Third Chapter
Getting to the Jeffersonian by Bus, not long before her sister, Penelope was dressed in Comfortable Purple Jeans, Black fashion Boots, and a light purple sweater. She went to her locker and got out her lab coat, and dumped her things and then went to Angela's office.
"Good Morning, Angela."
"Morning, Sweetie….took the Bus in the morning?"
"I don't mind, I've been taking the bus since I was 10. Although Temperance doesn't want me riding it at certain times of night, and in certain parts of the city."
"That's to protect you, Bailey."
"I can protect myself, I've been riding the public transportation system unhindered for years."
"Mimi let you go wherever you wanted?"
"Well, no she drove me if she didn't like where I was going and I had to go there, or stopped me from going if I didn't have to go."
"Well, that's all Brennan is trying to do."
"I know it's just hard, I really don't like being told what to do…."
"Sweetie, that's just you being 15, no 15 year old likes being told what to do." Bailey looks out the door.
"The remains are here." they went outside to examine the remains there was only half the remains, She always countered Vincent's facts with facts of her own. Annoying her sister, but getting Vincent to concentrate and work better. The case took a turn when they discovered the remains had undergone a sex change, and used to be a famous televangelist and become a small town pastor. She went to the funeral with Booth and Her sister. Afterward she spoke with the Pastor's son.
"I like what you said, I'm Penelope." She extends her hand.
"Ryan, welcome you came with Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan."
"Temperance is my older sister but I was also on the team that investigated your father's death."
"Thank you."
"I didn't do much, I'm really a low lev…."
"I'm sure you're more important than you think. Do you believe?"
"Yes, my sister doesn't, but my adopted Mother was Southern Baptist, and I was raised Episcopalian the last four years, but I have a difficult relationship with God, I know he exists and I just but with some of the things that have happened to me, I've been pretty pissed with him."
"I don't think you're alone in that, I was very angry when my father disappeared, angry at God, and a trappings of the church I grew up in."
She nodded. Temperance called for her. "It looks like that's my cue to leave, I hope you find what you're looking for Ryan."
"You too, Penelope."
She left. When she got home her sister confronted her. "You're religious."
"More like spiritual, I was raised Southern Baptist by My Mom and then Episcopalian by Mimi and I continue to go to services but I'm not sure one religion has it completely right, and I do have some serious issues with the bible's accuracy, but it's the message that's important not the words."
"Message?"
"Old Testament, Don't piss off God, New Testament Take the lord Jesus into your heart and live by his ideals and you'll go to Heaven."
"And Do you?"
"Don't lie, don't cheat, or steal, be kind to others, help people when you can, Judge not lest ye be judged, I more or less follow the teachings of messages of the bible, while not taking it so literally. Unlike most Christians I believe it was inspired by God, but written man who put his own spin on it, as has everyone who's translated it since."
"Stands to reason, I just don't see how you can believe in an All-powerful Supernatural Being that supposedly created the universe.'
"Because if this is all there is, at the end of our lives, we check out and we have nothing to show for it, if people suffer for no reason, if people die too young, and there's no plan, no reason, no destiny, no grand design, then I am just a kid who kept getting screwed over for no reason, and I'm not sure I can accept that."
Temperance face softened. "You have not kept getting screwed…."
"My Birth parents ditched me, My Adopted mother was killed in front of me, My first foster family didn't work out didn't expect it to, my second foster family all kinds of abuse there, I end up at Mimi's which was great, but that asshole Crane kept me from being adopted, he targeted me, I may be Young and already have my degrees but a lot of things can happen to a girl when you're young and in academia….."
"I know….." Brennan said.
"I always had Mimi in my corner, but that didn't mean they didn't happen and a lot of the time, the fact that I was an underage foster child worked against me."
"I'm sure it did, I understand and I'm disparaging you for believing just trying to understand."
"I'm hard to explain I was just raised to believe and I believe, and it makes me feel safe."
The next day, her sister drove her to the Lab, they didn't have a case, so they worked on a set of remains from Modular Bone Storage. Wendell was their Intern. She liked Wendell a lot, she was attracted to him. She knew she couldn't be with him, she was 15, and he was in his early to mid-20s, she wasn't stupid, and she wouldn't want to be with a man who would break those kinds of laws, and be with her before she was emotionally ready. There was reason even though she liked the character of Angel, she liked him better on his own show and thought the relationship between him and Buffy was wrong. She wondered If Agent Booth knows he has a famous lookalike, I mean him and David Boreanz don't look exactly alike, there are differences. And David is on the Cop show now, Feds about an FBI emotion driven loyal ex-Army FBI Agent and his Logical Book-smart ex-Neuroscientist partner, their dynamic is very similar to the one between booth and her sister. She was working on the Angelator, when Angela, spoke to her.
"So what are you going to wear to the Jeffersonian Halloween Party?"
"Halloween Party?"
"Yeah, we have it every year, its donors, staffs, we all have to go. Last year was pretty much a disaster, but Cam still put her foot down we still have to go."
"I've never been to a Halloween party before….."
"What about trick or treating when you were little….." Angela asked.
"My Mom was always too busy, but I had class parties and I dressed up for them in kindergarten and first grade, I didn't get pulled out of school until the end of 1st grade when I was 7…they actually thought I was dyslexic because I was having trouble doing the work, so they tested me, and I tested so far off the charts, that they had to further test me, and what they found, well, I got special tutors, and I graduated high school two years later."
"I'm Sorry there wasn't much childhood in your childhood."
"There is was, a lot more then I think there might have been if I had anyone but Mimi as a foster parent, she let me be a kid, mostly by being a real parent, setting boundaries, and sticking to them. My Mom did that too, she wasn't as strict as Mimi, but she set boundaries and didn't let me get away with anything. They were also very good for a hug, and were just there for me….My Mom's eyes were laughing you know, you know how some peoples are piercing, and some are haunted, and some kind, and some are cold, Hers were unless she was in doctor Mode, were laughing, when she was doctor were serious but most of the time hers were laughing…..even when the rest of her face was serious."
"That's a good memory."
"Yeah, I have a lot of good memories of my Mom to balance out my last memory of her, she was very supportive of my going to college, of going into computers and forensic art. I mean I was 10 when I chose my degree program she talked to me to make sure I was sure and then completely supported me. She loved me very much, She was tough Southern Redneck woman who was a badass Ortho Rock Star, and She modeled her way through College and Med School, She had lots of money because of that and her Ortho Career, and she won a medical award once, for a procedure she invented that allowed her to literally rebuild a set of legs for a deformed patient….I'm sure as a forensic anthropologist Temperance would know about it made just about every medical journal…."
"I'm sure she has, so your Mom was the basis for Izzie Stephens?"
"Pretty much she grew up in a trailer park, in Charlotte, South Carolina, her dad was in and out of prison most of her life, she was raised by a single Mom, she graduate high school at my age, and put herself through college and Medical School modeling, it took a little longer, but she was 24 when she graduated medical school, and she was a third year resident when I came into the picture, she was so she 27, It's not like I didn't know I was adopted, I mean it was pretty obvious My Mom looked a 5'11 blonde goddess, I mean I know I'm not unattractive those were so good genes me and Temperance got, but I've always been unbelievably short for my age, and I stopped growing at 5'3, when I was 11. I am very tiny in stature, I have just like Temperance except for my size, and my hair is darker."
Temperance entered. "Max said you get your stature from our Maternal grandmother, Who was 5'1, and our Maternal Aunts who were 5'2 and 5'3, and you get our dark hair from our mother who was had dark brown hair, so does Russ. Are you almost done with the reconstruction of the Remains found at Grand Central Station during the remodeling of the structure?"
"Yes, Angela just needs to review my work since she's my immediate supervisor, and then I need to run it through facial recognition." She knew got it right she knew it he's a 6'0, 190 pound 42 year old male, but so much more.
"That Might be difficult given the condition of the remains, it's my estimation that they were down there since the 1920s at least."
"Were there any personal affects with the remains?" She asked.
"Yes, Some. Booth and I are reviewing them now. I would like to see them as well."
"Of course you and Angela will get both get to see them."
"Thank you."
"Of course, I will take you to pick out a costume after work next week, I myself need to pick out a new costume as I can't wear my old costume."
"Temperance, when will I meet our brother?"
"I will try and arrange something, I must get back to the remains." After much research Penelope identified the remains as much by luck but by skill. A Sandhog by the name of Alfred Malone Went missing in 1925, and he had an ID number 2234, same the remains and same kind of equipment. Alfred Malone came from a family, he had, had a Wife, married son and grandson when he went missing, still had a Great-great-great grandson, Charlie who wanted his remains, to bury. Charlie was himself a Sandhog in New York, and a Union Rep, but his wife was a lawyer so he was a little wealthier.
"Thank you, Dr. Brennan, My family's been worried what happened to him for long time, he wasn't the type of man to run out on his family, My Great-grandfather had just been born, he was just a grandfather he was just made a foreman. He was murdered?" Mr. Malone said.
"It appears negligence was what killed him, it was Concussive blast to the head but from the angle it doesn't appear deliberate, most likely from an explosion and then he was placed in a side tunnel, and forgotten about. I wouldn't hazard a guess as to why it was covered up, but in your line of work accidents happen, it's tragic, but it's an accepted part of your job, so there must have been some sort of negligence that could be proven."
Charlie nodded. "Or a scared Newby, we may never know."
"I don't like leaving an investigation unfinished, Mr. Malone."
"There's nothing else you can Dr. Brennan, I'm taking My great-great-great grandfather home to be buried and placing him next to his wife of 23 years…."
The 'case' ended and Temperance Brennan was extremely unsatisfied. That night she made Mac and Cheese for dinner, and she and Penelope ate together. Temperance had wine and Penelope had her Blenheim Ginger Ale.
"I called Russ, he's going to bring Amy and the Girls up for Thanksgiving."
"Good, I'd like to meet them."
"I'm also looking at Alternative Housing arrangements."
"What? Why? What's wrong with your apartment?"
"Nothing it was quite comfortable for one person but I think I need something larger for the two of us."
"Are you going to get a House?"
"I considered it, but since it is just the two of us, and neither one of us are home much I will most likely just get a larger apartment."
"Makes sense. Make sure whatever house you get is on the bus route."
"I will drive you or have one of my interns drive you if the apartment is inaccessible, but when you're 16 I'm getting you a car, most likely a Toyota Highlander Hybrid."
"You don't have….."
"I want to." It was already Thursday, they ended up watching some episodes of I Love Lucy together, and then Penelope went to bed. The next day, went back the lab, and had more bones from storage this time a World War II solider. They identified him as Corporal John James Callahan, US Marine Corps. He was bayonetted most likely by a Japanese solider, on Okinawa, he had no children but his younger brother Daniel was still alive and Chief Surgeon at Inova Fairfax Hospital.
"Thank You, Dr. Brennan. I was only 12, when Johnny left for Pacific….and I always wondered what happened to him, I named my boys Johnny and Jimmy, I missed him terribly…..he was always my hero long before he signed up. You brought me and my family closure, Dr. Brennan."
"You're Welcome, I'm Sorry for your loss."
"We knew he was dead, I'm just glad he's finally home."
Sunday rolled around, and Mimi picked up Penelope for church. She attended. After church they went out to lunch. And then she came home. Monday they had another body from Modular bone storage and Daisy Wick, ugh. These set of remains were found under the foundation of house in Falls Church, Virginia when they tried to remodel. The foundation was laid in the 1950, as part of the Post War housing Boom. The body was of a Young girl approximately 18 year old, and there were fetal bones with her. So She was pregnant, Booth was called in this was a murder investigation now. They found out that the house was built by Martinson Construction, they identified the girl as Sarah Westfall, whose boyfriend Calvin Larkin was on Martin's crew. Booth was pretty sure it wasn't him, He wanted to marry Sarah even though he wasn't the father of her baby and part of him still loved her, even though he found new love and was happy him with his wife and family. So that leaves the father of her baby. They had her diary thanks to her little sister, who still lived in the area, and never gave up hope, and the father of the baby was actually her high school teacher who had been arrested in 1991, for attacking a girl at a school Falls Church, she attacked back and won. She was a Karate Champion. He's out of prison and a registered sex offender. They went and saw him, and got him to confess to the murder he went back to prison.
The next remains from Bone storage, was a girl her age. She was 15, and she's been strangled to death, and raped. She was short, brunette, and most likely brown eyed, she was a singer in show choir from the Mid-west the remains had been found in DC, because of a National Show Choir Competition in 1988. The Semen found belonged to serial rapist David Quinlan who was put to death for the rapes and murders of 17 young Women in Virginia in 2001.
Finally it was time to get their costumes. She decided chose to dress as a Indiana Jones Marion Ravenswood outfit, Lost Ark was one of her favorite movies even if Crystal skull was hugely disappointing no matter how hot Shia was in it. She helped her sister, go as Irene Adler and Booth who was also with them, as Sherlock Holmes. Irene Adler was the only woman smarter then Sherlock Holmes, even if she was only in one story, she loved Sherlock Holmes she had the entire collection of stories and every television Series and Movie made. She was especially fond of Elementary on CBS, and of course the British Sherlock. She thought her sister and Booth belonged together she knew Angela agreed and so did most everyone else in the lab. She was pretty sure Booth had already admitted it to himself, but that her sister hadn't let the thought into the walls she built up. They picked out their costumes.
The Halloween party was boring, it was mostly snoozing donors, she held tight to her drink, since they didn't have Blenheim's, she ordered a Virgin Mary. She mostly spoke to Wendell.
"So, why did you choose Forensic Art and Computer Forensics?"
"Well, I've always been an good in art, I also have several paintings at gallery downtown, and computers come easy to me, but I have a sense of justice, My Mother, My Adopted Mother was the daughter of a career criminal he had spent much of his life in and our prison when he was finally paroled and got a decent job and was supporting his family legally he was murdered in a home invasion protecting his family, and then My Mom was murdered in front me, I was already in the program by then but it just steeled my resolve. I never wanted to be on the front lines, and Computers and Art are more my thing that bones and bodies…how about you?"
"Well, Bones are my thing. I've always known it was what I wanted to study skeletons even before I knew the name of what I wanted to do."
She nodded. "I can tell, my sister will probably never tell you but she's very impressed with you."
"She told me once."
"Then you really must have impressed her."
"You have gotten to know her very well, in a very short amount of time."
"It's My training from Dr. Foster, and Dr. Lightman I know how to tell when people are lying and the emotions behind the lies but I also know to profile. The Profiling was more Dr. Foster."
"That's pretty impressive."
"I'm glad you think so, my sister thinks psychology is a soft science, although she has respect for Dr. Lightman because he studied many different cultures to get his findings, and she considers him more of a cultural anthropologist than a psychologist, but she considers Cultural Anthropology a soft science as well, but it's better than Psychology in her eyes."
"You really care what she thinks."
