A/N

*shuffles in with an embarassed wave*

Hi guys! So...yeah. Your eyes aren't deceiving you. I've finally decided to get my butt in gear and start finishing off my open fics. (I say finishing...this one has a ways to go yet but...ya know what i mean!) My aim is to have them all done come S7 so i can start again with fics in canon...maybe! LOL

I know it's been forever since i updated this one so i understand completely if 1) You need to reread the previous chapters. 2) You can't be asked to read the previous chapters! Or 3) You've totally given up on me and this fic! No hard feelings either way...honest! :D

Anyhoo, without further ado...Chapter 4!

Two weeks later, Temperance Brennan looked around the table that she was sat at and smiled softly to herself. Her brother was teasing his wife mercilessly as she cooked breakfast. Their children, Emma and Hayley, were laughing at their parents, and her father, Max, was smiling at the scene in front of him indulgently. All this reassured Brennan that she had made the correct decision when she had joined them earlier than planned.

When she had left D.C. originally, she had intended to travel. Nowhere in particular, she had just wanted to reacquaint herself with being alone again. She had been shocked when she'd found herself on her way to North Carolina. It had crossed her mind to turn around, but for once, she went with her gut. And her gut had told her that North Carolina was the place she needed to be.

She met her father's gaze and smiled at him. The comfort of seeing her family all in one place was more healing than she had ever imagined. Max returned her smile with one of his own, the pleasure of having his daughter sat around the table with him clear on his face.

"Russ, behave," Amy chided softly, slapping Russ's hand away from the meal that she was fixing.

Brennan moved her gaze from her father to her brother, and the sight of him laughing with his wife brought her both pleasure and pain. She was pleased that, finally, Russ had found a place where he belonged; but, she couldn't deny the pain that resided alongside it. She wanted what he had; and despite what she had told Angela, she couldn't envision it happening for herself. To have the life Russ did, she would need to see past Booth. But he was still the only person that she could see herself spending a life with. She realised that only two weeks had past and that she needed more time; but she had hoped that with the distance between them, she would have started to move on. She hadn't and she wasn't sure that she ever would.

"Baby, are you ok?"

The sound of her father's voice forced her out of her own inner reflection, and she glanced up to find that he had moved around the table and now sat by her side. No, she thought to herself. I'm not ok.

"I'm fine dad," she said with a fixed smile on her face. Max looked at her, his expression making it clear that he wasn't going to be fobbed off. He stood up and held out his hand, waiting for her to take it.

Brennan glanced down at it warily loathing to take it. She knew that he was going to talk to her, actually talk, as opposed to the polite chatter that they had exchanged since she had arrived two weeks ago. With a resigned sigh, she stood up, pointedly ignoring his out-stretched hand as she made her way out of the kitchen. She didn't turn back, knowing that he would be following her.

Max glanced at his daughter's retreating back and then turned to face the rest of his family, happy to see that the girls were oblivious to the new found tension in the room. Amy was trying desperately to pretend that she hadn't noticed anything change whereas Russ was staring after Brennan in concern. He sensed his father's gaze and tore his eyes away from the now empty doorway to look at him. An unspoken warning was clear for Max to read. Be careful with her. He nodded slightly in acknowledgement before following in his daughter's footsteps.

He stepped out of the back door and glanced around, his eyes searching for his daughter, his previous worry coming to the forefront of his mind. He had been thrilled when she had arrived on Russ's doorstep, allowing his joy and pleasure at her presence to distract him from the truth of the situation. His little girl was miserable. So far, she had deflected his attempts to find out the truth and he had let her, fearful of pushing her too hard in case that he woke up to find her gone. But now, he was biting the bullet; he was determined to find out what or who was hurting his daughter.

His eyes finally found her, his heart aching at the picture that she presented. She was sat on the swing that he'd built for the girls, one foot dragging on the floor as she swung gently. Her shoulders were hunched and her head was lowered. She looked the epitome of sadness. Max fought with the urge wrap her in his arms and carry her away, willing to do almost anything to protect her from the pain that she was clearly feeling. But he couldn't. Logically -and he knew Temperance would be proud of him for that- he knew that he needed to let her handle whatever was hurting her on her own. She was a grown woman and he couldn't just kiss away her hurt anymore…And he could admit, if only to himself, that he had forfeited the right to do that long ago.

He walked over to her, taking a seat next to her on the swing. She shifted across slightly to give him more room but remained silent, hoping to avoid the coming conversation. Everything that she had been fighting not to feel was coming back in a rush, and she was struggling to control herself. Max was unsure how long they sat there swinging gently as they both lost themselves in their thoughts. Eventually, he realised that she wasn't going to break the silence and that it would have to be him. He shifted so that he was facing her, placing one hand one her arm to draw her attention. She tensed at his touch but remained facing away, not quite ready to look at him.

"Temperance," he called softly. "Sweetheart, Look at me…please." He feared that she would ignore his pleading, but after a silent moment, she turned to him. Max took one look at her and felt his heart break. He was being allowed a rare glimpse of the emotions his daughter was struggling with, and he felt the father within him rise up fiercely; the only thought in his mind was to punish the individual responsible for her pain. "Tempe…" A tear rolled down her cheek at his whispered word.

"He's…he's getting married."

Max needed to hear no more. There was no question to which 'he' she was referring to. And the knowledge that it was the one person that he couldn't punish gave him no pleasure. He said nothing, knowing that there were no words that could help her now. This was the one thing that he couldn't make better for her so he did the only thing he could.

He opened his arms and held her as she wept.

A/N Sooooooooooo...what did we think? I know it's kinda short but more is coming...on something. If all goes according to plan! LOL