Hannah waited for Booth to come home. She decided to ask him some questions first before jumping into action. Maybe she could get some answers.
"Hi," she said, leaning over to kiss him.
"Hi," he replied. He had just dropped Parker off, and Rebecca was going to give him her own punishment for what he'd done. Booth stayed out of it. He knew his son was sorry.
"How was your day?"
"Aside from my son pulling a prank and getting in trouble, it was all right," Booth answered.
"Oh no! What happened?" she asked. He filled her in, and the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile.
"How was your day?" Booth countered. He set down his gun, phone and wallet in their designated places.
"Oh, it was good. Busy. I want to get back to Parker and Louis, though," Hannah said, trying to be discreet. "Where did Temperance find Louis?"
"I don't really know," Booth answered honestly.
"She just suddenly has a kid, and you don't know how or why?" Hannah laughed.
"No. We haven't really been talking."
"Oh," Hannah said, surprised. She looked at Booth curiously. Why not?
"Yea. She's been busy. Why the interest in Louis suddenly?"
"I just am curious is all," Hannah smiled, turning her palms upward and shrugging.
"All I know is she adopted him. That's it," Booth told her, kissing the top of her head and going to go shower. Hannah drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter after he was gone. She was thinking.
Brennan spent most of the evening trying to reassure Louis that she still loved him. He was acting like he was waiting for a physical punishment, which Brennan reassured him she did not do. There were other ways of discipline that were more effective. Like cleaning. She showed him how to sweep the floor and wipe the counters as well as do dishes. Louis was eager to learn it all, and it made Brennan laugh when he kept looking at her for reassurance that he was doing a good job before continuing on with gusto. She was finishing making him a snack when there was a knock on the door. Louis watched her go answer it.
"Booth," she said when she saw it was him.
"Hi," he replied. "I saw your light..."
"And you thought to yourself that I must be dying for company," she finished, smirking. He gave a half grin.
"Well, of course," he nodded.
"Come in," she said, opening the door wider. Booth felt a little bit of surprise that she was letting him inside. He had expected her to send him away again.
"Hey, bud," Booth said to Louis, who examined him carefully.
"It's all right," Brennan laughed. "He's a friend."
"Hi," Louis replied finally. Booth felt the sting of the word "friend." He thought they were a little more than that. He stood there feeling awkward suddenly. Brennan finished with the snack and set it down for Louis to take. He munched happily while Finding Nemo was on in the background.
"How's Hannah?" Brennan asked, busying herself with cleaning up so as not to look at Booth while he answered. She hated seeing his face when he talked about her.
"She's...fine," he answered. He willed Brennan to look at him, to see that he was in pain that their friendship was so strained. He wanted to make it up to her, make her see that he still cared about her.
"Good."
"I miss you," he blurted out, making her look at him.
"I'm right here," she said jokingly.
"I miss working with you, having you in the field. I gotta say, I give you a lot of credit for working with the interns, but I can't do it much longer. I want you back, Bones. We're a team."
"I'm not ready," she said quietly.
"Will you ever be?" he asked. They were looking at each other so intently that they didn't notice Louis in the background. He was clutching his stomach, and then he started coughing violently. Brennan whipped her head around to see him, and he vomited.
"Whoa," Booth said, unsure of what just happened.
"Louis?" Brennan asked, moving to him. His breath became wheezing, and she started to panic. "Louis!" She took him by the shoulders, trying to see what was wrong.
"Can't..." Louis tried. He gasped for air. His wheezing was getting worse.
"Booth!" Brennan shouted, looking at him wildly. He went over in two strides and picked Louis up.
"He's having a reaction to something," Booth said.
"What? No. He couldn't have," Brennan said quickly.
"No time to argue, Bones," Booth said. He went out the door with Louis in his arms while Brennan raced behind him. She was very thankful she lived close to the hospital. Booth had his lights flashing with his foot on the floor while Brennan clutched Louis to her.
"Breathe, Louis," she urged. "Please keep breathing."
"Scared," Louis croaked out between wheezes.
"It'll be all right. We're almost there," Brennan reassured him. She was terrified. She willed Booth to run the red light, and he did. They came skidding to a stop in front of the hospital, and Brennan tried to lift Louis, but he was too heavy.
"I got him," Booth said, suddenly there beside her. He swept Louis out easily, and they both ran inside. Within moments they were standing in front of the nurse's desk.
"My son is having an allergic reaction," Brennan verbally spewed at her. "Get him help NOW!"
"Calm down," the nurse started. Then she saw Louis, who now was covered in a bright rash. She stood up very fast, knocking her chair over. "Over here!" She gestured, and Booth came around with Louis. He was immediately swarmed by nurses and a doctor.
"What's happening?" Brennan cried, clutching Booth's arm.
"They're fixing him up," Booth reassured her. Brennan tore away from him when they started wheeling Louis away. Booth followed quickly.
"Where are you taking him?" she asked. She was ignored. She couldn't make out what they were shouting.
"What did you give him?" a nurse finally asked after discovering who she was.
"Peanut butter," she replied.
"Is this his first time having it?"
"I...I guess it is," she answered. "I adopted him. I'm not sure..."
"Thank you," the nurse cut her off before disappearing.
"Wait!"
"Bones, they'll fix him up," Booth promised. He went to touch her shoulder when she turned and flung herself into his arms. Surprised, he didn't know what to do at first before his natural response to hug her kicked in. He held her while she cried.
"Temperance Brennan?"
Brennan looked up to see the doctor standing in front of her. After crying herself out, she sat on one of the chairs alongside the wall.
"Yes?"
"Louis is just fine," he smiled. "I was surprised that this was his first time exposed to peanut butter though."
"He lived in a foreign island for years. I doubt they fed him anything like that," Brennan answered. "His former parents."
"I see. Well, we're going to keep him overnight to make sure he doesn't have another episode since this one was so strong. You can take him home in the morning."
"Okay. Thank you."
"See?" Booth said when the doctor left. "Everything's all right."
"But it shouldn't have been not all right at all," Brennan argued.
"You couldn't have known that he was allergic to peanut butter," Booth pointed out.
"I'm his mother! I'm supposed to know everything..."
"Not when you haven't had him from birth," Booth said. "Bones, it's okay..."
"It's not okay," she said firmly, getting up to go see Louis. He looked at her with his big eyes when she came in.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"No, no," Brennan said. "I'm sorry. I didn't know, sweetie. I wouldn't have given it to you if I'd known you were allergic."
"It tasted so good though," Louis sighed.
"I'm sorry."
"Can I go home?"
"In the morning. They want to make sure you don't have another episode since this one was so severe."
"Oh. Okay."
"I'll be right here. All night. Okay?"
"Okay."
"I love you," Brennan said, kissing his cheek and smoothing his hair.
"I love you too, Mama," Louis said drowsily. Brennan felt her heart soar. This was the first time he'd called her Mama. It felt very good. She settled into the chair beside him while Louis fell asleep.
"Safe to come in?" Booth asked.
"Yes," she answered. He sat in the chair next to her.
"He okay?"
"Yea. I still feel bad."
"Bones..."
"I know," she cut him off. She took his hand in hers. "Thanks for coming and staying."
"It's what I do," he bowed his head.
"Will Hannah miss you?"
"She will survive," he answered.
"Are you two fighting?"
"Nope."
"Seems like you're mad at her."
"Not mad. I haven't seen her much lately because of work."
"So you do miss her."
"Of course."
Brennan felt a twist in her gut. Booth watched her out of the corner of his eye. He noticed her reaction every time he mentioned Hannah. He wished he could tell her that he felt distant from Hannah because he couldn't stop thinking about her.
"You don't have to stay all night," she said.
"Can I just talk to you for a while before I go?" he asked.
"About what?"
"Anything," he replied. "Anything at all."
"All right," she agreed. So they talked. And talked. And talked some more. Soon it was after midnight, and they were still talking. Brennan was looking at Booth and realizing just how much she missed him after all.
"I should go," he said after a moment of silence.
"Okay."
"I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Probably not. I'll keep him home I think," she answered. He nodded knowingly.
"Well, call if you need me," he said.
"I will," she nodded. She felt sad to see him leave. He gave a small smile and wave at the door before disappearing. She wished he had stayed.
"You're home late," Hannah said blearily from the bed as Booth got in to join her.
"Louis had an allergic reaction, so I took him to the hospital with Bones," he answered. He felt her stiffen. "What?"
"Seeley, I think Temperance kidnapped that child," she said.
"What? That's ridiculous," Booth laughed.
"I'm serious. How else does she just 'suddenly' have a kid? Don't you find that odd?" she pressed.
"Bones is not a kidnapper," Booth said firmly.
"Seeley! Are you blind? Or are you just too in love with her to realize the truth?" Hannah snapped.
"I'm not," he said roughly.
"Not what? Blind or in love?"
"Both! I'm not blind, and I do not love Bones," he lied. They stared at each other. Hannah knew he was lying. Fine. If he wasn't going to help, then she was doing this alone.
"Good night, Seeley," she said coldly. She turned away. Booth gaped at her back. What was happening to this woman? He was starting to feel that he had definitely made the wrong choice by bringing her into his life here.
The Next Day
Hannah paced a little before knocking. She didn't know what to expect. Finally, she gave in.
"Oh, it's you," Brennan said, seeing her.
"Hi," Hannah smiled. "I heard what happened. I brought a little something." In her hands she held a "Get Well" balloon and some kind of Lego kit.
"That's...nice of you," Brennan answered, feeling her hackles rise. Why was Hannah here? What did she really want?
"Can I come in?" Hannah asked. Brennan hesitated before moving aside. Hannah set the present down on the counter. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine. Just tired."
"That's good. I was just talking to Booth about how you became a mom almost overnight," Hannah laughed. "What happened? Where did you find him?" Brennan immediately felt suspicious. Why was Hannah so interested?
"He was an orphan on Maluku, so I adopted him," she answered, leaving out the whole dead kidnapper parents part.
"Oh that's so sad," Hannah said, putting her hands on her chest. "He really had nobody?"
"What do you want, Hannah?" Brennan cut her off sharply. Hannah looked taken aback.
"I'm just curious where Louis came from, that's all," she replied.
"Now you know. Can you please leave now? You're upsetting my son," Brennan said. Hannah looked around.
"He's not out here..."
"I can feel his anxiousness coming from his bedroom. When you're a mother, you know these things," Brennan interrupted.
"Okay," Hannah said, holding up her hands. She went out the front door. When it closed behind her, Hannah knew for sure that Brennan had done something she shouldn't have by taking Louis. She pulled out the paper and dialed the number as she went down the stairs.
"Hi, Jerry? Yes, my name is Hannah Burley. I'm a journalist. I came across your missing child ad. I think I found him."
"Hey, Bones," Booth said. He held the phone tightly to his ear. "How's he doing?"
"Better. He is up to eating, so we're just having lunch," Brennan answered. "I got rid of anything with peanut butter."
"Did the doctor give him an epi pen?"
"Yes. I've showed Louis how to use it, and he is quite excited to carry around the case it comes in. He likes Superman apparently."
"What little boy doesn't?" Booth chuckled.
"Hannah was here," Brennan said suddenly. Booth felt his stomach drop. Why had she gone there?
"Oh?"
"Yes. She left a present for Louis, but she asked a lot of questions as to where Louis came from," Brennan answered.
"She's just curious," Booth tried.
"I think she thinks I kidnapped this child. Booth, I did not do that," she said strongly.
Are you blind? Or are you just too in love with her to realize the truth?
"I know, Bones. I know that. You're not that kind of person," he added, shoving Hannah's words out of his mind.
"Then tell her that," she said abruptly. "I have to go. Louis needs me."
"Okay. I'll talk to her, Bones," Booth said before hanging up. He stared at the phone after. What was Hannah up to?
"That's him," Jerry said immediately after Hannah described him. "That's my nephew!"
"I'm so sorry this whole thing happened," Hannah said empathetically. They were at the office in a private room.
"I just want him back," Jerry said. He sat at the table looking as desolate as he could. This dumb blonde was even dumber than he thought to buy into this crap.
"I'll get the police involved," Hannah promised. "You'll get him back within the day."
"No," Jerry said suddenly, standing up. "No police."
"But..."
"No, just take me to him."
"That's not how it works..."
"Take. Me. To. Him," Jerry spelled out. Hannah began to feel a little scared. She stood there looking at this man, and suddenly, she didn't have a very good feeling about him.
"There are procedures we have to follow..." she tried again. Jerry banged his fist on the table so hard she jumped. He came around to her until she was backed against the wall. She wondered if anyone outside the room could hear them.
"Look, bitch," Jerry said, putting his hand around her throat and squeezing it tight until Hannah choked. "That's my nephew, and he's rightfully mine. I don't need no damn cops to get involved. I will go get my nephew and be on my way." Hannah shook her head to argue. He tightened his grip, making her squeak.
"Actually, I have a better idea," he said, sneering. "You're gonna get the boy for me. I don't care how you do it, just get it done. Or else your little sister and her beautiful family will never be seen again." Hannah's eyes widened at this. "Oh, yes. I did my homework on you. You should know better than to give a stranger your last name over the phone." Jerry laughed cruelly. He thumped her head against the wall to make his point. When Hannah nodded vigorously, he released her.
"You have 48 hours. Call me when you have the boy, and don't try anything funny. I'm watching you," Jerry warned. "One word to the authorities, and your sister and her family bite the dust."
"Okay," Hannah croaked. Then he was gone. She slid to the floor, holding her throat. She started to cry. How had this happened? She had been only trying to do the right thing, and now the right thing was going to hurt so many people. She wanted to tell Booth, but she thought of Jerry's threat. She just couldn't take the risk. How was she going to get Louis, though? And how was she going to try to save him after Jerry had him? Her head was spinning. She needed to make a plan and fast.
We hope you're still enjoying this story! Thanks for reading. (If you're skeptical about allergic reactions, research it as I learned some interesting things myself!)