Booth's pacing back and forth in his office, his phone clutched tightly in his hand. He grunts. "Why haven't they called? It's been almost two hours."

Brennan looks up from her own phone and twists her mouth slightly. "They'll call when they have something relevant to the case, Booth."

He stops walking and turns to face her. "How can you say that like it's no big deal? Like our daughter isn't out there, missing, or dead, or I don't even know. You're acting like this is just a normal case."

She draws her bottom lip into her mouth and shifts on the chair. "I'm just as scared as you are, Booth. I'm just more adept at hiding it." She takes in a shaky breath and her chin quivers as she continues, "You think this is easy for me? Waiting? It's not. I want answers. I thrive on answers. I hate not knowing. It's one of the worst feelings in the world. I should know. You should know too." She swallows.

He blinks, taking a small step towards her, instantly feeling guilty for accusing her of not caring.

She looks away from him for a second and then finds his eyes again. "It's not healthy, I know, but keeping my feelings hidden, it's what I've always done, and it helps—or at least, it used to. I miss her, Booth. I want to find her. Figuratively speaking, it's killing me. Not knowing where she is or whether she's alive or dead, it hurts. This isn't just some normal case for me. It never was and it never will be."

His breathing's picking up again as he walks closer to her, close enough to rest his hand on her shoulder, brushing his knuckles against her cheek, wiping away the fresh tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—it's just—I'm just—."

After a brief period of silence, she replies, "I know." She tilts her head and looks up at him.

He sits on the armrest and drapes his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. His hand combs through her hair as he looks down at her. "She's just a baby." He pauses. "If the baby at the park isn't Christine, it still means that someone else is missing a child who will never come home." He quickly rubs his cheek and sighs.

She shifts and wraps her arms around his torso, leaning against him. It's an uncomfortable position, but she needs the comfort. Whoever that baby is, whether she's Christine or someone else's baby girl, it's still physically painful thinking about it. It makes her wish Christine wasn't missing, so she could just hug her, give her a soft kiss on the top of her head, and tickle her until she smiles and laughs, with Booth right there, beside his girls, recording it all.

The moment of quiet doesn't last long. Booth's phone starts to ring a few minutes later and he reacts to it quickly, the phone nearly slipping from his grasp. "Agent Booth," he answers.

Brennan watches as her partner's shoulders drop and his expression stays the same, with just a slight twitch of one side of his mouth. She's never been good at reading people's faces or body language, that's usually Booth's or Sweets' job, but nonetheless, she can tell he's relieved, that the person on the phone has just given him good news.

He hangs up and squeezes her shoulder. "Dental records confirm that she isn't Christine."

"Who is she?"

"Emma Fray, eight months old."

She blinks slowly. She's relieved that her daughter could still be alive, but she can't help but think about Emma and the phone call her family is about to receive. She's a pro at compartmentalizing, or she used to be, before she, well, before she met and got close to Booth and gave birth to her daughter. She tries not to let the cases get to her, but she can't help it sometimes. This case, in particular, hits close to home—way, way, way too close.

He leans down and kisses the top of her head. He closes his eyes and breathes in her conditioner.

She rests her hand on his thigh. "I know it's highly unlikely, but I hope all her injuries were inflicted postmortem."

"Me too, Bones, me too."

They stay like that for a couple minutes, until Brennan shifts and stands up. "Can we, uh, can we just go for a drive? I've got no end destination in mind, so don't ask me, but driving around the city in the SUV is, uh, it's comforting. It's mundane. It equals normalcy. With everything that's going on, I need that right now."

He stands up and lifts her chin with his thumb, looking down. "You don't have to explain everything, Bones. I know you." He presses his lips against hers ever so gently, letting one of his hands brush against her neck and the other slide up her side. He breaks the kiss and smiles. "Let's go for a drive. We can go anywhere or nowhere at all. You call the shots. You can even drive if you want."

She hooks her arm around his and they head to the elevator.

"Christine won't give up. She's half you and half me, and we've never given up on anything, especially you." He pauses and mutters under his breath, "I don't doubt it for a second."

Brennan smiles as they disappear into the elevator. She leans against the back wall and nods. "That is true," she whispers just before the doors clamp shut.

Thanks for reading/reviewing/following.

A/N: I'm still trying to grasp the characters and the show itself, so forgive me if something/someone seems out of character or off in some way. Hope it's not too distracting if it is.

Anyway, hang in there, guys. I promise happiness is coming.

:)