We, I love Kol Miakelson and Fictionwriter91, are proud to present our first Bones story as co-writers: The Love in the Heart. We apologize for posting then deleting...there were some technical difficulties. Anyhow, we appreciate your support, reviews, follows, and favorites! Please enjoy!
Brennan tried very hard to focus. This case was important.
I met someone. Hannah. She's a war correspondent, a journalist. She's great.
H-how did you meet?
Brennan swiped away those thoughts. She had to focus. This boy had to be identified.
I arrested her in a restricted area.
You-you arrested me once.
How could she not have realized that he'd meet someone? Just because he was in a war torn area?
Is it serious between you two?
As serious as a heart attack.
Those are very serious.
Yea, they are.
"So, is it him?" Cam asked, crashing into her thoughts. Brennan looked up.
"His canines have root completion," Wendell said, looking at her for confirmation.
"Yes," Brennan nodded. "Plus the fusion of the vertebral elements."
Please don't leave me here!
I'm sorry. I have to get home. They'll find your family.
No! Don't go!
"So, that makes this child over three years old?" Cam asked, looking at them both. Brennan blinked.
"Yes," Wendell said. Brennan nodded absently.
"If I reconstruct this skull," Angela said, peering at it. "It will come out Asian."
"Definitely not Logan Bartlett," Cam sighed.
"What I did miss was my period..." Angela trailed off. She looked at Brennan expectantly.
"Oh!" Brennan exclaimed. She went over to hug her friend. She felt a twinge then. It had been hard enough when Angela got married and spent most of her time with Hodgins. Then they moved to Paris. Now Angela was going to embark on a new journey, leaving her behind. Like her parents did. Like Russ did. Like Booth did.
Don't go!
Like she had done.
"I have to go," Brennan said abruptly.
"You can't go!" Cam cried. "I need you!"
"It won't be for long. I will be back. I really, really need to finish some business. I promise I'm coming back," Brennan swore. How could she have abandoned him there? What was wrong with her? She was NOT like her parents. Cam looked at her skeptically.
"What could be so important that you'd leave us all hanging for?" Cam asked.
"I can't say," Brennan answered. "Do I have the time off or no?"
"Yes. Do what you gotta do. Whatever that is," Cam sighed. Brennan smiled and took off running.
As serious as a heart attack.
Well, she could be that serious too.
"Where is Bones?" Booth demanded over the phone.
"She...she had to leave," Cam answered.
"What?! We were supposed to be checking out sweat shops together! Where did she go?"
"She asked me not to say," Cam said.
"Oh come on, Cam! Don't be like that!" Booth exclaimed.
"Sorry. Boss employee privileges," Cam told him. He growled on the other end of the line.
"Great. Okay. Thanks anyway, Cam," he said, hanging up.
She had stumbled across a camp. It was notably destroyed. She had gone out on her own while Daisy slept, so she was alone. There had been a fire, and from what she could see, someone had tried to burn two people. Brennan very much hoped they had been dead long before the fire. She felt her throat tighten. This place was dangerous. She knew that. Of course she did. Booth had gone somewhere dangerous too. Perhaps she felt it made things even, that he'd have to worry about her just as much as she was worrying about him. She stepped along the path quietly. She very much hoped whoever had killed those people were long gone. Then she paused. She could hear something, crying. She swiveled her head around, listening hard. Once she found where it was coming from, she moved towards it. Pulling back the brush, she found a small, sobbing boy.
"Hello," she said. He gasped and buried his head. "Oh no, no! I'm not going to hurt you. I can help you." The boy looked at her carefully.
"Are they gone?" he asked.
"They're gone," she nodded. The boy looked about five years old. "Why are you hiding?"
"Mommy told me to run," he said quietly.
"Oh," Brennan said, getting it. Those charred remains had been his parents.
"Did you see them?" he asked hopefully.
"What's your name?" Brennan asked instead.
"Louis," he replied. He wiped under his nose.
"I'm Temperance," she said.
"That's a pretty name," he smiled.
"Thank you," she smiled back. "Why were you out here with your family?"
"We moved here from Paris. Daddy wanted to be an explorer."
"I see."
"Mommy didn't really want to, but she said we had to because we loved him," Louis crinkled his nose.
"Louis," Brennan started. She had no idea how to say this. "Louis, your parents...they're dead." His little face held no recognition for a moment until...
"Nooooo!" he bawled. He started beating his fists on the ground. "No, no, no, no!"
"Louis, please don't shout!" Brennan cried. She was very concerned those killers would return, especially if they knew he was still alive. She gathered the small boy into her arms and rocked him as he cried his heart out. Once he stopped, he looked up at her.
"What happens to me now?"
"I guess we find a place for you to stay," Brennan said. She was thinking of an orphanage. Perhaps there they could locate his family.
"No! I wanna stay with you!"
"Louis, you can't stay with me," Brennan told him.
"Just for a little while?"
"I..."
"Dr. Brennan?" Daisy's voice called. Oh crap.
"Here," Brennan answered.
"Dr. Brennan! I just saw the most horrible thing..." Daisy trailed off, seeing Louis. "Who's this?"
"Louis," Brennan replied. "His parents are..." She gestured back towards where the remains were. Daisy gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
"What do we do?" she asked.
"He'll stay with us until we find an orphanage," Brennan explained. Louis hopped up. He took her hand and they walked back to their camp, avoiding the place where his parents had died. It took five days to reach civilization, and by then, Louis had latched onto her as though she would disappear. It only made what she had to do even harder.
"He'll be safe here?" Brennan asked. The lady nodded.
"Of course. We'll try to track his family," she smiled. Brennan felt confident they would.
"Louis," she said bending down to his level. "It's been wonderful, but this is where we go our separate way."
"No!" he cried. "Don't leave me!"
"I'm sorry. I have to get back home. They'll find your family," she promised. His brilliant green eyes filled with tears.
"No! Don't go!"
"Louis," the woman said. "The lady has to leave now. Come along." She pulled on his hand. Louis screamed as he was pulled away. Brennan felt her heart slice into two. She stood on shaky legs and walked out of the building. He had a family. She couldn't just take him. It wouldn't be right. His scream echoed in her mind and soul for days afterwards.
Brennan hurried to the familiar building she had left a few days ago. She skidded to a halt at the front desk.
"You're back," the woman smiled. Her nametag said Janice.
"Yes. The boy. Louis. Is he still here?" Brennan asked, out of breath.
"He is. He's been quite the handful," Janice laughed.
"Did you find his family?" Brennan cut her off. Janice looked somber then.
"No. Turns out an illness wiped out any surviving relatives. He had no one. We're trying to get him adopted here..."
"Me," Brennan said.
"W-what?"
"Me. I'll take him. Please. I can't leave him here," she said. "He's not Indonesian. He has nobody. Please, just let me take him."
"We don't know anything about you..." Janice started.
"I'm a forensic anthropologist," Brennan said, slapping her identification down. "I have a good apartment." She pulled out pictures. She was prepared for this.
"I...I don't know..."
"Look, I am not leaving here without him, so make it happen!" Brennan snapped. Janice looked scared for a moment.
"I haven't fully registered him here yet," she mentioned.
"Good. That's good. Don't register him. I'll just take him and it's like he was never here," Brennan nodded encouragingly. Janice looked unsure.
"Temperance?" Louis's voice called. Brennan turned and his face broke into a huge grin. "It IS you!" He hurled himself into her arms.
"Louis," she said, breaking apart and looking into those green, green eyes. "You are coming with me." She looked up at Janice meaningfully, and she got the hint.
"Yes," Janice nodded. "Louis, you're going with her."
We are not getting technical with the whole out of country adoption rules for the purposes of this story. Hannah will be mentioned as she was part of canon for the first bit, but we're not fans of her either, so look forward to her looking like an idiot eventually. Thanks for reading! :)