Disclaimer: Bones and Shrek are not mine.

"Hey Sarah! Can you tell me a story?" Parker asked excitedly.

Brennan smiled at the two. Parker had been shy when he first met Sarah but the two quickly became friends. So far this evening was enjoyable, thanks to Booth.

"Why story shall I do, Parker?"

He thought for a minute and finally asked, "Shrek?"

"Shrek?" Brennan asked Booth.

He laughed and gave her a brilliant smile. "Shrek is from a movie where he has to get his swamp back from fairy tale creatures by traveling with a talking donkey to find and save a beautiful princess and take her to the prince so he can become king."

"Fairy tale creatures? Talking donkeys? Ogres?" Brennan asked confused. "None of them really exist."

"Bones, it's a movie. It doesn't have to be real," Booth smiled. "Now, just watch and listen."

Sarah had already started and was enjoying acting along with her story. "Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort which could only be broken by love's first kiss. She was locked away in a castle, guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Many brave knights had attempted to free her from this dreadful prison, but none prevailed. She waited in the dragon's keep, in the highest room of the tallest tower, for her true love, and true love's first kiss. But like that's ever going to happen. What a load of—hang on."

Sarah rushed out of the room towards the bathroom and flushed the toilet. Parker laughed and when Sarah came back she was too. She continued on. She lightly pinched Parker and said, "Shrek was an ogre, and you know what ogres do?" Parker shook his head. "Ogres make suits from your freshly peeled skin. They'll shave your liver. Squeeze the jelly from your eyes. Actually, it's quite good on toast!"

Parker let out a, "Ewww."

Sarah laughed, "So anyway, Shrek…"

Booth could barely keep his eyes off Brennan. Occasionally, he would look back to the two kids every time she looked at him. He caught a few phrases every once in a while but didn't really pay attention to them. She was so enchanted by the story; he just could barely look away. However, Sarah's singing did get his attention, and she did have a good voice, mind you!

"I steal from the rich and give to the needy. He takes a wee percentage, but I'm not greedy. I rescue pretty damsels, Man! I'm good. What a guy, Monsieur Hood! Break it down." She grabbed Parker and Brennan's hands and made them start dancing along with her, and then when they were dancing, she grabbed Booth and pretended to fight with him for the next part.

"I like an honest fight and a saucy little maid. What he's basically saying is he likes to get – Paid! So, when an ogre in the bush grabs a lady by the tush, that's bad." Everyone joined in on the Merry men's parts then. "That's bad, that's bad, that's bad. When a beauty's with a beast it makes me awfully mad! He's mad, he's really, really mad! Now I'll take my blade and ram it through your heart. Keep your eyes on me, boys, 'cause I'm about to start!" Sarah pretended to put an invisible sword at Booth's chest, but Parker playfully pushed Sarah into the couch he was sitting at previously. They all busted out into laughter and collapsed on the couch.

Parker said with a giggle, imitating Princess Fiona, "Man, that was annoying!"

They all laughed again. Eventually, the laughter quieted down, and they all started falling asleep except for Sarah. It was a little cold, so Sarah got up and started looking for a few blankets. Luckily, it didn't take her long to find the closet that had some. Grabbing three of them, she went back into the room and tucked everyone in, and then hopped up onto another couch and went to sleep herself.

--The next morning—

Brennan woke with a start. Blankets were tangled around her, and she was about to untangle herself when she realized two other figures were on the couch with her. She had been using Booth's shoulder as a pillow, and Parker was curled up in her lap. She looked up and saw Sarah was asleep on the couch across from her. Remembering the night before, Brennan smiled. It had been so much fun. More fun than she had in ages. She was about to go back to sleep when she heard her alarm clock going off in her room. Gently, she shifted Parker off her lap and went to turn off her alarm clock and get ready for work.

Sarah was wide awake when Brennan walked out of her room. She seemed to be staring off into space, just deep in thought. Brennan was a lot like this girl. Both mothers were dead; their fathers had disappeared. Brennan had been in the system and if wasn't for the fact Sarah was needed to solve this case, she would be too.

She took a seat next to the girl. Sarah gave a small smile and whispered, "He has almost been a father to me my entire life. He thought me many of the harsher sides of life. The few good things I did learn were on his good days. Part of me still loves that good in Tristan, but most of me tells me I can never love or trust him.

"He'd come home drunk every once in a while. Those were the worst. The one thing I was thankful for was that I was always easily knocked out so I didn't feel the pain until I woke up again. I was lucky I wasn't kicked out of school because of how many days I was absent. Only when my bruises weren't visible was I allowed to go to school."

She looked up at Brennan and saw a face full of concern. She didn't immediately know why she was spilling her heart out to this woman whom she had just met yesterday. She realized it was because she was the only person, besides her mother, who actually listened to her. Sarah really appreciated it.

Sarah lifted up her shirt to show heavy bruising on much of her chest. Brennan wondered why it seemed she was in no pain. Many other people would be wincing at every little movement. Sarah seemed to read her mind as she continued. "It has happened so many times now that I've learned how to just ignore it and pretend it isn't there."

Tears welled up in her eyes and she just couldn't hold it in any longer. She hugged Brennan and cried silently, still respecting the boys by letting them sleep. Brennan, though thoroughly shocked, hugged Sarah back gently, letting her cry. However, Booth's phone wasn't as happy staying quiet. Booth woke with a start and quickly answered his phone.

"Booth," he said sleepily.

By now, Parker was awake and all wanted to know what was so important that someone had to call at this time of the morning. Booth grabbed a pen and paper off the table and wrote something.

With a thanks and a bye, he closed his phone and said quickly, gathering his things, "We know where Tristan is."