A/N: This chapter is a collection of moments I want to show, but I don't think I can make them long enough for each one to be stand alone chapters….

Tyler had been living with Booth and Brennan for a little over two months when Max finally came back to D.C. from helping Russ and Amy while Hayley was receiving intense treatment for an infection that antibiotics weren't kicking. He was coming over for dinner and to meet Tyler, Brennan was nervous about Max meeting Tyler. They'd told Tyler that Brennan's dad, his grandpa, was coming for dinner and to meet him, Tyler acted like he was okay with it, but as everyone knew that could change in a heartbeat. Tyler was helping Brennan put vegetables on skewers when Booth came into the kitchen with Max. "Hi Tempe."

"Hi dad." Brennan looked at Tyler standing stone still on the stepstool next to her and she gently took the skewer from his hand and stuck the last few pieces of zucchini on it and put it on the tray. "Booth, everything's ready for the grill."

"Okay." Booth walked over and gave Tyler a side hug. Brennan smiled and washed her hands and took a wet rag over to Tyler and began cleaning him up. Then she picked him up, carrying him over to Max.

"Tyler this is your Grandpa, Max. Can you say hi?"

Tyler looked at Max and very quietly whispered, "Hi." before putting his head on Brennan's shoulder.

Brennan smiled, "he's a little shy."

"That's fine, Tempe."

"Let's go sit outside and talk. Dinner should be done soon."

"Okay." Brennan walked outside and put Tyler down. "Tyler why don't you go play on the swing set, grandpa will come with you."

"K." Tyler headed into the yard. Max looked at Brennan. "Tyler will be fine; just don't go too fast or high. Booth and I will be close if he has a problem; we're trying to show him that not all people that he's around are out to hurt him." Max nodded and went to the swing set. Brennan stood next to the grill and Booth watching Tyler and Max."Tyler looks happy. So does dad."

Booth looked up from the chicken he was flipping over, "they both are; Tyler is swinging and Max is playing with his grandson. It doesn't get much better than that."

"No, it doesn't." Brennan took out her phone and took a few pictures before going inside to get the rest of dinner.

After a dinner of grilled chicken and vegetables with cupcakes that Brennan and Tyler had made that morning, Max and Tyler played until Tyler started getting tired and climbed onto Brennan's lap, she started slowly rocking him as she talked to Max. A little bit later Booth looked over and smiled, "he's out Bones. Do you want me to put him in bed while you talk to Max?"

Brennan looked down smiled a little and kissed the top of Tyler's head," Goodnight Sweetheart."Brennan watched Booth bend down and pick Tyler up, the sleeping child's body molding itself to Booth. "He's getting heavy."

Brennan smiled, "that's good, and the pediatrician said he needed to gain weight."

"Yeah…" Booth smiled and rubbed Tyler's back and headed into the house. Max looked at Brennan, "Tyler is a good kid Tempe. You and Booth are good parents, a lot better than your mother and I ever was….."

"Dad, you and mom were good parents. I have some good memories of growing up; they didn't get bad until I went in foster care."

"Still I wish there had been another way. We tried, but it didn't work out…."

"I know dad. I know you and mom did what you thought was best at the time…"

"Yeah…" Booth came back outside and sat down next to Brennan. "He didn't even move when I took his shoes off."

Brennan smiled, "he's tired, and he played outside all day."

"Well I guess I'll go and let you two enjoy the peace and quiet now that Tyler is in bed. When you and your brother finally went to bed when you two were little it was mine and your mother's favorite part of the day. You weren't a lot to handle, but your brother was a handful."

"Dad you don't have to go yet."

"It's getting late, I'd better. Thanks for dinner, it was great. When you two need a sitter call me."

"Thanks, dad you're welcome. We'll keep you in mind for when we are ready to leave Tyler with someone. He does okay with going to daycare as long as he knows we're close and one of us checks on him throughout the day. We're not ready to leave him to go out."

Max nodded, "whenever you're ready then. Goodbye, Tempe, Booth." Max kissed Brennan on the cheek. "Bye, Dad." After Max left Brennan and Booth sat outside for a while talking and enjoying each other's company.

A few days later Booth was tucking Tyler in after Brennan had given him a bath. "Seeley?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I call you 'dad' now? I asked Tempe she said that you wouldn't mind if I did start calling you dad, but I thought I'd ask you first…."

Booth smiled, "Of course you can call me dad Tyler. You don't have to if you don't want to though."

"That's what Tempe said. I want to call you dad now."

"Okay."

"Do you think Tempe would mind if I started calling her mom?"

"No, bud she wouldn't mind if you started calling her mom, she'd love it. You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Okay I'll ask her in the morning."

"Okay. Good night Bud, I love you." Booth pulled the blanket up and finished tucking it around Tyler and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight Dad." Booth smiled and whispered 'goodnight' again as Tyler drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Booth was all ready at work and Brennan was making Tyler's lunch for daycare, while he ate cereal. "Tempe?"

"Yes, Tyler?"

"Can I call you 'mom' now? I asked dad and he said that you wouldn't mind if I did start calling you mom, but I thought I'd ask you first…."

Brennan put down the bread she was taking the crust off of and went around the countermand knelt down next to Tyler's chair. "Of course you can call me mom Tyler, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

"Okay. I want to start calling you 'mom'."

"Okay." Brennan kissed the top of 'Tyler's head and went back to making his lunch. Forty five minutes later Brennan handed Tyler his lunch and watched him put it in his cubbyhole. "Bye Tyler."

"Bye mom."

Brennan smiled, "bye sweetheart, I'll see you later. Daddy will pick you up tonight."

"K." Tyler went off in search of Michael so they could play together. Brennan smiled and headed to the lab.

A few weeks later Brennan had taken the afternoon off to spend with Tyler after working late at the lab every night for a week and a half. She was making spaghetti for lunch when Tyler bounded into the kitchen. "Mom, can I watch a move while I eat?"

"Yes, go pick one out and wait for me, I'll help you put it in the DVD player."

"K." Tyler ran off to the living room while Brennan finished the sauce. She put some noodles in a bowl for Tyler and cut them up when she heard the DVD player come on and open up, finishing Tyler's lunch Brennan put it on the kitchen table and went into the living room and over to the DVD player. Kneeling down Brennan touched Tyler's arm and spoke softly, "Tyler, what did I ask you to do?"

Tyler looked at the floor and mumbled, "pick a movie and wait for you to help me put it in the DVD player."

"Right, so why did you turn it on and put the movie in?"

"Because I wanted to do it myself."

"I was going to let you do it yourself; I just wanted to be here in case you had a problem doing it."

Tyler started crying then, Brennan moved into a sitting position, pulling Tyler down into her lap.

"Shh sweetheart, I'm not mad at you, I'm just disappointed that you didn't do what I asked you to." Brennan wiped the tears away with her hand.

"Sorry."

"I accept your apology Tyler, but you aren't allowed to watch TV or DVDs for the rest of the week including when Parker is here."

"K."

Brennan kissed the top of Tyler's head, "I love you, Tyler. Go eat your spaghetti; I put it on the kitchen table."

"K." Tyler all but ran to the kitchen and got into his chair and began shoveling the pasta into his mouth. Brennan got up and got her own bowl of spaghetti, discreetly watching 'Tyler to make sure he didn't choke. For the rest of the day Tyler played quietly in the floor, avoiding Brennan as much as he could.

When Booth got home that night Brennan pulled him aside and explained what happened and that the TV and DVDs were off limits for the next three and a half days. Later after a quiet dinner Tyler asked Booth if he'd help him get ready for bed instead of Brennan. Booth finished helping Tyler with his pajamas and looked at his watch, "you have a little time before bedtime if you want to go sit with mom."

"I can't…"

"Why can't you?"

"Because mom's mad at me…." Tyler got interested in the hem on his pajama top, Booth tipped his chin up. "Tyler mom is NOT mad at you; she's just disappointed that you didn't do what she told you to."

"But I wanted to do it myself!"

Booth smiled, "I know, but next time wait for me, mom or Parker to get there before you do it, okay?"

"K."

"Now go tell mom goodnight." Tyler nodded a little and headed to the living room. Booth followed him a few minutes later, but stopped in the door of the hallway and watched Tyler climb up in Brennan's lap and laugh at something she whispered in his ear. Seeing that Tyler was okay again Booth went to his man cave to watch the news.

A/N 2: Hey, look at that TWO updates in a calendar year and it hasn't been that long since the last update… I think the next chapter will be either Tyler being separated from one parent at a time and maybe both at once or my reason for having him tell Sweets what the Kramer's did to him… I haven't decided yet….

I am alternating between writing this one and 'Sometimes Waking Up is Hard to Do' so that's next…