The next morning, Brennan's sitting up in bed, reading an anthropology journal. She glances between the pages of the journal, her sleeping son in his bassinet, and her phone, which is resting in her lap. She looks up when she hears a knock on the door and smiles. "Good morning, Ange."

Angela walks in, one child perched on her hip and another at her side, his hand clasped in hers. She lets go of Michael Vincent's hand and bends down, setting Christine on the floor.

Christine runs over to the bed, her dirty blonde waves bouncing, and looks at her mom, smiling brightly. "Mommy!"

Brennan smiles back. "Good morning, Honey. Did you have fun with Michael Vincent last night?"

Christine nods. "Lots and Lots of fun, mommy." She rubs her eyes and yawns, a sure sign that the two kids may have had a little too much fun. She looks around and wrinkles her forehead. "Where is daddy?"

"Your father's in Baltimore. He'll be home later this morning."

Now it's Angela's turn to look confused. "Sweetie, what's Booth doing in Baltimore? Shouldn't he be, I don't know, here with you and Jacob?"

Brennan looks between Christine and Michael and then finds her best friend's confused and concerned gaze again. "I'll tell you later, Ange."

"Is everything okay?"

"I'll explain everything later," Brennan repeats.

"But Booth will be back, right? You two didn't get into a fight last night that would cause him to flee to a different state, did you?"

Brennan scowls slightly. "No!" She pauses and picks up her phone. She pulls up the picture of Ella and shows Angela.

"That two-timing Bastard," Angela mutters under her breath.

Brennan rolls her eyes. "That's my niece, Angela."

"Oh. Really?" Angela takes the phone from her best friend and takes a closer look at the picture. "She and Jacob could be twins."

Brennan nods.

"Is that why Booth's in Maryland?"

Brennan nods again.

"He left you right after you gave birth because his brother's girlfriend was in labor? That doesn't sound like him."

"Let it go, Ange. I will explain everything later when we don't have," she looks at the kids again, "a prepubescent audience."

Angela nods. Suddenly the phone vibrates in her hand and Booth's name and picture flashes on the screen. She answers it quickly. "Congratulations, Uncle! I could kill you for leaving and Bren and the baby, though." She nods. "Yeah, yeah, she's here, hold on." She hands the phone to Brennan.

Brennan rolls her eyes and takes the phone from her best friend. "Good morning, Booth." She pauses. "Okay, I'll see you in about an hour. Love you too."

Christine points to the phone. "Daddy?"

"Hold on, Booth. Christine wants to say hello." Brennan holds the phone to her daughter's ear. "It's daddy, Sweetheart."

"Daddy! Hi. I can't find you. Where'd you go?" Christine giggles and nods her head. "I love you, daddy. Come back. Bye!" She pulls away from the phone and beams. "Daddy brinding me home a sista."

Brennan gets back on the phone. "Drive safely." She hangs up and turns her head slowly, looking up at Angela. As she suspected, her best friend's staring at her, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

Hodgins knocks on the door in the midst of the staring contest and smiles. "Good morning, Dr. B."

Angela turns her head. "Honey, take Michael Vincent and Christine up to the cafeteria."

Hodgins blinks. "But Angie, we just had breakfas—."

"Then take them outside, take them on a tour of the hospital, I don't care, just go, take them away now, Jack."

Hodgins shrugs. "What's going on?"

"Questions later, Honey."

"Okay, okay, crazy woman," Hodgins mutters under his breath. "C'mon, kids, who wants to go for a walk?" He holds out his hands and both kids grab hold of one. He gives his wife another incredulous look and then the three of them leave the room.

Angela plops down in the chair by Brennan's bedside and leans forward. "What is going on, Bren?"

Brennan lets out a breath and shifts. "Booth got a call from University of Maryland Medical Center last night. Jared was in some sort of bar fight earlier, which resulted in fatal internal injuries."

"Oh, God."

"Jared's girlfriend gave birth to their daughter on Monday morning and shortly afterwards, suffered from an extensive postpartum hemorrhage. She's currently on life-support. They met with a lawyer about six months ago to update and finalize their wills, and they named Booth and I their child's legal guardians in the event of their deaths."

Angela's eyes widen. "So when Christine said that Booth is bringing her home a sister, that really means—."

"Booth is on his way here with our niece, Ella."

"Holy crap, Sweetie."

Brennan nods. "While I am apprehensive about taking care of two newborns and a three year-old, the alternative, Ella in foster care, is not an option. I believe we made the right decision, even if it will be difficult and it will take time to adjust to our new lives."

Angela smiles. "You get two for the price of one, twins without the extra weight gain and discomfort." She pauses. "Can I see her picture again?"

Brennan pulls up the picture of Ella and hands the phone to her best friend.

Angela smiles. "She's such a cutie." She pauses. "What you and Booth are doing for her, Sweetie, it's admirable. If only there were more people in this world like you two."

Brennan clears her throat and blinks back tears, cursing the hormones silently.

"So when do I get to meet my new surprise niece?"

Brennan laughs. "Booth should be here in about forty-five minutes, so you'll get to meet her then. I, too, am excited to see her."

"Do you need anything, Sweetie?"

Brennan shakes her head. "I'm okay, but thank you." She pauses. "I might actually take a quick nap before Booth gets here. I didn't sleep very well last night."

"'Cause you didn't have your teddy bear to cuddle with?" Angela teases with a smirk.

"Angela, I haven't slept with a teddy bear since I was four."

"I meant, Booth, Bren."

Brennan nods. "Oh, yes, even with Jacob here, it was quite lonely without him."

"Aw."

Brennan rolls her eyes. "I have grown accustomed to him being around, that's all."

"I'll let you nap, then, but you better believe I'll be back later. I wanna meet Ella." Angela pauses. "And don't worry about a thing, Sweetie. Jack and I will keep Christine occupied until Booth shows up."

"Thank you, Ange."

"What are best friends for?" Angela smiles and gives Brennan a quick hug. She walks over to the bassinet and brushes her knuckle against Jacob's cheek, smiling down at the newborn. She looks at Brennan and waves as she walks towards the door. "Sweet dreams." With that, she leaves and disappears down the hallway.

Brennan sets the journal on the bedside table and shimmies down the mattress. She rolls over to face her son and tugs on the sheets. She lets out a breath and looks through the clear plastic walls of the bassinet, watching him sleep until she can no longer keep her eyes open.