A/N: Again, thank you everyone for your reviews! Sorry this chapter is a little short... I promise a very long one the next time! It's already written but I will take a few more days to make sure Christine's version of what happened makes actually more in reality! So it might be a while before I post the next chapter. I hope you like this one!
I knew from her Friendz Haven page that she was now named Angela Jennings; whether her parents had chosen that name for her when they disappeared or that she had been named thus afterwards still remained a mystery. Her profile didn't hold much information. She had deliberately chosen not to share too much personal information with her friends.
After her brief introduction, she had quickly turned her back to me but I could tell by her tense posture that my presence made her nervous.
"I'm Jack White," I continued, hoping to get her trust. "You left me a message a couple of days ago."
"I did no such thing," she hissed back, her body still facing away.
"You told me the pictures held the key to what happened to your family. I am here to help you."
Slowly, she turned to me. I could tell she still had her defenses up. To be honest, she had every right not to trust me. To her, I was just a stranger showing up unexpectedly and calling her by a name she had probably not used or heard in 10 years.
"I can't talk here," she replied.
I nodded.
"I understand. Where?"
Christine let out a long sigh. She placed the book she had been holding back on the shelf and walked past me. She glanced around the area a few times before turning back towards me. I grabbed a notepad and a pen. Lowering her voice, she gave me the address to an apartment building. I'd have to search to know where that was. I hoped it was near the university.
"I share it with a roommate but she'll be out until 10. I get off work in about two hours."
I glanced at my watch. It was nearing 4 o'clock.
"I'll stop by around 8:00, if that's okay with you."
She nodded curtly before going back to her books.
At 8:05, I pressed the buzzer to the apartment building. The door was immediately unlocked as though Christine had been waiting for me right beside her door. I went up to the third floor and found her standing just outside her apartment looking furtively around. She led me inside and closed the door behind her.
"If anyone drops by while you're here, you are a distant uncle. And my name is Angela. No one has called me Christine since… well… in a very long time."
I sat down in the kitchen. Christine offered me some coffee which I declined. I told her I wanted to sleep tonight. She chuckled, nervously. Her anxiety was obvious. She was playing with the ring she wore on one of her fingers, twirling it around.
"I texted Michael after you left. He said you were legit," she said, her eyes staring straight into mine.
"I told you. I am here to find out what happened to your family. What happened the night you disappeared?"
Christine sighed.
"It's a long story."
The buzzer interrupted us. Christine excused herself and went to the door. Just as she had done with me, she greeted her guest outside the apartment. A couple of minutes later, a young man of about 18 walked in the apartment. From his black hair, I assumed I had just met Jackson. As they walked back to the kitchen, I took the time to examine them.
They were both approximately the same height, though Christine was an inch shorter. While Christine looked exactly like her mother with her square jaw and her blue eyes, Jackson's traits betrayed his adoption. Muscular and with broad shoulders, his eyes were gray and his hair was still curly and black. He had definitely changed since the last picture of him was taken.
Jackson and Christine sat in front of me.
"This is Jackson, my brother. Except now, he is called Jonathan. I invited him over. I hope you don't mind."
I told her I didn't. In fact, I was quite happy to meet the missing couple's two children. I knew Jackson would probably not remember much about that night but meeting them both would give me a feel of the relationship the siblings had had in the past. Now, they were both seated in front of me.
"So, what do you want to know?" Christine asked.
I didn't know where to start. The fact that the Booth children were still alive changed many things. I wondered how the FBI could have missed that clue. Were they even aware that the children were alive and well? Did it mean the parents were still alive as well?
Millions of questions ran through my mind. I focused on the important ones.
"Well first, I want to know what happened on the night you disappeared. What I'm most curious to find out is how come you are still alive after so many years and why didn't you try to contact someone earlier?"
The siblings exchanged glances. With no surprise, Christine is the one who answered.
"It's a really long story."
"You keep saying that."
"It keeps being true."
"Why don't you start at the beginning? What happened to your parents? Are they still alive?"
Christine remained silent. Instead, she answered my question by another question.
"Who sent you here?"
I was pretty sure she knew that already from having spoken to Michael. How else would she have known about me? If she hadn't known I had been working on the case, she wouldn't have sent the pictures. I was sure of that much.
"Parker."
At the sound of her brother's name, Christine seemed to soften up a bit.
"Well, tell him he's wasting his time. We don't know what happened to our parents after we left them."
"What do you mean you left them?"
Before neither of them could explain, I interrupted them.
"Let me guess… It's a long story?"
A smile tugged at Christine's lips.
"You can say that."
"Like I said. Start at the beginning. Start with the night you left your home. What happened then?"
"It happened a long time ago. I'm not sure I'll remember all the details."
"It's okay," I assured her. "Tell me what you remember."
Christine nodded slowly. Looking over at her brother for support, she took a deep breath and began to speak. For the next hour, I listened to the horrible story of the night the Booths were forced to abandon their home.
I want to know your theories on what has happened. Why do you think Christine and Jackson had to change their names? What's your theory on the man? Do you think Booth and Bones are still alive? I'm curious to find what you all think of what has probably happened. Don't be shy! Everybody has theories! Maybe yours is the correct one! ;-)