A/N: I'm back!

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Gavin had finally succeeded at crying himself to sleep and Seelia was quietly laying in her crib when Temperance finally got a minute to herself. Dropping onto her bed, she let out a loud sigh. Her head was pounding, just like it did every day of the week since she had given birth and her heart felt like it was beating directly in her ears. She felt another familiar pang of pain in her chest as the reality of things finally caught up with her. Thomas was dead, she had a daughter that she was raising on her own, she was taking care of her former partner's son and Booth had been transferred to Los Angeles which meant they would eventually be working together. He'd probably want to become partners again. Was she ready for that? After all they had been through together in Washington and after all she lived ever since she had moved, would they still be able to be 'just partners'? Would that be possible?

She turned to look at the time. Booth had left only an hour ago though it felt more like a century ago than only sixty minutes. Gavin had cried for over forty minutes before finally falling asleep. Temperance had gone to tuck him in in his bed before going back to the living room to fetch her daughter. She had tried rocking her to sleep but nothing had worked. So instead, she had set her child and her crib and left the room.

She knew she had been tough on Booth, especially on the letter issue. After all, he had had the right to ask her about it but she just hadn't had the energy to deal with it right now. How could she when she barely even had the energy to deal with getting up in the morning. She was tired. No, tired wasn't the word. Exhausted was more suiting. How could she sleep when her daughter woke up during the night and screamed her lungs out? How could she take naps during the day when Gavin could barge in the room at any moment, crying for his father? Between her daughter and Gavin, she barely even had a minute to herself. Her want of independence had been flushed down the drain.

Reaching over to her nightstand, she picked up her cellphone and dialed a number she now knew by heart. She turned onto her side and stared at the ceiling, the ringing echoing in her ear.

"Hello?"

Her friend's voice startled her.

"Angela, it's Brennan."

"Hey Sweetie. How's it going?"

Angela's tone was soft and caring. Just hearing her best friend's voice made her miss her. She sighed. She missed Washington. She missed her friends, her brother, her old job at the museum. Heck, she even missed butting heads with Cam. It had been her life for so long that she had taking it for granted. Only now that she lived far away did she realize how important it had been. She had left Washington thinking her new life as a professor and an FBI forensic anthropologist would be great. If only she had known what California would bring her, she would have stayed in Washington.

"Been better." Temperance replied. "Hey, guess who stopped by today?"

Her friend's answer took her by surprise.

"He didn't."

"You knew about this? You knew he was coming here?"

"I tried stopping him." Angela replied, defensively. "I tried but he wouldn't listen. He just kept telling me how much he missed you and that he needed to see you. I called Jake and asked him to make sure that Booth didn't bother you. I really don't know how Booth got your address. I certainly didn't give it to him."

Angela paused for a brief second. When she spoke again, her tone had turned serious.

"Did he ask any questions?"

"Yeah." Temperance sighed.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him I was taking care of my ex-partner's son because his mother wasn't in the state of mind to do it herself."

"And you are?"

"Angela..." Temperance warned.

"Sorry. What about Seelia? He must have asked questions about her."

"He did but he didn't say much. He didn't even ask me who the father was or how I had got pregnant. I think he was more hooked up on Gavin than he was on my daughter."

"That's odd. I would have expected it to be the other way around."

"Tell me about it."

There was a moment of silence, quickly filled by Angela.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, I guess. I still have headaches and I'm always tired."

"Are you sleeping well?"

"No." Temperance replied as if stating the obvious. "Seelia keeps waking me up in the middle of the night and during the day it's Gavin."

"Don't you send him to school?"

Temperance sighed.

"They keep sending him back because he can't stop crying."

"Do you know what you should do?"

"What?"

"You should go out, just you and Gavin. Take him some place. There must be like a park or a mall or movie theatre in your area. Just go out, have some fun and stop thinking about Thomas for just one afternoon. You'll see. It will do you two so much good."

"What about Seelia? I can't leave her alone."

"I'm pretty sure Jacob will babysit her for a couple of hours. He already volunteered to do it."

"I know."

"So will you? Will you take Gavin out for an afternoon? It's not much. It's only two or three hours. I'm sure you can manage that."

"I guess."

"That's my girl."

Temperance forced a smile even though she knew Angela couldn't see her.

"Thanks, Ange."

"I know it's tough." Angela replied, sensing the sadness in her friend's tone. "But I promise you it will get better. Are you still taking your medication?"

"Yes."

"Every day?"

"Yes." Temperance replied, annoyed.

"Because they will help."

Angela's comment made Temperance wonder what the artist knew about the medication she was taking.

"I know."

Another silence. Temperance closed her eyes. Her headache was slowly worsening. What had first started as a pounding headache had now turned into a more 'crushing' one, as though somehow was slowly crushing her skull.

"Listen, Ange. I have to go. I think I'll take a nap while the kids are asleep."

"Okay, Bren. You do that. We'll talk later."

On that, the two friends hung up.

Temperance laid her cellphone back onto the nightstand and sighed. Dragging herself out of bed, she walked to her bathroom. Stopping in front of the medicine cabinet, she opened it. The bottle stood on its shelf, at the exact same spot she had left it... a week ago. She sighed. Maybe she ought to make her medication. Maybe it would help. Grabbing the bottle, she unscrewed the top and opened it. Tilting the bottle, she watched as a tiny white capsule fell into her hand. She couldn't believe she had let herself get talked into taking medication. The body had been made to fend for itself against illnesses. She didn't believe she needed it yet, when her doctor had gently laid the prescription on her desk, she hadn't refused.

She dry-swallowed the white pill before re-screwing the cap of the bottle. She looked down at the sticker on the bottle.

Temperance Brennan. Dr. Michelle Patterson, MD.

And, just above it, in thick block letters, was written the word she probably hated the most at the moment: Cipramil.

Putting the bottle back in the cabinet where she was sure Gavin wouldn't be able to reach it, she walked back to her room and flung herself on her bed. She curled into foetal position before sleep soon came to claim her.