The next morning Erin awoke in her new bedroom. She decided on her bed and furniture rather quickly. Erin wasn't picky about furniture or themes; she was a minimalistic teen attracted to the simple things in life. With the occasional luxurious desires, of course, like her father. While living in Chicago she and her father would awake 15 minutes before sunrise to sit on the balcony, drink some coffee, and wait for the sunrise to make its appearance. Erin sat up in her bed, and looked at her suitcases to her right, still awaiting the rest of her furniture. She got out of bed and opened her curtains to see that it was still dark. Erin, still in her PJ's, tiptoed to the kitchen and began to make some coffee. She walked over to the balcony, slowly opening the door, to not alarm her mother and sat down on the patio furniture. She held the warm cup of coffee to her chest and breathed in the cool DC summer air. Brennan awoke to the scent of coffee and soon remembered that she no longer lived alone. Her daughter must have awoken and she wanted to make sure her first night in DC went well. Brennan wrapped her robe around herself and walked towards the kitchen and saw her balcony was opened. She walked towards the balcony and saw her daughter's bed head and saw her wipe away some tears. "Good morning. Erin, what's wrong? Did you not sleep okay?" Brennan asked while placing a hand on one of Erin's shoulders. Erin continued to sniffle, "Good morning. I'm okay. I'm just..sad." she said while looking at the warm sky. Erin sighed and Brennan frowned as well. She knew why her daughter was sad and knew Erin didn't have the proper time to grieve her fathers loss. Erin sipped on her coffee and then looked at her mother, "My dad and I, we always woke up 15 minutes before sunrise, every morning. We would make coffee and sit out… and watch the sunrise." she smiled while a single tear rolled down her face, which she quickly wiped away. Brennan smiled, "That sounds wonderful, Erin. I'm glad you had those moments with your father." she said as she leant back in her seat. "Would you like a cup of coffee, mom?" Erin asked with a slight smile. Brennan smiled and nodded. One simple word carried such an amazing feeling for her.
Erin quickly stood up and came back with coffee with almond milk. She saw how her mom drank her coffee in Chicago. She handed her mom the coffee mug, "You know how I drink my coffee?" Brennan asked, surprised. Erin nodded, "Yeah, I saw how you drank it in Chicago and just remembered." Brennan smiled, "Thank you, Erin. That was very thoughtful of you." Erin sat back down and they both watched the sunrise. Brennan was sneaking in peaks of Erin. She looked so much like her when she was 15. She saw the same sadness she felt at that age, when her parents left her. Her thought process was interrupted when Erin spoke, "I don't believe in Heaven or God. My dad didn't either. But somehow-" she struggled to continue her sentence, her voice cracked, and she was racked with emotion, "Somehow- I feel like dad is here right now. I can't explain it-but I see the sunrise and I feel him.." she said as she felt the crushing weight of her sadness in her lungs. She took a deep breath and began to sob. So heavy. It broke Brennan's heart. At that moment she didn't think to tell Erin she was feeling her pituitary gland produce a hormone called adrenocorticotrophin. A hormone related to grief. She only kneeled in front of Erin, taking her into a hug. Allowing her to release her emotions while Brennan felt her own tears flow onto her face. Brennan rubbed Erin's back, kissing Erin's head, coaxing her, "I know baby. It's hard. This isn't easy, death never is. You're going to be okay." she said while placing another kiss on her forehead. Erin smiled while Brennan wiped her daughter's tears away. Erin nodded, "Thank you, for sitting here with me." she said. Brennan smiled, "Of course. I wouldn't be anywhere else. Would you still like to come to the lab with me?" she asked Erin. Erin smiled, "Yes, I'd love to." she said. They both left the balcony and began to get ready for their day.
Erin came out of her room dressed with a book bag on her shoulders. Which Brennan thought was strange since it was Summer and she wasn't enrolled in school just yet. "Are you working on something this summer?" Brennan asked as they got into the car. Erin smiled as she placed her bookbag in front of her, "Not really, I write sometimes. Poetry. Sometimes I journal about what I see, how I feel, you know the teenager stuff." Erin said as she smiled. Brennan smiled because she was a writer as well. "Writing seems to run in the blood, huh?" Erin asked. Which made Brennan chuckle because she knew Michael wrote religiously as well, but mostly non-fiction pieces. "We do have a case today. So, you can hang out in my office, even the sky lounge, anywhere really." Brennan said as she drove. Erin smiled, "Awesome. That place is so cool. Is the case interesting at all? Is that appropriate to ask?" she asked with a quizzical look on her face.
Brennan puckered her lips, "It's okay to ask. Its a matter of opinion, the murder has its basic elements. Involving jealousy and love." she said as she parked her car in the parking structure. Erin responded, "Nice. Dad would never say anything about the bodies he'd worked on. He didn't want my mind to be "tainted"," she said with air quotes around the word tainted. Brennan raised her eyebrows, sort of insulted. "What do you mean tainted?" she asked as they walked into the Jeffersonian. Erin looked at her mother as she began to fill out forms for her own identification card. "Tainted, as in, corrupt my mind with the thought of death, murder, pain, etc. Which I found to be odd since we lived in the "Murder Capitol of the Nation''. There wasn't a weekend where we didn't hear gunshots." She said nonchalantly which made Brennan smile. Her daughter was unphased by death just like she was.