Bet y'all thought I gave up on this, huh? Not yet! Still continuing on, despite the fact that we've got half the newest season of Bones in the books. (I'm not taking anything from those episodes, just continuing on with where my previous chapter left off. Hey, that makes this spoiler-free for season 10!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

"What are we going to tell her?"

"Depends on what she asks."

"She's half Brennan. She's going to ask a million questions."

A smile crossed Hodgins' face. "And half Booth, which means another million questions."

"The child-rearing books and mommy blogs don't prepare you for something like this. What the hell am I supposed to tell her when both her parents are under arrest and her house exploded and her father almost died?"

"We are never telling her about Booth. Ever."

Angela simply sniffled.

"Hey." Hodgins took one hand off the steering wheel and placed it on Angela's knee. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know." Angela wiped her eyes. "Dammit."

"We're almost to Max's."

"You don't think I know that?" she retorted. "Maybe I should just cry again and try to get it all out of my system."

Hodgins sighed, and wisely tried a different approach. "You think Max is going to give us any trouble about taking her?"

"He better not." Angela shook her head. "And if he does … I'm not having any of it. She's coming home with us until Bren is out."

"It's probably a good thing — for everyone."

"What do you think he's going to try to do once Christine isn't around?"

Hodgins was silent for a few seconds. "I don't know. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I probably don't want to know."

"Me neither. I want to honestly be able to tell Brennan that I had no idea when he decides to do something horrible in the name of protecting her."

"Maybe he won't."

Dubiously, Angela eyed her husband. "You and I both know better than that. He's not going to let anyone force her to leave and run again."

"Are we giving Max an out to do whatever he wants?" Hodgins hesitated. "Maybe we shouldn't pick up Christine. Surely he wouldn't take her with him on his crazy escapades."

"No." Angela immediately disagreed. "You know what we've promised Brennan and Booth. We're the ones who take care of her when something like this happens. Plus, Caroline's got the POA. We're legally bound to be her guardians until this is resolved."

The normally precocious, chatty Christine was oddly quiet when Angela and Hodgins arrived at Max's house. She barely acknowledged them and stayed quiet as Hodgins helped her gather her toys and repacked her bag.

"You look like hell," Angela observed, noticing the dark circles under Max's eyes. "Rough night?"

"She woke up around 3 am. Once she realized Tempe and Booth weren't here, she pretty much didn't go back to sleep." He sighed. "I've never seen her like this."

"I guess it's to be expected."

"She won't eat either."

"Oh, now that I anticipated … just like her mother." Angela glanced around his kitchen. "Did you try junk food?"

"Yeah, she had maybe two scoops of ice cream this afternoon. Took one bite of her PB and J earlier for lunch and declared she wasn't hungry."

"Breakfast?"

"She drank her juice."

"No food?"

Max shook his head. "And I didn't want to force her."

"She'll eat when she's hungry." Angela pursed her lips. "Hopefully."

He lowered his voice to ask his questions. "Any news on Tempe? Or Booth?"

Angela shook her head. "Booth's stable — still in ICU. Not out of the woods yet."

"Have you seen him yet?"

"No, Cam was barely able to get that out of a doctor friend at the hospital. They won't let any of us in there. They wouldn't even let Bren in right now."

"Bastards."

"Listen." Angela bit her lip and briefly hesitated. "I don't know or frankly care if you're going to be around, but please answer your cell if Hodgins or I call you."

Max gave Angela a confused stare. "What?"

"Christine needs consistency. And family. Right now, you're the only one who's reachable. Please answer if we call you."

He nodded.

"She needs her grandpa," Angela leaned to whisper into his ear, "And don't do anything stupid."

Max raised an eyebrow.

"And Brennan? She needs you, too. You can't abandon her again."

"You honestly think I'd …"

"I don't know what you'll do. And I don't want to know."

I know it was short, but I'm working on the next one — hoping to finish it this weekend. Thanks for reading.