Beautiful Boy Chapter 26/?
Paring: Booth/Brennan/Parker/Introducing New Major Character Laura in later chapters
Rating: M - WARNING: There is mention of child abuse and mental health issues
Genre: Romance/Family/Angst
Summary: Please Read Summary: Parker has been returned after being abducted and months of sexual abuse. Booth and Brennan deal with his issues while learning to deal with their burgeoning relationship and a family they thought they’d never have. There will be issues of resolving child abuse trauma and mental health for all..
Chapter 26
Booth saw what Bones was doing and was about to stop her due to their guest but saw how eager Parker was and sighed.
He quickly turned to Hank hoping to just pass this off as 'normal'.
"What should I do? Should I go back to meetings?" he questioned even though he knew the answer.
Hank saw Booth's comment exactly for what it was a diversion. He looked at Booth and stared until he saw the reaction he was waiting for. "Booth I won't even dignify that question with an answer. I think one of the big issues I see are the changes in Parker. Obviously I can tell there have been some very difficult changes recently. Tell me," at this he looked first at Booth "do you think your obvious reactions to Parker's needs are normal?"
"Nothing in this situation is 'normal'." Booth pointed out using finger quotes around the word 'normal'.
"Interesting you don't think it is 'normal'" and Hank followed Booth's finger example of quotes around the word “but you both act as if it were. Your behavior is automatic. Parker expressed he was hungry, Temperance put him on her lap started breastfeeding him and you started rubbing his back. All of your action were done without any thought or communication with each other, why do you think that is?”
Booth sighed, "I just meant that my reactions aren't normal, but it's become normal to us. I doubt a father would do this in different situation with their 8 year old son."
"Booth we aren't going to talk about anyone other than the three of you, so stop throwing up defenses. It’s crap and you know it. I'm not here to play games and neither are you or you wouldn't have called me. So next piece of the elephant. When I said something about you being able to afford living here you said you have a sugar mama, is that how you see Temperance and yourself? Is she the provider and you are a kept man?
Parker quickly pulled away from Bones and glared at his dad. "My mama, not yours!" he said and then quickly went back to drinking.
Booth couldn't help but chuckle and then answered Hank's question. "I don't really feel like that. But sometimes lately it’s hard not to because she is the one that is paying for us now that I’m not working."
"Ok that can be a big stressor why aren't you working?"
"Because of Parker." Booth said looking over at his son. "Since the kidnapping I had taken too much time off and ran out of leave time. So I had to take unpaid leave."
"That's a big stressor and we will come back to it with a plan. But it does lead up to the biggest piece of the elephant I can think of. Temperance is a tremendously famous author and along with it comes a significant amount of money, do you have access to it?"
Booth glanced at Bones and then back and Hank, "Yeah I do." he answered softly.
Parker pulled away from Bones and hopped off her lap to go play with his toys.
Bones looked at Booth in surprise. Parker had never done that before and she was confused. He had fed on only one side; it made her uncomfortable and depressed.
Hanks looked at her and read her confusion deciding to move from Booth to her. “Temperance the last time I saw Booth, just last month by the way, you were both still just partners. It is obviously not the case now. I’m curious what caused the change?”
"Parker regressing to infancy brought us closer and we were able to finally admit our feelings for each other." Bones explained but she sounded distant.
"Watching Tempe care for Parker in that way...the breastfeeding brought many feelings out in me." Booth began. "At first it scared me, then it brought out some...sexual...feelings."
Hank turned to Booth ‘I know you,” he smiled “sex is not the easiest thing for you to talk about or even to joke about. How did having sexual feelings for Temperance breastfeeding Parker make you feel?”
"Scared...grossed out." Booth said.
"We fought a lot at first," Bones said in that still far away voice. Her eyes were on Parker playing with Mr. Puck and Mr. Oopy Doopy.
Hank was watching Temperance and was forming questions for her, but needed to follow up with Booth first. “Fist tell me what scared you then what grossed you out.” He watched as Booth looked at Temperance before answering. “No Booth, I’m calling you out again another piece of the elephant. I want to know how you felt, not what you think you can say that won’t hurt Temperance’s feelings. This isn’t about hurting anyone it’s about truth.”
"How would you feel if you were in my place?" Booth asked raising his voice now. "How would you feel to see your 8 year old son sucking on your partner's breast?"
“Whoa there, first of all I did expect the anger but it sounds like your anger is coming more from you thinking what was going on was perverted. Let me tell you something first then ask you again. Jenny breastfed both of our girls. Every time I came in and saw her I had an instant hard on. Jenny and I both thought I was a pervert. Her OB told both of us it was totally normal. While I’m sure her breastfeeding Parker at such an old age might be unsettling in light of what I just said now what do you think? I don’t think I was a pervert do you think you are?”
"But you just said that Jenny's OB said it was normal." Booth pointed out and then went quite when he realized what he said.
"I tried telling him that anything to do with the body is normal and natural." Bones pointed out. "But you know Booth, he gets worked up over anything remotely sexual."
Hank looked at Bones "Yes he does" he smiled. "So Booth did Temperance just wake up one day a decide today I have nothing better to do so I am going to start breastfeeding Parker? It is my understanding she doesn’t have any children, she certainly isn't pregnant, so who suggested she breastfeed Parker? You? How did she develop a mike supply, because believe me I know it isn't easy even under what you would call normal circumstances."
"Parker regressed and began acting like a 6 month old or even younger. We had been told by Parker's psychiatrist that this could happen. He is the one that told Bones to look into information on breastfeeding."
Bones nodded, "I called him when Parker started showing the signs of the severe regression. He told me the items to buy and websites I could look at. Soon I was taking special vitamins and producing my own milk."
"Well see there you are so it's just the same and nothing to worry about, while the situation is certainly different, you both did exactly what Booth's child needed. Temperance I think I saw one of your elephants pieces earlier. You seemed a little upset at Parker when he stopped nursing and went to play. I remember Jenny was glad when the girls stopped nursing after they had teeth. They bit I don't think you are all that happy and him stopping, right?"
"He hasn't stopped before drinking from both breasts before." Bones said in a way of explanation.
Hearing the slight distress in her voice, Booth took her hand in his to help her calm.
"So why does that bother you" Hank asked?
Bones looked down at hers and Booth's linked has as she responded with tears in her eyes. "He's not going to need me...he's pulling away."
"What makes you think he isn't going to need you? Do you have any idea of how his nursing pattern might change if he follows the same as our girls did?"
Bones looked up and shook her head. She hadn't done her research passed milk production. Everything had seemed to be going according to plan she hadn't thought to do more research. "I didn't research that part..." just saying it out loud made her even more on edge.
"Tempe..." Booth said as he removed his hand from hers and began rubbing her back.
Hank smiled there seemed more here than he had thought. She certainly wasn't the calm emotionally distant person he had seen in the past. “Let me tell you what you might be able to expect, but if things don’t go that way it doesn't mean you have done anything wrong. Just keep this very important thing in mind. Parker hasn't read any books on how to act so he doesn’t know exactly what to do. So based on what Jenny and the girls went through you might expect these things to happen. He will begin to nurse very inconstantly, so pump your milk and freeze it. The girls refused to drink any other milk than breast milk until they were five even though it was in a cup or their cereal bowl so again stored milk helped again. Other than that you can expect him to determine one or more times that he considers his. The oldest insisted on breastfeeding just before bed time until she was three. The other one had to be breastfed as soon as she got up, as soon as she came from home from school and when she went to bed until she was five. The one other thing they both did was come to their Mother at times to suckle when they were upset and needed to self sooth. Does that help make you feel better?"
"So even though he's pulling away...it doesn't mean it will just stop?" Bones asked with hopeful eyes.
"No." he smiled “but let’s look at a few other things too. How is having Booth and Parker living here full time affecting you?"
That had her smile, "I love having them here...this will never just be my house it's OUR house."
"We love living here too." Booth said with a smile of his own.
"That's good too, what about providing for everyone. Right now you are the sole provider. How does that make you feel?"
Bones thought about that for a minute. "Important...needed."
"So opening your house, providing for everyone's needs even if it means Seeley's gambling debts don't bother you?"
"He doesn't have any gambling debts." Bones stated firmly. "And I will do anything that has to do with Seeley and Parker. I love them both."
Booth smiled and put an arm around her, pulling her in close to him. "This is not about the money." he said firmly really feeling like Hank needed to know that. "This slip up...didn't happen because I all of a sudden have more money than normal."
Hank turned to Booth and asked "Ok why did it then?"
"I don't know...The only thing I can think of is stress...and the pop-up." Booth said.
Nyre & TinyTeffers
Prologue, Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4, Chapter 5 , Chapter 6 , Chapter 7, Chapter 8 , Chapter 9 , Chapter 10 , Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, , Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25,