH Zach!"
"Yes we are Hodgins….' Angela gently kissed him. The rest of lunch was filled with easy conversation about non work matters. When she finished her lunch Angela walked over to Brennan and Michael "Michael, you can come to my office to draw if you want to when you finish your lunch."
"I come later…"
"Okay."
Twenty minutes later Michael was in Angela's office and Brennan was catching up on paperwork. An hour later Angela quickly walked in to Brennan's office, "Bren, Michael is having a meltdown…" Brennan got up and quickly followed Angela back to her office. Brennan stopped in the doorway and watched Michael pace the room, she walked up and stood in front of him.
"Michael…"
"Michael…" Brennan lightly touched his arm, Michael stopped pacing and looked at Brennan.
"Mom?"
"Hi sweetheart. Let's go to my office for a while."
"NO! I draw now!"
"You can draw in my office…You can draw and take a nap if you want to… You can take more medicine if you need it… do you?" Michael nodded a little, Brennan pulled him close and walked out of Angela's office. Michael sat on the couch and waited for Brennan to get his extra medication from the locked cabinet in the corner of her office. Brennan sat down beside Michael and gave him half a pill and a bottle of really cold water. After taking them Michael held on to Brennan's arm. "Do you want mee to stay here?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay. Just rest and relax. Dad and I are so proud of you for working and taking your art class on Saturdays. We're also proud of how calm you were when dad walked you down here this morning."
"Was loud…"
"Yes, it was…"
"Why do that?"
"Why did the loud alarms go off?"
"Uh-huh."
"The alarms went off because someone is in the building that isn't supposed to be and they needed everyone to stay in their departments and offices to be safe. Dad was able to walk you to the lab because he works for the FBI and would be able to keep you safe while you were walking down here…"
"Okay. "
Brennan could feel Michael start to relax, "you can take a nap, sweetheart." A few minutes later Michael was leaning on Brennan sound asleep. Angela came in a little while later.
"I just came to see how he was doing…"
Brennan smiled and kissed the top of Michael's head. 'He's okay. I had to give him more medication…"
"He was drawing and his pencil broke and he flipped out."
"The stress of lockdown is almost too much for him, the breaking of the pencil was the tipping point. Besides that, he's handling lockdown well."
"I feel bad that he had a meltdown though . I brought his drawing and pencils… and a sharpener…"
"Me too. Thanks Ange."
"You're welcome. Do you need anything? It doesn't look like you're going to be able to get up anytime soon."
Brennan smiled, "I could work if I had my laptop and the notebook that's next to it." Angela nodded and walked over to Brennan's desk.
"You're working on a new book?"
"Yes, I couldn't concentrate on paperwork after lunch so."
"Bren, Booth will be fine."
"I know. He hasn't had to do anything like this in a while ."
"Yeah, we haven't had a lockdown in years…" Angela brought Brennan her laptop and notebook.
"Thanks Ange."
"You're welcome, sweetie." Angela left Brennan's office.
About an hour later Michael woke up.
"Mom?"
"Hi sweetheart. Did you enjoy your nap?"
"Uh-huh"
"That's good. Do you feel better?"
"Uh-huh."
"Good. Angela brought your drawing and pencils so you can finish it."
"Can I go…"
"You want to go back to Angela's office and finish your drawing?"
"Yeah."
"Go on…" Michael grinned a little and left Brennan's office.
B&B
A few hours later Booth walked into Brennan's office "Hey Bones."
Brennan looked up from her couch, "hello, Booth."
Booth sat down next to her, "you look comfortable…"
"Michael went to Angela's office to draw after lunch and had a meltdown when his pencil broke. I had to give him more medication, he wanted me to sit with him and then he fell asleep. Angela came in to see how he was and she brought me my laptop and notebook to work on my book while Michael was sleeping on me. After he woke up and went back to her office I just stayed here…"
"I'm not surprised he needed meds; he was barely in control when I got him from the theater. Another ten minutes and he'd been way out of control. I am proud of him for holding it together as long as he did."
"Me too."
"I got his backpack and jacket from Janet."
'Good. Can you make dinner? I was going to make baked salmon, green beans, and rice, a dinner Michael tolerates , but doesn't like. I don't feel like it now…"
"Sure. I'll make French toast we haven't had it in a while, plus it's one of Michael's favorites. I'll have to stop by the store to get the thick bread though."
"Breakfast is always his favorite. I'll wait in the SUV with the kids, Michael can't handle the store today."
"Okay. I'll go get him then we can go."
"Okay."
An hour later Booth was in the kitchen getting ready to put bacon on a sheet pan to bake in the oven when Michael climbed on a stool.
"Hey buddy. Do you want to help me make dinner?"
"Uh-huh."
Booth grabbed the container of washed strawberries, a small cutting board , a bowl, and a knife, and put them in front of Michael. He picked up a berry and pulled the green stem off and cut it in half longways and put it in the bowl. "Can you do that?"
"Uh-huh." Booth handed Michael the knife and went back to the bacon. Twenty minutes later Michael looked up at Booth. "I done…"
Booth looked over, "good job, buddy. Go wash your hands and dump the blueberries and raspberries on top of the strawberries."
"Okay." A few minutes later Booth sprinkled a little sugar on the berries and gave Michael a spoon. "Stir it up…"
When Michael was done stirring the berries, he put the spoon down. "I go swing now."
"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, stay here and talk to me. I know today was really hard for you when the alarms went off, but I'm proud of you for not getting scared."
"Was loud."
"Yeah, it's that loud so people will pay attention to it and stay safe in their offices. You were safe in the theater, but I thought you'd like to be with mom."
"Uh-huh."
"Go tell Christine it's her turn to set the table. Then go tell mom dinner is ready, she's in our room. If the door is shut knock before you open it."
"Okay. "
Five minutes later they were all sitting down to French toast with fruit topping and bacon. "the French toast is good, Booth. I really like the fruit topping."
"Me too. I thought it'd be a change from syrup. Michael made it."
"You did a good job, sweetheart." Michael grinned and kept eating his French toast.
B&B
A few hours later Brennan sat down next to Booth. "Michael is finally asleep; he had a hard time settling down tonight… I gave him the meds that help him sleep…I hate giving him any of his medications, but I hate giving him the sleep meds the most."
"I know, thankfully he doesn't need them often. He's probably hyped up from the lockdown still…"
"Yes. How was he when you got him from the theater?"
"Not that good, he was probably five minutes from a major meltdown. Thankfully Janet had moved him to her office to try and minimize his anxiety, but it wasn't helping that much. He didn't want to come with me at first, I thought I was going to have to come get you to go get him."
"He's never seem you in in full tactical gear before, it scared him…."
"Yeah, I took my helmet off and he came to me., he was a little freaked when I put it back on. That was good though, it kept him from noticing my rifle. he held my hand so tight I was glad I had gloves on otherwise he'd probably bruised my hand."
"Thank you for bringing him to me…"
"You're welcome. I thought he'd have a meltdown and if he was with you at least you could get him through it."
"Yes, Angela felt bad since he had a meltdown while drawing when his pencil broke, but it's likely he'd had a meltdown in my office too."
"Bones, maybe we should show Janet how to get Mikey through a meltdown incase something happens and we can't get to him."
"It's a good idea, I'll talk to her tomorrow."
"Are you okay, Bones?"
"I am now. When the alarms went off I started worrying about Michael having a meltdown, but it wasn't too bad until Cam said we couldn't make calls…"
"We did that in case there was a bomb somewhere…"
"What happened?"
"Somebody in the cafeteria got fired and instead of just getting their stuff and going home. They took the cafeteria hostage. Nobody got hurt, we were able to talk them down. I don't know what's going to happen to them."
"At least it wasn't too serious."
"That's the only good thing that happened today…"
"…And Michael didn't have a serious meltdown…"
"That too."
Brennan scooted closer to Booth he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Let's go to bed, Bones. Tomorrow will be a better day."
"It's only 9:15, Booth…"
"But we're both exhausted…"
"True…" Brennan stood up, but held onto Booth's hand.
"Bones, Mikey is fine…" Booth stood up and kissed Brennan again.
"I know…"
B&B
The next morning Booth made Michael cheesy eggs and chocolate milk. Everything seemed fine, Michael wasn't anxious or clingy to Brennan when they went inside. Brennan had been working for a few hours when her phone rang.
"Brennan."
"Tempe, it's Janet, can you come down here and check on Michael? He's edgy. He's working, but he's struggling."
"I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Thanks."
Brennan walked past Cam's office and stuck her head in, "Cam, I have to go check on Michael, he's struggling. Hopefully I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Go."
Brennan nodded and quickly made her way to the theater. She found Michael on his stool flipping though his sketchbook.
"Michael?"
"MOM!"
"Hi sweetheart. Are you okay?"
Michael shook his head.
"Let's go in my office for a little while…"
"NO! I work now!"
"Michael, you can come back to work in a little while…let's go to my office, you can take more medicine if you need it…"
Michael nodded and slid off his stool and walked over to Brennan, she put her arm around him and they headed to the lab. Michael sat on the couch and waited for Brennan to bring him his medicine. "I think a fourth of a pill will be enough. I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. You can go back to work as soon as you feel better…" forty-five minutes later Michael was back in the theater and Brennan was doing her paperwork.
Later that afternoon Booth and Brennan were at the diner waiting on their lunch. "I had to go to the theater and get Michael, he was struggling. I gave him a fourth of a pill and after it kicked in he went back to work."
"I wondered if he was going to need a little help to get through today. It sucks that you had to give him meds, but it's good that he went back to work."
"Yes, but he's not relaxed, the medication is acting like a band-aid."
"Should we take him to the beach house and let him reset?"
"That would be good for him, but I have that book discussion and signing on Saturday. Plus, one day there wouldn't be enough time for him…"
"He and I could go and make it a guys weekend. If we can get it all arranged we could leave tomorrow after lunch and come back Sunday afternoon."
"That would work, he'll probably be upset about missing work and art class, but I think once he gets there he'll be fine with it. I'll talk to Janet when we get back."
"Yeah. I'll talk to Hacker. He shouldn't have a problem with it though."
"I just hope that when you get back Michael is himself. Today was hard, he was trying so hard to be okay and if you didn't know about his differences you'd say he was fine… Thankfully Janet knew he wasn't and called me."
"Mikey will be fine, four days in the sun and sand with his drawings will do him good."
"Yes."
B&B
Later that afternoon Booth and Brennan were working on dinner when Michael walked into the kitchen.
"Sit down, Michael. Dad and I want to talk to you about something."
"K." Michael sat down on a stool.
"Dad and I know that yesterday and today were hard for you, we're proud of how you handled it. We know you're still processing it, we thought that you'd like to go to the beach house with dad for four days. You'll go to work in the morning then you and dad will have lunch at the diner with me then the two of you will head to the beach house."
"You too?"
"No, I have to work."
"I work now…"
"Yes, you do and we're so proud of you for that. You can miss a few days of work every once and a while. It's sort of like having a break from school…"
"Art?"
"You'll miss art class. I talked to Steve, he said he'll email the project he was going to have you do to Angela. She said she'll help you work on it Wednesday night after work at her house. Is that okay?"
"Uh-huh."
"Do you want to go to the beach with me, Mikey?"
"Uh-huh."
"Good. Go get your drawing stuff and books you want to take with you together. After we have dinner we'll go to the grocery store to get food to take with us. Mom will help you pack your clothes when we get back from the store."
"K." Michael headed for his room.
"I hope Christine isn't jealous of Michael's impromptu beach trip…"
"She may be a little, but something tells me she'll enjoy time with just you just as much as Mikey will enjoy the beach."
"Yes, I'll admit I'm looking forward to time with just her too. I was thinking of taking her shopping after my book discussion and signing on Saturday…"
"She doesn't need more clothes, Bones. She got a whole new wardrobe before school started…"
"She's grown two inches since school started, her pants aren't the correct length anymore…"
"So, she has gotten taller it wasn't just my imagination…"
"Yes, I think she's done growing…"
"That's good."
B&B
Later at the grocery store Michael held tightly to the cart as Booth headed to the meat department.
"What should we have for dinner while we're at the beach?"
'Tacos!"
"We'll stop at the Mexican restaurant we ate at before we came home last time when we get there okay?"
"K."
"What else you want? We need to think of three more dinners."
"Noodles!'
"Okay, we'll have spaghetti one night. How about we have chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy?"
"K."
"Let's get some hotdogs and marshmallows and make s'mores."
"Okay."
"Do you want chocolate bars or peanut butter cups in your s'mores ?"
"Chalkit!"
"Okay .What do you want for breakfast? Waffles or pancakes?"
"Waffles!
"Okay. " Booth got chicken, hamburger meet and hotdogs. Then they went to the produce department to get fruits for Michal's lunches and breakfasts. Booth had Michael get the rest of what they needed. Almost two hours later Booth was putting the bags of groceries in refrigerator when Brennan walked into the kitchen.
"Did Michael do well at the store?"
'Yeah. I got the meat and produce. He got the rest of the stuff and put it in the cart for me "
"That's good, the store has been getting easier for him. What are you taking with you?"
"We're going to get tacos from the restaurant we stopped at on the way home tomorrow night. Mikey also wants spaghetti. I got hotdogs and s'mores for the fire pit. We're going to have breakfast burritos and of course PB&J with fruit and veggies. I also got chicken…"
"Basically, all of Michael's favorite meals…"
"Yeah…"
"I'll be indulging in Christine's favorite meals this weekend too. she asked for Chinese tomorrow. Parker called wanting to know if we could take Teddy Sunday until Thursday, he and Addison have to go to Ohio. Her grandmother isn't doing well. I told him you and Michael were headed to the beach house tomorrow and he said you could pick Teddy up on your way there and take him with you…."
"That would be good for Mikey, I'll call him after I pack…"
"I packed your bag after I packed Michael's. I packed shorts and jeans in case it gets cold…"
"Thanks Bones.'
'You're welcome, Booth. "
The next afternoon, Brennan smiled a little as Michael walked up to the counter at the diner and paid for their lunch with his own money.
"I never thought he'd be able to do any of the things he's done in the last five months."
'Me either."
"I'm so proud of him."
"Me too."
Michael walked back to their table, "Dad go now?"
"As soon as you tell mom bye, you won't see her until Sunday afternoon."
Brennan stood up and Michael walked to her and hugged her. "Bye mom!"
"Bye sweetheart. Enjoy going to the beach, I'll see you when you get back on Sunday, okay?"
"K."
"I love you."
"I love ou." Brennan smiled and kissed the top of Michael's head.
"My turn…"
Brennan smiled and turned to Booth "I love you.."
"I love you too, Bones." Brennan kissed Booth.
"Have fun on your guys weekend with Michael."
"I will. I'm going to miss you.."
"I'm going to miss you too, very much."
Booth smiled at Brennan. "I'm only going to be gone for four days, Bones."
"I don't like it when you're away…"
"Normally I don't like to be away either, but thus is going to be a fun and relaxing weekend for Mikey and I. enjoy your weekend with Christine."
"I will." They kissed again.
"Go now, dad?"
Booth chuckled, "We're going, buddy…" Booth kissed Brennan one last time. "Call you when we get there."
"Okay. Be careful."
"Always. Let's roll, Mikey!" Booth put his arm around Michael's shoulders and they left the diner. When they got home, Booth opened the back hatch before he got out of the SUV. "Mikey, can you get our bags and put them in the back while I pack up our food? The bags are by the front door."
"Uh-huh."
"Good."
Twenty minutes later they were on their way to Parker and Addison's apartment. Adison and Teddy were outside waiting on them. "TEDDY!" Michael was out of the SUV as soon as it stopped. Teddy ran to Michael. Adi handed Michael Teddy's leash.
"Parker and I have to go out of town, we thought you'd like to take Teddy to the beach with you…"
"Uh-huh…"
"Good…"
Booth smiled and put the bag of dog food in the back and watched Michael with Teddy for a minute. "Are you ready to go, buddy?"
"Uh-huh." Adi helped Michael get in the car while holding onto Teddy.
Three hours later Booth pulled in to the parking lot of the Mexican restraunt. "Stay here with Teddy while I pick up our order."
"Okay."
A half hour later Booth pulled into their driveway. "We're here. Just take Teddy inside. I'll take everything else inside after we eat."
"Okay."
An hour later they were done with dinner. "Why don't you call mom and tell her we're here while I get our stuff inside."
"Okay." Booth watched Michael pull out his phone and call Brennan." MOM! We here. Got Teddy!"
"That's great, buddy. What did you have for dinner?"
"Tacos!"
"That's good. enjoy being at the beech with dad and Teddy."
"I will."
"I'll see you Sunday when you come home. I love you, sweetheart…"
"Love ou." Once everything was inside and put away Booth and Michael took Teddy for a walk. Then Booth got out card games and he and Michael played Go Fish and Uno until Michael started getting tired.
"Are you ready to go to bed, bub?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay, go get ready for bed while I take Teddy out then I'll bring him to you."
"Okay."
Forty-five minutes later Booth sat down on the deck outside his and Brennan's room and called her.
"Hey Bones."
"Hello Booth, how is Michael?"
"Mikey is better. When we picked up Teddy and got back on the road I could see some of the anxiety leave him. Then when we were getting close and could actually see the ocean, he started relaxing more. We had tacos and took Teddy for a walk and played Uno and Go Fish, Mikey kicked my ass in both… He's in bed now, when I came out to the deck to call you he was listening to a book."
"That's good. check on him before you go to bed to make sure he's sleeping…."
"I will as soon as we hang up. I wish you were here with me, it's a beautiful night, not too cold."
"I wish I was there with you too…"
"Maybe Parker and Adi will watch the monkeys and we can come here for our anniversary weekend…"
"That would be nice…"
"How was your night with Christine?"
"Good. We had Chinese and watched a movie."
"Sounds nice."
"It was." They tacked for a little while longer, when Booth hung up he went to Michael's room and snapped a picture of him sleeping with Teddy snuggled at his side. He sent it to Brennan with the caption, 'out like a light without meds…'
B&B
The next morning Michael slept in, when he got up Booth made waffles. After they ate Michael and Booth took Teddy for a walk. Then they headed for the beach where Michael sat and listened to his books and drew. Around lunch they took Teddy for another walk and spent the rest of the day inside playing games and Booth watched TV while Michael drew in his room. The weekend was spent the same way. Sunday after breakfast Booth packed the SUV and they headed home.
"Did you have a nice trip, buddy."
"Uh-huh."
"I did too. are you ready to see mom and Christine?"
"Uh-huh."
Three hours later Michael ran in the house carrying Teddy "MOM!'"
Brennan turned from the sink in time to catch Michael as he ran into her.
"Hello sweetheart. Did you have a good time at the beach with dad and Teddy?"
"Uh-huh."
"I'm glad."
"I miss you…"
"I missed you too. I'm happy you and dad are home. I talked to Parker earlier and he and Adi have to be out of town until Wednesday so Teddy is staying with us longer."
"Yea! Cwristine?"
"Christine is in her room, go take Teddy and say hi."
"K." Michael walked away.
"Hey Bones…"
"Brennan looked up and smiled, "hello Booth. I missed you.."
"I missed you, too." They kissed.