A/N: I am finally giving you a bit more information in this chapter! Hope you enjoy! ;-)

The three of us walked in silence towards the door. From the light in the window, I knew the Hodgins' and Parker were sitting in the living room, probably waiting for us impatiently. At the door, I turned to Christine who gave me a nod. Taking this as a cue she really was ready, I rang the doorbell.

We didn't wait very long. The front door soon opened and Parker stood in front of us. I heard Christine yelp behind me before she rushed past me and into her brother's arms. I heard her begin to weep as she clutched to her brother like a lifeline. Jackson stood on the front steps, not moving.

I found his stoic expression rather strange. He didn't move or show any emotion he might have been feeling in regards to seeing his older brother after so many years. Suddenly, it hit me that Jackson had been so young when his adoptive parents had disappeared. He probably didn't remember much from his early childhood with them. It was highly possible that he didn't recognize Parker at all.

Eventually, the siblings pulled apart. Christine turned to me, chuckled, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to see this, Jack," she said.

I simply shrugged. I hadn't expected less from siblings meeting more than a decade later, especially considering one of them was thought to have been deceased.

Parker turned his attention to Jackson. The two men stared at each other, unsure what to say. I could tell by Parker's attitude that he wasn't sure how to react. On the one hand, the young man had been his younger sibling. On the other hand, Jackson's body language didn't show his attachment to him. In the end, Parker went for the handshake.

"Wow Jackson, you grew!"

The young simply nodded.

"Come on in!" Parker told us. "Everyone is waiting for you!"

We stepped into the warm house. The three of us took off our shoes and followed Parker into the living room where Angela, her husband, and her son were seating. At the sight of us, Angela leaped to her feet and walked towards us. She stopped in front of Christine and tears began to fall from her eyes. She held the young woman at arm's length and examined her.

"You look just like your mother," she whispered before taking Christine into her arms.

For the second time tonight, Christine began to weep.

After the reunion had been made, we all took a seat in the living room. I offered to leave them alone but Parker and Angela refused.

"Nonsense!" Angela replied. "You're the one who made this reunion possible. You are staying to celebrate with us."

I knew I didn't really have a choice. So, I sat with them. Angela wanted to know everything about Christine and Jackson. Christine offered her the same information she had given me about her studies, her life after the disappearance, and how come she was still alive. Jackson didn't add much, only saying that he was studying criminology at the same university. I had a feeling Jackson felt out of place. After all, if he didn't remember Parker, he couldn't possibly have any recollection of ever being with Angela and her family.

"I've got something for you," Angela said, getting to her feet. "Stay right here. I'll be back."

All of us sat in silence as we waited for Angela to return. We heard faint noise coming from upstairs.

"What do you think she has for us?" Christine asked her younger brother.

Jackson shrugged.

A few minutes later, we could hear Angela's footsteps coming down the stairs. Christine gasped as she saw what her mother's friend was holding.

"Izzy!" she exclaimed, reaching out towards Angela.

"You left him at our old house the last night you slept over."

Angela handed Christine a stuffed hippo. Then, turning to Jackson, she gave him the stuffed elephant and a small blanket. The blanket was still white despite all the years that had gone by and was decorated with small blue elephants. Shyly, Jackson reached out for them. He examined them carefully.

"Do you remember them?" Angela asked.

Jackson nodded, slowly.

"Yeah… I think I do."

Angela turned to me.

"The blanket is the one Booth and Brennan found him with after his parents died in the fire. He never left the house without it. He didn't use it at home, only when he slept somewhere else."

"I remember those!" Christine said, excitedly. "It's been such a long time! I can't believe you kept them!"

Angela shrugged.

"I was keeping them safe until you came back," she replied in a small voice.

No one said anything.

I politely declined the visit to Max's hospital room. I was already feeling I had overstepped my boundaries by staying with them the previous night and witnessing their personal reunion. I told Christine and Jackson that I would pick them up Sunday afternoon and to call me when they were ready to leave. Christine agreed and I left her with her family.

Back at home, I tried to prepare for my meeting the following Monday. There were so many questions I wanted to ask and I didn't want to miss any details. I wrote down a list of questions that would surely cover everything I needed to know to shut this case.

Now that the end was near, I was feeling a sense of sadness. Everyone I met through this case had been wonderful, both in the personality and in regards to me. They had been very helpful and willing to give me information. I still wondered why Max had hidden evidence to the police but I wasn't about to turn him in over that.

I went to bed early, exhausted from all the driving I had done over the last couple of days. After spending time in hotels, it felt great to be sleeping in my own bed for a while. However, my sleep was short-lived. Around 2 am, I heard my cellphone ring. Sitting up in my bed, I reached for my phone on my nightstand. The caller ID showed me Parker's phone number. I frowned. Had something happened?

"Hello?"

My voice was hoarse and I had to clear my throat.

"Jack? It's Parker. I'm sorry to call you at such a late hour."

"Did something happen?" I asked.

Parker remained silent for a few seconds.

"Actually, yes. Max died tonight."

After hanging up with Parker, sleep refused to come. I thought of Max lying in his hospital bed, alone. The image of his face haunted me for the rest of the night. I could still see him underneath all of the tubes and could still hear his voice pleading for me to tell Christine to visit him. I thought it fortunate that Christine had got to see her grandfather one more time before he died.

I spoke to Christine later that day. Her voice sounded tired and I could tell from the sniffles I heard over the phone that she was still crying. She informed me that Jackson and she would be staying longer in Washington to help with Max's funeral service. I told her I understood. I asked her when the funeral would be held. She said it would probably be in a week or two.

An idea had formed in my mind during our conversation. However, seven days didn't give me much time to do my research and get the results I expected it would bring. Nevertheless, I knew it was the right thing to do and that I would have to try my best to use my time efficiently to make it happen.

After my conversation with Christine, I immediately called Parker. I told him I would need to drive back down to North Carolina. Though the previous time he hadn't question my trip to the southern state, this time he inquired about my interest in that particular state.

"You keep going back there. Unless you are meeting a woman down there and that you are charging me the mileage, it must mean you found something interesting."

I laughed at his joke and told him he had busted me.

"Actually, joking aside, I did find something. It seems like the last time someone has seen your parents alive was just out of Asheville, North Carolina. I'm following a lead down there. I'm not sure yet where it will lead me. I will let you know as soon as I can."

Though it wasn't completely the truth, it wasn't completely a lie. What I had found off Google had led me to Asheville. And the information I had learned there had confirmed everything I had found on the Internet. Now, all I needed was that extra proof that would finally seal this case. That much I wasn't ready to share yet.

I packed my things for a week worth of sleuthing in North Carolina. I wasn't sure how long I would be there for and I didn't want to risk not having enough clothes and other useful things. Then, I got into my car and began my journey south.

I arrived 9 hours later, proud of myself for only stopping briefly to grab something to eat. I settled in my usual hotel. My meeting wasn't until tomorrow. The time seemed to pass slowly. Eventually, I managed to fall asleep. When I woke up the next morning, I could barely stand still. The end was near.

The room was cold and grey. I had only been in such a room once in my life, when I was a cop and had been visiting a criminal who had supposedly hired someone on the outside to do his bidding. I waited patiently, sitting on the hard chair. I had to pull many strings to be able to use this room and not the common area, separated by a glass, where all the regular meetings occurred. What needed to be said couldn't be heard by everyone around.

The metallic door eventually opened. A security guard walked in, followed by a tall man covered in an orange jumpsuit. His feet had been handcuffed, but his hands remained free. I highly doubted he would be a flight risk at the point but I said nothing. The security guard informed us we'd have one hour; no more, no less.

The man took a seat across the table. Even though many years had passed, he still looked the same. Only a few gray hairs betrayed the decade gone by. We stared at each other. Though he didn't know me, he didn't seem suspicious. It's almost as if he had known I would be coming eventually.

A few seconds passed before he spoke.

"You found me."

I nodded.

"It wasn't difficult once I got the right information."

"Who told you?"

"Max."

The man chuckled.

"I should have known. How is the old man?"

I gulped. This definitely wasn't the time to tell him that Max had passed away a couple of days earlier. There would be time later for all the superfluous chitchat. Right now, I was being paid to do a job and this job required that I finally get the information Parker had been searching for.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" I asked him, ignoring his own question.

The man sighed and rubbed his face with both hands.

"It's a long story."

I chuckled.

"So I've heard."

He took a deep breath before speaking. For the next hour, I listened as Seeley Booth filled in most of the holes in the story that had captivated me from the start.