Rating: PG

Summary: Dr. Brennan's daughter asks the tough questions. B/B Futurefic

Authors Notes: I wrote this a while ago. It's the first in a 'verse that I plan on continuing to write in (in fact the 2nd story will be uploaded soon) so I hope at least one person enjoys it.

Deep Thought

"Mom?"

"What's up Keelie?" Temperance answered without looking up from her computer. She rotated the picture of the bone fragment and zoomed in on the discoloring that was puzzling her. "Zach what is causing this discoloration?"

"I'm not sure. I'm running tests on it now." Zach said from over the video conference on Temperance's computer. "Dr. Brennan, isn't it customary for a new mother to take a break from work for the first few weeks?"

"I am taking a break." Temperance said while continuing to puzzle over the bone. "I'm at home aren't I?"

"You've helped to solve two murder investigations and confirmed the validity of those Incan skeletons that were sent to us last week."

"The baby's sleeping. What am I supposed to do, sit in the nursery and wait for him to wake up? I'm going out of my mind here."

"You're the one who agreed to six weeks maternity leave."

"I had to or Seeley probably would've had a heart attack. He was emotionally irrational throughout this entire pregnancy."

"You were sick."

"It was gestational diabetes not cancer."

"Mom!" Keelie yelled. Her four-year-old patience had run out and she stamped her foot, unfortunately she missed the floor and stamped right onto her mothers instep.

"Ow! Keelie!"

"Sorry." Keelie said.

"What do you want? Can't you see that Mommy's working?" Temperance was finally giving her daughter her full attention, except for the occasional rubbing of her now sore foot.

"You're always working."

"And you wondered what else you could be doing?" Zach piped into the conversation.

"Shut up, Zach. I'm hanging up. Call me when you get the results of those tests."

"Will do." Zach said before signing off. Temperance shut down her computer and turned back to Keelie.

"Okay, no more work. What's up?"

"What do we believe in?" Keelie asked. She scrambled up onto the couch and into her mother's lap.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do we believe in God? Danny Sckinski said we were going to hell because we didn't go to church and I was just wondering what we believe in."

Temperance stared at her daughter with wide eyes. Sometimes her daughter asked the most shocking questions. Having a brunette angel who scored off the IQ charts was sometimes a bit overwhelming. One minute she was asking to watch The Power Rangers and the next she had gotten her hands on the dictionary and wanted to know how to say Ceraunophobia. Temperance always thought she was a bit like Charles Wallace from that children's book, A Wrinkle in Time. Temperance had read the book in fourth grade and whenever she looked at her daughter with that big book in her lap she was reminded of Charles Wallace. Keelie's questions were always an eclectic bunch. She'd asked questions about ancient Greeks and in the next breath ask why chocolate sprinkles tasted the same as the colored ones, but this was the first time she'd ever asked about God. Temperance stepped carefully.

"Well, you can believe whatever you want to believe. If you want to believe in God that's okay. There are plenty of wonderful religions in this world and you can be any one of them."

"But, aren't we already a religion?" Keelie asked. She looked up at her mom and scrunched her nose in a confused way.

"Well, religion is something I want you to choose for yourself. Nobody can tell you what to believe. You have to decide on your own." Temperance chose her words carefully knowing full well that as advanced as Keelie was she was still a child and religion was a confusing topic even for adults.

"When can I do that?"

"Well, I can buy you some books but you probably shouldn't make too quick of a decision. It takes some people their entire lives to figure out what they believe in."

"What religion are you?"

"I'm a scientist. I believe in science but your dad is Catholic and sometimes he does go to church. You can go with him if you want."

"What's a Catholic?"

"It's a religion that believes in a book called the Bible and about the stories it tells. They especially believe in a man who lived a long time ago. He was kind of a hero who taught all the people who believed in him how to live a good life."

"How come Daddy believes in this man?"

"Well, you'd have to ask him. Do you want me to get you some of those books on religion?" Keelie dipped her head into her mother's shoulder and sniffed her. She always smelled like chemicals from her work and the patchouli oil she'd gotten for her birthday from Daddy. Keelie loved the way she smelled.

"Maybe later, I want to finish reading Harry Potter. Can we bake brownies?" Keelie lifted her head from her mother's shoulder and smiled hopefully. Temperance laughed at the quick change of subject. Apparently the religious discussion was over.

"Sure thing, Sweetie." Temperance said. She scooped her daughter up into her arms and swung her around before settling Keelie onto her back and taking them both into the kitchen.

An hour and a half later the baby was in his bassinet, hip-hop was in the CD player and Seeley Boothe walked in to see his wife and daughter covered head to toe in brownie batter.