Bones raised the shot glass to his lips, hesitating as he inhaled the scent of the freshly poured whisky, realizing quickly footsteps were approaching his door.
Getting up fast, he slowly stalked to the door, not particularly interested in conversation.
Holding a baseball bat behind his back, which was just habitual at this point, regardless if it was an actual intruder or the mailman.
4 careful knocks thudded against the door, followed by a muffled
"It's me Bones"
Bones sighed, quickly unlocking the door, revealing Jim on the other side.
"Were you really gonna hit me with a baseball bat?"
"I still might"
Walking back to his desk, Jim huffed as he shut the door behind him, making sure to lock it, before Bones goes off on him again.
"Why are you here Jim?"
Bones finally took a drink, he downed the whole glass in seconds, intuition telling him he'll need that buzz to deal with the mess Jim was bringing to the door.
"I had no idea you hated a friendly visit that much"
Jim remarked as he sat on the opposite side of the desk.
Bones rolled his eyes, Jim thought he was a brilliant liar when it came to Bones but he'd been able to see through any lie he told since their second month at the academy, for the most part.
"Alright fine, I do need your help"
"'No."
"C'mon bones, you haven't even heard it"
"Well I don't want to"
"I need my doctor"
"Well there's plenty of others"
Bones stood up, annoyed as he walked back over to the small bar set up in his office, watching the picture of her carefully.
"Would she have wanted you to stay here?"
Jim asked carefully, unsure of how to act, the change in Bones behavior since his last visit was worrying him.
"It doesn't matter"
Bones took another drink, trying to hide the small sting in his heart.
"What about your son, he would hate seeing his dad like this"
"Don't talk to me about my son"
"What you don't care he's failing most of his classes?"
Bones threw his glass into the wall without thinking.
"You're the one who's pushing him too hard, you know he's only in the academy to be like his mom, and you're only making it harder for him"
"Well right now, If he continues this way he won't be in the academy for much longer"
"Get out of my house"
"Bones don't be like that"
"Get out!"
Bones was seconds away from picking Jim up by the collar and throwing him out.
The way he so casually sauntered in, acting as though Bones hasn't just lost the love of his life, like his son wasn't grieving or in pain, Bones knew he was keeping him up there, Sam had called many times and told him about the way Jim had been treating him but he was sure he wanted to push past it, even if he failed, the same perseverance his mother had.
Jim gave in and left.
Bones stood up again, going back to her picture on the wall, unable to contain a small smile as he retraced Sams and Y/n's smiles in his mind.
Bones smiled to himself as he admired the way she walked back to him after setting up the camera, still blushing a little bit like the day they first met, when he could barely get out words properly.
"Come on Sam, let's take at least one picture!"
She cupped her hands over her mouth, trying to reach Sam who was busy on the other end of the field chasing after butterflies in the air.
He started sprinting back, giggling as the wind pushed his curls out of his face.
Bones stared down at her, watching as she rested against his shoulder, her eyes trained on Sam making sure he didn't trip.
A hint of pride in his heart at the family he had, they were safe on earth, no giant space monsters to take them away.
Noticing Bones, she glanced back up for a moment, brushing his hair back, Bones leaned into her palm happily feeling the warmth before pulling her into a quick kiss.
"Yuck"
Bones smiled, as Sam panted, rejoining his parents.
"C'mere you little munchkin"
Playfully, Bones reached out and pulled Sam into his lap, tickling his sides as he laughed trying to push him off.
Unknown to the two of them, she quietly pressed the button to the camera, taking a picture of the happiest moment of their lives, she laughed as Sam broke free and Bones ran after him, playing chase now
"Wait for me!"
Finding Jim at the local bar was easy enough, Bones was going to talk to Jim again under 2 conditions, that he was about to make abundantly clear.
"bones?"
Jim turned, but Bones threw his fist before speaking.
"Find my son another teacher, who will help him or I will"
Jim nodded, rubbing the sore spot on his chin.
"We were good friends once Jim, but you lost the at privilege the day you made me leave my wife when she needed me the most, and I lost her because of it"
"It wasn't your fault"
Jim wasn't the least bit angry, he realized he's taken things to far as soon as he'd left, watching his best friends life fall apart around him hurt him too.
"She was the only person I couldn't save Jim... when she needed me I couldn't save her"