Dear readers, here's a huge chapter for you. Huge in the amount of words and the amount of action. We decided to post it all at once so there won't be any cliffhangers, sort of ^^. Get ready and enjoy!
Chapter 17
Booth had got up early, and he hadn't had much sleep last night. After his lunch with Temperance, he went to a gym where he worked out, trying to get all of his ducks in a row. It hadn't really worked and so he went home. He'd been exhausted and went to bed early, which was the reason why he had woken up early. Not knowing what to do, feeling nervous and in desperate need of advice, he reached for his phone and dialled his grandfather's number.
"This is Hank. Shrimp? That you?"
"Yeah, Pops it's me. I'm sorry to call this early, I hope I didn't wake you up."
"I'm an early riser. Tell me, Shrimp, how are you feeling now?"
"Nervous," Booth told his grandfather with a sigh. "Angela found me right after I hung up with you yesterday. She managed to get Temperance to agree to have lunch with me. We came back to my place. I know my daughter's name. It's Elena Angela Brennan. Beautiful, don't you think?"
"Oh, Shrimp," Hank said, becoming a bit emotional. "What a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl. If you can get a picture of her, please send it. I still can't believe I'm a great-grandfather," Hank sniffed. "But let's get back to you, son. How did your lunch go? Does the Captain still like you?"
"I think she's scared to give into it and risk hurting our daughter, but I don't just want to be a father to Elena and not give a relationship with Temperace a try."
"You'll have to give her time, Shrimp. She sounds like a smart girl. Those are the most difficult ones to get, but once you've got them, they're amazing. The best kind of woman is a smart one who knows how to talk back to you, trust me. If you can get a picture with her, I'd love to see it, too. Please send her and Elena my very best regards. I'd love to meet them one day."
"I'll tell them. I'm still not sure they believe that I was with you the last four years, Pops. And that bugs me because I don't know how to prove it to her. And if only I could prove it, she would realise I'm not lying. I think it would do wonders if she knows I'm trustworthy."
"If there's anything I can do to help, put me on the table, son. Just let me warn you; it's taken you four years and I know you're eager to make up for lost time, but this is the moment your patience will truly be put to the test."
"I know, Pops, but we're making progress allready. I have a playdate with my daughter today."
"Oh, that's wonderful. That's really wonderful! I'll be thinking of you, Shrimp. What are you going to do together?"
"It's nothing special, we are meeting at a little playground around noon. I just hope that Elena will give me a chance." Booth felt really bad that he had made his little girl cry the previous time.
"She's a little girl," Hank mused, "I don't have a lot of experience with those. I'd have loved to get a little girl, but I was never that lucky. You are, though. It's up to you to report to me what little girls like and don't like."
Booth chuckled. "I'll let you know, Pops. I - can I ask you a question, Pops?"
"Anything, son."
"I don't want to give up on the possibility of becoming a couple, but I don't know if I should pursue that goal already."
"Just take it easy, son," Hank was quick to advise his grandson. "Go slowly. Do not overwhelm her. Smart women flee when they're overwhelmed."
"Thanks, Pops. That's good advice, actually. I won't rush her. Do you think I should take something with me for them?"
"Oh, yes, women love gifts. Just something else that occurred to me. You have to go with your gut for this, but I don't know if your Captain's going to take the initiative. You should give her opportunities that she can choose to take. I'm not sure about this, but it's something to consider."
"I... I asked her if I could kiss her last night, but she didn't take it."
"She fled? Then you overwhelmed her, Seeley."
"I know, Pops. What do you think I should take with me for them? I don't want to overwhelm her again."
"Do you know what they like?"
"I know that Elena likes Moby Dick, but I don't know how I can use that. I mean if she likes that, she must have the book already."
"You could get her a boat to re-enact the book, maybe. Oh, get Temperance something pirate-y or from Zorro. She might appreciate that."
"That is a great idea, Pops! I don't know what I can give her, though, do you have any ideas?"
"Don't you have action figures of those? Try a local toystore, see what inspiration you can get. A Zorro, female pirate and - I don't know what the little girl should be. Don't girls want to be princesses?"
"She certainly is mine. I think that might be a good idea. A pirate, a Zorro figurine and a little princess." Booth smiled, feeling a lot better. "Thanks, Pops. I have to go. I have to find a toystore!"
"Go, son, go! I'm so proud of you. Go get your family."
"Thanks, Pops. I'll do that. Hopefully, I'll have a picture for you in the afternoon."
"Don't rush them, I can wait. Just do what's best for you as a family. I'll be right here for you, son. I love you."
"I love you too, Pops. I'll talk to you tonight with an update. Bye, Pops." Booth disconnected the phone call and started getting ready.
A little before noon, Booth took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. He had a little bag with him with the gift for Elena and he had made an extra effort for Temperance. He was wearing the same cologne he'd had on that night and he had a bit of gel in his hair. He hadn't overdone it, but he was determined to look his best.
Brennan was surprised when she opened the door, as they'd agreed to meet at the playground. "Hey," she smiled. "We were just getting ready. Come in." Good thing Russ wasn't home, he probably wouldn't have approved of letting him in.
"Thanks. I know we agreed to meet at the playground, but I have a little gift for Elena and I didn't want it to get lost there."
"Elena?" Brennan called her little girl. "Mommy's friend is here. He brought you a gift. Isn't that nice?"
Elena came running, but remained standing behind her mother, peeking at the strange man who'd made her mommy cry.
"Oh, come on, you're not shy, Elena," Brennan chuckled as she gently pushed her daughter to stand in front of her. Elena turned back to her mother and raised her arms, asking to be picked up. Brennan settled her daughter on her hip. "Can you give him a hand and introduce yourself like we practised?"
Elena looked at her mother and nodded her head. She stuck out a hand towards Booth. "Hi, I'm Elena, nice to meet you," she spoke shyly.
"Hi Elena. I'm Seeley Booth. Nice to meet you. I brought a gift for you and your mother." He looked up at Temperance. "Maybe we can sit down on the couch?"
"Okay," Brennan said, "This way." They all sat down, Elena in her mother's lap. The little girl had a feeling this meeting was much more important than she'd been told, which is why she felt shy and wanted to stay close to her mother. She didn't know exactly what was going on. Wasn't it dangerous to take gifts from strangers?
Booth took out two wrapped gifts for his daughter. One was a stuffed animal, a whale to be precise, and the other was the toy boat. "Here," he handed both gifts to his daughter. "These are for you. I hope you'll like them."
Elena took the gifts and looked at her mom. Brennan nodded towards her and Elena heaved a small sigh because this was all very strange, then unwrapped the gifts. "I already have a whale," Elena whispered to her mother.
"Yes, but it's not the same one, is it? You could keep one in your bed and the other in your reading corner," Brennan suggested
Elena thought about that. "Okay," she said. "Thank you," she told Booth, then unwrapped the other gift. "It's a boat," she frowned.
Brennan got what Booth had meant the gifts to be. "Yes, it is! Just like in Moby Dick, see? You can now play what's in the book."
Elena's eyes lit up. "That's fun!" she smiled and pressed the toy whale to her chest. "Thank you again," she told Booth, and leaned back against her mother as she kept the toys close to her.
"I'm happy you like them," Booth smiled at her. He handed the second package to Temperance. He'd taken the figurines out of their packages. He'd taken a photo of all three together and had them put in a photo frame. The figurines were all wrapped as well. "Here. This is for you, but I suppose Elena can play with it, too."
Brennan unwrapped the first gift. It was a photo frame. In the picture were three figurines; Zorro, a female pirate and a little princess. She got its meaning immediately. Elena grabbed the frame and studied the picture with a suspicious frown on her face. "This is a weird gift," she decided. "I like mine better."
"It's a gift for your mom, Elena, but you know what. I promise that you'll understand it when you're older. And until you do, maybe your mom will let you play with the figurines."
Brennan unwrapped the second gift. It contained the figurines, and Elena grabbed Zorro. "You're captain Ahab," she told the toy. "This princess is me because uncle Russ says I'm his princess. Mommy, do you want to be a pirate lady?" Elena looked up at her mother.
"Sure, honey," Brennan agreed with a slight blush.
For a moment, Booth felt insanely jealous of Elena's uncle. Would she ever be his princess? He would practise patience though, just as his Pops had told him. If there was one thing he had, it was time.
"Thanks, Seeley," Brennan said. "You didn't have to, but we both like our gifts. Shall we go to the playground?"
"Please, call me Booth. I'm not very fond of my first name," he smiled at her, then he stood. "Yes, we should go. Ready Captain?"
Brennan gave him a look, but didn't say anything about it. "Her name's Mommy," Elena pointed out. Then, they all put on their coats and left the house.
"You know, you're right, Elena. For you, her name is Mommy. But she's not my mommy, so I have to say something else, don't I?" Booth looked at his little girl as they walked to the playground around the corner.
"Okay, but why do you call her Captain? She's not a captain. Aheb's a captain."
"To me, she is. Your mom is very special to me." They arrived at the playground. "What do you want to do first?" Booth asked Elena.
"I usually run around for a bit," Elena told him seriously. "Then the swings to catch my breath. Then I do the slide almost a hundred times. But it's actually eleven, because Mommy taught me how to count. I make pies in the sand."
"Whoaw, well," Booth clapped his hands. "Will you play tag with me?"
Elena looked at her mom. "Can I, Mommy? Is he a stranger?"
Brennan kissed the top of her head. "You're a good girl, Elena. Yes, you can play with him, he's not a stranger because he's Mommy's friend. But it's good that you asked. Well done."
Elena looked at Booth. "I can play with you but I mostly play alone."
"I would like to play with you. You can start. Catch me if you can!" Booth teased her and slowly ran away from her, making sure she could catch him.
Elena heaved her small sigh again and started to run after him. Brennan sat down on one of the benches.
Booth let Elena catch him every time and found that he had to try hard to tag her. Not only was his daughter fast, she was flexible and surprised him by changing direction at the very last moment. He was happy when she finally ran towards the swingset.
Elena's cheeks were flushed from the exercise and she started swinging higher and higher and higher.
Meanwhile, Brennan watched them play. Her daughter had difficulty playing with someone else. She was so good at entertaining herself it had become hard to share the experience. She wasn't really initiating any play with Booth, but accepted it when he offered. Booth was obviously making an effort. He'd find it would be hard to get into Elena's little heart. It was his first test.
Booth was standing behind Elena, helping her to swing higher and higher still. She didn't seek out his company, but when he helped her, she didn't protest, either, and for that, Booth was grateful. He didn't really talk to her. She was quiet and he didn't want to interrogate the little girl. Today was all about leaving a good second impression.
"Stop, stop!" Elena shouted. When she was halted, she hopped off the swing. "Time for the slide," she announced and was on her way.
Booth followed her and sat down on the sand in front of the slide, waiting for her.
Elena saw him wait for her and didn't know if she wanted to go in the slide. She looked at her mother, who nodded, and she took her breath. Eventually, she went down the slide.
Booth caught her and even though his first instinct was to hold onto her and never ever let his little girl go again, he released her instantly, not holding her any longer than necessary. He'd been observing her behaviour and he noticed that she was very solitary and he could see she was exactly like her mother in that aspect.
"Now you go," Elena told her mommy's friend and pointed at the slide.
It wasn't specifically a children's slide, but he hesitated. He decided to see how comfortable she was with him. "I don't know... Will you come with me?"
"You don't have to be scared. Nothing can happen," she told him and started climbing up the apparatus. She made sure he was following her and went first. "See? Nothing bad happened. You can do it, too."
He followed her down the slide and once he was sitting at the bottom of the slide, he smiled at her. "Hey! It worked!" He held his arms open for a hug. It was an automatic response, and he realised a second after that it might be a step too far.
Just when Booth was about to lower his arms and pretend like nothing happened, Elena stepped forward and quickly hugged him, then patted his shoulder. "Well done. Were you scared?"
"It's been a long time since I did that. So maybe I was a little scared. Thank you for helping me. Maybe Mommy wants to play too, huh?"
As Brennan watched her daughter, really studied her, she felt sad for her little girl. She was acting like a grown-up, not like a child. She hadn't had a normal childhood so far. Brennan felt that she'd raised Elena to survive on her own, but that wasn't good for her. There she was, playing with her dad, and she was barely connecting with him. Brennan knew that she herself needed to change, to set the right example for her daughter.
Elena glanced at her mother. "Mommy doesn't play. She reads to me."
"Well, why don't we go ask her." Booth held out his hand to the little girl and waited patiently for her to take it.
Elena rolled her eyes secretly and took his hand. She was not a baby. She didn't need to hold someone's hand in the playground. Mommy told her that. Anyway, he was an adult and Mommy's friend, so she took his hand and went with him.
"Would you like to play on the slide with us, Captain?" Booth asked Brennan as they approached her. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't exactly warm either, some moving would warm her up. He frowned. She looked tired. "If you're tired we can go back if you want," Booth suggested.
Brennan shook her head. "It's okay, we can stay for a bit more. Elena still has to make me some sand cookies."
At the man's words, Elena looked at her mother. "Are you tired, Mommy? Are you sick? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Brennan smiled at her daughter. "No, silly. We both studied until late last night, didn't we? That's why I'm a bit tired. But you can play, you don't have to worry about me, okay?"
Elena looked over her shoulder at the sand box. "I can make sand pies tomorrow," she said.
"No, honey, make them today. They're so pretty and delicious; you have to show Booth," Brennan encouraged her daughter.
Elena hesitated. "All right." She took Booth's hand again and dragged him along. "I'll show you quickly how to do it."
Booth agreed. He felt guilty for dragging his Captain away from her textbooks. "I have an idea," Booth told Elena as they sat down in the sandbox. "After you've shown me how to make sand pies, we can take Mommy back home and we can bake your mommy some real cookies. And we can make hot chocolate milk for all of us. Does Mommy like that? Hot chocolate?"
Elena nodded and smiled at him for the first time. "Yes. We have to make Mommy feel better."
"Yes," he agreed wholeheartedly with his daughter. "We have to make Mommy feel better." Once she had shown him two sand pies, which she hadn't done her best for, Booth stood and patted the sand off of his jeans. "Come on, we'll go tell Mommy what we want to do next. Do you like hot chocolate too, Elena?"
"I love it!" she exclaimed with a dramatic jump, the way four-year-olds express enthusiasm.
Booth grinned. Finally, something he had in common with his little girl. "I love hot chocolate, too. I used to make it for my grandfather all the time. I'll show you how to do it." They walked over to Brennan and he gave her a broad smile. "Captain! We are going back home. Elena and I have a surprise for you in store."
"My name's not actually Captain. You know that, right?" Brennan asked him, though she couldn't suppress a smile.
Elena took her mother's hand. "Let's go home. We did everything."
Booth was a bit surprised and concerned by the little girl's last statement. "Do you always do the same things at the playground, sweetie?"
"Mostly," she replied. "Unless Emma and Hayley are here, too. Then we play together and we do different things."
"That's good." They walked back home and to Booth's relief, Russ hadn't returned yet. "Now," Booth clapped his hands again, "Elena and I are going to make cookies and hot chocolate. You can assist or just enjoy the show from the couch." It was an open kitchen, so they'd still be together. "Would that be okay?"
"As long as you're having fun. Elena? Just have fun, sweetheart," Brennan told her daughter.
Elena made a little jump. "Okay, Mommy. You can rest. We'll give you delicious things. Right?" She looked up at Booth.
"Yes. Delicious cookies and very tasty hot chocolate," Booth promised her. "Do you have an apron to wear, sweetie?"
"I have a small one," Elena told him. "You can wear Mommy's."
"I will," he agreed. Elena went to fetch both aprons and Booth helped her put it on. "Okay! Now, I need your help, Elena. If I tell you what I need, can you point me to the right cupboard?"
"I'll try," she said. "Lie down, Mommy."
Brennan took off her shoes and did as her daughter asked. Elena took the blanket from the other end of the couch and covered her mother with it. She also gave her mom a big kiss. "When you wake up, we'll have a lot of chocolate."
Booth watched the interaction and wondered if Russ knew how much Elena had to step up to be there for her mom. She was just four and yet, he had only seen her behave as a kid once today. He was going to do everything he could to make that better, though. He didn't doubt that Russ had provided for his Captain and their daughter, but he knew that nobody could love them like he could.
For some reason, Brennan was really seeing her daughter, now. What she did, the way she acted. It was worrisome, and she hoped Booth wouldn't think she'd been a bad mother.
Booth approached them and put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I bet that your mom is really proud of you, sweetie. You're a wonderful, sweet girl. Why don't we let Mommy sleep for a little while?"
Elena gave her mother another kiss. "Sweet dreams, Mommy." Then, they went into the kitchen.
Booth lowered his voice as he lifted Elena to sit on the kitchen table. "We have to whisper from now on, so we don't disturb Mommy, okay?"
"Okay," Elena nodded. "I don't normally sit here," she whispered.
"Are you sure you won't fall off? 'Cause I don't want you to hurt yourself. It's okay for once though," Booth reassured her.
"I won't fall," Elena assured him, and started swinging her legs back and forth.
"Good girl," Booth praised her. Then, he started calling off the list of items he needed to bake cookies and she quietly pointed him in the right direction. "Do you do this with Mommy or uncle Russ sometimes?"
"Yes, we sometimes bake real pies instead of sand ones."
"And do you like that? I love cookies," Booth whispered with a smile.
"It's a lot of fun," Elena smiled back at him. He had funny eyes. They weren't like Mommy's, but more like her own.
Together they made the dough and formed the cookies. Then Booth put them in the oven. "Now, we have to clean up. Do you know where Mommy keeps the detergent? You know, the stuff she puts in the water to do the dishes."
"Oh, yes." Elena pointed to another cupboard. "I know where everything is," she chuckled. "I can remember all the things I see."
"That's very good," he told her. Booth started washing the dishes. "Did you have fun today?"
"M-hm," Elena sing-songed as she grabbed a towel, ready to help him. "Why didn't you and Mommy stay friends?"
"My grandfather lives very far from here. He got sick and I had to help him. Darling, you can put the towel down, you don't have to help me."
"I want to help, too," she told him, leaving no room for discussion. "I have a grandfather. He's called Grampa Max."
"Isn't there anything else you want to do, rather than help? I can do this, sweetie. Wouldn't you rather be playing with your boat and Moby and Captain Ahab and the others?"
"No, I like drying. If I drop something and it breaks, it's okay. No one will be mad," she recited what her uncle told her. "I like doing lots of different things, like drying. It's really important and I can do it."
Booth tried a different tactic. "Why don't you go wake up Mommy?"
Elena gave him an angry look. She threw down the towel and walked into the living room, where she crawled underneath the blanket with her mom. "Mommy, wake up," she sang sweetly. When her mother opened her eyes, Elena told her quickly, "He won't let me dry. It makes me angry."
Brennan couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, honey. It's okay. He's new, so he doesn't know how things work yet. We have to be patient with him. Can you do that? Did you have fun otherwise?"
Elena nodded. "It was fun. We made a mess."
Brennan had to laugh again. "Good. It's okay to make a mess sometimes. So where's all this chocolate you promised me?"
Elena glanced over to the kitchen. "It's over there. I want to cuddle with you."
Brennan wrapped her arms around her little girl and inhaled her unique, wonderful scent. She kissed her daughter's cheeks. "I love you, sweetheart."
Elena smiled and kissed her mother's nose. "I love you, Mommy."
Meanwhile, Booth, who was feeling like he had overstayed his welcome, made the hot chocolate he had promised, but he made just enough for two. He poured the warm, soothing liquid into two cups and put them on a tray he had found. He added a plate of freshly baked cookies and walked back into the living room. "I have to get going, but," he gestured to the tray, "I hope you will enjoy these."
Brennan sat upright. "You have to go? We could have enjoyed this together. You're welcome to stay if you want."
But Booth shook his head. "That's very kind, but I think it's time for me to go. I had a wonderful afternoon. We should do this again soon." He had overheard Elena say that she wanted to cuddle with her mother and that she was angry with him, Booth didn't want to overwhelm either one of them.
"Thanks so much for coming over," Brennan said honestly, stood, and gave him a hug. She briefly closed her eyes, getting that sense of calm and safety again. "Elena, let's say goodbye. Would you like Booth to come over another time?"
Elena nodded. "I'm sorry I threw the towel." She gave him a hug, too.
"That's okay, sweetie." Booth hugged his daughter and kissed the top of her head. He gave them a smile and looked at Brennan. "Walk me out, Captain?"
For some reason she felt as if she was being called to the principal's office. "You should try the cookies, Elena, make sure they're good," Brennan told her daughter before walking into the hall with Booth.
"Thank you for giving me this chance. I really enjoyed our time together." He put his coat on. "If you ever need someone to come help you, please don't hesitate to contact me."
Brennan suddenly felt a lump in her throat. "I don't think I've been a very good mother to her," she whispered.
"Hey," Booth whispered soothingly and took a step towards her. "Of course you've been a good mother. You have raised her into a perfectly well-mannered, polite, delightful little girl to be around. You are a good mother to her."
Brennan took a shaky breath. "She's not social. She doesn't act her age. She's too wise, she follows my patterns too much. I don't want her to feel restrained."
"I don't think she feels restrained." Booth gently embraced her and smiled at her. "She loves her mother and will do whatever she can to help you. Why don't you just call me next time you two are alone and I'll come over to help you if you need help and otherwise we can all spend time together? How does that sound, darling?"
She wasn't sure she agreed with him calling her that, but she didn't have the energy to argue. She took a deep breath and nodded her head.
"Come here," Booth simply held her to him for a moment. "Don't doubt yourself. You haven't had an easy four years. And from what I can see, you've been doing a great job. I'm very proud of you," he confided to her.
"Thanks," she said as she held him, too. That scent... so familiar. "I just want her to be happy and care-free, but I know she worries. She understands too much of what's going on."
"She's a smart kid," Booth reassured her. "Besides, we'll focus on playing games and keeping things easy around her." He kissed her temple and stepped back. "Will you go out on a date with me? After your finals, I mean?"
"I don't like to leave Elena, but I'd like to do that. I think we should."
Booth nodded. "Me, too. Will you call me when you need me?"
She shook her head, smiling. "I don't have your number."
Booth dug into his pocket and got out an old parking ticket and a pen. He wrote down his phone number. "Here, you can contact me on that number at any time." He looked into her eyes. "Any time, Captain."
"You're really going to keep calling me that?" she laughed as she took the piece of paper.
"Yes. 'Cause that's what you are. My Captain." He smiled at her. "I hope to see both of you again, very soon." Booth was interrupted when he was about to thank her again for having him over when the front door opened. "Russ."
Russ frowned. "You. What in the world is he doing here, Temp?"
"I set a playdate with Elena so she could meet Booth," Brennan told her brother. "We'll talk about it later, okay? Is Hayley doing all right?"
"Actually no, she's not." Hayley had been transferred to the hospital and Russ had only come by to pick up some clothes and personal items. "I thought this playdate was at the playground."
"It was, but I was tired and we went home. Elena made cookies and hot chocolate with Booth." Brennan could clearly see her brother was distressed. "Booth, thanks for today. I'll give you a call."
"Yeah sure," Booth gave her a last smile and called out. "Bye, bye Elena!" When she shouted a goodbye back, he left.
"Really, Temp?" Russ asked her as he pulled his coat off and walked inside.
"Russ, I'm sorry. I realise this is very ill-timed." She followed him. "Please sit down and have some hot chocolate and a cookie. Is there anything I can do?"
"No. I don't have time for cookies, Temp. Hayley is in the hospital. I'm going back. I only came over to get some clothes, a toothbrush and my shaving kit."
"Let me get it for you. Just eat something," she told him and disappeared into her brother's bedroom, feeling very guilty. What was she doing? Russ had given up his life for her, and she was taking home the man he loathed to play with his niece. She shook her head.
"Uncle Russ?" Elena asked him, "Please have a cookie?" She held one out to him.
"Thank you, sweetie." Russ accepted the cookie, took a bite and put it down again. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a few bottles of soda.
Elena hopped off the couch and followed her favourite uncle. "Are you going to see Emma and Hayley? Can I come?"
"No, sweetie. You can't come. Hayley doesn't feel good. You have to stay home here, with Mommy." Russ was preoccupied as he tried to think of anything else that they could use at the hospital.
"But can you put me in bed tonight?" Elena tried again as she followed Russ on his heels.
"No, sweetheart, Mommy can put you in bed tonight. I have to get back to Amy and the girls right now. Temp? Are you done yet?"
Brennan emerged from Russ's bedroom with a small suitcase. "I think I've got everything you might need. Russ, I'm really sorry about what happened just now. I promise you it won't happen again without you knowing. Call me if there's anything I can do, okay?"
"I will." He took his suitcase from her and kissed his sister's cheek. He walked over to Elena and kissed her cheek, too. "Be a good girl for Mommy, okay?" Then he stood and left his home, locking the door behind him. Russ shook his head. One playdate and she was already letting him in the house.
Elena ran over to the window and climbed onto the stool that was there just for her. She waved at her uncle as he left, but he didn't wave back. He didn't even see her.
Brennan approached her daughter and lifted her in her arms. "Uncle Russ is acting weird because he's sad that Hayley's sick, honey," she told her hurt daughter. "That doesn't mean you're not his princess. He'll come back to play with you when Hayley's feeling better," she tried to explain.
Elena clung to her mother and was too hurt to cry. She experienced the worst feeling, like she was all alone and uncle Russ didn't love her anymore.
Brennan pressed kisses to her daughter's soft skin. "You know you're my most important person, right?"
Elena just clung to her more tightly, and Brennan sighed. What kind of situation had she put her daughter into? It was hurting her deeply. Brennan needed to find a way to make sure her daughter wouldn't feel left out in the end. If only she could convince Russ that Booth might actually be a positive thing for Elena...
So, a lot going on in this chapter. Your thoughts are always welcome. Sometimes, certain things are pointed out in the reviews that we weren't even aware of, but that are actually great insights! Thanks for that, and please tell us more about what you think/feel about this story.