Disclaimer- Nothing related to the TV show Bones belongs to me. If it did, that Christmas kiss would've gone a heck of a lot further.
A/N- Thanks for reading, if you're new, please review. Hey, I made a rhyme!
A Future in the Past
Chapter 4
One month. That's all the time that it took for Temperance to be told she was being sent to a new foster home. Susan and Thomas had unexpectedly become pregnant- with twins. Sadly deciding that they would no longer have the space, or energy, to house a foster child, they contacted a worker from the system and explained the situation. Pamela Richards, the foster care worker assigned to Temperance's placement, informed them that it would take about one week for another family to be found. Elisabeth was headed towards her room when she noticed Temperance laying on her own bed, crying. "Temperance? What's wrong?" Elisabeth asked, truly concerned. Temperance was one of the strongest people she knew, and it was a bit unnerving to see her reveal her true emotions.
Sniffling, Temperance answered, "I'm going to miss him. I feel so stupid, crying over a boy. We haven't even been dating that long. I knew this would happen, I just…I just didn't expect it to be so soon. Maybe it's better this way though. Imagine if I'd have been here six months, I'd be so much more attached to him, it'd be even harder to leave." Seeley's relationship with Temperance had been going remarkably well. If one knew both teens, they wouldn't think to involve the two with each other, Seeley being a popular jock, and Temperance being a reserved foster child, but somehow, they had made things work. Seeley would take her to movies, or out to restaurants, sometimes they would simply watch a movie at his home, and she felt comfortable with him. When he held her, she felt safer than she had in over a year, and now she knew she would never get that feeling again.
"Aw, Tempe. I'm so sorry; I know you two are close. You'll find someone else though, I'm sure of it." Elisabeth smiled, trying, as always, to find the silver lining.
"That's just the thing, though. I'm not sure if I want anybody else. He's just one guy, but…but, ugh, I don't know, there's just something I feel towards him that…that I can't explain. That's dumb right? It's dumb." Temperance lamented.
"No, no, it's not dumb. He's your boyfriend, you care about him. It's only normal that you'd be sad to leave him. It's like you're breaking up, but it wasn't your choice- or his." Elisabeth tried to be comforting, but Temperance was beyond being soothed. One more person she allowed herself to care about, one more person lost. "You should go on one last date with him. Have you let him know you're leaving?" Elisabeth pressed on.
"I haven't told him yet." Temperance admitted.
"What?! You're leaving in two days! Temperance, you have to tell him!"
"I know! I just
don't know what to say."
"Go talk to him. The right words
will come." Elisabeth was nervous for Temperance, but if Elisabeth
wasn't confident for her, nobody would be.
"What should I do? Should I just tell him, and then leave? I want him to remember me. It's silly, and childish, but I do. I want him to remember the time we spent together. I feel like such a moron, getting so emotional over one, one…boyfriend. Can I call him that? Is he my boyfriend?" Temperance babbled on, unsure of what to say, even to herself.
For a lack of anything else to say, Elisabeth assured her, "He'll remember you Temperance, and yes, he most certainly is your boyfriend. Just go. When you see him, you'll know what to do."
"You're right; I just need to see him. Yeah, I'm going." Temperance took a deep breath, dried her tear-stained cheeks, and walked across the cul-de-sac. Elisabeth watched from her bedroom window, praying that Temperance would make the right decisions, and say the right things.
That night, Elisabeth slept on the floor in Temperance's room. The two had grown close, and wanted to spend as much time as possible together before Temperance was forced to leave. "So, what happened with Seeley?" Elisabeth asked nonchalantly, not wanting to add to the stress of the situation.
"I…I figured out what to do." Temperance apprehensively answered.
"I knew you would!" Elisabeth enthused, "What did you do?"
A brief silence filled the room before Temperance bluntly said, "I slept with him." Elisabeth shot up from her position lying down on the floor and yelled, "You did WHAT?"
"We were just sitting there, watching a movie, like a lot of other nights. I told him I was leaving, and he said he wanted to spend time with me, so we sat down on the couch and started the movie. About half way through, he kissed me. It was supposed to be quick, a spur of the moment peck, but I guess we both wanted more, and…well, you know where it went from there." Temperance explained.
"I can't believe you! You've been dating him less than two months! What did you think would come of this?! You think leaving is going to be any easier now?" Elisabeth shot.
"I don't need you to judge me! You weren't there; you weren't feeling how I felt! You can't possibly understand- you've never needed anybody as much as I needed him, right in that moment!" Temperance burst out, as she began to cry.
"Temperance-" Elisabeth began.
"I think you've said everything you need to say. Why don't you just go sleep in your own room tonight?"
"Alright then, if that's what you really want."
"Yeah." Temperance said, trying hard not to portray her deep sadness at fighting with Elisabeth.
"Fine. Goodnight, Temperance. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said what I did. You're probably right, I don't really understand." Elisabeth apologized, and walked out.
The next day, Temperance was picked up by Pamela. "Elisabeth, can we pretend last night didn't happen? I don't want to leave like this." Temperance asked.
"Well, I doubt you'll ever forget last night, but as far as the fight goes, long forgotten." Elisabeth agreed, with a bit of sarcasm. Temperance laughed, acknowledging the truth of her friend's statement.
Seeley had come by to send her off, and as he held her in a gentle hug he whispered in her ear, "I'll never forget you Temperance. I love you."
"You do?" She questioned in a tear-choked whisper.
He pulled away from her, looked into her glossy eyes and said with more sincerity than Temperance thought possible, "I do. I know I always will. Take care of yourself Temperance. I'm going to miss you so much."
She looked back at him with the same intensity and said, "I love you too, Seeley. I don't want to leave. I didn't want to love you, but I do, which makes this so much harder."
"I'm sorry." Was all he could think to say.
"Don't be. I never thought I'd be happy again after my parents…left, but…well, I was, because of you." She admitted.
"We'll see each other again someday. I'll find you, somehow." He promised.
"I hope you will. Goodbye, Seeley."
"Goodbye."
"Temperance! Come on, time to go!" Pamela hollered. Temperance turned from Seeley, and got into the car. As it pulled away, she waved at him from the back window, and he waved back. Both had tears in their eyes.
Temperance had been at her new foster home for two months. Brooklyn, New York was not the most desirable place for a family to live, and for the life of her, she couldn't understand why Derek and Teresa decided to care for foster children- if you could even call what they did 'caring.' Temperance paced outside one of the two bathrooms in the home that day, counting down every second of three minutes. When the last second ticked by, she picked up the small white stick sitting on the edge of the sink, and anxiously looked down- and immediately saw one pink plus sign. "Damnit." Was the only word she uttered.