Disclaimer: I do not own Bones

The TV screen remained dark for a few seconds, and Ruth sighed an 'I told you so' sigh to her husband. Max released the breath he had been holding in disappointment; it really was too good to be true. "I guess we need to get going," he said to his wife.

Ruth nodded and continued to quickly pack up her things when the TV began to play. They both stopped what they were doing and turned to face the screen. On it was a clear image of their house that they had left behind. Ruth's mouth fell open and Max smiled a smug smile, happy he finally got something right. They both sat on the bed and began to watch their children's lives play out in front of their eyes.

###

Temperance sat on the couch and pretended to be reading her book. However, it was painfully obvious that she was worried when she would continuously look up at the clock, wondering when her parents were going to get back. Russ sat in the chair by the TV and pretended to be absorbed in one of his favorite shows, but it was also obvious that he was beginning to get freaked out that his parents weren't home yet either. The clock read 1:20, they should surely be home by now, right? No Christmas shopping could take this long!

"When are they going to be home, Russ," Temperance asked her older brother.

Russ shrugged his shoulders in honesty, "I don't know Tempe," he admitted, "maybe you should just go to bed. They'll be here in the morning. I bet they just got caught up in something," he tried to convince even himself, "yeah, that has to be it."

Tempe nodded in agreement as she yawned, "you're probably right," she admitted, "good night," she added.

"Good night," Russ returned, and he watched hr ascend the stairs to her room. Once she was gone, and he was sure that she would not return, Russ went to the phone and dialed the local police stations number.

"Yes, this is Russ Brennan," he said in greeting when the phone was answered. "No, this is not a prank call," he said in frustration when the person on the other side of the line began scolding him, "yes I know I'm a trouble maker, but-" he was cut off, and he respectfully waited until the other person was done scorning him before he continued. "Now if you would please listen to me," he asked, "my parents left earlier this afternoon to go Christmas shopping, and they haven't come back yet." He listened to the other person say something to him. "Yes… yes, I understand. Thank you sir."

He hung up and sighed. He looked up at the clock again, 12:05. He shook his head and said to himself, "the police are probably right, they will be home by morning."

###

The next morning, Temperance woke up and immediately rushed into her parents' room to make sure they were home. She couldn't help but gasp when she saw that their bed had not been touched the previous night; they were not home.

"Russ!" she called loudly to her brother.

He immediately came running down the hall, and barged into their parents' room, "what, what is it?"

"They didn't came home," Temperance stated nervously, with tears in her eyes. "Something had to have happened to them, they wouldn't just not come home."

Russ began to squirm when his little sister began to cry, he was never good with dealing with emotions, and he always managed to say the wrong thing. However, he knew he had to try, for his sister. "Hey," he said, placing an arm on her shoulder for comfort, "everything will turn out fine, I promise."

Temperance sniffed, "how do you know?" she demanded.

Russ shrugged, "because I am your big brother, and I know everything."

Temperance attempted a weak smile, "I know more than you," she joked.

Russ laughed, "maybe things won't turn out all right, but always know that I am your big brother; I will always be here for you," he told her.

"Promise?" Tempe asked him.

"Promise," Russ responded.

###

A few days later, Temperance woke up and slowly headed down the stairs. She was dreading this day all week; it was Christmas, and her parents still were not home. Things would not be the same without them, and the only thing she wanted was for them to come home.

As she walked down the stairs, she saw the glimmer of lights coming from a Christmas tree in the corner. This was not up last night! That could only mean one thing; her parents were home. She felt her heart leap from her chest as she saw the presents stacked up under the tree. "Russ," she called, "Russ," mom and dad are home."

Russ quickly came barreling down the stairs, "where?" he demanded.

She pointed to all the decorations that filled their living room, "look, that was not up last night, they came back just in time for Christmas."

Russ's face fell. "Tempe," he said softly, "they aren't home."

"What?" Tempe demanded, her heart breaking with those words.

"I did this," Russ admitted. Tempe shook her head in disbelief, and Russ continued, "I found the presents, and I thought it would be nice if we had Christmas- to take our minds off of things."

"No," Temperance stated stubbornly.

"Tempe-" Russ tried to reason with her.

"No," she stated firmly again, "I refuse to have Christmas until they get home. How can you even think we could have Christmas without them? What kind of son are you, thinking we can just forget about them? What kind of brother are you getting my hopes up thinking they are back, just to get my heart torn out of my chest once again. I hate you, you are the worst brother in the world!"

Russ watched her storm up the stairs and listened as her door slammed shut. Tears rolled down his face at her words and he whispered to no one in particular, "Merry Christmas."

###

Not even a week later Temperance stood out in front of their house watching Russ drive away from her. He said he found a job out west that he could not refuse. He said he called the social worker, and she would be over after dinner. Temperance did not say anything in response; she had nothing to say to him; he was abandoning her.

She watched in silence as he drove away, but whispered right before his car vanished into the horizon, "you promised."

###

Max and Ruth watched the screen in horror as Russ drove away from Tempe, leaving her alone. They never expected that to happen in a million years, they always thought if anything would happen to them, he would always take care of her. Yes, Tempe was being a little difficult, but that was no excuse. She had no one else.

"We have to go back," Max whispered painfully. "If we leave now, we can be back before morning, and none of this will ever happen."

Ruth shook her head no, "it is still too dangerous. Believe me, I want to go back, but we have to watch the whole show, that was part of the rules," she pointed to the screen which began showing another scene, "I don't think it's over yet."

This story is going to be tricky to write. It is going to follow Tempe through her life starting from the time her parents left, and running through the end of season (hence the long journey.) What is going to be difficult is to incorporate Max and Ruth's reactions to everything. Probably I'll do something similar to this chapter (put Tempe's life in italics and in a different section than Max and Ruth's thoughts.) Let me know if it is too confusing, and how I can better the technique. Remember to review, I'll update faster.