Looking much worse for wear, Christine arrived at Founding Fathers, got a booth in the corner, and ordered a beer. She ordered starters, too, because James Aubrey could never go without food, as her mom had always said. And she waited and thought about everything that had happened that day. The agent subconsciously wanted to best her father and had failed to see evident realities that others saw. She thought about the pain that she inflicted on Parker. Why did Parker deserve that pain? Why the pain of disappointment that Hank had when he realized that she had not stuck up for their father, Hank, which was small, the smallest of the family, had always stuck up for everyone else, even when it wasn't something he should have done. She remembered a boy who had been bugging her when she was in high school. And he was still in elementary. And the boy had said some very inappropriate and rude things to her. Many years younger and at least half his weight and size, Little Hank challenges the boy to a fight over her honour. She stated that no one would speak to her like that. This was a boy that would die rather than allow his sister to be disgraced, dishonoured, or poorly treated. Then she thought about herself, was she the same as him concerning her family? She allowed things to pass because she wanted promotions. She wanted to be the one who wasn't the stick in the mud. She wasn't the one who would get uppity. Everything that she's heard today indicated Her father was the opposite. Her father didn't care who you were.

All he cared about was for the truth. The anger that James had was palatable. She felt deeply dishonoured, deeply hurt, but in a sense, deeply disowned. Christine had betrayed her family lineage. When she switched from the lab to the FBI. In their mind, she turned her back on her mother and all that her mother had done. And by not using her father's last name, recruiting for the FBI, she had thrown away the legacy of Booth. She wanted to do it her way without seeing how stupid an immature child with a bad temper was. So maybe she was Jared, Jared Booth Jr. He was the one who poisoned relationships cause fights didn't stick up for his own. Was not one of those whom his comrades would be saying? He allowed himself to be tortured for the others. Heck, she wasn't even able to stick up for her father's honour. And he was alive at the time. Her father didn't get scared of much. But he was scared that she would turn into his nemesis. It was worse fear. Before she met James at the Pub, she had called her Aunt Angela.

She began to ask her pardon for calling. Christine started, "I just wanted to get a few things out of the way. Firstly, how wrong was Jared? And she said, Give it to me. As bad as it can be. Because right now, I am in a tough spot. How close was James to dad? How close was James to mom? Was everything he supposedly knew about her parents true?"

Angela sat back on her sofa at home, with her phone in her hand while listening to the questions. She started, "Jared is your uncle. He's also dead. So, I won't speak poorly of him. He was Booth Lite. But I hated him. Jared only thought about himself. Like all you Booths, He had a weakness. Your dad's weakness is gambling. Almost destroyed his marriage and himself with it. We all understood why it happened; it is still so tragic. But still, that is history. But Jared was like your grandfather. He was an alcoholic but an alcoholic who refused to figure it out. And because he refused to figure it out. He did what alcoholics always do and hurt those around him. So, the story goes as follows. Your uncle comes into town. Your uncle again needs help from his brother - your dad- and wants someone who can behave intelligently at a soiree at the White House that he had been invited to. Originally, Camille was going to go with him. But our case got complicated. And the last moment, Jared called up his brother, which it seems, according to Camille, was always the one who bailed him out of every situation. That was complicated. Be it small or big, it was always going to be Booth to the rescue. Well, he's in the car with your mum; she finds the younger Booth intriguing at this point; your dad is trying to keep things on the up and up. Keep things professional. I don't blame Booth at all. She jumped on the opportunity to go to the soiree. That evening, Jared filled her head with stupidity; amongst all the absurdities was the inside scoop - you can ask your mum about this later - but basically that your dad was a loser and that he feared taking risks. And that's why he never moved on his desire with your mom etc... Unfortunately, your mum believed it to a certain extent —on that issue your mom should filling the details and because your dad was a loser, he wasn't moving up the FBI food chain. We talked to your mum with the help of Sweets to see that Jared was the loser and that your dad was the guy who carried the water for him his whole life. Jared was caught drunk driving, and the state police had wanted a giant RICO case that Booth had been working on, - kind of a glory case - Booth gave them all the glory, in return getting Jared off the hook and hid it from everyone else. The only thing is that Camille had already seen this type of thing happened in the past, so we confronted your mom. She denied it. She got very angry with us, stormed out. But we had planted the seed. And then she went to speak with Jared, who, of course, was drinking again. Only to find out that what we had said was true and that he was none the wiser because that's what his brother did—adding that it was probably Booth who was spreading the disinformation about Jared. Your mom became very, very angry with the fact that she had been played. And the fact that she put her real friendship and partnership on the line believing Jared took a while for her to forgive herself. But she ended up transposing that hatred to the ghost of Jared."

Angela breathed out and said, "What's your second question again? "What's the link between James Aubrey and my parents?" Christine repeated.

A big sigh and Angela started telling the younger Booth, "This is probably going to be harder than you want to hear. But here we go. When you were small, and your dad was in prison. Aubrey was appointed to be a liaison to the lab. Sweets had selected him. Sweets saw that he was the guy he could work with once Booth was out of jail and cleared. He needed someone to work with. You were already a little girl, and they didn't want both parents being together and orphaning a little child, So James was a young up and comer. He worked with your dad, and your dad worked with him through difficult periods, challenging periods. So hard on both; Your dad's gambling, Iran. James saved my husband from a bomb, although my husband's legs would be damaged. So, James Aubrey has a very, very central place in our group dynamic. We trust him completely. And that's why your mother didn't stop Aubrey from ripping you to shreds because he's been holding it back for years. He took the place of Sweets when he was murdered."

"And then what happened? Why did he disappear out of my life?"

" Well, things happened. James got promoted to Quantico. James got married to one of the interns of Brennan's. You know, Jessica had a batch of kids. as smart as a whip. I wish he would come by the lab more often, but he does come to have coffee and talk with us. But for some reason, I think when you were in Quantico, he stopped coming by the house so that he wouldn't encounter you."

At that, Christine shattered, "so I broke up a friendship; that was key to dad's safety because of my bad attitude?"

And Angela said, "Well, since you're Booth's kid, I will give it to you in a Booth manner. Yes. He avoided the house because he didn't want to interact with you. Because he was scared that he would react the way he did. He cares too much. He looks at your dad like his older brother; he looks at your mother as a kid brother. He'll do anything to save your parents. When your uncle got your dad messed up in that case, years ago, -that is when Christine freezes, she knows what case this is, that when Uncle Jared does and gets dad messed up with a bunch of thieves. Ex-military guys that wanted to make some money by selling the names of undercover agents, - your dad couldn't let undercover agents be sold on the market. So, your dad agreed to join their gang to get the list. The mastermind behind the plan to sell these lists was caught and wouldn't give up where Booth was, so your mother almost broke the man's hand until he was willing to divulge the evidence. A lot of good people died. Your dad almost died that day, again. Don't you ever wonder why your dad always keeps a T-shirt on at all times?"

Christine stated, "Well, I heard. It's because his body isn't as good as it used to be."

And Angela laughs out loud without mirth, with a certain cruel edge. "You're blind, Child! Your father saved his own life by using silver nitrate to burn the bullet hole in his gut. He was bleeding out. So, he's got some nasty, gnarly scars on his belly. Besides the bullet holes, he has because of other things and the wounds from his beating as a youth. So now his body doesn't look great. It's cut up, it's beaten up, but at least he did it for someone else. Christine, your problem is you've never done anything for anyone else. You studied so that You could be the best. You went to the FBI. So that you can be the best. You don't care about anyone else; You don't care about your family; you don't care about your friends. You don't care about your brothers. You care about yourself. This is what hurt your dad. Your dad was all about the other; Jared didn't deserve him, but he got him. Everything was his fault. Your dad defended him against a violent alcoholic father. He was beaten to a pulp. When Booth was in the military, God Only Knows what he went through. I know stories, I've heard things. Nightmares, constant nightmares. How many times did he put his body in front of your mother's so she wouldn't be hurt, and you call your dad a paper pushing moron! Who works in Major Crimes? He could have been somebody if you would have sold out, but he wasn't a sellout. He was our Booth; We were his squints. If you didn't want to be a part of this family, get out! You think you are better than him? you want to be better than him? I heard you dared to call him a Luddite!"

Christine quickly got herself together and replied, "Well, mom calls him a Luddite too."

" Okay," a mirthless Angela said. " Yes, your mother calls him a Luddite. She also calls him a lot of other things. But don't get between her and him. Those moments of Booth and Bones were historic. Which would pass as fast as they would bicker. But it was never serious, never serious fights. Your dad's temper is legendary. Angela goes and begins to stare at the wall. "I've seen him angry. That man scared me, but it's also the man that I wouldn't and didn't worry about leaving my infant child with because he loves and cares for those close to him. But if you touch those he loves and cares for, you will die. Can I tell you the story about when we were locked in the lab by a bunch of nameless Secret Service agents and your dad broke into the lab? Just because he was worried about us now, you miss read your father terribly.

Don't blame Parker for it. Parker knows who your father was. Parker was used by his mother to be a vehicle of pain upon Booth, but the way Parker loved Booth was enough to bring Brennan to the idea that she could be loved and have a family. So, Parker, unfortunately for you, has a place and an honour above you."

Christine felt nudged. She always considered herself the first child of Dr. Brennan. Therefore, the most important one, she perked up and said, "but she took me on those visits today to the high dignitaries."

Angela blew up in anger at Christine's stupidity, "I'm shocked how silly you are. Parker didn't need to go. Parker knew already. Parker knows much more than you know. Parker has seen Brennan at her weakest; he has seen her walls. He encountered the worst forms of hatred and despair, his father almost dying and imprisoned, while you, unfortunately, you and Hank had the silver spoon when the bad stuff happened to your family; you are all too small to know. And your mom covered up those lacunas all the time. Christine, you need to grow up in a hurry. Your dad's not with us anymore. And if you become Jared, not only will you disappoint all of us, but you will force us to cut you out of our families!

That fell on Christina like a pile of bricks; she had encountered a dead-end game; She was an embarrassment. But worse, she was a bad influence. She broke Hank's heart. She hurt Parker and Mom. She didn't know what to do with herself. All these recollections came to mind waiting for James Aubrey to appear as she finished her first beer reaching for the second. But then she pushed it away, saying no. I want to talk to him first before I get myself drunk. That's all I need now be called Jared and be called a violent alcoholic.

Suddenly, a thin, tall man with a sparkle in his eye sat down facing her in the booth that she had selected. Aubrey looked at her and began to look around the bar. He began to recount the history of this Pub what made this bar special; over there in the corner, Angela announced her pregnancy; there at that part of the bar, your parents first real conversation about what they wanted. "In that corner, that was Booth and me after all our victories, locking up the bad guys. But these don't mean anything to you. Because you were too small, too young. You encountered Booth when he was too worn down by the years, too many broken bones to be kept on the street. He would drag himself from underneath his pile of paper to be with your mother when she needed him. But your mom knew how much it costs for him to be on the road, on the street with her, so she would pick and choose to find the moments she really needed him. He says that would work, find ways that he wouldn't suffer.

When it was a complicated case where she really did need him, either because she was lonely or because the case was terrible, and I mean bad for your mom would have to be bad, it must have a few categories. One with children, children are bad. If you compose children with kidnapping, that's bad. But if you have a foster child in this case. You've just hit the trifecta. I don't know how many instances when I was trying to get my spot with your mom, and your mom looked me with eyes that made me cry, she would say, "James, okay I will do this case with you, but I need Booth." Now, when I was immature, I felt it as a slight, and I thought that Booth was merely making me feel better, but once I was having coffee in your parents' home. And she came over to me, sat down and explained why this happened. she was a foster kid. How she was abused as a child and that the emotions after having children were far too great to not have Booth near. So, your little temper tantrums are causing more pain than anything else. Christine understands something quickly.

"You are your father's daughter. You have the smarts like your mother. You've got stubbornness from both, but you also have the wildcard elements of Your uncles on both sides. You need to understand your position. You need to move from there. If you don't do that, it's going to be terrible because your family needs leaders. Parker needs support. You know why Parker moved close to your folks, right?

Christine said, " no, I thought it was because of work?"

"Parker was tired of being used because Rebecca was trying to pull another of her tricks off on Booth. Parker had seen enough. He went to lawyers and the judge and demanded emancipation; He was no longer subject to either parent. Once that was cleared, Parker asked Bones to adopt him. He was 16 years old; Bones did it on the lowdown, So the others wouldn't hear about it. For Parker, being without his father was too much. So, when you say that Parker doesn't belong, you are not only wrong, but you may say in a way, he was the chosen child because your mother decided to adopt him. She had you but adopted him. She has been more of a mother to him than Rebecca ever was."

"You have to understand where I am today in the FBI is because of what Booth had taught me, which is unjust; he should be director today. But he's not a political beast, and he's not an office flunky. So, he'll never move up in those cages."

And after he says that he catches himself saying he would never, because he's no longer with us. "I can't think of Booth as dead."

" He was too much of a mentor for me." James takes a sip of a beer. "Do you know how much help your father gave me in marrying Jessica?" Christine said she didn't know. She didn't know her, his family at all. He sighed again and said, "Well, I have to admit that it's my fault. I didn't feel that you'd be a good influence on my children."

That struck Christine to the heart to what was true. At that point, she started to cry, saying, "Can I have a second chance? I'll be better. I'll change."

A certain hardness takes James, and he asks a question. "Is that the alcohol? Or is that your heart speaking?" And she says, looking at him with a look of incredulity, saying, "that's me."

" Good. Considering you are a Booth, alcoholism or gambling will be your two issues of life, addictive personalities, intense personalities, and outlet issues. You must understand that I am more like your father's personality and outlook, not his experiences. But Jessica is a chip off your mother's quarry. And she has a lot of the same issues that your mother had. And I didn't know how to resolve them. I didn't know how to fix them. I didn't know how to confront them."

Christine meekly asks, "but what did my dad do?"

"He explained to me how he approached your mother. How it was slow. How it was based on trust. Everything was slow, slow, slow, never backing up, but always moving forward. And then give her time. When Jessica was ready, she was shocked because I was still waiting. I was still there. But we had built a friendship before anything else. We could talk, we could eat, we shared similar interests. So as time went by, we made a very good couple. And I'm eternally thankful to Booth for all he did for me. Also, your mom with Jessica. She did the same thing with her. What's interesting is that both of your parents were our best man and maid of honour. So, you may say your bad actions in Quantico really hurt both of our families. " Christine took that, like a shot in the head. Christina asks a question. "Aubrey, how much does your career mean to you?" he probably looked at her for a moment and said, "Well, it means everything. But if it becomes in between what I believe and I love, I choose what I believe in and love first."

Christine continues, " If you were forced to make a choice…"

he cuts her off and tells her, "Choice would always be what is true and what is good. If I'm stuck between Booth and the FBI, he would always be a Booth. Now, Christine, if it came between the FBI and your family, I believe you already chose the FBI."

Christine had sunk into her chest, and she whimpers and cries. And all it could be heard is the voice of a little girl saying, " I've been so stupid; all right," James looks at her and says there is a solution. You still have all those around you who love you and are disappointed in you but still love you. You can do good for them. But by doing good, that means you're going to need to really change become a different person. She knows head-on going forward, things are going to change. A drink between an uncle and a niece, it looks more like a scene from a confessional with a sinner looking for forgiveness. Christine is stretching out and looking for a penance to perform so that she can gain her absolution. So, this would no longer be the same person. She catches her voice. "Before you came, I spoke with Angela. Asking about your background. Why I had never seen you. You confirmed many of the things that Angela said, and I'm deeply sorry. I don't know how to make it up to you. Not just to you but to your children. To your wife..."

James looks at her and thinks, "Do I see something different in those eyes? He sees a sparkle. Though the sins are of commission and many by omission, maybe she understands what is at stake. ... Where to begin?"

" Hey, you drink up!" he finishes the last of his beer said "give me 10 minutes; I have to see with Jessica. If you could pass by now. Just for a couple of minutes... a quick visit? Just to start things off, Let's see if this can restart. Cuz, I can't see us leaving your mother in the lurch even if You may not be in the right place."

Christine took the comment, swallowed and said," I would be pleased to meet everyone."

He pulls out his phone. He walks outside. He came back in about five minutes and said Jessica would prefer to meet us here. She called a babysitter next door, and they'll be there in a minute, so she'll be here in 10 minutes. He goes to the bar, orders a selection of items orders his wife's favourite drink.

James says, "Well, Dig in, Christine! " Christine nibbles on a French fry, " Not hungry; Haven't been hungry since my dad died."

And he goes well, "Grief, Grief will do that. But you need to be strong. To confront the problems you will encounter, you understand that you need to know how to make it right? A lot has been made wrong."

She nodded her consent and said just one thing, but in an unforgivable tone, "am I forgivable or am I hopeless? Or am I just Jared?"

James then pushes back in his chair and thinks about what she just said. "To tell you the truth, you're in a much better place. You've never been abused. You've been loved. You've been cuddled, a bit spoiled; You can trust. Jared's problem was that he only trusted one person. But he felt that that person was a type of Santa Claus who would always give them everything he needed. He didn't have a true father figure. Your father had a horrible father but had a fantastic grandfather. The military allowed him to show the greatness of what he was. Christine, you need to look at yourself in a mirror and figure out what you want to be? Do you want to be like your mother, a forensic anthropologist? Do you want to be like your father? The best FBI agent ever? Or do you want to be Christine Booth? Somewhere in between? Not sure. Where to commit herself? No committed relationships. Tempestuous relationship with her siblings? No friends. You have no reason for it. Your mother had difficulty making friends because of her years of abandonment. You have never been abandoned. You see that your problems come from your selfishness. You are intelligent. But you're not using your intelligence wisely." As he finishes, he spies up, and the redhead wife walks in. "You scoot over!" she calls to James. She looks, she smiles. She grabbed some food from his plate, she began to chomp away. And she begins a conversation with her husband about her day. In a real sense, she ignores Christine. Christine doesn't understand why she ignored her. Finally, she decides to do the one thing her mother would do in that situation; Not what her father would do. She pushed herself forward and introduced herself. "Excuse me, Mrs. Aubrey, I am Christine Booth, a special agent at the FBI. I understand that you were my mother's intern many years ago. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry for dragging you out on this dreary night." After this declaration, Jessica sits back looks gobsmacked. She looks at Christine and says, "Oh my god... Something has happened; The old Christine is back. The snooty, useless, office flunky has died." she turned to James and said, "What did you do? How did you convert her?" James shrugged his shoulders. just said, "told her some truths that she needed to hear, and with the truths that she needed to hear from me, she had already heard many of the same from others. Now, it's just a question of asking the big question. Are you willing to move forward?"

Christine asks, "Jessica, is that the reason why you would not invite me to your house?" Jessica looked at her and said, "Yes. I don't want bad influences on my children; I don't need a spoiled brat to be a bad role model. My children are intelligent, but they also have a good attitude. They don't fain ignorance of who their father is. They don't become embarrassed of their mother." And they don't push away their family. There's a powerful element of anger in her voice, and Christine just let out a little, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

They finished their late dinner. Christine asks Jessica if she would invite her to her home in the future; Jessica said, "I will watch, and I will see; I can't afford bad influences, but if you're willing to put the work in and to figure out what you need to change. I'll be there to help you. I'm not sure if James told you that, by the way, your mom is like a second mom to me. A better mom than the one that I have. So, I would love to have a sister. But a sister who's not embarrassed to her family."

Christine gathered her jacket up, said her goodbyes. Confronting the storm that was outside. She walked and walked and walked and walked and walked, James in his standard-issue FBI SUV and Jessica in her minivan following a fair distance behind the Booth on a mission as she stormed through the streets of Washington. Jessica called up Brennan. "Hello, Dr. B. It's me, Jessica. Yes, I'm following with James. She is the lost lamb of your family. She's doing the Booth thing. Getting a good soaking. Walking fast, aimlessly, muttering to herself. I think this tragedy might have had a benefit to her. I think she's realized how far she had sunk and how much work she has to put in to get herself out". Brennan asks how much longer until she will be completely soaked. Jessica replies, "Another 10 minutes. She'll be thoroughly watered. But she's stubborn like you too..." where she is cut off by Brennan. "Tell me the intersection. I'll go pick her up but only when she stops walking and seeks shelter. 10 minutes later, James texts Brennan," She has stopped." and supplied her the intersection where she was seeking shelter under an overhang of a commercial building.

Moments later, a large SUV enters the intersection, and Brennan hits her horn; and as sound arrives, Jessica and James turn their vehicles around return to go home to tuck their kids in. Dr. Brennan calls out to Christine. "Christine, Come here; you're wet. You're going to get sick; We need you well for the funeral." Brennan's pragmatic, utilitarian language was so much different than the highly sentimental and emotional language she had been upbraided by had all afternoon. She crawls into her mother's car, wet, sopping, weeping as she looks up at our mother with broken eyes. And Brennan sees in herself the same brokenness that she had many years before with the Eames case, which caused her a realization that her life was going in the wrong direction. But the only difference was that now she has family that she can lean on. The drive home is uneventful. As they passed the apartment, which Christine lives in, she looked over at her mother. Her mother nods her head and says, "no worries; family, we stayed together. We don't have temper tantrums, and we don't storm off. So no, you are staying with us."

At home, in comes the sopping wet Christine; Parker looks up. His face Twitches. Hank comes Up and says hopefully, "Hi Christine." Christine looks and sees that Hank has been crying; she turns around, the boy rushes his sister and begins to cry into her shoulder. This is not Dr. Hank Booth with three doctorate degrees to his name, the Wonder boy of the Universities and their magazines. No, this boy lost his dad a couple of days ago and thought that sister wasn't coming back. Christine realizes her spot as the older sister and realizes that she has left her post abandoned. And she's weeping with Hank at the door.

Brennan sees this sight and goes towards Parker and says, "Do you know how many times I needed to pick up your father when things went wrong, and he went on one of his death marches. At least his feet aren't inheritable. That would be all we need. All she needs to do is change her clothes and have a warm shower, and she'll be fine. Give her time, Parker, give her time. She'll come round. But she'll be broken for a while. Because I think tonight was tough for her. She realized she had hurt many people because she had been at the top of the world. And instead of that, everyone else was waiting for the moment that she would come to her senses."

Parker looked up and said, "I hope it's not too late for her. I hope she can have a normal life. She needs to get over herself." And he continued working on their manuscript as he etched out on the life of his now dearly departed father.