NEW CHAPTER! Let me know what you think!

R&R


"Last chance… okay, I'm hanging up now. I'm serious. Okay, bye"

Brennan's eyes popped open urgently. She sat up and ran to the phone but it was too late, he had already hung up. She grabbed the receiver and dialed his number and listened to the endless rings on the other end until she got his machine. Frantically she dialed his cell and came up with the same results. Knowing Booth, he was probably listening to music at the loudest volume possible considering it wasn't a work day.

She slammed the phone back on its base and stood still. She didn't know what to do next. She wanted to go with him to visit his family but she didn't want to be intrusive on their family time. She also didn't just want to show up on his doorstep looking more desperate than ever. She took a step toward her bedroom and froze.

The image of the little girl from her dream popped into her head and she barged into her bedroom and took a bag out of her closet and began packing clothes for herself. She was cautious to make the appropriate packing decisions because she was in such a rush to leave, so she double checked the contents of her bag and then she jumped into the shower and changed, applied her makeup and packed all of her toiletries.

She gathered all of her things and headed down to the parking garage, loaded her bag in the backseat of her car and began her trip to Philly. Realizing that she didn't have directions or her laptop with her, she ran back up to her apartment and turned on her lap top, meanwhile making some coffee for the trip. She filled up a thermos with coffee and sat down at her computer and looked for "Booth" on the yellow pages. There were eleven listings all in different areas of the city and it was apparent that Booth's first name was not passed down from his father because there were no Seeley Booth's listed.

She sighed and printed out directions to one house and then subsequently from the first house to every other house. She now realized that he had actually wanted her to come with him and that she did in fact overreact when she found out that his mother had read her books. Booth would never lie to her; he had no reason to and she should have listened. After printing out all of the addresses, she grabbed the pile of paper from her printer and went back to her car.

Before leaving the city, she stopped to fill up on gas and then set out to find the correct Booth residence. She didn't know if she was actually going to go into the Booth residence, but she was going to at least find it and decide what to do with it after that. It was about three thirty by the time she made it to the first residence. She had a difficult time navigating center city because everything looked the same and most of the roads went in circles which she believed she went around numerous times before realizing that she had passed her turn off once or twice.

She looked at the house that she was parked in front of and was slightly scared to get out of her car. She would never admit that to anyone of course, but it looked like a rough neighborhood and she was unsure as to whether Booth could have grown up in a neighborhood like this; then again, he always did insinuate that his family didn't have a lot growing up. Reluctantly, Brennan stepped out of her vehicle and locked her doors behind her and made her way up the front stoop of the house.

She cleared her throat before knocking on the door. An elderly African American woman came to the door with a broom in hand, "Can I help you?" she asked.

Brennan smiled, "No, I'm sorry. I… I think I have the wrong address." She said turning from the woman.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked.

"My friend who lives in Philly, Seeley Booth." She said.

The woman shrugged, "This is the Booth residence, but no one named Seeley lives here."

Brennan smiled hesitantly, "Thank you. I'm sorry for disturbing you." She said, turning and walking away. She jumped back into her vehicle and started her car. Letting out a sigh, she questioned why she was so desperately searching for her partner today. She didn't have anything urgent to tell him, she was simply intending on intruding on his family time because she was desolate on the holiday. Shrugging, she pulled back onto the street and headed toward the next house.

At eight thirty that night, Brennan stopped at the last Booth household on the list. This had to be it. It was by far the nicest house she had visited through the day. She had been greeted by many strange people and their yapping dogs or overly affectionate cats and strange smells and sights passed before her eyes at their front doors. Booth was definitely right when he said that Philly's underbelly was on top and she smiled at the recollection of his words and her reaction and disbelief of his statement.

She sat in her car pondering whether or not she should actually take the leap and knock on the door. I was getting cold in her car and she had wasted nearly two tanks of gas coming all the way up here and more than anything she had to go to the bathroom. Reluctantly and nervously, she dragged herself out of the car and up the front walk. She swallowed some pride and rang the doorbell.

She could hear yelling and cheering inside the house and she laughed at the sound wishing that she were a part of a family as happy as this one, regardless whether it was actually Booth's house or not. A minute later an older woman answered the door with a bright smile on her face.

Temperance's smile faded immediately with the sudden realization that she had actually driven more than eight hours to and around Philly seeking out her partner and his family to intrude on their holiday and selfishly make herself feel like she was in a family again, "Um… uh…" she stumbled over her words, realizing that she looked like an idiot in front of a woman who could very well be Booth's mother, "Sorry, wrong house." She said, turning abruptly on her heels and scurrying down the path.

"Temperance?" the woman called after her.

Brennan stopped in her tracks and winced at the sound of her name being called by the woman. She turned back toward the door and saw that the woman had edged her way down the path towards her, "Mrs. Booth, you should probably go back inside. It's very cold out here and you'll probably catch a cold without a coat on." She said.

The woman laughed and linked arms with Brennan guiding her back to the house, "I'm so glad you could make it. Our Seeley was upset that you couldn't come up with him. He'll be so surprised to see you!" she said excitedly.

Temperance smiled and blushed slightly, "I'm so sorry for intruding on your holiday, Mrs. Booth. You really don't have to accommodate for me." She said.

"Oh hush!" she said swatting her arm playfully, "Seeley told us wonderful things about you. We've been pestering him to bring you up here for so long now. I'm a big fan of your novels. I started reading them when Seeley told us that you two were working together."

"Thank you so much. I'm glad you like them." She said shedding her coat and stepping into the main entry way of the house. She looked around at what she could see and it all just seemed lived in a full of warmth that she had never experienced from a home. She could smell a fire in a fireplace, probably coming from where everyone was yelling as well as the smell of home cooked food and baked goods.

"I can't wait to see the look on Seeley's face when he sees you!" His mother beamed. She took Brennan by the arm and led her down a short hallway toward the living room where a large group of people were gathered around a large television set watching football. They were drinking beer and eating chips, laughing and yelling at the TV and making comments loudly to each other about whose team was better, "Seeley," his mother said, "I found something on the front porch for you." She said jokingly.

Booth tore his eyes away from the television long enough to catch a glimpse at Brennan. He did a double take and stood abruptly, "Bones!" he said, eyes wide and a growing smile coming to his face. Brennan smiled uncomfortably and waved at him. Climbing over his relatives, he made it into the hallway and picked her up in a big hug, "I'm so glad you're here!" he said.

Brennan laughed, "Yeah, I tried to call you back this morning but you didn't answer your phones." She said softly so that only he could hear.

He planted her feet on the floor and pulled away from her and rolled her eyes, "I forgot my cell back in DC and didn't realize it until I arrived." He grabbed her hand and walked her to the edge of the living room where all of his family was gathered and yelled to them, "Hey everyone, this is Temperance." They all responded with a uniform 'hi' and didn't take their eyes of the television, "Sorry." He said to her, "my family is a little crazy when it comes to football." He shrugged.

Brennan smiled widely at him, "It's okay."

He smiled and then dragged her into the kitchen where Mrs. Booth and another woman were cooking, "Mom, Aunt Eileen, this is Temperance Brennan." He said.

"Temperance and I already met." She said rolling her eyes, "But I'm glad to see you finally happy." She said swatting her son with a dishtowel. Booth laughed and gauged Brennan's discomfort out of the corner of his eye and was happy to see that the statement didn't affect her much.

The woman named Aunt Eileen stuck her hand out to Temperance and smiled, "It's nice to finally meet you Temperance."

Brennan took her hand gently, "Thank you. It's nice to be here."

"We've heard so much about you." She said withdrawing her hand, "It's seems Seeley here can't stop talking about all of the good things you do all over the world. It seems he's quite taken." She said glancing back and forth between the pair.

"Taken by what?" Brennan asked in her usual manner.

Booth cut off his aunt abruptly, "It means I think that you're good at your work." He said, giving a warning glance to Aunt Eileen. She just smiled, knowingly and turned back to check on the chicken in the oven.

"Oh, thanks Booth." Brennan said approvingly, "Then I suppose that I am quite taken by you, as well."

Booth smiled, "Thanks Bones."

Brennan turned to him briefly and lowered her voice. Knowing that she was going to tell him something he stooped lower to make it easier on her, "Booth, do you think I could talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Sure." He said, looking around for a place where they could talk in private. He guided her back toward the front lobby and handed her coat to her and shrugged his on and then opened the door for her to step outside.

He closed the door behind them and turned to her concerned, "What's up, Bones?" he asked.

She shifted on her feet and pulled her coat tighter to her body to ward off the cold, "Well, I… is it okay that I'm here?" she asked.

Booth smiled, "Are you kidding?"

Brennan laughed at his expression, "No, really… I didn't mean to just show up on your doorstep. It was extremely impolite of me to do so and it's evident that you haven't eaten your dinner yet so now your mother has to accommodate me…" she said concerned that she was indeed being the intrusion that she had thought she would be.

Booth took her by her shoulders, "Bones," he said softly, "There are fifteen people in that house right now. Every year, even after having fifteen people over for Christmas, we always have an enormous amount of leftovers. We don't need to accommodate you. I'm sure that my mother is just happy to have another person eating. Besides, my mother is happy that you're here and when my father and brother unglue themselves from the television they will be happy to meet you too." He laughed.

Brennan released a breath of relief and nodded her head, "Okay. I feel better now."

Booth moved his hands up and down her arms to warm her up a bit, "Now can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"Sure." She replied.

"How did you know where my parents lived?" he asked, smiling at her.

Brennan laughed, "I've met at least one person from every Booth family in the Philadelphia area today."

Booth laughed and shook his head, "Ah, that's my Bones." He said guiding her back into the house just as his mother called everyone for dinner.