11:30am

As soon as Grace stepped into the office, she looked around at the state of the office and glanced to her sister. "I love what you've done with the place." She said, lifting an eyebrow. Temperance had been gone for four months. It was four months since she had stepped from that office, and left the reigns to Antonia, yet it almost looked like nothing had been touched. Antonia left everything exactly as it had been when her mother had left, but for several small boxes of her own files that she kept neatly in the corner. "Are you sure you're not a clone of Mom?"

Antonia glowered at her sister and shook her head, sitting carefully on the computer chair, she continued to hold the girl against her. "We have about ten minutes before Angela comes in, so quit gabbing, and start dialing." She said, nodding toward the phone.

Grace grabbed at the phone and quickly dialed her mother's cell phone, silently figuring out the time difference between Paris and home. She put the phone on speaker and they listened to the phone dialing.

"Brennan." Temperance's voice rang through the office, and both women could feel a bit of relief at the sound of their mother's voice.

"Hey, Mom." Grace said into the line, looking up at Antonia as she gently rocked the little girl, who seemed to be calmer, though it may just have been that she could tell that Antonia was feeling less anxious.

"Gracie, why are you calling from the lab?" Temperance asked, her voice a bit higher, with a hint of anxiety. "Is Antonia alright?"

"I'm here too, Mom." Antonia said, her voice calm and even, almost as if she were trying to keep control. "A new case came in this morning."

"That doesn't explain why Gracie is there." Temperance stated shortly, pausing for a moment as they heard their father's voice in the background. "Just a moment please." She said, as she covered the receiver for a moment as they waited. "I'm sorry, your father is ready for dinner, and he gets a bit irritable when he doesn't have food every two hours." She said, a bit of humor in her voice as they heard Booth say something behind her. "Cut it out." She muttered off the line, as she then turned back to the phone. "What is the case?" She asked.

"Victims are a husband and wife, they are being transported to the lab, but based on the scene, it looks like they were…" She paused for a moment as she took a deep breath, trying to spare the girl in her arms as much further trauma as possible, though she wasn't really responding to the new voice in the room, or the situation, she seemed to have calmed considerably. "There was extensive trauma to the bodies, and they were restrained before being…" Antonia stopped, looking down at the little girl in her arms, her eyes closed now as she slept against Antonia, seemingly exhausted from her struggles.

"Antonia, are you alright?" Temperance asked, confused by her daughter's hesitance.

"There is a child in the room, Mom." Grace said softly, hearing her mother's soft sigh of understanding.

"There was a young boy taken from the home, his grandfather was called regarding ransom, but those involved left behind a little girl at the crime scene. The FBI is working with a team on the kidnapping aspect of the case. As for the little girl, we don't know what she's seen, or how long she's been hiding. There was even very little indication that she existed. Ace found her hiding in a closet, and all she's done is scream, and cry. There has been very little, if any actual communication." Antonia explained, gently rubbing the little girl's back as she continued to rock her.

"So you brought her to the lab?" Temperance asked, more to remind herself than as an actual question.

"She is only a little girl, maybe four or five." Antonia said softly. "Since Ace found her, she's clung to me, holding me so tightly. I can't let her go. I promised her that I had her, that I'd keep her safe." She said softly. "Ace is trying to find out who she is, or he will… if he ever gets his head out of his…"

"Antonia." Temperance said, her voice a bit stern as she cleared her throat. "You may not take custody of her, Antonia. You're not licensed to keep her, and you are not law enforcement. You cannot make promises to a victim, you cannot do that." She stated, her voice still holding that stern edge. "This child is not a puppy that you can take in."

"She's a witness to a horrible crime." Antonia whispered. "She's frightened. I needed to get her away from the crime scene. The FBI is more concerned about the boy at this point. She needs protection. She needs to know that someone cares."

"The FBI is responsible for her, Antonia. You have to let her go either with the FBI, or with Grace, and she will be placed with Child Protective Services." Temperance said evenly, as if she were trying to get Antonia to understand.

"Mom." Grace said softly. "She is safe here at the lab. I will stay until Ace is here." She said, watching Antonia nod her head, her eyes grateful as she watched her sister smile in understanding. "She will be with law enforcement at all times. We are going to need to get a statement from her, and right now Toni is the only person that can calm her."

"Grace, pick up the phone. Take me off speaker and pick up the phone, please." Temperance said, eliciting a stubborn glare from Antonia.

"Why?" Antonia asked, her voice full of frustration. "What don't you want me to hear?" Antonia asked, as Grace shook her head, and held her finger up, as she picked up the phone and turned off the speaker.

"Okay." Grace said into the line. "You're off speaker."

"Grace, I am extremely concerned about your sister's impartiality on this case. She is not to get attached to that child, Grace. Her past experiences are going to influence the evidence. She will be too emotional to give this situation proper thought. Do not let her get attached."

"She's already too far gone, Mom." Grace said, watching Antonia rock the little girl in her arms. "I'll let the chief know that I have to stay here for an emergency custody situation. Ace will be here soon, and once we figure out who she is and where she belongs…" She said softly, looking up at Antonia as her sister's eyes met hers. "Then we'll figure everything out from there. Antonia is fine, she's doing her job."

"Grace. Christopher may also take this case hard, just be aware of that. Do not let the two of them feed off of one another. You know how Antonia gets when she's rattled."

"Sarcasm and avoidance." Grace said, smiling at her sister. "It's the Booth way." She said, watching Antonia smile and shake her head. "You give me far too much credit for being the well adjusted one."

"When will Aiden be home?" Temperance asked, avoiding her daughter's joke. Grace could hear the concern in her voice.

"This afternoon, why?"

Temperance avoided the question and sighed softly. "Please have Antonia and Harding forward all reports to me on this case as it unfolds. I want to be kept apprised of everything. Since your father and I will be home on Friday, it is imperative that I am kept in the loop of what is happening at the lab."

"You just want to make sure Toni doesn't do something to compromise the evidence." Grace said. Her voice wasn't accusatory, but there was a slight tinge of bitterness in her tone. "We'll keep you updated." She said, when her mother didn't answer.

"Thank you." Temperance said softly. "I will call this evening to check on the progress."

"That's fine." Grace said. "Go feed Daddy." She said softly, "We love you."

"We love you both as well. Please be safe." Temperance said as the phone hung up.

Grace set the phone down and looked across at her sister. Antonia shook her head gently. She said nothing, but simply watched her sister watch her carefully. "She says don't get attached."

"It's a little difficult when she has literally attached herself to me." Antonia said with a sigh.

"I know. I'm just telling you what she said. She's right about the custody thing, that she'll have to go with law enforcement. But you're kind of lucky in that way." Grace smiled slyly as she watched her eyebrow lift.

"What?"

"You practically live with an FBI agent." Grace said with a shrug, watching as the little girl rested well against her sister.

"That is true." Antonia nodded, matching her sister's smile with one of her own. "I'm not sure how comfortable he will be with all of this, but we'll see how the day shakes out. It's still early."

"I'm going to go call the chief." Grace said, nodding toward the door. "Do you want me to tell Angela to come in?"

"Not yet, but you can tell her what's going on. Just let me get her situated, see if I can get her to talk. Maybe you could order a pizza or something, since I'm pretty sure we're going to be stuck here for most of the day, and lunch time is approaching. Not to mention that I have no idea when the last time she ate was."

"Sounds good." Grace said, nodding her head. "Anything special on it?"

"Banana peppers and black olives… just have them put them on the side." Antonia said softly, looking up to see her sister give her a disgusted look. "What? Aiden is going to be here later, and that's what he likes on his pizza."

"He's so weird." Grace said with a laugh. "You two are made for one another."

"Just go." Antonia said, laughing as Grace quickly slipped out the door.

When Grace closed the door securely, Antonia sighed tiredly, her eyes moving to the clock as she yawned a bit. She shifted the little girl in her arms, and after a moment, her eyes opened up as she stared off blankly, still against Antonia, but her grip had gone slack. She moved just a little, lifting her eyes to meet the eyes of the woman who had been holding her, caring for her, and protecting her. Her blue eyes were a deep color, not light like her mother's or her sister's, and her lips moved just slightly as she watched Antonia's gaze. "Hey there, pretty girl." Antonia whispered. She watched the little girl just stare at her, her tiny hand clenching and unclenching the little pink and white bunny in her hands. "My name is Antonia." She said softly, trying to gain her trust. "You can call me Ant if you like." She smiled. "What's your name?" She asked, tipping her head as the little girl just continued to stare at her as if she hadn't spoken at all. "It's okay." Antonia smiled, tipping her head as the little girl shifted slightly and lifted her hand to Antonia's face, touching her cheek with her tiny hand, she gave such a slight smile, that Antonia may have been mistaken. She then moved her hand to Antonia's collar and rubbed her fingers across the rough material of Antonia's field jumpsuit, her tiny hands moving across the material. She said nothing, and made no sound, just simply watched her fingers move over the fabric.

Her blonde hair was shoulder length, but messy, and her cheeks were a bit blushed from her earlier fight, but for the most part her skin was fair. She didn't look neglected. She was of proper weight and size, if she was indeed five years old. Her eyelashes were long and framed those beautiful blue eyes perfectly, as they once again lifted to Antonia's. "I will protect you." Antonia said softly, watching the little girl for a moment. "I know I'm not supposed to say that, but it's the truth. It's what you need to hear." She said softly. "You are safe with me. I can promise that." She whispered. The little girl watched her for a moment and then rested her head on Antonia's shoulder. She closed her eyes again, pulling her bunny closer to her, she sighed softly and placed her hand on Antonia's collar, allowing her fingertips to feel the warmth of her skin, as she quickly fell asleep.