August 28th- 7:30pm
Brennan walked into her apartment, glancing behind her toward the doorman who had insisted on carrying the travel crib upstairs for her. She smiled and lifted the baby's seat into the room, turning to face the man walking in behind her. He set the folded crib down, as well as the diaper bag and several plastic grocery bags that he had insisted on carrying in, and smiled toward Brennan. "Thank you for your help, William." She said to the young man.
"It was no problem, Doctor Brennan." He said with a smile. He was fairly new to the building, and Brennan had always been kind to him. He turned to leave and Brennan touched his arm. She handed him a ten dollar bill and her eyes met his. "Thank you, Doctor Brennan, I am not supposed to take..."
"Just take it, William. I would like to show my appreciation for your help, and I assure you that your superiors will not find out." She smiled. He took the money gratefully. "Thank you. Have a safe evening." She said, watching the polite nod of the young man.
"Thank you, Doctor Brennan. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask." He said, giving her a smile as he quickly excused himself.
She reached forward and locked the deadbolt and then turned and looked down at the big blue eyes staring up at her. She smiled toward the happy baby watching her and leaned down to carefully remove Michael from his seat. "Hey there, handsome." She said, lifting him into her arms, she snuggled him close as she walked around the room. "Welcome to my apartment." She said in a tender voice, feeling just slightly silly that she was speaking to a baby that couldn't reply. "Since Booth is out of town tonight, I figured that we could spend some time here. It's not as cozy as his place, but it's home." She said, running a finger over the soft skin of the baby's cheek. "What do you think about that? Huh?" She asked, tickling Michael to hear his laugh. "Sweet boy." She whispered, kissing his forehead.
Michael clung to her tightly, resting his head on her shoulder as she gently bounced him. "Are you a hungry little guy? I know I'm hungry. Let's go see what we have, huh?" She said, heading toward the kitchen, grabbing the diaper bag and the grocery bags, she brought them into the kitchen with her and set them on the counter. She held Michael to her as she carefully pulled a few items for dinner, as well as preparations for Michael's dinner. She was marveling at her skill at doing most things one handed, and smiled as she prepared everything with ease. She focused on her task, talking to the baby the whole time, when her attention was suddenly pulled away by the sound of her phone ringing. She turned and picked up the phone from the counter, smiling slightly at Booth's name across the screen. "Hey." She said into the line, she could hear a light laugh on the other end of the line.
"That's how you're answering your phone now? Hey..?" He laughed.
"I knew it was you. I felt that there was no need for formalities." She said with a smile. "Are you in your hotel?"
"Yes." He replied, allowing a bit of quiet to fall between them. "I miss you." He said softly.
"I apologize for earlier. I was abrupt and rude, and... I'm sorry." She said quickly. "I miss you too."
"It's fine, Bones."
"No." She said softly, bouncing Michael as she talked. "I allowed Sweets to get into my head, and I was feeling a bit emotional. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, and I am sorry."
"You're allowed to be emotional sometimes, Bones. It's fine. I'm upset that I am stuck here without you."
"You'd rather be stuck there with me?" She asked.
"I'd be stuck anywhere with you, baby." He teased, listening to her easy laugh. "We're okay, Bones. No worries. Are you at my place?"
"I am at mine." She replied, listening to a hum on the line. "I dislike being at your apartment when you're not around. I find that it makes me uncomfortable. Being surrounded by your things and not you, knowing that you won't be back... It reminds me of..." She stopped, swallowing hard. "Nothing... I don't know." She avoided, letting out a heavy breath.
"It reminds you of what?" Booth asked.
"Nothing." She said, clearing her throat, indicating that she would not continue the line of questioning at this time. "My appointment is tomorrow with the psychologist, perhaps I'll deal with that issue with all of the other issues." She said, trying to make a joke, though it fell flat.
"Bones." Booth said softly.
"I am fine, Booth. I promise." She said, trying to find a small smile. "You've said yourself that sometimes I think too much, well this is just another example." She sighed. "I don't like being away from you. I don't like not having your back. That's all it is."
"I'm safe, Bones. I'm in a hotel room. A stinky, plain, overused, undercleaned, hotel room with pink and white striped wallpaper that is peeling from the top, and a bathroom with a strange, unexplained fist sized hole in the wall that nobody cared enough to repair."
"Did you bring some luminol and a black light?" She asked, humored by his half laugh, half gag.
"My guess is that this place would light up like the stage of a rock concert." He laughed, feeling the warmth in his heart at her laugh as well. "How is Mikey doing?"
"He's hungry." She said in a teasing tone. "I'm hungry as well." She said.
"Ah." Booth laughed. "Well, I'm going to order a pizza in, because I don't want to go back out again, and you may have made me lose my appetite with that whole luminol joke." He teased. "Do you want me to call you later?"
"I will call you after I get Michael to bed, okay?" She asked.
"You got it." He said, expecting her to say something more, though the line went quiet. "Bones?" He said, wondering if he had lost the connection. "Bones, are you okay?"
"I think... I think someone is at the door." She said, listening. She would hear her doorknob wiggling a little, and then a gentle tapping knock. It was as if someone was checking to see if she was there before they broke in. Brennan could feel her heart rate increase. "It sounds like someone is trying to break in." She swallowed hard.
"Bones?" He said, the tone of his voice full of alarm. "Bones, you have Michael with you." He said, though he knew she was no longer listening.
There was a split second of fear, and she wondered for a moment how she could defend herself with the baby right there if someone were to be breaking into her apartment. Instead, she held the phone in her hand and approached the door. She knew if something happened, she'd have Booth on the other end of the line. She marched across the apartment and stopped at the door, looking through the peep hole, she sighed before she unlatched the lock, swinging the door open.
"Dad?" She said, watching Max's jaw drop slightly, his eyes widen in surprise.
"Tempe." He said, his face turning a bit pale at being caught, he offered her a sheepish smile.
She lifted the phone to her ear and sighed. "It's my father." She said, her tone grumbling as she glared at Max.
"I heard." Booth said softly. "I'll talk to you later." He said. "I love you, be safe. Tell Max to cut it out."
"I intend to. I love you." She said into the line, hitching Michael up a bit on her hip. She hit the button and slipped her phone into her pocket, watching the humored expression on Max's face. "What are you doing here, Dad?" She sighed.
"What? A dad can't just come by and visit his daughter once in a while?" He asked, the faux innocence in his voice was nauseating.
"What is that in your hand? Is that a lock pick?" She asked quickly, her anger quickly rising with each passing second. She reached forward and grabbed the lock picking kit from his hands. "I thought I took this away from you! What did you do? Break in again and steal it back?"
"No. I have more than one set. Can I have that back?" He asked, following her inside.
"No." She shook her head. "No you can't have it back. What is wrong with you?" She asked, closing the door behind her father, she turned the deadbolt and turned toward Max.
"Who is this little guy?" Max asked, seeing the baby's wide blue eyes as he stared at the stranger, his grip remained on Brennan's shirt.
"This is Michael." She said, her tone full of frustration. "What do you want, Dad? Why are you here? Why did security let you up here again?" She asked.
"That young kid downstairs doesn't know what he's doing." Max shrugged. "Very easy to slip past him." He babbled, and she stomped past him with a head shake, ignoring him for the time being. "Who is Michael?" He asked, following after her. "Tempe, stop walking away from me." Max said, walking into the kitchen behind her. "Tempe, stop."
"What?" Brennan said, turning to face her father. Her tone was a bit harsh, and she could feel Michael pull into her tighter. "Why can't you call me on the phone like a regular father? Why do I only see you when you break into my apartment?"
"Tempe." He said, this tone almost a whine.
"Stop simpering and just speak to me like an adult!" She exclaimed. Suddenly Michael started to cry, feeling the tension and anger radiating from Brennan's body. "Great." She said with a sigh. "Thanks, Dad." She grunted, bouncing Michael a little, trying to calm him.
"Here." Max said, reaching for the baby. "Let me hold him for you." He said, watching his daughter care for the child as if he were her own. She bounced him and soothed him, and glared toward her father. "Tempe, it's fine. I can handle a baby. Finish what you were doing. I'll hold Michael. We can talk." He said, tipping his head. "It's okay." He said, beckoning her to give him the baby. "It's okay."
She sighed, eyeing her father carefully. Finally, she stepped forward and carefully lifted Michael over to Max. The baby seemed to calm immediately once Max was holding him, his eyes focused across at Brennan. His tiny lower lip was still trembling a bit, and when her finger gently ran down the baby's cheek, he smiled at her. "There you go, little one. No more tears." She said, tipping her head as the baby let out a giggle.
"You're very good with him." Max said, earning a slight scowl from his daughter.
"Why wouldn't I be? I am very good with children." She said, still scowling.
"He really likes you, Tempe." He said softly. "That's all I'm saying." Max replied.
She sighed a little and glanced to Max before she went about preparing her dinner, and something for Michael. "Booth said you broke into my apartment the last time because you were worried about me." She said, focusing her attention on her task. She didn't hear her father respond, so her eyes moved in his direction. "What is your excuse this time?"
"I just... I wanted to see you." He shrugged. "You and Booth went on your trip, and you've been staying at his place. I just wanted to check in on you." He said, bouncing the little boy in his arms. "Speaking of you and Booth, don't you think things are moving a little fast?" He asked, a chuckle on his lips.
"What do you mean?" She asked, her head twisting to look at her father's humored expression, he tilted it toward the baby. "Oh. Michael?" She asked.
"Yeah. I mean, I know I'm getting older and sometimes I forget what day it is, but I think I'd remember you and Booth having a kid." He chuckled.
"Michael is a foster child." She said, not wishing to take it any further than that. While she did trust Max, she didn't feel that he had earned all of the facts.
"A foster child." Max nodded, taking the bottle from Brennan's hand as she reached it over toward him. "That's it? You just took in a foster child."
"Yes." She said, pulling her hand back, she watched Max carefully place the bottle between Michael's waiting lips.
"Why?" He asked, not trying to put himself into a position to cause her anger, but he could see a flash of something in her blue eyes that surprised him, a warning sign for Max to tread very carefully. .
"Why not?" She began, noting her father's confusion, she could feel a dart of resentment shoot straight to her heart. He wanted the truth, she'd give it to him. "Because the foster system is where children are lost, and Michael deserves better than that." She said, her steely eyes boring into him for a moment. Suddenly, foregoing the preparation of her own dinner to reach for the baby, she has a sudden need to hold him. Max relinquished the child to his daughter, and watched as she carefully held the bottle to the child's lips, and he latches on hungrily, keeping his focus directly on Brennan's eyes. Max watches her physically relax as she is mesmerized by the child's rhythmic feeding.
"Where is Booth?" He asked after a moment.
"He's in Maryland." She responded, continuing to stare at the baby. "He'll be there overnight." She said softly. "It's just me and Mikey tonight." She said, rocking the baby gently. She smiled at the baby as she said his nickname, her mind instantly going to Booth. "We're working on a case." She said.
Max watched her for a few more minutes, quietly observing his daughter. He could feel his heart swelling at pride at the same time he could feel his own guilt crushing down on it. "I'm proud of you, honey." Max said, watching Brennan's eyes flick up to his for a moment. "I just... I'm proud of you."
"For what?" She asked, a bit of confusion in her eyes.
"For doing whatever it takes to make you happy." He said, trying his hardest not to set her off, he is almost surprised when she gives him a slight smile.
"Thanks, Dad." She whispers, as she looks back down at Michael, her anxiety seemingly dissipated into the air. She looks back toward Max. "Can you hold him while I make my dinner?" She asked.
"Sure." Max said, reaching for the infant, she carefully moved him into her father's waiting arms.
"Are you hungry?" She asked, tipping her head with a slight smile. "I can make enough for both of us." She said, nodding toward her ingredients.
"Sure." Max said with a smile, unsure of what she was going to make, but also not even curious about it, for he was finally having an honest time with his daughter, and he would give anything for a spark of normalcy between them.
