Hadley loaded the bags into the back of Booth's car while the partners slowly walked from the house. Booth was giving her the information from the Squint Squad.

"I need to question Hadley, Bones," he warned her.

"I know."

"The sooner, the better."

"I know."

"Are you going to let me talk to her?"

"Why are you asking me like that?"

She was becoming defensive, her walls becoming higher.

"Bones, you're her guardian now. And I know you. You're going to want to protect her. But it's not going to be like interrogation."

"You can't interrogate her, Booth! She's a child!"

He stopped walking and forced her to stop too. "See, that's not what I said! I'm not going to make her sit in the interrogation room and sweat it out like a suspect. She's not a suspect, Bones. But if she knows something about her dad that she's not telling us, we're never going to find out who killed Thomas Kerr. And you want that, right?"

"Of course I want to find out who killed him."

"Then you need to let me talk to her," he told her.

"Then I want to be there when you do."

"It's your right as a guardian. I'd never deny you your parental rights, Bones."

They started walking to the car again. Hadley was already seated inside.

"Just don't upset her, Booth," Brennan warned just before she climbed in the car.

The car ride to Brennan's apartment was silent except for a nervous tapping that came from the back seat.

Booth carried Hadley's bags as Brennan led the way up to her place. The walk was silent and Hadley could hear her heart beating. She didn't understand why she was nervous. She was walking into a new life full of things she didn't understand and she was worried her new guardian wouldn't know how to help.

"Your room is the second door on the right. I'll get you clean sheets," Brennan told her, leaving Booth and Hadley to stand in the entryway.

"Come on, I'll show you your room," Booth grunted as he adjusted one of Hadley's bags on his shoulder. She followed Booth to the guestroom. The bed was unmade; someone had been there recently.

"Ah, that's why you need clean sheets. Max must've been here," Booth said.

"Who's Max?"

"Bones' dad."

"You call Dr. Brennan Bones?"

"Yeah."

"She told me she was in the system."

"She was."

"But…her dad is still around?"

"That's a long story, Hadley. You'll have to ask Bones about that. I'm not even going to touch that one."

Booth dropped Hadley's bags at the foot of the bed and they waited for Bones to bring Hadley clean sheets. It was still early in the day, but she was tired. She wanted to nap in her own bed more than anything, but the guest bed would have to suffice.

"So how long have you and Dr. Brennan been dating?" Hadley asked to break the silence.

Booth blushed. "Why do you think we're dating?"

"You look at her the way guys my age look at girls. So…you're not dating her?"

"No."

"But you wanna be?"

"Bones and I are partners."

"Well, you love Bones, I can tell that much. I won't tell her though," Hadley promised.

They could hear Brennan approaching and Hadley stopped talking about the current subject.

"I can change the sheets, Hadley. You can unpack if you'd like. That dresser is empty and there are some hangers in the closet."

She nodded and watched Brennan rip off the dirty sheets from the bed.

"Bones…"

She looked up at Booth. Words were silently exchanged between them and Hadley was desperate to know what was going on but she was left out of the loop.

"Hadley? Can I ask you a few questions?" Booth looked at her, once he and Brennan broke eye contact.

"About?"

"Your dad."

She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess. I'm not sure what I'm going to be able to tell you though. He always worked." Hadley busied herself putting her clothes away.

"Do you know if anyone at work was upset with him for any reason?"

Hadley just shrugged.

"Did your dad do anything outside of work?"

"He played in a co-ed volleyball league for fun. There has to be at least two girls on a team. They play at a bar in town every Wednesday night. Dad plays with a bunch of people from work. They get the secretaries from the construction office to play too so they qualify for co-ed. He always came home really hammered. I was usually in bed when Dad got back. I could hear him having issues getting up the stairs. Had to help him a few times," she remembered, "he came home with a black eye once. I asked him about it and he said he and a guy at work got in a disagreement and that was all."

"How often did you talk to your dad?" Booth asked, taking notes while she talked.

"I didn't see him every day but I talked to him every day. He'd take a late lunch break so I could talk to him as soon I got done with school."

"So you two were close?"

Hadley nodded and fought the tears in her eyes.

"Do you know who his close friends were?"

Booth kept receiving warning looks from Brennan, but ignored them.

"Uh, the guys on his volleyball team. Alberto Martinez, Zach Cooke, and George Schafer."

"Who were the women on his team?"

"Zach's wife, Sarah and Cindy Ellington. They're both secretaries at the construction office."

Booth stumbled a bit with the next question. It was almost as bad as asking Parker about his mom's boyfriends.

"Did your dad have a, uh…girlfriend? Was he seeing anyone that you know of?"

"Booth, that's enough," Brennan said through her teeth. She didn't want to upset Hadley. Without any experience with teenage girls under her belt, Brennan wasn't ready for rough waters.

Booth kept his eyes on Hadley, waiting for her answer.

"I know he wanted to ask Cindy out. He wanted to know if I thought it would be weird if he started dating again. I don't even remember Mom and I'm sure he had moved on but he wanted my permission."

Booth nodded. "Thanks, Hadley. I think that's it for now. Bones, I'm gonna go back to work. I'll call you if I find something."

She didn't answer him, still upset about the questions he had asked Hadley. Booth left and the apartment became quiet once more.

"So…Agent Booth kind of told me about your dad. Well, just a little. Not everything."

Brennan wondered what he had said but knew it wasn't much. She knew Booth respected her privacy.

"Yes, Max stays with me on occasion. My parents abandoned me as a child and even though it can be hard to trust him at times, it's nice to have him around."

"That's good," Hadley said sincerely. Her mind was wandering. Hadley knew it would never be like that for her. Her dad would never just pop back into her life.

Brennan sensed the awkwardness and finished changing the sheets quickly.

"I'm going to go work on some things in my office," she told Hadley, "I'll be right down the hall if you need me."

Brennan quickly walked to her office and closed the door. She sat at her desk and pulled out her phone. Pressing a speed dial button, she hoped the person on the other end would answer.

"Saroyan," she heard.

"Cam, I need some advice."