A/N: I've been waiting for ages to post this chapter. Hope you like it.

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Noise in her kitchen is what rose Temperance Brennan from her sleep. Opening her eyes, she blinked a few times against the sunlight bathing her room. She turned around and looked at her clock. 11:45. She frowned, wondering how she had overslept. Then it hit her. Booth. He had spent the night. She sighed at the thought. He had been so nice with her even though she had tried to push him out of her life. He had rushed to her apartment after her call only a few hours earlier and had offered her to take care of her daughter. She didn't undersand. She couldn't understand how Booth could do all of that for her when she didn't even deserve it.

From her bedroom, she could hear Gavin babbling away in the kitchen. She smiled. Gavin. Such a sweet boy. She would definitely miss him while he went away to his mother's house but she reminded herself that it was only for two weeks and two weeks wasn't that long.

She laid awake a few more minutes and stared at the ceiling. She felt rested for the first time in weeks. Her depression certainly hadn't gone away but this morning, things seemed less hopeless.

She finally got up and walked to her bathroom. Booth was taking care of Gavin and Seelia. She would take a shower, blow-dry her hair and maybe even tie it in a ponytail today. Then she'd get dressed, maybe take Gavin and Seelia to the park once again before driving the young boy to his home. Yes, she'd do all of that today. She smiled as she turned on the water.

He heard the water running and knew that she was awake. He smiled. It felt nice to be here, in her apartment, cooking lunch for her daughter and surrogate son. He looked over at the croissants and coffee on the counter. Her favorite breakfast. He had gotten up early this morning to go down to the store to buy her something nice to eat.

He listened distractedly as Gavin went on and on about school and his friends. Booth could easily see what had attracted Temperance to the little boy. The child was simply adorable with his dark blond hair and deep brown eyes. The more Booth looked at him, the more the boy reminded him of himself as a child.

"When is Tempe going to wake up?" Gavin asked as Booth set his plate in front of him.

"I think she's already up. She's just taking a shower."

"Oh."

Picking up Seelia from her playpen, Booth then sat down at the kitchen table beside the young boy. He watched a few seconds as Seelia sucked hungrily at the bottle before turning his attention to Gavin.

"How long have you been living here?" He asked.

"Since a couple of weeks after my dad died." Gavin replied as he took a bite out of his sandwich. "All my mom did was cry all the time. I didn't like it because when she cried, I cried."

"What happened to your dad?"

"He was in a car accident." Gavin said as he looked down at his plate.

"I'm very sorry."

Gavin shrugged.

"Tempe is really nice. I like living with her."

"Are you here often?"

Gavin took a sip of his milk.

"Every two weeks. I'll stay with her for a couple of days and then I'll go back home. But one day, Tempe asked my mom if she could keep me for a little while longer. My mom said yes then they had a private talk about something. I think they talked about my dad."

"Did you know Tempe before the accident?"

Gavin nodded.

"My dad and Tempe were living together."

Booth felt his heart stop beating. He cleared his throat.

"Your dad and Temperance were living together?" He asked in a voice he hoped didn't tremble too much.

"Yeah. Dad said that they were really good friends and that he needed to move in with Tempe to help take care of the baby."

"Were they a couple?"

Gavin shook his head before frowning.

"I don't think so."

On the other side of the apartment, the water stopped. Seelia stopped sucking on her bottle. Booth looked down to find that the baby had already drank her entire bottle. Placing her head on his shoulder, he began rubbing her back.

"You might want to use a towel, Seeley. Seelia pukes a lot." Gavin said matter-of-factly before returning to his lunch.

A shower had completely revived her and now that her hair was dry she felt, for the first time in months, great. She could hear Booth and Gavin chatting in the kitchen and Temperance hoped that Booth had thought of feeding her daughter.

She tied her hair in a ponytail, the same way she had done in the past but hadn't felt the need to do it after Thomas' death, before throwing on a pair of jeans and a tank-top. She smiled. Maybe she'd put on make-up as well today. Her dark circles under her eyes weren't showing as much as on other mornings but she still felt like a bit of make-up would make her look nicer. For some reason she couldn't quite explain, she felt like looking nice today. A part of her mind told her it was because of Booth. She told told it to shush it.

The water had been turned off minutes ago when Booth finally wondered what his old partner was up to. Gavin had finished his lunch and was now watching cartoons and Seelia had fallen asleep in her playpen. Still sitting at the kitchen table, he scanned the newspaper in search of an apartment. The hotel he was staying at was sure nice but he couldn't really see himself living there forever. Three weeks had gone by since he had arrived in Los Angeles, he needed to get out of there.

"Whoa!" Booth heard Gavin exclaimed in the living room.

Thinking something 'amazing' had happened in his TV show, Booth didn't bother to look up.

He heard footsteps coming in his direction but only when someone cleared their throat did he look up from his newspaper. And what he saw left him breathless.

He stared with wide eyes at his former partner, all dressed up and wearing make-up. Rarely had he seen her like this and her appearance was a nice contrast to what she had looked like when he had first arrived in L.A. He felt his throat dry up and his heart speed up inside in his chest. Their eyes locked and Temperance offered him a shy smile. He replied with a smile of his own.

"Pretty hot, Bones." He said as she walked over the fridge.

"Thanks." He heard her mumble.

"There's croissants and coffee on the counter for you. "

Shooting her friend a surprised look, she walked over the counter.

"I went out to the store this morning and brought you breakfast. I figured you'd prefer your favorite breakfast over Fruit Loops."

"Yeah. Thanks." Temperance replied as she stuck her coffee in the microwave to heat it. "What are you planning on doing today?" She added as she waited for her coffee to be ready.

"Probably apartment hunting." Booth replied, dismissively. "The hotel's nice but I'm looking for something more permanent, you know?"

Temperance nodded.

"How about you?"

"I was thinking about bringing Gavin and Seelia to the park. It's a nice day, not too warm, not too cold."

Booth nodded. Smiling once more at her, he set down the newspaper and got up.

"Do you want me to come back tonight too or are you going to be okay?"

The microwave beeped. Temperance took out her coffee.

"I think I'll be fine."

Booth stepped closer to her until they were only inches apart. He looked down at her, eyes locking once more and he felt his heart speed up. When had been the last time they had stood so close that he could smell her shampoo from where he stood?

Their surroundings disappeared as he stared into her eyes. He searched them for the answers to the questions he had but found nothing more than what she had told him a few hours ago. He saw the same sadness, the same fatigue (though less apparent) he had seen the first day he had met her after being apart for two years. He sighed. How he wished he could help her feel better. But how could he when he knew nothing about what had made her this way?

"Call me if you need anything."

Temperance nodded.

Kissing quickly on the cheek, he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door leaving a dazzled Temperance behind him.

He took a deep breath then lifted his hand and knocked three times. He was pretty sure he ought to ring the bell instead since the house seemed pretty big and he doubted that the man would hear him but somehow ringing didn't seem appropriate. He waited a few more seconds, leaving the man some time to answer the door, but when nothing happened, he knocked louder. Seconds later, the click of a lock was heard. Booth took another deep breath.

Jacob opened the door and was surprised to see his friend's ex-partner on his doorstep. The look the agent shot him was one of begging and Jacob couldn't resist. He silently pushed the door open and moved aside to let his visitor in. Only when the door had been closed behind the taller man did he bother to say something.

"What do you want, Booth?"

The tone was cold and Booth forced himself not to punch the man in the face. He hadn't done anything to angry him and he just couldn't understand (and didn't really care for that matter) why Jacob despised him so much. At work, he was polite and professional but as soon as the two of them had stepped out of the Bureau, coldness immediately replaced politeness.

"I have questions and I want answers."

"If it's about Tempe, I'm not going to answer you. You should talk to her."

"She won't say anything."

"Then she must have a good reason." Jacob replied, glaring at his colleague.

Booth's jaw tightened as he forced himself to relax.

Beating the crap out of the guy won't put Bones on your side. Just calm down, Booth. He thought to himself.

"Look I don't know what I've ever done to you and frankly I don't care. I care about Bones... Temperance, though. I care about her a lot. And I know that she went through something very difficult with her partner's death and the baby and all. It's changed her in ways that you can't even imagine. It pains me to think that I wasn't there to help through all of that but now that I'm here, I'm not going to let her down. I promised myself from the first time I found out about her past that I would do anything to protect her from harm. I kept my promise in DC and I plan on keeping my promise here. If you care about her too then you'll answer all of the questions I have."

Jacob sighed and tilted his head as he considered everything Booth had just said. He did seem like an honest man and, if truth to be told, he didn't hate him as much as he wanted to. Sighing once more, he motioned to the couch in the living room.

When the two men had settled comfortably and that drinks and food had been offered but declined, Jacob started.

"What do you want to know?"

"This partner of hers? Were they close?"

"If you want to know if they were dating, the answer is no."

Booth sighed in relief. Jacob ignored it.

"They weren't dating but they did have Seelia together."

"That I had already figured."

"Look do you want the answers or not?"

Booth sighed frustratedly before motioning to his colleague to go on.

"It was a one-night stand, I think, and you know, accidents happen. She got pregnant, told Thomas and he immediately wanted to move in with her. He moved in when she was about six months pregnant. She was doing great for someone who didn't want to have a baby. Thomas was always there for her. Hey, he was able to tough out her mood swings and trust me, she had a lot."

Booth chuckled. It wasn't really hard to picture his partner with pregnancy mood swings.

"Oh, I believe you."

Jacob smiled.

"Then one night, Thomas went to visit his parents in Long Beach. He came back late at night, maybe around ten or eleven. It was pouring rain outside. I, myself, was coming back from a party and I couldn't see a thing on the road. She called Thomas because she thought she was going to have the baby. She had had a few contractions over the day but they were getting stronger and more frequent. Thomas, as protective as he was, sped up."

Booth nodded. He could see where this story was going. This typical car crash story.

"He kept telling her to stay calm, that he would be home as fast as he could. He didn't see the big truck coming. Tempe heard everything: the crash, the windows breaking, the sound Thomas' head made as it hit the steering wheel. Everything."

"Oh my God." Booth replied, his jaw dropping.

"She drove to crash scene but the paramedics took her to the hospital. Five hours later, she had given birth to her daughter and Thomas was pronounced dead in ICU."

Booth felt a lump forming in his throat. He swallowed painfully.

"She blames herself." Booth whispered.

Jacob nodded.

"She thinks it's her fault that he died. She had nightmares after that day. When Seelia was two weeks old, Temperance was sent to the hospital. She spent a week in the psychiatric wing. The doctors tried to get her to talk to them but she wouldn't. All she did was cry. After a week, they sent her home with a prescription for antidepressants. I think that if it wasn't for Angela, she wouldn't have taken them."

"That's the whole story?"

"Yes."

"What about Gavin?"

"Gavin is Thomas's son. Thomas and his ex-wife were still very close even after the divorce and when Tommy died, Eva simply shut down. All she did was lay in bed and cry. Gavin spent entire days at his neighbor's house because Eva didn't take care of him. A father's death is always hard on the children but when the mother can't get a grip on herself, especially in front of her children, then it doesn't help. Tempe stepped up, just like Thomas had done with her. She took Gavin, with whom she already had a pretty good relationship. She took care of him a couple of times a week. He started doing better and Eva as well. She didn't have to stress about taking care of her son and could concentrate on herself. She started going to a support group and she's doing so much better now."

"How about Temperance?"

"She's okay. She still cries often. It doesn't help that Seelia doesn't sleep either during the night. And during the day, it's usually Gavin who requires her attention. Temperance is a very strong woman but I think that everything simply caught up with her: the accident, the baby, Gavin, her past. I think everything just came crashing down and she freaked out."

"Does she think she's good mother?"

"She has her moments when she thinks she should just give up on Seelia, put her up for adoption or something. But then she remembers how it was like for her in foster care and changes her mind. I try to help out as much as I can since I'm Seelia's godfather but Temperance keeps pushing me away. She says she can handle it."

"That's my Bones."

A smile tugged Jacob's lips.

"Why do you call her Bones?"

Booth chuckled.

"It's actually a nickname I gave her when we first met because I found her weird that she loved bones so much. The name just stuck. It became more like a pet name than a nickname with time."

"You really care about her, huh?"

Booth nodded.

"We danced around a lot back in DC. There was definitely chemistry but she was too scared and too independent to be in a relationship. I dated other women but none could compare to her."

"Cam."

Booth frowned.

"You heard about her?" Booth asked, surprised.

Jacob nodded.

"Tempe mentioned her once or twice. She said that you two were over though when she left DC."

Booth chuckled as he remembered their breakup.

"It ended badly."

"So I heard."

Booth smiled.

"Angela told me about the letter and the reason why you asked to be transferred. I didn't think it was a good idea at first but now that I've gotten to know a bit, I'd be mean not to tell you this."

"What?" Booth asked.

"I think there's still hope."

"Hope for what?"

"The reason why Thomas and Tempe weren't together was because she was afraid she'd be betraying you."

"She told you that?"

Jacob shook his head.

"No but everybody could see it was because of you she didn't get involved. I think she secretly hoped that you would fly over to L.A. for her. I swear, Tempe has a romantic side."

Booth chuckled. He had a hard time picturing his friend as a romantic woman.

"If you want, Booth, I can help."

"Please, Jacob, call me Seeley."

"Seeley, huh?"

Booth chuckled as if reading his colleague's mind.

"I thought the same thing when she told me."

"Seelia is awfully close to Seeley." Jacob agreed.

The two men chuckled before Booth replied.

"Jake, I need your help."

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