"I messed up, Ange. Hadley won't talk to me. She'll only talk to Booth. I should've been there for her."

"Sweetie, everyone makes mistakes. She'll forgive you soon. And so will Booth."

"He's quite upset with me, Angela. I know I did wrong and I understand why Hadley is mad at me, but why Booth?"

She heard her friend sigh through the phone. "It's that dad thing coming out in him. He's worried about her."

"Hadley is not his child. She's not even my child. She is in a sense but we are in no way related."

"It doesn't matter, Bren. She's a kid and he wants to protect her. Let me ask you something, what if Hadley ends up staying with you until she is out of school? What's going to happen?"

Brennan hadn't thought about it. It seemed to far way to think about. She had been in contact with social services and was told that as long as Hadley was being well taken care of, Hadley could stay there indefinitely. It hadn't troubled Brennan when they told her this. She hadn't planned on taking in a child and she hadn't thought about caring for a child since she and Booth called off the baby debacle. Being thrust back into a family lifestyle hadn't been an easy adjustment for her, but she was trying for Hadley. Brennan understood the importance of a good home would be for Hadley. She never wanted Hadley to have the experiences she did.

"Child services said she could be for a while if it works out for the both of us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If Hadley likes it here, and I can continue to care for her, she can stay until she graduates."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Of course. I don't want her going to some other house where she has to share a room with three other kids and hardly eats."

"Okay, but you know that's going to change the dynamic of your partnership with Booth, right?"

"How so?"

Angela had thought her friend was a genius, but explaining things like this was like explaining how to tie shoes to a teenager; she would've thought Brennan would've caught on by now. "Brennan, Hadley needs her father."

"That is impossible, Angela. You know that."

"Yes, which is why she's going to need a father figure in her life to stabilize things. She's been without a mother practically her whole life, so adjusting to you is going to take her a while, but Booth is just what she needs. Plus, and no offense, he's used to kids. You, on the other hand, aren't."

"I'm good with kids!"

"I know, Sweetie, but you're not used to hanging out with them on a daily basis."

"So what do I do? I'm asking for help here, Ange. I never do this. I need you to help me."

Angela was surprised Brennan admitted to needing help, but she wasn't going to complain. "If I were you, give her some of that family structure."

"I can't just give her a foster dad and siblings, Angela."

"Booth and Parker qualify. Has she met Max yet?"

"Of course not."

"Bam. Instant grandparent. Max is going to love this."

"I'm not so sure…"

"Can you just go with me on this? You did ask for my help."

"Yes, but exposing Hadley to a murderer is not the influence I want for her."

"I was never convicted!"

Brennan looked up to the doorway. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Your dad is there? Okay, maybe give Hadley some time to recover. And maybe make sure Booth's not there. I don't see that ending well."

"Thanks, Ange. I'll call you later."

Brennan snapped the phone shut and stood from her desk. "Dad?"

"I just heard a few rumors about you adopting some kid."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Where do you hear these things? I didn't adopt Hadley. I'm just fostering."

"So it's true?"

"I just told you I didn't adopt her."

Max just nodded. "So when do I get to meet her?"

"Now's not the best time, Dad."

"Why?"

"She's not in a good mood."

Brennan walked to the kitchen and found Parker rummaging through the fridge.

"Busted, little man," Max said from behind her.

"Mr. Keenan!" Parker lunged toward him and gave him a hug.

"Hey, I told you when we're not at the Jeffersonian classes, you can call me Max."

"Cool. Hey, Max, have you met Hadley yet?"

Max shook his head.

"Well, she's with Dad right now but when she feels better, you should meet her. She's like the only other cool girl I know besides Bones."

"Are you hungry, Parker?" Brennan asked, eyeing the open refrigerator door.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry, Bones. Dad said it was okay."

"You can help yourself, Parker, you know that."

Parker smiled at her. "Thanks, Bones."

"I'll be right back," she whispered to Max.

"I'm coming with. I want to meet this little girl my little girl is taking care of."

"Hadley is fifteen. She's not a little girl. And I want to make sure it's okay before she meets you. She's been through a lot lately, Dad."

"Hadley's dad was killed," Parker helped explained.

Max looked between the boy and his daughter. Brennan nodded.

"Okay, Tempe. I'll stay here with Parker. Maybe we should do an experiment!"

"Yeah!" Parker cheered. With her father and partner's son occupied, Brennan went down the hall to Hadley's room. She knocked and when she didn't receive an answer, she went in. Booth was leaning against the dresser and Hadley was laying on her bed. They both stared back at her.

"Um, Hadley, there's someone here that wants to meet you."

Booth and Hadley exchanged confused looks.

"Who is it?" he wanted to know.

"Max."

"How did he find out about Hadley?"

Brennan shrugged and looked at her foster daughter. "Max is my dad. You don't have to meet him if you don't want to. He understands." But the last of her words were drowned out by what sounded like a miniature explosion in the kitchen.

"Is my son with your father?"

Brennan nodded.

"Do we want to go see what's going on or are we probably safer back here?"

"I should've asked my dad to make sure whatever experiment they were going to do was a clean one. In retrospect, that would've been a wise idea."

"Too late, Bones. It sounds bad," he said with a smile when Parker's giggles carried down the hall.

Brennan was watching Hadley's reaction to what the girl was hearing and then asked, "Would you like to meet my father?"

Hadley looked conflicted. "Didn't he ditch you?"

Brennan looked to Booth and when the look on his face told her everything she needed to know, Brennan answered, "He did. But he's back now and we have worked through things. It's a long story, Hadley. One of these days, I'll explain to you."

Hadley nodded. "So can I meet him?"