I shouldn't start another, but muse is in a funk.
Temperance Brennan sat at her desk reading some fan mail, on the last day of the month her publisher brought 12 unopened letters for Brennan to read and she wrote a hand written reply to one letter. The second letter in the stack stopped her in her tracks it said:
August 20, 2010
Dr. Brennan,
I was flipping through your newest book that my mom was reading and I saw your photo, we look a lot alike. I am adopted, the records are sealed until I turn 25, but I think I'm your daughter. I was born on October 21st 1997; my birth mother named me Madelyn Christine. I am sorry if you are offended by this letter, but I don't want to wait twelve years to find out the truth. If you never gave a child up for adoption please accept my apology and disregard this letter.
Sincerely,
Madelyn Christine Roberts
P.S. I'm including a picture.
Brennan didn't have to look at the photo; she knew the child pictured was her daughter she put up for adoption almost 13 years ago.
Brennan was engrossed in the letter reading the handful of lines over and over again; she didn't hear Booth enter the room.
"Bones, lunchtime. Bones? Oh it's letter day, I wish you wouldn't do this, it's kind of freaky. Bones what's wrong?"
Brennan passed Booth the letter totally silent and she didn't look at him. Booth read the letter and looked at the picture to Brennan and back."Bones this has to be a joke, somebody photo shopped a picture or something."
"It's not Booth I gave birth to a little girl on October 21st 1997, at 12:13AM. I named her Madelyn Christine, she weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 19 ¾ inches long. She had a full head of light brown hair and the brightest blue eyes you've ever seen. Brennan dug her wallet out of her bag and handed Booth a heavily wore hospital picture. Booth wasn't an expert, but he knew the teen in the picture in his left hand and the picture of the baby in his right was the same person. "Bones how?"
"Take me home, I'll explain it there."
"Sure."
Brennan grabbed a few files and the other letters and shoved them in her bag, Booth noticed she held on the both pictures and the letter. Booth placed his hand on the small of Brennan's back she leaned into him a little. The drive was silent as Booth drove past the diner, all thoughts of food gone from his mind. When Brennan got into her apartment she plopped her bag down on the chair and looked at Booth, "Have a seat, I'll be back in a minute."
Booth nodded and sat on the couch a few minutes later Brennan returned with a shoebox. Brennan sat down and box at her side."Booth, you know I had a relationship with Michael Stires?"
"Yes."
"A month into my last semester of college I found out I was pregnant, Michael was the father. Things changed after that we both were going to work at Stanford, and keep the baby. When I was 5 months pregnant Michael decided he didn't want the baby so I took the job here and decided to give the baby up, I didn't want to but I knew I couldn't move here not knowing anyone and adequately take care of a baby, something else I didn't know a lot about. " Booth gently wiped the tears that rolled down Brennan's cheeks away. Brennan picked up the box and took the lid off, removing the items inside.
"The adoption was going to be open at first, I had contact with Madelyn's mother weekly and she'd send me pictures every few weeks and for every new baby the hospital gives the parents a stuffed bear with the birth date and the baby's statics on it, Sarah let me keep it. " Brennan hugged the pink terrycloth bear to her and continued." When Madelyn was four months old I got a letter from some hotshot lawyer saying that I was to stop contact and the records were going to be sealed until Madelyn was 25." Brennan passed Booth the stack of pictures, he flipped through a few. "She's beautiful Bones, just like her mother."
Brennan smiled," Thanks Booth."
Booth nodded and conteinued to look at the pictures, when he was done Brennan quietly asked, "What should I do?"
Booth put the pictures on the couch and picked up Brennan's hand, giving it a light squeeze."What do you want to do?"
"I want Madelyn to know who I am, but I'm not sure that's the right thing to do given the letter I got from the attorney."
"Bones, I think it is the right thing to do, do you still have the letter?"
Brennan nodded and dug an envelope from the box; Booth read it and looked at Brennan."Bones think about it for while and call Caroline and let her look at the letter, something doesn't seem right. I don't think contact can be stopped like this."
"Okay." Brennan just sat there; Booth looked at her and realized she couldn't go back to work like this. Booth got up and called the rest of the day off for both of them and sat down next to Brennan only getting up a while later to fix them grilled cheese and chocolate milk for lunch.
Next we're going to skip a few weeks.