AUTHORS NOTES: Hello again! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story :] Sorry it took me so long to post the next chapter, but school's a b**** as ya'll know xD Anywho, let's get on with it! *italics mean thought*
WARNING: Mentions of pedophilia and child abuse, minor use of curse words.
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Lance POV:
Temperance and Seely stood up, slowly moving back a little ways to give him some space. His haunted chocolate orbs followed their every move, tracking them as they stood. He swallowed, incredibly nervous now that he was alone with them; sure they seemed nice, but so had his daddy before he would snap. Lance squinched his eyes shut and shook his head hurriedly. "No! I don't want to think about him!" Opening them again, he saw Temperance and Seely watching him, looking worried.
"You okay there buddy?" Seely asked, his tone carefully neutral. Lance nodded his head and got to his feet, hyper aware of the small distance between them. He swallowed once more, and stumbled backwards.
Booth POV:
Brennan saw how scared he was and went to comfort him, but Booth stopped her, knowing that wasn't what Lance wanted right then. She glared at him, but stayed where she was nonetheless. "Come on Lance, let's take you to your room," Booth tried to ignore the horrified look that spread across the child's face at his proposal, but the implications were too horrific to ignore. Instead of addressing them right then however, he decided to wait till Lance had settled in some; so, he clenched his teeth and forced a smile onto his lips, trying not to think too hard about the little guy's past.
Lance POV:
He knew it was too good to be true; these people were just like his daddy. He had just hoped they would wait a little while before making him do 'that'. Lance sighed, knowing that the longer he stalled, the harder he would get it. So he nodded his little head, ignoring the confused looks both Temperance and Seely were giving him. Following them up the stairs, he wondered which of the two would go first; he hoped they'd let him rest in between. He was so focused in his thoughts that he didn't realize Temperance and Booth had stopped moving until he walked face first into booths legs. Whimpering, he shuffled back and hunched into himself, expecting blows to begin raining down. Instead, he felt a gentle hand apply a small amount of pressure to his shoulder. He looked up at Temperance as she smiled reassuringly down at him.
"This is your room Lance," She said as he moved to the doorway. Lance cautiously peered in, and immediately forgot all his fears.
Brennan POV:
She grinned smugly when she saw Lance's face light up and his fear vanish. Booth had left the majority of the decorating choices to her, wanting her to feel like she could do something; however, when he saw the décor she chose, he had had his doubts about whether the 4 year old would really like it. He was proven wrong though as Lance, his fears forgotten, dashed into the orange and blue bedroom. He scurried around, ogling the volcano replica, flipping through the books about sea creatures, staring wide eyed at the posters of the moon landing, and petting the stuffed dinosaur toy.
Suddenly, remembering where he was, he dropped the toy and faced them. "O-okay, I-I'm r-r-ready."
Brennan's face scrunched with confusion; had she missed something? Booth's face however, showed none of the confusion that hers did. Instead, he just looked pissed.
Booth POV:
"O-okay, I-I'm r-r-ready." Booth's eyes narrowed, but he tried to control his anger, not wanting to scare the child any more than he already had. That one simple sentence had confirmed his worst fears about what had happened to the boy.
Taking a deep breath, he managed to calm himself down. "What do you mean, huh sport?" He watched Lance swallow convulsively, shifting nervously and clearly shaking.
"W-well, t-that's why you b-brought me h-here; you w-want to do 't-that'. . . R-right?" Lance bit his lip and looked firmly at the ground.
Booth stared at the small frightened and confused boy thinking, "Oh my God. . . What did this boy go through?"
BONES_BONES_BONES_BONES_
Sorry that this chapter is soooo much shorter, but my plot bunnies are hibernating :[ Was it any good? Please R&R!