Temperance sat in the passenger seat of her vehicle, Angela was at the wheel with some soft music playing in the background. Initially, Temperance had insisted on driving, but after a little bit of conversation with Angela, and some convincing that maybe she should review her notes and the findings that had already come through in the case, she decided to let Angela drive. Once she was in her seat and they were on their way, she realized that it was a good idea. Relieved of the stresses of the road, Temperance sat comfortably looking through one of the folders that she had brought, looking through photographs of the crime scene and evidence that she had the interns prepare just before leaving. With her mind on the task at hand, she was able to stop allowing the fear for her daughter's safety from creeping into her mind.
"Do you think I should have let Grace come with us?" She asked suddenly, watching Angela glance to her briefly before her eyes were back on the road.
"No." Angela said with a quick shake of her head. "No, she can stay with Jack and JV, and Ace. We don't know how long we'll be gone, and she has to work. We don't even know if this is a lead or not. Also, Grace isn't really known for having a cool head, and is probably the only one in your family that jumps to conclusions. I don't think that you need Grace following you around, asking you questions, and making you question yourself. You are overwhelmed enough with everything else." She said resolutely, leaving no room for argument.
"I am not overwhelmed." She argued, sighing as she looked through the files. "I'm concerned."
"You're scared, Bren. It's okay to be scared." Angela said, watching her friend running her fingers over a photo as she looked at it closer, her attention so sharp she blocked everything out around her. "What is it?" Angela asked, noticing that Temperance was staring intensely at the photograph. "Bren?"
"Hm?" She said, looking to Angela curiously, she swallowed hard.
"You are looking at that picture pretty intensely. What is that? The seatbelts?" She asked, watching Temperance's eyes meet hers again.
"Yes." She cleared her throat. "Angela, do you think that Antonia is pregnant?" She asked seriously, watching Angela glance to her, and back to the road, and back to her again.
"Pregnant?" Angela asked.
"Yes." She said softly. "You've been around her for the past four months. You've indicated that she has been tired, irritable, emotional."
"So have I, but I'm not pregnant." Angela laughed, noting that Temperance didn't laugh with her. "Bren, what other evidence do you have?"
"The seatbelt." She said, pointing to the picture. "She purposefully pulled the lap belt up to her shoulder. It's completely possible that she was just doing it for added protection, but it's more likely that she was doing it to protect her abdomen from being impacted by the seatbelt. Ange, I think she's pregnant, and I think she knows she's pregnant." Temperance whispered.
"Do you think that Aiden knows?" Angela asked, feeling a knot in her stomach as she looked to her friend.
"It's possible." Temperance shrugged. "Again, I've only seen them a few times since I've returned. Has he been particularly protective of her? Is there anything to indicate that he knows?"
"Well, he's pretty protective of her anyway, so it's hard to say." Angela shrugged. "The engagement happened pretty quickly, but I think that had more to do with Melody. She has been eating some weird things lately, though that's nothing new with her. I haven't noticed morning sickness, or any aversion to certain smells or anything. She really is a very private person." Angela shrugged.
"Angela, we can't tell Booth of our suspicions." Temperance shook her head. "I would prefer not to put any additional stress on him, you know how he is about Antonia, and news of possible pregnancy might send him over the edge." She sighed, glancing toward the window. "Maybe I should call the hospital." Temperance whispered.
"They're not going to put you through. You know they want a positive in person identification before they move forward. The doctors will do their job, they will test her. It's okay." Angela said, calmly trying to be the voice of reason. "Booth has a good jump on us, he'll let you know when he calls what's going on, and if we have to tell him then, we will. Who knows, maybe Aiden already told him." She shrugged.
"If that young man knows that Antonia is pregnant, and he values his life, he will keep that information to himself unless absolutely necessary." Temperance said with a knowing look to Angela, who smiled and let out a laugh as they continued on their way.
With the choice between the crime scene and the hospital, Booth decided that the hospital would be the best place to go considering the information that he had. He knew that the car fit the description they were looking for, it had Washington DC plates, and the fact that they had two gunshot victims in serious condition made the hospital the obvious choice. Aiden remained focused on the road, his mouth clamped shut as his green eyes zeroed in on the yellow line in the middle of the road.
"I'm sorry." He blurted out suddenly, his eyes on the older agent, strong and determined. "You warned me yesterday, and I should have just stayed with her, with them." He said, knowing that he had probably said the same thing a hundred times since they had left the city.
"I learned a long time ago that you can't watch them every second, kid. If you try to, you're going to wear yourself out, and when they do need you, you're going to be too exhausted to do anything. Stop apologizing." Booth said, giving Aiden a pointed look. "We're almost at the hospital, if you want to apologize to her, that's fine, but don't apologize to me for being a human being."
Aiden nodded his head, glancing back to the road, he again stared at the line in the center of the road.
"The other thing, however. You will be apologizing to me for that until you take your last breath." Booth said, staring at the road intently, he could feel Aiden's eyes on him. He took a sharp turn into the hospital parking lot, slipped into a parking space and flicked off his light and siren. By the time he pulled the keys from the ignition, Aiden was already out of the car, and jogging toward the emergency room doors. Booth took a slow, deep breath and jogged after him as quickly as he could.