I decided to be nice and give you two new chapters to read. I figured that they went together and that it wouldn't make sense if I made you guys wait a couple days in between. Have fun :-) And thank you for the reviews.

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Booth didn't know where Russ was bringing him. He only gave him directions once in a while. Russ finally made him turn into a parking lot. Booth looked up at the enormous hotel. This was probably the hotel where Russ was staying, Booth thought. Russ climbed out of the SUV and Booth did the same.

He followed Russ through the hotel lobby, then to the elevators and then through the confusing hallways of the sixth floor. Both of them were quiet. The hallway was badly lit, it was dark and stuffy. Booth wondered why Russ had picked this hotel out of all the hotels in Washington.

"This trip was probably not planned." Booth thought to himself.

They had been walking through the halls of the hotel for what seemed like an eternity when Russ finally stopped in front of a door. The numbers 621 were written on it. While Russ looked in his pockets for his key, Booth couldn't help but notice the sounds coming from inside of the room.

Russ finally found what he had been looking for and swapped the card in the lock. There was a soft beeping sound and Russ pushed the door open. The noise coming from the room immediately ceased.

Booth followed Tempe's brother inside the badly lit room. Obviously this wasn't a five-star hotel. The curtains were pulled shut and the room was only light by a small bedside lamp and the TV. Booth's eyes scanned the room and fell on four figures standing in various corners.

"Kids, come here please."

In tune, the four children lined up side-by-side between the two queen size beds.

"Booth, I want you to meet my children."

He pointed to each children as he named them.

"These are my daughters Elena and Bridget and these are my boys Corey and Nathan. Kids, this is Booth. He works for the FBI."

"The FBI? Cool!" the two boys said at the same time.

"Ya, it's pretty cool." Booth replied.

He turned to face Russ but Russ was looking at his kids.

"Kids, Agent Booth just needs to talk to me about something. It won't take long. I'll be back for dinner. Bridget, you're in charge."

The tallest of the kids nodded.

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Booth didn't know, once again, where Russ was bringing him. After walking out of the maze that was this hotel, Russ had led him through the gardens surrounding the hotel. Neither of them spoke. Finally, Russ stopped. They had reached a small restaurant on the other side of the gardens. Surprisingly, nobody was eating outside. Russ picked a table and motioned to Booth to sit down.

"We won't be bothered here. Everybody's inside." Russ explained.

Booth nodded.

"I pity my kids for staying in that room all day but I don't want them to walk around and get lost. Or worst. Do you have children, Booth?"

"Yes." Booth replied sadly. "I have son. His name is Parker. He'll be six next month. I don't see him very often. He lives with his mom."

Russ nodded sympathetically.

"My wife and I divorced two years ago. It was really rough on the kids, especially for Bridget. She was 11 at the time and she knew what was going on. I tried to get along with her mother but things were just so complicated. You see, Lucy, my ex-wife, well, she was a little 'unbalanced', if I may say. Something called manic depression or something like that. In her good times we would get along just fine but then on her bad days she would only yell at me and stay in bed. She wouldn't do anything. After the divorce I tried getting custody of the kids but the court wouldn't allow it. They said it was better for the kids to stay with their mother. I didn't fight it. I would get my kids every other week so I figured that it was better than nothing.

Lucy died a couple of months ago. Suicide. The police thought it was a murder and I was their prime suspect. But it turned out that it was in fact a suicide and they closed the file. I got full custody of my kids and I couldn't be happier about it. Of course, the death of my ex-wife and the investigation brought me all back into what had happened to my parents and I don't know why but I felt the need to call Tempe. I hadn't talked to her in ages and I felt bad."

"Why are you telling me this, Russ?" Booth asked.

He was surprised to see Russ being so open and he caught himself wondering how two people related by blood could be so different from one another.

"You see, I called my sister because I needed her help. I work as a daycare worker and I don't make enough money to support my family. I got a second job for this summer and I felt bad leaving Bridget alone with her brothers and sister. So I thought that Tempe could help me out. She could take the kids for the summer."

Booth fought the urge to laugh. Russ really didn't know his sister too well. Then again how could he? They had been separated for so long.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Russ. Your sister isn't what we would call maternal. I don't think she ever took care of kids before."

"I'm not worried because I know you'll be there. Besides, you're a father, you'll know what to do."

Booth chuckled. He still didn't think it was a very good idea but he decided to change the subject.

"Russ, tell me about the night your parents disappeared."

Russ sighed then nodded.

"It all happened almost sixteen years ago. I think it was December 21st. Tempe and I were in our rooms when we heard our parents calling us. We both went downstairs. They told us they were going out and that they'd be back for dinner. They said they would pick up something on the way back. We settled for pizza. Tempe left the house right after them and I told her to be back for 6:00 pm. I figured that my parents would be back by then. Tempe came back at seven and my parents were still not back. We waited an extra hour but when we noticed that they were still not home we decided to make dinner. We watched a bit of TV then went to bed."

"That's it? That's all you can remember?"

"Well it did happen sixteen years ago."

"There's something you're not telling me, Russ. I can see it in your eyes. I'll give you a second chance. I want you to tell me the whole story. Start from the day they disappeared and stop at the day your sister was put in foster care."

Russ took a deep breath. This would be a long story.

"As I said, it happened on December 21st. I had woken up late that day, around 11:00 am and I heard my parents fighting downstairs. I crept down quietly and sat on the last step. I listened. I couldn't hear much. I heard my dad say not to talk so loud, that he didn't want us to hear them. I heard my name and my sister's then I heard a name I hadn't heard in the longest time. They mentioned Brenda."

"Tell me more about Brenda."

Booth took out a notepad and jotted down something. Russ didn't notice.

"Brenda was our nanny. My parents hired her after I was born because my mother was suffering from post-delivery depression, or something like that, and she couldn't take care of me properly. At first, Brenda was only supposed to stay until my mom had gotten better but instead she simply moved in with us. She helped my mother raise me and then she helped when Tempe arrived. She stayed with us until I was 15 and Tempe was 11. My parents decided that I was old enough to take care of myself and my sister and that we wouldn't need her anymore. Brenda was mad, I could tell, but she left anyway. Never said anything. Tempe and I visited her often after she moved out. She was like a second mother to us.

After Brenda moved out, my parents never mentioned her again. It was like she had never existed. That's why we never told our parents when we went over to her house. We didn't want to upset them. This is also why I was surprised to hear my mother mention her name. My dad replied that they weren't going to need her this time, that she'd be able to do it herself and that anyway Russ and Tempe were old enough to help out."

"Your sister found the remains of a five-month old unborn baby among the remains of your parents. Did you know she was pregnant?"

"Yes, I did. But my sister didn't. She was too busy focusing on her schoolwork she barely even notice that there was a world outside of her studies. She had a couple of friends but her books were still her best friends."

Booth smiled. He could totally picture a younger Brennan, nose in her books, totally absorbed by what she was reading.

"I figured that my mom wanted Brenda to come back to help with the baby. I heard my parents moving around the kitchen and since I didn't want to get caught listening I ran back to my room.

Later that day, I heard the phone ring and my dad picked it up. I couldn't hear his conversation but by the tone he was using I was thinking he was talking to Brenda. I did manage to catch the words baby and fine. I figured he was talking about my mom being fine and able to raise her baby by herself.

Maybe an hour later, my parents called us down. Like I told you earlier, they said they were going out for a while but would be back for dinner. I didn't think anything of it. I figured my mom was going to a doctor's appointment or something. Right after they left, Tempe surprised me. She told me she was going over to her friend's house. I think her name was Felicity or something. Anyway. She said that they were going to go see a movie. I told her to be back by six. She closed the door behind her before she could answer.

I stayed alone for most of the afternoon. Tempe came back at seven, apologized for being late and asked me if our parents were back because she was starving. I told her they hadn't come home yet. We sat in the living room for a while, watched TV and when at eight they were still not there, we went to the kitchen and made ourselves dinner.

We ate in silence. I kept an ear out for the sound of tires on the gravel but I didn't hear anything. Tempe went to bed around 10 but I stayed up. I wanted to be there when my parents came home. At midnight though I gave up and went to bed."

"Did you think something was wrong?"

"Not really. I mean, I wasn't worried sick. My parents sometimes disappeared for a day but would eventually pop up the next day. They were kind of spontaneous. I figured they had wanted some time alone and had gone to a hotel or something. When I woke up the next morning, they were still not there. Tempe was gone too. Since I didn't feel like spending the day alone, I decided to leave too. I went to play hockey with some friends. I came back around five. Tempe was waiting for me in the living room but my parents were still not there.

For the next two days, we barely spent any time in the house. Tempe was out and so was I. But on Christmas eve, neither of us could bring ourselves to leave the house. We stayed inside and waited for our parents. We figured that they would at least come back for Christmas.

Tempe went to bed really late but I stayed up. I waited until she was asleep and I went into my parents' bedroom. I knew they kept the presents there. I wanted to make sure that Tempe had a normal Christmas. So I brought the Christmas presents down, put them under the tree and went to bed.

I woke up before her and crept downstairs. I turned on the Christmas lights and sat on the couch. I waited. She came down maybe twenty minutes later. She came running into the living room but stopped abruptly when she saw me. Next thing I knew, she was throwing a fit. It looked like she had gone psycho. She took the nearest lamp and chucked it at me. I ducked just in time and it hit the wall instead. Seconds later, I heard the door slam shut. I looked out the window and saw her running down the street.

After that I lost it. I was really angry with her and I decided to leave. I came back three days later. Police cars were lined up in front of my house. I walked in and a policeman led me to my living room. I looked down and saw Tempe already sitting on the couch. Her eyes were bloodshot and it was obvious that she had cried. The cop told me to sit down and he told me that they had found my parents' car but that my parents were nowhere to be found. They said that a couple of teams were searching the area but so far no clues had been found as to where they had gone. I looked at Tempe but she avoiding me. Then the police said that because Tempe was a minor that she'd have to be taken by the foster care. I answered the cops' questions and then I left.

I took the first plane to California and left Maryland."

"That's the whole story?"

"That's the whole story."

"Russ, this Brenda... what was her full name?"

"Brenda Prescott."