Hello all faithful readers! Thank you for your reviews and input over the last two postings. I started my new job three weeks ago and have been in my new apartment for about a month now. Getting settled in a new place is difficult, and the fact that I've had major writers block has not helped (along with having little to no time to write or read, for that matter) me at all. However, I got a sudden inspiration for the cause of Brennan's argument with her daughter and here it is. Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter!

Only a few more chapters after this!

"Can't you even look at me? Do I disgust you that much, mother?"

"I don't know what you're getting on about."

"You don't?!? You have to be kidding me, right? Don't you remember the day you told me you hated me? The day you broke my heart? Or has your incredibly large brain filed that far away too?" Reagan was exasperated with her mother. How could her mother just sit there and ignore her like this?

"Reagan, I don't want to get into it right now."

"Too bad, Temperance, too bad. I am 26 years old and I want to know the answer to the question that has plagued me for 18 years. I'm tired of trying to figure out what's wrong with me, why I wasn't lovable enough for you."

"Okay, if you really want to know, I'll tell you."

oooooooooo

Flashback…

"I'm on my way, Booth…it's almost over?!? Just watch the kids, I'll be there in a bit. Yes, Serena held me up, she was fussing before I left work." Temperance sighed while glancing in the rear view mirror into the backseat. In a car seat facing the back was her three-month-old infant daughter, Serena, gurgling away. "Booth, I'm hurrying, goodbye."

Temperance put her phone down and started to speed the car up, just as Serena started to cry. She looked into the backseat, and considered pulling over to check her daughter, but she was so close to the school, and Reagan was counting on her to be there. She turned around and started to change lanes…

(three hours later)

"Mrs. Booth…Mrs. Booth…can you hear me?"

Temperance coughed. "It's Dr. Brennan."

"Good, you're awake. You gave us all quite a scare there for a minute."

"What happened?"

"You were in an accident."

"Oh…I think I remember. I was rushing to my daughter's science fair and…my daughter, where's my daughter."

"Your two daughters and sons are in the hall waiting with your husband."

"Where's the baby? Where's Serena?"

"Mrs. Booth, I…"

"It's DOCTOR Brennan," she said harshly, her apprehension evident.

"Dr. Brennan, your daughter didn't survive the crash." It was at the point she stopped hearing what was being said. Brennan didn't care that she was hurt, all she thought about was her little angel's smile, and how she'd never see it again. "The car seat killed her, we're so sorry. We tried everything we could." The doctor, seeing she wasn't listening anymore, went out to get Booth.

Booth walked in, his head down and he walked over to her bed. The tears in his eyes were barely contained as he reached for her hand.

End Flashback

ooooooooooooooooo

"Your baby sister died because I was rushing to see you in some stupid science fair. Had I taken my time, she would still be alive today."

"I don't even remember having a baby sister, mother."

"Once she died, I made sure that every trace of her was removed from the house. All of the baby furniture was sold, and the videos and pictures are locked in a trunk with no key in the attic."

"So you erased any possible physical memories of my baby sister? What gave you that right?"

"Because I blamed you, and since it was your fault, you didn't deserve to remember."

Reagan went numb, it was like she was eight years old all over again, and she could barely stand there next to her mother. "But I wasn't there…I was only eight."

"I got in a wreck going to see you. Your dad called complaining that you were whining because I wasn't there, so I rushed to get there for you. If that hadn't been the case, Serena would still be alive today, but…"

"You still blame me, it's not blamed. That's why you can't even bear to be near me for longer than ten minutes at a time. You think that I killed Serena."

"Don't use her name, you have no right."

"She was my sister! A sister you made me forget about. I think the main issue is that you never grieved for her. You got all upset and depressed and pushed me away, but you never dealt with the pain – you never dealt with the fact that you were the one driving the car – it was you, not me."

Temperance looked at her daughter in disgust before slapping her across the face. Reagan's hand came up to her cheek, but her eyes didn't tear. She was too much of a Brennan to cry over being slapped.

"You know what," Reagan said, bringing her hand down. "I am done with this…this foolishness. I did not kill my little sister, and I am tired of being blamed for something I had nothing to do with. I'm done with you, and all this emotional bullshit that I've been going through for fifteen years. However, before I completely erase you from my life, I want you to know how my life has been for the last fifteen years." Reagan paced to the other side of the deck and leaned on the railing.

"That night, when you told me that I was a mistake, I changed. I adored you, you were the person I most wanted to be like when I grew up, and when you told me that, it broke my heart. No, not just broke my heart, you obliviated my heart. I thought that there was something wrong with me, something so bad that you couldn't love me anymore, and I was devastated. I withdrew, I stopped coming to the Jeffersonian – my favorite place in the entire world – and I hated myself. I grew up trying to be perfect for you, to show you that I was lovable, and that I could be everything you wanted me to be, but in doing that, I denied myself the happiness a child should have. You think you had it bad when you were in foster care, well I think I would have been better off in foster care. At least then I would have known not to have any hope."

"I wanted to be the best for you, and when the best wasn't enough, I tried to do bad in school so you'd notice, but you didn't. So I figured out that I couldn't please you, and doing bad bothered me, so I did well for myself. You and dad always loved Parker, Payton, and Quinn more than you loved me. I'd watch you hug them and talk to them, and I was so jealous. I knew that I was smarter than all of them, but I couldn't get you to even look my way. So I grew up faster than I should have, and I forced myself to get away from home as fast as I could. That day that I moved into my dorm and you and dad didn't even show up to say goodbye, which really hurt. Luckily, Aunt Angela and Uncle Jack still loved me, or I would have been alone to move all my stuff in."

"You've always been cold, Temperance. I was a fool then, but I'm no fool now. You still blame me for something I wasn't even involved in. So, until the day you get over whatever issues you have to get over, I never want to speak to you, or see you unless it is unavoidable. I'm going to be transferred out of the Medico-Legal lab and into another part of the museum."

"Well, I hope that you're happy there. You always were trouble."

"No, you're wrong, I was never trouble, I never raised enough hell. You can leave now."

And with that Temperance Brennan left.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Temperance stormed into the room from outside and grabbed her purse. "Seeley, now!"

"Bones…Bones!" Seeley went to the door and grabbed her arm. "Slow down a minute, what's going on?"

"I'm no longer welcome here. Let's go home."

"What do you mean?"

"Please, Temperance," Reagan said, coming inside. "Don't make a scene in front of my welcomed guests."

"Ray," Andrew said, walking up next to her, "is everything okay?"

"Of course dear. She was just leaving."

"Booth! Now!" Seeley looked between his wife and his daughter, trying to get a signal from either of them what was wrong, what was going on, but neither would lose the stony look on their faces. Booth looked at Parker, who had come with them. "I'll get the family home, dad. Go with Mom."

Booth nodded before leaving with his wife. He was going to get to the bottom of this feud, he was determined to fix what ever was wrong between them.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Once the front door closed, the entire Kensington family looked flabbergasted, as did the rest of Reagan's family that was left. No one had any idea what had been said between mother and daughter, they only knew that it had ended badly.

Before Andrew could talk to Reagan, she started talking to everyone else. "I'm sorry about that. My mother and I don't get along very well at all. Some people say we're too much alike. Anyways, Andrew and I have an announcement that we'd like to make."

Reagan looked at Andrew, who was still trying to catch up with the conversation. "Ah, uhm…yes, we do have an announcement. A very good one, in fact. A few weeks ago I asked if Dr. Reagan Booth would do me the honor of becoming my wife, and she accepted."

Andrew's mother jumped up and hugged her son, and then her future daughter in law. Finally, her Andrew was getting married, and to a smart, pretty young woman no less. She was so happy he had found someone to love. "Congratulations, children. Reagan, I'm so glad that you're going to become a part of our family."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kensington, that means so much to me."

"If you need help planning the wedding, I'd be glad to help you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Andrew smiled at his future wife. He loved that his mother liked Reagan. However, in the back of his mind, the picture of Dr. Brennan and Reagan squaring off at the door kept nagging him.