Booth

He stood outside the door wondering if he was doing the right thing. Brennan's case notes indicated she wanted nothing to do with her father and certainly didn't want him around the kids. On the other hand, her father had been a notorious criminal, so perhaps that's why she had disappeared. He finally knocked. The door was pulled open to reveal a middle aged man looking back at him.

"Yea?" Max asked.

"Are you Max?"

"Yea?"

"I'm special agent Seeley Booth with the FBI. Can I come in?"

"No."

"It's about your daughter," Booth said, catching the door before it slammed. Max paused.

"What about her?"

"She's missing."

Max didn't make a sound right away, but Booth could tell he was surprised and worried.

"Fine," he agreed eventually. He turned to let Booth inside. He led him to the living room. The apartment was small and a little bit dingy, but Booth tried not to look around. There was a smell of burnt pasta, which was making his stomach recoil.

"When was the last time you saw your daughter?" he asked. He knew full well as it was in the case notes, but he was testing Max.

"Three years ago when I went to court for murder charges."

"She was angry that you got off?"

"I suppose."

"You didn't remain in contact?"

"I tried. She wouldn't have it. I still haven't met my grandchildren," Max sighed. "She won't let me see them. She thinks I'll rub off on them."

"But that life is behind you now, right?" Booth prodded.

"Of course! I'm clean now," Max said.

"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt your daughter?"

"They're dead," Max replied matter of factly.

"Dead?"

"Yea. That was the murder charges I was talking about."

"But you didn't do it?"

"According to the court, no," Max answered smugly. Booth knew damn well the man had committed the murder now. No wonder Brennan was upset with him.

"Okay, well, thank you for your time," Booth said, turning to go.

"Wait, wait, wait," Max said, following him. "She's missing?"

"Thank you for your time," Booth said again.

"Aw that ain't right," Max told him as they reached the door. "You can't just tell me my daughter is missing and then run off. Who's looking after the kids?!"

"I am," Booth said.

"You are?!" Max spluttered.

"I am a foster parent," Booth explained. "So yes, I am."

"I can look after them!"

"Not in your life," Booth snorted. He opened the door.

"I can help!" Max shouted after him. Booth raised a hand to wave back at him. He hurried to his car. He wasn't exactly sure what he had accomplished by coming here other than to learn none of Max's enemies were after Brennan. He was back at square one. He would have to go to her place of work and find out more about her recent and past cases. Maybe someone was angry with her from that. He looked at his watch. Cam would be finished her after school snack with Nora. It was time for him to return home.

Dominic

Parker had asked Rebecca if Dominic could join them to the library after school that day, and Dominic couldn't have been more thrilled when she had said yes. She had given him a look he couldn't discern, though, but if it was like anyone else, she didn't know how to take him the way he was. He assumed Parker had told her about him, so she obviously knew he had cerebral palsy. She was kind enough to help him into the car, though, but she limited her conversation with him. It was like she was afraid she'd catch it from him or something. When they got to the library, Rebecca let them wander the kids' section while she sat at a computer. Parker and Dominic were giggling over book titles and their favorite stories that the other hadn't read yet. That's when a group of boys came in, and Dominic knew they were headed for trouble.

"It's Curly and the Freak," one snickered. Adam. He was the meanest. Dominic flinched.

"How original," Parker said sarcastically. "Yes, Adam, I have curly hair. Big deal."

"Shut up," Adam snarled. Another boy, Glen, swiped one of Dominic's canes. Dominic was trying to balance himself without it. It was very difficult. He knew he was going to fall any second.

"Hey!" a man said, coming into view suddenly. Glen dropped the cane, and all five boys backed up. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Adam said sweetly.

"Oh sure," the man sneered sarcastically. "I saw what you were doing. I thought I'd give you a chance to own up. Looks like I was wrong to think you'd be honest."

"And who are you?" Adam demanded, acting cocky.

"I work here, that's who I am. I will see to it that you get banned if I ever see this kind of behavior again," the man went on. Adam paled a little. His four friends scattered then, leaving him alone.

"Apologize," the man ordered.

"Sorry," Adam muttered. He took off then. The man bent down and picked up Dominic's cane and handed it to him.

"Thanks," Dominic said gratefully.

"Yea, thanks," Parker nodded.

"If these boys bother you ever again, you tell me okay?" the man directed.

"Okay," the both said.

"I'm Cole," the man told them. "Just ask for me."

"I'm Dominic."

"Parker."

"Nice to meet you," Cole said, shaking their hands. He smiled then. "I'll let the librarian know what happened and have the staff keep an eye out for them from now on."

"Thanks, Cole," Dominic grinned. They went on with choosing the books they wanted to read before Rebecca found them.

"You ready?" she asked. They nodded. She was looking at her phone.

"Is Dad picking Dom up?" Parker asked.

"I'm meeting him at a restaurant," Rebecca answered. She didn't really talk to Seeley that much anymore. All she heard in her mind when she saw him was him telling her she was a cold-hearted, mean, stupid witch. Her words back hadn't been any better. If they could avoid talking altogether, they would. There was just too much anger and bitterness there.

Nora

Cam had dropped her off after their visit, and she was waiting for Booth to come home. She was pondering on how to tell Booth that Dominic's father wasn't a bad guy, that her mother wasn't afraid of him. It would take away her credibility, though, unless she told Booth why she had fibbed. It hurt so bad to know that Jamie was gone from her life. She closed her eyes, trying to remember his face. She couldn't. It had been so long ago...

"You all right?" Booth asked, coming in then. "You look upset."

"I'm okay," she said quickly. She watched as he set down his phone, keys, and wallet on the counter before going into his bedroom. She heard his door shut, indicating he was changing. She decided to make her move. She hurried over to his phone, opening it. She had seen him enter his code enough times to remember what it was. She scrolled through his recent messages that just happened to be open already, looking for evidence that he was indeed working on her mother's case. Since he wasn't talking to her about it, she was going to find out on her own. What she found instead was enough to make her stop breathing for 30 seconds.

You gotta tell her, Cam had wrote five minutes earlier.

Can't. She'll never believe it and will hate me more, Booth had wrote back. Nora scrolled further.

You are her biological father, Seeley. She deserves to know.

I will find a time. Just not right now...it's all too soon.

"So, I was thinking pizza," Booth's voice was saying. Nora dropped his phone and slid it back to where it was. She was sitting innocently with her hands folded when he came into view.

"Pizza. Sure," Nora agreed. Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute. Booth was her father?! Booth?! She felt like she was going to throw up. He picked up his phone, missing her flinch. He sighed and put it back down. Nora froze. Was he going to tell her now?

"Grab your coat. I know a great place," he said. She obeyed. Dominic was hanging out with Parker and Parker's mom at the library, so she figured they'd either pick him up or meet him at the restaurant. Nora kept playing over and over in her mind the scenario of Booth telling her who he was, and she didn't know how she would react. She was in denial still that it was even the truth. She had no idea how to find out for sure, though. How did he find out? She swallowed hard. How was she going to keep this inside until he told her?

Elsewhere

Feeling a bit dazed, Brennan lifted her head to see her captors come in. It was time for food again. They only fed her once a day, and she could feel herself growing weaker. Today, though, she was going to escape.

"Come on," the one said, yanking her upright. Today, he made a mistake. Today, he didn't protect his area like he usually did. She kicked out and head butted.

"Hey!" the other cried, aiming his gun. Brennan managed to get a hold of the gun from the first man's holster and fired at the second guy. Then she fired at the first guy. She found his knife and cut open her bonds. She removed her gag and cut the bonds around her feet last. She was shaking. She had just murdered two people in order to save her own life. She was no better than her father. She shook her head. Now was not the time to think about it. She ducked out of the back door of the shack and hurried into the forest. She remembered to take the bag of food with her at least. She was getting off this damn island even if it killed her.

Daisy

The boat landed on the mainland of Indonesia, and she managed to sneak off without being seen. Daisy knew she needed cover and fast. She had no idea how she was going to get back to the US from here, but she needed to disguise herself first. She found a woman selling dye and clothing in the street, and lucky for Daisy, she could speak the woman's language. She explained she was in danger, that she needed help. The woman was skeptical at first, but then she finally agreed to help. She gave Daisy scissors and hair dye. Daisy went into the little shelter to alter her image. She came out with extremely short, black hair. It would be enough to throw off anyone should they be looking for her. The woman gave her a change of clothing as well, and Daisy thanked her profusely. She offered to help work for her to at least pay off her debt. The woman accepted. Daisy knew she couldn't stay here long, but she also needed money to get back home. She thought of Lance, and her heart hurt. He'd be crazy with worry about her and Dr. Brennan, she knew it. She needed to find a phone and soon.

"I'm coming, Lance," she whispered as she helped fold clothing. "I'll be home soon."

Thank you for reading! And thank you for continuing to not predict/guess at what we're going to be doing next. It's much appreciated :)