Surprise! It didn't take me months to update this time! I've been re-watching Bones and reading and rereading fan fiction to jump start my muse, and apparently it worked. Plus I've always sworn to finish this story – I've read enough abandoned and unfinished stories that have driven me nuts. Anyone still reading or reviewing this story, I'm incredibly grateful for your patience.

Usual disclaimers apply, don't own Bones, etc.

As Bones and I entered the house, we could hear the TV going at low volume, as well as humming.

"Dad? We're home." Bones said as she put her purse on the table.

Max's head popped up over the back of the couch. "You guys weren't as late as I thought you were going to be. Everything OK?"

Bones shrugged. "Booth started to get a headache, so we left earlier than expected."

Max gave me a concerned look. "Sorry to hear that. I hope it's not a migraine. I hate those."

I shook my head. "I don't think so. Thanks though. I agree about hating migraines."

Max stood up. "Well, Christine was good as gold. Had dinner, a bath, and read a couple of books to her. She's out like a light." He took a closer look at me. "No offense, Booth, but you look like hell. Like you've been put through the wringer. Dinner with your mom and her husband that bad?" At a glare from both me and Bones, he raised his hands. "Hey, I'm just asking. If it was enough to cause a bad headache, I just assume it wasn't great."

I let out a heavy breath. "Seriously, I thought you were going to at least try to butt out, Max."

He shot a fake innocent look. "Me? Would I do that? Really, what do you take me for..."

"Dad, now is not the time. Booth isn't well and needs peace and quiet. You are welcome to stay the night, but please, just leave Booth alone. He doesn't need interference from you, especially right now." She turned towards me. "Go on and get some rest, Booth. I'll handle my father."

Grinning both at Bones' word choice and the look on Max's face when see says it, I cheerfully say, "Good night, Max. And good luck."

I woke up with a start, covered in sweat. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, I read 3:20 AM. "Damn nightmares, "I muttered to myself. Turning my head in Bones' direction, I saw that at least this time I hadn't woken her up. I knew this was not one of my worst nightmares – those have always seemed to involve Bones dying – but I still felt unsettled. I could still see my father's angry face and hear his curses from my dream. I laid back down but couldn't seem to manage to get back to sleep. Carefully, so I didn't wake up Bones, I got out of bed. I grabbed fresh clothes and went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. Sighing, I changed and then headed to the living room instead of back to bed. Fixing myself a glass of scotch, I sat on the couch and stared mindlessly straight ahead. Suddenly a quiet cough and a hand on my shoulder made me jump and twist around. "Damn it, Max? What the hell…?"

Max grinned down at me. "Hey, Tempe said I could stay the night. I couldn't sleep either, figured I'd get myself a little late-night snack."

"And give me a heart attack in the process?"

Max snorted. "And have to answer to Tempe if anything happened to you? I'd like to live long enough to see Christine graduate from high school at least. No thank you." He hesitated, then asked, "Mind if I join you?"

"Would I be able to stop you?"

He shrugged. "Probably not." Settling himself on the other end of the couch, he gave another appraising look. "Headache better?"

I gave my own shrug. "Pretty much."

"So your reason for being up at this God-awful time of the morning is…?"

"To irritate you, Max? You're up too."

"Yeah, but I'm old. Don't sleep nearly as well as I used to." He hesitated, then went on. "Look, Booth, I'm sorry about commenting about how the dinner went. I know it's none of my business…"

"Which has never stopped you before," I murmured.

Max shot me a dirty look at that. "It doesn't mean I can't be concerned about both you and Tempe in the middle of this. It's just you came back early and had a headache – just seemed like adding two and two to get four to realize that maybe it was a rough deal. You don't deserve to be put through all this, Booth. You really don't. You're a good guy who got dealt a bad hand growing up, but it's impressive you've managed to get past that to have the kind of life you have now. It really is. I just don't want to see anything, even your own mom, wreck that. I know I talked about the point of view she and I might have shared, but," he shook his head. "I don't like seeing you wiped out like this. Maybe some of it stems from some guilt, because I'm guessing I did some of this to Tempe, but it's also that you're one of the most decent and honorable guys I know." He held up a hand. "And no smart-ass remark about the people I used to hang out with when I robbed banks, please."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"You know, I may take that back, just for that comment." He gave a small chuckle. "Not really. Look, I'm not a mushy kind of guy and I know you aren't either, unless it involves my daughter. Just, just, oh hell I don't know exactly what I'm saying here, other than maybe you might want to rethink the relationship yo end up having with your mom. I know you're a religious guy who's big on family, but don't let your mom, or anyone else, turn that into a liability for you."

"Cam said something similar." I took a sip of scotch and leaned back. "Part of the problem is I envisioned one type of relationship and the more I talk to her, the more it turns into something else entirely, and it doesn't necessarily seem positive. I just kinda feel like I'm floundering around blind here."

Max nodded. "I felt like that lot during a lot of my conversations with Tempe. Trust me, I know all about that. It's like swimming through sludge or something. There's an awful lot of hard work, and it's hard to see where you're going, and there will be times you have to tread water, but if can get through it, it's a hell of a victory."

I sighed. "Even if my relationship with my Mom stays strained, or even non-existent?"

Max nodded solemnly. "Yeah, because you will have shown you survived and triumphed over what happened to you in the past. And I suspect that's what most of this is about. Not your Mom, per se, but the past." He blinked. "Now I've gotten all philosophical and maudlin. That's what chatting in the middle of the night will do to you."

A soft amused voice chimed in from behind us. "You're blaming the time of day, Dad? Really?"

We both turned to see Bones in pajamas and a robe, a small smile on her face.

Max grinned. "Of course. I have a reputation to uphold, after all."

Bones raised an eyebrow at him. "Also not your best argument, given your reputation with the FBI."

Max shrugged, obviously not caring too much about that. "Listen, I'm headed off to bed. It's too late to have arguments about my reputation. Pretty sure I'd lose those arguments against you anyway, Tempe." He stood up, went to Bones, kissed her on the cheek, and quietly said "good night" to both of us.

Bones approached me on the couch, tilted her head to look at me and said, "Nightmare?" I nodded and she sighed. "I'm sorry Booth. I suspect these conversations have triggered memories from the past, and therefore the nightmares. I wish otherwise for you. I hope you know that. I hate when you have nightmares."

I patted the space next to me, and Bones came over and sat, taking a hold of my hand as she did so. "It's OK Bones. Well nightmares aren't OK as you well know, but I sort of figured it might come up. Given the subject matter, it would have been weird if it hadn't. None of this is your fault. Hell, at least after all the shrinking we got from Sweets, I can at least recognize it wasn't mine either. Our pasts are what they are. I'm just trying to come to grips with mine like you did with Max." I shook my head. "Except Max was willing to acknowledge what he did caused you a lot of damage. My mom, not so much. I just can't at this point figure out if it's worth having a relationship with her considering she doesn't seem to really get where I'm coming from."

Bones leaned her head on my shoulder. "Do you think you can forgive her at all, or would you prefer not to have anything to do with her?"

"Honestly, Bones, I don't know. I want to forgive her, but I don't know if I can trust her enough to really have a great mother/son relationship. I just don't know."

Bones took the scotch glass from my hand and put it on the table. "Well, you don't have to figure it all out tonight, Booth. It's late, let's go back to bed. I don't sleep well when you're not beside me."

As she stood up and held out her hand, I was flooded by feelings of love and affection. This woman, who once thought she didn't have enough heart, had showed it to me throughout this whole mess. And what a magnificent heart it was – metaphorically, of course.

I think (and hope) I'm heading towards a resolution here. Maybe get this finished before the 12-year mark LOL. Any reviews would be greatly appreciated, but as I've said, I also appreciate the readers willing to follow along on this VERY long journey.