A/N: Okay, either my alerts are broken, nobody loves me or the last chapter seriously sucked 'cause I got no reviews. Sob. It can't all be fluff folks. Sorry. Thanks to KatieBeth for her mad beta skills. Girl's got game, yo. I think I'm gonna dedicate this chapter to my brother. You're a no good, lazy bum and I love ya.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. Don't sue me. I'm not making any money.
Chapter 16 Conferences and Conversations (Tuesday)
Tuesday morning came too early for Temperance. Feeling the warm light on her resting frame, she stretched, willing herself out of bed. Waking the boys she helped them into their school clothes and made her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She smiled hearing Booth's booming voice and the boy's light laughter. Booth bounded down the stairs, pulling on suit jacket as he swept through the kitchen. Gently kissing her cheek, he reached for an apple from the fruit bowl.
"I'll be back for you at noon. Call me when you have any new information from Hodgins or Zack."
"Okay. Seeley?" He turned in the doorway to find her approaching him quickly.
"I love you." He smiled.
"I love you, too." She reached up and pull his face down to hers drawing him into a long, sweet kiss.
"And don't you forget it!" He yelled over his shoulder, making his way to the car.
"Dr. Brennan? Can you hear us okay?" Zack's worried voice carried into her home office, his face crowding the camera and filling her screen. Temperance plugged in her camera and began the uplink.
"I'm here, Zack. I can hear you fine, what have you found?" Hodgins stepped into view and began to review his latest findings.
"Katie is working on identifying the weapon and profile of the attacker. Particulates indicate the second victim was hit with a metal object, silver, with traces of toothpaste before she was strangled."
"Toothpaste?" Hodgins observed her puzzled expression.
"Poor man's silver polish. I think we're looking for a silver candlestick, bowl, pitcher, something like that. None of the carpet samples Zack collected at the victim's house match the polymers found on the first victim. But," his blue eyes sparkled with the familiar conspitorial look, "fibers found in the victim's clothing match the red shag carpet. It has to be from the transport vehicle. Also, there are also traces of transition metal salt and 8-hydroxyquinoline on the victim's left thumb pad."
"I'll have Booth check on potential transport vehicles. The second victim was fingerprinted?"
"Yes. Probably at her local bank or in conjunction with a background check."
"Good work, Hodgins. I'll relay the information to Booth," she checked her watch noting the late hour, "he'll be here soon to pick me up and I'll be in the lab in a few hours. Call us if you hear anything from Angela. Zack?" The young scientist reappeared as Hodgins moved away from the camera.
"Any luck identifying the marks on the ribs?" Zack nodded.
"Yes, Dr. Brennan. It appears to be a small kitchen knife, clean without knicks. There isn't a pattern to the stabs, as if the attacker was in a frenzy. I found at least a dozen marks on the ribs, two more on the victim's phalanges."
"Defensive wounds?" questioned the anthropologist.
"No, Dr. Brennan. These marks were on the posterior side. As if the victim was lying pronate and the strikes were an afterthought. Definitely postmortem based on the amount of blood pooling.
"Good work, Zack. Please have Katie ready with her simulation when I get to the lab." She looked up hearing the front door open. "Booth's here. See you soon."
"Bye, Dr. Brennan."
"Bye." Temperance quickly shut down the computer, gathering her case notes and made her way to find her husband. She found him in the kitchen, making sandwiches. He turned and she enveloped him in a tight hug.
"Long morning, sweetie?" He planted a soft kiss on her temple, brushing aside the auburn curls with his hand. She simply nodded, her face buried in his chest.
"I'm really going to miss this." Her voice was strained, retaining none of the resolve it had held speaking to the men in the lab.
"I'm not going anywhere. Anytime, Tempe. Remember?"
"I know that. I'm going to miss these cases, working at the Jeffersonian." He frowned, unwilling to start an argument.
"Who says you have to leave the lab?" She turned her face towards his, reading his features silently.
"Cam."
"And since when do you do what Cam says?" She laughed lightly, recalling their infamous fights since Dr. Goodman left the Institute.
"Since she forbid me from working with chemicals until the baby is born. If she had her way I wouldn't go back at all. I'd be here," she looked down, ashamed at her reluctance, "with the baby all the time."
Booth took a deep breath and gently lifted Temperance onto the kitchen counter. She gasped but held her tongue when she saw the resolve in his eyes.
"What do you want, Temperance? Tell me." Her eyes watered, but she held his gaze.
"I want it all. I want my career, at the Jeffersonian, writing. But I also want this baby. I want to raise the boys. I want them to know how much I love them. How much we love them." His heart beat faster, hearing her want this baby, his baby, was almost more than he could stand. He knew, just at that moment, that everything would work out.
"Then you'll have it all, Bones. You'll have it all," he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. Her faith in him faltered.
"How, Booth? I haven't even had the baby and I'm already more tired than I've ever been. I can't work full days doing anything. I'm… I'm scared," she admitted in a tiny voice, her eyes downcast.
"Temperance, I didn't marry you because you were perfect. Because you'd be the perfect mother to Parker or my Stepford wife." She silently reflected on the movie they'd watched together, all those annoying blonde women with the pastel skirts.
"I love you, but you're not perfect. You can't expect to carry a baby or even raise a baby without getting some much-deserved rest. It's going to take a lot of hard work and I don't expect you to do it all alone." He chuckled, "but you've never given up on anything you wanted because it was hard. I'm right here, I'll do whatever it takes." She smiled, thankful for his unwavering support, feeling her bravery return. He continued.
"But you've got to tell me what you want, what you need. No matter how silly you think it is, no matter what you think I'll do. You have to tell me." She nodded in agreement and accepted a long kiss, his fingers running up her back slowly.
"Seeley, I need-"
"Don't waste much time do you, hon?" His grin gave away his teasing.
"No, I don't. And don't interrupt. As I was saying, Seeley, I need you to get me off this counter and feed me. Please?" Her pleading eyes were followed by his rolling ones.
"Of everything you could ask for, you choose food. What a surprise." She smiled; I love beating him at his little games. Tonight, she resolved, I'll tell him what I really need… as soon as the boys are asleep. After a quick lunch they left for the boy's school.
Temperance and Seeley sat together in the child sized chairs, silently reflecting on the teacher's recommendation to advance Parker ahead of his class the following fall.
"We need to talk about this before making any decisions. Could we get back to you at the end of the week?" The teacher smiled at Booth, understanding his apprehension.
"Sure thing, I look forward to hearing from you. Would you like to take Parker home now? School's out in an hour anyway."
"Yes, please. We'll sign out Sam, too." Temperance stood, anxious to see her sons again.
When they'd gathered the boys and returned to the SUV, Temperance listened intently to Sam's account of his latest art project as Booth checking in with Cullen. Pulling into the Jeffersonian parking lot, Booth smiled at his sons' excitement over visiting the museum. Booth walked with the boys through the exhibits, trying to answers their endless questions along the way. They spent the most time at the Jeffersonian's exhibit featuring the items recovered from the city's underground tunnel. Booth recalled the case, repelling into the dark with Temperance and Zack, interviewing the inhabitants of the underground society.
After she caught up with her team and reviewed Zack's findings first hand, Temperance collected the boys and took them home, leaving Booth to finish working his leads.
While Booth arranged follow-up interviews in Lynchburg and searched vehicle ownership records for people connected to the victims, Temperance was at home, watching from upstairs as her boys played catch in their backyard. She sank onto the window seat, glancing around the unfinished nursery taking in the white walls and total lack of furniture. The only items the room currently housed were a few gifts sent from out of town relatives stored in the closet. She contemplated the list on her computer. Furniture to buy. Questions to ask Angela. Even a list of baby names to consider with Seeley.
The sound of the boy's feet on the stairs shook Temperance out of her trance. Parker found her first, throwing himself into her waiting arms.
"Mommy, can I play with Mr. Billy Bones? Please?" She gazed into his dark brown eyes, which held the same effect of his father's.
"Sure, bub. Just be careful not to lose any more phalanges." She squeezed his hand gently. He grinned and ran for her office, eager to pull apart the life-sized skeleton she kept there. She grimaced, recalling how long it took her to find the missing fingers last time he pulled out Mr. Bones. They'd been hidden in a fichus plant, if she remembered correctly.
Sam entered next, with less enthusiasm and more reserve. Temperance had come to expect this from her youngest son.
"Come here, you," she smiled as he made his way to her lap and cuddled with her.
"Mommy, where's the baby?" he asked with childlike innocence.
"Right here, bub," she pointed to her belly. "Remember when Daddy and I told you and Parker about the baby growing inside me?"
"Yea," his voice was filled with fear and worry, Temperance noted, her concern building.
"What's wrong, Sammy?" She'd learned it was easiest to adopt Booth's straightforward approach instead of guessing what was bothering the boys.
"Mommy, when do I have to go away?" His question and the distress in his voice broke her heart.
"Baby, you're not going away. Who told you that?" She gently raised his chin, forcing him to look at her earnest face. His eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
"When you and Daddy came for me, and… and he said… Daddy said you had room for two kids… and… and… you…" the tears fell and Temperance now had some of her own.
"Oh, baby. I'm sorry; Daddy meant that we had room for more kids. We definitely have room for you and the new baby." His small frame shuddered and she pulled him tighter to her breast. "Samuel, look at me." He complied, his blue eyes wet and red. "I love you so much, I will never send you away. Daddy and I will always be your Mommy and Daddy. Same with Parker, he will always be your brother. Understand?"
"Yeah. I love you too, Mommy." He threw his arms back around her and she slowly stroked his curls until his sobs turned to light hiccups and then he calmed completely.
And that was how Booth found them when he returned home. Parker tearing apart Mr. Billy Bones, Temperance and Sam lounging on the nursery's window seat, both exhausted from their tears.
END Chapter
A/N: I guess I could also dedicate this chapter to Billy who introduced me to the joy of fichus plants, the only type of plant I can't kill. This chapter was really hard for me to write. Adoptions are very close to my heart and I know the struggle for acceptance and how difficult it is. Let me know if the chapter made sense to you. Thanks, y'all. Next chapter: The Baby Arrives...if you review. I'm not above withholding...
Katherine's note: 4:35 in the morning! We have these plants in our kitchen that were here in our house when we moved in seven years ago. We water them once about every four to five months, and they're still alive. I think they're demon plants.