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He was going, he was really going. What was he going to say? "Uh, hi mom and dad you know the brother I forgot well he's dead." Yeah right. Maybe he should just start out by asking questions, gosh he didn't know. Wish Bones was here. She'd probably tell me to chill, in her own way of speaking. Booth thought. He didn't try to stop thinking about her though; it brought him a weird sense of comfort.
He pulled up into the house that his parents lived in. Not his childhood house, that was in down in Tennessee, but a house they had bought after he had joined the FBI. He knocked three times when he got up to the door and then waited for an answer.
After what seemed like hours, but was really a minute or two, Booth's dad answered.
"Seeley, son. It's so good to see you. Come in, come in." His dad said guiding him into the house and then grabbing him into a hug.
"Sarah, come here. Seeley's home." Booth's dad called. A woman in her late 50s early 60s came into the hallway that Booth and his dad were still standing in.
"Oh, Seeley, it's so good to see you. Are you hungry, do you want something to drink, it?" his mom asked, making him smile.
"I'm good mom. Thanks though. I'm actually, um, here about a well, a case that I've been given." Booth said as they walked into the living room and sat down. He wasn't sure how to tell them about Ethan.
"What about, son? Is something wrong?" His dad asked. His parents knew him pretty well and they knew usually when he took awhile to say something, it was something not so good.
"Well, the case seems to involve a um boy who went missing twenty-five years ago and um has a older brother and two parents. Mom, dad, did I ever have a little brother?" Booth says but asks the last part quick. He knew that the file said he had a brother but he wanted to hear it from his parent's mouths.
"Son, you did. After he went missing you forgot about him completely. The psychiatrist we took you to said it was normal sometimes for a person to forget when something tragic happens. We still worried, but we never really told you, we just hoped you'd remember on your own, but not like this. What did you find out about him?" His dad said. His mom had tears silently falling down her face and Booth felt bad about making his mom cry but he needed answers.
"I remember something about when I was seven and him wanting to play baseball with Robbie and me and me telling him no, the night mom was in the hospital and I was here, or back at the old home, with papa." Booth said, not wanting to tell them that Ethan was dead.
"What else, Seeley?" His mom asked. She always knew when he was hiding something.
"I'm afraid, oh gosh how do I say this, Mom, dad, Ethan's um well he's dead." Booth said the best he could. He hated when he had to tell parents when their child was dead, but when it was his brother who he barely even remembered and his parents, that was hard. His mom broke down but his dad stayed strong, for her, Booth saw tears falling down his face but he tried his best to comfort his wife.
"How did he die, Seeley?" His dad asked once he felt Sarah had calmed down enough.
"I'm not sure yet. There are people working on that right now, people I trust." Booth said and he meant it. He trusted every one of the 'squints' even if he didn't say so when he was around them.
"Dad, what happened? What was so tragic that I forgot him?" Booth asked. He needed to know the answer to this, even if it was hard to bear.
"I'm not sure. You were the only one with him when he disappeared and when you came back you were in shock I think. You were pretty silent after that and when we got you talking normal again you didn't know what we were talking about when we asked about Ethan. At first it was a little obvious that you were just trying to deny it, but the longer you said it you began to believe it, until you forgot about him all together." His dad said sadly.
"How am I supposed to remember, Dad? I need to. I need to remember him." Booth said. He felt a little stinging in his eyes but he wasn't going to cry, he would not let himself cry.
"I'm not sure son. You will remember though. Your mom and I will help you the best that we can." His dad said and Booth knew they would too.