So, I'm sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the past two have been. But as a way to try to buy your forgiveness, I'll post the next chapter tomorrow. :)

An hour later, Booth, Mattie, and Jett reached the neighborhood park. Booth had been expecting maybe a swing set and slide with a place to play catch, but this park was massive. The play structure was bigger than some of the houses he had seen during the war. And there were at least a dozen swings scattered around the massive structure, plus a large picnic area nearby with a field that was at least four times bigger than a football field. And don't forget the half a dozen basketball courts.

"Wow… Nice park."

"Isn't it awesome?" Jett asked. Booth just nodded. He would have killed to have a park like this when he was a kid.

"So, can I go play on the slides?" Jett asked. Mattie nodded, but Booth looked like a kid whose favor toy had been taken.

"I thought you wanted to toss the ole pig skin around," Booth answered tossing the football up in the air and catching it as it fell.

"We can later, Seeley," the little boy said before running to the latter for the slide.

Mattie and Booth quickly found a table near the playground, and began to watch the eleven year old goof around with another little boy. Booth looked over at Mattie after about ten minutes of silence. He noticed that she had yet to take off the jean jacket, which was weird because it had to be at least eighty degrees by now. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and was comfortable, but he had been serving in the dessert for the past four years. He doubted Mattie, the girl who had only lived around Chicago, had spent time much time in the heat.

"Getting hot over there?"

"What?" Mattie asked, apparently coming out of her own little world.

"I asked if you were getting hot. It's like eighty degrees out here, and you're wearing a jean jacket."

"I have a high tolerance for the heat." Booth immediately knew the girl was lying, and it wasn't from the beads of sweat running down her face. He hoped this girl never had to lie for her life; she might not make it out alive.

"Right." The word was drawn out, just to show how much he believed her. She was apparently oblivious to the sarcasm oozing from his voice, however.

Again, the two set in silence watching the little boy. Booth's eyes might not have left Jett, but his mind was focused on the secretive girl sitting a little over a foot away from him. He knew that he had only known her for a couple of hours, but there was something familiar about her. He felt like there was similarities between them, but he didn't have a clue what they were. Yeah, they both had brown eyes and were fairly tall, but he thought it was something deeper. Maybe I'm just imagining things, he told himself.

"So, what's your family like?" Booth tried to start again. Mattie's eyes shot towards Booth for a moment, and then returned to Jett.

"I don't have one."

"What? Come on, you have to have had parents."

"My parents died."

"I'm sorry; I didn't know," he suddenly felt guilty for even bringing it up.

"There's no reason for you to. You had no way of knowing. Jett doesn't even know what I am."

"What you are?" Booth hadn't noticed anything unusual about Mattie's appearance- save the jacket.

"A foster kid."

"That's not who you are," Booth said automatically. Mattie's brown eyes focused on him.

"You don't know anything about me."

"Maybe not much, but enough to know that you aren't just some kid who's going to take whatever life throws at them. You worked your ass off in school enough to get a full ride to Northwestern. I doubt that you leave everything up to fate."

"I don't believe in fate." Booth rolled his eyes at her comment.

"My point is you aren't ever just one thing. So yeah, you might be a foster kid, but that's only until you turn eighteen, and then no one will know or care. But you'll always be a smart girl with focus and determination. And that is what will define you." Brown collided with brown as the two people stared into each other's eyes. They weren't really sure how long they just sat there looking into the others eyes, but they knew how it broke.

"Mattie! Seeley!" Jett cried from the playground. Both of them turned to look at the boy. "Will someone come push me on the swing?"

"Sure, bub. I'm coming." Booth got up from the bench and headed towards the swing. About three steps from the table, he turned back to the teenage girl. "Think about what I said, Mattie."

Booth knew Mattie's eyes were focused on him, and that he had given the scholarly girl something to think about. Imagine that. The jock gave the squint something to think about. That can't happen too often, Booth though smugly, as he went to push Jett on the swing.