Angela tapped the pen on her desk for several minutes and watched the activity in the lab. From where she sat, she could see Hodgins directing Wendell and Vincent in what he said would be 'an experiment of epic proportions'. Of course, Cam stood by, arms crossed, watching every step in the process. She occassionally stepped in from time to time to clarify the rules she had laid out. But Hodgins would look at her. They would, without words, agree to meet on common ground. Cam would step back and Hodgins would subtly change his plans. Authority was certainly not his thing, but somehow, Cam and Hodgins had created system where they respected one another for the sake of sanity and science.

Angela's eyes wandered to the back wall of her office. They traced the grotesque outline of a man, his arms spread, his head bowed. Jesus? A random corpse? What had she been thinking when she--

A cacophonous crash shook the lab. Her eyes jumped as well as her body.

Hodgins helped Cam to her feet. She was unscathed, but from her body language, it was simple to see that she wasn't too happy with the outcome of the experiment. Hodgins shrugged, palms to the sky. Cam crossed her arms and scowled. Then she laughed and shook her head. He laughed, too, then ran off the platform and into the Angela's office. He tore off his goggles from his smoke-charred face and was grinning ear to ear.

"Did you see that, Ange? When I say I'm good--I'm good!"

"Cam doesn't look very happy."

"Eh, she'll get over it." He noticed the sheet of paper in front of her and circled her desk to see what she was looking at on the laptop. "What's up with the--" He bent slightly to read it. "Looking for your mom? Angela--"

"What?" She stood and shut her laptop, covering up everything she had written her notes on.

"It's just-- It's your mom, Ange. I thought you didn't--"

"I promised Brennan."

"I--"

"Let's just say that every once in a while Brennan makes sense." She stood up and threw her purse over her shoulder.

"Need a friend to go with you?"

She turned at the door. "No. I think I can do this, Hodgins. Thank you, though."

"If you need me, Angela, I'm here. I'm here for you."

She bravely smiled and nodded. Hodgins watched her walk away with an address in hand.

He watched her for several seconds before running out of the door, unbuttoning his jacket. He tossed it on his desk and shouted to Cam, "I'll be right back."

Cam nodded, but Wendell was quick to yell at him, "Hey, man. What about the mess?"

Hodgins turned and pointed at him, "Noob!"

Wendell sighed and turned toward Vincent, "I can't believe he just left it for us to clean up."

"Did you know--"

"No, man, I don't."

"But, the first soaps were created--"

"Just. Stop right there."

-------

Her finger pressed into the doorbell and chimed throughout the house. After a few minutes of waiting, a young woman in her thirties with a child on her hip answered the door.

She looked confused at first, "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Anna Rochelle. Her maiden name was Stanley."

The woman's confused look became even more puzzled. She moved the child on her hip, then spoke, "Uh, I'm sorry, but she passed away just this last spring. Did you know her?"

It was a dagger. A dagger which stole her breath away. "Uh, no. No, I didn't."

"Would you like to come in?"

"No. Thank you."

The woman couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. As if Brennan's features were etched into a deep part of her mind. "She was my mother, actually."

"I'm very sorry."

"I feel like I know you. Have we met?"

"My facial morphology is probably similar to those of your relatives."

"I'm sorry?"

"My--" She took a deep breath, feeling alone all at once, but her hand slipped to her belly. "My mother was Ruth Stanley."

"Oh, my--" She sucked in a deep breath. "Please come in. I have something to show you."

-------

Later that evening, Brennan sat at a small coffee shop in Portland. People walked by, talked, chatted, laughed. Brennan silently stirred her coffee and watched people saunter past the window.

She had traveled across the country in search of roots and family and she had come up with nothing.

It wasn't logical, but she felt like asking if the baby wouldn't mind not having family.

A woman ran into the coffee shop with her umbrella dripping, her hair matted to her head.

The manager laughed, "Got caught int he rain?"

"It's just pouring out there!"

"Nothing like summer rain."

"I don't know. I think we get enough rain the rest of the year."

"Touché." He laughed good-naturedly.

A waitress walked up to Brennan. "Want me to top you off?"

"No thank you."

She smiled at her sympathetically, having noticed her dour mood since she walked into the shop thirty minutes before, then walked away.

The sun began to fall behind the trees and buildings. The rain still tumbled from the clouds.

The waitress returned after a while. "I'm sorry but the shop's about to close."

Brennan stood, "It's OK. Thank you for the coffee."

"Any time."

The bells on the door jingled as she opened then closed the door. She watched as a few cars flew through the puddles to her left. The rain was coming down in sheets. She sighed and began to pull her collar up over her head to shield herself from the rain.

"Looking for this?"

She looked up. Although it was dark, she recognized Booth's frame. One hand was in his pocket, the other hand held an umbrella over his head.

A smile tugged at her lips until they were grinning widely at one another.

-----------------------------------

Thank you all for the fabulous response! Yes, there were a couple of mistakes (grammatically) in the last chapter, but I said that I didn't want to fix them! LOL! :)