A/N: Hello, Bones fans! This is my first foray into the Bones fanfic world. (I'm cheating on my Gilmore Girls heritage.) But in re-watching Season 5 in preparation for Season 6, two ideas popped into my head and I couldn't let them slide. This is the first story, and I'm currently working on another. Because I'm new in this world, I would love to hear any and all of your comments. Ooh, and if you can point me in the direction of some favorite stories, I would love to start reading some great Bones fanfiction. Thanks and Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone.

OOOOO

Angela looked up from her sketchbook just in time to see a small blonde boy walk by her office. She did a double take before realizing who it was.

"Baby Booth?" She called out as she ran out her office door to verify. He turned back around and walked towards her. "What are you doing here?" She asked, as she excitedly gave the young man a hug.

"I'm nine Angela. I'm not a baby." He said with an embarrassed smile.

"You're right." She apologized. "Where's your dad?" She asked, looking around.

"I'm here to talk to Bones. Is she here?" He asked, avoiding her question. Angela eyed him mysteriously.

"Does your dad know that you are here?" She asked. Parker didn't answer. "Parker!" She said, surprised by his mischievous behavior. "Come on, I'll take you to see Brennan. I'll let her try and explain this to your dad who, might I remind you, is an FBI agent…with a gun." She added. Parker smiled and let Angela lead the way to Brennan's office. She knocked on Brennan's doorway. Brennan looked up from her desk, surprised to see the two of them together.

"Look who snuck in to come visit you." Angela said.

"Hi Bones." Parker said sheepishly with a wave.

"Parker, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I wanted to talk to you. You know, alone?" He said. Angela took her cue with a laugh.

"I got it. I'm leaving. But call Booth and let him know that Parker isn't MIA before he shoots someone." She told her friend.

"That's probably a good idea." Brennan said seriously. She hated to admit it, but Parker's surprise visit made her happy. She didn't see a lot of Booth anymore unless they were actually out on a case. The days of eating at the diner or celebrating over drinks were behind them now that Booth was so serious with Hannah. He had a reason to go home now. Seeing Parker reminded her of the old days, before Maluku and Iraq and the events surrounding Sweets' book changed everything. She dialed the phone as Parker sat down on the couch. Booth picked up on the first ring.

"Booth." He said sharply.

"Hi, it's me." She replied.

"Bones, I can't talk right now. Parker's missing." She could hear the panic in his voice.

"Parker's here." She told him. "At the lab." She clarified.

"What!" He sighed, slightly relieved that he was somewhere safe. "Is he okay? How did he get there?"

"No, he's fine." She said. "And I'm not quite sure." She put her hand on the mouthpiece. "How did you get here?" She asked Parker.

"I took the emergency money and got a taxi." He said simply.

"He took a cab with your emergency money." She heard Booth react intensely to that statement. "Did I mention that he's fine?" She stated again, not sure if he heard her the first time.

"Not for long because I'm going to kill him." He promised.

"Booth, he just stopped by to see everyone. He said there's something he needs to talk to me about." This caused Booth to fall silent on the other end. "We were just going to go to the diner for some food. Why don't you meet us there in an hour?"

"Fine." He said. "But let him know that he's in huge trouble for running away like that."

"Okay. I will." Brennan said as she hung up her phone. She turned her attention to Parker. "Your dad is very upset that you left without telling him where you were going." She informed him. "You shouldn't scare him like that. He has a very dangerous job and he shouldn't have to be scared when he's at home too."

"I'm sorry. I just, I wanted to see you guys. I missed you." Brennan relented at his honest face.

"We missed you too." She admitted. "Come on, I'll take you to get something to eat and we can talk."

OOOOO

"Let me guess, chocolate milkshake, two straws?" The waitress said as she looked at Brennan and then the small boy where Agent Booth was supposed to be sitting.

"Apple pie please." Parker said as he took out some money from his pocket. The waitress laughed. That was Booth's order too.

"It's on me." Brennan said, pushing the money back towards the boy. "Chocolate milkshake and we'll share an order of fries." She nodded as she walked away.

"Thanks Bones." Parker said with a smile. "Do you want to share some of my pie?"

"Oh, I don't like pie." She told him. Parker looked shocked. Brennan couldn't help but smile. He looked exactly like Booth when he was surprised.

"Pie is the best!" He told her.

"Your father would agree with you." She said. "So what is so important that had you sneaking away from your father?" She asked.

"I think he's going to marry Hannah." Parker said as if it were horrible. Brennan was surprised by the sentence. She knew that things were serious and that Booth wanted to move on with his life, but she hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

"And this upsets you?" Brennan asked, compartmentalizing her own feelings and focusing on the task at hand.

"Yes! I mean, she's nice and all, but I don't want her living with us all of the time." She smiled at his seriousness.

"Did you talk to Boo…, I mean, your dad about this?" She asked.

"No. He wouldn't listen to me anyway. He likes her. He's always saying that if mom likes someone, we have to like them too. It's the same with Hannah." Brennan took a sip of her shake and thought about the situation.

"Can I be honest with you?" She asked, not sure what the protocol was involving honesty. She knew that Booth lied to Parker about things like Santa Clause, but she still wasn't certain how common it was to lie to children. The boy nodded.

"When I was a little older than you, I lost both of my parents. They had to leave and I was left to live with strangers. I can't help but think that you are very fortunate to have so many people who want to take care of you." Parker sighed at Brennan's sad story. He never knew that about her.

"What about Max?" He asked.

"He only came back a year ago. My mom never came back." She said, suddenly very uncomfortable.

"That's sad." Parker thought out loud. Brennan nodded. "I'm sorry you didn't have a family."

"Just because my parents weren't around doesn't mean that I don't have a family." Brennan assured him. "I've got my chosen family. Everyone at the lab..."

"And me and Dad." Parker added quickly. Brennan nodded with a smile.

"Yes, and I never realized that until your dad taught me that being a family didn't necessarily mean being blood relatives." She paused. "Your father loves you very much. He would do anything for you, you know that, right?" Parker nodded.

"If you're our family, then why don't we see you as much anymore?" Brennan swallowed her fry.

"Well, your dad is busy with you and with Hannah. I've been working on a new book and…it just sort of happened that way. It doesn't mean that we don't care about each other as much. Life just gets in the way sometimes."

"You could spend more time with us if you wanted to date my dad." He suggested hopefully.

"I thought you just said you didn't want someone around all the time." Brennan said.

"No, I said that I don't want Hannah around all the time. You would be awesome. You could teach me all about dead bodies, plus you have a pool." He said matter of factly. "Don't you like my dad?" He asked.

"Of course I do, but your dad and I are partners. We work together and we are friends. Besides, even if we wanted to date each other, it's against the rules." She said.

"That's stupid." He said.

"Even if that's true, partners have a special relationship and we have to keep it professional." She explained as she ate a fry. Parker frowned.

"So I'm stuck with Hannah?" He asked dismally. "Couldn't you talk to him about it?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to agree with your father. I want your dad to be happy. If Hannah makes him happy, then I wouldn't stop him from marrying her even if I did have any power to stop him." Parker didn't seem to like this answer.

"Will we stop seeing you?"

"Of course not. You are welcome at the lab anytime. As long as your dad says that it's okay first." She added, giving him a look. "Angela has art supplies. Hodgins has all sorts of insects and beetles. Cam might even let you see a dead body if you ask her nicely."

"Really?" Parker asked, his eyes widening.

"Sure. But you have to promise to never leave without telling your dad where you are going again."

"Deal!" He said.

OOOOO

Across the street, Booth watched from the sidewalk as Brennan and Parker talked on the other side of the window. He couldn't help but smile. Apple pie, fries, and a chocolate shake. How many times had they sat at that very table and done the same thing? He watched as Parker looked up at Bones, surprised by something she had said. He laughed before replying animatedly, waving his hands around. Booth prayed to God that she wasn't describing a set of bones or decrepit body that they had found. With a nine year old boy, you never knew what was going to get him excited. He crossed the street and opened the diner door, the familiar smell making him miss the place, or more to the point, miss her. Parker saw him coming and suddenly got very quiet. Brennan turned around to see what she already knew. Booth was here.

"Bones. Parker." Booth acknowledged them both as he stood next to his son's seat at the table. The silence that followed was disconcerting. Brennan had seen Booth do the same thing once in the interrogation room, so she knew that it was a ploy to make the boy feel poorly about himself.

"Parker…" Brennan prodded him, knowing he would understand what she wanted him to say.

"I'm sorry." Parker said quietly towards his father. "I didn't mean to scare you and I won't do it again." Booth was surprised by his son's apology. He glanced at Bones.

"We'll talk about it later." He said, his tone already softening. "Go take this to the waitress," Booth handed him a twenty and the check. "I'm going to talk to Bones for a second, okay?" Parker nodded obediently, knowing that he was in no position to argue. As soon as he was gone, Booth sat down in his son's chair. He took a fry off of the plate between them without even thinking about it. Brennan watched and smiled, causing him to realize what he was doing. Old habits die hard, he thought.

"Okay, so?" He asked her, wanting some information.

"He wanted to talk to me about Hannah." Brennan said, knowing Booth wasn't going to like that very much.

"What about her?" He asked, getting defensive.

"It's hard for him. You had a year to get to know her, but Parker is still trying to figure it all out. He needed to rationalize."

"He said that?" Booth said incredulously. "He's nine. He can't even remember to brush his teeth every day."

"Booth, whether you like it or not, Parker is very observant. He sees the things that you try to protect him from. He's an extremely intelligent child." Booth smiled as he glanced at his son.

"He might be smarter, but he gets into just as much trouble as I did."

"Don't be too hard on him. He really didn't mean to scare you. He just wanted to talk."

"Thanks Bones." He sighed. "I'm glad that he felt that he could trust you. I just, I wish that he would talk to me about it first, you know?"

"He doesn't think that you will listen."

"He thought it would just be better to run away." Booth said, clearly frustrated.

"I took care of that too." Brennan said. "I made him apologize to you and to promise not to run away again, and in return, I told him he could visit the lab for a day." She said.

"What?" Booth said. Parker looked over at his dad's outburst. "Why would you promise him that?" He said a little more quietly

"Because, Booth! He's very interested in what we do. He wants to learn. Finding that phalanges in the bird's nest really got him interested in forensics."

"My kid, the squint-lover." He said.

"Why do you have to say it like that?" Brennan asked.

"Bones, come on. I don't want him poking around dead bodies, and sifting through flesh-eating beetles. He's just a kid!"

"There are flesh-eating beetles!" Parker said as he reappeared, hearing only the last part of their conversation. "You didn't tell me that!" His excited face made Brennan smile and Booth groan.

"Come on, we're going now." Booth said. "You and I have a lot of talking to do." He said as he pushed his son towards the door.

"Wait!" He said, running past his father and back to the table. He gave Brennan a huge hug. "Thanks Bones." He said honestly. "You're the best." Brennan smiled.

"You're welcome. Anytime." She said. Parker headed back towards the front door, but this time it was Booth's turn to show his appreciation. He smiled at his partner and gave her a hug.

"You are the best." Booth confirmed, his lips brushing against the hair on the top of her head. He smiled at her and walked out of the diner. She watched him go, fighting back all the feelings that were suddenly rushing through her body. She had missed her chance. The thought hit Brennan with such force it almost knocked her back into her chair. If she had said yes, she could have been walking out with them. They could be going home together. They could have truly been a family.

OOOOO

Booth drove until he reached the small park where he sometimes took his son. He put the car in park and sighed, glancing over towards the boy next to him.

"What are we doing here?" Parker asked.

"I wanted to talk to you. Man to man." Booth said. Parker looked over at his dad, surprised.

"You always tell me that I'm not a man and that you'll talk to me when I'm older." Parker reminded his father.

"Well tonight is an exception." He explained. "Care to explain why you thought it would be a good idea to run away?"

"I wanted to talk to Bones."

"Why?" He asked.

"She always knows the right answer." Booth smiled. He couldn't deny that.

"So what did you need to talk to her about?" He tried a different tactic as he pondered how regular parents without interrogation training survived parenting. Parker looked hesitant to reveal this information. "It's okay, you can tell me."

"You're going to get mad."

"I won't get mad, just…start at the beginning."

"Did you know she doesn't like pie?" Parker started. Booth smiled and nodded. "She told me that I should apologize to you because you had a scary job and you didn't need to be scared at home."

"She is the smart one." Booth agreed.

"Then I told her that I thought you were going to marry Hannah."

"What?" Booth said.

"I told you you would get mad!" Parker said.

"I'm sorry, go on." He said with a sigh.

"I told her that I didn't want Hannah to be my new mom. She told me about how she didn't have a family when she was little and that I was lucky to have so many people who loved me and wanted to take care of me." This shocked Booth. Bones had opened up to Parker and actually talked about her past. It had taken him a lot longer to get a lot less out of her. "Then she said that you taught her that family could be friends too and that made us family. I like that, because then Bones is a part of our family." Booth nodded. Parker got quiet. "Then I asked if she loved you, and she said yes but that she could never date you because it was against the rules to date your partner."

"She said that?" He said, interrupting again. Parker nodded.

"I told her I thought it was a stupid rule, but she said that even if it is stupid, people still have to follow it. Then, I asked her if she could talk to you about dumping Hannah, but she said that the only thing she cared about was that you were happy, and that if being with Hannah makes you happy, then we have to be happy for you and respectful of Hannah." Parker sighed. "She sounded exactly like you when Mom gets a new boyfriend." Booth could tell that Parker didn't approve of that thought.

"You really don't like Hannah?" He asked his son, surprised by his feelings.

"I like Bones better." He said honestly. "I mean, don't you?" He asked his dad. Booth couldn't explain to his son that the reason he was dating Hannah in the first place was to move on from his forbidden love for his partner.

"Okay, here's the deal." Booth said, changing the subject. "I know why you wanted to talk to Bones and I would have taken you over there myself if you had just asked. But you didn't ask, you ran away, and for that you must pay the price." Booth said. Parker sighed, knowing his punishment was inevitable. "No TV and no video games until Friday." Parker's eyes got wide.

"That's a whole week!"

"If you do the crime, you do the time." Booth said, unapologetic for his tough grounding.

"Fine." Parker sighed, knowing that he was spending that time at his mom's anyway. Maybe she wouldn't make him wait the whole week.

"Come on, I'll take you home." He said as he started the car. The entire drive home, the only thing that Booth could think of was Bones saying that she loved him and that they were considered a part of her family. He hadn't seen her outside of work in months. Kicking himself for shutting her out of his life, he knew that he had to apologize to her tomorrow for his actions. Then his mind drifted over to what Parker had said about liking Bones better. 'Don't you?' It had taken everything Booth had to keep from answering yes.