Authors Note - Hope all enjoy. Thanks, Editor Kay

Seeley approached the house and knocked on the door nervously. It was the first time he'd visited the Brennan residence and he'd never met Temp's older brother, but he knew Russ was her primary caregiver, since their parents' disappearance and he was very protective of his little sister.

So when the door opened and a big 24-year-old was towering over him, Seeley felt nervous. He took a step back and stared at the other boy. "Hi, I'm Seeley Booth. I'm supposed to be studying with Temperance." He said and Russ nodded. "Yeah, she did say. I'm Russ come in." The boy said, stepping aside and Seeley stepped past him.

"She's not back from the library yet, but come in and wait for her. I'll give her a call and find out if she's on her way." Russ says and leads Seeley into the house and indicates for him to sit down and Seeley does as Russ walks off into another, room presumably to call Temperance.

Once Russ is out of the room, Seeley waits for a breath before getting to his feet again and looking around the room. It's not big a house, but big enough for the siblings and Seeley can tell that Russ is providing well for them, Seeley doesn't know how, but he is and Seeley's not got any complaints.

When Temperance had first told him the truth, that her parents had vanished nearly 5 years ago and Russ had taken control to look after her, with a little bit of financial help from their grandfather who lived out of state. Seeley had been skeptical, because he would do the same thing for Jared if anything happened to his parents and Pop, but he wouldn't know how well he would do.

But Temperance only ever gives glowing reports about her brother. He works his socks off to bring in every penny he can and judging by the fact that everything in the house looks second-hand, they're not splashing the cash, except for on Temperance. Because her clothes may be second-hand, but they always look smart and clean and her books and school work are always impeccable, every book he sees her with is new and Seeley can tell that Russ isn't spending any spare money on himself, and he Seeley feels proud of the man. He could have left, could have let Temperance be someone else's problem, but he didn't, he fought tooth and nail and looked after her.

So with Russ out of the room, Seeley had a chance to look around the room but not snoop. He was standing by the window, looking at the photos that were hanging on the wall, a couple of Temperance and Russ through the years, from little ones, up until a few years ago, by the fact that Russ is in school in some of them.

Then he finds a photo of Temp and Russ with their parents, possibly the Christmas before they disappeared. "That was our last Christmas." Seeley spins at Russ' voice and watches him walk across the room to stand next to him. "They vanished the following December." He said and Seeley hung his head.

"I'm sorry, that must have been really difficult," Seeley says, not sure what he should be saying in this situation. Russ hangs his head in silence. "You've done a really good job, keeping you and Temp together, looking after her, giving her everything she needs," Seeley admits and Russ smiles at him. "She would have gone into the system. But I wouldn't allow it. She was all I had left. I couldn't part with her. So we get some financial aid from the state and our grandfather helps out and the rest I do what I can to provide." Russ says and shrugs, looking at one of the photos of the two of them.

"You do a good job. She's really happy, you should be proud." Seeley says and they hear the door open and close. "I am," Russ admits and they both turn to see Temperance rustle into the room.

"Sorry, I got sidetracked at the library." She apologises and then pauses to look between the two guys. "What's going on?" She wonders and Russ smiles and shakes his head. "Nothing, you two go and study. I'll get some dinner on a bit. Seeley, do you want to stay?" Russ asks and Seeley turns to look at Temp who just smiles and then turns back to Russ.

"I'd like that, thanks," Seeley says and then follows Temp back through the house to her room, where they settled themselves in to study for the afternoon.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed

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