July 6th- 5:00pm
Temperance walked briskly into the lab, her eyes were focused on her office as she tried her best to block out the sounds and movement throughout the lab, and just reach her destination. Booth had dropped her off, and went home for an hour before meeting with Ace for a briefing, Angela had gone home, and all she wanted to do was sit down in her office and take a moment to breathe.
She made it to her office, flicked on the light and closed her door before anyone had a chance to say a word. Her nerves were starting to fray, and if Grace called her cell phone one more time, she was certain that she was going to lose her cool exterior. She sat down in her chair, rolling it toward her computer, and was immediately greeted by a post-it note in the middle of the screen. The phone number on the paper was familiar, and the handwriting belonged to Hodgins.
She looked toward her door, prepared to go ask him what it was about, but quickly changed her mind. She reached forward and carefully tugged at the yellow square. Staring at the numbers for a moment, she tried to place them in her memory and found it impossible. She glanced to the door again, and then grabbed her phone, dialing the number quickly, she waited as it rang.
"Mom?" The word and the voice nearly brought tears to Temperance's eyes as she found herself smiling at the sound of Antonia's voice. "Mom, did Uncle Bugs give you the message?"
Temperance cleared her throat slightly, sighing into the line. "He gave me no message, just the number. I will have to discuss with him the proper way to leave a message." She said into the line. "Are you injured? Where are you? Is Melody alright?"
"We're all okay, Mom." She said, a smile in her voice. "You didn't recognize the phone number?"
"No." Temperance said, though the tone of her voice showed that it was a familiar number.
"Are you at your computer?"
"Yes."
"Turn on the video link." She said.
Temperance turned on her computer monitor, and clicked on the small blinking icon on the bottom of the screen. She noticed that the blue light on her web camera lit up, and she looked up at it, and then down to the screen. She clicked 'receive', and the screen popped open with a video feed of Antonia sitting before her. "Baby." She whispered, looking into her daughter's face, she could feel a great weight lifted from her heart. She watched Antonia wave, and couldn't help but grin.
"It's good to see you." Antonia said, putting her phone down, she watched Temperance turn up the volume on the computer.
"You have no idea how good it is to see your face." She smiled. "You're uninjured?"
"I have some bruises from the accident." She said, pulling the shoulder on her shirt down to show her mother the dark bruise on her shoulder. "Some soreness and muscle rigidity from whiplash, and Melody has some bruising on her chest from the belt, but is doing well. No shortness of breath, no other injuries." Antonia said, watching her mother simply stare at her.
"You're at the beach house." Temperance sighed, with a slight smile.
"Yes." Antonia grinned. "It was the only place that I could think of that was completely safe, with full access to the lab without compromising our safety."
"It was a good choice." Temperance replied. "We've just arrived back from Front Royal, and though the suspects are awake, they don't seem very interested in sharing any information. We are having them transferred as soon as they are mobile. The police are expecting your account of the incident."
"I will be forwarding it shortly. I wanted to know who you and Dad were in contact with, so that I can send it directly." She replied. There was a moment of pause, and Temperance could see a flash of something across her daughter's features as she spoke. "Mom, I'm sorry." She blurted out suddenly.
"What are you apologizing for?" Temperance asked. "You have nothing to apologize for."
"I feel that I may have hurt your feelings, and I wanted to apologize for that." She said, watching as Temperance tilted her head in thought. "It was never my intention."
"I understand what your intentions were." Temperance nodded. "Your father may be vocal and a bit dramatic, but I understand what your intentions are, and I respect them. I am so relieved to see you, though. I've missed you." She smiled. "Is Melody well?"
"Here, ask her yourself." Antonia nodded, glancing to her left, she waved someone over, and after a moment, Temperance watched as a little blonde head came into view in front of Antonia, and a set of wide blue eyes were staring at her. She turned and looked at Antonia, and she grinned. "Say hello." She signed, watching as Melody looked at her curiously, and then back to the screen, she lifted her small hand and waved slightly.
"Melody." Temperance signed, and the little girl grinned brightly at the screen suddenly, she waved to Temperance. "How are you?" Temperance signed, watching the humored look on her daughter's face, and the response from Melody as she cuddled with Antonia. "What is that look for?" She asked Antonia.
"You studied your ASL." Antonia teased her mother with a smile.
"I know some basic signs. Don't think that I haven't figured out what you and your sister talk about when you're signing." She said with a knowing smile, watching Antonia shake her head. "It is also beneficial for the case, for Melody here, if I learn how to communicate with her. Don't you agree?" Temperance asked.
"I agree." Antonia nodded.
"And despite my earlier misgivings, it appears that you have become quite attached to one another, and it suits you both." Temperance tipped her head, watching Antonia nod. "I assume Agent Fitzgerald is also there, or have you ladies decided that the beach house is enough protection, that you don't need him around?" She teased.
"I stuck around." Aiden's voice came from behind them, and he crouched down to wave at Temperance. "Hey, Doctor Brennan."
"He's making sure we're well fed and hydrated." She said, holding up a bottle of water.
"Very good." Temperance smiled. She was about to ask Antonia something when she heard a light knock at the door. She looked up and glanced back to the computer for a second, holding her finger up to tell them to hang on. "Yes?" She said, waiting for the door to open.
The door opened just a little, and Ace looked in. "Hey, you're back."
"That appears to be true." Temperance said, and though it was meant to be a sarcastic comment, it came out as a simple fact. "And what can I do for you, Agent Harding?" She asked. "Weren't you meeting with Booth to go over to go over the case?"
He walked into the room, moving toward the chairs in the room, he settled into one of them and sighed. "Yeah, yeah. He can wait for me. I'm having a problem with Child Protective Services."
"What's the problem?"
"They want to know where Melody is." He sighed. "They won't give me her files."
"She's at a safe house." Temperance said, watching as Ace gave her an impatient look. "She's at a safe house, in an undisclosed location. She is safe, and all of her needs are being met. Her case file has no bearing on how she is being treated right now. There should be no problem handing over her files." She said, narrowing her eyes.
"But we don't know where she is. We don't know what her condition is, and just because Fitz is with them, doesn't mean they're in a safe house. You can't just assign an FBI agent and say that whatever dump they end up in is a safe house." He said, standing up.
"Christopher."
"I'm not saying that Fitz is unable to take care of them, it's just…you know how impulsive Antonia can be. For all we know, they're squatting in a cabin somewhere in the middle of Virginia, eating bugs and tree bark or something."
"Christopher." She said again, but he continued to pace the room, ranting about the situation.
"You're a great mother, Temperance. But somewhere along the lines, that kid has gone off the rails. When you were gone, she… what are you glancing at on your computer?"
"Nothing, go on. Continue what you were saying." She said, smiling sweetly at him, his eyes narrowed. "I just got an e-mail, that's all." She shrugged, quickly clicking on the mute button when she noticed Antonia was about to laugh. "You were saying, while I was gone…?"
He straightened himself up and watched her for a moment. She seemed almost happy, and it was confusing him. "Doc, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She shrugged, and suddenly her expression turned professional as she stood up. "Christopher, you sound almost exactly like her father. Perhaps it would benefit you and Booth to have a discussion, maybe during your briefing, about how Antonia is a very smart, capable young woman who also happens to be an adult. She can handle her life just fine, and maybe if you're a good boy, Booth will show you exactly what that impulsive, off the rails, bug and bark eating, spoiled… how did you word it previously?" She asked, hitting the un-mute button on the computer.
Antonia's voice skittered through the line. "Undisciplined, brazen, snot nosed brat with big brains and zero social skills."
Ace's mouth dropped open in surprised. "Toni." He mumbled.
"Hey, Ace." Antonia replied. Temperance turned the monitor so that Ace could see Antonia, Aiden, and Melody.
"Perhaps Booth can show you how she managed to not only escape two kidnappers, but also succeeded in packaging them up and delivering them to authorities as well, and all the while trying to keep a handicapped child calm, not to mention being pregnant, which would have really been a good thing for you to mention to me since you've been here for four months, working literally feet from her, yet you didn't seem to notice." Temperance said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Christopher, if you spent half of your energy around here getting those files from CPS, as you do complaining about Antonia, we could have had them back home by now." She said, shaking her head.
"Mom." Antonia said through the line, watching Temperance's attention move toward the screen, she lifted an eyebrow at her daughter. "Have Ace look into Melody's mother, she'd have criminal files. She was a drug user, but was also in pretty deep with her dealers. Look at her mother's autopsy, see if there is any possibility that she didn't overdose, but was instead murdered. These files will be with the police, not with CPS."
"The Child Protective Services link in this is feeling a little weird to me too." Aiden said, his fingers tapping on the table in front of him as Melody giggled and tried to catch his hand. "Once we told them that she was in custody, they should have been fine with handing those files over. We need to find out what has changed between her time at the group home, and the adoption proceedings with the Cameron's. We know they're after Melody, and the Cameron's seem to have been collateral damage. Maybe it has something to do with her case worker, or something like that. It doesn't make sense that they would be blocking her files." Aiden sighed. "I think we're going to need the notes from the interviews with Mitchell Cameron. The kid has been through enough, we shouldn't have to interview him again, but there may be something in what he said that we can work with."
Temperance lifted her eyebrow at Ace. He still looked shocked from what Temperance had said, and she wasn't sure he was even listening anymore. "Christopher?"
"Toni is what?" Ace exclaimed.
"Getting impatient." Temperance said, adding a tapping toe to her impatient stance. "Melody's mother's file, Ace." She said, tossing in his nickname to throw him off, his brow furrowed. "We also need Mitchell's interview notes that you took when he was first found."
"I…"
"You need to get going. It's getting late, and we need to solve this thing so my daughter can bring her family home." Temperance said sternly. "Drop the CPS investigation. I'll look into it, and you get the criminal files on Melody's mother. I need the autopsy files as soon as possible. If we have to exhume, we will exhume." She said, watching him continue to stare at her. "Christopher?"
He shook his head as everything rushed into his mind at once. "Right." He nodded his head. "Okay, got it… I'll check in with you in the morning." He said, furrowing his brow.
"Are you alright?" Temperance asked, watching his eyes as they glanced between her and the computer.
"Uh, yeah. See you tomorrow, Doc. I have to go meet up with Booth."
"Bye, Ace." Antonia's voice floated through the room, as he said goodbye quickly, and left the office, closing the door behind him.
Temperance sat down at her desk and turned her monitor to face her chair again, her head shaking as she smiled at her daughter. "Between your father and Ace, I feel as if I have two husbands." She sighed.
"They each have their charms." Antonia smiled.
"Doctor Brennan?" Aiden said, pulling Melody into his lap as she cuddled into him. "I think for the safety of Melody, and Antonia, that we keep our location between you, Booth, Ace, and Hodgins. As I was saying earlier, the CPS angle is starting to seem a little odd, and I'd prefer that we keep that bit of information to ourselves. We have open communication here, and you can send the files digitally to us to review as well. We'll also try to see if Melody knows anything. She may not even realize that she has something that they want. We don't know what they're looking for, if it's a physical item, or money, or if they're just trying to keep her from talking about something, so we don't have a lot to go on, but our priority is to keep her safe."
"Keep them all safe, Aiden." Temperance said softly, but strongly.
"Absolutely, Doctor Brennan." He said, clearly.
"I will talk to you both in the morning." Temperance said.
"Okay. We're going to go take Melody to the beach." Antonia smiled softly. "She's never seen the ocean." She looked up as Aiden stood up and lifted Melody with him.
"I love you, Antonia." Temperance said softly.
"Love you, Mom." Antonia smiled.
"Love you, Doctor Brennan!" Aiden laughed, leaning down to look into the camera as Antonia poked him in the ribs and he almost fell over.
Temperance shook her head and laughed. "I love you too, Aiden and Melody. Now go have a little bit of fun. We have a lot of work to do!"
"Bye, Mom!" Antonia said, and the screen went dark.
Temperance sat at her desk for a moment, reveling in the sound of her daughter's laughter for a moment as she took a slow, deep breath. She closed her eyes and leaned her chair back a bit. She was startled by the sound of her cell phone ringing and picked it up without looking. "Brennan."
"Mom, I need your help!" Grace's voice came over the line dramatically.
"What do you need, sweetheart?" She said, sighing softly into the line as Grace went into a diatribe about her latest wedding plan disaster. Temperance took a moment to smile just slightly as she felt relieved that this particular disaster only involved cake frosting.