Chapter 53: Homecoming Part Two
3:30pm, Sunday: Washington, D.C.
The half hour break had done just what Booth had hoped. It had given the kids a chance to run off their excess energy and him a chance to stretch his aching legs. The SUV was nicer on him than Bones' sports car, but still no picnic on long trips.
By half past three they were close enough to the school for the kids to start recognizing landmarks. Sadie squealed with delight as they passed a billboard with a cartoon Hershey's Kiss welcoming them to the "Sweetest Place on Earth."
"Joey!" the squeal was even louder this time as Sadie spotted her brother playing on the swing set outside of his student home.
Booth pulled off of the main road, entering the maze of private roads that connected the students' houses. Being careful not to hit any kids in the process, he eased down the driveway toward Joey. He'd barely stopped the car when Parker and Sadie burst out of the back as Joey ran to meet them.
"Guess what, Sadie?" Joey grinned at his little sister. "Ms. Jen said that me 'n' Maddie get to be real Booths now! Just like you and Parker!"
"Aw," Parker clapped his hand on the younger boy's shoulder, "you've been a real Booth for three years. The grownups are just playing catch up."
"Can I go to school with you now Parker?" Joey asked.
"I dunno," Parker looked over at his dad for help. "Don't you want to go with Sadie?"
Joey shook his head fiercely, "They gotta dress up there like here. I wanna wear my blue jeans just like you get to."
"But who's gonna go with me?" Sadie pouted. "Daddy," she pulled Booth over into the conversation, "if Parker and Joey get to go to school together can me and Maddie?"
"I don't know, kiddo," he ruffled her curls, "we'll talk to your mom about it later, okay?"
Sadie nodded, temporarily mollified, and released him. The Porters were talking with Bones by the house and he walked over to the small group.
"Hey, Bones, I'm going to go grab Maddie and then we'll come back for Joey's stuff."
"Take my van, Agent Booth," Russ Porter offered. "That way we can load Joey's things in your SUV and drive over to Maddie's house when we're done. It'll save you a trip."
Booth nodded his thanks, showing Russ the key to the large car-top carrier on the SU's roof before exchanging it for Russ' van key.
"See you in a few," he tossed a wave over his shoulder and jogged off.
2pm, Sunday: Hershey, PA
It was just before one when the other girls returned and ate their own lunch. The chief offenders were then summarily dismissed to their rooms and the rest ordered to do homework. Maddie, for her part, was glad that she could fade into the background easily.
Without attracting attention, she quietly gathered her belongings out on the front porch and sat down on the wide porch swing's bench when she'd finished. As she swung slowly back and forth she considered asking Mr. or Mrs. Holstein about why she was being sent away now that they were back, then almost as quickly decided not to. They already had enough going on without her nosy questions.
A rueful grin played at her mouth as another loud disagreement sounded from inside and she wondered if the couple would be back after this school year. It was no secret on campus that the middle-school aged girls had the highest turnover rate among the house parents. The Holsteins really weren't bad people. They cared very much about each girl in their charge and did their best to provide them with a structured, loving environment. Structure, though, did not come easy in a house full of a dozen eleven and twelve year old girls; some of whom went home every summer to places where they could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted.
Try as she might, Mrs. Holstein could never quite gain her charges' respect, nor did she cope well when the girls' behavior fell short of her high ideals. Mr. Holstein, meanwhile, rarely lost his temper- but he was not an assertive type of man and some of the more strong-willed among the girls had picked up on and exploited that fact when it suited their purposes. Maddie actually liked the couple very much as they had encouraged her in her schoolwork and bought her really neat science books when they discovered where her interests lay.
Growing bored of her thoughts she once again picked up her book, hoping that wherever she ended up next it was quieter.
***
Booth navigated the clumsy 12-passenger van through the campus' narrow streets. He spotted Maddie swinging idly on the porch swing by her things. She briefly looked up as he pulled into the driveway, but was buried in her book again by the time he came to a stop and got out.
"Must be some book," he commented loudly enough for her hear as he walked toward her.
At the sound of his voice Maddie's head shot up, eyes looking intensely at him. For a long moment neither of them did anything.
"Daddy!" the spell was broken as she bolted from the swing and buried herself in his arms, trying her best not to cry.
He caught her, holding her fast as she clung to him.
"Shh," he soothed as her shoulders trembled with emotion. "Hey. It's okay. Shh. What's wrong, Maddie?"
She pulled back and their eyes met, hers watery and his steady as a rock.
"I-I'm not in trouble?" she found the courage to ask.
"Trouble?" his eyes darkened. "Who told you you were in trouble?"
"No one," she admitted, sniffling and feeling foolish. "They just did tell me who was picking me up and why and after the hearing-"
"What hearing?" he cut in, careful to keep the rising anger out of his voice so that he wouldn't spook her. "What's going on?"
He managed to remain calm and quiet as she explained what the other kids had done and the review process that had taken place.
"Mrs. Holstein got a call as we were leaving for chapel this morning," she told him. "She said that I had to stay behind and pack up my stuff and someone would be picking me up later this afternoon so I thought…" she shrugged her shoulders, not meeting his eyes.
"Hey," he pulled her close again and when she didn't respond he picked her up and held her in his arms as if she weighed no more than Sadie, "we're not here to punish you, Maddie. We're here to take you home."
"Home?" her voice was small.
"To D.C.- for good."
"Really?" her eyes widened.
"Yep, and I have a question for you," he smiled, setting her down.
She watched, mesmerized as he dropped to one knee and looked up at her.
"Will you, Maddie Lane, come home to D.C. and let me adopt you as my daughter- let me give you my name?"
Memories flooded her, going all the way back to when he'd rescued her from her grandparents' abusive care and again when he'd come for her as soon as she'd called. He'd kept them all safe while they were undercover too; taking down the man who'd been hunting her and being hurt in the process. And then the Booths had become their legal guardians, setting them up at a good school, and promising them a home to come back to during the summer break. Seeley Booth was the only man whom she felt utterly safe with and the closest to a true father she'd ever known.
Her head was bobbing up and down without her ever realizing it and seconds later she was in his arms again and being twirled around while he whooped loudly.
"Seeley Joseph Booth, what on earth are you doing?" an all-too familiar voice came from behind them.
"Mama!" Maddie wiggled out and ran to the scientist, hugging her tightly.
Almost immediately, Sadie had attached herself to Maddie's legs, refusing to let go until she got a hug of her own.
"Maddie, Maddie, we're all gonna be Booths now and lie together for ever and ever," her little sister said breathlessly, "and you can go to my school 'cause Joey's going to Parker's. It's lots of fun even if you have to dress up, and all of the big kid grades are there too so we can always be together even though you're older than me."
Joy and Parker came over and joined them as their mother and father went to talk with the Holsteins, who had been drawn outside by the commotion.
The adults' discussion was low, but brief. Booth voiced his displeasure at the lack of communication between the Holsteins and Maddie, but dropped it when he realized what a stressful day the couple had been through.
"Something wrong, Bones?" he asked as she stood looking at the pile of Maddie's things.
She didn't answer, but turned and walked purposefully back to the SUV. A few minutes later she was back with their two big, empty suitcases in tow. It wasn't until she mounted the porch that he realized what had upset her: Maddie had stowed everything that wouldn't fit in her suitcase into garbage bags.
"Lotta heart, there, Bones," he murmured low enough for only her to hear as she carefully transferred things from the bags to the suitcases.
"Maddie is not garbage," she replied in a tightly controlled voice.
"I know," he assured her, "and she knows too."
He knelt down beside her, kissing the top of her head before joining her in the effort. Before long they had finished repacking and then loaded everything into the SUV.
"Can we have cake now?" Sadie wanted to know, tugging on Booth's leather jacket.
"May we have cake, not can," Bones corrected.
"May we?" Sadie grinned brightly.
"After dinner," Booth promised, swinging her up into his arms.
"Okay. Where's Maddie?" the little girl asked from her perch, scanning the yard.
"She went inside to tell her friends goodbye," Parker explained, smiling up at her.
When Maddie appeared, the six of them piled into the SUV, and grew quiet as they pulled away from the house. As soon as they pulled out onto the main road, Sadie brought up dinner again, sparking a heated debate over where to go. Maddie and Sadie wanted hamburgers, while the boys begged for pizza. Booth moderated from his place in the passenger's seat, but in the end it was Bones who pulled into a chain restaurant that served both pizza and hamburgers on their kid's menu, as well as a few vegetarian selections for herself.
They had to wait several minutes to be seated, and even longer before their food arrived, but at last it came and conversation dropped to almost nothing.
"Daddy," Sadie asked as she finished, "will you still love us when you're really, really old?"
"I don't know," he teased. "How old are we talking?"
"Really old," she insisted earnestly, "like fifty-three!"
Drinks splurted and laughter was stifled as the rest of the table tried hard not to laugh at her.
"Yeah, baby girl," he chuckled, giving her a short hug, "I'll still love you when I'm fifty-three."
"And Maddie and Joey and Parker too?"
"All of you," he promised, then grinned across the table at Bones, "even Mommy."
Sadie opened her mouth to ask another question when the waiter stopped at their table and offered them dessert. The kid seemed upset when they showed him they'd brought their own, but Booth slipped him a big tip and he returned with a smile and enough clean forks and dessert plates for all of them. The adults then ordered coffee for themselves and a fresh round of milk for the kids.
Inside of the box Sid had given them a round, double-layered chocolate cake with chocolate icing that filled the air with a sweet smell as soon as the lid came off. Across the top the name "Booth" was spelled out in red letters. A small FBI badge had been drawn on one side and a miniature lab-coat was on the other, with the letters "P, M, J, S" written in-between.
Booth's mouth watered at the sight of it as Bones placed a fluffy piece with the FBI badge on it in front of him. He almost could taste the gooey chocolate icing on his lips when his phone sounded from his hip.
"Uh oh," Joey frowned, "Darth Vader's calling."
"Gotta take this," Booth said hurriedly to Bones, standing up and weaving in and out of the tables as fast as he could, thankful that they hadn't been seated too far from the door.
"Booth," he answered crisply once he was alone outside. "Yes, Sir," the knot in his stomach that had started when the phone rang tightened and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as the call went on. "I understand, Sir." He did some quick figuring in his head, knowing the next question that was coming. "Our ETA's three hours if we push it."
"Push it." The order left no room for debate and the line went dead.
