A/N: this is a sequel to chapter 32. Anne1585 and bookwarmlady wanted more of this arc. I hope this is what you wanted.

I really don't own Bones.

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Curiosity drawing her back to the box, Christine waited until her parents left the house to go see a movie. It was date night for them and that meant that Hank was in the living room playing video games and she was free to look in her father's keepsake box.

As quiet as possible, she drew the drapes across the glass wall, so that Hank wouldn't see her in the room. She wanted to enjoy reading the letters in the box without her little brother interrupting her. Once the drapes were drawn, she opened the closet and removed the keepsake box from the top shelf. Placing it on her parent's bed, she sat down and rummaged through the box until she found the pile of envelopes with the faded blue ribbon around them. Flipping through the letters she had already read, she was left with two. Removing the second to last one, she removed the letter from the envelope and read it.

Dear Pops

I am so sorry. I never dreamed this would go this far, but it has and now I'm sitting in prison waiting to go on trial for murder. I can honestly tell you that I didn't murder anyone. I was attacked in my own home and I defended it and myself. If you hear anything different just remember who I am. I haven't changed Pops. I still love my country and the rule of law. You can count on that.

I know you want to know what is going on, but all I can tell you is that this is a mess and it's going to take a lot of work to fix it. Bones can probably tell you more about it than I can.

My lawyer tells me that I'm not being allowed visitors right now. They told him that I'm being uncooperative and I'm in isolation most of the time which is a lie. I think they just want to keep me isolated from my family and friends. At first, my lawyer couldn't see me either, but Judge Watkins put a stop to that. Don't worry about this. I don't need visitors. I know that you guys are out there and as long as you're okay then I'm fine being by myself.

I want you to take care of yourself, Pops. Don't worry about me or Bones. I can take care of myself and Bones can take care of herself and Christine. You just make sure you're okay and pray for me when you get the chance. This is going to work out Pops. I promise and when it does I'll come by to see you first thing. We'll drink a Coke and have some peanut butter sandwiches and talk about your friend James Rawlings. He was a great guy and I wish I had got to meet him. Maybe we can go out to Arlington and visit him on his birthday. I'm counting on you taking care of yourself. Don't worry.

I'm going to give this letter to my lawyer to make sure you get it. If you can write back that would be great, but give it to Bones and let my lawyer bring it to me. Thanks.

I love you

Seeley

This letter took her back to when she was five years old and her father had disappeared from her life for several months. No one would explain to her what was happening. Her mother and her Uncle Sweets had said that her father had gone on a trip and he was going to be gone for a while. They had moved to the new house with the help of her Uncle Sweets and to her surprise her Uncle Jared had put in some hours moving furniture around the house. It had been a confusing time for her which just had added to her fears. She had been afraid that her father wouldn't know where their new house was when he came back from his trip. Her mother had cried many nights when she thought her daughter was asleep. The crying, her father's absence, the new house had all added up to a miserable, fear filled summer.

It was several years later before she found out what had really happened and she appreciated how her mother had tried to protect her. The truth would have been worse than the reality she had been living at the time. The happiest day of her life was when her father came back home. She had been so afraid she'd never see him again.

Careful to place the letter back into the envelope, she turned to the last letter and noticed it was from her great-grandfather to her father. It was dated a week after her father had sent his letter and two weeks before Pops had died.

Dear Seeley,

Thank you for writing to me. First things first. Don't apologize to me for what's going on. I know who you are and I know that something is wrong. You're no murderer and I'm sure this will be straightened out soon. I saw Temperance the other day and she's looking good. A little tired, but we have to expect that. She gave me as much information as she could. The whole thing is weird, but I think with her on your side this will be taken care of soon.

Don't give up, Shrimp. Be strong. We love you and we're waiting for you to come home soon. Don't worry about me. I'm fine. My reflux is bothering me, but that's nothing new. I just need to cut down on spicy food again. I don't want you to worry about anyone except yourself. You do everything you can to survive in there and we'll do what we can out here to get you home.

You have always been a joy to me, Seeley. I've loved you like a son and I have always been proud of you. I'm so proud of you now and I hope to see you soon.

Love, Pops.

Christine realized that she was crying and placed the letter back into the envelope before she got it wet. Brushing the tears from her cheeks, she placed the box back onto the top shelf in the closet, turned and found her father leaning against the doorframe.

"You do know that this is my room and that everything in here belongs to either me or your mother?" He had noticed she had been reading the letters with the blue ribbon around them, so he knew why she was crying. "You don't see me looking through your keepsake box, do you?" His voice was low and emotionless.

Embarrassed, Christine felt her cheeks burning. "I'm sorry, it's just that I found the box a few weeks ago and you have so many secrets in your past, things you won't talk about to me and I just wanted to know what they are."

Slowly shaking his head, Booth entered the room, moved over to the closet, took the box down and shoved it into his daughter's arms. "Then by all means. God forbid I have secrets from you." His expressionless face seemed almost menacing and yet Christine knew that she shouldn't fear him. He loved her.

He left the room and Christine knew that he was angry. So angry that he couldn't stay in the same room with her.

The slamming of the front door told her that her father had left the house. Before she could leave the room, Brennan walked into the room. "Why are you in here and why are you holding your father's keepsake box? Is that why he left the house?"

"Why aren't you at the movies?" Christine felt overwhelmed with her mother's questions and tried to deflect.

"Booth forgot his wallet and we came back for it . . . answer my questions." Brennan knew that her daughter didn't always honor boundaries, but Booth had assured her that most teenagers did that. Now she wasn't so sure. This seemed to be beyond the pale.

"I found the box a few weeks ago and I've been reading the letters inside when I can." Christine placed the box on the bed. "He never wants to talk to me about the past. He's always saying that the past is the past and we have to live in the present, but Mom, I have so many questions and no one will talk to me. I tried to talk to you about when Dad was gone for the summer when I was five, but you just brushed me off. I told you before that I know about Dad being in prison. I found out when I did a search on the internet. My goodness, all you have to do is put Dad's name in a search engine and there are tons of news articles about him and you. I just want to know what happened while he was in prison. Why is that a secret?"

Brennan was angry. "Do you really need to hear him talk about the beatings he suffered from almost every day? The isolation, the loneliness, the feeling of betrayal? Why do you need to know about that? Why do you have to know everything about us? Your lack of respect for our privacy is quite disturbing." Brennan picked up the box and held against her chest. "Yes, I'm sure there are a lot of things printed on social media about your father and me and some of it may actually be true . . . I have told you all that I think you need to know. You don't need to know everything Christine. We aren't toys for you to play with."

That was a cutting thing to say. Her mother had never talked to her this harshly before. "I'm not treating anyone like a toy. When Dad was in prison I was scared the whole time he was gone. You said he was on a trip, but at night, when you thought I was asleep, I could hear you crying. I was afraid, Mom, but I tried to be brave. Now that I'm older and I know what happened no one will talk about it. Dad, you, Uncle Hodgins and Angela, Uncle Aubrey, you all change the subject. Well I was part of it all. I was the one scared out of her mind hoping that I'd see my father again . . . I cried so much that summer, just like you . . . I want someone talk to me about it. I want to know if what happened to my father was his fault or not. Some of the newspaper articles call him a hero, but only after Glen Durant was arrested. Before that they called him a murderer and a traitor . . . I want someone to talk to me."

Brennan shook her head. "Your father is a hero, Christine and someone you can be proud of. Your father was betrayed by the government he loved and trusted. Glen Durant was attempting a coup of our government and he felt that Booth was too dangerous to live, so he ordered men to attack your father. They meant to kill him, but your father is a brave resourceful man and he was too much for them to handle. They were forced to accuse him of murder because their attempt to kill him had been thwarted. Your father was held in prison and he was abused almost every day. Eventually, I was able to rescue him from prison and we brought Durant down. These are the facts and they are all you need to know . . . Your father is right. The past is the past and it is too painful to dwell upon . . . Never touch anything in this room again without permission. This keepsake box belongs to Booth. Not to me, not to you, not to anyone else. Never touch it again." She placed the box on the top shelf and turned to face her daughter. "I know you are inquisitive and that can be a good thing, but invading someone else's privacy is not. We are allowed to have our secrets just like you are allowed to have yours."

Christine knew that her mother had closed the subject and that it was final. What she had read in the letters would be all she would ever know about that dark time and she would have to accept it. "I didn't mean to make Dad mad. I was counting on reading the letters while you were gone. I'm sorry."

"I hope that you are." Brennan knew she would have to talk to Booth. His storming out of the house meant he was furious. She knew she would be able to calm him down. It was one of her super powers. Booth had once told her that everyone has at least one super power. You just have to find it and use that power wisely. She would probably find him at the bus stop. That was where he usually walked to when he was angry with someone in the family. Sweets would have probably had something to say about that, but Brennan knew that he walked down to the bus stop because his feet usually hurt if he walked too far. As he got older his feet seemed to hurt him more. Sometimes there were no ulterior meanings about the actions we take. Sometimes it just means that your feet hurt. Sweets never really did understand that.

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