(The Steel in the Wheels)
A/N: Guest requested this story. I hope this is what you wanted.
Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.
I don't own Bones.
Oooooooooooooooooo
Cleaning out her father's desk in his apartment, Brennan came across a letter addressed to her. Curious, she opened it and found a letter from her father dated three months before he died.
Dear Temperance
I wanted to apologize to you one more time about leaving you behind when your mother and I ran away from Vince McVicker. We knew that if we led him back to you and your brother we'd all be killed. We drove as far and as fast as we could to put as much distance as we could between you and us. It seems cruel now, but we were trying to protect you and Russ.
I blame myself for not making sure that Russ was taking care of you. I assumed that he was old enough and mature enough to finish raising you, but I know now that was a big mistake. You were placed in foster care and I know you had a very bad time living in that system. I know they try to find good families to place the children in, but some of them are in it just for the money and they don't care about the children left in their care. I know since I was a foster child myself.
If I had known that you were being placed into the system I would have found a way to get you back. I'm sorry. I hope that someday you can really forgive me.
I love you, Temperance. I have always loved you. You made me so proud to be your father and because of you, I have two beautiful grandchildren. Booth is a good guy and he will always take care of you. Yes, I know you can take care of yourself, but you know you can count on Booth to be there for you no matter what life may throw at you. I hope you two have a long and happy life together.
Love Max, your father, always.
Holding the letter in her hand, she sat down on the chair next to the desk and thought about her life right after her parents had abandoned her. She had been in Foster Care for three weeks when her 'foster family' had locked her in a car trunk for breaking a dish. The only reason why she hadn't died was because her social worker had paid a surprise visit and found her. After that brush with death, she was placed in another home, but the family didn't like her and it was decided that she should would be placed in a group home. The other children in the home ignored her and her new classmates taunted her, but it was better than being abused by a family that was supposed to be taking care of her.
Three weeks after she had been moved into the group home, her social worker came by accompanied by an older gentleman. "Temperance, this is Clarence Morningstar. He's your mother's father and he's here to take you home with him."
Shocked, Temperance stared at the old man and studied his features. "You don't look like my mother. She had dark hair and eyes. You have blond hair and blue eyes. Also, your face is broader than hers is and your nose is a Roman nose."
Amused, Clarence laughed. "My daughter Christine took after her mother not me which is probably a good thing . . . I didn't know you were in foster care until a week ago. Your brother told me where you were. I couldn't leave you here, so I decided to see if you wanted to come home with me."
"My mother never mentioned you and neither did Russ. As far as I know I don't have any family besides my parents and my brother." Brennan was suspicious. Should she trust this man?
Shrugging his shoulders, Clarence sighed. "Your mother and I haven't got along very well ever since she married your father. I didn't approve of Max and she didn't like that. I thought she could do better. Maybe I was right after all."
Since she hated living in Foster Care, Brennan decided she couldn't do worse living with a grandfather she had never heard of. "I will go with you." She didn't have anything else to say.
Oooooooooooooooooo
Once in Clarence Morningstar's home, Brennan found he was living in a modest house in Champaign, Illinois. He was retired and had a few hobbies to keep him interested in life. Giving Brennan a tour of the house, Clarence opened the door to a fairly nice bedroom. "This room is yours. You can decorate it anyway you want. I know young people like to leave their mark. My bedroom is down the hallway. The room across from you is my library. You can use it anytime you want to. I need to enroll you into school as soon as possible, probably tomorrow. What grade are you in?"
"I'm a sophomore. I was tested last year and the school I was at said that I could move up to my senior year, but my father said no. He wanted me to have classes with my peers. He said I had plenty of time to grow up."
"I see." Clarence shook his head. "Would you like to jump a few grades?"
Brennan shook her head. "No, my father wanted me to go to school with my peers. I trust his judgement."
"Alright." Clarence moved back into the kitchen. "You can go outside and explore or you can use the library. Whatever you want to do. I plan to start cooking dinner in a couple of hours . . . I'm going to watch TV if you want to join me. It's up to you."
Feeling a little strange living in a house with someone she didn't know but claimed to be her grandfather made her leery. "I'll stay in my room."
He knew that she was nervous around him and he wasn't sure what to do about it. "Okay, like I said you can do what you like . . . If you want, you can help me cook later. I'm making spaghetti."
"Alright." Moving into the bedroom, she dropped her sack of possessions on the floor and closed the door. The window next to her bed was large and was covered with white muslin curtains. Moving the panels aside she stared out at the neighboring house and wondered where her parents were, like she did every day. Were they alive or were they dead? Would she ever know the answer to those questions?
Oooooooooooooooooooo
Her new school was the way it always was. Her classes were interesting, but her classmates seemed to think she was a nerd and avoided her or made fun of her. She didn't really care. She'd had few friends growing up and had grown used to it over the years.
Each afternoon, when she returned to her grandfather's house, she found a plate of cookies and a glass of milk waiting for her. Clarence gave her the kitchen to do her homework while he worked in the garage. He loved to make clocks and he had a little work shop set up in the corner of the garage.
After dinner, Clarence watched TV or sat in his library reading. Since Brennan found television boring, she usually joined him in the library. The room was filled with ceiling to floor bookcases, filled with books and magazines. The old man had a great collection of nature and archaeology books. He also had a collection of National Geographic magazines and 'Archaeology Now'.
Fascinated, Brennan started to read them and found them to be exciting. "Are you an archaeologist?"
Clarence smiled and shook his head. "No, I couldn't afford to go to college when I was a young man, so I had to settle on doing manual labor. I worked in construction and learned the plumbing trade. You can make a good living using your hands, but I would have loved to have been an archaeologist . . . going to foreign countries, discovering old places, old cultures. Learning how the world worked a thousand years ago two thousand years ago . . . I think I would have been really happy doing that kind of work, but you have to have money to go to school or brains . . . You're smart, really smart. If you work hard, study hard, you can probably go to college for free. Some universities give full scholarships if your grades are good enough . . . What do you think you'd like to do when you finish growing up?"
"My father was a high school science teacher." Brennan stared at the book in her hand. "He was popular . . . maybe I could be a teacher."
"Do you really want to be a teacher?" He sensed she was holding something back. Curious he tried to get her to talk to him. "Don't get me wrong, teaching is a great profession, someone has to teach our kids, but if you think you want to do something else go for that. You don't have to follow in your father's footsteps."
Brennan looked at the books on Clarence's bookshelves and sighed. "I like anthropology. If I could do that for a living I think that would make me happy."
"Well then, you go for that." Pulling a few magazines from his shelves, he held them up. "These magazines are great. I've been subscribing to 'Archaeology Now' since I knew it existed. If you want I can subscribe to anthropology magazines."
She thought about it for a moment. "Thank you. I would like to read them."
"Good. I'll call the library down the street and find out what would be the best magazine to subscribe to." Clarence handed her the magazines in his hands. "You've got the brains Temperance. You could probably learn anything you wanted to . . . I like to learn things just to learn them. Never zero in on just one thing. Learn new things, different things, things that will expand your world. Be bold ask questions and never take no for an answer."
She found his words to be inspiring. "I will. Thank you for the advice."
"You're welcome."
Ooooooooooooooooooooooo
The next four months were filled with trips to museums, art galleries, workshops, lectures and visits to the botanical garden. Clarence wanted to expose Temperance to as much knowledge, art and science that he could. He wanted to inspire her to work hard in school and she did.
Brennan appreciated all of the things that Clarence did for her and she grew to love him. Since living with the old man, she had come to value his wisdom. Her father had always encouraged her to love science and math, but Clarence wanted her to see the value of knowledge. He wanted her to see the beauty in art and architecture the beauty of nature and the fact that learning about how to change a tire on a car could be just as important as learning how to do calculus. They all helped to expand her world and gave her confidence that she could do anything she wanted to.
Clarence was happy to have a young person in the house, but he sometimes found it exhausting to keep up with her. He was in ill health and he hid that from his young ward. His heart had been damaged the year before when he'd had a heart attack and he visited a lawyer to put all of his affairs right. He hoped that he would live long enough for his ward to reach her eighteenth year, but his doctor told him not to count on it. He had no one that he cared about except for Temperance and he needed to try to help her. She had felt the loss of her parents deeply and when Russ had abandoned her to the State she had given up on love. He hoped that he had shown her that love was real and that she deserved to be loved. He wanted her to go far in the world, but he knew she would have to do that herself. He wouldn't be around long enough to help her. He just hoped that what he had done for her was enough to set her on the right path.
Ooooooooooooooooo
She came home one afternoon to find Clarence in his room sleeping. After doing her homework, she entered his room to ask him when he planned to cook dinner and found that he had died. His skin was cold, so she thought it was possible that he had died while she was at school. Weeping, she called 911 and waited for someone to come and see about Clarence.
The next few days were a blur, but she soon found herself back at the group home she had been living in when Clarence had rescued her. She was alone again and she knew there would be no one else to rescue her. She had to take care of herself and that was fine with her.
Four weeks after Clarence died, a lawyer came to the group home to talk to Brennan. "Temperance, my name is Nash Adams. I was Clarence Morningstar's lawyer. I would have got back to you sooner, but I had a few things I had to take care of before I saw you . . . You were Clarence's only heir. He had no one else in his life. He left instructions to sell his house and its contents. After taxes and medical bills that money was placed in a college trust fund for you. He wasn't a rich man and he lived a modest life. The house was old and in an old neighborhood, so the selling price wasn't what I had hoped for . . . Now, as soon as you graduate from high school I need you to contact me and I will give you access to the money. I need to emphasize that the money is a modest sum and if you can get scholarships to a University that will help you in the long run. The money Clarence left you will help you, but a University degree is expensive as you probably know and depending upon what degree you are going after . . . well, it won't be enough to get you a doctorate if that is what you want. Clarence had hoped he would live long enough for you to graduate from high school, but unfortunately that didn't happen." Slipping a letter out of a folder he handed it to Brennan. "He left you this letter to be read when he died . . . I'm sorry for your loss Temperance. Here is my business card. Call me when you like. It doesn't have to be about business. Clarence used to call me just to chat. I have time since I'm semi-retired, so call me anytime." He smiled at her. "Clarence loved you." Standing, Nash sighed. "Clarence was an interesting character. Call me sometimes and we'll talk about him."
Once he was gone, Brennan had read the letter.
Temperance, I'm sorry that you're alone again. I tried to stay as long as I could, but if you're reading this then I guess I failed. I'm sorry.
Now, I have a few things I need to tell you. First, I'm not really your grandfather. I've known your father and mother for a long time. I lost contact with them in 1978, but they contacted me again in 1982 and we kept in touch via letters and a few phone calls.
Around Christmas time last year, I lost contact with them again. After a few weeks, I managed to find Russ. The State of Illinois was in contact with him because of you. Even though he had given you up to Foster Care, the state wanted to know where he was. Russ told me that Max and Christine had disappeared and their car had been found in New Jersey with blood in it. I guess it's assumed that they're dead. I'm sorry.
She had stopped reading and started to cry. She had assumed her parents were dead and now she knew. After a while, when she was calmer, she finished reading the letter.
I didn't want you to be in Foster Care, so I pretended to be your grandfather and thankfully they bought my story. I knew all about your family and I gave them all the right answers. Anyway, they let me take you out of Foster Care. I hope I did right by you. I hope you were happy while you lived with me. I lost my wife in childbirth when I was 32 years old. She was the only family I had left, so you being in my life this late in my life was a surprise. You're a very intelligent young lady Temperance. Your grades are top notch and I think you should try to get into a University. Get a degree in something you love. Hell, get two degrees or three. Do what makes you happy. I'm leaving you some money. I know it won't be enough to get a doctorate, but it will help with expenses and maybe pay for a decent apartment while you get your degree or degrees.
I love you Temperance Brennan. You're the granddaughter I could have had if my wife and child had lived. You take care of yourself. Remember, you have everything you need inside of you. You're strong and your independent and I know that you will go far in this world. Bye for now.
Clarence Morningstar, your grandfather in spirit.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
She hadn't thought about Clarence in a long time. She had remained in Foster Care until she graduated from high school. From there she went on to get two degrees, one in anthropology and one in forensic anthropology. The old man's money had helped her with expenses that her scholarships hadn't covered. Nash Adams had proved to be a good friend and she had remained in contact with him until he died just before she started working at the Jeffersonian.
Her parents and her brother had abandoned her, but Clarence and Nash had done their best to be the family she needed when she needed it. Max and Russ had reentered her life after her 30th birthday and she had tried to trust them and love them, but she never felt as close to them as she did to Clarence and Nash. They weren't related to her, but they had made her a part of their family because they had wanted to not because of an accident of birth.
Booth had told her more than once that there was more than one kind of family and he had been right. She had found people that she could trust to make part of her family and they had supported her through rough times and good times. Booth was her husband and her best friend, even if she wouldn't admit that second part. He had given her a family and she loved him and her children so much.
She had loved Max, but her father had betrayed her and she never could totally trust him. She knew she was going to miss him and she wished that they'd had a closer relationship, but she was fine with what they'd had. Max and her mother had abandoned her to protect her and she had grown to accept that. When Max had returned in her life, he'd tried so hard to be her father again and she had finally accepted his kinship. He had loved his grandchildren and he had placed himself in jeopardy to save their lives from Mark Kovac. Ultimately it had cost him his life and she would always be grateful that he had been there to protect her children. Max wasn't perfect, but who was?
Ooooooooooooooooooooooo
Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.
A/N: In the episode 'A Boy in a Bush', Brennan claimed that her grandfather had rescued her from Foster Care, but we never heard anything about that later. It's not certain if she was telling the truth or not. This is my explanation about what had happened.