Chapter Five:
Booth held her for several minutes, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. The sobs subsided and she shook herself from his embrace. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost it on you."
"Temperance, it's okay. Would you like some coffee?" Booth asked lamely. He couldn't figure out what to do for her.
She nodded pulling settling on the couch, pulling herself into a fetal position. Booth walked into the kitchen, making as little sound as possible. He watched his partner fall asleep, pulling the kettle off the stove he made his way over to her. He gently shook her. She looked at him, "Booth."
He handed her a cup of coffee, the way she liked it – strong, with cream, no sugar. Booth didn't know what to do for her, she obviously was in pain and he wanted to protect her from it, but there was nothing he could do. He sat next to her and placed a hand on her leg"Why did they have to leave me Booth?" She murmured.
"I don't know Bones." He whispered. He was going to get up to get something from kitchen when she stopped him.
"Stay." She requested simply. Booth looked at her, his chocolate brown eyes boring into her light blue ones. She needed him. He nodded at her request, situating himself back on the sofa.
He was getting ready to nod off when he heard her speak. "Elizabeth was the light of my life." She admitted softly. She curled up into his side. "Ethan looked physically like you, but that is where the similarities end."
She placed her head on his chest, and Booth responded by wrapping a protective arm over her. "Bones you don't have to go . . ." He wanted to protect her from everything, including her memories.
"Booth, I need to talk about them. I need to mourn them." She admitted. He nodded. She clutched him tighter, it was a gesture that he wasn't accustomed to from her. Bones never allowed for her vulnerability to be seen, but this time it was different.
"I met Ethan at a dig in Mexico. I needed a sabbatical from the Jeffersonian, and a dig was taking place in Mexico. Ethan was the first person I met. He was everything I thought I wanted, handsome, intelligent . . . I was longing to be loved. I threw myself into becoming the perfect girlfriend for Ethan. We decided to move in together a couple weeks into our relationship. That is when I really saw what he truly was. When he got stressed out about work, he would take it out on me . . ." Tears started falling down her face, soaking his shirt. He pulled her closer, angry at the man who did this to her. "He stopped though when we found out I was pregnant. He loved the idea of becoming a father. He showered us with everything we needed. Then she came . . . May 1, 2004. I went through 17 hours of labor at a dirty hospital in Mexico. I wouldn't change a single second. Ethan was a great father. Elizabeth had a laugh that would fill the room. She was such a happy baby. She smiled all the time and would slobber all over the place. I never wanted children, but Elizabeth she was my life." She sighed. "I can still hear her Seeley." She whispered.
"I know the feeling." He told her. When Rebecca had full custody of Parker there were nights where Booth knew that his son had a nightmare.
"Anyway, I had hired a great nanny when it came time for me to go back to work. Carmen loved Elizabeth, Carmen always made sure that Elizabeth had everything she needed. I'll never forget the day, November 1, 2004. The Mexican authorities came into site. Carmen had been shot at the market and Elizabeth had been kidnapped. We waited for the ransom note, but it never came. Then one night we were notified that an infant was found in a dumpster. Ethan went down and made a positive ID. Someone had thrown my baby into the dumpster, they threw her away like trash!"
She was pacing the room by now. Booth stood and moved towards her, crushing her into his chest. Tears where flowing freely. "Oh God Temperance."
"I still feel her though. I know she didn't die. A mother would know if her child died." She whispered.
"The bracelet found on the first little girl, you gave that to her?" Booth questioned lightly.
Brennan nodded. "It was her favorite."
The wheels were turning in his mind. How did the baby bracelet get from Mexico to DC? "What happened to Ethan?"
"We broke up. Elizabeth abduction was too much to handle. I left for the states again. Ethan disappeared. Last I heard he was in Costa Rica." She replied. She yawned.
"Come on Bones, it's time for bed. You'll take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch." Booth looked at his partner.
"Booth, I think we are both adult enough to deal with sleeping in the same bed together." She stated. He nodded not in the mood to fight.
(Debating on writing a rated M to be posted on the mature part of the site – let me know what you think)
Brennan woke up a little disoriented, looking around she realized that she was in her partner's room. She heard Parker in the next room whimpering. Realizing that her partner was essentially dead to the world, metaphorically speaking of course, she made her way down the hall.
"Parker?" She whispered opening up the door. The room was dimly lit with help from the Spiderman night light. The small boy was huddled in his bed.
"Tempe?" He paused.
"What's wrong honey?" She pulled him into her arms and he relaxed in her embrace.
"I had a bad dream. A bad man shot Daddy and I was left all alone." He whispered. He hugged her tighter. She lifted him off the bed and held him tightly.
"I won't promise you that your Daddy will always be okay because we both know that bad stuff happens and we can't stop it, isn't that right?" She explained softly. Parker nodded and snuggled closer, "But what I can promise you is that your Daddy is the strongest man I know and he won't ever give up trying to get home to you. Do you understand?"
"Yeah." He whispered, holding on to her. She settled him back into his bed, and she got up to leave when he stopped her. "Stay here with me Tempe." She nodded and crawled into his bed and softly stroked his back until he fell asleep.
Booth reached over to for his partner to only feel an empty bed. He stood, stretching the kinks out of his back. He reached for his cell phone to call the lab to let Cam know that they were going to be late.
"Hey Cam." Booth muttered.
"Seeley, what can I do for you this morning?" She asked, much too cheerful for an early day.
"Bones had a rough night and she will be a little late. I need you to do something for me though." He paused debating how he should tell her. "I need you to run DNA testing on the two bodies and check them against Bones."
"That could take a day to isolate everything we need and then to run it. It's not a quick test Seeley."
"That's fine, it just needs to be done." He told her.
"Seeley, what's going on?" Cam asked.
"It's not my place to say." He answered. "Bones and I will be in as soon as possible."
"That's fine." She told him hanging up.
He walked down that hall and opened up his son's door to get him ready for the day. He was wondering where his partner was when he found her snuggled with Parker in his bed. Realizing that she probably needed a little more sleep, he picked Parker up effortlessly and got him started on brushing his teeth. Booth walked out into the living room and started picking up the apartment.
He went down the hall to get his partner ready for the day when he heard her murmuring.
Brennan's dream:
Elizabeth was bouncing down the hall. She was singing the song that Brennan had sand to her when she was a baby. "The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone . . ."
Suddenly she bumped into her father who was upset with his daughter who was quite upset with her. He raised a fist, and she was cowering in the corner. She started to cry, and as she braced herself for the assault that was sure to happen, he stopped short and started to laugh. "Do you really think you are worth my time?" He laughed and kicked the table for good measure causing the three year old to cry out with shock.
Brennan woke up with start. "Booth, Elizabeth is in pain!"
AN: Sorry it took a little bit to get out. I was on vacation and then I had to cook, clean, and catch up before I head back to work tomorrow. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this installment. Hopefully I will get more out later.
