Chapter Two

He watched as she went stiff in her chair having been relaxed seconds before he waltzed over asking about that stupid plane his bonehead brother had managed to lose. "Seeley this is Temperance she's going to be living with us. She's a couple years younger than you are I believe. Temperance Seely is currently finishing up his sophomore year." Lisa introduced and he smiled holding out his hand. "Cool! It's nice to meet you. So that means you're a freshman this year?" He asked.

She nodded her head and smiled a beautiful smile. "Technically yes, but I've been in accelerated courses since I was in middle school but will be graduating in three years with the rest of my age instead of graduating early which I would have preferred." Temperance answered and he shrugged having no idea what any of that meant. "Sorry, too much information. Yes, I'm a freshman." She continued as she looked at his neighbors and then at her hands clearly nervous.

"Oh well that's cool. My brother Jared is going to be a freshman next year and he's in eighth grade right now. I'll introduce you sometime and my Pops, you'll have to meet my Pops once you settle in!" Booth grinned as something fell outside of the patio and suddenly the reason he came over was on the ground. "Ha!" He yelped as he jumped off the steps and to his model airplane. "I built this with pops, it's not a toy but of course someone had to touch it. I won't bug you guys. See ya!" He said before running off to his grandfather and brother.

Stepping inside the house he tossed the airplane onto the couch at his brother. "Found it you dweeb, now stop touching my stuff. Pops, the Mitchell's have some girl living with them." He said as he sat down and put his feet on the table as Hank Booth flipped through the channels.

"Oh yes today was the day they were getting their foster child. They have been looking forward to this day for quite some time, I'm excited for them. Did she seem nice? Were you nice to her? You better have been Shrimp, I taught you to be nice." His Pop said and he nodded.

"Yes sir, I was nice. Said her name was Temperance which is a weird name but she seemed okay. Scared but I guess I would be scared if I were moving in with strangers." He murmured having not really thought about that before. If his Pops hadn't taken him and Jared in he would probably be in the same situation.

"Me neither, that would suck." Jared said and Booth rolled his eyes and through a pillow at him. "She's around our age so we'll have to show her around, okay? And no stupid childish stuff either, got it?" He said to his little brother before looking out the window where the three were still sitting at the patio table talking. Lisa and Brad sat holding hands at the table while Temperance laughed at what was probably not a funny joke they were telling. He was going to make sure she had a good time here, he was going to make sure of it.

Later that night he was out shooting basketball when he saw her sitting under a tree with a book in their backyard. Careful not to scare her he walked into the yard. "Hey." He said softly watching as she sat up straighter and closed the book. "Sorry I was trying not to scare you." He chuckled as he walked up to her. The light from the street lights shined perfectly on her and he plopped down next to her and took a look at the book she had.

"Pet Sematary? You like Stephen King?" He asked and she nodded. He could sense that she wasn't used to being talked to or confronted so he made sure there was plenty of space between them. "I like him too, except IT. I hate IT." Booth murmured shivering at the thought of clowns let alone killer clowns. "So Temperance huh? I like that name but it's so long, do you go by anything else?"

He swore she saw her smile even if she was trying to hide it. "My mom and dad called me Tempe, which I don't mind. Sometimes people call me Brennan or Bren. You can call me whatever." She answered softly and he smiled as he thought about it.

"Can I call you Tem?" He asked "I like Tem it's a cool name for a girl, I think." He continued before she finally looked at him with an eyebrow raised before laughing. "What? I can't think it's a cool name?"

"No you can, you can think whatever you want. It's a free country after all. Tem is fine, it's better than some nicknames others have come up with. Though does that mean I get to call you something other than Seeley or Booth?" She asked and he quickly shook his head.

"Nah, Booth is fine. Thanks for asking though. Look I was shooting some hoops and saw you reading and thought I'd saw hi so uh, I did. I'll let you get back to your creepy book." He said with a smile as he stood up wiping the grass off his shorts in the process. "We can hang out sometime, okay? I'll introduce you to some friends so you can get to know some people."

"That would be pleasant, thank you Booth." She answered a smile still on her face and he smiled back before turning on his heel and heading back to his own house. Maybe this summer was going to be different than the previous and he thought he may just like the idea of that.

Temperance hung out outside a while longer under the tree until the summer chill got to her and she made her way inside. Bidding her goodnights to her new foster parents who were in the living room watching tv she quietly retreated upstairs. Her arm was itchy having been in a cast for only a couple days and she bit her lip as she carefully covered it in plastic and started a bath. In her previous placements she hadn't had the privacy at times of a bathroom let alone one of her own and she was thankful for the basic level of respect she was given by the Mitchells.

Standing in front of the mirror she stripped down revealing the bruises along her body that were still darkening instead of starting to lighten up. Nearly 24 hours ago she was in a hospital bed having been rescued from the trunk of a car and now she was in a lovely home. The vast difference of realities brought her to tears as she carefully traced the markings along her torso and down her thighs. Forcing her eyes away from the mirror she sat in the tub letting the water from the shower head pour over her, barely washing away how gross she felt with herself but willing herself to be the strong woman she had promised herself she would always be.

After cleaning up she slipped on her raggedy pajama pants and a t-shirt and sat on the bed unsure how to sleep on something so big or comfortable. For the first time in a long time she allowed herself to feel frightened with her new surroundings.

She wasn't sure what time it was when her thoughts were finally drowned out by a restless slumber, but she still woke up at six am just like she would have if she were in any of her other homes ready to start the day. The house was quiet and still, the Mitchells obviously still asleep. Temperance felt awkward as she crept down the stairs and into the kitchen. Lisa had made it clear that it was not her job to cook for them or anything but she wanted to do something. She didn't know how to not do the work that used to be required of her.

Starting a pot of coffee and started looking around the kitchen familiarizing herself where everything was before deciding on pancakes for breakfast. Pouring herself some of the coffee once it was done brewing she turned the radio on low and hummed to herself as she began to cook. "Coffee will stunt your growth." She heard from the doorway, yelping she turned and saw Brad leaning against the doorframe a soft smile on his face. "I didn't mean to startle you, the smell of coffee was refreshing to wake up to. Lisa makes me make it myself because she doesn't like it." He chuckled.

"I know you said you didn't expect me to make breakfast, sir but I.. I wanted to do something for you two for being so kind." She said nervously her head ducking as she moved the bowl of batter. "I hope I didn't do something wrong." Temperance continued once again surprised when Brad shook his head and shrugged.

"Surely not, you can do whatever you like. If that means making breakfast sometimes, so be it. However, we want to take care of you, Temperance." He said as he poured himself his own mug of coffee. "We, uh, we have a lot of love to give and having you here means a lot to us. I know we've said that a thousand times by now but we truly want you to be happy here. We want you to see us as your family."

Brad's kind words were emotional and she smiled at him before busying herself with the pancakes once more afraid she would say something wrong. She couldn't tell if he was truly being kind or just putting on a mask and it alarmed her that she couldn't read him like she could her other foster fathers. "Do you like pancakes?" She finally asked.

"Of course I do, can I help at least?" He asked and she nodded though she wasn't sure what help pouring batter would need. She didn't want to say no to him in fear he would punish her. Flashbacks of the last week suddenly came to her and she tensed up her breathing going shallow as she backed away from him and the stove. "Hey, it's okay. Temperance? What's wrong?" Brad asked her as a panic attack came over her and he quickly grabbed a paper back from a drawer and handed it to her walking her through breathing until she felt her body come back to reality.

"I.. that's never happened before." She whispered tears in her eyes as she slowly stood up from the place she had found herself on the floor. "What happened to me." Temperance whispered.

"You had a panic attack, it happens to the best of us." He said trying to lighten the mood clearly but she felt dazed and wasn't able to register what he was saying clearly. She knew they had to know what her story was from her parents leaving to recently, but never did she think her body would send her into an attack over it all. "Come on, let's finish up breakfast, it'll help." He said and for some reason she believed him.

They were making small talk over the stove when Lisa came into the room. "Coffee? Aren't you a little young for that?" She asked Brad, giving him a look in which the man quickly held up his hands in defence. "She had it made when I got up I didn't give it to her." He said murmuring about her being a spoilsport making Temperance laugh as she held the mug to her mouth. "Brad told me you prefer tea, I am happy to make you some. Breakfast will be done soon, I made pancakes. Well we made pancakes." Temperance said awkwardly.

The three of them settled in for breakfast at the table and Temperance ate slowly, her stomach not handling well after her panic attack and the rough nights sleep she had. "Did you sleep well, Temperance? You seem tired." Lisa asked and she quickly nodded not wanting to get into things. She had already been asked to go to therapy by her social worker and she made sure it was known that she was fine and could handle it.

"I did, thank you." She answered. "It always takes a night or two to get used to a new place." She lied. She had never got used to her old placements, she had been too scared to sleep most nights. "I was wondering if you were advised how long I have to keep this cast on, it's incredibly uncomfortable and I'd prefer a splint. I saw the x-rays and while the break is severe it's not that bad that it won't heal satisfactory with a splint." Temperance stated as she looked at the clunky white cast that she didn't even get to choose a color for.

Lisa looked sad as she talked about her injury and she knew that eventually she'd ask to talk about it, but hoped that that time wouldn't ever actually come. "We can schedule an appointment with our orthopedic for this coming week, see what he thinks about it and if the cast is necessary or not. We don't want you to hurt it more of course so the cast is probably the best bet for you." She finally said and Temperance nodded understanding but disappointed, being the new kid in town wasn't likely to be fun with a cast on.

"What about school?" She asked. "I know that the school year is almost over so I don't know if joining a new school would be necessary. I would like if possible to test out of sophomore year and go straight to junior year or even senior year." Temperance didn't do well in the school setting though she was extraordinary in academics.

She looked between the two of them feeling anxious and that she had spoken too much and looked down at her plate. "Why don't we get you settled in before we talk about school, okay? Your previous school grades do allow you to not finish the year so we have time to discuss if you should move up a year or not. I think you may just find that sticking around and being a child would be good for you." Lisa said and Temperance nodded disagreeing with her but not wanting to go against her. She wanted to be an adult, she wanted to be on her own. She couldn't be hurt if she was on her own.

"Why don't you get ready for the day, sport, and maybe explore the area some. I'm sure you'd like to know the town you'll be living in. There are small shops and cafes, it's a college town so you should be careful though." Brad said and she nodded before excusing herself from the table and moving up to her room realizing she really didn't have much to get ready with. She had some money and put it in her shoulder bag along with her book and left the house saying goodbye.

Freedom. There was a sense of freedom that she had never felt before and she liked it, but only hoped that it wouldn't be something she would lose quickly.