Hello all, so this is just chapter 1, if people like it I'll keep going.
Booth took a swig of his beer as he turned off the game he was watching.
I can't watch the flyers be crushed like this, he thought.
Rising, he checked he phone again with a sense of anxious urgency.
"They were supposed to be here almost an hour ago- a phone call would have been nice" He said to himself. As if on queue, his doorbell rang.
Booth crossed the living room in three large steps, taking a moment to collect himself before swinging the door open. As he expected, his friend and colleague Lance Sweets stood on the other side, suitcase in hand. Although he anticipated her arrival, Booth almost didn't see the woman standing behind him. Giving Booth a perfunctory nod then stepping out of the way to give Booth a better view of the woman, Dr. Sweets introduced her as Dr. Temperance Brennan.
Booth silently took in her appearance, from her piercing blue eyes to the small child at her hand, a spitting image of her mother.
His fatherly instincts overpowering his manners, Booth hardly acknowledged the scientist and knelt down to meet the kid at eye level.
"Hey, kid," Booth said smoothly, "My name's Booth, what's yours?"
The little girl, about three years old according to Sweets, looked from Booth to her mother, trying to gage whether or not it was okay to talk to this man. After a quick nod from her mother, the girl returned her gaze to Booth, "Charlie," she said.
"Well, Charlie," Booth smiled, "would you like to come inside? I have a boy a couple years older than you, and I think he left some fruit snacks in the pantry," Booth offered, knowing no child could resist candy.
As he expected, Charlie smiled back and began to babble about her experiences with fruit snacks at daycare.
Although hardly comprehensible, Booth nodded as though he understood exactly what she was saying, which put a satisfied grin on Charlie's face. Immediately letting go of her mother, she followed Booth into his kitchen.
For the first time in days, Brennan couldn't help but smile. She turned to Sweets, stifling a chuckle, "And to think I tell her everyday to never take candy from a stranger."
Sweets smiled back, "Booth has that effect on all the ladies, little ones and big ones."
Brennan shook her head, smiling, and walked in the direction her daughter had just gone, attempting to put back on her poker face.
Entering the kitchen, Brennan found Charlie and booth sitting at the counter, snacking and drinking chocolate milk.
No wonder Charlie likes him already, she thought, he's a child himself.
Hearing her boots clicking against the tile, Booth made sure Charlie was settled into her seat, and cautiously approached. To his dismay, Sweets was nowhere to be found.
Giving us privacy, great, he thought sarcastically.
Fumbling for words, Booth made eye contact with the beautiful stranger, "So.." he started, " The guest bedroom is right down the hall, and there's a bathroom attached to it. I pulled out Parker's old playpen incase you want Charlie in there, but the bed is plenty big for both of you."
Not sure what else to say, Booth stopped talking and tried to decipher what Brennan was thinking. Studying her cold eyes, he was a little offended as he was unable to detect any sort of gratitude. Confirming his suspicions, Brennan hardly said thank you as she grabbed Charlie in one arm, and lugged the suitcase in the other down the hall as directed.
Slightly dumfounded, Booth didn't move as he tried to figure out what just happened. In the middle of his thoughts, Sweets strolled into the kitchen.
"What is her problem?" Booth asked his friend, " You could have warned me she's kind of an ass."
"Booth," Sweets scolded, "You don't understand the emotional trauma that woman has experienced. And the child, according to the most recent psychological journals-"
Booth cut him off. "I don't need the psychological mumbo jumbo, Sweets. Can you tell me what happened to her? I mean I've been watching the news but you know…"
"I can't tell you much, the point of housing her here was for the security provided by you being a total stranger, but I'll try to explain."
Just then Booth heard the thumping of a child wandering down the hall. Sure enough Charlie's head peeped around the corner, "Mommy say I clean up milk and fruit snacks," the child told Booth.
He smiled down at her, "Hey, no, cutie, I got it. You can go back to your mommy."
She looked at the stranger for a moment before spinning around and running back towards the room.
"Cute kid," Booth noted, "seems pretty smart too."
"Oh yes, agent Booth, given how intelligent her mother is, I bet Charlie is a pretty smart kid."
"Anyway," Booth said, changing the subject, "What can you tell me about her? I deserve to know at least what made 'er wind up at my doorstep, you know?"
"I absolutely understand, Booth-" just then Sweets' phone rang. "It's Daisy, I'd better get this." Seeing the discontent in Booth's eyes, he added, "I'll talk to Stark and some other guys, see what I can get you on her case."
Satisfied, Booth gave his friend a pat on the back and waved goodbye as Sweets left his house, already deep into a conversation with his girlfriend.
Just hours later, Booth received an email containing copies of case file labeled "Christopher Pelant".
Well, he thought, Maybe I'll get to see what made her the way she is.
reviews and stuff are nice thank
-T