After eating a quick breakfast, Parker makes his way upstairs and down the hall towards his little sister's room. He raises a hand to knock, but the door opens before he has the chance. He takes in his sister's appearance—pajamas, which consist of only an over-sized t-shirt and shorts, hair pulled into a messy bun, tear-stained cheeks—and sighs. "Firefly, I just heard. I'm sorry."

Christine looks up into his brown eyes and can't hide the small smile that appears on her face the instant she realizes it's him. "Parker," she gasps, surprised that he's here.

"Hey, sis." He wipes away the remnants of tears still clinging to her cheeks and kisses the top of her head. "How you doing?"

And just like the smile fades. "I'm fine," Christine dismisses him and walks past him to the bathroom across the hall.

"I saved you some pancakes."

"I'm not hungry." She shuts the bathroom door and turns on the sink faucet.

He sighs. "I'll be in the living room if you need anything, Firefly, okay?"

She doesn't answer him.

He shrugs and heads back downstairs.

Christine kneels down on the floor and opens the cabinet under the sink. She grabs the glass bottle filled with clear liquid, which she stashed in there yesterday when her parents were at work, and sits on the toilet seat. She stares at the label for a good ten minutes, weighing her options.

While the hangover she had the morning after the party wasn't a pleasant side effect, the feeling she had before then—the euphoria, lowered inhibitions, and the odd warmth in her belly—when she drank cup after cup of spiked punch, outweighed whatever she felt afterwards. Plus, she often saw her mom and dad share a drink or two after a particularly difficult case and afterwards they seem to feel better, so what's to say it won't have the same affect on her.

Before she can talk herself out of it, she untwists the cap and takes a long, hearty sip. It burns her throat and tastes like cherry cough syrup mixed with nail polish remover, but she takes another sip anyway.

She's halfway through the bottle when she hears a car pull into the driveway. She quickly replaces the cap and stands up. She stumbles and reaches for the edge of the counter to keep herself from falling. Her head is spinning, but she does sort of feel better. She stows the bottle back under the sink and splashes some water onto her face. She brushes her teeth and tongue, before she unlocks the bathroom door and clumsily makes her way to her bedroom.

On the way to his bedroom to change out of his suit, Booth stops in front of his daughter's room. He knocks, but gets no answer. He turns the knob, thankful to find the door unlocked, and pokes his head in. He smiles sadly, seeing Christine asleep on top of her comforter. He steps through the doorway and walks over to the bed. He unfolds the blanket that is draped over the footboard and drapes it over her sleeping form. He leans over and presses a kiss to her forehead. "It's gonna be okay," he whispers. He walks over to the window and closes the blinds, bathing the room in darkness. After taking one last look at her, he leaves the room and continues on to his own.

"Did she talk to you?" Brennan asks, walking into their room. She reaches behind her and unzips her black dress.

"She's asleep." He hangs up his tie and unbuttons his dress shirt.

"Well, I suppose that's good." She slips out of her dress, the fabric pooling at her feet. She walks over to the closet and grabs a shirt and a pair of jeans. "I'm still worried about her, though. She's usually so happy and talkative. This silence is very unnerving."

He nods, changing into a t-shirt and jeans. "I know, Bones." He pulls her into a hug, pressing a kiss into her hair.

She rests her head against his shoulder and wraps her arms around him, nodding.

They stay like that for a little while longer before they go downstairs.

Christine wakes up at six and groans, now fully aware of the excruciating pain in her head. She sits up slowly and rubs the sleep from her eyes. She clears her throat and swallows, wincing. She tears off the blanket and slowly leaves her room. She walks into the bathroom and opens the medicine cabinet. She swallows two aspirin with water and rubs her pulsating temples. She squints at the fluorescent lights, which are making her headache ten times worse, and after emptying her bladder, she heads back into the hallway, nearly tripping over Gizmo. "Giz, what the heck?" She pets him and walks around him, disappearing down the stairs.

Brennan's in the kitchen tossing a salad when Christine walks in. "Honey, you're awake."

Christine rubs her forehead and grabs a cup from the cabinet. She fills it with water and sits down at the island, drinking her water slowly. "Yeah."

"Everything okay?"

Christine nods. "I'm fine. I just have a little headache."

"Are you hungry? Your dad and brother are outside, grilling hamburgers."

Christine shrugs. "I'm just gonna have a bowl of cereal."

Brennan transfers the salad to a porcelain bowl and nods. "The service was beautiful, Sweetheart. I wish you would have come."

Parker walks in with a plate of burgers and smiles at his little sister. "Look who decided to grace us with her presence," he teases, setting the plate on the island. "You look like crap, Firefly."

Christine rolls her eyes. "I look better than you."

Parker dramatically clutches his chest. "Ouch. That hurt, Little Sis."

Brennan takes three plates out of the cabinet and sets them down on the island. "Michael Vincent called six times today. I think you should call him back. He's worried about you, Honey." She pauses. "Also, some boy named Kai called asking for you. I wrote his number by the phone."

Christine just shrugs and nods.

"We ready to—? Princess, hey." Booth grins, walking over and dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "That was some nap." He pauses. "You joining us for dinner?"

"No. I'm just gonna have cereal and start on my summer reading. I've got a ton of it."

"Okay." Booth gives her another kiss and pulls open the bread drawer, grabbing the hamburger buns. "We ready to eat?"

Christine pours some Fruit Loops into a bowl with milk and grabs a spoon, taking her cereal into the living room while Booth, Brennan, and Parker sit at the island and have dinner.

In case you're wondering, I'm thinking this story will be about ten-twelve chapters long.