Brennan let out a breath as she closed her laptop. Glancing at the clock, she realized she had been writing for two and a half hours. With Booth at work and Christine and Little Hank with Angela and Hodgins, she had taken advantage of the quiet and nearly empty house, but it was time for a break. She set the computer on the coffee table and stood up. She looked over at the kids' craft table where Eli was sitting, the little boy busy with one of Christine's many coloring books. She continued to observe, watching him carefully select a light shade of blue from the crayon box, before she approached the table.
Eli replaced the crayon in the box and with his tongue between his pursed lips, he scanned the other colors, his eyes darting back and forth from the still uncolored dog on the page to the assortment of crayons. He pulled out a dusty brown and got to work coloring in the dog's spots.
She cleared her throat and squatted down, resting her hand on the table for balance. "Eli?"
Eli paused and looked over at her.
"Would you like to go for a walk outside with me?"
He glanced back at the coloring book and then looked up at her again, setting his crayon down on the table. He nodded.
She smiled. "Okay." She paused, noticing their socked feet. "We'll need shoes." She walked down the hallway with Eli following close behind her. They stopped at Hank's bedroom first to get Eli's sneakers and then they continued to Brennan's room. Before leaving the house, she grabbed her cell phone, just in case anyone called while they were on their walk. She was still expecting a call from Lynette and she hoped Booth would call with more information.
Eli seemed okay, Brennan noted, as they walked the perimeter of the house. They stopped at the garden she and Christine planted earlier in the spring. He knelt in the grass and ran his hands through the dirt, his eyes brightening when he found a worm.
Brennan nodded. "Lumbricus terrestris, also known as the earthworm."
Eli poked the wriggling worm and laughed.
She blinked, taken aback by the exuberant chuckle that escaped the usually silent and withdrawn child.
He laughed again, watching the worm burrow back into the dirt. He waved at the worm and then got up, wiping his hands off on his pants.
As he stood, her cell phone vibrated in her back pocket. She reached for it and stared at the contact name on the screen. Exhaling, she answered the phone. "Dr. Brennan speaking."
Eli looked up at her briefly before continuing to walk ahead.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Brennan. Is this a good time?"
Brennan nodded, following Eli as he set the pace. "Yes."
"Great. How is Eli doing?"
"He's doing okay. He's barely spoken a word since we arrived home Friday night and he appears to be frightened of vehicles. He's been having nightmares, so he isn't sleeping much, but he is eating."
"I hope he hasn't been too much trouble."
She rolled her eyes. "He is terrified of vehicles because he was in a car accident, a car accident in which his mother was killed right in front of him. He is now living with four strangers in a strange house. He is not trouble. He is a child, a four-year-old boy who doesn't quite understand what is going on. All he knows is that his mother is not here." She was thankful Eli was a bit farther ahead and couldn't hear her. She swallowed, regaining some of her composure. Perhaps things would have been different for her if she hadn't been labeled as'troubled', but it was pointless to even entertain the idea.
"I'm sorry, Temperance. I was not—it was not my intention—."
"As I said, he is doing okay." Brennan paused. "Before we discuss anything further, I would like to propose something." Without waiting for a response, she continued. "I am interested in fostering Eli long term. In the case that you were unable to find a competent relative willing to care for him, I mean."
"Actually, it turns out that Eli has a Great Aunt on his mother's side. She lives in Buffalo and has agreed to take him in."
Brennan blinked. "Oh." She paused. "What about his father? Have you ascertained his identity?"
"We are still awaiting the DNA test results. We are hoping to get lucky."
"There is no such thing as luck." Brennan paused. "And a DNA test will only be helpful if his father's DNA is in the system."
"We are aware of that, Temperance."
"What if there are no matches? Do you have another idea for how you are going to track down Eli's biological father?" Brennan heard Lynette sigh into the phone.
"At the moment? No, I don't. For now, we are just waiting for the results and will go from there. Eli's Aunt is on her way here as we speak and should arrive later tonight."
Brennan blinked. Tonight? She looked at the child, who was now crouched down a few feet in front of her.
Eli plucked a dandelion from the grass and brushed his thumb across the yellow petals. He pulled out a few more and stood. He ran over to Brennan and handed them to her.
Brennan sighed, taking the weeds. She smiled at him and mouthed 'Thank you'.
"Temperance? Hello?"
Brennan shook her head. "Yes, I am still here."
"If you wouldn't mind keeping Eli for the night, that would be great. His Aunt was planning on getting a hotel room and taking him home in the morning. I can arrange for her to meet you at your home or we can meet at my office around 10 o'clock."
Brennan nodded. "I suppose we can meet at your office if that would be more convenient for you."
"Okay. Then, I will see you tomorrow at 10."
Brennan nodded. "Yes."
"Thank you again, Temperance. It may not seem like it, but you are making a big difference."
They said their goodbyes and Brennan hung up first. Just as she was sliding her phone back into her pocket, it started to vibrate again. It was Booth. Before answering it, she motioned for Eli to come over to her. "Hey, Eli, are you hungry?"
He shrugged.
Though it wasn't much of an answer, she figured he must be hungry, so the two of them headed back into the house. "The phone was disposable, wasn't it?" she asked, forgoing any small talk or greeting.
"No hello?" Booth laughed.
"Was it disposable?" she asked again.
"Yes. My guys traced the phone back to AT&T, but that's as far as they got. They're still working on it." He paused. "They are also looking through Eli's mother's phone records to see if that number appears anywhere."
"You know his mother's name? Lynette never mentioned her name."
"Special Agent, Bones." He paused. "Her name was Lucy Renaldo."
"Lucy Renaldo?"
"Do you know her, Bones?"
Brennan shook her head. "No, but—." She blinked. "When Russ and I were clearing out Max's apartment, I found a picture of him and a much younger female. It was in his nightstand. There was a note on the back, but it was illegible. The ink was smudged, but it was signed L.R." She paused. "She had blonde hair, but I don't remember much else about her. I only looked at the photograph for a second."
"Bones?"
"Did the crime lab get the results back on the DNA test?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Not yet, but I told them to put a rush on it. When they know something, I'll know something."
She nodded. "Lynette said she is also running the DNA."
"Bones."
"She called earlier. Eli has a Great Aunt in Buffalo and she is on her way here."
"Oh?"
Now inside, she sent Eli into the living room while she went into the kitchen to make something for the two of them to eat.
"I have to go, Bones. Duty calls. If I hear anything from my guys, I'll call you." He paused. "Hey, do you have that picture? Of your dad and that woman?"
"No."
"Never mind then."
"Booth?"
"Yeah?"
"Did Lucy have blonde hair?" she asked, starting to craft a turkey and cheese sandwich for Eli.
"Yes."
She gasped, looking down at her hand as blood pooled onto the plate. Her head snapped up when she heard a scream. She tried to reassure Eli, who had moved from the living room into the kitchen undetected while she was on the phone and was now standing next to her. She could hear Booth shouting through the phone, but she ignored him. While trying to comfort Eli, she rinsed the wound with water and wrapped it in a paper towel to staunch the bleeding temporarily. She peeled back the bloody paper towel and examined the small slices in her right thumb and index finger. She wouldn't need stitches, she concluded. Thankfully.
Eli was just standing there, staring at the floor—at the droplets of blood. His eyes were glassy and his cheeks were slightly damp, but there were no fresh tears. His little boy was shaking and his breathing pattern shifted from even-paced to hurried and deep.
She disposed of the plate and sandwich, quickly wiped the floor and counter, and returned to Eli, kneeling in front of him.
"Mommy!" He looked around as he called out.
She grabbed his hands and held on, looking directly at him.
Her touch seemed to ground him in reality and he blinked, focusing on her.
She exhaled. "I'm okay, Eli. I just need to clean my thumb and index finger properly and bandage the wound to ensure it doesn't get infected." She smiled at him and stood up. She picked up the phone still on the counter. "Booth?" She thought he'd have hung up, but he didn't.
"Bones! What the Hell just happened?"
"I'm fine. I don't need stitches."
"Stitches? I'm coming home right now."
She rolled her eyes. "That is not necessary, Booth. I was making Eli a sandwich and I accidentally cut my thumb and part of my index finger. The wounds are not deep and I do not require any stitches." She heard him exhale, though she knew he was still worried. "I assure you I am fine, Booth."
"Okay." He paused. "I really have to go now."
She nodded. "Booth?"
"We'll figure this out, Bones. It might just be a coincidence."
"There are no coincidences in a murder investigation, Booth."
"Is this what this is?"
She shrugged. "I don't know what to believe anymore, Booth."
"I love you."
"I love you, too," she said before hanging up.