Chapter Two – New Kid In Town

Morning came far too soon. Booth was more then ready to know the results of the test but the again he was not quite prepared for the downfall such news would bring. Was happy to perhaps stay in the dark a little longer, taking comfort in the old familiar shadows there.

Temperance had fallen asleep somewhere near the 200th hand of poker; her chips piled high around her. If she had not fallen asleep, Booth would have been broke within a matter of two of three hands. That's what you get for playing poker with a smart, intelligent woman. They get you ever time. He had draped a rug over her, making sure she was warm before taking a seat near the window, waiting and watching the sunrise through the darkness, pulling with it a new day. What was he meant to tell Parker? What was he going to tell Rachel? And what about Hunter? Did her mother tell her what was going on or would she think that he had abandoned her on purpose, without a single thought to her? How the hell was he meant to suddenly become a father to a thirteen-year-old? He didn't even know how to talk to teenagers, let alone have one of his own. He was honestly scared about these results. Whatever they said would dictate the way his life was going to be from that moment on.

"Did you sleep at all?"

Temperance was awake now, rubbing her eyes with the balls of her hands, her hair in a mussed bunch on her head.

"The only one who slept was you. Need coffee?"

"Desperately."

Booth went into the kitchen and poured two larges mugs of coffee bringing them back into the living room to find Temperance staring at the empty chocolate packet, a frown on her face.

"Are you trying to make is reappear?"

"No, I'm trying to figure out why I do this to myself"

"Do what?"

"Go on my chocolate binges. Angela says it makes me human, I say it makes me fat."

Booth rolled his eyes at her as he set the coffee's down.

"The way you work, you have no fat left to burn. In fact you could slide behind a pole and I would never find you."

Temperance gave him a small smile before sipping her coffee, one hand struggling to fix her mussed hair.

"How are you feeling?"

Booth shifted on the couch.

"Honestly? Scared. All these questions with no answers is frustrating the hell out of me."

Temperance took a large gulp of coffee before standing up, hand on her hip.

"You'll find out soon enough. I'm going to go and make pancakes while you relax. Go have a shower or something. Do anything to take your mind off things ok?"

Booth nodded as he watched her move back to the kitchen, wondering if he even had the ingredients to make her well-intended pancakes.

Booth was trying to make his legs work but was failing miserably. He knew that Angela would have the results, knew that it was only a matter of time before he would have to confront his past head on. He had to keep reminding himself to breathe as he managed to take the steps towards Angela, had to remind himself to keep moving.

"Hey Ange."

He tried to keep his voice as casual as possible, tried to keep the fear and apprehension out of it. Angela smiled softly at him before handing over a single slip of paper. Booth's eyes ran down the words, his legs giving way beneath him so that he was sitting on the floor, his back pressed against the cold filing cabinet.

"Booth are you ok?"

He nodded and forced a smile onto his face, pushing himself back into a standing position.

"Fine. Thanks for this Ange."

Booth moved away before Angela could say anything else, almost moving on automatic towards Temperance's office, his legs unsteady beneath him. He didn't bother knocking, just walked in, dumping the results in front of her, watching as her sharp eyes moved back and forth across the page.

"Congratulations."

Booth said nothing, just sunk into the closest chair, his head falling between his hands.

"It's not how I thought it would be. Aren't I supposed to be happy? I have a daughter and all I can think about is how this affects me."

Temperance sighed as she closed the file in front of her, studying the results again.

"You're human, we're selfish by nature. At least now you get to decide what you're going to do."

"I have to call Victoria and tell her she was right."

Temperance smiled at him.

"I think she already knows that, she just wanted you to know that too. So what does this mean for you? Are you going to take Hunter in when her mom dies?"

Booth shrugged, not for the first time at a loss of what to think.

"I guess it's up to her, would she even want to? I mean, I have never met her before. What happens if she hates me?"

"Of course she will hate you, she's thirteen. When you're that age, the whole world seems like it's against you."

"Only in this case, maybe it is. How do you justify leaving a little girl an orphan?"

"She's not an orphan, she has you. And you have six months to from some sort of relationship with this girl. She's going to need you, whether she knows it or not. Losing your mother is the hardest thing in the world, no matter what age you are."

Booth had for a moment forgotten about Temperance's past. He didn't do it on purpose; he just sometimes failed to remember that beyond that tough, intelligent exterior was a vulnerable woman who had lost the same thing that Hunter was going to lose. At least Hunter had him, Temperance had no one after her brother had jumped ship.

"How in the world do I talk to a thirteen year old stranger?"

Temperance smiled slightly.

"Carefully."

As Booth sat inside his car, watching the people in the house, he remembered a time when he had felt the same kind of fear that was cursing in his veins. It wasn't the fear that came with picking up a gun, nor was it one that came with getting shot. It was a fear that came with becoming a parent. When Parker was born, he was so scared of what to make of this little person that he was now responsible for. He had made all the promises he was certain parents make to their children as well as to themselves, about how nothing was ever going to hurt him and if anyone so much as breathed on him, Booth would break them in two. Then Parker learnt to crawl, walk and then run, allowing all hell to break loose. He could remember clearly how his heart had stopped when Parker scraped his knee, tearing open the soft young skin, the big fat tears that had fallen from his eyes and his howls of pain. Then came falling off trees, bikes and the monkey bars at the playground. Each time Parker hurt himself, Booth would hold his breath, his heart racing in his chest. And each time Parker would dust himself off and move on to the next fun adventure. The fear for Parker never faded and Booth had a feeling that it never would. Being a parent was about having that fear for your child. But what disturbed Booth even more was his own fear of failure. He had made so many mistakes in his time and he didn't want one of them to be that he was a bad dad or that he had let Parker down in any way shape or form. That scared him more then facing any maniac with a gun.

Booth finally took a deep breath and moved out of the car and to the front steps of the house, knocking on the door firmly. It swung open and Booth was face with a pair of dark brown eyes that were identical to Parker's. Hunter was short for her age, with long dark hair and a wide mouth. She was wearing nothing but black and it made her look tired and pale. The girl just glared at him before opening the door wider and allowing him entry into the house. He didn't get a word out before a large German Shepard came rushing up to him, a low growl coming from it's throat.

"Bobby, sit."

The dog immediately sat, it's front paws coming to rest on Booth's shoes. He gave Victoria a tight smile.

"Good security system."

Victoria smiled back before ushering him into the living room. Booth took a seat facing the two women, feeling uncomfortable under Hunter's hard, teenage glare.

"Hunter knows."

Hunter glared at her mother.

"I'm in the room mother. I can speak for myself."

Victoria let out a sigh. Hunter turned back to Booth.

"So you never knew about me?"

Booth shook his head.

"No. Your mother never told me."

Hunter nodded before looking at her mother again.

"There, I met him and we had words. Happy? Can I go now?"

"Hunter, he's your father."

Hunter jumped up suddenly, her face a mask of fury.

"No, he's a sperm donor. My father is Paul Curran. You may remember him, he was your husband before you made him leave!"

Victoria jumped up to face her daughter, her breath coming in hard gasps.

"Your so called father left us, no one made him go!"

"Then why did he leave?"

Victoria shook her head, as she avoided her daughter's gaze.

"Why did he leave Mom?"

"I can't tell you Hunter. I won't let him hurt you too."

Hunter shook her head, her hair swaying angrily from side to side.

"Tell me. I have a right to know. Please tell me. You're always telling me I need to be mature and to stop acting like a child, so stop treating me like one! Why did he leave us?"

Victoria looked her daughter in the eyes, her words low and slow.

"He left when he discovered you were not biologically his."

The room fell into a stunned silence and Booth watched as the news sunk in, Hunter's face changing rapidly from anger to shock. Tears began to fall silently down her cheeks and Victoria made a move to hug her but Hunter moved away.

"I'm taking Bobby for a walk."

She marched silently out of the room and after a few moments Booth heard the front door close heavily behind her. Victoria sat heavily in her seat, her breathing tight. She reached to the side of the sofa and pulled out a small oxygen tank, switching it on as she slipped on the facemask. Booth watched her silently as her breathing eased and she switched off the tank, putting it back to its place next to the sofa. She fell into a fit of coughing before Booth could say anything, her hand clamped firmly over her mouth. He moved over to her side, offering her a glass of water. Her coughing finally subsided, her hand coming away from her mouth. Booth was surprised to see the blood that was pooled there, mixed in with green mucus and saliva. Victoria smiled at him slightly as she wiped her hand with a face cloth and took a deep swallow of water.

"Dying was never going to be pretty with lung cancer."

Booth shook his head at her.

"How can you joke?"

Victoria shrugged.

"It's better then crying and being bitter. All the tears in the world would not change the fact that I'm dying."

"Aren't you scared?"

"Not really. I've made my peace with it. Death is coming regardless of if it's now or in another twenty years. I just need to know that you'll be here for Hunter when she needs you."

Booth nodded as he watched his one time lover and friend wipe the blood off the corners of her mouth. It was really starting to hit home that he was going to lose is life as he knew it. And he didn't quite know if he was ready for it.