GalaxieGurl (thanks for your kind words, tried my best to make this episode-like, and like you I'm holding on to that little bit of hope about the show), 554Laura, FaithinBones, LoveShipper, Monique Sampson, Gatewatcher, mendenbar, thank you all for sharing your thoughts and reviewing. And to all others who are following and reading this story, thank you all too! Thanks for being patient and following this story, this chapter deals with what the title promises, Brennan's time in foster care.
The mood was sombre in the FBI interrogation room. Brennan and Booth sat opposite Alexis and her case worker. It was one thing to have a young victim but to have the perpetrator just as young was double the heartache.
"Look, Alex, this would go a lot easier for you if you just told us the truth." Booth said gently.
"I already told you, I didn't kill Lindsey."
"We found traces of the same veterinary disinfectant on Lindsey's clothing and her cellphone. Lindsey was killed on a Wednesday. The same day of the week you volunteer there. A sample of disinfectant from that same clinic matches what we found on Lindsey and her cellphone." Brennan presented the facts as she usually did.
Alex was silent, her mouth set in a defiant line.
"Alex, we could just give the evidence to the prosecutor. But like I said, it would help if we heard your side of the story." Booth tried again, hoping to cajole the teenager onto cooperating.
"I didn't do it!" Alex insisted.
Brennan knew that Booth was right. They could hand over the evidence to Caroline and she would have enough to prosecute. If they could hear Alex's account, things could go easier for her.
"I'd like to speak with Alex alone. Please."
"Bones, what are you doing?" Booth whispered. This was his domain. It wasn't that he had something to prove but with a victim and suspect both as young as in their current case he knew he had to do everything by the book.
She turned to Booth, looking him straight in the eyes. "Trust me Booth."
Booth sighed. His hand that was resting on the interrogation table turned his sobriety chip over in his fingers over and over. His gut told him to trust his wife.
"Right. Legally, we can't interview a minor without an adult present. The case worker would have to stay."
Brennan nodded. He stood up to leave but glanced back at Brennan, giving her a slight nod towards the mirrored glass in the room, indicating that he would be watching from the other side.
"You sure about this?" Aubrey asked as Booth entered the next room where he had been watching the interview.
"I'm gonna trust Bones on this one. If things go south, I'll step in."
They turned their attention to the interrogation room as Brennan spoke.
"I was a lot like you, Alex. I told you before, I was in the foster system. My parents abandoned me." Brennan paused allowing Alex to take in what she just shared. "I remember what it was like. I was scared and alone. I thought it was my fault that they left me. My foster parents weren't exactly kind. It made me feel that nobody could ever love someone as defective as me. For a long time, I believed in that lie, until I met my husband and he made me see that someone could indeed love me."
Brennan flicked her eyes towards the one-way mirror, a gesture so small it was imperceptive to all except Booth. He quirked a smile, his heart touched by her admission.
"It's difficult being in foster care. You see the other kids in school with their parents, and you wonder what's wrong with you. You do everything your foster parents ask of you, but it's never good enough. My foster parents used to punish me. They would give me fair warning. Or at least I thought it was fair at the time, but now… I wouldn't do those things to my children. They once locked me in the trunk of a car for breaking the plates I was washing. Another time, I accidentally left the gate open, and the pet dog ran out onto the street. I retrieved it but I was locked in a closet for an entire day as punishment. At times, they would withhold food from me. Sometimes I wasn't given anything to eat for days except what they served in school for lunch. They used to tell me how useless I was, how I was so unlovable that even my own parents abandoned me." Brennan stopped talking as a tear began rolling down her cheek.
In the next room, Aubrey let out a soft, "Whoa." He turned to Booth. "I didn't know."
Booth's heart broke for all the woman he loved had to endure as she was growing up. "Neither did I." He replied, his eyes still fixed on Brennan. He blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall.
Alex was crying now. Brennan reached out and took Alex's hand in hers.
"It was me. It's my fault Lindsey is dead." Alex sobbed. "She hated the Devons, they didn't allow her to skate. But I didn't. I had foster parents who did bad things to me. Compared to them, the Devons were angels. They were genuinely nice people and they didn't hurt us. They were strict but that was okay."
Alex paused to try to control her breathing. "One day, Lindsey told me she had the proof to get us moved to another family. She said she came home early from school and found Tina cheating on Frank with another man. She had it all recorded on her phone. She was going to show it to her case worker. I didn't want to get moved to another family. I like it here. We fought for the phone, it slipped from her grasp, and she fell."
Alex started to cry harder. "I didn't mean to kill her… I just didn't want to be moved to another family!"
Brennan sat in the chair opposite Alex, her tears also falling freely now. Her heart broke for the teenager infront of her who reminded her of herself. She didn't utter a word, but sat holding Alex's hand.
In the next room, Aubrey blinked back his own tears. Booth took a breath, cleared his throat and sniffed. His eyes were red as he fought back tears. Both agents took a moment to compose themselves.
"Aubrey," Booth spoke, his voice hoarse. "About what Bones said in there…"
"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul."
"Thanks."
… …
That night back at home, Brennan and Booth were once again on their couch in the family room. They sat, side by side, enjoying each other's company after the kids were in bed as they customarily did. Both glad they had put this difficult case behind them.
"It was very brave of you today, what you told Alex."
"I'm sorry I never told you."
"That's okay."
"I really wanted to help her. I'm glad she opened up. She's going to be tried in a juvenile court, and I believe Caroline is going to ask for a lighter sentence. The outcomes might have been a lot worse for her if she hadn't told us what happened."
"It's really sad you know, it's like we lost two kids in this case, both Lindsey and Alex."
"There's still hope for Alex. Once she turns eighteen she can be released from the juvenile system and her records can be sealed. It would be unlikely that her future would be adversely affected by this. I also intend to keep in contact with her while she's incarcerated. She needs someone to mentor her and I intend to help her achieve her dream of becoming a veterinarian."
Booth smiled as he pulled Brennan to him. "You're an amazing woman Bones."
Instead of smiling, she buried her face in his shirt. "I'm not doing very well."
"Because you had to go there… to a part of your past you never wanted to remember."
She didn't reply but he could feel her start to sob. Slowly the sobs, although muffled by his shirt grew louder. Her body shook as she cried into his shoulder. Although he was glad she wasn't hiding her pain from him, his heart broke at the pain she was feeling and wished that he could take it all away. He never knew that she had it almost as bad as him growing up and he too began to tear. She had so much courage and had a lot more heart than people gave her credit for. He rubbed circles on her back, holding her tightly to him, allowing her to process the events of the day that had brought back the past.
When he felt her sobbing abate, he whispered soothingly into her ear. "It's okay Temperance. It's all over now. Nobody will ever treat you like that ever again. I'll make sure of it."
Brennan looked up at Booth. "I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about."
"You're upset too."
"I should be. I can't imagine… those things your foster parents did…"
"You had it worse."
Booth sighed. While what she said was true, he couldn't believe how anybody could treat her like that. "I never knew those things happened to you. I understand why you never want to remember them."
"I'm glad you know now Booth. It's a horrid but significant part of my past and I'm sorry I didn't feel strong enough despite your love and support to share it with you."
"Nah, it's okay. I understand. I'm just glad you got it all off your chest. No more nightmares for you." He ran his hand gently through her hair, smoothing it back in place. When Booth first heard her story in the interrogation room that day, he felt angry at her foster parents. Seeing her cry only made his anger grow even more.
"I can't believe your foster parents did and said those things to you. They had a beautiful, smart gem like you but they didn't realise it. You didn't deserve a thing they did and said to you. I'm glad I'm the one who managed to convince you that you're worth loving. Thank you for allowing me to show you that."
Booth had always understood that her past made her the way she was and with this new knowledge he understood her more. She was exquisite and she deserved to be loved and treasured. He resolved to make her feel loved and wanted by him, every moment of her life for as long as he lived.
