Temperance and Booth stepped off the elevator, and were in a lab in a matter of moments, and as soon as they walked inside, they could hear Jared's loud voice ranting on about something. He was pacing in front of Temperance's office, yelling at someone.
"I'm serious, Tempe…If you don't let me see Seeley!" Jared slurred, pointing his finger at Antonia, who stood her ground against him, intending on not allowing him anywhere else in the lab.
"I'm not Tempe, it's Antonia!" She said impatiently, finally catching her parent's eyes, she sent them a pleading look. At that, Booth picked up his pace, and jogged over, putting his arm protectively on Antonia's back, he leaned down and told her that he could handle it. She looked up at her father, a smile of relief on her face as she leaned up and kissed his cheek, a peace offering for their earlier disagreement, and she quickly turned and went back to work.
"There you are, Seeley! She won't tell me where Seeley is!" Jared spat angrily.
"That's because she doesn't know where Seeley is, Jared. What the hell is wrong with you? Where have you been?" Booth said, his voice raising with each question.
Temperance caught up and pushed the two of them toward the office doors, sending them inside for a more private conversation, even if she knew that they wouldn't be able to keep their voices down.
Ace stood outside of Temperance's office for a minute or two after Aiden wandered off. He tried to resist going inside the office, listening to Jared's slurred explanation of what had brought him to the Jeffersonian, and he sighed before walking into the office nonchalantly, knowing that his presence was inevitable.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Jared said angrily indicating Ace. The vitriol between the two of them was palpable, and the tension level rose another notch with the entrance of Temperance's partner.
"Christopher works here, Jared. He's my partner." Temperance said, watching as her brother in law just glared.
"This is a family matter." Jared growled.
"Yes, and when a member of your family is involved in a murder, and attempted murder of a police officer, that's where the FBI comes in." Booth said, indicating Ace.
"I need to see my son!"
"First of all, keep your goddamned voice down. This is a place of business. Secondly, He's in custody, you can't see him right now." Booth said, and Harding was sure that he had already said it a dozen times. "Now are you going to tell you where the hell you've been?"
"Rehab." Jared said, looking up at Booth.
"Rehab? You were in rehab, and you come here bombed out of your damn mind? I should have you locked up for stupidity!" Booth exclaimed. "Where are you staying, Jared?"
"Hotel downtown. I can't really afford it, but you know…" Jared shrugged.
Booth could see the pleading look in Temperance's eyes, and wished that he could think of a solution that would work for all of them.
"I say we call his parole officer, tell him that he broke parole, and drop his ass back into jail before he ends up hurting someone. How the hell did you get here today, Jared?"
"I drove." He said, glaring at Ace.
"He should be in jail, guys!" Harding exclaimed. "He's going to kill someone!"
"Shut up, Ace!" Jared exclaimed, standing up, stumbling a bit, Ace kicked the chair back behind Jared's knees, sending him back into it.
Antonia led Aiden into a dark office room, flicking on the light as she pulled him inside, closing the door behind her, she turned to face him. "Thank you." He said, nodding toward the door.
"No problem. Emma's not very subtle." Antonia scrunched her face, and pushed her back against the door. "I'm assuming you're here because of him." She said, nodding to the door again.
"Yeah, Jared." Aiden nodded. "Were you here when he got here?"
"Yes." She said. "He's trashed out of his mind, and I couldn't understand half of what he was saying. He kept calling me by my mother's name."
"Well, you two do look very similar in the whole squint get up." He said, nodding toward the lab coat. She glared at him, and he held his hands up in innocence. "I'm just saying. It's not a bad thing."
"Oh, I know. But I'll never be my mother." She said quickly turning from him, she walked further into the room. "So, how is Gracie feeling?" She asked, walking over to the rolling chair in the room, she sat down and felt it slide across the floor a little, she looked up at the FBI agent.
"She's doing alright, she seems pretty sad." He said, sitting in his own chair, he could feel it roll beneath him, and sat solidly in it.
"Can't say that I blame her. Her boyfriend's an asshole, and she's holed up in a medical prison."
Aiden chuckled a little. "You really hate hospitals, don't you?" He said, watching as she started to spin slowly in the chair.
"Yes, yes I do." She said, slowing the spin, she turned, pushed her feet on the floor, and sent her chair rolling toward his. She nearly passed him, but he grabbed the arm of the chair, pulling her closer. "I am not a fan of Uncle Jared." She said honestly, pulling the chair out of his grasp a bit she started to spin the chair slightly again.
"The family isn't close to him?" Aiden asked, thinking of what Grace said to him, he kept his questions extremely general.
"No." She said simply, unsure if she should just drop it, or continue, she stopped spinning and watched his earnest expression, his eyes imploring her to continue. "It's complicated." She said softly, still watching his eyes. "He isn't a very trustworthy man, and he isn't a very smart man, and he isn't really a family man."
"What kind of man is he?"
"He's a troublemaker. Nothing good ever comes from a visit from Uncle Jared. He's like a bad omen… and Seeley is kind of the same. I mean, Seeley lived with us for a while, about ten years. He wasn't a bad kid at all, it was just disruptive, I guess you could say."
"Where was Jared?"
"Um, some of the time in prison, some of the time trying to get his life straight." Antonia shrugged. "But even after he got everything straightened out, things weren't great. Dad never really got along with him, Mom thinks that he's a deadbeat, and Ace would probably murder him if they were ever left alone in a room together long enough. I'll kill him myself if he ever goes near Grace again." She said, stopping herself before she shared too much information. She started to spin her chair again, her mind whirling just as fast, when Aiden reached out and grabbed the arm of the chair to stop it with his hand. He pulled her chair closer to him, nearly knocking them together. She watched his eyes, the understanding and concern in them, and they were so intense, that she could feel her resolve weakening.
"Uncle Jared was dealing drugs, got into trouble and he abandoned Seeley with my parents. The dealers kidnapped Seeley and Grace." She said, unsure why she had just divulged this dark portion of their family past. It just felt necessary, it felt good to have that information out in the open. "They got Grace and Seeley back, but… She's never been the same. I'm pretty sure she hasn't had a full night of sleep since then." Antonia swallowed, knowing exactly what her sister had been through. "I don't know why I'm telling you all of this."
"You're just giving me some background." He said, pulling their chairs apart a bit, he started to spin her slightly.
"What are you doing?" she asked, a smile slipping onto her lips.
"Things were getting a little too serious." He said, starting to spin her faster.
"Aiden!" She said, giggling as suddenly he stopped the spinning, sending her chair into his, stopping it fully.
"Much better." He said, seeing her smile, her laughter having elevated the mood in the room. He stood up, and sighed, glancing toward the door. "I should probably get back. I don't want to be accused of fraternizing with contractors." He said, putting it into air quotes.
"Well, you know what they say." Antonia said as she stood up. "We have rules for a reason." She said, as she opened the door and they stepped out into the lab.
"They also say that rules are meant to be broken." He said, winking at her, she smiled back at him. "I wonder what Emma is up to." He said, as he turned on his heel and started walking toward Brennan's office.
"That is not funny, Agent Fitzgerald!" She exclaimed, listening to his laugh as he continued without turning back around.
Aiden realized as he approached Doctor Brennan's office that the yelling had been scaled back dramatically, in fact it had stopped altogether. He could see that Ace was sitting across from Temperance, head in his hands as Temperance sat at her desk typing, and Booth and his brother was nowhere in sight.
He approached quietly, unsure of what their next course of action in the case was. "Agent Fitzgerald." Temperance said, not looking up from her computer screen.
Ace looked up at him and sighed. "Booth had to step out to take care of a family problem."
"I understand." Aiden replied, nodding his head. He sat next to Ace in the next chair over.
"Where have you been?" Harding asked, sitting back in the chair, he glanced to the younger agent.
"Consorting with my daughter, no doubt." Temperance said, looking up at Aiden with an amused, knowing glare.
"Gathering background, Doctor Brennan. I assure you, my intentions are honorable." He said, feeling a slight blush in his cheeks.
It was then that the object of the conversation appeared in the doorway, her eyes directly on her mother. "Doctor Brennan, we have identification."
"Thank you, Antonia." Temperance said, looking up at her daughter, and the three of them stood up, and followed her out of the office toward Angela's office.