(After Season 6 and before Season 7)

Remember, these stories are not in chronological order. I write them as I think of them.

I don't own Bones.

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Parker was visiting his father for the summer and he was excited that his mother had given him permission to stay for two months. He'd never been allowed to stay that long with his father, but now that he was living in England his mother had decided that he needed to spend more time with his father when it was possible. He appreciated that. A lot.

He had offered to help Brennan cook dinner, but this was meatless Wednesday and she was making vegetarian chili. "Thank you. I don't need help cooking this, but if you'd like to set the table that would be appreciated." Brennan was sautéing chopped onions and diced tomatoes. "Oh, don't remind your father that this is meatless Wednesday. I want to see if he notices that this chili doesn't have any meat in it."

Chuckling, Parker shook his head. "He'll notice . . . believe me." The boy was fine with meatless chili, but that was because Brennan had explained what was in the chili and she promised not to put tofu in it.

A knock on the door surprised them both. "I'm not expecting anyone." Brennan glanced at the pot and then the kitchen doorway.

"I'll go look." Parker left the kitchen and rushed to the front door. Opening it, he was surprised to see who was standing in the hallway. "Hannah."

Equally surprised, Hannah smiled at the boy standing in the doorway. "Parker . . . I didn't expect to find you here. It's Wednesday."

Shrugging his shoulders, Parker kept his hand on the doorknob. "I'm staying with Dad for the summer . . . I live in England with Mom so I get to stay here the whole summer this year."

"I see." She didn't think that would derail her plans. "Can I speak to your Dad?"

"He's not here . . . there's been a kidnapping and he's trying to . . . um." He remembered she was a reporter and in the past his father had warned him about talking to reporters.

Surprised, Hannah looked over the boy's shoulder. "You're here by yourself?"

"Hey, I'm almost eleven. I'm not a little kid . . . and . . . well, no I'm not alone." He saw the look of amusement on her face and frowned. "What do you want?"

Since Parker hadn't come back and she could hear a conversation, Brennan stepped out of the kitchen and walked to the front door. "Hannah."

Surprised, Hannah stared at Brennan for a moment and realized that it made sense that she was there to babysit Parker. "Temperance . . . I wanted to speak to Seeley and I took a risk to see if he was home and not at work."

Wary of the situation, Brennan was careful about what information she divulged. "Booth may not be home this evening. He is supervising his agents about a critical matter that is time sensitive."

Amused, Hannah shook her head. "Parker said there has been a kidnapping and Booth is trying to resolve it."

Embarrassed, Parker turned to look at Brennan. "I forgot she's a reporter, but I didn't tell her anything else."

Her hand on his shoulder, Brennan shook her head. "It's fine, Parker."

Resenting being treated like the enemy, Hannah sighed. "How are you doing Temperance?" She noticed that her friend had gained a little weight, but that wasn't any of her business. She had her own issues with weight and had to watch what she ate and exercise regularly. Television cameras were unforgiving.

Since it was rude to keep Hannah in the hallway, Brennan pulled Parker back from the door. "Would you like to come in? I'm cooking dinner, but it's not a complicated endeavor."

Stepping into the apartment, Hannah smiled and followed Brennan to the kitchen. "I've been in Pakistan for six months and I just got back." Once she was in the kitchen, she sat down at the table. "Do you have any water? I'm a little thirsty."

"We have water and beer, plus soft drinks, juice and iced tea." Brennan opened the fridge door and waited for Hannah to make a selection.

"A glass of tea would be good." Hannah noticed the boy standing in the kitchen doorway. "So, how do you like England, Parker?"

Not sure why she was there, Parker hoped it wasn't to make his father sad again. "It's cool . . . I've seen some castles and my Mom and me have been to some cool pubs and we've seen the Tower Bridge and we've been on the London Eye a couple of times and . . ."

Hannah laughed. "I get it . . . I get it. So, London is a cool place to visit. I've been there a few times. Don't forget to visit the British Museum . . . you wouldn't want to miss that. They have some old mummies and I know boys think that's cool. They have guided tours which aren't cheap, but your mother probably can afford it."

Not sure if Hannah was making fun of him or his mother, Parker shook his head and left the room. His father wasn't dating her anymore and he didn't have to like her.

"Did I say something wrong?" Hannah felt she had said something that Parker hadn't liked, but she didn't know what it was.

"I don't know." Brennan stared at the empty doorway. "Booth is sensitive about money, but Rebecca is a successful lawyer and money really isn't an issue for her." Brennan turned the heat back on under the pot and continued to sauté her onions and tomatoes. "I don't know when Booth will be home . . . I don't call him when he's working on something like this . . . He'll call me when he can."

Sipping some of her tea, Hannah looked around the kitchen. "I see he still loves junk . . . The things he collects and insists are valuable." She shook her head and laughed.

"Booth is sentimental and likes to own things that remind him of his grandparents and their home . . . He loves to collect carnival glass and old business signs." Brennan pointed at an old Coca Cola sign hanging on the wall near the fridge. "I found that in a shop a few weeks ago and bought it for him . . . I don't think he would appreciate it if he heard you call his possessions junk."

"No, I guess not . . . Temperance, you have to know what happened between Seeley and me. I didn't mean to upset him, but he was asking me for more than I was prepared to give at the time . . . I've had a year to think about it and . . . I think I'm going to ask him to marry me." Hannah shook her head. "I miss him and I love him . . . I'm not going to give up what I do, but I think we could make it work."

Surprised, Brennan stirred the pot, turned off the heat and turned to face her guest. "Booth is living with me now . . . We have come to an understanding. We're in a monogamous relationship." She wanted to be blunt. She had almost lost Booth because she had been afraid of commitment, but she had let those fears go and she wasn't going to let Hannah destroy her happiness. "I have no intention of giving up on my relationship. I did that once and we were both unhappy . . . I thought I had missed my chance, but when you turned down Booth . . . well, I found out that I hadn't missed my chance after all. We're going to have a baby."

Shocked, Hannah felt her face turn warm. "I . . . I didn't know. I should have known though . . . Seeley wanted someone to love him, to commit to him, to live with him forever . . . and he was always talking about you. I knew you were great friends and I knew he loved you. I should have known when I turned him down that he'd probably pursue you. I guess the pursuit didn't last too long . . . He falls in love very easily."

"No, not as easily as you think . . . Booth told me that you can love a lot of people in this world, but there is only one person you love the most . . . He is loyal when it comes to his friends and he is a romantic man, but he isn't fickle. He isn't capricious when it comes to love . . . He has a set of rules he tries to live by. He told me that he loved you. You helped him when he was lonely in Afghanistan and he loved you for that . . . But you didn't return his love. Not really. You never really understood him. I told you to be sure when you moved in with him. I warned you that he would give himself completely to you and it would be very painful for him if you weren't as serious about the relationship as he was. He wanted a permanent relationship. He wanted more than you could give him and he did suffer when you turned him down. He didn't run into my arms when you left. I can assure you that you hurt him and you left a mark on him that had to wear off . . . In the past, he has told me that the people you love leave a mark on you. Eventually he did take a chance on a relationship with me and we are happy together."

"So, you're giving him what I couldn't." That hurt. Hannah had loved Booth but not enough to change. Cleary Brennan was willing to give up some of her independence to have Booth in her life. "Well, I guess that's it . . . I am who I am and I can't change. I don't want to change. I could never give up my career and I definitely don't want any kids. That's not who I am." Standing, Hannah glanced around the room. "I hope you and Seeley are happy and congratulations . . . about your . . . um, baby." Nothing else to say, Hannah knew she needed to leave before her former lover came home.

Once their guest was gone, Brennan continued to cook the chili while Parker sat in the living room watching the kitchen doorway. After a while, he reentered the room. "She doesn't really like kids . . . She tried to like me when she was living with Dad, but . . . well, I'm glad you and Dad are living together now . . . I love you, Bones and you make my Dad happy."

Turning, she faced the boy. "I love you too Parker and your father makes me happy too."

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Let me know what you think of my story, I appreciate it.