A/N: So here's the official beginning of the story. Just a couple of things before you start reading. The official genre for this story is Drama/Mystery/Romance even though it is under Drama/Mystery on the main page. I'm just trying to get a bigger variety of readers, not everyone enjoys fluff (even though a lot of people do!). But don't worry, there will definetely be some BB fluff in further chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Booth and the whole Squint squad but I sure own the new characters. Go me!

Everything was quiet in the Medico-Legal Lab and Temperance felt like she was in paradise. There no children running around and shrieking, no Booth stomping above her head as he ran after one of the twins and certainly no music (if she could even call that music) coming from Parker's bedroom. The only sound in the room came from her typing fingers, the best sound in the world in her ears, after her children's laughter of course, as she worked on her novel.

She had started working on her fourth book just before she had gone on vacation and the ideas just kept on coming. She had had good critics from her previous one which made her even more eager to keep on writing. In this book, that she was planning on calling, Trip to Paradise or at least something along those lines, she was having her main characters married and going off on their honeymoond. She smiled at the thought of her own wedding. It had been such a wonderful day.

They had agreed, surprisingly, on a private wedding with only Booth's family and their best friends. Angela had been there, of course, as a maid of honor, and Hodgins had been there too. Zach, Dr. Goodman and his family had come too and of course, her partner at the time, Special Agent Elena Harring who had become sort of like a sister to Temperance had been present as well.

She missed Elena. A few months ago, she had been transferred to Colorado and Temperance couldn't see her anymore. They had tried to keep in touch but their schedules never really matched up and over the weeks they had lost contact altogether. Then again, maybe it had been a good thing. The conversations, when they did actually spoke, seemed to have gotten shorter and shorter.

She was completely lost in her thoughts and she didn't hear the person walking in her office before he spoke.

"Back from your vacation, I see." She heard a voice say behind her.

She turned around to see a cute blonde head and blue eyes staring at her. She smiled at her new partner before turning back to her computer screen.

"Hey Ryan. What's up?" she asked, as she resumed typing.

"We have a new case."

Temperance stopped typing altogether and turned to her partner, a large smile spreading over her face.

"The body was found in the wooded area of a local park near a school not too far from here." Ryan explained as they walked to Temperance's car. "We already have a team on site, looking for evidence even though we're pretty such we won't find anything. All we need you to do is pull a quick ID since we have a gut feeling we already know who it is."

"Who is it?" Temperance asked as she climbed in the driver's seat of her car.

Ryan opened the door to the passenger's side and sat down. He shut the door before answering her question.

"Two children disappeared from their home about six months ago. The remains were found near the school of these two children." He said as he buckled his seatbelt.

"What were their names?" Temperance asked as she started her car.

"Melina and Carl Bradford."

"Never heard of them." She replied as she drove out of the Jeffersonian parking

"Really? It was all over the news. The children disappeared during a housefire and nobody know what happened to them."

Temperance searched her mind for some memory of this particular case. She shook her head after a few seconds.

"Nope. Doesn't ring a bell." She replied, casting him one brief look.

"Well it's not a big deal." Ryan replied.

"Wait. If they disappeared during a house fire, isn't it possibly that they simply burned alive?"

"Now that's the whole mystery behind it all." Ryan said, his voice dropping low like they do in horror movies. "Not a single body was found dead in the house."

Temperance turned to her partner and laughed. He could be so funny at times.

She turned in the parking lot of the elementary school twenty minutes later and put her car into park. Several police cars were already lined up on both sides of the street where seveal bystanders had gathered and now simply stood still at they watched what was happenning over in the park. She also noticed a few reporters as Ryan and her made their way through the thick crowd.

"I thought I had made myself clear." He told a policeman who stood behind the yellow tape. "I didn't want the press to be here."

"Sorry, Agent Longström." The policeman said as he lifted the tape for Temperance and Ryan to duck under.

Ryan led her to the remains where three officers were gathered around, one of them taking pictures of the body. Temperance grabbed her latex gloves out of her bag and snapped them on. She crouched down beside the remains.

"You just want a quick ID?" she asked Ryan, looking up at him.

Her partner nodded. Dropping her gaze back to the skeleton, she began to analyze it.

The skull was in pretty good shape which made Temperance think that it would easy to identify the victim later on. She remained silent for a few minutes, fully aware of the four pairs of eyes looking down at her. It didn't bother her as much now as it did before with Booth but at the moment she wished it was in fact her husband staring down at her and not her new partner.

She had to admit though, she liked Ryan. He was nice, sweet, funny and, as much as she hated to admit, pretty cute. Their relationship had started out the same way her relationship with Booth had, cold and frustrating, but it didn't take much time for Ryan and Temperance to become really good friends. They had been working together for only two or three months but Temperance felt like it had been more like twenty years, even though, she realized at the moment, she didn't know much about him. Something between them just seemed to click and Temperance couldn't point a finger on it. Maybe this was just something she couldn't analyze.

"So?" Ryan asked after a few minutes, finding her a bit too quiet.

"Well, by the looks of it, I'd have to say our victim is a caucasian male. The broken ribs suggest that he was killed by a trauma to the chest and the fractures of his fingers and toes suggest that he was tortured before being killed."

"Time of death?"

"Approximately four to five months ago."

"Age of the victim?" Ryan asked as he scribbled everything she had said in a little notebook.

"I'd have to say 4 to 6 years old."

Temperance heard him swear under his breath as he wrote down what she had just said. She scanned the body once again before standing up. Turning to her partner, she tried to look unmoved by what she had just seen even as images of her son ran through her mind.

This could be him. A familiar voice told her.

She mentally told it to shut up.

"I could bring the skeleton in and have Angela do a sketch of him."

"No need. We'll identify him with dentures. Our work here is finished." Ryan said as he gently grabbed Temperance by the arm.

He knew his partner and he knew that she wanted to work more on the body. Unfortunately for her, their work here was finished.

"Come on you. Let's go grab some lunch." He told her, dragging her away from the skeleton.

And it was halfway through lunch that Ryan's cellphone rang, confirming the identity of the victim.

"Carl Bradford, age 6." Ryan said to his partner.

"That was quick." Temperance replied as she took her a bite out of her chicken.

"You see, the victim was related to one of our agents at the FBI and he sort of took it personally when the children disappeared. That's why we're doing this as quickly as we can. We need to bring him closure" Ryan answered before taking a sip from his water. "I think it's time to pay a visit to the Bradford family."

The Bradfords, Temperance noted, seemed pretty well off. Living in the nicest neighborhood of the city, they also had the biggest and prettiest house on their street. Temperance wondered if they had moved there after the fire or had been living there before and simply rebuilt their house. She asked the question to Ryan who didn't know the answer himself.

As they waited for someone to open the door, Temperance took in her surroundings. The other houses all looked nice and well-kept and their lawn was greener than Temperance had ever seen. The trees stood tall and proud on the front lawns and seemed to be bragging about living in such a nice neighborhood. Temperance chuckled at her observation. When had she gotten so poetic?

She didn't have much time to look around. The door opened on a small woman, no taller than 5 feet, with brown hair and brown eyes. She looked really tired, Temperance noticed, and she immediately felt guitly. Maybe they should have called instead of just dropping by like this. Then again, when had they ever called?

"Hi, I'm Special Agent Ryan Longström, FBI." Ryan said as he flashed his badge. "And this is Dr. Temperance Booth. Are you Mrs. Bradford?"

The woman nodded.

"Yes, I am." She replied.

"There are a few things we would like discuss about the disappearance of your children. May we come in?"

Mrs. Bradford nodded once again before stepping aside to let them in. The two partners stepped inside.

If Temperance had been mesmerized by the outside, no words could describe how she felt the second she saw the inside of the house. Everything was so neat, so rich, so... sophisticated that Temperance felt like she had walked in a castle instead of a suburban house.

"Mrs Bradford, is your husband home?" Ryan asked as he looked around the entrance.

"Yes he is. Would you like me to get him?"

"That would be nice." Ryan replied, totally captivated by his surroundings.

"Please, make yourself comfortable." Mrs Bradford added, pointing to the living room. "I'll be right back."

Temperance nodded and turned to her partner. She couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

"This place is amazing." Ryan said, taking his eyes off the scenery and back to Temperance.

"I agree."

They both sat down on the couch at the far end of the living room and waited patiently for their host to come back.

Temperance wondered how the Bradfords had been able to afford such a nice place. There was no doubt she would be able to afford it but it would most likely take her salary and Booth's to be able to. What did they do for a living?

They didn't wait very long for Mrs Bradford to come back with her husband whom, Temperance noted, wasn't much taller than his wife.

Not an inch over 5'5", Temperance thought.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Ryan get up and stretch out his right hand.

"Hello Mr. Bradford. I'm Special Agent Ryan Longström."

But Mr. Bradford didn't move.

"I know, from the FBI. My wife told me."

His voice was cool and arrogant.

Surprised, Ryan withdrew his hand and sat back down on the couch.

"Please sit, Mr and Mrs Bradford. I promise this won't take too long."

"It better not." Mr. Bradford replied.

Temperance heard her partner take a deep breath. He was trying to keep his anger under control.

"A body was found in the local park near your children's school and it was identified as your son Carl."

The sound that immediately came from Mrs Bradford sounded more like a bird's cry than a sob to Temperance. She watched as the woman buried her face into her hands. Her eyes then went from the woman to her husband who's expression hadn't changed at all. In fact, he seemed more frustrated and impatient than hurt.

"I'm very sorry for your lose but if you don't mind, I would like to ask you a few questions."

"You will do no such thing." Mr. Bradford replied.

His voice had sounded loud in the nearly quiet living room and Temperance shivered. There was just something unpleasant about this man that made her want to run away from him.

"Pardon me?" Ryan asked, an edge of anger in his voice.

"You will do no such thing."

Mrs Bradford's high-pitched sob made her husband turn his attention to her.

"Oh for God's sake Laura, get a grip!" He barked at her.

"Mr. Bradford, this is not a way to speak to your wife." Temperance said, now angry herself.

"I didn't ask for your opinion Miss..." Mr. Bradford stopped, realizing he didn't know her name.

"Mrs Booth." Temperance filled in for him.

"Really? Someone married you? I'm quite surprised."

"Sir, I will ask you to stay polite." Ryan immediately cut in.

"You're in my house and I will talk to you the way I want."

"Very mature." Temperance muttered under her breath.

"Geez Temperance, will you just shut up?" Ryan whispered.

But Mr. Bradford had heard them.

"That's actually pretty good advice. Maybe you should take it."

"Sir, if you don't change your tone, I will have to put you under arrest." Ryan warned him as he stood up.

Bradford did the same and took a few steps towards the agent.

"Oh really? Is that so? Then I won't go without a fight." He said as he rested his hands on Ryan's chest, applying a bit of pressure.

"Sir, take your hands off me." Ryan demanded.

Bradford smiled.

"Not a chance." He replied.

Ryan took a deep breath and grabbed his handcuffs.

"In that case, Mr. Bradford, you're under arrest for assault on a federal agent."

Handcuffing him, he casted a glance at Temperance who was now watching the wife. She hadn't stopped sobbing and hadn't looked up from her hands as her husband was taken into custody and led out of the house.

"Do not answer any questions, Laura!" Bradford yelled as he was brought out of the house.

Temperance followed her partner but not without casting one last glance at Mrs. Bradford was crying uncontrollably in the living room before closing the door behind her.

It was a little past eleven when Temperance unlocked the door to her house. It had been a very long day. Ryan and her had tried to interrogate Bradford after he was brought to the FBI without any luck. They had then searched the missing person's files to find the Bradford children's files and had gone over all of the few evidence. But without the parents' side of the story, it would be impossible to really find out what had happened.

They had gone out to dinner in a small restaurant not too far from Ryan's house around 6:00 pm and Temperance just hadn't seen the time fly by. The next thing she knew it was quarter to eight and she still had some urgent stuff to do at the lab. She had asked Ryan to drive her back to the Jeffersonian where she had spent the following two hours crouched over the remains of some unknown soldier from some unknown era (this was what she was actually trying to identify).

At 10:45, her eyes were starting to burn and she took that as a sign that it was time to go home. She had shut everything down and had left the museum.

She stepped inside her house. Everything was quiet, not that she would have expected otherwise. As she took off her shoes, she wondered how her children's first day of school had gone. She'd just ask them tomorrow.

She went to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water and drank it slowly. She had missed her children today, more than she had missed anyone in her life. She was even surprised at herself. What had happened to the cold and insensitive Brennan that she had been before her one-night stand with Booth? She was long gone now.

She put her glass into the sink and walked back out of the kitchen, turning off the light as she passed the switch. She had been about to go up the stairs when her eyes fell on something laying on the first step. She looked down to see her daughter fast asleep, curled up against the wall.

Frowning, she crouched down in front of her and stuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Riley..." she said softly.

Riley opened her eyes and sleepily stared at her mother.

"Mommy, you're home." She whispered groggily.

"Yes baby, I'm home. Come on, let's get you in your bed."

Riley nodded and Temperance picked her up.

As she set her daughter into her bed, she couldn't help but wonder what she had been doing at the bottom of the stairs in the first place. She noticed that Riley had fallen back asleep. Oh well, she'd ask her tomorrow.

She left the room and walked to hers. Booth was asleep but she thought she sensed stiffen when she climbed into bed beside him. He was lying on his back and Temperance snuggled up against him. As she closed her eyes, she didn't notice Booth open his. He stared down at her angrily before closing his eyes to go back to sleep.

So, what do you guys think of Ryan? ;-)