A/N- This chapter had me feeling a bit insecure. Then I sat down and thought more about what's going on here and what had gone on with Jared and Haven's momma:) Now I'm feeling a bit more confident in where I'm going with this:) Thanks to gatheringOguidos for Beta-ing this chapter for me:)

Word Count: 1,419

Chapter 3 Orders To Follow

As Haven was resting her head on her Uncle Seeley's shoulder, she remembered the night before.

Her mother had been drinking a lot, and Haven had been hiding like her Daddy taught her to do. It was like all the other times this had happened. Her mother had told her to go to her room and then pulled out one of the bottles that had the nasty stuff that burned Haven's nose when she got close enough to smell it. She knew it was called vodka, since she could read already.

Haven had let her mother see her walking to her room, but when she turned away, Haven went to the hall closet and hid in her secret place. Her daddy had called it a crawlspace. Haven had put the board that covered it back and turned on the flashlight that hung from a nail on the back wall. It wasn't very big, but Haven could stand on her knees and could lie down on the floor all the way stretched out, so she thought it was just the right size for a secret hiding place. It also was really comfortable since she had a big blanket to cover the floor and a fluffy pillow in case she needed to sleep in there. She also had her emergency backpack that her daddy had helped her pack.

She hadn't been in there a long time before the yelling had started. She had only gotten to read two chapters of her favorite Nancy Drew book. Her mother had been yelling for her to come out of her room, that she had something to tell her. She heard her go into Haven's room and when she found Haven was gone- her mother had started to throw things around.

"Where are you, you little shit? You hidin' again? Did your goddamn Daddy teach you to hide from me? Well? Get your ass out here, brat!"

Haven just did what her father had told her to do. She covered her ears and didn't listen to her mother's words. She knew that whatever she said when she was drinking the vodka stuff wasn't true. Her mother only said those sorts of things when she was drinking. But sometimes it wasn't too bad- she'd just cry a little and say sorry a lot and then fall asleep. And her mother didn't drink every day. Sometimes she went a whole week without drinking. Those times, she would pretend like Haven wasn't there, or she would even be nice to her.

Haven had figured this was going to be a time like those other times her mother had yelled this loud- she was going to have to sleep back there. It was a good thing she already had her pajamas on.

When she started to fluff her pillow up and pull the end of her blanket up for covers, she heard a loud bang. It sounded like something had fallen just outside the closet. Haven knew she wasn't allowed to check, but she thought it may have been her mother. She had put her ear to the little door and listened.

It had been her mother. And she was sobbing. Hearing her mother cry made Haven a little sad, but she couldn't help her. She would 'compromise' her hiding spot and her Daddy told her never to do that. Once it was 'compromised' it wouldn't be a secret anymore and then it wouldn't be safe.

When Haven was about to go back to fixing up her little bed, she heard her mother say something that made her freeze.

"Why did you have to go and die on me, you bastard? Why did you leave me here alone to take care of your precious daughter? Why couldn't you have loved me?"

Haven understood what her mother was crying about- her daddy had died. Haven crawled back to her pillow and lay her head down on it. She had wondered why Daddy hadn't called or come to visit in so long, but she didn't want to think the worst.

Normally, she would call him every morning, and he would answer if he could, but if he couldn't, Haven would leave a message and then her Daddy had promised he would listen to it and call her back when he could. That always meant he was somewhere far away for his job, but he would still sometimes call her back to say goodnight. And when he was home, he would come and visit her every week. He would take Haven to the park or he would stay with her at her house, if her mother was gone, and teach her things, like how to read. Sometimes they'd ride the train into the city and eat at a restaurant or go to the museum, and he'd teach her about how to read maps and how the subway worked. He would take her to the store and teach her how to count the right amount of money to pay for what she wanted. When they stayed home, he would teach Haven how to stay hidden, to stay in shadows and sneak around… that was her favorite game. Her daddy would call her a sneaky ninja if she could make it all the way out of the house without him finding her first.

As Haven lay down and remembered her Daddy, she had cried. She would never see her Daddy again and she knew she would miss him. But, now, she had orders to follow. Her daddy had told her before he went on away for this 'dangerous job', like he had done all the times before that.

"First, if your mother tells you that I'm dead, cry. Cry your little heart out, but only for one night. After that, you just remember that I'll be looking down on my little angel from heaven, and you don't need to feel sad anymore."

"Okay, Daddy." He hugged Haven close to his chest.

"Second, you wait until morning and you call your Uncle Seeley. You remember where you put his card?" Haven gestured toward the closet, "That's right; it's in the emergency pack. You call him and you tell him your name and that your Daddy is dead and that you need him to come and get you. And then you take your pack, get out of here without letting your mother know, and you wait for him at the train station." Haven nodded, and Jared kissed her head. She was a brilliant little girl, and he knew with everything she'd been taught, she could take care of herself long enough to find his brother if the need be.

As he had every time they went over this contingency plan, he hoped that his baby girl would never have to do this, but he needed her to be prepared. If he wasn't around anymore, no one would be there to protect Haven from her mother.

He planned for this to be his last job though. He would be coming back and taking up a new position here in D.C. He was basically going to be a desk jockey, but he'd take that any day if it meant he could finally take his daughter home, and away from her mother. He could finally tell Seeley about her, about how he may have made so many mistakes in his life but had finally gotten something right.

He just hoped everything ran smoothly on this last trip to Iraq.

Haven was happy in her Uncle Seeley's arms. He was there to protect her so she could finally rest. She had been up since early this morning, making sure to follow all of the orders her daddy had given her. And when the plan hadn't quite worked out, she made up her own. She had a feeling though, that her daddy knew she might have had to find Uncle Seeley by herself— she had used all the things he had taught her to get to the museum.

After she met the Bone-lady, Uncle Seeley picked her up, and he carried her all the way to his car. He put her in the backseat and buckled her in, and him and 'Bones' got in the front seats. She tried to stay awake, but Uncle Seeley said that it was okay to fall asleep— he would wake her when they got home.

Haven finally drifted off with a smile never leaving her face.

A/N- Thanks for reading! Leave me your thoughts:) Thanks again to gatheringOguidos for Beta-ing this chapter for me:)

Next chapter will be a little while maybe. I'm not sure where my motivation went. Your reviews do help though:) Just sayin'