Brennan was up, as usual, at the crack of dawn; 5:30 to be exact. She showered, dressed, and had breakfast, today half of a multi grain bagel with lightly spread cream cheese and a cup of steaming coffee. She then went for a run in the park, listening to an album of her favorite songs. She smiled as she listened to "Hot-Blooded." Ever since she and Booth had sung it and danced to it in her apartment, the song held new meaning to her.
It was her day off, and there were no murder victims as of yet, so she decided to go for a quick grocery trip. As she jogged to the parking lot, she noticed a very small girl, no older than two, being dragged by the woman Brennan assumed to be her mother or caregiver. This struck her as odd, because the child was not putting up a fight or causing any kind of mayhem, so Brennan saw no need for the girl to be dragged. Then Brennan remembered her list and pushed the thought to the back of her mind.
She strolled through the aisles, crossing off items such as herbal tea, bell peppers, and other various things. As she was getting to the refrigerated soy milk, a scream pierced the air of the store. People began to run past her, and, abandoning her basket, Brennan rushed past them toward the scream. It came from the woman she had seen before, the one with the little girl. In front of her, stuffed into one of the freezers, a man, 30-35 years old, had seemingly exploded. The glass was fogged up, so no one had seen him until the woman had opened the door.
The little girl started to cry, and the woman's expression rapidly changed from one of shock at finding the corpse to one of anger. "Stop that, Elsie! This is your fault, you hear! Now stop it, or i'll call the police on you!" The child continued to cry, her caregiver's threats only adding to her fear. "Elsie…" the woman raised her hand to the girl, but before she could strike her, Brennan stepped in front of her.
"Enough. What did this child do to make you tell her that she killed this man? I can assure you that she did not, and that you have no right to strike her." The woman, who Brennan could now see was an alcoholic, glared at her. "I have every right. You dare tell me what I can do with my own child?" Suddenly, Brennan had a realization.
"You are not this child's mother. Step away from her. Now!" She knelt down in front of the little girl, who was trembling in fear. "Hey, I'm Temperance, okay? Everything's going to be okay. Just stay with me, all right." The girl, saucer eyed, nodded. Brennan whipped out her phone and quickly dialed Booth's number.
"Booth!"
"It's me, Brennan. I'm at the grocery store and a woman found a body in one of the freezers. I also found out that the woman, an alcoholic, is in possession of a child that is not her own who she has abused. The woman might be a suspect."
"I'm on my way."
An hour later, Elsie still hadn't spoken a word. She clung to Brennan, and she wouldn't let anyone else touch her. After speaking to several officers, Brennan looked down to see the exhausted face of the little girl. Sighing, she picked her up. Elsie buried her small face in Brennan's hair.
Walking over from the crime scene, Booth smiled at Brennan and her charge. "Hey, Bones! Who's this?" Brennan smiled.
"This is Elsie. Elsie, this is my friend, Booth. Can you say hi?" Elsie untangle herself only long enough to glance at Booth and wave shyly. Then she rested her head on Brennan's shoulder. "She's pretty worn out. Did you get the okay from the agent in charge?"
"Yep! He says you're good to go."
"What about my theory?"
"You were right. The suspect, Lola Hanes, was not her biological mother. Other than that, we have no information on her. Look, is there anything I can do to help?"
"Please don't tell anyone at the lab why i'm gone. I'll be taking a personal leave for a couple weeks. Thank you, Booth."
"Do you at least want a lift home?"
"Yes. Please."
With Elsie in her arms, Brennan made her way to the door. "Elsie, do you think it would be alright if you stay with me for a little while?" Elsie nodded. Satisfied, the two followed Booth out of the building and to his SUV.
Later, after she had put the little girl to bed, she reflected on her day. Somehow, she always managed to turn a day off into a 20 hour work day. She found that the incident of the Grocery Store was stirring up memories of the first few days after her own parents disappeared. Suddenly feeling emotional, and not agreeing with it one bit, she stood up from her spot on the couch. Quietly walking down the hallway to her bedroom, she looked down to where Elsie slept peacefully on a mattress on the floor. Kneeling, she placed a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead and smoothed back her hair.
She stood up and sank into bed, shoes and all, immediately falling into a deep slumber.