Author's Note: Next chapter. I should have the final chapter up later this week.
I do not own Bones or any of its characters.
TimeWitch93: Well Peter does have a very minor role in this one, just so you'll know now...And yes, the idea of B&B being his guardians also struck me as being tres cute. :) As to where Sweets ran off to...you may be onto something...
Purplebookwormgirl: Don't worry, there are better times coming for Sweets very soon. :) Thank you for your review.
Rankor01: That's something that I was intrigued by when I took this prompt on: that it might not be easy for Team Jeffersonian to take care of Sweets when he was at this stage of his life. I think it's easy to take for granted how much he had to grow and recover to get to where he was by the time B&B met him...Hahaha, lo-jack the baby duck...that had me laughing for a very long time. :D
Peanutmeg: Thanks for the review. I had recently re-watched the episode where Cam decides to adopt Michelle (The Doctor in the Den) and it occurred to me that Sweets would know better than anyone else within Team Jeffersonian about how meaningful adoption can be for the child being adopted. Thus, I wanted to find a way for Cam to relate to Sweets in that way. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Nattylovesjordy: I agree with Lives in the now in guessing that you might mean surrogate. And I agree somewhat with that idea. Those diner scenes you mentioned do seem like a set of parents with their child at times...or more like a set of older siblings with their kid brother...And yes, it can be very frustrating when you can't remember a word...I hope you enjoy this update too.
Super Ario: I agree with you that Sweets taking off is not a good think. Fortunately for him, he has very persistent friends...Hopefully this update was fast enough. :)
FaithinBones: Thank you for the review. Keeping everyone in character is always a priority to me (even in weird, crack-like fics like this one), so I am always thrilled when my readers feel like they could "see" everyone acting as they do in my stories. I hope you enjoy the rest of this fic.
Lives in the now: Thanks for the assist on trying to figure out that word. I think you might have it. :) And I agree with you that, even if Sweets doesn't realize, his Jeffersonian family is very understanding...
Charlotte Thornton: Well I figured that Sweets would not have been the easiest child to take care of at this age, and yes, even though he's supposed to be a genius, he is a child. And children don't always think things through. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
The Confusion in the Duckling—Chapter 11
Booth completed what seemed like the hundredth phone call he had made that morning and slammed the receiver down in frustration.
After talking to Brennan, the agent had quickly gotten dressed and looked around the apartment for any other clues as to where Sweets might have gone and had come up empty. As he got ready to leave the apartment, Booth discovered that Sweets had taken all of the money out of his wallet. Any annoyance he might have felt at this theft was quickly erased by his growing concern at the psychologist's state of mind when he sneaked out of the apartment last night.
Just as he was about to walk out the door, Brennan showed up and asked him what his next move was going to be.
"Do you think he is finally starting to remember?" she asked him as they left.
"No…no if he had remembered, he would have told me," Booth said. "Besides he left his wallet and his clothes. If he had remembered, he wouldn't have left all that behind. No…I'm thinking that he's still twelve for all intents and purposes."
"So what do we do?" Brennan asked as they got into his car.
"We find him, Bones," Booth said, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "And we don't stop looking until we do."
That led to where he and Brennan were now: in Booth's office, trying to track Sweets down. Booth got a couple of his agents to start looking around places like the lab and Sweets' apartment, in case the psychologist showed up at either place while Booth and two other agents began making phone calls to hospitals, airports, bus stations, and taxi services. Unfortunately, none of it produced any results. Even more frustrating was the fact that because Sweets was using cash, there was no way to track what he needed the money for.
Brennan continued to make calls of her own to everyone at the lab and to Daisy to see if they had heard from him while Booth watched her. He was at a loss to figure out his next move short of getting back into his car and actually combing the streets himself in an effort to find Sweets, but he knew that finding him that way would be haphazard at best and would more than likely accomplish nothing.
Booth ran his hands along his face. He had hoped that his conversation with Sweets last night would ease the therapist's anxiety, but it was clear now to him that he had underestimated how deep Sweets' issues went. He thought again about the brief note that Sweets had left for him on the coffee table. There were only two words scrawled onto the paper: I'm sorry.
'Why did he apologize before running?' Booth wondered. 'Did he think that we were mad at him or something? Or…that we would be mad at him for leaving?'
Booth let out a sigh. While it was true that he felt some frustration at Sweets' repeated attempts to pull back and run away, Booth also knew that he and the others couldn't hold that against the psychologist.
'Mentally, he's a child even if he is some kind of genius already. A scared child who's being thrust into an adult world without his parents to help support and guide him. And with his past…no wonder he's having a hard time adjusting.'
The agent drummed his fingers along the edge of his desk as he contemplated his next move. He figured that he was going to need more manpower to try and find Sweets, but could not figure out a good way to do it without involving the local police.
'And unless I put a BOLO out on him or tell them that's he's not mentally fit, they're not going to get involved until Sweets has been missing for at least twenty-four hours…No, I don't want them treating Sweets like he's some kind of criminal or crazy. That would just scare him even more, and he's got enough to worry about right now. '
As he considered his options, Booth slumped down in his chair. If Sweets was actually twelve years old, Booth knew that it would be easier to recruit some of the locals and additional people from the office to help in the search. After all, no one wanted to think about a kid wandering around the streets of DC alone. Plus, as a kid, he would have been more likely to stand out to any people who might see him along the way and others would be more willing to help him out.
But as it stood, outwardly, Sweets was an adult and thus, no one would take a second look at him wandering around aimlessly throughout the city. Even worse, Booth worried about what might happen if Sweets ran into the wrong types of people.
'They're not going to know the situation, and they might not have the patience or desire to deal with him. And Sweets…he's book smart and is not going to trust most people but is he going to be savvy enough to know what kinds of situations to avoid completely? Plus, if people were to figure out that he's mentally a child right now they might want to take advantage of him in some way….'
Booth shuddered as he thought about some of the nightmarish things he had seen and heard about over the years and pictured Sweets being in the middle of them. As a soldier and then as an agent, he had learned to not let himself become too emotionally involved in the horrors he had seen and investigated. But he knew that there was no way he could stay detached in this situation because this was Sweets: goofy, brilliant, occasionally annoying, big-hearted Sweets. A kid, who somewhere along the way had become an irreplaceable part of his team, his family.
A kid who was now alone and who could be in very real danger.
The agent felt his insides twist themselves into knots. He found that he could not stay in this office any longer and rose to his feet. Brennan, who was still on her cell phone, looked up at him.
"Ok, Cam thanks," she said as she hung up. "Booth where are we….?"
"Look we need to get going, all right?" Booth said. "We can't just sit here and wait until something happens. Sweets needs us now."
"I agree, but where do we start looking, Booth?" she said holding out her hands. "He's not with any of us, at the lab or at his own apartment. Washington DC is a large place and the chances of us finding him by randomly driving along the streets would be astronomical at best."
"I know, Bones," Booth replied. "I just can't…What did Cam say?"
"She mentioned that Sweets was very distraught last night," the anthropologist replied. "He is still upset about his parents, and he misses them."
"Makes sense," Booth said quietly. "Waking up one day to find that both of your parents are dead…that's not something any one would just shake off…and with Sweets it's going to be even harder yet."
"Apparently he kept saying how much he wishes he could see and talk to them again," she continued. "Booth, it's so heart-crushing."
Booth opened his mouth to respond, but stopped as a new thought entered his mind.
'Sweets was saying that last night too, that he wished he could see his parents.'
'Of course….'
The agent rushed over to his desk and picked up a personal file he had pulled on Sweets. He flipped to a page that listed former addresses and soon found what he was looking for. He scribbled down an address in his notebook and left his office with Brennan close behind.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"I'm pretty sure I know where Sweets went," he said as they headed out to the parking lot.
"Where?"
"Home. He went home, Bones."
The address Booth wrote down was a couple of hours away, but the two of them made it in almost half the time due to the agent turning on the siren and speeding the entire way. Once they arrived at Sweets' hometown, they tracked down the address and found another family living there.
Booth knocked, and a woman with a small girl pulling at her apron answered the door. The agent asked her if she had seen Sweets, showing her a picture of him, but she shook her head in reply.
"No, not since a few years ago," she said. "He's the young man who sold us this house. Jack, my husband's uncle, knew the Sweets for years. They were a nice family."
Booth nodded, trying his hardest not to let his disappointment show. The woman was preparing to shut the door and go back into the house when one last question occurred to Booth.
"Excuse me," the agent said. "Could you tell me where the local cemetery is?"
After getting directions, Booth and Brennan headed off to the cemetery and arrived in a few minutes. Once there, the agent found the groundskeeper and asked about the location of the burial plot of David and Carolyn Sweets.
"FBI huh?" the groundskeeper huffed. "Well at least this way I won't have to call the police."
"Why has something happened?" Brennan asked.
"Some guy showed up here some time late last night or real early this morning," the man said, poking his thumb in the direction of the graves. "He's been sitting right in front of the grave you were asking about this whole time. Weird, lanky kid with big eyes and a bag sitting next to him. At first I didn't think much of it, but he just kept sitting there and then he sort of freaked out a couple times, crying and carrying on. I was about to call the sheriff here in a few minutes when you two showed up. Is he some kind of escaped nut or something? Should I bring a gun? I've got a shot-gun here in the …."
"Just…take us to him now," Booth said as he ground his jaw. The groundskeeper flinched at the agent's angry expression and wordlessly guided Booth and Brennan to the gravesite. Once they were in a couple of yards of the location, Booth spotted Sweets sitting on the ground in front of the headstone.
"There he is and that's the grave you were asking about," the man said, gesturing toward where the psychologist was sitting. "Again, I appreciate you getting rid of him for me. I don't need someone like that hanging around, spooking out the people who want to visit their loved ones who are resting here."
"But that's what he is doing," Brennan said, her eyes glittering with anger. "He is visiting the remains of his parents. He has every right to be here. It is you who is intruding upon him."
"Thank you for your time," Booth said, his voice strained with his own rage. "We will take care of things from here."
The groundskeeper was nonplussed and a bit frightened by the anger that radiated from Booth and Brennan, so he slunk away with his head down.
"Freak," he muttered as he walked away.
Once he was gone, Booth and Brennan slowly walked over to the place where Sweets had settled on the ground. As they got closer they could see that the psychologist's clothes and hair were slightly damp from morning dew and a very light rain that had fallen early that morning. His legs were folded close to his chest and his arms were wrapped around his shins. The knapsack lay on the ground next to him, and Sweets shivered while he sat staring at the headstone, his face heavily tear-stained and his eyes swollen.
"Sweets," Brennan said softly as she approached. "Sweets are you all right? It's me…Brennan." The psychologist did not respond and continued to sniffle as both she and Booth crouched down beside him.
"Sweets, hey listen, don't worry," Booth said, carefully placing a hand on Sweets' shoulder. "Me and Bones, we're not mad at you or anything. We get that you needed to see your parents. We just need to know if you're ok."
"I'm all right, Agent Booth, Doctor Brennan," Sweets said mechanically, his teeth chattering slightly from the cold ground and his damp clothes. Booth tightened his grip gently.
"That's good," he said. "Do you need a little longer with your parents? Because we can come back in a little while if you want. Then we can get you back to my place, and you can…."
"It's all right, Agent Booth," Sweets said, turning hollow eyes toward him. "You don't have to…I remember now."
"You mean, your memory has returned?" Brennan asked.
"No…not all of it. Not yet," the therapist mumbled. "But over the last few hours a lot has come back. I remember how old I am, the work I do and all of you. I remember Mom and Dad and how they…how they aren't here anymore."
Booth heaved a sigh of relief. He was glad that Sweets was starting to remember his life, but something about the dull, listless way the therapist was acting told him that getting these memories back had not been an easy or pleasant ordeal to go through.
The agent also suspected that the ordeal was far from over.
"Come on," Booth said patting his shoulder. "Why don't we take you home so that you can get changed and have something to eat."
"I'm sorry," Sweets said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry I stole that money from you, Agent Booth. I promise to pay you back and…."
"Don't worry about it Sweets." Booth said, cutting him off. "Right now, let's just get you out of here and taken care of, all right?"
Sweets nodded and Booth helped him to his feet while Brennan picked up his bag from the ground. The three of them made their way to Booth's SUV and once they were there, Booth pulled a coarse blanket out of the trunk and gave it to Sweets.
Soon they were heading back to DC, Booth and Brennan in the front and Sweets curled up in the back, the blanket wrapped tightly around him. A couple of times during the trip, Booth and Brennan tried to get Sweets to talk to him, but the psychologist remained silent as he watched the scenery go by outside his window.
They went to Booth's apartment first so that Sweets could shower and change clothes. After the therapist was finished, Booth made some soup and sandwiches for the three of them to share, which Sweets mainly picked at.
"Can I go home?" Sweets mumbled as the meal drew to a close. "Please."
"Home?" Brennan said. "Home as in….?"
"My apartment," Sweets replied. "I'd like some time alone."
"Sweets, are you sure?" Booth asked. "After everything that's happened here recently, I don't know if that's a good idea."
"I'm fine," the therapist insisted. "I just…I need some time to think. Things keep coming back to me, but it's all a jumble inside my head. I need some time to sort it all out….Don't worry, I'm not going to go anywhere or do anything. I'm just going to stay in my apartment."
Booth and Brennan were still reluctant to leave the psychologist alone, but after several more pleas, they relented. They helped Sweets pack and drove him over to the apartment, making sure to walk him to his door.
"I uh, I'm sorry for everything that happened," Sweets said as he turned his key in the lock of the door. "If there's anything I can do to make it up to you…"
"It's all right, Sweets," Brennan said. "I'm sure you would have taken care of us if we had been in the same position. In fact, you did take care of Booth when he had brain damage, so you shouldn't feel self-conscious about it."
"Bones, you didn't need to bring that up," Booth scowled. "Are you sure you're going to be ok tonight, Sweets?"
"Yeah, I'll be ok," Sweets murmured. "I'm just going to spend some time thinking and then probably just go to bed. I need to get up early tomorrow so I can let Peter know that I'm all right."
"Ok then," Booth nodded. "But you call us if you need anything. No matter when it is, you just pick up the phone and let us know immediately, all right? You get some rest and tomorrow, Bones and I will drop by to see how you are doing."
"Thank you, Agent Booth, Doctor Brennan," Sweets said as he took his things and opened the door. "For this and for everything else. Have a good night."
The therapist slipped inside his apartment and closed the door behind him. Booth and Brennan lingered by the door for a few moments before finally walking back down to the parking lot.
Inside the apartment, Sweets dropped his stuff onto the floor by the couch and plopped down onto cushions. Random memories continued to flood his mind, and he was becoming overwhelmed by them and by their accompanying emotions. He fell over to his side and curled up into a fetal position, shivering again but this time not from the temperature.
Sweets ended up spending hours in that position and eventually fell asleep that way.