Sorry for the delay, but this is a BIG chapter, so I hope you enjoy it ;)
"One, two—." Christine peeked through her fingers and frowned, seeing Eli standing right in front of her. "You're supposed to run and hide. It's called Hide-n-go-seek. You hide and I count to 100 before I come try and find you. The first person found is the next person to count. Why aren't you hiding? Haven't you ever played this game before?" She nudged him.
Eli stared up at her and blinked.
"Ooookay," she breathed out. "I guess I'll count and you can come with me to find Mommy and Daddy." She re-covered her eyes and started to count again, beginning where she left off.
While Christine counted, Brennan slipped into her bedroom and went into her closet. She felt around on the top shelf and smiled when her hand landed on the box she was searching for. She pulled it down and set it on the bed. She stared at it, listening to her daughter as she continued to count.
"15, 16, 17—."
Brennan sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. She should be hiding right now, but a thought occurred to her just as the final credits of the movie appeared on the screen earlier and she couldn't let it go. Exhaling, she lifted the box onto her lap and rested her hand on the lid, brushing her finger over the label: Family Photos. Another few seconds passed before she took off the lid and looked inside. She had found the box at her father's apartment when she and Russ were sorting through his things; it had been hidden under the floorboards in his guestroom.
"Ready or not, here we come!" Christine shouted.
Brennan blinked, shoving the box under the bed and standing up. She looked around and disappeared into the closet again, hiding behind Booth's dress shirts. She heard Christine walk down the hall and then heard the door creek open.
"I bet Mommy is in here. I'll check the bathroom and you can check under the bed. We'll check the closet next," Christine told Eli.
Eli shrugged, but made his way over to the bed. He got on his hands and knees and peered under the dust ruffle. Finding a box, he pulled it out and took off the lid. He reached in and picked up the stack of digital photos inside.
Christine walked out from the bathroom. "Mommy's not in there. I even checked behind the door." She paused. "What are you doing, Eli?"
Eli looked up at her and blinked. "Patch," he said, pointing to a picture in his hand.
Christine knelt down beside him and took the photo. "Who's Patch?"
He held up the stuffed dog he had carried into the room with him. "Patch."
She squinted at the picture. "That's Mommy." She pointed to the little girl smiling at the camera.
"I'm growing old over here!" Booth called from somewhere outside the bedroom. "I'm shriveling up and turning gray!"
Christine giggled and dropped the picture onto the floor. "C'mon, Eli. I know where Daddy is." She leaned over and cupped his ear. "He's hiding behind the washing machine," she whispered.
Eli stood up and pointed to the closet.
"I don't think Mommy's in here. Let's go find Daddy." She grabbed his hand and the two of them left the room.
Brennan waited a few seconds before she ventured back out into the bedroom. She swallowed hard and hesitantly walked over to the bed, staring down at the mess of pictures on the floor.
That was exactly where Booth found her a half hour later. Christine had grown tired of Hide-n-go-seek shortly after she found him in the laundry room and she and Eli were having a snack at the kitchen counter. "Bones?"
Brennan jumped, turning around to face him. "Hmm?"
"Christine and Eli are having a snack in the kitchen. You okay in here?"
She nodded. "Yes." She squatted and started picking up the photos.
"What's all this?"
"Nothing." She closed the box and stood up. "You should go into the kitchen and make sure the children are okay."
He took a few steps forward, taking the box from her. He looked down at it. "Family Photos?" He smiled. "Baby Bones, huh? This I gotta see." He could count on one hand how many vintage pictures of his wife he had seen over the years; he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.
"Booth—."
He waved a hand at her and sat on the edge of the bed. "This is gonna be good." With the box in his lap, he took off the lid and tossed it down beside him. He took out the pictures and set the box aside. Laughing, he held up a picture of Brennan, no more than three, with tomato sauce all over her face.
"Booth—." She tried to stop him again, but he just ignored her.
He paused, looking down at a picture of a younger man, presumably Max, with a young Brennan sitting on his shoulders. She was laughing, but was covering her eyes with her hands. He sighed and looked over at her. "I'm sorry, Bones."
"It's fine, Booth. My father is gone and, and I'm fine." She paused. "I'm going to check on Christine and Eli," she announced, leaving the room.
The novelty of seeing 'Little Bones' wore off fast. He put the pictures away and left the box on the bed, unsure where she had been hiding it. He shook his head at his own stupidity; he should have known seeing pictures of Max would upset her.
In the kitchen, Brennan was leaning against the counter, wringing a dishtowel in her hands while watching Christine and Eli eat their apples. She took her eyes off the children when she noticed Booth walking down the hallway. She sighed.
Booth approached carefully. "Hi again, Monkey." He kissed Christine on the top of his head. "Hey there, Eli, bud." He ruffled his hair and walked around the counter.
"What are we doing next, Daddy? Can we go to the park?" Christine asked, picking at the skin of the apple slice in her hand.
Booth sighed. "We talked about this. Not—."
"Yes," Brennan said, cutting him off.
Booth turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "Bones? I thought we talked about this," he whispered loudly. "We agreed—."
Brennan nodded. "I know." She let out a breath. "You, Hank, and Christine should go to the park. Just because Eli is here, we shouldn't break from our normal schedule. It is likely that Eli will not be our last foster child and if we want Christine and Hank to accept–and not resent—sharing their home, I believe it is important to not disrupt other aspects of their lives too much."
He squinted at her. "That was nice, Bones. Creative. I almost believed that."
"Huh?"
"If you want to be alone, you can just say so." He shook his head. "Message received."
She sighed. "I would like some time to myself if you don't mind. I will stay here with Eli. The scrabble board is still set up from the other night, so perhaps we will play a game while you are at the park."
He pressed a kiss to her cheek and then turned to Christine, rubbing his hands to together. "Guess we're going to the park after all, Angel."
Christine's face lit up. "Yay!" She hopped off the stool and hurried down the hallway to get ready.
Booth sighed. "We'll miss you today."
Brennan nodded.
"You sure you're okay?"
Brennan nodded again. "I just want to be alone right now."
"Okeydokey." Booth followed Christine, disappearing into Hank's room to get the toddler ready for an afternoon at the park.
Christine beat Booth to the kitchen She stood near the door, arms crossed, foot lightly tapping on the floor, with her backpack slung over her shoulders. "Can I wait in the car? Daddy is going to take forever."
Brennan shook her head. "Your father will be out with your brother any minute, Christine."
Christine sighed. "But the park is going to close before we get there."
Brennan shook her head. "Christine," she said, sternly, "the park is not due to close until 7 PM."
Finally, after 10 minutes, or so it seemed to an impatient first grader, Booth came out of Hank's room, the toddler settled on his hip. Armed with a bag of Hank's favorite toys, he walked into the kitchen and proceeded to fill the bag with a few snacks for all three of them just in case. He looked over at Christine, who was bouncing up and down in anticipation. "Ready?"
"YES!" Christine pulled open the door and practically darted out onto the front porch.
"Wait there, Christine," Booth warned, turning his focus to Brennan. "You sure you don't want to join us?"
Brennan nodded. "I am sure."
Booth nodded and turned towards the door.
"Booth?"
Booth looked over his shoulder at her.
"I'm okay. I just need some—."
"Time and space," Booth smiled. "Got it, Bones."
"Daddy?" Christine called to him.
"Coming, Princess." Booth smiled at Brennan one last time before leaving.
Brennan folded the dishtowel and set it down on the counter. She turned around and glanced at Eli.
Eli's eyes were wide and his bottom lip was trembling slightly. A thin line of tears gathered just behind his lower eyelid, threatening to spill over, and his cheeks were rosy.
She didn't know whether he was upset because Christine, Hank, and Booth left or because he was scared. When he didn't appear to calm down after she assured him the three of them would return later that afternoon, she surmised he was frightened. She sighed and cleared the dishes when it was obvious the little boy was finished with his snack. Picking him up, she carried him over to the couch and sat down, settling him onto her lap. She kissed his forehead and leaned back, exhaling. "I, too, was afraid of cars for a long time," she confessed. "I refused to go near them, which made things quite difficult. It was not until I passed my driver's test and was able to get behind the wheel that I started to feel more comfortable. My therapist at the time told me it was a control issue, which I suppose I can understand now, but then? I told her she was full of bologna."
He cracked a small smile.
"I didn't use those exact words. What I said to her was much more colorful – metaphorically speaking." She paused. "As you are still years away from obtaining your driver's license, I hope you overcome your fear before then." She ran her finger through his hair, parting it down the middle. "I'd like to show you something if you don't mind waiting here for a few seconds." She stood up and set the small child on the couch. She draped a blanket over his lap and smiled. She hurried down the hallway and into her bedroom, returning with the box of pictures. As she leafed through the pictures for the first time since retrieving the box from her father's apartment, she paused, looking down at the photo she was holding. Though she knew he had already seen the picture since she had overheard him and Christine while they were searching for her earlier, she showed it to him anyway.
"Patch!" Eli showed her the dog and pointed to the stuffed animal in the photo.
"Can I see Patch, Eli?"
He held the dog closer to his side for a few seconds before he slowly held it out for her.
She took it hesitantly and turned him over. She closed her eyes and ran her finger along the dog's bottom, fearing what she would find. She stopped and swallowed. Part of it was missing, but it was there – the uneven stitching. She blinked her eyes open and stared at it. The last 'e' was gone and part of the 'm' was, too, but she could still make out what it said: Tempe.