Page 34 of Second Chance

“You do not need to convince us about the necessity of reform,” Colette tells him.

Daniel opens his mouth.

“Or,” Tony adds hurriedly, “about all the other social structures more in need of funding than the police.”

“I wrote the grant proposal for the crime show project with you,” Colette reminds Daniel.

“And I watch all the crime shows with you two as punishment for my sins,” Tony throws in.

Really, he doesn’t mind. Tony likes a good police procedural as much as the next person, although they’re slogging their way throughBonesright now, and the later seasons are dire, both politically and from a storytelling perspective. Watching it iskind of torturous, what with Daniel on one side complaining about war crime apologia every time Booth is on screen and Colette on the other complaining about poor representation of the field of anthropology every time Brennan opens her mouth. Collectively, Tony would estimate they spend about 80 percent of each episode’s runtime complaining.

Personally, he thinks Angela’s character assassination is the worst part of the later seasons, so that takes up the remaining runtime.

If theirBonesmarathons are what academic research is usually like, maybe Tony is smarter than he thought.

It takes a moment to get into the swing of their morning routine. Daniel has to head into college today for meetings with some council he’s on—Tony loses track sometimes—so they get dressed in a hurry while Colette makes toast in the kitchen.

Worf hops up onto the bed and chirps inconsolably to make sure they know he doesn’t want them to leave. Tony pets his flat head in apology before threading his belt through the loops of his jeans.

“Gotta do laundry this week,” he says.

“Mm,” Daniel agrees. “Here or Kingston?”

Tony shrugs. “Probably here. I’ll let you know. Promised Ma dinner today though.”

“If you—”

“Nope, you’re coming.”

“Honey.” Daniel pauses to look at Tony, three buttons still undone at the top of his shirt. “If there’s a lot going on, with Gianna and Lia and your parents, especially now, I get it. As much as I love your mother’s cooking, I can stay home alone.”

Tony swallows. He pads over to the bathroom and unscrews the little plastic dishes his contacts rest in overnight. He can’t talk while he’s putting them in; for some reason he needs to open his mouth while he does it. It gives him time to look for the words he’s not sure he has. Gianna being questioned by the police about a dead professor again isn’t a small deal. It’s awful, and on top of the hectic pace at the garage with all of them switching up their schedules to make it possible for her to go back to college, the stress will get to everyone.

But no one’s talking about it.

No one’s said anything except Tony and his big dumb mouth, asking Gianna over and over if she’s all right. Spending another whole night not talking about it while no one in the room seems to understand that he’s gasping under the strain when Daniel could be there and know— Tony doesn’t want that.

“I want you there” is all he says in the end.

To his credit, Daniel nods with no further protest. “I’ll be there, then. Pick me up?”

“Of course.”

Tony sleepwalks through work, leaving customer interaction to Gianna at the front desk. It’s Pa’s day off, and he’s taking it, which teaches Tony to be thankful for small mercies when the detective shows up. At least Pa doesn’t have to see this happening all over again.

He’s not sure if his parents have forgiven him for keeping Gianna’s secrets for as long as he did.

Kyle doesn’t ask questions about the brief and seemingly friendly conversation the detective has with Gianna, which is also kind. Tony can still feel Kyle’s eyes on him as he immerses himself in the inner workings of a middle school teacher’s Audi, but he tries to ignore it.

It works until closing when Gianna steps through the door into the garage with the baby on her hip. “You coming home tonight?”

Tony bangs his head on the hood of the Audi as he straightens up.

“Yeah, for dinner.”

“Okay.” Gianna’s voice is so even, so untroubled Tony has no alternative but to believe her. “I’m heading out. You’ll lock up?”

“Yup.”

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