Author's note: I had a little trouble writing this chapter. This is my first draft. Read it and tell me what you think. Maybe I could change a couple of things.

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Chapter 4 – Russ

When Brennan opened her eyes she noticed she wasn't in the living room anymore. She couldn't remember how she had gotten there. She turned to look at her clock: it was 3:30. She sat upright in her bed. Russ! He said that he'd be over at 4:00 and she wasn't even ready. She got to her feet and made her way to the bathroom. She turned on the water and got climbed into the shower.

From the kitchen, Booth could hear the water running. He couldn't help but smile. She was awake. Now they'd be able to talk about what had happened but that is if she would want to talk to him.

After an hour of crying, Brennan had fell asleep in his arms and Booth had carried her to her bedroom. He had tucked her in and had gone back to the living room. It had been about two hours ago. He had called Angela after like he had promised to tell her how things had gone. Angela had been sympathetic.

"Just don't leave her alone tonight. I'll stop by tomorrow morning to check up on her."

Booth told her he had no intentions on leaving either.

The knocks at the door brought him back to reality. Unconsciously he walked to the door and opened it. He was surprised to see a tall man about his height standing in front of him. He looked vaguely familiar with his brown hair and blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Booth asked the stranger.

"Oh I'm sorry. I must have the wrong apartment. I'm looking for Temperance."

"No you have the right apartment. Please, come in."

The stranger stepped in the apartment and closed the door behind him. Booth looked at him suspiciously.

"I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Russ, Tempe's brother." Russ said, extending a hand.

Tempe's brother? Booth shook his hand.

"I'm Booth. Special Agent Seeley Booth. I'm Bones... I mean, Temperance's partner. I work for the FBI."

"Are you her boyfriend too?"

Booth laughed nervously.

"No. We're just friends."

"Then if you're only Temperance's colleague, why are you answering her door? Where's my sister?"

"She's in the shower." Booth replied, uncomfortable.

He didn't know why he had answered her door. He just did, without thinking. Like it had been the natural thing to do.

Russ' eyes never left Booth and Booth began to feel really uncomfortable. He felt like he had to explain himself.

"I came by to see Bones. I had something to tell her about..."

Then the fact that he was talking to Bones' brother hit him. This wasn't the way he was supposed to announce to him that he had found the remains of his parents.

"Did you just call my sister Bones?"

"Yes I did. That's what I call her. Kind of like a pet name, you know?"

"What kind of pet name is that?"

For an estranged brother, he was sure overprotective of his little sister.

"Look, don't take that like I don't respect your sister. I more than respect her, actually. I haven't heard complaining about it in a while so I'm guessing she just got used to it."

Russ nodded.

Booth heard the water being turned off in the bathroom.

"Listen Temperance is going to be out any minute. Do you want to sit in living room while you wait for her?"

But Booth didn't give him time to answer. He led Russ to the living room and went back to the kitchen. He didn't want to be there when Brennan was reunited with her brother.

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Brennan cautiously stepped out of the shower. She had forgotten to put a towel on the floor and didn't want to slip. She dried off herself and wrapped a towel around her. She walked off to her room.

She didn't feel like blow-drying her hair. She managed to pull them up in a ponytail and then got dressed. She had heard Booth talking in the living room and she wondered who he had been talking to. She looked at the clock. It was ten to four.

When she was finally ready she decided that she would go fix something up for her brother. He would probably be hungry. She walked into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a familiar voice say her name. She turned around.

"Russ!"

"You looked surprised to see me. Didn't I tell you I was coming by today?"

But she was too shocked to say anything. She hadn't expected him to be sitting in her living room when she came out of her bedroom. Who had let him in? Did it really matter? It felt so weird being in the same room as him. She couldn't take her eyes off her brother. He had changed so much. He had gone from the slightly overweight Russ from Westminster to the toned Russ from California. His hair was shorter than it had been and his eyes, well, his eyes were different. They were almost... empty. But his smile hadn't changed one bit. It was still the sweet smile she remembered he had back when they were young.

"Who let you in?"

"Your friend let me in. Booth, I think his name is?"

"He's still here?" Brennan asked suddenly panicked. "Where is he?"

"In the kitchen, I think."

Brennan turned around and walked to her kitchen. Had Booth told her brother about the remains? When she saw Booth leaning against her counter, her expression immediately changed from surprise to... anger?

"What are you still doing here?" she asked him.

"I just wanted to make sure you were OK."

"Well I'm fine. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like you to leave. My brother needs to talk to me."

"Geez relax Bones. Besides I can't leave. It is my duty to tell your brother about your parents."

"What? No! You are not telling him anything."

Booth lowered his voice.

"He has the right to know, Bones. He was their son. I know you'll never tell him because you're in denial."

"I am not in denial. You know I don't believe all this psychology stuff. The remains on my examination tables are not my parents'."

Booth ignored her.

"Plus I need him to come down to my office to identify the drawings that Angela made."

"Why don't you let me identify them myself?"

"Because you're capable of saying that they are not your parents." He snapped.

Brennan wanted to say something but she couldn't. Instead she simply stared at him, shocked. She had seen that side of him, the mean one if you will, but she had never been the victim of that side of him. It hurt.

Booth stared at her. He was starting to feel bad. He hadn't mean to snap but she was getting in the way of his investigation... once again.

"Also you have been asked to step out of the case. It would be unprofessional if you actually investigated the deaths of your own parents. I can't have that. I'm sorry, Bones."

This time Brennan reacted. She didn't say anything but simply walked back to her brother. Booth followed.

Russ looked up at the two people staring at him. His eyes fell on his sister first. She looked like she was going to cry. Her jaw was clenched and he could see her fighting against her tears.

Booth sat down on a chair near the couch and leaned forward towards Russ.

"A couple of days ago, Bones and I got called to a house in Westminster because some bones had been found in a small wood. Your sister brought back the bones to her lab and her colleague Angela drew their faces. And when we tried matching them to a missing person's report, we got a match. They were your parents."

Brennan, who had been looking down at her feet, looked up to her brother but he was avoiding her gaze. He simply looked a couple of inches beside her. His face didn't show any emotion. His eyes were empty. No expression there either.

Booth didn't say anything. He gave Russ a couple of seconds to understand what he had just said. But after a minute or two of silence, Russ still hadn't said anything. He wasn't looking at the wall anymore but looking at Booth almost expectantly, like he was expecting Booth to say something else. But Booth didn't know what else to say.

"If you don't mind, I would like to ask you some questions. Could you tell me what happened on the night your parents disappeared?"

Before Russ had the chance to answer, Brennan stepped in.

"Booth, you can't do that! He's my brother! He already answered these questions before, he doesn't need to answer them again."

"Bones, will you just let me do my job, please?"

"There is nothing for you to do."

"BONES!"

The sound of his own voice startled him. Never had he yelled at her before. Never had he yelled at a woman like that. He was surprised at himself. He looked up to his friend to see her fighting tears once again. But before he could say something she bolted for her room. Seconds later he heard the door slam shut. Guilt immediately filled his heart.

"You didn't have to yell at her."

Booth turned around. Russ had spoken so quietly he had barely heard him.

"I didn't mean to. I'm just trying to do my job. Ever since I've known about what happened to her parents, I wanted to be the one who would discover the remains and finally help her find the answers that she has longed for for so long. She deserves it. Nobody should have to suffer the way she did."

"You really care about her, don't you?"

"Yes I do. That's why, Russ, I need you tell me everything that you can about your parents' disappearance."

His voice was soft, like he was talking to a little child. He couldn't help it.

"Alright, I will. But not here. Come with me, I need to show you something."

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