**So, the chapters just keep coming! It's amazing what you can do when you actually have enough free time to sit down and just write!

Let's see...this chapter is the secret place Booth takes Brennan. While at this place, they both open up a little more, particularly Brennan. She begins to show just a teeny tiny glimmer of hope :) However, she has to go home to an unhappy person when the night is abruptly cut short. Hmm. I wonder what exactly will happen...

Don't own them.**

"How long does it take to get to this place?" Temperance asked after they had been in Booth's SUV for a good thirty minutes.

"Just one more minute," he assured her, pulling onto a small road.

Rolling her eyes, she shifted her weight in the seat. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse for a split second to check for any missed calls from her foster-parents. Nothing. A smile slipped across her face as she pushed the phone back into her purse. "We're here," he informed her, killing the SUV engine.

Looking out the windows, she saw nothing but pitch black darkness. "Um…where is "here"?" she asked, confused.

"Just trust me," he smirked, getting out of the vehicle.

That could be a problem, she thought as she climbed out of the SUV. She saw him grab something out of the backseat as she met him on the driver's side. "You're not taking me out here to kill me, are you?" she asked, her voice soft.

Booth let out a chuckle as he shut the back door. "Do you really think I'm the killing type?" Temperance bit her bottom lip as he reached out a hand towards her. "Just so you don't get lost or fall in a hole," he assured her.

Placing her delicate hand in his much larger one, she suddenly had a sense of security. Booth felt her hand relax after a couple of steps into the darkness. Walking for a couple of minutes with no sounds except that of sticks and leaves moving under their feet, the couple finally reached their destination.

Temperance looked around as they took a step out of the thick forest , noticing the river in front of them sparkling in the full moon's light. "Wow…" she whispered, looking around. Booth grinned as he guided her to a flat spot closer to the river. "This is beautiful," she stated, looking down as he let go of her hand.

Laying out a blanket, Booth smiled as he pulled at the final corner and let it drop to the ground. "Have a seat," he stretched out a hand towards the blanket, somewhat guiding her.

With an innocent smile, her blue eyes found his in the semi-darkness as she sat down. Wanting to respect her boundaries, he decided it'd be best to sit a couple of spaces away. "How did you find this place?" she asked, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"My grandpa showed it to me a couple of years ago. I come out here to clear my head occasionally." Booth leaned back against his hands as his long legs stretched out in front of him.

"Thank you for bringing me out here," she told him shyly, fidgeting with a ring on her finger.

"Want to tell me what was so complicated earlier on the way to dinner?" he asked, watching her every move. He had a niche for people watching, being able to tell things about their emotions, and decoding body language.

Temperance hugged her knees closer to her chest and took a deep breath, looking out at the river then back to Booth. "I've, uh…I've been in the foster-care system since I was fifteen. And it's complicated because…" she took a deep breath, "I've been in nine homes in two years."

Booth's eyes pinched together, as he didn't understand fully what she was implying. "The past few homes I've been in," she continued, "I fully expected to move again within a month or two, so I just kept everybody shut out of my life. I was tired of making friends only to be ripped away from them when my foster-parents got tired of me."

"Nine places in two years?" Booth asked, cringing. He had only moved from his dad's house to his grandpa's house, and that was enough moving for him.

Temperance nodded, allowing her legs to fall into the Indian-style position. She kept her hands in her lap, semi-hunched over as she avoided eye contact with Booth. "People don't want teenagers when they're thinking about adopting a kid," she spoke like it was just a fact of life. "And apparently I'm too difficult to deal with for more than three months at a time."

"I don't know about that," he told her, reaching over and gently pulling her chin to face him. Smiling, his thumb brushed over her cheek as she looked into his brown eyes. "Some people just don't know how to handle a challenge."

"The way I see it is I only have another year and then I can be on my own," the corners of her lips slightly curved upwards. She had been dreaming for two years about either finding her parents or being on her own. She was so tired of being shipped here and there.

With a grin, Booth began to move himself to the middle of the blanket. "Come on," he told her as he laid back. As he put one hand behind his head, his eyes traced the stars that decorated the black sky.

Slightly hesitating, Temperance followed his lead and laid down on the blanket. With only a few inches separating them, she turned her head to face him. "What about you? Why do you live with your grandpa?"

"Ah…I knew that was going to come up," Booth answered with a chuckle, still looking at the stars. "Let's just say my dad knocked me around one time too many. The night Pops found out, he came and got us. My brother and I have lived with him ever since." Temperance was unsure of how to respond.

"Why are you in the foster-care system?" he asked, his voice soft and kind.

He saw her swallow hard as her chest rose with a deep breath. "My, uh…my parents went out to run some errands two years ago and they never came home." Booth heard the catch in her voice. "My brother tried to take care of me," she paused, "But I was too difficult."

Booth moved his free hand from lying on his stomach to the empty space between them. His fingers slid towards her, centimeter by centimeter, until he felt his heart drop as his pinky touched hers. Temperance felt the spark and a new swarm of butterflies as she slowly stretched her nimble fingers until they were gently enclosed in Booth's strong hand. A silent sigh of relief crossed both of them as their hearts both raced.

Turning his head towards her, he smiled as he saw her already looking at him. His eyes wandered around her pale face and saw her eyes full of tears. "You can trust me, Temperance…" he offered as a piece of comfort.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she whispered back, closing her eyes as a tear ran down her cheek.

Rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, he took his other hand and wiped the tear from her cheek. "I'll prove it to you," he promised.

Opening her slate-blue eyes, she smirked with a sniffle. "How are you going to do that?"

"Any way that you need me to prove it…hell, I'll run through the school in a pink tutu and a football helmet on," his voice was serious as a smile formed on his face.

Temperance let out a small laugh. "Well, maybe you don't have to go that far."

He lifted his hand to her cheek again. "Whatever I gotta do to keep you smiling, Tempe…" he whispered, running his thumb across her skin.

Looking back up at the sky, she took her free hand and pointed towards the sky. "See that kind of triangle looking figure?"

Booth turned his head back towards the sky. "Yeah," he replied. "What is it?"

"That's the constellation Capricornus." Shifting her head around a bit, she moved her finger to another area in the sky. "Do you know what that one is?"

"Yeah, of course I know that one!" Booth chuckled. "It's the Big Dipper. I paid attention occasionally in astronomy," he told her with a wink.

As she was looking for another constellation to point out to Booth, Temperance's phone rang. "Crap," she groaned as she sat up. Pulling it out of her purse, she saw it was her foster-father. "Give me a second," she told Booth as she stood up and walked a few feet away.

"Hello?" she answered, scared of what was about to happen.

"Where the hell are you?" he yelled at her. She nervously glanced down at her watch, noticing she still had two hours before she had to be home.

"I'm out with a friend…Maggie said I could go…" she tried to defend herself.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he yelled loud enough that Booth could nearly make out the words from a few feet away. "It's 10 o'clock!" he responded to his own question. "You have half an hour to get your little ass back to this house!"

A tear ran down her cheek as he hung up on her. She quietly closed her phone, wiped her face, and turned around. "Hey, uh…I need to get home," she told him, reaching down for her purse. Without questioning anything, Booth stood up, grabbed the blanket, and reached out his hand for hers.

With her head bowed, Temperance placed her shaking hand in his and followed him back to the SUV without a word spoken. Once inside the vehicle, she buckled her seatbelt. "And if you don't mind, could you…um…hurry? The quicker I get home the less trouble I'll be in."

"No problem," he told her with a smile, placing a hand on hers as he began to drive. "Mind if I ask a question?"

"Sure," her answer was quick. She was trying to not think about what was going to happen when she got home.

"I thought Maggie said you could stay out until midnight," he wondered.

"Doesn't matter," she replied. "Jeremy said to be home in thirty minutes, so that's what has to happen." A minute of silence passed as thousands of questions ran through Booth's head. "I'm sorry," her voice sounded weak as she looked down at her hands.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he told her, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand. Easing into the driveway, Booth parked his SUV. "I'll see you Monday?" he asked as she opened the door.

"I hope so," she replied. Booth took this to mean she wanted to see him again, which she did. Temperance, however, meant it as she hoped she would be able to attend school on Monday. She knew what was coming for her as soon as she closed the SUV door.

With his eyes pinched together, Booth sighed. "Bye…" he called out. Temperance didn't turn around as she threw a hand in the air to wave at him.

As she reached for the doorknob, her entire body began to shake. Here goes nothing, she thought and pushed the door open.