Update 10- Going for a Ride
Temperance lay on her side in the bed of her father's guest bedroom. Antonia was pushed against her mother's back, her hands gripping the back of her t-shirt tightly as she slept somewhat soundly, but ever quietly. She stared out at the wall across from her, the voices of all of the things she had heard in the past twenty four hours bouncing through her mind haphazardly. In her ever scientific mind, she began to organize the thoughts and compartmentalize accordingly.
Doctor Wilson had been less than helpful, though he made her realize that the issue with Antonia was certainly deeper than what a therapist could provide. There were far too many details that she didn't want to reveal, and far too many issues that were associated with the truth of the situation that he just wouldn't have understood, and she wouldn't have been able to explain. Which of course brought her to Angela, who had insisted that none other than Doctor Lance Sweets could be the key to unlock the thoughts buried deep within her daughter's psyche. And while his knowledge of both Booth and Brennan and their partnership was vast, he had no idea the turmoil that they had been through in the past four years, and the knowledge of the daughter that they genetically shared would be enough to make the man's head explode. Not literally, of course.
Then there was Harding… Ace… former partner and current… colleague? Friend? She wasn't quite sure where to categorize him, but he was a very pushy man, a very cocky man, a man who reminded her of someone she once knew and loved… more every day.
She sighed and closed her eyes tightly, trying so hard to wipe that image of Booth from her mind, the feel of his dry, soft lips against hers, the sound of his voice, the feel of his hand in hers. Her throat was beginning to constrict slightly as she felt a soft sob working its way up into her throat. She tried to control it, but before she had a chance to even realize it was coming, she began to cry. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she gripped the blanket that was covering her in her hands. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to remain quiet, when she felt her daughter shifting in the bed, her hands becoming detached from her mother's shirt, Temperance felt the tiny fingers running through her hair.
"Hush, Mama…" She whispered tenderly. "Hush…" She said, pressing her face into her mother's hair, she began to hum a soft lullaby as she tried to ward away the sad thoughts that were making her mother cry. She allowed her daughter to comfort her, contemplating turning around, she chose instead to enjoy the sound of the little girl's voice as she battled with the jumbled thoughts in her mind as they knotted tightly together, with no end in sight.
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Once the morning came, Temperance woke to realize that she was now alone in her bed. She rolled to her other side, and sat up, noticing the two tiny feet, and the little body connected to it curled beneath the window. "Oh, Antonia…" She whispered as she stood up and walked around the bed. She crouched down and lifted the little girl from the floor, cradling her in her arms as her eyes opened upon her mother. "You have to stop waiting for him, baby." She whispered, watching the tender brown eyes of her little girl looking up at her pitifully. "He'd come if he could." She whispered. "I know he would." She said softly as she carefully put the little girl back into the bed, tucking the blankets up tenderly near her chin, she glanced to the clock and noted the early hour. "I'm going to go and make your favorite breakfast… when it's done, I'll come back and get you." She whispered, leaning down to kiss the little girl's nose tenderly. "I love you, Princess."
Temperance turned and walked out of the room slowly. She walked down the hallway toward the kitchen, and Max stepped out just as she was going in. "Oh… I didn't know you were awake." She said giving him a tight lipped smile as she stepped past him toward the refrigerator. "I'm going to make Antonia some French toast."
"Oh, she'll like that." Max said with a smile as he lingered in the doorway. "Are you going to go to the bank today and check out that safe deposit box?"
"No." She said as she began to prepare for making breakfast.
"Why not?"
"Because he said I should open it when I'm ready." She said, slamming the frying pan down on the stove, she looked back at her father. "And I am clearly not ready."
"Tempe, you're letting your emotions get the best of you."
"No." She shook her head and looked up at her father as she began looking for a spatula in the drawer. "No, I'm not letting anything get the best of me, I've already let too much get the best of me, and I am not about to let anything through anymore." She shook her head. "Nothing."
"So you're just going to close yourself off?"
"Dad, do you have any idea how hard this is for me?" She asked, pulling the spatula from the drawer, she slammed it down on the counter. "Do you really have any clue what I'm going through here? I don't need your advice, and I don't need your nagging, and I don't need…" She said as she glanced to the doorway and noticed her daughter standing just behind Max. "Antonia?" She said, watching the fear in the little girl's face as she watched her mother smack the counter with the spatula, the sound making a loud popping noise like gunfire. "Antonia." She said, stepping toward her daughter, and as soon as her foot hit the ground, the little girl ran as quickly as she could in the opposite direction. "Antonia, please come back here!" Temperance exclaimed as she made it to the bathroom just as the door slammed in her face, and the lock was pushed in. Temperance slammed her body into the door hard, though it didn't budge, she looked up to see her father standing several feet away, a look of sympathy passing over his features. "Get me my cell phone, please." She whispered.
Max stepped over to the table beside the couch and grabbed Temperance's phone, he tossed it across the room to her and she began to dial buttons. She listened on the line as she wiggled the doorknob. She looked to her father and stared into his eyes as she spoke into the line. "You want to pull strings, we do it my way…" She paused. "Be at my place in twenty minutes… we're going for a ride." She said, hanging up the phone, she tossed it to her father. "Thank you." She said, reaching up above the door, she pulled a key from its hiding place, she shoved it into the lock and opened the door, disappearing behind it before Max could say another word.
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As soon as Harding pulled up to the curb, he saw Temperance walking out of the building. He pulled up to the curb and she immediately opened the door and climbed inside. "Hey, Doc."
"What did I tell you about that nickname?" She grumbled.
"You said you like it, and you wish everyone else would use it." He said with a grin that only widened with the sideways glare that was pointed in his direction. "Okay, where to?" He asked, watching her pull her seatbelt securely around her.
"Take a right up here…" She said, pointing ahead as she adjusted her bag on her lap.
"Doc, you didn't say where we're going."
"That is correct, Agent Harding." She nodded as she pointed. "Three more blocks, then a left." She said, watching him drive, she sighed. "I should have driven."
"I think I'm doing very well on my own. I'm not a dangerous driver."
"No, you drive like an elderly person." She said, glaring at the agent. He shook his head with that half grin of his, and she settled in her seat and gave him the remainder of the directions.
They pulled up in front of a small house in a residential neighborhood, and Temperance checked her phone to ensure she had the correct address. Nodding, she opened the door as soon as Harding stopped the car. "Temperance, where are we?"
"We're at step one, Harding. Are you coming with me, or are you staying in the car?" She asked, closing the door to the car without waiting for an answer. She walked quickly toward the front of the house, and after a moment, she heard the rushing steps of Harding behind her.
"Temperance, it's not even six in the morning, who are we going to see?" He asked as she quickly stepped up the steps with him behind her, she knocked hard on the door three times and waited. "Federal prosecutor? A judge?"
"Psychologist." She said, turning to look at Harding with a long look. "This is Doctor Sweets' house."
"Temperance!" Harding exclaimed as Temperance knocked firmly again. "Doctor Sweets doesn't work for the bureau anymore, he doesn't even know that Booth is alive, how is he going to help us get Booth out of prison?"
"Because someone has to get my daughter talking, Agent Harding. I need help, and Sweets knows me, he knows Booth, he knows who we were before. You said you wanted to help, so shut up and… " She said as the door opened, surprisingly though, it wasn't Sweets standing at the door, but Daisy Wick, one of Doctor Brennan's former assistants. Before Temperance could say anything, Daisy had swung the door open.
"Doctor Brennan!" She exclaimed, a grin on her face as she immediately embraced the doctor tightly, Temperance was caught by surprise, and didn't return the hug, though Daisy didn't miss a beat.
"I'm sorry if we woke you." Temperance said in a near monotone tone, it did not sound sincere, but again, Daisy hadn't even noticed.
"Oh! Oh no! I was just about to leave for work… when you cleaned house at the Jeffersonian and wrote all of those really nice letters of recommendations… I got a cushy little job over at the University!"
"I didn't…do…" Temperance started to say, feeling the jab of Harding's elbow in her side, she glared at him.
"Lance is in the kitchen getting ready to go too, and… Oh… who is this handsome man…" She blabbed on, holding her hand out to Harding. "I'm Daisy Wick-Sweets, I am one of Doctor Brennan's protégé's … she said in a 'aren't you impressed' tone. "I was one of her best students… and you are…?"
"Actually…" Temperance said.
"Christopher Harding. Doctor Brennan's partner."
"Oh! Your partner… how great, see, I always knew you'd be smart enough to not get married, Doctor Brennan… the old ball and chain and…"
"Daisy?" Temperance started to say.
"Lance and I got married after I started working at the university, and now we have a little boy, and we're so happy living out here in the burbs, though I would so much prefer living in the…"
"Daisy…" Temperance said a little stronger, her eyes darting out at Daisy almost angrily, the girl's mouth closed quickly.
"City…" She whispered.
"Sweetheart?" A man's voice came from within the house, and after a second, he was in view of the doorway, walking down the hallway holding a baby in his arms. "Who is at the…" He stopped as soon as he saw Temperance, his eyes widening. "Woah… Doctor Brennan?" He said, approaching her quickly, he shifted the baby in his arms and grinned as he approached.
"Doctor Sweets." Temperance said, very calm, very professional, she reached her hand out for his, but before she knew it, he was hugging her.
"Wow…" He said, pulling from the hug, looking at her for a moment. "Really… just wow… what are you doing here? I mean… not… what are you doing here because it…"
"You mean what is she doing here at five thirty in the morning on a Wednesday." Harding said, holding his hand out. "Special Agent Christopher Harding… The Doc and I work together."
"We're not married." Temperance threw in for clarification.
"Well come on in… we were just getting ready to go to work… feeding our little guy here…" Sweets said, referring to the baby.
"We won't… bother you too long." Temperance said, following Sweets and Daisy down the hallway toward the kitchen, Harding following after her. "We just… I just…"
"Well, it must be pretty important if you're showing up this early in the morning, Doctor Brennan." Sweets said as he placed the baby in the high chair beside the table.
"Lance…" Daisy said as she stepped to her husband and kissed him on the cheek. "I have to get to work… sorry to just abandon you here like this…" She said overly apologetically. "Maybe we can get together sometime! We can have a family trivia night, or something like that… maybe a barbeque!"
"I don't eat meat…" Temperance mumbled as she watched Daisy lean down and kiss the baby.
"Oh, that's okay… we'll figure something out." Daisy said as she stepped toward Temperance. "It was so nice to see you again!" She said, grabbing Temperance in a hug before turning to grab her bag. "And Christopher, it was very nice to meet you." She said, smiling as he nodded, she headed for the door and in a moment, the house was quiet once more but for the sound of Sweets preparing the baby's oatmeal.
An awkward silence seemed to fill the room, and Harding cleared his throat to try to convince Temperance silently to begin explaining why they had turned up at the psychologist's door so early in the morning.
"Doctor Brennan?" Sweets said as he looked up at the concerned look on her face, he was surprised by how serious she looked standing there, staring into space for a moment before his voice shook her into reality. She looked him in the eye and opened her mouth for a moment, but no words came out, which sent Harding into rescue mode.
"Doc here is having some issues relating to…"
"A case." Temperance interrupted, giving Harding a grateful smile. "It's a case… that we were working on."
"Well, as you know." Sweets said as he scooped a little oatmeal onto a spoon for his son. "I don't work for the FBI anymore."
"And technically, neither does Agent Harding." Temperance said.
"Hey…" Harding said, her glare shooting from the corner of her eye. "What Doc means, is that… this case was very personal to her, and she thought that if anyone would be able to help her to work through the issues involved in it, it would be you."
"And what makes you think that I would be of any help?" Sweets asked, his attention on his son as he fed the boy slowly with the spoon.
"It involves Booth." She said, watching Sweets as he scooped a little more oatmeal onto the spoon.
"Agent Booth died over four years ago, Doctor Brennan. He was a good man who died too young and gave his life for a country that did nothing for him in return." Sweets said coldly, carefully scooping the oatmeal into his son's mouth.
"He isn't dead, Doctor Sweets." Temperance replied, watching the man's head twist quickly, and the spoon drop into the bowl of oatmeal, Sweets stood up and faced his two visitors.
"What do you mean he isn't dead?"
"He was in hiding." Harding explained, noting that Temperance was having difficulty explaining, she looked like she was ready to break, though she was very obviously keeping her wits about her. "Several weeks ago, there was a news story… do you remember? A child was taken… I'm sure they described her on the news, but they didn't give much other information."
"A little girl… it was on the news. But they found her."
"They did." Harding nodded.
"She is our daughter." Temperance replied, placing a picture of Antonia on the table, Sweets eyes widened.
"Whoa…" He said, looking at the picture. "Your daughter?" He whispered, referring to Harding and Temperance.
"No, Doctor Sweets… My daughter… and Booth's daughter." She said sternly watching Sweets swallow hard.
"Whoa… whoa… I… I have to sit down. How is? How did you? She's…" Sweets sat down, looking between the picture and Temperance.
"Her genealogy is not the issue here." She said sternly. "Booth was in hiding, and there were men hunting him. He found out about Antonia and… began visiting her without my knowledge. The men that were hunting him learned of her and that was why she was kidnapped."
"And Booth?"
"He rescued her… he risked his life to save her, to save me… and now he's in a minimum security prison in Maryland."
"Prison?"
"For various charges… it's not important."
"I think the fact that he's in prison is very important." Sweets said, suddenly interrupted by the sound of a bowl slamming onto the floor. He turned and watched his son grinning at him from his high chair, the spoon in his hand, and oatmeal spread all over his face, the oatmeal bowl now on the floor . "Oh God, Brendan…" He muttered as he bent down to clean up the baby's mess. He stood up and walked toward the cupboard. "And what do you think you need my help with, Doctor Brennan?"
"I need… I mean… my…"
"Her daughter refuses to speak, Doctor Sweets. Booth is in prison, and Doctor Brennan is afraid to forge a relationship with him if he's just going to end up leaving."
"Christopher." She stated strongly.
"No, Doc… it has to be said. She trusts that your insights would be in the best interest of herself, her daughter and Booth. You know her, you know Booth, and she…"
"I trust you, Sweets." She said strongly, her eyes on his, so intense and certain.
"Well…" Sweets said as he walked over to the bowl on the floor, he lifted it up and looked to Temperance. "You say that your daughter…"
"Antonia."
"You say that Antonia has bonded with Booth."
"Yes, without me knowing, he would visit her. She doesn't know that he's her father though."
"And has she seen him since this… incident?"
"No." Temperance whispered. "She's not… well. She's not ready to…"
"Doctor Brennan." He said, standing up with the washcloth in his hand from cleaning the mess his son had made. "Keeping her from him is only going to damage your relationship with him, and it is most likely not going to help your relationship with your daughter either. If he was the one that saved her from a dangerous situation, then he is most likely the one that she is looking for in order to stave her constant fears now. There is some underlying reason why she won't speak to you, and you're not going to be able to work on that until you are able to communicate with Booth."
"I can't talk to him right now."
"Then don't expect your daughter to heal properly until you can." He said, watching a sense of fear in her eyes. He immediately felt bad. "Listen… if you want me to talk to her, I have an opening this afternoon. Bring her to my office, and I'll talk with her… but if she's not talking to her own mother, there is no way that she's going to talk to a stranger."
"Thank you, Sweets." Temperance whispered, taking a step backwards. "We will be there at…"
"Three o'clock should be fine." He nodded, following them down the hallway
"Thank you." She said, her voice sounding very grateful as she started for the door. "Really, thank you so much." She whispered as she hurried out the door.
Harding stepped up to the psychologist and held out his hand. "Thank you for doing this for her, Doctor Sweets." He said, nodding his approval to the doctor. "She trusts you."
"I know." Sweets replied, beginning to look a little nervous. "And that kind of scares me."
Harding gave him a knowing smile and turned, walking out of the house behind Temperance. Sweets watched them for a minute more, the man getting into the driver's seat, and Temperance getting into the passenger seat, and he sighed. He turned and pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing his office, he waited. "Yeah, Stacie, can you cancel all of my appointments tomorrow. I'm going to have to go to Maryland… and at my three o'clock, put down 'Doctor Temperance Brennan'." He said softly into the line. "Thanks." He said as he stepped up to his son's high chair, where the little boy was slamming the spoon down on the tray. "Hey there, little man… let's get you to daycare so daddy can go to work!" He said in an overly sweet voice, only to be the victim when the spoon in the little boy's hand flew out and slammed full of oatmeal onto his father's tie.