Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, I'm sure you all get it by now.

A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I'll try and update more often from now on. Thanks for all of the great reviews anyways!

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CHAPTER 2

Dead silence. All of the Jeffersonian employees in the room were just staring at Arden who was just standing awkwardly on the opposite side of the office. The same dark, wavy hair, the same icy blue eyes, that's what Tempe had noticed earlier and what everyone else was noticing now.

"Sister?" she finally sputtered out. Otherwise she was totally speechless.

"That's impossible," Angela tried to help. "Dr. Brennan's mother died – "

" – after I was born," Arden finished a bit sarcastically. She even had a similarly more husky voice like Tempe.

"No," Brennan suddenly said, sounding very sure of herself. "No. There must be some mistake." Turning on her heel she briskly fled down the hall.

"Oh, honey," Angela muttered as she took off after her, leaving Hodgins and Booth feeling uncomfortable along with Lisa and leaving Arden feeling alone again.

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It can't be possible, Brennan thought. No, they're obviously wrong. As she was thinking this, she stared at the holographic image of her mother on Angela's device, something she'd requested that Angela save on a disk for her. She didn't want to be reminded of how her mother had been murdered, which is exactly what this girl was doing to her. It can't be. They must've made a mistake with the names.

Angela went running past the room trying to find her friend. "In here," Tempe said. Angela, out of breath and looking ready to collapse, leaned against the doorway to catch herself. "How do you run so fast?" she asked through gasps. Smiling, she was hoping that this little joke would cheer up her friend.

"Well, I go running every day – "

"Never mind," Angela cut her off. Finally catching her breath, she came in and sat down next to Tempe. "How are you sweetie?"

"How do you think?" Tempe asked. She was absent-mindedly zooming in and out on her mother's face. Angela reached for her hand to stop her.

"C'mon," she replied. "It can't be that bad. At least give it a chance. You never know, maybe there was a mistake." Brennan sighed. "Fine," she answered. Angela helped her best friend up. It wasn't until they'd turned around that they saw Booth had been there.

Booth looked at Brennan, unsure of how he should present himself. "I don't think they've made a mistake Bones," he said. Holding up a sheet of paper he finished, "They've got her birth certificate and everything." Walking up to Booth, Brennan took the sheet from his hands. Examining it closely, she sighed. "It definitely looks legit," she answered reluctantly. "Do they have any other papers on her?" Booth held up a manila folder practically bursting with papers. Another sigh escaped Dr. Brennan. "Fine, I suppose I should go meet her," she answered.

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"Do I really have to stay?" Arden muttered to Lisa as Hodgins eyed them. "It's obvious I'm not wanted here."

"Don't be silly," Lisa whispered with a tone of uncertainty, "I'm sure the shock will wear off eventually."

Just then, Booth and Angela finally led Tempe back into the room. Lisa smiled upon seeing them. "I'm sorry to just come to you like this, I'm sure it's quite a shock, but it was too urgent to call," she poured out to them in one breath.

"Too urgent?" Booth asked. Lisa nodded. "You see," she started. "Arden's foster family was in a terrible car accident. She needs someone to look after her, preferably family. That's where you come in."

"Why wasn't I informed of it earlier?" Tempe asked. "You know, about twenty years earlier?"

"I'm sixteen," Arden corrected. "Seventeen in July." She had a feeling that the last part was unnecessary, but she didn't want them to leave anything out because she was 'too young to hear it'. Also, she wanted them to remember that she was still there.

"You see," Lisa said as she ignored Arden, "Since your mother didn't leave a will behind, we had no idea you even existed at the time. Besides, you and your brother were too young and a bit too busy caring for yourselves to be guardians to a baby."

Dr. Brennan understood this. It definitely made sense. "But why now?" she asked.

"After Arden here read your last novel, she was curious, so we decided to investigate if you were related," Lisa said. "It turns out that you are, so here we are now!" She really hoped that the doctor didn't have anymore questions.

Tempe nodded slowly. "So what now?" she asked. Lisa pulled out another manila folder, this one much smaller than the last. "I just have a few papers for you to sign and then you're Arden's legal guardian. It's as simple as that."

Dr. Brennan considered it a moment. Could she really watch a teenager 24/7? She was so busy all the time. But before she could say no, she caught a glimpse of Arden's face – of the constant rejection, the feeling that you're all alone in the world, the feeling that no one cares for you. The same feeling Tempe still felt sometimes when she thought back to her foster-care days. She didn't want to put anyone else through that feeling, especially not her own flesh and blood. "Alright, I'll sign," she said as she pulled a pen off her desk.

"Excellent!" Lisa replied in an extremely relieved tone as she pulled the forms out of the folder. "Just sign the bottoms of each of these and it's complete."

Besides, it'd only be for a year really, Tempe thought as she began to sign. Then she'll be eighteen. I can do this. She finished signing all of them and handed them over to a beaming Lisa

"She's all yours now," Lisa stated happily. She stood there only a moment longer before leaving them all - Hodgins, Angela, Booth, and the two Brennans.