I first mentioned this story idea back in February at the end of my last multi-chapter The Promise in the Candle, and now I'm finally getting around to writing it. I'm sorry it took me so long! Reviews feed my inner muse so please let me know what you think!

This story is set in early Season 8 shortly before Sweets moved in with Booth and Brennan.

Booth whistled as he poured some pancake mixture into the pan and watched it bubble away. Cooking breakfast for his family was something he took great pleasure in doing, especially since Brennan and Christine had returned from being on the run. The subject of who should cook breakfast had been a point of contention shortly after they had come home, but after some discussion they had been able to resolve the issues between them and get things back to normal, or as normal as things ever got in their lives.

Keeping an eye on the pancakes, Booth grabbed a banana and peeled off the skin before mashing it up in a bowl for Christine. He could hear his little girl squealing happily upstairs and his partner's corresponding laughter as she got their daughter dressed for the day. Placing the bowl on the plastic table on Christine's highchair, Booth flipped the pancakes over and set out some plates for himself and Brennan.

The laughter soon grew louder as Brennan appeared in the kitchen with Christine in her arms. Turning to face his family, Booth grinned and reached for his daughter.

"How's my girl this morning, huh? I've got some tasty banana here for you."

Booth slipped Christine into her highchair and leant forward to give Brennan a kiss on the cheek before turning back to the pancakes. Brennan turned her attention to Christine to help her with her banana, only to look up and smile at her partner as he resumed his earlier whistling.

"You're in a particularly jovial mood this morning, Booth."

Booth grinned as he dished up the pancakes, "Sure am, Bones! The sun is shining and I'm making breakfast for my beautiful girls. It's a good day!"

Brennan smiled and took the plate he held out to her. The months she had spent hiding out with Christine had been some of the hardest of her life, and it was mornings like this that reminded her how grateful she was to be back with Booth and the comfortable routines they had established.

There was a time when she thought such comfort and happiness were beyond her reach, and, even if she did manage to find them, that they wouldn't last. But although the fears borne from her traumatic childhood and years of fierce independence still sometimes reappeared, for the most part Brennan was able to happily embrace her shared life with Booth and their daughter.

Brennan's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of Booth's cell phone. Grunting in annoyance and hurriedly swallowing his mouthful of pancakes, Booth grabbed the phone from the counter and answered.

Brennan only half listened to Booth's side of the conversation as she was distracted by the mess Christine had made with her banana, which she had apparently decided would be more fun to smear all over her face than put in her mouth. Brennan grabbed a cloth from the sink while Booth finished up his call.

Turning to him when she heard him hang up, Brennan asked, "Who was that?"

"Work," Booth answered as he moved to finish off the last of his pancakes, "We have a case. A body was found dumped in a landfill in Virginia, pretty badly decomposed apparently. The techs and squints will meet us there."

Brennan lifted Christine out of her highchair, "Okay, but we'll have to drop Christine off at day care first."

Handing Christine to Booth she added, "I'll be right back. I need to collect my things from upstairs."

"Okay, but don't take too long," Booth replied as he took hold of Christine, "You don't want anyone messing with your crime scene!"

Brennan threw a glare over her shoulder at his teasing and rushed upstairs. Booth smiled and rubbed his daughter's back affectionately, "Mommy gets really mad when people mess around with the evidence. Yes she does!"

Christine cooed in response while Booth went to the door to grab his jacket and wait for his partner.

)()()()()()()()(

Booth flinched as the foul smell of the landfill assaulted his nostrils.

"Damn," he muttered as he and Brennan got out of the car and headed over to the crime scene, "I'm never going to get used to that smell."

Brennan hurried ahead with her usual purposeful stride until she reached the hub of activity surrounding the body.

"Morning, Dr. Brennan," Cam smiled and stood aside to allow Brennan to take a closer look at the remains. Crouching down, Brennan began her initial examination.

"Pelvic inlet and facial features indicates the decedent is a Caucasian female. I would posit the blunt force trauma to the zygomatic arch and eye orbit as the likely cause of death, but I can't say for certain until we get to the lab."

"So her head was bashed in," Booth added, making a note in his notepad, "Who discovered the body?"

"A couple of the guys who work here stumbled across the remains when they got to work this morning," Cam replied, "But since the site has been closed over Memorial Day weekend the body could have been here for a few days."

"Three days I would say based on insect activity," Hodgins added as he held up one of the creatures for Booth's inspection, "These beauties never lie."

Booth raised his hand to ward off the insect, "Easy there, bug boy, that's close enough."

Hodgins chuckled as Brennan got to her feet, "We need to get the remains back to the lab right away."

Cam addressed the nearby FBI techs, "You heard her. Let's get moving."

)()()()()()()()(

While Booth headed back to the FBI to await word on the victim's ID, Brennan returned to the lab with Cam and Hodgins where they were joined by Angela and Wendell Bray. Once the remains had been laid out on the work table, Brennan began to issue instructions.

"Mr. Bray, please clean the bones and get the skull to Angela as soon as possible. Ange, the substantial damage will make a facial reconstruction difficult."

"Yeah," Angela agreed as she leant forward to give the skull a closer look, "It looks like the teeth have been badly damaged too, so dental records won't be much help."

Brennan frowned, "Perhaps you could use the Angelatron to extrapolate what the complete skull would have looked like based on the side which is still intact."

Angela smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, Sweetie. I'll get you your ID." Turning back to the remains she asked, "Do you have an approximate age for when I search the missing persons database?"

Brennan moved over to the microscope station and pulled the instrument's arm over the victim's scapula. She scrutinized the view through the lens for a few moments before replying, "The size and number of the osteons present indicate she was approximately 30 to 35 years old."

"Okay, thanks," Angela said, "I'll go and fire up my computer. Just bring me the skull when you're ready, Wendell."

"Will do, Angela," Wendell replied with his characteristic enthusiasm. Brennan nodded in satisfaction and headed for her office to begin the case paperwork while she waited for the bones to be cleaned.

)()()()()()()()(

A few hours later, Brennan looked up from the email she was working on when she heard Angela enter the room.

"I'm close to getting an ID, Bren."

"Excellent work, Angela," Brennan replied as she got up from her desk to follow her friend along to her office.

Entering the room Brennan saw that Angela's large computer monitor was filled with a digital rendering of the victim's damaged skull. Grabbing her control pad, Angela began typing in commands.

"Okay, so I scanned the skull and produced a 3D image, then I mapped the undamaged portion of the skull and applied the same facial architecture to the opposite side. Since skulls are usually fairly symmetrical, I could approximate what the complete skull would have looked like before the damage."

Brennan nodded as the image on the monitor changed to reflect what Angela had said.

"Now," Angela continued, "I can apply tissue, hair and eyeballs to give a complete impression of the face."

The image then morphed into that of a woman, perhaps a few years younger than Brennan, with blond hair and brown eyes. As Brennan watched the rendering take shape, she felt something shift within her mind. Like an inkling of something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

As Angela continued to narrate her actions, Brennan's eyes drifted over to the skull which still sat on the work table. The sound of her friend's voice seemed to fade into a quiet hum as she continued to stare into the vacant eye orbits in search of what was bothering her.

Then, suddenly, the feeling coalesced with perfect clarity and she finally understood what it was.

Recognition.

Brennan swung her head back towards the monitor just as Angela's search of the missing persons database turned up a result. Oblivious to her friend's realization, Angela said, "Here we go. The victim's name is …"

"Natalie!" Brennan exclaimed in shock as she moved closer to the screen, "Her name is Natalie Holden."

Angela turned to her friend in confusion, "Yeah, you're right. Do you know her?"

Brennan's features fell into a look of pure sadness, "I used to, a long time ago. She was my foster sibling."

"Oh, Sweetie," Angela gasped, "I'm so sorry."

Brennan barely heard the words. Even as she tried to stop them, memories she had long since repressed rushed to the forefront of her mind.

The sound of a dish, wet and slippery from soap suds, slipping from her hands and smashing into pieces on the floor.

The angry yell of her foster father as he grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and dragged her out of the kitchen.

The briefest glimpse of another girl, younger than she was, cowering in the corner behind her blond hair. Desperately hoping she would not be next.

"Bren? Brennan! Are you okay?"

Snapping back to the present, Brennan was aware of Angela's hands holding her shoulders and her eyes frantically searching her face.

Shaking her head to clear it, Brennan replied, "Yes. I'm fine, Ange. I'm sorry I must have lost my concentration for a second."

Dropping her hands back to her sides, Angela frowned, "It was more than that, Bren. You looked scared and you've gone really pale. Do you want me to call Booth?"

"No!" Brennan blurted out, before gathering herself and adopting her usual clinical tone, "I mean, please inform him that we have identified the victim and send him all other relevant data. I will go and check on Mr. Bray's progress with the rest of the remains."

Turning away from Angela's concerned gaze, Brennan quickly made for the door.

"Are you sure you're okay, Sweetie?" Angela called out.

Glancing backwards without slowing down, Brennan hastily replied, "Yes, thank you, Angela."

"Yeah," Angela muttered as she watched her friend's retreating form, "Sure you are."

Reaching for her cell phone, Angela resolved to tell Booth everything that had happened, including his partner's reaction to the victim's identity.

)()()()()()()()(

Standing in the bone room with the remains, Brennan chastised herself for only half listening to Wendell's narrative of his discoveries so far. As hard as she tried to compartmentalize her feelings, she couldn't help but look at the bones and see her former foster sister.

When she had first entered the system, Brennan had been placed with Chuck and Janine Watson. An unfriendly and abrasive couple who were clearly only taking in foster kids for the money they got from the government. "Check cashers" as they were known to those unfortunate enough to be in their care.

That "care" had amounted to barely enough food to get through the day and physical and emotional abuse in response to even the smallest infraction. Like accidentally breaking a dish.

Brennan swallowed and forced herself to focus on Wendell's words before the memories could take over again. Just as she was about to ask him a follow up question, a familiar voice sounded from the doorway.

"Bones!"

Booth hurriedly entered the room and walked over to stand beside Brennan. Placing his hand gently on her arm he looked at her with a mixture of love and concern.

"Angela called. Are you okay? Why didn't you call me yourself?"

Brennan shrugged off Booth's hand and walked around to the other side of the table, unconsciously putting some distance between them as Wendell looked on in confusion.

"Angela was perfectly capable of informing you of the victim's identity and I had to get back to the remains."

Booth frowned, seeing through her excuses immediately, "Yeah, but I'm sure Wendell could have handled this one. Considering who this is …"

"I will decide what Mr. Bray can and cannot handle, Booth," Brennan cut him off abruptly, "Now, please leave so we can continue with our work."

Booth sighed and paused for a moment, never breaking her gaze as he studied her face. It broke his heart to see the barely restrained tears that she was trying desperately to keep from escaping. To see the tension in her shoulders and hear the urgency in her voice as she tried to get him to leave before his presence broke her resolve.

A year ago, he might have given in, might have let her cloak herself in science and rationality as a shield against her emotions. But not now. Now, they were partners in every sense of the word, and he couldn't just walk away and let her repress her feelings. She needed his support and he wasn't leaving until she allowed him to provide it.

Clearing his throat and keeping his eyes locked with Brennan's, Booth spoke quietly but firmly, "Wendell, would you mind giving us a minute?"

Booth watched Brennan's eyes flash with anger at his audacity before she spun her head around to glare at Wendell, who had begun to walk towards the door, "I did NOT give you permission to leave, Mr. Bray."

Wendell hesitated under his mentor's withering gaze and glanced uncertainly at Booth, who spoke in the same measured tone as before, "Wendell, please."

"Yeah, sorry, Dr. B," Wendell said as he quickly backed away from Brennan, "I'm obviously in the middle of something here, so I'm just going to leave you guys to it."

Grabbing the case binder so he could at least continue to work while he was elsewhere, Wendell made a hasty retreat before Brennan could chastise him again.

Brennan turned on Booth, "You had no right to dismiss my intern, Booth!"

"I know, Bones, but this time I'm making an exception." Rounding the table slowly and hoping she wouldn't back away, Booth moved towards her and spoke gently, "Look, I know you. I know you're trying to be strong and that you just want to find out what happened to Natalie, but this case is close to home and denying the effect it's having on you is only going to make it harder on you."

Brennan still looked angry, but her features had begun to soften with his words and she had remained where she was. Encouraged by this, Booth closed the final gap between them and took her hands in his.

"Bones, please just talk to me. Tell me what's going on in that big beautiful brain of yours."

Brennan swallowed and set her jaw in an attempt to stop any tears from falling. She was frustrated and angry at how vulnerable she felt and her inability to focus completely on the case. Natalie deserved nothing less than her best, and in that moment she couldn't help but feel that she was failing her.

"Bones?"

Booth lifted his hand and gently stroked the side of her face. Suddenly, all the emotions she had been struggling with since Angela had discovered Natalie's identity spilled over and the tears broke free. She fell against Booth's chest and clutched at his back as she started to sob. Booth sighed sadly and pulled her tightly against him, rubbing his hands in easy circles across her back and murmuring soothing words into her ear.

Feeling safe and secure for the first time in hours, Brennan slowly recovered herself in the shelter of Booth's arms. Pulling away slightly so she could look up into his face, she said resolutely, "I will find out who killed her, Booth. I have to."

Booth nodded and kissed her forehead before settling her back against his chest. "You will, Bones. We will."

)()()()()()()()(

So what do you think so far? Have I piqued your interest? I would love to hear from you so please leave me a review, or give the story a follow to let me know you're interested in reading more! Thank you.

Quick note: I realize there is an argument to be made that Brennan would not be allowed to work on the case because she knew the victim personally (like Hodgins and Terence Bancroft), but since the team have worked on the murders of people they've known plenty of times since then (e.g. Brennan's friend Ethan Sawyer), I decided to ignore that little niggle. Besides, the story wouldn't be as good if Brennan wasn't involved in the case, would it? :-)