Chapter 13

While Nancy stayed and checked Brennan's vitals, Booth rejoined the others. As he walked into the living room he heard Russ ask Sweets, "Why is Tempe having such a hard time with this problem? I had a hard time also but that hasn't stopped me from loving someone and taking on a ready made family."

"She was younger than you Russ, and a girl. After Temperance was left to the system she was abused and almost raped. Unless a young girl is lucky enough to be put with a decent family they almost always have a hard life. Few are lucky enough to emerge unscathed. In your sisters case it affected her view of relationships, both existing and future relationships. She is very lucky to have found someone like Booth to work with. It has given him the time that he needed to understand her and why she is the way she is. He's not a trained psychiatrist but he has an innate ability to read people. It's what makes him such a good agent. It's what helps him to overlook Temperance's straight forward way of looking at people and circumstances. She has told me that Booth has taught her a lot about relating to people."

Sweets looked up at Booth as he returned to the couch and sat down.

"Now that Temperance is finally giving herself and Booth a chance at love I am sure that she will learn a lot from him in that category also. As time goes by she won't be so afraid of loving others and running the risk of them leaving her. In Dr. Brennan's mind she equates love with people leaving. She thinks that people she loves eventually find something wrong with her that they don't like and that is why they leave her."

Russ looked at his father and put his hand on his shoulder. "I don't blame you and mom for what happened to us Dad. I just want you to know that I am okay with it and I am sure that with Booth and Dr. Sweets help that Tempe will get better also."

"I know that she will be okay now Russ. I know that her thinking is on the right track now and do you know why I am so sure of it?"

"No, why?" Russ asked.

"Because she called me Daddy, she hasn't called me that since she was 12 years old. On her 12th birthday she announced in a very serious voice that she wasn't going to call me Daddy anymore because she was too old to address me like that. She said she would call me Dad from then on. I accepted her decision without an argument but that night when you mother and I were in bed I cried. Your mother asked me why I was crying and I told her that I was going to miss my little girl calling me Daddy when I came home. You and Tempe had always called your mother Mom but I was no longer going to hear my little girl call me Daddy." Max pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes and blew his nose.

"Yeah, I'm dreading the day that the girls stop calling me Daddy." Russ said.

As they sat, each deep in their own thoughts, they heard Brennan screaming. Booth jumped up to go to her. Sweets knew that it must only be a bad dream so he put his hand on Booth's arm to stop him.

"She is only having a bad dream. Mr. Keenan, go to her, it will be a good way to start to mend the fences between you."

Max got up and went into his daughter's bedroom. He went to the bed and sat next to his daughter and pulled her into his arms. "It's okay Tempe, it's okay. It's only a dream and dreams can't hurt you. Daddy's here. Shhhh." Max said as he held his daughter and rocked her back and forth. Brennan held on to him tightly.

"I was so scared Daddy. I fought them as hard as I could but there were just too many of them." Brennan was crying so hard that she was shaking. The more she cried the tighter she held on to her father and the tighter he held onto her. "They killed my baby Daddy, they killed mine and Booths baby. He hit me so hard and so many times that I could feel it's life slipping away from me. When I felt my baby leaving me Daddy I just wanted to die. "

"It's okay baby, it's okay. You and Booth can make another baby when you're all better and this time it will be the fun way. No more test tube babies for you two anymore."

Booth, Sweets and Russ were standing just outside the bedroom door and listening. Sweets had to hold onto Booth's arm to keep him from going to her when she talked about losing the baby. Booth turned to the wall and hid his tears.

"But what if he doesn't want me anymore Daddy? What if he sees me as damaged goods now?"

"Temperance Brennan, stop talking like that." Max pulled his daughter away from his shoulder so they could look at each other. "I have never seen another man love someone as much as Booth loves you. Nothing, nothing could ever make him stop loving you. Don't forget that he is a trained FBI agent that has been taught what happens to a woman when she is raped. You know that he would never leave you unless you push him away. And believe me when I say that if he hasn't left your side yet then he most likely never would. Sometimes Temperance you can be so stubborn in your outlook on life. You are a carbon copy of your mother. She was just as stubborn as you. The next time you and Booth have an argument and he tells you that you are stubborn you can always tell him 'It's my mother's fault'." He smiled at her and that finally made her stop crying and she gave him a smile back.

Sweets pulled Booth back out to the living room where they took up the same positions they previously had on the couch. Booth pulled his handkerchief out, wiped his eyes and blew his nose. After another ten minutes or so Max came out of his daughter's room and sat down with the rest.

Sweets was the first one to speak. "Is she sleeping now?"

"Yes. You were right Dr. Sweets. I think my going to her helped us reassert our bound. I think she is my little girl again except she is just a full grown woman that I can't take over my knee and give her a good spanking when she gets out of hand." He looked straight at Booth and saw that his eyes were red from crying also. "You will now have that honor to carry out from now on." Booth just smiled at him and they shook hands.

Sweets stood up and it was a signal to the rest that the session was over. He walked Max and Russ to the door and shook their hands and thanked them for coming. Booth said goodbye to them also and went back to the kitchen to pour himself another cup of coffee. Sweets came over to get some more coffee also. Since Booth and Nancy were both sitting at the dining room table he joined them.

After almost 10 minutes of silence Sweets decided to talk.

"What are you thinking about Booth?"

"It's good that she finally opened up to Max but now I am worried about how Bones will react when we have to go on a case out in the field and she is surrounded by mostly men."

"I know, I am concerned also. I have been discussing this possible problem with some of my colleagues. Fortunately she has started to open up to me more. You're partly responsible for her change of attitude towards what she calls a "Soft Science"."

"How did I do that? I haven't displayed too much confidence in you since we started being forced to have sessions with you." Booth said rather quietly with his eyes on his coffee cup. Sweets knew that he didn't feel like that anymore since he had turned to him several times since they first met.

"She has asked me for help in learning how to read people like you do. Haven't you noticed how she is a little less straight forward with her questioning of people? We have also discussed why she turns off people with the way she testifies in court. Between you, me and the defending lawyer she is learning to tone down her testimony so that it isn't so scientific. She is slowly learning to relate and speak to people that don't have her expertise in science."

"I think my son, Parker, is teaching her also. He does pretty good now when he talks to her but when they first met he would often say the same thing that she does, "I don't know what that means". She would then have to rethink the way she said something and rephrase it."

Sweets looked at his watch and stood up. "I have to get back to the office now. If you should need me just give me a call." He looked directly at Booth and said, "I think that she will be okay now Booth. She just needs more time to heal both mentally and physically." Nancy got up then and walked Sweets to the door and said goodbye. She went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner after walking Sweets out.

Booth got up and went to the big screen TV that Brennan had bought for him when he started bringing Parker over to spend the day with her. He took a seat on the couch and looked for something interesting to watch. When he found something he laid down on the couch. Since he felt emotionally drained he quickly fell asleep.

Nancy went to check on Brennan and found her sleeping peacefully. She checked on Booth also and found him sleeping. She went to the linen closet and pulled out a blanket and placed it over him then went back into the kitchen to continue fixing supper. After a few minutes she had to get a Kleenex and wipe her own tears away and blow her nose.

TBC….