A/N: Thanks so much! Your feedback always makes me smile, 43n5ic fr3ak, brennanmars (it's January now but I'll keep Seeley's parents for the sequel in mind), bb-4ever, boneswhisper, canadiangurl, lily, x-naomi-x, xAbiVx, syd15 and I hart Booth (how did the exam go? )).

Enjoy chapter eleven.

Chapter XI

January: Concessions

Seeley sighed and looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall above the big wooden doors. He had wanted to support her in every way he could but the court and especially Russ and his lawyer had disagreed with this "counterproductive notion". The Special Agent had been forced to sit outside, just because they were not married, while his girlfriend and the mother-to-be of his second child was struggling for the custody of William. "That's a family matter, Agent Booth." Dr. Martin Douting, Russ' lawyer, had sneered just before the doors of the courtroom had to be closed.

Seeley frowned and thought about the past couple weeks. Christmas would have been so wonderful if the letter had arrived later but it had not. He had wanted to make this special time of the year also special for her. He knew that his girlfriend did not believe in this "Christian practices" but she had started to understand the real idea behind it. Seeley had promised Temperance to make it bearable for her.

The licitly announcement had thrown her – comprehensibly – out of balance and Christmas had been running the gauntlet for Temperance and for him as well. He knew that his girlfriend had made every effort she had been able to and his family had nevertheless been delighted with the famous anthropologist but Seeley had seen her anxiety and restlessness. His intention of a perfect family get-together had been destroyed beyond repair on the day the letter had been put into Temperance's mailbox.

How much he wanted to be with her right now! Seeley had had to pull over three times this morning because the woman he loved had not been able to keep her breakfast down and when a crying William had been consigned to care to someone from the family services Temperance had almost lost it.

He felt a soft, warm hand on top of his and smiled instantly. Parker was sitting next to him and looked into his father's eyes. The young boy had insisted on going along with Temperance and Seeley. He knew that something serious was going on and his father had actually wanted to protect him but Parker had not been able to persuade. He had grown extremely attached to the much younger toddler and did not want to miss him either.

"Daddy, everything will be okay. I know that." His son smiled and put his right hand on Seeley's leg. "Tempe is smart. She knows what she's ought to say. She's a doctor!"

The Special Agent grinned and hugged the boy tightly. Children always tended to comfort him. Parker was right and he should not be worrying so much. Temperance was a really smart woman after all and she had done things nobody knew about. She did have the ability to convince people but needed to understand that not everybody was capable of following her scientific dissipation.

The huge doors suddenly opened and a lost-looking Temperance stormed out of the courtroom into her boyfriends arms.

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"Don't forget," Temperance put the last baby utensils into William's bag and hesitantly handed it over to her brother, "you have to be back at eight pm tonight."

Russ nodded and kissed William, who was sleeping in his arms, on top of his head. Brother and sister were observing each other for a moment but both did not know what to say. Temperance put her hands on her hips and leaned back. She was twenty-one weeks along now and well showing, a little bit too much for her taste. Her breasts were hurting and she had not slept well. The baby had been and still was really active. Her doctor had informed her that the child's behavior was typical for this stage of the pregnancy and Temperance wished that she could enjoy it more than she was now.

She and Seeley had regulary visited a birth preparation course and every other woman had seemed to be awfully happy and excited. Temperance was still trying to warm-up but the fear about loosing her son kept her from concentrating on the little individual inside her belly. How elated she had been about the feeling of the first movements. But these moments of joy had become rare especially since the end of December.

The young woman wanted her baby to experience happiness and warmth but right now it was hard for Temperance to provide these things. Her head was with her growing child but her heart was yearning for the little boy who had been put ontop of her doorsteps over nine months ago. Temperance did love the baby and she was glad to be carrying a child although she had actually never wanted to get pregnant let lone giving birth. I shouldn't be taking it out on the baby. I really have to get used to devide my maternal love. Sorry, darling.

"You look tired. Is the baby keeping you up all night?"

She turned her attention back on the computer screen and snorted.

"That's none of your damn business, Russ. You might want to go and do whatever you've planned. The time is ticking."

Russ threw a last glance at at his scornful sister and left her office with William in his arms.

Temperance stared at the test results and clenched her fists. She knew that it was his official legal right to spend time with his son on Wednesday and every other weekend now but Temperance did not have to like it. The family court had decided to allow Russ limited contact with his son until he was totally cleared. Nobody had informed Temperance and Seeley what Russ had done or what had happened.

"Sweetie?"Angela knocked on the open door and entered her best friend's office, "You okay? I saw Russ walking out with Will-…"

"Yes, Ange. Everything is all right. Did you want anything?"

Her best friend's sad face made Temperance feel sorry immediately and she scolded herself for being so rude to Angela. She bit her lips and sighed. "Look, Angela, I'm sorry…I…"

The artist smiled faintly and hugged Temperance tightly. "It's okay Sweetie," she looked pitifully at her friend and took her by the hand, "Aurora's parents wished to see you. They are outside obviously waiting for the famous Dr. Brennan. Seeley's already there."

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"We wanted to thank you two, Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth. Thanks to your effort we were able to bury our beloved daughter and Jamie's mother," Celestine Amdu-Jones smiled sadly at the couple and pointed at Temperance's bump, "how far along are you?"

"I'm twenty-one weeks along now…oh, and we still don't know whether it'll be a girl or a boy."

Celestine nodded and looked at her husband who was playing silently with his grandson.

"When I was pregnant with Aurora I knew that she was going to be a girl. We've had three son's before and it was the hardest pregnancy. The morning-sickness wasn't really a morning-sickness, more a six-month-plague and I could cry all the time. It felt different and I asked myself two days before she was born whether I was able to love something that had felt so awkward from the beginning. She was more or less and accident," the afro-american woman said openly and looked into Temperance's eyes, "but we loved and love her as much as we love our sons, Adam, Alex and Antony."

Seeley took Temperance's hand. He did not need to look at her to know that tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"I can see your doubts, Dr. Brennan. Don't worry. You will forget everything when your child is lying all bloody on top of your tummy screaming it's head off. Don't give yourself such a hard time."

The anthropologist did not know what to say, instead smiled slightly.

"Our daughter was taken away, murdered by someone we had trusted for so long and we thought we had died that day she had disappeared but the deep love we felt for her kept us alive. The love to and of a child does funny things, you know but it's natural. We want to thank you for being able to get reminded of her and her love in a proper way. She isn't lying somewhere in the woods, anonymous and lonely. Aurora did come home, not as we wished she would but at least we know what happened. Jamie will be growing up knowing that she did not walk away from her responsibility. Maybe that would have been worse. I don't know."