I have a raging case of plot bunnies in my brain, and they have produced this for all of you! I'm most definitely still working on my other two, though, I just had to get this out of my head. Reviews are lovely! I hope you enjoy this =)
Brennan and Booth had received a case early one Wednesday morning. Booth had gotten the call around 5 am and he had immediately made his way to Brennan's apartment, coffee in hand. They drove to the crime scene where they found the body of a man in his mid-thirties in the basement of a parking garage. Brennan estimated he had been there for a little over a day, and that rats had sped up the decomposition, the cause of death appeared to be a bullet hole in the man's frontal bone. He had a license in the wallet they found in his pocket, according to that his name was Larry Harris, though they would need to confirm his identity. It was a long morning for both of them, full of annoying rookie agents and mistakes made by interns, and by the time Angela positively id-ed the victim, both Booth and Brennan were running low on patience. They reluctantly made their way to Booth's SUV to make a visit to the victim's apartment.
"I cannot believe that Ms. Wick actually misplaced the victim's hand," Brennan huffed. It was true, somehow the intern had managed to lose the victim's right hand after Cam had used it to take prints. They had located it quickly, of course, but Brennan was still annoyed.
"I know Bones, you know what I can't believe?" Booth said, in an equally irritated tone, "I can't believe that I was asked by an agent how to use crime scene tape. Really, who can't figure that out?"
"I just want to go home and rest," Brennan pressed her fingers to her temples, feeling a tension headache setting in.
"Me too Bones, but we both know that won't happen till we solve the case." They spent the rest of the ride in silence. They pulled up to an apartment building and quickly found the number they were looking for. Booth knocked loudly, and drew his gun as a precaution, "FBI, open the door." They waited but heard no movement.
"Do the shoulder thing," Brennan encouraged.
"Or we could just go get the landlord," Booth said, cringing at the thought of the pain in his shoulder.
"Fine," Brennan agreed, slightly disappointed. She would never admit that she enjoyed watching him use his impressive strength. As they turned to walk away, Brennan grabbed his arm to stop him. "Do you hear that?" She asked moving back towards the door.
"Hear what?" Booth raised his eyebrows at her expectantly.
Brennan pressed her ear to the door and listened for a moment, "Crying, someone is in there crying," she looked at her partner and saw her own worry echoed in his expression.
"The shoulder thing it is then," he muttered, ramming into the door as she moved out of the way. Luckily, the door was thin and gave way with the first blow. They stepped inside quickly, Booth first, his gun in hand.
"Booth," Brennan whispered, placing her hand on his arm, "in the corner." He looked to the corner of the room where he saw the top of a pale blonde head. He moved quickly to search the apartment, when he found no one, he put away his gun and approached the child, a little girl, who began to cry even louder.
"You're scaring her, Booth," Brennan chastised him, "let me try." She had become much more comfortable with children since their case with baby Andy, especially from spending time with her new nieces. She figured that the girl might be more comfortable being approached by a woman. Booth stepped back, calling in a team to search the apartment while allowing her to move closer to the girl who was hiding half behind a chair. "Hi," she said quietly, reaching a comforting hand out to smooth back the girl's light hair. "It's okay, we aren't here to hurt you. We want to help you okay?"
The girl had stopped to listen to her soothing voice, and nodded slightly, gazing up at her with teary blue eyes.
"My name is Temperance, and that man is Booth. We work with the police, and we are here to help you okay?" When the girl nodded again she continued, "What's your name, sweetie?" She copied Angela's favorite nickname, hoping to put the girl at ease.
"Lucy," she answered quietly.
"That's a pretty name. How old are you Lucy?" The girl held up two shaking fingers, "You're a big girl then, huh?" Brennan smiled warmly at her, and received a small smile in return, "Do you want to come out of your hiding place?" She offered her hands, and to her surprise, the little girl took them. Brennan picked her up and noticed immediately that the girl was in pajamas and a soiled pull-up. Her heart broke a little for the small girl, "How'd you like to get cleaned up, Lucy?" When she nodded, Brennan made her way towards the bathroom.
"What are you doing, Bones?" Booth asked, reentering the room. Brennan hadn't noticed him leaving to meet the agents who had arrived to process the apartment.
"I'm going to give her a bath." She responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Bones, the apartment needs to be processed before we disturb anything, you know that." Booth was surprised at her suggestion of breaking protocol.
"I know, Booth. However, she's a scared little girl who has been sitting around in a dirty pull-up for at least a day. She deserves a bath," Brennan said, a strange protectiveness rising inside her for the child in her arms.
"Process the bathroom now; make it quick and thorough," Booth said sternly to the surrounding agents, who looked slightly intimidated and complied immediately.
"Thanks, Booth," Brennan said quietly.
"Anytime. Did she tell you anything?" Booth looked at the girl clinging to his partner.
"Not much, her name is Lucy and she is two," she answered before turning her attention to Lucy. "Lucy," she said softly, "do you know where your mommy and daddy are?"
Lucy nodded, "Mama's in heaven." She paused, thinking, before continuing, "The bad men taked daddy."
Brennan raised her eyebrows at Booth, "What bad men, sweetie?"
"Daddy says they's bad, but they gots money. Where's daddy?" Her eyes filled with tears again, "I miss daddy."
Brennan had no idea how to answer her, so she decided to go with honesty, "Your daddy's with your mama now."
"Heaven?" Lucy asked, her lip trembling, and Brennan nodded. Lucy began to cry again, and Brennan understood that she was overwhelmed. The agents chose that moment to announce the bathroom was finished being searched, so Brennan tightened her grip on Lucy and headed for the tub. She ran warm water and filled it with some bubble bath that she found in the cabinet. Lucy was silent throughout the bath, and Brennan didn't push her to talk, but she sang quietly in a comforting tone while she bathed the little girl. She was careful to keep the suds out of Lucy's eyes, and when she finished, she pulled Lucy out of the tub and wrapped her in a large fluffy towel.
Booth hovered just outside the bathroom door, keeping an eye on the other agents while listening to Brennan's quiet singing with a small smile on his face. "Agent Booth?" A younger man approached him, holding out a piece of paper, "You're going to want to read this."
"What is it?" Booth asked, taking the paper.
"The victim's will," the agent answered solemnly.
As Booth began to read the document, he watched Brennan carry Lucy to her bedroom.
Brennan dressed Lucy in a blue striped dress with matching leggings. She could tell how much more comfortable Lucy was now that she was clean.
"Mimi?" Lucy asked quietly, pointing to a stuffed cat sitting on the bed. Brennan picked the toy up and handed it to Lucy who immediately smiled and hugged the cat tight.
"What's that?" She said as she exited the bedroom and approached Booth, who was still engrossed in the will. She moved to the cabinet and handed Lucy some cracker she found before turning back to Booth.
"It is the last will and testament of Larry Harris," he answered, looking up at her.
"Does it say anything about Lucy?" Brennan hoped that there would be someone who could care for the girl.
Booth gazed at her sadly, "Apparently she has no relatives left. The will specifically states that he releases her to the foster system. We've already called in a social worker." He watched Brennan's eyes darken and rested a hand on her shoulder, "I know it's hard for you to hear that Bones. I'm sorry."
She nodded slightly and held Lucy closer, she was nodding off, her head resting against Brennan's shoulder with Mimi clutched against her chest. She looked around, noticing the agents finishing up, "Make sure they get anything they found to the lab. I'll stay here with Lucy until the social worker arrives."
Booth simply nodded, knowing that he couldn't argue with her. He ordered an agent to stay, despite the fact that the apartment seemed safe, "I'll see you back at the lab Bones," he said as he left.
"I think that I'm going to take the rest of the afternoon off," she said quietly, for once she didn't want to run back to the lab, she wanted to go straight home and be left alone.
Fortunately, Booth understood, "Want me to let Cam know?" When she nodded he added, "I'll swing by your place with Thai tonight, okay?"
"Sure, bye Booth," as he left he could hear her humming to the little girl now asleep in her arms.
The social worker arrived and spoke with Brennan, who explained the situation again even though the woman had already spoken to Booth. When the woman rose from the couch and began to pack Lucy's things into trash bags Brennan made the most impulsive decision she had ever made in her life, "I'm a registered foster parent," she said and the woman turned to look at her, "I'd like to take her."
A few hours later, Brennan had signed the papers and had Lucy released into her custody. Typically things couldn't have happened that fast, but she may have used her fame to her advantage, something she wouldn't typically do but she was desperate. She made sure Lucy's things were packed, unfortunately she hadn't found anything other than trash bags. Then she grabbed the car seat she found in the closet and called a cab to return to her apartment. Lucy had slept almost the entire time, and only woke up as Brennan's doorman helped them out of the cab.
"Where are we?" She asked, sounding nervous as she clung to Brennan.
"You're going to stay at my house for a little while, would that be okay?" Brennan smiled as she nodded shyly. When they got to the apartment, Lucy helped Brennan unpack her things into drawers in the spare bedroom. When they were finished, Brennan smiled at her, "You're a good helper. I bet you're hungry though. Would you like dinner?" Lucy nodded, and Brennan decided that a trip to the grocery store would be necessary. She gave Lucy a granola bar to tide her over, knowing that she might not have eaten anything but the crackers she'd had earlier in more than a day. Brennan got the car seat into her car without much trouble and headed for the supermarket. An hour later they were back with supplies to make macaroni and cheese, and a cookie they bought at the in-store bakery.
Lucy sat and watched some TV as Brennan cooked, and once she had eaten dinner and dessert, she fell asleep again almost immediately, her head resting on the table. Brennan smiled at her and carried her into the guest room where she changed Lucy into a pull-up and pajamas. Brennan tucked her into bed and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room with the door cracked open.
She sat down on the couch and froze for a second as she took in the events of the day. For a moment, she couldn't believe that she had agreed to take in a little girl, but she immediately felt she had done the right thing. It may have been a gut feeling, but she had the evidence to back it up. She knew what foster care was like, and that made her sure she had done the right thing. She cringed at the thought of Lucy spending even one night in a group home. She began to consider what she should do about Lucy's situation, knowing that she would not want to give the girl up, but her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Booth," she said, letting him in, "I forgot you were coming."
"That hurts Bones," he joked, but he stopped as he noticed the dishes left on the table, "oh, do you have company?" He asked, suddenly uncomfortable.
"Yes, but not the kind of company you think," she hesitated. "I brought Lucy home with me," she said, taking a seat on the couch. He sat next to her, dropping the bags of Thai on the coffee table.
"You what?" He stared at her incredulously.
"I'm a foster parent, remember? It's not like I kidnapped her. She is legally in my custody. I just don't know if I did the right thing," she looked at him, her round blue eyes troubled, "I just, I couldn't let her go to a group home." Her eyes began to fill with tears, "She's so small Booth, I couldn't let her go through what I went through."
As he watched his partner explain, he wondered if he could possibly be any more amazed by her than he was in that moment. He had always known that she had a wonderful heart, but he had never expected her to do anything like this. As she began to cry in earnest, he pulled her into a hug, "I think what you are doing is great, Bones. I really, really do, I know this will be a big change for you, but I know you're up to the challenge. And if you ever need any help I'm here for you, okay?"
She nodded and held him tighter. She was so relieved that he understood. They sat like that for a few minutes before he helped her clean up the mess from dinner with Lucy, before they settled on the couch with their food.