First Bones story! I'm super excited! I've gotten majorly obsessed with Bones lately, and couldn't help but give writing a try. Here goes!
Disclaimer: I claim no rights to the television show Bones, or to the characters that the show invents.
"Booth, I've got a green I want you to meet." Cullen declared, walking into his office. Booth and Brennen looked up from their paperwork.
"A green? What's this about Cullen? I'm not in charge of administration." Booth asked, dropping a file onto his desk.
"I think you're gonna want to meet this one. And you might want Dr. Brennen to wait here."
"Nuh uh. Bones goes with me. Whatever it is I'll just tell her anyway." Booth shrugged. "As long as it's not confidential, that is."
"No, it's more personal. Dr Brennen is welcome to come, if you want her there." Cullen replied, and Booth and Brennen shared a glance.
"I am more than willing to remain in your office if this is a private matter, Booth." Brennen offered, but Booth shook his head.
"It's fine. We could both use a break from the case, right?" he declared, standing up. "Lead the way, boss."
Cullen led the pair past the bullpen to the conference room where they frequently interview friends and family members of murder victims, where a girl waited inside. She stood up as the pair entered, and Cullen clapped Booth on the shoulder.
"I'll leave you to it."
"Seeley." The girl breathed, taking a hesitant step forward. "God, I never thought I'd actually meet you."
"I'm sorry" Booth frowned slightly. "Do I know you?"
"No, of course not." She shook her head, as Brennen studied her closely.
"Booth, the shape of her parietal bone is quite similar to yours." She declared, and Booth glanced over at her.
"Well, what does that mean, Bones?"
"Uh, it means that we're related." The girl cut it. "Sorry to interrupt you, Dr Brennen, I just figured I should be the one to say it. My name is Margaret Ann Booth. I'm your sister."
"I don't have a sister." Booth declared slowly.
"Well, half-sister, really." Margaret clarified. "But I have no idea who my mom is, so really you're all I've got."
Booth studied her closely. She was short, shorter than Bones, which was definitely not a Booth trait. Her hair was dirty blonde and wavy. It looked like she had fought hard to tame it into the bun in the top of her head and failed. Wisps were falling out, framing her face, despite the headband, ponytail band, and bobby pins she used. Booth himself didn't have wavy hair, and he didn't think Jared did either, but he wasn't sure since Jared never wore his hair past his military buzz cut. He wondered how difficult it was to confine her hair to FBI regulation. She had freckles, lots of them, smattered across her nose and cheeks, which Booth had to assume came from her mother, but her eyes- those were Booth eyes alright. They were the same warm brown that he and Jared shared. She was definitely a Booth.
"You're Dad's kid?" he asked, and Brennen nodded.
"Do you see the indicators of remodelled fracturing on her sixth and seventh ribs? And decreased range of motion stemming from her left triceps brachii, a skeletal striated muscle? She most definitely lived with your father for a large period of time."
"Bones!" Booth hissed, but Margaret shook her head.
"No, no, it's fine. Yes, I got beat. Comes with living with Dad, I guess."
"I could help you regain uninhibited motion in your triceps brachii, if you'd like." Dr Brennen offered. "I have also studied kinesiology alongside forensic anthropology, and feel quite confident that I can help in the form of musculature, however, I must warn you I am not a medical doctor."
Booth noticed Margaret take an unconscious step back at the thought of someone touching her, and he sighed internally. She's one of Dad's kids alright.
"That's very kind of you Dr Brennen. I wouldn't want to be a burden though. I heard Dad's sobered up, Seeley. Is that true?"
"I haven't seen Dad in twenty four years." Booth shook his head. "And he's passed. Weren't you raised by him? Wouldn't you know? How old are you, Margaret?"
"Oh, my friends call me Maggie. I guess, since you're my brother you can too. Sorry, the idea of having family is kind of weird." Maggie explained. "I'm twenty three, actually. I was born not long after you were taken away from Dad. I ran away at fourteen, after a particularly bad night, and lived on the streets for a while. I saw you on the news one night, in this diner I was trying to filtch from. I hated you for a long time. You were the one that got saved, you know? Big ol' FBI knight in shining armour and a house and food, and I was eating from trash cans because I was born one year too late. Course, if your mom hadn't left and your grandfather hadn't taken you and Jared away, Dad wouldn't have hooked up with my mom, so I wouldn't have existed. Anyway, eventually I decided that if you could make something of yourself, I could too, so I got in contact with a shelter that helped me get into college, and I worked real hard to become an agent so that I'd get to meet you. Dad's really dead? That's… well, I can't say I'm upset. I always knew he was drinking himself to the grave."
"Wow. Mags. Maggie, I… I'm so sorry." Booth stammered. "If he'd have known, Pops would have taken you in too, I know he would have."
"Is that your grandfather?" Maggie asked, tipping her head slightly.
"Your grandfather too." Booth nodded. "He's your grandfather too. Can… can I hug you?" He knew she'd be jumpy after the abuse she'd suffered, and didn't want to scare her.
"Yeah, yeah. I've been waiting for this day a long time." She smiled, and Booth pulled her into him, practically smothering the much smaller girl with his embrace.
"I'm sorry I didn't save you, Maggie." He whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry I didn't know."
"You did save me, Seeley. You inspired me to make something of myself instead of being content living off the streets. You did nothing wrong."
"I believe that we would like to be the first to welcome you home, Maggie." Brennen declared, and Booth nodded.
"Yeah, Mags. Welsome home."