How to Save a Life
A/N- Takes place mid "A Boy in a Bush". Brennan takes Sean and David in as foster children to make sure they are taken care of properly. Thanks to ReadingRed for the story idea.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, Brennan, Booth, or the Squint Squad. A girl can only dream.
Acceptance
The interrogation room was silent except for Sean's short breaths and sniffles. Brennan could feel Booth's eyes watching her every movement through the one way mirror. Usually she was never allowed in that room with a witness alone. Brennan wasn't the greatest people person, but this was an exception.
Brennan knew how horrible the foster system could be. Several years of being moved from house to house showed her how small and insignificant it could make someone feel. She felt for this little boy. He was so young and so innocent. No one deserved the instability the foster system incurred. Brennan was determined to catch this killer and give these children better lives.
Sean's sudden sniffle interrupted Brennan's determined thoughts with a harsh reminder. He was scared and getting information from him wasn't going to be easy. She would have to show him she understood his situation and gain his trust.
"They give you a garbage bag to carry all of your stuff." She started slowly. "Like they're telling you everything you own is garbage. And then you have to go to a new school in clothes that smell like garbage bags." Sean looked up with big sad eyes.
"All of the regular kids know you're a foster kid." A bit of confusion brushed his face. "How do you know what it's like?" Brennan took a deep breath and continued.
"They bounce you from place to place and it's never home. Sometimes the foster parents are nice." Sean's face brightened up.
"Like Margaret?"
"Yeah." She paused. "And sometimes they separate you from your brother." She inhaled again as tears rushed to her eyes. "It must have been nice with Margaret; staying with David." Now Sean was crying.
"We got bunk beds. At night I knew David was there… like he was guarding me." He sniffled again and her heart swelled with empathy. "Margaret's nice." Sean said slowly.
Brennan sighed. Margaret was nice. It was unfortunate that after this incident she wouldn't be able to be a foster parent anymore. Sean and David would be put back into the foster system and sent to another home. Maybe it would be good and maybe it wouldn't.
"You'd do almost anything to stay with Margaret, right?" Sean nodded. "The man you took Charlie to, the man that hurt him, he knows that. You didn't know that he'd hurt Charlie, but he did. And then he told you that Margaret would blame you. That she'd hate you. But this man is lying to you, Sean. If you tell us who hurt Charlie we can catch him, find you and David a good foster home and let Margaret go."
"We can't go back to Margaret?" His wide eyes were too much for Brennan. Two tears slipped from her eyes and onto the floor. It was no use lying to him. It would be cruel to let him think they could go back and then rip that happiness away. Brennan shook her head.
"The system won't allow it after a situation like this." Without meaning to her voice filled with compassion and sorrow. "If you tell us who the man is though, we can let her go and find you and David a good home." Sean began to cry and threw himself into her arms.
At first Brennan was shocked. Quickly she wrapped her arms around the weeping boy and the awkwardness melted away. She moved her hand up and down his back in attempt to calm him down and after a few moments Sean regained enough composure to lean back and whisper a name in her ear.
"It was Edward Nelson." The four words were almost inaudible, but to Brennan he might as well have been shouting them. She had gotten the name, but though she had succeeded, her heart had broken all over again in the process.
"Nice work, Bones!" Booth approached her with an expectant hand in the air. Both his grin and his arm quickly fell at the sight of Brennan's long face. It looked worn and depressed, aged from years of unnecessary burdens. Feeling that she needed to talk he held out his arms. "What's wrong? We're going to catch the killer and you single handedly got the name!"
"I was a foster kid." She confessed slowly. Booth sighed and pulled her over to a bench in the hall.
"I kinda figured that out." He said in a calm tone. "When you said 'they take you away from your brother' I didn't think you were talking about David Cooke." He looked into her eyes to see a cloud of fear and sorrow. Brennan spoke in a small and quiet voice.
"It's too much." She let out a breath and accepted the warm hug. "I couldn't help but see myself in that boy. He only has his brother and a few possessions. No family, no friends, and now he's lost the only good home he's ever had. And who knows where he'll end up next? There are so many horrible homes in the system." Brennan sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye as Booth moved his hands up and down her arms at a comforting pace. "I wish I could do something to help them."
"It's okay, Bones. They'll find a good home. The FBI can look into it and we can handpick the family they get assigned" Booth reassured her, but Brennan wouldn't listen.
"No. The system is completely incompetent. I might as well run the whole thing by myself. The kids would be better off." She stopped and looked up as her eyes brightened. "In fact…" Brennan pulled away from Booth with a sly smile and turned back the way she came.
"Bones? BONES!" Booth called after her, but she didn't turn around.
A half an hour later Booth found Brennan in a conference room with Sean, David, and a representative from the Adoption and Foster Care Center.
"Booth! I'm so glad you're here!" He rounded the table to sit next to his partner with a confused look. She and the representative each had a stack of forms in front of them and the boys wore excited but nervous looks.
"What's going on?" he said slowly. Her grin widened and she glanced at the boys.
"Temperance is gonna take us in!" The boys blurted. Brennan gave them a teasing look before turning to Booth to share the good news.
"I'm accepting Sean and David as foster children!" Her excitement was contagious.
"Wow, Bones! That's great!" He reached over and hugged her. "Congratulations!" She nodded. In reality Booth wasn't so sure this was great. He knew Brennan was talented when it came to a lot of things, but children were not her forte. Booth had faith though, that Brennan could succeed at whatever she wanted.
Twenty minutes, numerous signatures, and a few handshakes later it was official: Sean and David Cooke were the new foster children of Ms. Temperance Brennan.
A/N- Phew! Well I hope you all like it so far because it's definitely fun to write! So please review or recommend, and maybe if you like my writing, read my BB one shot "Making Real Love". Thanks!
PS- More reviews mean more updates. ; )
