CHAPTER 1
~~~~~SEPTEMBER 2, 2014~~~~~
"No! I don't wanna!" a little boy screeched, plopping to the grass as he grabbed desperately for the legs of the woman standing next to him.
"Baby boy, you have to go," the woman replied as she bent down to pry the child from her calves.
"But Mama!" he protested as he gripped his little fingers more tightly around her knees.
"Sweetie, I promise that Daddy and I will be back soon. And you get to play with Emily and you get to meet a lot of other little boys and girls," the woman explained to the now nearly crying child as she succeeded in removing his arms from her legs. She bent down and swept him up into her arms, brushing the lone tear from his cheek.
"Where's Emwy, Mama?" the little boy asked.
The woman glanced around. "That…my sweet…is a very good question," she replied, a look of confusion on her face.
"Where are they?" a man asked as he took his place next to the woman.
"Oh, Emily probably found some way to tie them up," the woman replied, rubbing the little boy's back as she spoke.
They both looked around them. 10 yards away, parents were leading their kids into a school building that read "Highland Elementary School," which was where they needed to be in a matter of minutes.
"What's up with you, tiger?" the man asked the boy as he reached forward and grabbed him from his mother's arms. "What's that sad face I see, huh?" he asked as he gently flicked the little boy's bottom lip with his index finger. "No sad faces on the first day of school," he exclaimed as he threw the little boy into the air and caught him.
In spite of himself, the little boy erupted into a fit of giggles.
"Daddy, put me down!" the little boy sputtered through his laughter.
With a bright smile on his face, the father obeyed his son and placed him firmly on the ground.
The woman glanced at her watch, fidgeting slightly.
"10 minutes. The kids are supposed to be sitting in that classroom in 10 minutes. Where on earth are they?" the woman pondered aloud.
"Davey!" a little girl's voice shrilled through the air.
"Emwy!" the little boy responded as he jumped towards her and they fell to the ground, arms around each other.
"Sorry we're late, Angela," Booth began, "Emily decided it would be fun to see if toothpaste would work to wash her hair," he explained as he looked down at his daughter, whose head of dark ringlets was still wet from the massive washing it had just undergone.
"Daddy, you said it cleans teef, so I thought it would clean my hair, too," Emily explained in a logical Brennanesque tone as she looked at her dad, her blue-gray eyes sparkling mischievously.
"Well, that makes sense, doesn't it, Dad?" Hodgins offered.
"It makes no sense at all. But try telling that to a 5 year old," Brennan said as she walked up with a doll in her hand.
"I don't want Dora, mommy! I'm a big girl 'cause I'm going to kindy-garden and I don't need stupid Dora," Emily informed her mother as she folded her arms and threw her chin into the air and away from Brennan.
"Last week, she didn't go anywhere without Dora and now…" Brennan said as she sighed.
"Yeah, well, it's better than being glued to it forever. Look at Davey's Spiderman tucked in his pocket," Angela whispered as she pointed to her son's pants, which were now covered in grass stains as he had taken to making dirt castles while Emily threw grass at him.
"Hey! Stop throwing gwass at me! Mama!" Davey whined as he got up and walked the few feet to his mother.
"Emily, stop throwing grass at him. That's not nice," Booth intervened as he brushed the dirt and grass from her hands.
Emily giggled. "It was fun."
As Booth brushed, he noticed a tinge of purple underneath Emily's sleeve. He turned her hand over and pushed the sleeve up, revealing a quarter sized bruise.
"What did you do, Emmy?" Booth asked his daughter, concern evident on his face.
Emily looked down at her arm and scrunched her face. "I don't know," she said as she shrugged.
"You always have a new bump or bruise, huh, kiddo?" Booth said, bending his head to kiss his daughter's arm.
"That tickles, Daddy," Emily responded as she pulled her arm away.
"Okay, you two. Time for school," Hodgins said as he ruffled his son's head of neverending blonde curls.
"Remember, we'll be here to get you when school is out, okay?" Brennan said as she leaned down to Emily and brushed the remaining smudge of dust from her cheek.
"I know, Mommy," Emily said as she rolled her eyes.
"Hey, what did we say about rolling our eyes?" Brennan asked her, her lips pursed and her eyes piercing.
Emily matched her mother's expression. "That it's not nice and it's diswespectul," Emily replied, nearly rolling her eyes again as she spoke.
"Right. Now give Mommy and Daddy a hug and go have fun," Brennan said as she opened her arms.
Emily hesitated for a moment, but then burst forward and jumped into Brennan's arms. She squeezed as she stroked Emily's hair. She had a hold of her for only a second before Emily wriggled free.
"Okay, I'll have fun," she replied, bouncing into Booth's arms as she spoke.
"Alright, pumpkin. Take it easy on the other girls, okay? Not all of them are as…spunky as you," Booth said as he hugged.
"I'm spunky!" Emily shouted as she threw her bruised arm in the air and pointed to the sky, her eyes sparkling as she giggled.
The adults couldn't keep from smiling. Spunky was just the beginning of Emily Erin Booth.
"Pwomise to hold my hand, Emwy?" Davey asked, a slight whine in his voice as his lower lip sagged a bit.
"Pwomise!" Emily replied as she grabbed his hand. His eyes lit up and his frown turned into a smile.
Brennan and Angela looked to their counterparts and took hold of their children's hands and led them up the steps; Brennan on the left, Emily holding her hand, Davey holding Emily's hand, and Angela holding Davey's. Brennan and Angela looked to each other and smiled.
"And you have to pwomise to play with me, kay?" Davey said, looking at Emily.
"I told you I pwomise! Geesh!" Emily said, exasperated at having to repeat herself. She had taken to using "geesh" when she was a mere 18 months old and she still hadn't gotten sick of it.
Brennan smirked and Angela smiled as they walked their kids into their first day of kindergarten.
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"I hope Davey makes it through the day," Angela said as she took a sip of coffee. She was clearly quite worried.
"Oh, don't worry, Ang. Emily will take good care of him," Brennan replied, smiling at her best friend from across the table at the Royal Diner.
"I know she will. She always does. He's just so…sweet. And sensitive and loving. I think he's 90% Jack and 10% me," Angela said, smirking slightly.
Brennan chuckled. "I honestly don't know where she gets her, shall we say, 'spunkiness?'" Brennan said as she smiled.
"You're not much of a genius, are you?" Angela offered.
Brennan's brow furrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?" she inquired.
"I would bet money that YOU were exactly like HER when you were in kindergarten. Thank God she has some Booth in her," Angela replied, rolling her eyes dramatically.
"Ha-ha. I wasn't that…stubborn," Brennan replied, staring at Angela defiantly.
"Oh please!" Angela replied as her face scrunched and her eyes rolled again.
"What? I…wasn't. I was a spirited child, but I was not as stubborn as my daughter," Brennan attempted to explain.
Angela shot her a skeptical look.
Brennan opened her mouth halfway as she glared at her friend, who quite obviously knew her better than she knew herself. After another second, Brennan sighed.
"Okay, fine," Brennan conceded as she now rolled her eyes. "I suppose I WAS that stubborn," she confessed.
"Of course you were, sweetie," Angela replied, reaching forward and squeezing Brennan's hands.
Brennan snickered as she smiled.
"Getting excited?" she asked Angela.
"I think 'nervous' is a more appropriate word," Angela replied, releasing her grip on Brennan's hands and leaning back in her chair.
"Why are you nervous?" Brennan asked.
"What did you do when your first book came out? Wait, I think I remember. Oh right, you jetted off to Guatemala. You never were one for celebrating your obvious writing talent," Angela replied.
"I didn't want all the hype and YOU would have gotten me drunk had we gone to the premiere party like you wanted to," Brennan replied, leaning her head in her left hand and smirking at Angela.
"Yeah, I thought the whole publishing party thing would be a fabulous idea…now, I'm not so sure. I just get this sinking in the pit in my stomach every time I think of all those people coming to a party…for ME. Of course, it is a little flattering," Angela said and then added the last part with a smile.
"Hodgins wouldn't have settled for anything less. Ang, your first children's book is being released and it's going to be the best thing since 'Madeline,'" Brennan said with an encouraging tone. "And since when do you get nervous?" she inquired, taking a sip of her coffee.
"I don't know. I guess it's just that the party's getting closer and I'm suddenly realizing that everything is actually…happening. Who would have thought I'd be writing and illustrating my own series of children's books?" Angela asked, marveling at the thought herself.
"Well, I'm glad you hung on as long as you did at the Jeffersonian," Brennan replied.
"I'm sorry, Bren, I just couldn't take it any more," Angela told her friend with as much regret as she could muster.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Ang. You're doing something you love and you're happy. That's what's important," Brennan reassured her friend as she placed her hand on her arm and squeezed gently.
Angela smiled silently for a few moments before speaking.
"Bigger than 'Madeline?' Really?" Angela asked, amazement in her tone and a look of wonder on her face.
"It's gonna be huge, Angela," Brennan replied a moment before her cell phone rang. Smiling, she removed the phone from her purse and glanced at the caller ID and she frowned.
"What is it?" Angela inquired.
Brennan looked to Angela without speaking as she punched the send button.
"Temperance Brennan," she answered.
"Hello, is this Emily Booth's mother?" a female voice inquired.
"Yes, it is. Is something wrong?" Brennan asked, worry evident in her voice.
"Hi, this is Patricia Morgan, the nurse's assistant at Lafayette Elementary," the woman began.
"What's wrong with my daughter?" Brennan asked harshly.
"We have had a little incident on the playground. Emily is alright, but she has a pretty nasty gash on her head and a large bruise on her leg. It seems that she fell off of the monkey bars," the woman explained calmly. "The nurse is tending to her injuries as we speak, but I think she needs to go home. It says here that you are a doctor?"
"Yes, but not a medical doctor. Is the wound bleeding profusely?" Brennan asked, eager to know the extent of her daughter's condition.
"No, ma'am, it has stopped bleeding," the woman replied.
"I will be there right away. Thank you," Brennan said as she punched the end button.
"What's wrong?" Angela asked.
"Emily fell off the monkey bars and hit her head. They say she's alright, but-"
Angela didn't even let her finish. "Check please!"
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