Waking Up Chapter 2

Author's Note: Here is the family history for this story.

You can tell which ones I don't have real names for so if you know the names please feel free to let me know so that I can change them here. And you can tell where I plan to take Booth and Bones' relationship, but I should mention that it is not there yet. This story beings at the time when Booth was dating Cam.

Special Thanks to Sonitera who is the only one who reviewed my first chapter and gave me any information whatsoever.

Booth's P.O.V.

"Jared and Seeley Booth" The whispered names hit Booth like a bad of bricks as he sat there stunned and starring at Amnity while she looked at him as if the world revolved around his reaction to her words. It was the first time she had leaned forward since he had gotten here.

But he wasn't really in the mood to appreciate that. All Booth could do was stare at her, unable to comprehend what she had just spoken, his mind in a complete panic trying to wrap itself around the idea. Cousin. She was his cousin… impossible, simply impossible. There must be some kind of mistake, she's got to be wrong. His mind was practically begging this to be the case.

"There must be some kind of mistake," Booth finally choked out, his voice as weak and uncertain as he felt, "I can't possibly be your cousin. I don't have any cousins."

Amnity frowned as if disturbed by something, but that quickly changed to determination. "I assure you I am absolutely serious. What can I do to prove that I am telling the truth?" Her business like tone did little to conceal the intensity behind them. An intensity that was so much easier for Booth to just ignore, rather than confront.

"I… uh… I'll need your name, full name, and the full names of your parents." His mind started running through the list of things he would need to find a person's family history, but the list was short and he soon ran out of things to distract him from the actual problem. So Special Agent Seeley Booth did the only thing he could do in this situation. He ran.

Not literally, but within seconds of finishing his notes he was out of his chair and on his way out of the office. Pausing at the door and turning to look at Amnity again, "I should have the results in a half hour. Feel free to wait here. I'll be back." He turned away and headed out the door.

I am not running away. I am not running away. I am NOT running away… Ah hell… where am I gonna go? His confused thoughts did not slow his gait, but his eyes started darting around looking for a spot to hide. Not hiding, he reminded himself, just a place to do my work in peace.

Agent Erickson wheeled past Booth and into the elevator, giving Booth a measuring look as he passed.

He's such a good guy. He really didn't deserve to end up paralyzed. It's a good thing he had prepared Macklin so well, although I don't think… Macklin! That little bastard is the one who let her in. It's time for a little payback.

A wicked smirk crossed Booth's face as he moved purposefully down the hall towards Agent Macklin's office, taking no note of the people who jumped out of the way as they noticed the look on his face.

Macklin's P.O.V.

Agent Macklin was very satisfied with how his day had gone. He had caught some bad guys, spent lunch with Erickson, bought and sent his girl some flowers, crushed everyone at the shooting range, and personally delivered Agent Booth a pretty little package that was sure to start all sorts of problems.

I wonder if Matt made it away from Booth alive. I heard he's been in a pretty pissy mood recently. Hahaha, that guy is hilarious when he's upset. I can't see why everyone else runs away from him. I wish I could see his face when he hears what she has to say. Macklin thought wistfully while packing his bag to leave.

General P.O.V.

Booth's ability to single mindedly pursue a task was legendary within the bureau, for both the accomplishments it achieved and the fear it placed in his enemies. What they didn't know was that this ability was what had protected Booth mentally from his tasks when he couldn't deal with them. It shielded him from the reality of it all.

So it was with gladness that Booth threw himself single mindedly into his mission to make Macklin pay, letting everything else slide away. Even Macklin's door found itself dealing with the brute force of Booth's mission; swinging out of his way at an alarming rate and straining its hinges before swinging back in.

Macklin's P.O.V.

Macklin heard his the air hiss as his door swung out violently, but missed the silent footfalls of his attacker as the attacker crept up behind him and grabbed him by the collar, flinging him backward and into his desk.

He didn't even have time to think before a hand was wrapped around his neck, cutting off his airway and a pair of very angry chocolate brown eyes filled his vision.

"I want to know what in the hell you were thinking, landing me with this without checking out her claims first or at least warning me, cause I am very tempted to haul your ass down to the gym so that I can show you just how bad of an idea it is to mess with me and anything to do with my family. The only thing that's stopping me is the fact that I have great respect for Agent Erickson and I can't believe he would send someone so stupid out into the field. So please explain to me, and quickly, what the hell you were thinking and before I drag you outta here."

Booth's snarl sent shivers up Macklin's spine and he understood for the first time just how truly dangerous Agent Booth could be when upset. Before it was a concept others commented on and ran from, now it was a reality that was utterly deadly.

Booth's growl cut into his thoughts in a very clear warning, "Macklin…" squeezing his throat a little tighter, causing Macklin to realize just how little air he had left.

"Bo.. Bootth…" Macklin gasped, "need air" clutching desperately at Booth's hand.

Sensing the sincerity of Macklin's request and weighing his urge to throttle Macklin with his need for an answer he loosened his hold enough for Macklin to draw in a ragged breath.

"Start talking Macklin, this is the last warning I'm going to give you." And while that statement held truth in it, Macklin realized that Booth seemed to have gained better control over himself and felt very relieved that he probably wasn't going to die today. Probably being the key word. He spoke quickly.

"What do you want to know?" Macklin realized that his question would probably anger Booth, but really where was he supposed to start, what did Booth really want to know. It was a harmless little joke. She either is or isn't his cousin, nothing to freak out about. I mean I know he's stressed, but the idea of a little more work couldn't possibly have thrown him so far over the edge.

Macklin quickly snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed that the murderous glint was returning to Booth's eye. "Did you look into her request?"

"No."

"Why not?" Booth's hands tightened marginally

"She wanted to talk to you and you always get so possessive of your cases. I wasn't going to jump into that. It was just a little extra paperwork for you anyways. Not a big deal." Macklin ignored the jump in octave his voice had undergone and noticed a minute too late that dismissing whatever was upsetting Booth probably wasn't the greatest idea, but he was still confused, what is the big deal?

"It's family stuff Macklin, family matters, family is a big deal. So next time one of my family comes in here needing something from me you either help them out or you find a way to get a hold of me and tell me what the hell is up. Got it?" Booth yelled, releasing his captive with a strong push.

Booth's P.O.V.

Booth tried to reign in his anger as he took in the totally bewildered expression on Agent Macklin's face. He knew that Macklin really hadn't done anything horrible, that he was over reacting. But it was so much easier to be angry at the person that had dumped this all on his lap, even if Amnity had come looking specifically for him, than to deal with all the confusion, anxiety, hope, and hurt that came with Amnity's confession.

"So she's really your cousin then?" Macklin's voice broke off Booth's train of thought and forced him to focus on the current situation again.

"What?"

"You said, 'The next time one of my family comes in here," so that means she's your really cousin?" Oh, God, I'm already claiming her as family and I haven't even made the calls to see if she's right. I'm in so much trouble.

"I don't know Agent Macklin. I came here because I needed to find that out. I need to make a few calls and check out her story and I am commandeering your office while I do so."

"Why? Couldn't you just use your own office?"

"Are you really a certified Agent?" The maniacal look had returned to Booth's eye, "Amnity is currently residing in my office, do you think she would find it pleasant to listen to me tear apart her story to see if she is telling the truth? Ah yes, that's a great idea." The sarcasm dripping from his tone, had Agent Macklin backing away with his hands raised, but the look in his eye said that he knew there was something more to it.

Booth cussed in his head and glared at the Agent, thoroughly done with him, but even more unwilling to go back. So he just hissed at Macklin, "Suck it up Macklin, I'll be out of here as soon as I can be."

He watched as Macklin nodded and slowly turned to go back to what he was doing, before seating himself in one of the comfier chairs. He was vindictively pleased that he was stopping Macklin from going home like the agent had obviously been planning to do.

Sighing in resignation Booth opened his phone and began to make some calls.

Amnity's P.O.V.

Amnity watched as Agent Booth stomped down the hallway, scaring everyone in his path. She was worried, she had hoped that he had known that he had cousins, hoped that his father or at least his mother had told him. She had known it was unlikely however, he father had told her about his brother more than once and more than once she had wished along with her parents that they could have taken in Jared and Seeley.

Watching him now made her wish that more than ever, but instead of finding herself in a position to help him she was in a position that required her to ask help from him. She knew that she didn't deserve his help, having never helped him herself. Though how she could of helped him she had no idea, she had just been born when Booth had taken off for the army.

She had been angry with her parents a few times, demanding why they hadn't helped her cousins, why they hadn't made sacrifices to do so. They had never answered her, but she had seen the looks in their eyes: the awful knowledge of the part they had played in the boy's horrible childhood, the wish that they could turn back time and take their nephews away from their home, but knowing also that they couldn't have done so, because whatever had stopped them before would stop them again.

It had taken her time to forgive them, she had been twelve at the time she found out just how bad it had been for Seeley and Jared, but the look in their eyes as she judged them let her know that they hurt even more over the decision than she did.

She often wondered why her parents talked about them at all, she hadn't needed to know. The only answer she could come up with was that they wanted to make sure that their whole family kept in mind how lucky they were and the pain others had to deal with daily. Maybe they were paying for their sins in staying away from their nephews with guilt and suffering.

Regardless of their reasons she was glad that they had. She had come to love her cousins through her parent's stories of the two boys. She had wondered about how they came to know all these things and had been surprised to learn just how closely they had watched over the boys, even if they couldn't directly help them.

After awhile she started wondering what had happened after Booth joined the Army and Jared joined the Navy, so she began looking for any and all information on them. She had a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings that mentioned her cousins. She celebrated their victories and awards, and cried when they suffered. She had even bought Booth's partner's book in an effort to get closer to what he did and who he surrounded himself with. She had planned on visiting him in the near future, telling him everything, and now here she was letting him know he had a cousin in the worst situation.

She brought herself out of her memories and wondered for the millionth time why she had come here. What in the world she had expected, It's not like I expected him to light up with joy knowing that he had some family besides Jared left. I should have just rode things out. I could have just as easily cashed in my college fund to pay for an apartment long enough to find a job.

But you didn't want that, you saw a chance to finally meet your cousins and you took it a tiny voice whispered in her mind and even though it made her feel like a complete jerk to take advantage of such a horrible situation she knew the voice was right. She could have done something else, but she had wanted her cousin. And now she would have to reap the consequences. It didn't look good either, she hadn't expected him to take the news well, but she also hadn't expected him to take the news as bad as he had.

She was scared, scared that she had ruined everything by making such an impulsive decision. When he came back she knew that she would have to apologize for everything. To ask forgiveness for not thinking things fully through since she was dealing with her parent's death. Hopefully he would forgive her and then she could suggest she come back a different time so maybe they could chat. Then she would hightail it out of there, straight to the bank to get her money.

Her thoughts were cut off as she heard the door to Booth's office open and she looked up from where she had been starring at her hands, hunched over. He didn't look at her immediately, just made his way over to the desk to sit down. Amnity took a deep breath and prepared herself, come on girl, you can do this. For him.

"I apologize Agent Booth…"

Author's Note

I want to thank everyone for reading. I was going to keep going with the chapter, but I feared that if I did I wouldn't finish for another two weeks. I find that I would rather keep my chapters relatively short, not real short, but relatively, so that I can update more often. It takes me forever to write things out and I don't want you all to have to suffer and wait any longer than you absolutely must.

As I said at the beginning I only got one response that had any information on Booth's family, so I would appreciate other people's thoughts and knowledge as well. I want to be as accurate as I can be while keeping my storyline.

Thanks again for reading and for reviewing.