Chapter 2
A/N: OMG so sorry it took soooo long for me to update. I really want this story to be good, but I need inspiration, and I didn't get any until this morning. Hopefully you guys like this chapter. It's short and a bit rough, so definitely not my favorite. Remember to vote for August OC romance or not! Now onto the chapter!
August limped into Booth's apartment and immediately smirked. Brennan clearly lived with Booth now. There were several pictures of them together at the park, the beach, and working on a case at the lab. There were pictures of Angela and Hodgins, Booth's mom and dad, and Parker. But what surprised August the most was that there was a picture of her singing at the party sitting on one of the bookshelves. August smiled.
"That's a good picture of you," Booth said. August looked up at him and smiled. "Go take a shower. You must be freezing."
"I've been in colder," August replied, smirking at the line she'd said the last time she was standing in the same spot. When no one smiled back, she shrugged and walked into the bathroom. Once the door was closed, Brennan walked into the kitchen and started making hot chocolate for when August got done in the shower. Booth came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder. He sighed.
"What do we do? August just ran away from her parents, who were beating her. Beating her!" Booth said.
"I don't know, Booth." Brennan still referred to him as Booth, even after several months of dating him. "She doesn't really seem all the effected by it. I've seen several cases of this from being in the foster system, and no one was as open about it as she was."
"Maybe she's already through the 5 stages."
"Huh?"
"You know, the 5 stages of grief?" Booth tried. At Brennan's blank look, he sighed and began to explain. "Psychologists have determined that when grieving, people go through 5 stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance."
"Oh. I guess that makes sense. But this kind of abuse isn't just grief. It totally ruins lives! She can't just be over it like that!"
"But it hasn't been going on that long. And August has always been stubborn. Most people probably get stuck in depression when they're abused, but I think August probably just skipped that stage, knowing her."
"I suppose." Just then, August walked out of the bathroom. She looked different somehow, but Brennan didn't place it at first. Then,
"You cut your hair!" What was once long red hair was now shoulder length on one side and about mid back length on the other side. It didn't look horrible, but it did look a little weird.
"Yup! Don't you love how uneven it is?" She smiled and walked into the kitchen, where Booth and Brennan were standing as if in shock. "Hello? Earth to Brennan!" Brennan snapped out of it and smiled hesitantly.
"It looks awesome!" Booth exclaimed. August smiled.
"I know, right?" She high fived him and they both laughed. Brennan relaxed and went to get August's hot chocolate. August gulped it down and thanked Brennan.
"I'm tired. Can I go to bed now?" August asked. Booth was about to respond when suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Booth got up and answered it.
"Hi! Here's Parker. I'll see you at my place in a week, ok buddy?" It was Rebecca. Parker ran into the room and smiled at Brennan, who picked the boy up and sat him on her lap. Booth said goodbye to Rebecca and walked back into the kitchen.
"Hi! Hi! Hi! Who are you?" Parker asked August. She laughed.
"I'm August. Didn't I meet you last time I was here?"
"I don't remember! You look sad and nice." August looked taken aback. Parker climbed off of Brennan and onto August. "You look like you need a cookie." He climbed back down and walked around the shocked looking Booth. When Parker couldn't find a cookie, her pulled out a big tub of cookie dough from the fridge.
"Parker, we can make cookies later." Brennan walked towards him to get the cookie dough, but he dashed around her, grabbing a spoon on his way.
"I'm not making cookies, silly! I'm giving August cookies!" He walked over and pulled open the tub. "Here!" He scooped up some cookie dough and held it out to August. She opened her mouth and he stuck it inside. August pulled the spoon out and smiled. She chewed and swallowed happily.
"That was delicious, Parker!" He smiled and fed her more, much to her delight. August loved cookie dough. They laughed as she fed him some on the same spoon, which irritated Brennan.
"If you're going to eat the cookie dough, at least eat it on separate spoons!" But the two were lost in their own world.
A/N: Sorry it's so short. I hope you liked that little August and Parker interaction! Please review :)