December 22nd-

Booth was pacing the floor in the lobby, and his head was bobbing slightly as he nodded with each passing thought. He felt as if his mind was suddenly a rolodex that someone had kicked to the floor. Each card was a memory, and they were scattered carelessly and randomly. When he had been told that his memory had been wiped, and that it could come back spontaneously, he imagined it rolling through his mind like an old film, or rushing at him with a violent smash. What he didn't expect was for it to just simply be there. Talking to Jared had lifted some invisible cloak on his past, and jumbled everything together into an unreadable pile.

He found himself frustrated that the order of his mind had been disturbed, and Temperance's voice played in his head again and again telling him to focus, and that if he'd focus, he'd remember. He pulled his phone out and stared at the screen, the numbers that he had remembered for his security code were running through his mind again and again. He punched the numbers into the phone and stared at them. He heard the door to the visitation room open and close, but the sound didn't register with him. He paced and mumbled to himself, not thinking for a moment that he looked like a mental patient standing there, talking to himself. He stopped, staring at the numbers when something occurred to him, stopping his frantic pacing.

"What is it?" Temperance's voice broke through his thoughts and he looked up to her worried eyes. The smile that spread on his face must have made him look like a maniac, but he didn't care for a moment.

"Gracie." He said softly. "The numbers."

"Booth, you're not making any sense." She said, keeping her eyes with him as he stopped.

"The numbers." He stared into her eyes. There was the hint of a smile on his lips, but he wasn't willing to allow it through. "I figured out what the numbers are." He showed her the phone, and he had written down the six numbers. "They're the number for the letters in her name. Gracie."

"I knew that you'd figure it out, Booth." Her words were soft and tender, and she didn't want to coax any more from him, because the fact that he had figured this out was a big enough step. "Are you alright?"

"I…"

"Booth, it's alright."

"Grace was premature," he whispered. "Parker… and Antonia, they… they called me, you were having the baby early." He watched her nod her head. There was a sense of excitement in his eyes. "They knocked you out for the birth because you were in pain. I was there though. I held her."

"You were there through it all, Booth."

"I remember holding her." His hands were cupped to indicate her tiny size. He stared at his hands for a moment. "She was so small, she was just… she was perfect. Bones, I remember being there. I remember Gracie."

Temperance couldn't help but smile a little brighter. The pride for her husband's memory was shining through in the mist of her eyes as she watched him start to pace again. "Booth, it's okay if you don't remember everything right now. It is coming back though. It's alright to pace yourself."

He stopped suddenly and a frown came over his face. "Remembering isn't what is important right now, Bones. I want to remember, I do, but…," he said looking up at her. "I have you, and the girls, Parker… but who does Seeley have fighting for him?"

"I know," she said softly.

"It breaks my heart to see him so broken, Bones. It's not fair. He's just a kid."

"We're fighting for him, Booth," she said, glancing toward the door, she eyed her husband and lifted an eyebrow. "We're not going to let him down."

"It's not up to us, Bones," he said, leaning forward to catch her lips. "It's not our responsibility. You know for a fact that we can't replace the real thing. Screwed up or not, Seeley needs his father, and Jared needs to straighten out."

"Booth, if he's not straightened out now…"

"Bones, he's family. We never give up on family." His voice was a bit gruff, and his eyes were showing that determined stare that seemed to burn through her resolve.

"What happens when he screws up again, Booth?"

"This isn't a case of bailing him out when he's in trouble, Bones. This is a case of making him grow up." Booth walked toward the visitor room again, and had himself buzzed back in. Booth was surprised to see Jared still sitting at the table. He had expected him to have been brought back to his cell when Temperance had left. His eyes caught his brother's, and Booth stood in the doorway for a moment. "Why are you still here?"

"Tempe said that you'd be back in, and to not go anywhere." Jared replied.

Booth felt a twinge in his chest when he realized that Temperance knew what his exact response would be. He suppressed a knowing chuckle and moved forward toward the chair. With no pause, he stepped forward and pulled it back, sitting down on the seat hard.

"I'm sorry." Booth said clearly, watching the confusion in his brother's eyes, he continued without pause. "I'm sorry that I let you down, Jared. I'm sorry that you had to go through my death just like the rest of my family, that you never found out the truth until it was too late. I just wanted to start with that, okay? Every time we've talked since I've seen you has been high stress, with no patience, and I'm sorry for that too."

"Seeley, it's fine." Jared argued.

"No, it's not. Just let me apologize, okay?"

"Seeley…"

"I abandoned you, and I have no excuse for that."

"You didn't abandon me."

"Yeah, I did. I should have found you sooner, Jared. I should have looked harder. I should have been there when your wife died. I should have been there when your son was born. I owe you, alright? I owe you at least enough to get you back on your feet when you get out of here. I owe you enough to watch your son for you, and to protect him. I owe you enough for that, alright? But I'm not going to raise him. That is your responsibility."

"When I get out of here, I'll have nothing."

"You have your family, Jared."

"Tempe hates me."

"So does Ace," Booth said seriously. "You've never let their opinions get in your way before. You were just willing to give up your kid to Bones, but you're saying that you're not strong enough to deal with her?" Booth shook his head. "Don't let her get to you, Jared. She just wants you to try harder. She wants you to want this. Do you want to be Seeley's father?"

Jared watched his brother's eyes and searched for any indication that he would pull back from his offer. "You know, there are a lot of people in this world that would just let me die. Put me out of my misery and taken my son because he'd be better off."

"Yeah? Well… I enjoy torturing you." Booth replied sincerely as he stood up. "We're arranging for Seeley to visit you on Christmas eve. You may want to have your people… call Santa's people… and arrange a few things." Booth said, turning toward the door. "I have to get back home and decorate a tree with my family."

With a quick wave, and a glance to his brother, the door buzzed, and he walked through with nothing more to add.