32CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

"You should get up and walk around a bit." Doctor Temperance Brennan informed her partner as they both sat in separate chairs in Parker Booth's hospital room. "You've been sitting for a very long amount of time. You're going to hurt your back again."

"Yeah, well, I think I'll be alright Bones." Booth responded momentarily distracted from talking with his son.

"You should listen to Doctor Bones, dad. She's a doctor." The little boy was shoveling bits of mashed potato into his mouth and the dirt was long gone. His little legs were tucked beneath the light blue cotton blanket.

"Yeah, but I'm an FBI agent, buddy." Seeley looked back to his son reaching out to pat his leg. "Don't you trust your dad?"

"I do. But you're not a doctor, dad." Parker said matter of factly before beginning to work on his meatloaf.

"Your son is very astute." Temperance noted, giving a very serious, approving nod.

"Right. Thanks, Bones." Seeley nodded, not wishing to argue he grunted and moved right to his feet, walking to the side of Parker's bed and ruffling his son's hair. "Better?"

"Are you wearing your support belt?" Temperance asked, her slender hands resting in her lap.

"No, I am not wearing that lame girdle." Booth frowned, crossing his arms over his chest he arched his back with a grunt.

"What's a girdle?" Parker asked with a tilt of his head toward his father.

"It's a device usually used by fema-" Temperance Brennan began but was cut off quickly by her partner.

"Nothing." Booth said firmly before looking toward his son with a weak smile, hoping that his kid would drop the matter. "It's nothing." It was then that he looked over his shoulder. "Say, Bones. Why don't you go check on Krys? I'm pretty sure they'll be done with her preliminary checkups and medical stuff."

"Medical stuff isn't even a relevant nor correct term." Temperance corrected with a frown as she rose to her feet. But Booth showed no sign of budging and so, with a tired sigh, she agreed. "But, I will go and make sure she is doing alright." Turning around she made her way toward the door.

"I think you've made a new friend, Bones." Agent Booth called out to her as he sat on the edge of his son's bed grinning like a cat who had caught the mouse and was just playing with it for its own amusement.

Temperance ignored such a remark, if only to keep her own dignity and continued to walk out the door. Walking down the hall she crossed her arms over her chest and tucked a few strands of light brown hair behind her ear. Her dangling earings cast little spots of light across the hallway floor and she followed them with her eyes. One of these little light spots landed on someone's shoe clad foot and as her eyes scanned upwards there was a familiar pair of long legs that belonged to no other than Lance Sweets who seemed to be trying to sink into the wall.

"Doctor Sweets." Temperance spoke up as she came to a stop outside of Krys' room, cornering the psychologist so he had no where to run off to. "You appear to be hiding."

"I prefer the term stalling, not hiding. It makes me feel less cowardly." Lance admitted sheepishly, apparently he had been spending too much time with Zack Addy. It was either that or sleep deprivation.

"Oh. Alright." Doctor Brennan nodded and then moved to walk past him but Lance, as cowardly as he seemed to think he was being, took a step behind her, calling out to her and thus stopping her.

"Oh, uh, hey. Doctor Brennan.." He obviously hadn't been expecting her to stop, but when she did he swallowed and took a moment to gather his thoughts. "How is she?"

"I won't know until I go inside Doctor Sweets." Temperance countered calmly before she blinked at the young man. "Haven't you gone in yourself? In spacial proximity to the room you are rather close."

"No, no." Lance gave a soft laugh out of nerves, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I couldn't do that. I wasn't invited."

"Nor was I." Temperance said not at all understanding what Lance was hinting at she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Come on." And though Lance tried to dig his heels into the floor the anthropologist was stronger than she appeared and dragged him right into the hospital room.

It seemed that they weren't the only ones there. A somewhat heftier man with graying black hair and a woman with short blonde hair stood by Krys' bedside. Among them was a young man of about thirteen with blonde hair who was quite tall even though he seemed about fourteen and two blonde females who looked like they could be twins. From the way they were all positioned around the room it was clear that they knew the patient relatively well. Especially since the older man's hand was atop Krys' head.

"Dad, I'm fine. Please..." Krys cringed as she lifted her hands to fix her brown hair. It was very obvious that she didn't resemble anyone in her family other than her father, and that was only by hair color.

Temperance released Lance's arm once they crossed the threshold and Lance could only step backwards toward the wall, hoping to blend in though his cheeks were turning a bright red. Temperance was less affected as she boldly stepped toward the group with no regard for personal space.

"Doctor Brennan." Krys sat up in her hospital bed, an IV in her right arm which laid right side up. She was doing her best to smile but she certainly wasn't jumping for joy, it was clear that she was very tired with everything that had happened now topped off with visiting hours. "Doctor Brennan this is my mom and dad. And these two are my sisters and that's my brother." Krys explained, pointing with her left hand which felt extremely odd as she was right handed.

"You look absolutely nothing like your family." Temperance noted which received a few odd looks from Krys' parents.

Krys however didn't seem phased as she was beginning to grow used to such comments from the anthropologist. She wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing yet. "That would be because I'm adopted Doctor Brennan." Krys gave a little knowing smile, seeing her parents look so confused was pretty amusing. Turning her gaze toward her parents she whispered, though it was purposely loud enough for Doctor Brennan to hear. "She's the best of the best. I swear."

"You know I don't understand your work." Her mother spoke up with a higher than thou sort of tone that didn't sound like Krys' voice one bit. "All I know is it is keeping you outside of prison."

This comment, though under the guise of a motherly voice and a smile, had cut and Krys noticably looked down at her lap with a murmur. "Mom..."

"We should be going." Her mother continued as her family began to file toward the door. "We'll be back tomorrow bright and early." Striding toward the door in her unsensible high heels she gave a little wave to Temperance (having not seen Sweets with how pressed up he was against the wall). "Goodnight." And the family was gone, clearly not comfortable amongst people whow weren't like them. But Krys didn't seem much like them either.

"I'm sorry about that Doctor Brennan." Krys sighed, looking back up from her lap. "As you can guess my family isn't really like... Me. They're all high achievers. My brother is a star athlete at his school, very neat, my sisters are dancers and top of their classes. When I was part of that fiasco I also was down that same road." Looking up with a weak little smile she gave a silent laugh. "I'm kind of the weirdo of the family... Unfortunately." Looking back down at her lap she played with the material of her blanket.

"You're only as 'weird' as I am." Temperance spoke up which actually made Krys laugh. Doctor Brennan raised a brow at her curiously.

"That is not as reassuring as you think it is Doctor Brennan." Krys looked up again with a bright smile despite her pale face and the IV sticking out of her right arm. That was when her eyes settled on the figure by the wall, watching her from a distance and her smile faded ever so slightly but not in a bad way. "Sweets."

Temperance looked from Krys on the bed and over to Lance who gave a weak, shy little smile as their eyes met. Doctor Brennan linked as she looked between the glance that was exchanged between the two and suddenly she felt like she didn't even exist. But that was beyond the laws of science. Of course she existed! She was standing right there! And yet, in this moment of time they didn't see.

"Hey." Lance said quietly, not daring to budge from his spot looking as exhausted and worn as Krys had from her ordeal.

"Hey." Krys said right back in an equally soft tone, shifting a bit on her cot.

"Doctor Sweets is a great part of the reason that we found you." Temperance found herself speaking up though she had no idea why she felt the urge to. And yet, she wanted to help. But with what?

"He did?" Krys blinked, looking to Lance again rather quietly.

"He was quite worried about you." Temperance added, even though Lance shot her a surprised look at this remark. Was she setting him up for some sort of mess? He wasn't sure.

"Really?" Krys' smile was completely gone and a look of disbelief took over her expression.

This caused Lance to look suddenly at her, no time for thinking now. "Yeah." He was now stepping toward the bed without even thinking. Now at her bed side he looked down at her. "I was." He affirmed quietly, looking down at her face.

Krys stared up into his eyes with her own chocolate brown ones and Temperance Brennan had to admire this silent moment and exchange between the two young individuals as though they were under a microscope. Temperance knew plenty of lovely things: solving a case, particles under a microscope, a fresh scalpel. But this moment in time was beautiful.

Krys, in catching herself being so quiet, gave a soft little laugh and out came her sarcastic remark. "Get a life."

Lance laughed softly as he blushed perfusely, shaking his head the two shared a smile and reaching out his hand he gently rested it atop her forehead. Both smiled at one another in a moment of content and yet there was nothing sexual about it. Nor anything horribly romantic and yet, it was beautiful. Doctor Sweets pulled up a set beside the bed and both began to talk a moment that Temperance decided to stay out of and stayed quiet on the sidelines, just watching.

After a few long minutes the sound of the hospital room door sliding open caused the group to turn around just to see Agent Seeley Booth standing there rather calmly. His arms at his sides he stood in the doorway.

"Someone wants to see you." He remarked quietly and into the room stepped Parker Booth wearing his own hospital gown.

Krys sat up, this being the first time she had seen him since the ordeal. And the young boy hurried right over to the young woman, scooting past Sweets he wrapped his arms around her and both hugged. They had found each other once again and all would be okay.

Temperance couldn't help but admire this moment as well and Agent Booth caught her out of the corner of his eye. And soon she felt a pressure on her back and upon looking it was Seeley's hand lightly resting there. This was another one of those beautiful moments, and Temperance knew it.