The Anthropologist at the Sleepover

Rating: Its fine.

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Summary: Bones gets invited to Parker's sleepover.

A/N: This is for my awesome mom, Rachel... I wrote this for her a really long time ago, but I'm just posting it for the world to read. I was afraid that maybe I sucked too much at writing Bones, so I never finished it. But here it is, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Sorry for any grammar mistakes.

Parker had begged for days until Booth finally had the courage to ask Bones. Parker was having a sleepover in celebration of his soccer team's win that day and the first person on his list of friends to invite was Dr. Bones. Booth was nervous. He knew he would sound crazy inviting his partner to his son's sleepover, but it's what Parker wanted. His son truly loved this woman to no end. The two of them, Bones and Parker, would sit around occasionally when she went over to visit and talked about mummies, dinosaurs, aliens, and most of the time, bones. It was no surprise when Parker had asked for Bones to be there, so all of his friends could meet her and listen to her stories.

It was Saturday afternoon and most of Parker's friends were already there. The boys were in the living room, watching movies and eating popcorn from a big plastic bowl placed right in the middle of everyone. Booth was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with his cell phone in his hand. He had already punched in her number and his thumb rested on the little green button.

When the movie ended, Parker came running from the living room, still dressed in his soccer jersey. He slid across the linoleum floor in his black Nike Park game socks and collided right into his father's legs.

"Dad! Is Bones coming?"

"I don't know yet, buddy. I haven't asked her."

"Call her! Please?"

"Parker, Bones is a very busy person. I don't want you to get upset if she can't make it, okay?" Parker nodded his head. Booth looked down at his son for a second before pressing the 'call' button and pressing his phone to his ear. It only took two rings until she answered the phone.

"Brennan."

"Bones. Hey. What's up?"

"Booth? Nothing, really. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything is fine. It's just... Parker wanted to ask you something," he explained quickly, then handed his son the phone. Parker smiled and accepted the phone happily.

"Hi Bones!"

"Hey Parker. What are you up to tonight?"

"I'm having a sleepover! Our soccer team won the playoff game today!"

"That's great, Parker. I'm very proud of you. How many goals did you make?"

"Two! I wanted you to come to the game, but dad said you were probably busy." On the other end, Bones sat in her dimmed living room, a bowl of salad in front of her and paperwork on the coffee table. "It's okay though, because you can come to my sleepover tonight! I told all of my friends about you and they're excited to meet you! We're going to have so much fun tonight. Please come, Bones!"

"Parker, is your father still there," she asked.

"Yeah. Hang on." Parker tugged on his father's hand and held up the cell phone, then moved closer to hear their conversation.

"Bones," Booth asked as he accepted the phone.

"Your son wants me to attend his sleepover?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "It's just... he wants you to tell all of your stories to his friends. You know how boys are; give them a tent, flashlights, and a good story teller and they go nuts."

"The things I tell Parker are hardly considered stories, Booth." He could tell she would put up a fight and think of good reasons to not go, but he knew she could never refuse Parker. One of the boys in the living room called Parker over and he left the kitchen in a flash, leaving his father in the kitchen alone.

"I wouldn't have bothered you if this wasn't something he really wanted," he whispered over the phone.

She was already off of the couch and throwing the rest of her salad away. If Parker wanted her to be there, she was going to get there as fast as she could.

"Hello?"

"I'll be there in ten minutes." He smiled.

"Thank you, Bones." They hung up as she pulled on her jacket and grabbed her car keys.

--

She could hear a muffled voice from outside the apartment door and realized they were watching a movie. She hated to interrupt, but knocked on the door anyway and stood back. The door swung open in seconds and Parker was the first thing she saw, complete in his soccer jersey and high socks.

"Bones!" He ran through the door and wrapped his arms around her waist. She was taken back by the physical touch, but eased up and ran her fingers through his hair gently. "I knew you would come." He took her hand and led her into the apartment. She closed the door on her way in and saw Booth in the kitchen, standing in front of the microwave. "Dad! She's here!" Parker suddenly let go of her hand to inform his friends that 'Dr. Bones' had arrived. She joined Booth in the kitchen and saw he was making popcorn.

"I swear I've made ten bags since we hung up," he muttered as he took the steaming bag out from the microwave and pulled it open, dumping the hot popcorn into the plastic bowl.

"You should be feeding them carrots instead of clogging their arteries," she said as she took a handful of popcorn herself.

"If you can get these boys to eat anything healthy, I'll give you a million dollars."

"You don't have a million dollars," she reminded him with a playful grin. Parker came running again, grabbing her hand and leading her into the living room where all of friends were waiting. She looked around at every boy's face and thought deeply about what would interest them the most.

Pirates. She smiled.

--

After the storytelling was over, the sun had gone down considerably enough to start another movie. The group had settled on watching Talladega Nights, one of Parker's favorites. Once the movie was put in, the boys scattered themselves around the television. Booth took his place on the couch and made himself comfortable. Bones sat on the floor, her back pressed against the couch and Parker sprawled across her lap.

Though she had many comments and concerns about the movie they were currently watching, she held off upon seeing how much Parker was enjoying himself. The entire living room had busted into fits of giggles and laughter when the main character had begun running around the race track in simply his underwear, screaming to invisible forces to save him.

Even Booth seemed to be enjoying the movie.

By the time it was over, all the boys had settled down and fallen asleep. Parker, in particular, had curled up to Bones and was fast asleep in her lap. Her arms were draped protectively over him, holding him close to her body. She watched in the dim light how his tiny frame rose and fell with every breath he took. His small face was relaxed, but would change in expression every now and then. She imagined he was dreaming of something interesting, most likely about a story she had recently told him.

"Bones," she heard Booth's soft voice from above. "You alright down there?"

"Fine," she answered just as softly, carefully not to wake Parker. "Your son has decided to use my lap as a bed, though."

"Ah. I'm sorry. Let me take him," he whispered in the darkness of the living room. Slowly getting up from the couch, he moved swiftly and came to stand in front of her. She tightened her hold on Parker and stood up, also. Slowly, she managed to fully stand without causing him to stir. When she looked up, Booth was inches away. Her lips parted and she sighed softly, shifting her weight as she slowly placed Parker into Booth's arms.

The act was extremely intimate, though neither of them wanted to admit it.

"I'll put him in his room," Booth whispered. He carefully stepped over the sleeping group of boys and made it to the dark hallway. Bones followed behind, silently. They went into the first room to the right, which was decorated with spaceships, dinosaurs, and sports teams.

She noticed the bedsheets were tangled and messy, so she moved in front of them and made up the bed for Parker. She moved just enough so Booth could gently place his son into the bed. The small lamp next to the bed was rotating and casting shadows of stars and spaceships against the walls and the ceiling.

She stood back and watched as Booth leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Parker's forehead. Even though she knew it was impossible, she would imagine this would be a "heart melting" moment. A tiny smile played on the corner of her lips. They lingered in the room a while longer, simply watching Parker sleep, until they both moved from the bedroom and out onto the balcony of Booth's apartment.

He had made them coffee and came back with two mugs of the hot liquid. The sky was clear and every star seemed to be visible, but he decided not to mention that at the cost of her going into a lengthy explanation of just how big the universe really was.

"You know, he really loves you," he whispered after a moment of comfortable silence. He took a sip of his coffee, waiting for her reply. "I've never seen him take to someone the way he took to you."

"It's hard for me to imagine a child taking to me, but Parker is so easy to get along with." And to love, she added mentally. "He's a good kid, Booth. You should be proud."

"Oh, trust me. I'm the proudest parent that ever lived." He took a moment to collect his thoughts and looked down into his coffee. "I just wish he could see that. And you know, the proud thing, it's a two-way street. I want him to be proud of me."

"Booth, he loves you. He looks up to you."

"It's just hard to believe when I've failed at everything. My relationships, my job... what's next? Parenting?"

"You didn't fail with Rebecca. She was too stubborn to see what a wonderful guy you are. If anything, she's the one who failed. You are wonderful at your job. I don't know where you're getting that 'failure' nonsense from. As far as anyone is concerned, you are best fit to be that boy's father. I watch you with Parker all the time and I envy you."

"Finally something I'm better at," he teased.

"Yeah. I guess so," she whispered, staring down into her own coffee. Just before she felt the need to close her eyes, she felt a warm hand cup her cheek. Slowly, she let her eyes trail up Booth's chest until they met his own eyes.

"Hey," he whispered. "You never know until you try. You were great with Andy. My own son even considers you to be a big part of his life. You're already a natural at it, you just don't realize it."

She could feel her heart pounding and managed to smile through the intense feeling.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No, Bones. Thank you."

A/N: So that's it. I hope it's okay. -hides- Anyway, I have to write a stupid essay that's due tomorrow and I haven't even finished reading the book that I'm supposed to write it about. Yeah mom! This was for you! I hope you liked it!