Discovery

Chapter 28

Willow almost bounced in excitement as she sat in the passenger seat of Booth's SUV as her father navigated the streets of Washington, heading towards Rebecca and Parker's house. She couldn't believe that she was about to meet her little brother face-to-face for the first time. She wondered if he looked similar to the picture she now carried in her wallet, his big brown eyes shining, his toothy grin and the mass of blond curls.

She wondered if he would like her or if he would resent her for taking his dad away from him, for making him share what had previously been just his and no one else's. Willow imagined that Parker and her father were close. The way Booth spoke of Parker with such fondness in his eyes, as well as everyone else's comments about Booth as a father, indicated to Willow that Booth thought the world of his little boy.

Willow was drawn from her musing when Booth pulled the car into a driveway and cut the engine. Willow looked up at the house. It was an ordinary, middle-class kind of house with a white picket fence and flower beds decorating the front garden. She smiled when she saw one of the curtains move, as if someone had been peeking out at them. She got out of the car, following Booth along the path to the front door, swallowing nervously. What should she say? 'Hi, I'm Willow, and I'm your big sister'? Willow cringed as Booth knocked on the door, and she heard the sound of running feet from within the house. She was just glad that Parker already knew about her, so it wasn't going to be so much of a shock when he saw her. From what Booth had said, Parker had been eagerly awaiting her arrival

The door clicked and opened, revealing a tall blond woman and a small boy. Willow guessed the woman was Parker's mother, Rebecca, but her eyes flew to the little boy. He looked so much like his picture, angelic blond curls framing his face, deep brown eyes that were exactly like their father's, the wide smile that seemed to light up his entire face.

"Daddy, you're here. And you must be Willow. I'm Parker, we talked on the phone, and Dr. Bones was there too. You're really pretty, just like in your picture that you gave Daddy to give to me. I put it up on my bedside table. Mommy says that she'll get me a nice frame so it doesn't get anything slopped on it and get all messy," Parker babbled, stepping over the threshold and out onto the front porch so he was closer to Willow. "I didn't sleep much last night, I was too excited about meeting you today."

"Does that mean that you need to go to bed early tonight?" Booth joked and Parker turned to face his father, the most adorable pout on his face.

"Daddy," Parker whined, rolling his eyes. Booth laughed and scooped his son up, kissing him on the forehead. Parker squealed and burst out laughing. Willow grinned as she watched, although she made a mental not to try to never let Buffy... or Angel, see Booth and Parker playing together. It would be far too cruel for them.

"You better come inside. It's very cold out there," Rebecca said, stepping aside. Booth led the way, still carrying Parker in his arms. Willow followed shyly.

"I'm Rebecca, Parker's mom," Rebecca introduced herself to Willow and offered the teenager her hand to shake. Willow took it and shook hands, smiling politely.

"It's very nice to meet you, Rebecca. I'm Willow, as you might have guessed."

Rebecca laughed. "Parker's been so excited about you coming to visit Seeley. He's always wanted a sibling and having his sister come and stay for Christmas has just made this time of year really exciting for him."

"I hope he hasn't been too much of a handful," Willow hedged in apology, watching Parker eagerly chatting away to Booth.

"Oh, no. Just an excited little boy. I'm glad you're here, Willow. Parker's my little boy and anything that makes him this happy makes me happy."