"I got it black, hope that's okay." Booth handed his mother her coffee and she nodded her thanks. "Bones says that I need to talk to you."

"You must have a lot of questions." Hester kept her head down, unable to face her son as they spoke.

"Why did you leave us?"

"Not going to waste time I see."

"Haven't we already wasted enough?"

"Yes, I suppose we have." Hester took a deep breath in, held it for a moment, and then as she exhaled she felt as if she told him the entire story before she inhaled again. "Your father took you and Jared to visit your grandparents on a Saturday morning. It was in August. He was gone for nearly the entire day. That wasn't unusual. I had asked to go with him, I always loved Hank and Clara, but he told me that I needed to stay home. He left me a list of chores. He used to do that a lot."

"Dad was an asshole."

"Temperance told me how he treated you after I left. Seeley, he never hit you while I was there. I would've taken my boys and ran, but he never hit either of you. He always just hit me."

"I don't blame you for that."

For the first time since he had sat down at the table with her, his declaration enabled her to meet his eyes.

"I still remember the three of you walking out the door. Jared had sulked away with his head held down, he didn't even tell me goodbye. He had wanted to watch Butch Cassidy that morning and was mad when your father said you were going to visit your grandparents instead. But you hesitated in leaving; you gave me a hug and told me that you wanted me to go with you. I can still remember the way you felt in my arms. Then your father yelled at you to quit being a sissy. You held your head up high when you walked out that door with him. You never wanted to let your father see you hurting. You were always such a big boy. I wish I could've protected you from him."

"You did the best you could, Mom."

"No, I didn't. If I were a stronger person I would've left him the first time he raised his hand to me and I would have never let him speak to you and Jared the way that he did. I think that's why I like The Facility. A lot of my friends there came from homes where they were being mistreated. When they arrive I help them. I tell them that they're free now. I feel like I'm able to save them in a way that I wasn't able to save myself or my children."

Booth watched as tears dripped down his mother's face. He wasn't sure what to say or do. He decided on encouraging her to continue the story. "What did Dad say happened to us?"

"Late that night Edwin came home alone. His face was bloody, bruised; he told me that there had been an accident. When I asked about my boys he started crying. He said you had both been killed. At first I thought he was lying, my boys couldn't be gone. I tried to call Hank, to ask him. But Edwin wouldn't let me. He ripped the phone from my hand and threw it against the wall. Then he grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. He kept yelling, 'They're dead, they're both dead.'"

Booth could see that his mother's hands were shaking as she told her story and he reached over to place his hand on top of hers. She smiled at his action.

"Your father gave me some tea to drink. I remember feeling dizzy and I must have blacked out. When I woke up there was a doctor there. Or at least your father said that he was a doctor. They both told me that I was having a nervous breakdown. The doctor gave me some sort of injection. He said it was supposed to calm me. And I guess it did. I don't remember anything else until later after I was in The Facility."

"What happened then? Why didn't you try to leave?"

"Because I was safe. The first memory I have is of a group of women caring for me. They were washing my face with cool cloths and bringing me water to drink. I hadn't felt that loved or cared for since I was a little girl. And besides, what did I have to live for on the outside?"

"Bones said you were afraid that by talking to us that The Leader would become upset. Who is The Leader? We can't find any information on him."

"I don't know his name; we've always just called him The Leader. He's old now but back then he was powerful, vital, strong."

"He had you drugged and kidnapped and you talk about him as if he's some sort of hero." Booth looked at his mom, disbelief written on his face.

"To me he was. When I asked if I had been drugged the other ladies said that I had blacked out due to the grief. I asked about a funeral and was told that I had slept through it. Your father was violent. If I stayed there then he would have killed me. Without you and Jared, I didn't have a reason to live. The Leader doesn't take people against their will, usually, but at that point, I didn't have any will left. I was relieved that I had a place to live and people that cared about me. It had been so long since anyone had really cared about me."

"Dad came to Pop's; he told us you were dead. We even had a funeral. How did he manage to do that Mom? Did he have a body? I don't understand any of this."

"I wish I had those answers Seeley, but I just don't know."

"You weren't at all suspicious of The Leader or his motives? You had to realize that your situation wasn't normal."

"He told me that he had found me walking aimlessly. I didn't have any reason not to believe him. The people I was meeting, they were all telling me stories of how The Leader had rescued them. Nothing I knew made me think that the same wasn't true for me."

"The Facility is some sort of cult, Mom. Do you worship The Leader? Does he make you do things that you don't want to do?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by cult, but I don't worship The Leader. None of us do. And he doesn't make us do anything. He's given us a home when we didn't have one. He's given us food when we didn't have any. He's given us friends when our families have abandoned us. I've never seen anyone hurt or mistreated at The Facility."

"What about now that you know you were lied to? Don't you think that he has lied to all of you?"

"I have thought of that since we've been on the outside. It seems that now I find myself quite confused. It's hard to reconcile that the truth I've lived with for the past thirty years has all been a lie."

Booth placed his hands back around his coffee cup. "I understand that," he said softly.

Hester leaned back as well, casting a glance toward George, who was still sitting on a bench a few feet away. "I know you do. Perhaps that understanding is the thread we can begin to rebuild our lives on."

Booth nodded but he still wasn't ready to just accept his mother's explanation of The Facility. "I wish I could to talk to Dad. Get some answers from him. I knew he was a bastard but this, I still can't believe this."

"Temperance said that he passed away recently."

"Yeah, last year." Booth took a drink of his coffee before asking, "Who is George? Are you sleeping with him?"

"Sometimes, yes. But our relationship is more than that. George is my best friend. We talk about everything. No one else knows as many details of my life before The Facility as he does. And he has been very supportive of my need to reconnect with you. The Leader trusts George, he allows him and a few select others the freedom to move about in the world. To find new people that need to be brought in. George has used that trust to help me."

"I can't wrap my mind around this Mom. You're really here," Booth said as tears started to form in his eyes.

"That's how I felt when I saw your picture in that magazine, posing with Temperance and your children. I knew before I even saw the name that I was looking into the eyes of my baby. My grown up baby with his beautiful family. Oh, Seeley, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

She broke down in sobs and Booth walked around the table and took her into his arms. "It's okay Mom, you're here now, and it'll be okay."

"But you don't understand. I have to go back. We won't be able to stay in contact, they won't let us."

Booth pulled back to look his mother in the face, "But you said that George had the trust of The Leader."

"He does but if we don't return soon then he'll lose that trust. I belong to them Seeley, I'm not even sure that I can survive in this world."

"Mom, I-"

"I know it's hard, I probably shouldn't have even come."

"We'll figure this out. Somehow. We have resources with the FBI, and money won't be an issue."

Hester laughed, "Oh sweet boy, I wish it were that easy."

"Stay. Please, just for a while. I, I'm getting married soon. Just stay for my wedding. Please, meet my son. Spend some time with Bones and Christine. You're going to love them as much as I do."

"I'll talk to George. I think we can arrange a little more time. But I'll have to leave after the wedding. The Leader will get upset if we keep asking for extensions. Eventually he'll begin to say no or he'll send someone to find us."

"Will you come home with me for a while?"

For the first time in over thirty five years Booth was able to enjoy a meal cooked by his mother. She had always been a wonderful cook and as he ate her baked lasagna it were as if he were six years old again. By the time dinner was over it was late. Booth settled his Mom and George into their rooms and went to join Brennan in theirs.

"Did your mom like her room?"

"Yeah, she wanted the room with the blue walls."

Booth climbed into bed next to Brennan, who was just finishing nursing the baby. As she settled Christine beside of her, Booth slid down to wrap his arms around them both.

"I'm glad she's here Booth. I'm glad that you're getting to know her."

"She wouldn't be here if you hadn't made me go talk to her. Thank you."

"You should listen to me more often."

Booth glanced around Brennan to take a peek at the baby, wondering if his father felt the same love for him that he felt when he looked at his children. The answer depressed him. "How could he do this to us Bones?"

"I don't know. Parents sometimes do terrible things to their children."

They shared a sad smile. Booth knew that she spoke from her own experience and he rubbed her upper arm with his thumb as he spoke. "We've missed so much time but she says she has to go back."

"George says we'll all be in danger if she doesn't."

"Yeah, we need to find out more about this leader and what kind of trouble he's capable of."

Christine interrupted their conversation with a loud yawn. "I think someone is trying to tell us to be quiet and go to sleep."

"I think she's right." Booth rested his head on her shoulder before adding, "You think there's any chance The Leader won't bother looking for them?"

"This man has been holding them and dozens of others hostage for over thirty years Booth. How many cult leaders have you heard of that simply let people escape?"

"But Mom says that it isn't a cult."

"Then what is it?" Brennan scrunched up her nose as she turned to face him.

"I have no idea." Booth could sense her uneasiness with the situation. "Look. I promise you Bones, no one is going to hurt you or Christine. I won't let them."

Brennan relaxed and snuggled into him, placing a kiss on his arm as he snaked it around her waist. "You know that I trust you."

Booth stayed awake long into the night thinking about his mother and this mysterious place she had been living. He held his family in his arms and prayed that Brennan's trust in him wasn't misguided.