"Wow…Jared, I…You've grown up so much!" Lizzie gushed. She ran to stand in front of him and look him over, not daring to hug or touch him.
Jared smiled politely at his mother and then noticed the dining room all set up. There was a little girl sitting in her chair, staring at him, and another smaller girl sitting in a high chair next to her.
"I'm sorry. For everything. And I know you don't remember me and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I'm just glad you're giving me a chance. Thank you," Lizzie told him.
Jared just nodded. "Take a seat, please," Lizzie said, seeing the boys eye the food on the table. With Brian at one end of the table, Lizzie took the other end, leaving one side open for Booth, Jared and Brennan to sit across from Sadie and Sasha.
"Boys, this is my husband, Brian and my two girls, Sasha and Sadie," Lizzie spoke and gestured to each in turn. Jared and Booth just nodded their hellos to everyone and sat at the table. The boys glanced at each other, nervous for what was going on.
"Sadie, can you say hi?" Brian prompted.
The little girl perked up and waved vigorously to the boys.
Booth smiled at his young sister and then looked to Brennan. She reached for his hand and gave him an encouraging smile.
"Mommy, why are they eating with us?" Sadie asked, mouth full of mashed potatoes.
"Sadie," Brian said, before Lizzie could answer, "Don't talk with your mouth full."
She grinned at him. Booth and Jared's little sister knew she wasn't using her manners and breaking rules still thrilled her.
"Well, Sadie…" Lizzie thought of a good way to tell her daughter about her brothers, "Seeley and Jared are my little boys too. Just like you and Sasha are my little girls."
"I have two brothers?" Sadie screeched. She looked back to Booth and Jared who just smiled at the girl. Sadie was thrilled to know she had a couple of big brothers who could play with her. "Can I show you my toys after dinner?" she asked Jared.
Jared looked to Lizzie for permission and his mother nodded. "Sure," he answered.
The reunited family talked through the rest of dinner easily. They found it effortless to talk ad reconnect with their mother. But it also helped both boys that Brennan was there. She was envious of Booth and Jared they had a second chance to know their mother but she was happy for them. Jared had even called Lizzie Mom at one point, which had surprised her. But Jared didn't remember having a mother and it was easy for him to fall back into the routine. Booth on the other hand kept calling his mother by her given name, which hurt Lizzie a little each time but she couldn't blame her eldest child for not forgiving her.
"Are staying with us now?" Sadie tugged on Jared's pant leg as they came down the stairs.
"What?" Jared said, confused about her question.
"Are you living with us now? I'm so glad I have two really nice big brothers," Sadie told him, looking between him and Booth, who had met Jared at the bottom of the stairs along with Lizzie and Brennan.
"Uhh…" Jared wasn't sure how to respond. He nervously looked around for help.
"No, Sweetie, they have their own house to go back to," Lizzie said, unsure of how her daughter would react. Lizzie was afraid that her sons would never come back.
Brian took Sadie back upstairs to get ready for bed while Lizzie walked the group out to Hank's car.
"Thank you for dinner," Booth said, his hand on the driver side door, waiting to leave.
"No, please don't thank me. It was so wonderful to see my boys again," Lizzie told him, her eyes filling with tears. "I don't expect you to forgive me, Seeley. But thank you for coming back into my life. I'm so sorry for what happened to you boys. I hope this isn't a onetime visit."
Jared shook his head. "Of course not, Mom," he said, giving her a hug. "You're our mom. You tried to help us but Dad was too sneaky for the cops. I'd like to come back soon, get to know my sisters a little more."
Lizzie really started crying then and hugged Jared tighter. Jared let go and got into the backseat.
Booth hugged Lizzie quickly and moved back to the car. "Will you come back soon too, Seeley?" Lizzie asked hopefully. She already knew the answer. Her son was too scarred from the trauma of her leaving and his father's abuse to ever forgive her. She hoped that wasn't the case but she knew all too well how horrible Joseph had been to Seeley especially.
Booth nodded once and said, "I'll try. With Bren here and things I have planned and classes soon and football, I'll try." Lizzie smiled at him and knew at least he was trying to forgive her.
Brennan said goodbye to Lizzie and climbed in the passenger seat. As soon as the door was shut, Booth took off.
"Booth, slow down! I barely got in the car! What's wrong?" Brennan asked. Jared looked to his brother nervously and when Booth glared at him through the rear view mirror, Jared put his headphones on and ignored the conversation.
"Sisters," Booth said quietly, "I have sisters and a stepdad and a mother who barely attempted to take us away from Dad."
"Booth, she did all she knew how. She tried and when she knew there was no way to get you away from your father, she had to move on. She loves you, Booth. At least try to see past your past. Try to forgive her."
"No," he spat, his voice full of venom and hatred.
"Booth, please," Brennan tried to reason with him but he cut her off.
"No, Temperance. I'm done talking about this. I only told her I'd try to come back so she wouldn't get upset. Jared can visit her all he wants. I'm done. This was a horrible idea. I don't even know why I let you talk me into this. This was stupid shit you pulled, Bren. You did this for yourself. Not for me. You thought you could fix my life into what you wish you had for yourself. You can't just mess with people like that, Bren! It's not fair!" he yelled.
Jared tried to ignore it but he knew either his brother was either about to make a fool out of himself or say something he would regret.
"No, I was just trying to help! I'm trying to save you the pain I'm feeling. You don't have to experience the pain of receiving your parents' death certificates in the mail, Seeley! You know both your parents are alive, and as much as you hate them for leaving and beating you, you must know it's better than thinking they're both dead!"
Booth pulled the car up to the front of the house and parked it without fully stopping. It jerked to a halt, throwing Jared and Brennan forward, neither unexpecting the sudden stop.
"Booth! What are you doing?" Brennan called after him as he exited the car. She followed and left a cautious Jared in her wake.
"What? What do you want? I am not in the mood to talk to you, Bren," Booth shouted over his shoulder as he walked up to the house. Brennan ran after him to catch up.
"Booth, please, just listen," she begged, following him. Brennan followed him up the porch steps where he had stopped.
Jared, noticing there was no way he was going to get around his pissed off older brother, went around to the back door. He was afraid his brother was going to lose his temper, something that didn't happen very often, but when it did, it was bad.
Jared ran to the back door and burst into the house.
"J? What's wrong? Where's Bren and Shrimp?" Hank asked when he noticed his grandson alone with a terrified look on his face.
"They're fighting. Out on the porch. Seel's really mad, Pops. Really mad that she helped him find Mom."
Hank nodded. "I thought he wanted to find her."
Jared shrugged. "Apparently, not as much as Bren wants to find her parents. I think Seel think that she did this cuz her parents are dead. They were fighting in the car too. I tried not to listen but even with my music on," he held up his headphones, "I heard every word of it."
Hank heard glass shatter. He ran to the front door and swung it open. The window in the outer door was scattered over the porch. Booth was just staring down at the glass, blood dripping from his hand and Brennan, cowering, sitting on the porch, shaking, glass shards surrounding her.
"Seeley!" Hank shouted. He pushed his grandson down the porch stairs and into the yard. Hank gave Jared instructions to take Brennan inside.
Jared spend several minutes trying to persuade Brennan to go inside, but after no such luck of her moving on her own, Jared took it upon himself to carry her inside to Booth's room. She allowed him to pick her up, but not after flinching at his approaching figure. Now, knowing about her past, Jared knew not to be offended at her behavior but to be upset with his brother for scaring her.
Brennan's past was still fresh in her mind. She still had nightmares of the beatings and the days spent in the car trunk. Brennan finally thought Booth would be the one to end it.
"Look at her!" Hank yelled, pointing to Brennan being helped inside by Jared.
"Look at her!" He yelled again after he noticed Booth's eyes were still focused on the ground below him.
"You can't just explode like that anymore, Seeley, especially not around Bren. She's had a hard life, just like you. She wasn't doing this for herself. You were the one who drove to find her. You were the one who stayed for dinner. You didn't have to stay. You could've left Liz just like she left you. But you didn't. And Bren thought she was helping. I was thrilled she suggested finding your mom because I knew she was still alive and still in Philly but I was too upset to do anything about it. Your girl in there was trying to fix things for you and your brother. She was trying to give you what she will never have! You can't just throw a fit anymore, Shrimp. She's too fragile for that. Her emotions are too raw still. Everything is still recent for her, unlike you; you've had years to process what your father did to you. She's still back there. She's still in that car trunk." When Hank said this, Booth's head snapped up to look him in the eyes.
"She never told you why she broke down Christmas night," Hank observed. Booth nodded and waited for his grandfather to tell the story.
"You still need to hear this from her. But I'll tell you what she told me. She broke a plate. Not sure why but her foster parents thought the appropriate punishment would be to lock her in their car trunk for two days. She's still there, Shrimp," he said quietly, "You need to control yourself, control your anger. Don't talk to her now. Give her an hour or two before you go to her. She needs some space. I'm sure she's fine but she's scared right now. And as much as I hate to say this, she's scared of you."
