A/N: Okay so I intended for there to be a major time jump starting with this chapter but some people commented that they were looking forward to summer scenes so I decided to write a couple of chapters and then skip ahead. Hope that's okay with all of you! Enjoy!
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The first weekend Brennan and Booth were staying in Philadelphia, Brennan received a phone call. It was from her beloved roommate.
Angela had, once again, decided to give Jack a chance and they were dating again. They were planning on taking a trip to New York for a week and wanted Brennan and Booth to go with. Of course, Angela wasn't about to take no for an answer and picked up Brennan and Booth in Philly on their way to New York City.
Their weeklong trip was packed but excited and adventurous nonetheless. The girls went to Broadway while the men sat in bleacher seats at Yankee Stadium. They had all gone out for dinner and saw all the morning talk shows and spent late nights gallivanting around Times Square. Sightseeing was, of course, part of the action and their trip home was long and dull compared to the short week they had spent there.
"I need a few days to recover," Booth said, dropping his suitcase on the floor and flopping down on his bed, "I'm exhausted." It was only mid afternoon but he felt like he could sleep for days.
"You made Jack drive all the way back from New Jersey! You slept the whole way here! They still have to drive to Texas!" Brennan countered.
Booth didn't say anything. He climbed under the sheets and patted the empty spot beside him. She then felt obliged to join him and moved to the bed. Not long after, they were both sound asleep.
"Hey, you two lovebirds want a snack before dinner?" Hank called from the hallway. When he didn't receive an answer he went to investigate. "Hey, I'm talking to-" He stopped short and didn't finish yelling. No sense in breaking up what was meant to be.
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Hank surprised his grandsons and Brennan the next week with a new pool. It was just an above ground one, nothing too fancy, but it was more than they had had before and the three young kids were thrilled beyond belief.
Hank let Jared and Booth set everything up. It took a few days to get the chlorine levels just right and make sure everything was working properly but when it was done, no one could get into their swim suits fast enough.
One night, Hank and Jared went shopping, leaving Brennan and Booth home alone. Jared was still a growing boy and needed new clothes all the time. His shorts and t shirts from last summer hardly fit him so the youngest Booth and his grandfather were off to the mall to find something suitable.
Brennan and Booth were in the living room watching TV when Booth said, "Let's go for a swim!"
Brennan shook her head. "By now, the water's probably freezing! The sun isn't even out anymore!'
"Nah, it's still warm from earlier, I promise. Come on, let's go change." Booth pulled her from off the couch to their shared bedroom.
Twenty minutes after being distracted by each other, they made their way out to the pool. It was dark out but the street lights and a neighbor's back porch light was all they needed. Like Booth had said, the water was still warm. They swam around for a bit, chasing each other under the water. The pool was barely five feet deep; they could both stand in the pool and still have their heads out of the water. But the night air was cold and they both sank under the water until the top hit their chins.
"Can I ask you something?" Brennan said quietly.
"Anything."
She hesitated, scared her question might provoke something, she said, "Whatever happened to your mom?"
His face fell. Booth hadn't been expecting that question. "I don't know," he answered honestly.
"Don't you want to know?"
"No."
"Is she still alive? Do you know where she is now or what she's doing or how her life has been?"
Booth lost his temper. "Why? What's it to you? I don't care where she is or what she's doing or how her life has been! She left! Sure, she's probably still alive but I don't give a shit!" he yelled.
This rampage sent Brennan as far across the pool from him as she could. He had never yelled at her before and seeing him angry scared her.
"If my mom was still around, I'd want to know what was going on." Brennan hardly whispered as soon as it left her mouth, Booth realized his mistake.
"Bren, I'm sorry." He went across the pool and hugged her. Slipping a finger under her chin, he guided her face up to his and kissed her. Neither of them minded the chlorine taste, the kiss lasing longer than several steamboats.
Pulling away, he said, "She left. She just left Jared and me with him. She didn't even bother to take us with. I think about looking for her sometimes. And I get why she left. Dad gave her the worst of it. But what about us?"
Brennan thought for a moment, not wanting to upset him again and asked, "Do you want help looking for her? We have almost three more months here. I'm sure we could at least find where she lives now."
Booth nodded. "Tomorrow. We'll start our search tomorrow," he said, seeing Pops' headlights pull into the driveway.
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Elizabeth Bellman was her name before she became Elizabeth Booth. Her eldest son knew that much. She was born in July, but beyond that, Booth couldn't remember the exact date.
They could've asked Pops for help but Booth thought it was best to leave him out of it. They searched for records at the city archives and only found three documents that contained her name: Booth and Jared's birth certificates and the marriage certificate of his parents.
Knowing her social security number would've helped, but the couple barely knew their own, let alone anyone else's. Booth thought they had reached the end of their search only two days into it when a commercial came on the TV behind the archive secretary's desk.
It was an old commercial for a heating and air conditioning service. The song on the commercial sounded familiar to Booth. He tapped his foot to the beat and realized he knew something about his mother he barely remembered.
"Crock Advertising Agency," he muttered.
"What did you say?" Brennan was confused.
"I know where she works. Or worked. But maybe she still does."
Booth took off at a run towards Hank's car they had borrowed for the day. Driving to downtown Philly was a breeze for him. For some reason, the route to his mother's workplace was ingrained in his memory.
"She brought me here every once in a while. I don't remember why I would go to work with her. I was probably too young for school." They were stopped at a large brick building no more than three stories high. They walked into the main lobby. There were two other doors and an elevator. The sign next to the elevator had three lines.
Newhaus Art Gallery – First Floor
Dahl Carpeting Supplies – Second Floor
Crock Advertising Agency – Third Floor
One door led to the art gallery and the other to stairs. Booth was too impatient to wait for the elevator so he bound up the stairs, taking three or four at a time, Brennan doing the best she could to keep up with him.
When she exited the stairwell at the third floor, Booth was already at the receptionist's desk.
"Is Elizabeth here?"
The receptionist looked him over like a vulture on a carcass. "You mean Lizzie? She went home for the night already."
Booth then asked, "Could you tell me where she lives?"
The receptionist, named Candi according the plaque on the desk, blew a large bubble with her gum and then said, "Honey, how do I know you're not just some weirdo looking to creep her out?"
"I'm family. I'm her…cousin. There's been a family emergency with our grandfather. He's really sick and he really wants to see her," Booth pleaded.
Candi looked him over once more and gave him the address. Giving her his most charming smile, Booth thanked her and pulled Brennan into the elevator.
"Pops is going to want us home for dinner soon," Brennan reminded him.
"I need to go. We're so close now."
Brennan nodded. "I know. I don't blame you for wanting to go. I would too."
He grinned at her and gave her a kiss. "Thank you. For helping me. Do you want to…" He trailed off, seeing her emotions change rapidly.
"No, Booth. They're dead. I've come to accept that. I don't need to look for them."
He shook his head. "Everyone needs their parents."
"You're all I need. You fixed me," she told him. Booth smiled back at her as he guided her to the car and sped off to the address.
It turned out to be in a very affluent part of town. Neither knew what to make of it but Hank's old, beat up car was definitely out of place in the neighborhood.
"There it is. 745 East Linden Avenue," Brennan pointed out. It was a large brick house surrounded by a pond and a big yard. It was nicer than anything either of them had seen before.
"Okay, let's just do this," Booth gave himself a quick pep talk before getting out of the car. He shut the door and noticed Brennan hadn't followed suit.
He opened her door. "Come on, let's go."
Brennan shook her head. "You need to do this. Without me. She's your mom and you need to face her."
"I wouldn't have done this if it hadn't been for you. I need you there with me. I need you. Please?" He begged.
Reluctantly, Brennan got out of the car and the two made their way to the front door.
"I wasn't even this nervous before playing Alabama," Booth muttered to her.
He rang the doorbell and both waited anxiously. He heard a dog bark and a footsteps shuffling around inside.
He grabbed Brennan's hand and squeezed it tight. She gave a gentle squeeze back, letting him know she was there. He looked down and smiled at her as the door opened.
"Can I help you?" It was a little girl. She was about ten from what Booth could tell and she looked just like Jared.
"Uh…I'm…um…" Booth stumbled.
"Can we talk to your mom?" Brennan said for him. The little girl nodded and ran toward the back of the house.
"Mommy! There's someone here to see you!" the girl called.
"Sadie, who is it?" Booth recognized his mother's voice immediately. He gripped Brennan's hand tighter and she moved closer to him.
"I don't know. There's a guy and girl waiting for you at the door."
"Okay, Sadie, go ask them their names. See if I know them."
The little girl, Sadie, came skipping back to the door.
"What's your names? Do you know my mommy?"
"Yes, I know her," Booth said, finding his voice, "tell her Seeley is here."
Sadie smiled at them and skipped back to her mother. Leaving the door open, they could see Sadie running back to the kitchen. They could see the living room with a lot of open space and the dining room that looked like it was only used for special occasions. They could even see up the stairs that started just past the entryway.
Then a pan dropped to the ground and the sound resonated loudly. Sadie yelped and ran up the stairs. Booth could hear his mother muttering in French. Something she used to do when she was upset with him or Jared but didn't want to yell at them.
Booth suddenly looked down at Brennan. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked back at him. She could see the nervousness and fear in his eyes. She was just as nervous as he was. Hearing footsteps coming closer, Brennan broke her eyes away and turned toward the door. Booth did the same.
"Oh my god," his mother greeted them. Booth didn't know what to say. He waited for her to say something else.
"How did you…Hi, Seeley…How are you?"
"Fine. I just needed to know you were still alive. We gotta go," he said, turning on a dime, pulling Brennan with him.
"No, wait!" Lizzie called, "Come back. I'd…I'd like to talk to you."
Booth didn't stop but Brennan did. She pulled her hand from his and that got his attention.
"Come on," he growled.
"No, Booth. You need to face her," Brennan said firmly.
"No, she doesn't get to talk to me. She left," Booth snapped at her.
He was furious, years of pent up hatred for her leaving suddenly coming to a boil.
Brennan wasn't afraid of his anger this time.
"If it were me, I'd want to talk to my mother. I haven't seen my mother for years, either. At least you know your mom is alive. At least you know where she is. Mine left me too, Seeley," she spat, "you have a chance to change that. Don't screw up."
Booth wasn't expecting such an outrage from her. He looked back up to the house, Lizzie still standing in the doorway.
He looked at Brennan and said, "I'm only doing this for you, Bren."
"Fine. If that's what'll take, fine."
Booth looked up at Lizzie again and feeling his nervousness come back he asked, "Will you still come with me? I really need you in there."
She nodded, took his hand, and led him back to his mother.
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A/N: So the road trip part was harder to write than I first realized. New York seemed like the most obvious place for them to go, but having never been there myself, I found it really hard to write about. So, I cut that part down and I'm making the part with Booth's mother a little longer than I anticipated. Hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you think!
