Author's Note: This story is set in the current season, with spoilers through, "The Crack in the Code." The name of baby Booth is also revealed, if you are trying to avoid that piece of information, but there are no other spoilers. Although staying true to canon the story goes a little bit science fiction-y, think Fringe or X-Files type themes. I promise that all, or at least most of your questions will be answered by the end of the story. I have already written it in its entirety and plan to post two chapters each week. I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!
Booth dropped Brennan and Christine off at the lab. It was had been a typical morning for the new family. They had been woken by the baby half an hour before their clocks were due to alarm. The baby always woke up at five am and they wondered why they even bothered to set an alarm. Brennan had fed Christine while Booth took a shower and then he watched the baby while Brennan showered and dressed for the day. The two adults had bickered throughout breakfast. She was complaining that no human could possibly need to eat that much bacon in one setting. He was arguing that she needed more than just coffee and toast. Even through their arguing, the two worked in tandem. They wordlessly packed the diaper bag, Booth throwing in some granola bars and a banana for Bones to find at some point later in the morning. Brennan knew exactly where to find his lost shoe which avoided a last minute meltdown as they rushed to get out the door and into the DC traffic.
Christine had slept throughout the forty five minute ride to The Jeffersonian, she always did. Brennan closed her eyes as well, the fatigue of having a highly demanding job and an infant catching up with her as she had a while to sit still. Booth didn't have the luxury of a morning nap and he silently considered hiring a chauffeur to take the three of them into the city each morning. The only thing he disliked about their new home in the Maryland countryside was how far away it was from work.
Booth had always been a religious man and he took the quiet drive time as an opportunity to pray. He would thank God for Brennan, Parker and Christine. He would pray for their continued safety and for guidance in keeping his family together and happy. As he finished his prayer, he glanced over at his dozing partner. She was tilted toward the passenger side window, her head resting on the foggy glass. She had let her hair grow since having the baby and Booth loved the look of her long locks.
He smiled as he pulled his eyes away from Brennan and back onto the road. That was until he glanced in his rear view mirror. There was a bright red SUV close behind them in traffic. Normally this wouldn't have garnered a second thought but Booth knew he had seen that same SUV near their home late last night. Bones would tell him that he was just being paranoid but the color of the vehicle was distinct. A dramatic shade of red that you didn't see every day. He calmed himself with the thought that even if it were the same car there was probably a reasonable explanation for its presence in both instances. At the next red light, he made note of the license plate number and jotted it down on an errant piece of paper he found lying in the console of the truck.
By the time Booth was pulling back out into traffic after dropping off his girls at The Jeffersonian he had lost sight of the red SUV. As he continued on his way to the FBI building he forgot all about the weird sightings.
The couple in the SUV, however, did not forget about Booth. They parked on the opposite side of the street from the private entrance that Brennan used to enter the building. A perk of being Dr. Temperance Brennan. They had a full view of Booth getting Christine out of her car seat. They could see her purple coat standing out against the black and grey of her father's suit. The lady in the truck smiled as she watched Seeley hand the baby over to his partner. She watched as he kissed both of them, the baby on her bald head, his partner on her lips. The SUV didn't move away from their spot until they watched Booth pull out, satisfied that his family was safely inside the lab.
"He's happy Hester. That's all you wanted to know. We should leave now."
"He seems happy, but I can't be sure from a distance."
"You promised that you just wanted to see him."
"I just need to make sure. I know he's my son, I would know him anywhere, but I need more proof."
"You can't talk to him Hester. It's too dangerous. What if he recognizes you?"
"It's been over thirty years, he won't recognize me."
"It's too big of a chance, you can't risk it."
"She won't recognize me. I'll talk to her."
"Hester we have to go back now. I promised you that you could see him, but I can't let you do anything else."
"You said we had a two week pass. We've only been gone for a day."
"If a day isn't enough than two weeks won't be either. The longer you stay, the more you see, the more you're going to want to leave The Facility. The Leader won't let you leave forever, no matter how close you are to me. We'll both be in danger. They will be too Hester."
"Just a few more days, George." It was a statement not a question.
Inside of The Facility he could control her but outside in the world, he had no way to make her understand how serious their situation would become if they didn't return.
"Whatever you do Hester, you cannot tell them who you are."
Brennan sat at the Royal Diner waiting on her coffee. She was meeting Angela there for lunch. It was nearly three pm and she was thankful for the fruit Booth had hidden in her bag. It was the only thing she had eaten as the time had gotten away from her. Christine fussed in her carrier and Brennan looked in her diaper bag for a toy to occupy the baby. In digging for Christine's favorite stuffed monkey she missed the sound of footsteps approaching their table until the lady was right on top of them.
"Can I help you?" Brennan's motherly instincts caused her to slide closer to the infant as she handed over Monkey.
"No, I'm sorry I was just," the lady stopped and for a moment Brennan thought that she wasn't going to continue, "You have a beautiful child."
"Thank you. If you'll excuse us we were in the middle of lunch." Brennan didn't believe in lying but this woman was making her feel uneasy. Her mannerisms were suspect and the interest she was showing in her daughter was unacceptable.
The woman, who was still smiling down at Christine, also knew it was a lie. The table gave Brennan away. It was empty of any lunch dishes, not even a bottle for the baby. But it wasn't the bare table or the lie that caught the lady's attention; it was the ring on Brennan's left hand.
"Your ring, it's-" she wasn't sure how to bring the subject up. "I've seen it before."
"It was a very popular setting in the late 1940's." Brennan had a sense that something was wrong. Booth would say it was her gut telling her to be careful but she didn't believe in messages from one's intestinal tract. She saw it more as a reasonable reaction to an unusual situation.
"That's probably all it is. Is it an engagement ring?"
"You are very inquisitive. But, yes, it is. It belonged to my fiancé's grandmother. His grandfather wanted me to have it."
"Hank must think you're the one, then."
"Hank? How did you-" the surprise was apparent on Brennan's face when the stranger used Booth's grandfather's name.
"You must have misunderstood. I didn't say Hank, Sweetheart. I said 'he.'"
Brennan and the mystery lady engaged in a drawn out staring contest, both willing the other to blink first. Then Christine whined in her seat and Brennan leaned down to check on her. Handing Monkey back from where he had fallen in the seat beside the baby she looked back up to confront the stranger, but she was gone.
"Sweetie, I brought books," Angela came through the doors of the cafe with a flourish. She had piled at least half a dozen bridal magazines in front of Brennan before she had a chance to speak. Angela noticed the look on her friend's face. "What's wrong?"
"Did you just see a woman leave the cafe? Brown hair, green eyes, about one hundred and sixty centimeters?"
"There were a lot of people leaving; I didn't notice anyone in particular. Why?"
"She was very interested in Christine."
"Babies always draw attention, Sweetie, and this one is very cute." Angela made a face at Christine, who rewarded her with a laugh.
"She was quite focused on my ring as well. I could've sworn she said something about Hank when I said that it was my fiancé's grandmothers."
"That is strange. Maybe you just misheard her?"
"That's what she said too."
"If it makes you feel that strange, you should tell Booth."
"No, he'll just think that I'm being overly suspicious and blame my concern on hormonal surges," Brennan smiled and picked up one of the bridal magazines. "Have you spoken to your friend who owns the beach house?"
The subject now changed, Angela jumped head first into the wedding planning. "Yes, we are all set for the 19th. But you have to pick out bridesmaid's dresses today. If we don't your attendants will be walking down the aisle in their bathing suits."
"I find that I like the blue ones." For a genius, Brennan was no fashionista.
"Blue ones? Really?"
"Ang, it doesn't matter. I don't even need bridesmaids. I just want to marry Booth. These magazines are full of marketing ploys intended to sell more magazines and dresses."
"You may not need bridesmaids but I need to be your maid of honor and I fully intend on doing just that." Angela sighed at her friend's lack of excitement in the wedding planning. "You are taking all the fun out of this for me. I got married in a jail cell, Sweetie. I need this. Let me plan this magical wedding for you and Booth."
"You are planning it Angela. You can plan all you want. I promise that Booth and I will be there. I just am not interested in going to elaborate extremes at this point. I simply want to stand in front of my dad and my brother and our friends and promise Booth that I intend to spend the rest of my life with him."
"You've come a long way from the woman who didn't believe in marriage."
"I never said that I didn't believe in marriage. I said that I didn't have a reason to enter into a legal commitment with someone in an attempt to prove my love for them. But I do now." Brennan glanced down at her daughter. "This is important to Booth and legally it will make things simpler in terms of Christine and Parker."
"I hope your vows are a little more romantic than that."
"Just plan the wedding. Let me know if you need me to sign a check. I do not intend for this to be an event solely funded by the Hodgins' estate," Brennan said.
"I still need an idea of what you want. Colors, music, menu, guest list, minister-" as Angela continued to list at least a hundred decisions that needed to be made, neither woman noticed the dark haired lady still standing outside, watching them through the window as they talked.