A huge thanks to my wonderful beta, marxistqueens, because without her my story would have been truly awful.

A/N: I do not own any part of Bones, unfortunately.

The knock on his door startled Lance Sweets from the case file he was reading, and he looked up just in time to see none other than Dr. Temperance Brennan opening the door.

"Hello, Dr. Sweets. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

He shook his head and then waved her in. "Naw, it's nothing that can't wait. What's up? Your appointment with Agent Booth isn't for," he briefly consulted the calander that was open on his computer, "three more days."

"I realize that. I was just wondering…" She trailed off and she sat down, looking as uncertain as Sweets had ever seen her. "It's highly irrational, but the anniversary of when I was taken out of the system is coming up, and when thinking of it, I couldn't help but remember the things you told me about your own time in foster care. I simply…" She sighed, not looking him in the eye. "I simply realized that I never truly talked to you about it, and seeing as how I would probably understand your experiences better than anyone else, I wanted to know if you would like to talk to me about it."

Sweets couldn't help but smile. The time that Dr. Brennan had spent around her friends, Booth especially, had really helped her become more outwardly expressive and personable. It was obvious to him – no matter what other people believed – that the woman sitting in front of him was very kind, warm-hearted, and caring, even if she didn't know how to show it. However, as time went by, these traits were becoming more visible to him and everyone else. Nonetheless, he was still hugely shocked that she was willing to open herself up so much emotionally, and for him especially. At the same time, he was deeply touched.

"That's very kind of you, Dr. Brennan." Just because he was happy that she was opening herself up to him, though, didn't mean that this was a subject he wanted to broach right now. "But I think that right now-"

She interrupted him. "Right before I left the system, I had one set of foster parents who thought that I did everything wrong just to anger them. They once let me go for six days without food. I had another set that only let me sleep on a bed when the social worker came to visit. When I was first put into foster care, my foster father hit me so hard that I was unconscious for almost half the day." Her voice was completely emotionless as she repeated the horrible experiences, but Sweets could see how troubled her eyes were.

"Dr. Brennan -"

"I know I may not do this correctly all the time – Booth says I expect people to share themselves without giving anything myself – but I think that I-"

This time, Sweets cuts her off, his voice low and full with emotion. "You did fine, Dr. Brennan. I just don't talk about these things. To anyone."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Neither do I. Even Booth doesn't know any of what I just told you. He would pity me, not understand." She toyed with a string that was hanging off the end of her shirt. "I think that I could give you a chance to talk without the pity that you would usually encounter."

His smile was small, and Brennan's responding grin put him at ease. He knew that her offer was genuine – she never did anything without thinking, and certainly didn't lie very often. After a few moments of silence, he nodded. "I think you're right, Dr. Brennan." He paused before talking again. "It was hard, you know? My parents were dead, and I was this scared little boy – I remember being so, so scared – and the people that were supposed to keep me safe were hurting me. I could never seem to get anything right. There was always something else that kept pissing them off. I don't remembered everything that they did, but I do remember the pain. Such extreme pain that I just wanted to have end. And then…then after a while I think I just stopped caring."

"It's easier that way."

He nodded, surprising himself at what he was revealing and also reveling in the fact that he was finally getting it off his chest. "It wasn't until I was adopted that I learned that not all people are like that. For a while, I was in a wicked dark place, Dr. Brennan. I had kinda given up on people until my parents showed me what real, unconditional love was."

"Your adoptive parents were good people?"

He smiled, blinking away the embarrassing set of tears that had sprung into his eyes when talking about his past. "They were the best. Most caring people I knew. They taught me how to be a good man, how to appreciate everything around me, and how to love. They died right before we met, and that was…" he paused and coughed, trying to dislodge the knot that was in his throat. "That was difficult. But they were who inspired me to do what I do; they made me believe that it's possible to fix broken people." He shrugged his shoulders. "They helped heal me and I, uh," he paused again, trying to reign in his emotions. Speaking about his parents was difficult – it had been a few years since they died but the wounds still felt very fresh sometimes.

"You miss them." Her response was quiet. He looked up at her, and saw that her eyes were far away. He knew that this wasn't an easy topic for her either, and he was prouder of her than he had even been for opening up to him like this, for putting herself on the line for another human being. Seeing her like this – with that lost look in her eyes – he broke his usual rule, and moved from his seat and sat down beside her. He took her hand in his, ignoring when she tensed, and started rubbing his thumb over her smooth skin.

Both were quiet for a long time, simply enjoying each other's understanding of their respective situations, before Brennan spoke. "I'm glad for you Sweets. I'm glad that you were able to know happiness in your childhood at some point, and that you had parents that loved you." He noticed that she was starting to tear at that string again, and part of him kicked back into psychologist mode.

"You know, Dr. Brennan, it's totally okay if you want to talk more about your experiences." She tensed again and then mumbled something that Sweets couldn't hear even though he was sitting beside her. "What was that, Dr. Brennan?"

"I said my story doesn't exactly have a happy ending like yours. You may be physically scared, but for the most part seem to function normally. I'm not exactly what most people consider normal."

He didn't even have to think before he responded. "Who cares what other people think? You coped with your situation in your own way. And sure, you may not behave like most people, but so what? The people that know and love you understand that you act that way for a reason."

Brennan stayed mute, and after a few moments stood up. "I hope this helped you, Dr. Sweets." Without saying anything else she left the room, leaving Sweets behind; who felt both relieved at having shared his past, and guilty and not being able to help the anthropologist the way he wanted to.

As he moved back to sit behind his desk a thought struck him. The Dr. Brennan that he had met a few years ago would have never opened up to him like that, or even tried to help him through his own emotional mess. Maybe, he mused, I've helped her more than I've thought. Maybe her opening up like this to be is only the beginning.

All reviews are greatly appreciated.

Charlotte