Joy was sitting on her bed.
She was taking a deep breath and looking at the decor while her feet dangled.
She was anxious.
She looked down the hall and saw that her mother was in the room, talking to Rebecca and Parker.
She leaned against the door slowly, leaving a crack.
She went to the closet, took a box and got her old shoe.
Her old shoe.
One of the only things she managed to take from house to house and family to family, thanks to her small stature.
She took the left shoe and looked at the sole.
There were names, names of their temporary houses.
Every family she passed.
Every home she closed her eyes and asked to be loved and accepted.
She saw 6 names.
Some she didn't remember, were written by older girls in the group houses.
But the last two she remembered.
The last was the Andersens, and she preferred to forget that she was Jolene Joy Andersen.
The penultimate one was the Valdez, she liked them and they were decent, but there were many children and she had to be relocated.
Bad idea.
She didn't write a name on that old sole, always an older girl wrote for her, it was like a ritual.The older girl, teaching the younger, and one day she would teach another little girl.
Not anymore
This started when she was still in the group home, before the Valdez, a girl named Julie, told her that everyone had guarded all their families, to remember, to know which way she went and everything she did.
She closed her eyes and sighed, Julie told her that there would never be a definitive family, that she would probably roll through the system until she left, that all adoptive parents are horrible and if she thought the least worst she should hold on and never let go .
But Joy had found a perfect family, an incredibly good family.
And to mark this new stage, she was determined to put the name Booth-Brennan.
The last name on the old shoe.
Her family name.
Was she Joy Booth-Brennan or Brennan-Booth now?
Today in the session with Sweets, she would find out.
•••
Temperance realized that Joy was anxious, she was pacing from side to side and could barely keep quiet, curling a lock of her hair between her little fingers and holding the backpack against her.
Temperance was tired, she had barely slept.
As soon as she arrived at the apartment she put Joy asleep in her bed and helped Parker to lie down in Joy's room and then took a shower.
But at bedtime, she was barely able to close her eyes, as she kept replaying her moments with Booth.
His hands, his mouth, his eyes, the man was stuck to his mind with super glue.
She sighed, closed her eyes and her mind went back to that parking lot.
Would they have followed through to the end?
Had they had sex in that dark corner?
Oh, she knows they would and she wouldn't even care much, but Booth would martyr herself until the end of time.
And well, she never felt comfortable in the position of mistress ...
She took a deep breath and looked at the girl beside her.
They were in Sweets' waiting room, waiting for Booth, what would it be like to see him that morning?
Was he all puritanical or would he pretend it hadn't happened?
She blew out a shaky breath and saw Joy running towards the man.
And now was the moment of truth.
He picked up Joy and kissed her and smiled towards Temperance.
—Good morning, Tempe, how are you?
—Good and you? (Temperance said)
- Also. (Booth smiled) Shall we go in?
—I'm looking forward to today's session! (Joy said excitedly)
Temperance nodded and they entered the Sweets room.
••••
Booth woke up on the couch that morning.
He was in pain in his neck, but he knew that sleeping on the couch was better than facing Hannah.
At least not last night where the memory of Temperance was still very much alive in his mind.
He wouldn't be able to forget her changing eyes, her breathing, her voice in an outgoing tone.
He would never forget that, but he had to hide that feeling very well.
As if he hasn't done that in the last few years.
He showered, put on fresh clothes and made coffee and then waited for Hannah to wake up.
He might have had his head on Bones last night, but he realized that Hannah was sleeping.
She left the two children alone and despite everything wrong he was doing, his children had nothing to do with it.
—Good morning,( Hannah murmured as she entered the kitchen.)
—Good morning(he said and handed her a cup.)
—Why didn't you go to sleep with me? (She asked after taking a sip of coffee)
- I was very tired and I slept on the couch (Booth answered quickly and looked at her) And why did you leave the boys unattended?
—I didn't leave the apartment, I just stayed in the room.(She said and crossed her arms) They are not babies.
—But they are children and need supervision, luckily none of them did anything to hurt themselves!
—If their father had stayed here and hadn't gone out like... (She murmured) And where did you go?
—I..I went to help Sweets with something. (Booth replied and finished his coffee) Speaking of which, I have to go.
—Your session with Joy and Temperance? (She questioned)
—Yes. See you later. (Booth said as he left the kitchen)
Hannah sighed.
Something strange had happened to Seeley last night.
But he hadn't spoken to her..com who could she talk to to find out more…
Well, she could try to talk to Temperance ... No, maybe Angela or better, Cam.
•••
As soon as he saw the three enter the room, Sweets felt a tension coming from them.
Little Joy had a lively tension.
The adults were denying looking at each other.
Joy had sat between them and the adults seemed to be stepping on eggs.
After a brief conversation with Joy about his routine in the lab and his little separation exercises, he turned to the adults.
After a brief, silent conversation, Sweets turned to Young.
—Joy, Dr. Brennan and I have been talking a lot since you arrived. (He started) And we saw that you have a great attachment to Agent Booth, right?
—Yes! (Joy looked at the man) He is very kind and sweet and I love him.
Sweets smiled when he saw Booth put a brief kiss on the girl's head.
—And I hear you and Parker get along really well, right?
—Yes, Parker is my brother. (She stated)
—And then, after a lot of talking ... your mother and Booth have decided to share your guard, do you know what that means?
- No. (She shook her head) But is it a good thing?
—Yes,Booth will take on the responsibilities of a father. (Temperance said the little girl), I am your mother and he will be your father.
Joy's brown eyes widened and she threw herself against booth.
—Can I call you dad now? (She asked clinging to the man's neck) Like that, daddy, dada, dad, papá,Father and others?
—You can call me whatever you want.(Booth said happily for the little girl's excitement)
—Are you okay with that? (Sweets asked the young woman)
—Better than good. (Joy said and got off Booth's lap) And well, now what I'm going to do makes perfect sense. (She said opening the backpack.)
Booth and Brennan stared at each other briefly and then looked at Sweets who also didn't understand what was going on.
She positioned herself next to Sweets.
He closed his eyes and pressed the old shoe to his chest.
—This is my greatest treasure.(She mumbled) He has been with me for a long time and I used it until my feet hurt. (She said with her eyes closed)
—Oh, do you want to share your treasure with us? (Sweets asked softly)
—Yes. (She whispered and opened her eyes) The older girls in the group houses taught me that if we wanted to remember something, we should write ... and they would write the name of each family I passed by. (Joy said and showed Sweet the sole) You see, no letter is the same.
—Yes. (The doctor said and swallowed)
—Normally, a permanent family is not found, it is difficult to fit into a family..but I found it. (She smiled at the adults who were silent) I have a father and a mother, and you are both better than I imagined. you are my family. (She wiped away the tear that fell) So today, here, I want to ask Sweets to write their names on my sole. My last Family,My definitive family.
Temperance's mind for a little second left that room and she was again the girl from the orphanage.
She hadn't gotten a permanent family, but she had given someone a family.
Seeley also went back to his past for a second, seeing his abusive father hitting him and Jared.
But here he was looking at that little girl who saw him as the future, as a good father.
—Are you okay? (Joy asked)
—We are.(Booth said and took Temperance's hand)
—Yes stirrup, we're fine. (She shook Booth's hand)
Joy nodded and turned to Sweets handing over the pen.
—Please, now write there Booth-Brennan or Brennan-Booth, as you prefer?
—Well .. (Booth looked at Temperance) You choose.
Temperance thought Joy would only be called Joy Brennan, but now with Booth on the matter she thought and knew she would like to be called as Parker. She would prefer the name of Booth first.
—Then it will be Joy Booth-Brennan.
—Yes I like how it sounds, write there doc (Joy said)
Sweets laughed and wrote the name the girl asked for and then returned the shoe to her.
—Now it's definitive, we're a family. (Joy said and went to hug them both) I love you mom and dad forever and ever.
—We love you baby girl. (Booth said and hugged the girl and Temperance)
—We love you so much Stapes, you can't imagine how much.
They loved each other more than anything.
Sweets smiled when he saw the small family embraced.
Something had happened between Temperance and Booth, besides that little girl and her big declaration of love to her parents.
Something happened between the two.
And the walls between them were falling.