A/N: I was watching 'The Woman in the Car' the other day and this popped in my head.
It was the third day of summer break and Christine was board, the trip to the waterpark for Emma's birthday was postponed due to rain. Booth and Brennan didn't normally allow their kids to mindlessly surf the internet, but due to the downpour outside they'd made an exception. Thinking it'd be fun to see what her parents, mostly her mom was like when she was younger, fifteen-year-old Christine googled her mom's talk show appearances. The first link took her to Brennan's first Wake Up D.C. interview. Just as the interview ended, Brennan tapped lightly on her bedroom door. "Christine?" Christine pushed back her chair and stood up leaving her room and almost knocking Brennan down in the process. "Christine, what-"
"Get away from me!" Completely confused Brennan just stood there with the laundry basket in her arms. Hearing Christine's raised voice Booth walked out of his and Brennan's shared office. "Bones, what's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just knocked on Christine's door with her laundry. I know its one of her chores, but I felt like doing it for her and Hank like I used to. Anyway, she told me to get away from her and ran out of her room…." Booth kissed Brennan and pulled out his phone and looked at the app for the cameras he had around the house . "Bones, I'm sure she didn't mean it. She's headed for the treehouse, I'm gonna go talk to her…"
"She hasn't ran for the tree house in years…"
"Yeah, but you know how it is sometimes when you're going through something you need refuge somewhere to get your thoughts in order…"
"Yeah…"
"Bones, she's probably in the middle of teenage drama and took it out on you. Your mini me will be fine and apologize soon…" Booth kissed and hugged Brennan before heading down the hall.
]Ten minutes later Booth groaned softly as he sat down on the floor next to Christine. "So, why'd you tell mom to get away from you?"
"Because she doesn't want us… well at least me and Hank…Parker's not even hers so I don't know…"
"What on Earth brought this on?"
"I was bored so I googled mom's talk shows and the first one I watched was a Wake-Up D.C. interview with Stacie Goodyear…"
Booth groaned and shook his head. "At that time your mom didn't want kids because of all of the things she went though when she was about your age. She didn't have a good experience with family. We hadn't been partners long and I was working on getting her to soften up a little. It took me a few years to get your mom to open up, but she slowly did. I'll never forget the first time she spent time with me and Parker, we'd had a serial killer case and he left clues with all of the people that meant the most to me. He'd tracked Parker down at hillside park and left a clue for me with him. I scared him asking him questions, he didn't want to go back to the park on Saturday like we always did. I finally got him on the carousel and went to sit down only to see your mom coming toward me. We sat and talked about the case and things, when Parker was done I got him down and he insisted your mom spend the afternoon with us. I could tell your mom was really uncomfortable at first but as the afternoon went on she opened up a little more. After that she would 'run into' us at the park every other Saturday we'd watch Parker on the playground, feed the ducks and go to the diner. If it was raining Mom would come over to my place and we'd watch movies or something."
"So, mom was cool hanging out with Parker, but she didn't want kids?"
"Mom wanted you and Hank very much, yeah she was nervous when she found out you were on the way because finding out you're going to be a parent for the first time is scary. I was scared too when she told me because I wasn't sure mom was willing to be in a relationship with me."
"But mom loves you-"
"She does, but she didn't always know that she did. Mom doesn't believe in things she can't see or touch or experiment on…."
"Why?"
"Because she's a squint…"
"Oh."
"Yeah.
"Mom wanted you from the very second she found out about you. So, did I. It wasn't easy at first she was scared she wouldn't know how to take care of you."
"Mom's good at that stuff…"
"She's the best."
"Is mom mad at me?"
"No, she's just confused because she doesn't know why you told her to get away from you."
"I didn't mean it, I just… I don't know…"
"I know. I'm gonna go talk to mom and you're gonna give her time to get her thoughts together and come talk to you about this. Hank and I are going to clean this place up, it smells worse than a locker room in here…"
"It does smell. There's a sandwich or something moldy over there…" Christine pointed to the corner.
"Lovely…" Booth sighed and pushed himself up. "It's okay Christine, mom isn't mad at you."
"I know. I just wish I hadn't googled anything…."
"it's okay. Mom gives good interviews now that first one was a little rough. I'd forgotten about it; it was so long ago. Go ahead and watch some more."
"Have you ever done an interview with mom?"
"Once it was for the Today Show. Mom and I have done a few press conferences together for cases and stuff."
"I'm gonna find it next." Booth chuckled and kissed Christine on the top of her head and left the treehouse.
B&B
Booth found Brennan in their bedroom stripping the bed.
"Bones?"
Brennan looked over her shoulder, "Is Christine okay?"
"She's fine. She just came in the house. Lets talk for a minute…"
"Okay." Brennan let Booth guide her to the chair in the corner of their room after she sat down Booth knelt in front of her and took her hands in his.
"Christine googled your talk show appearances the first one she watched was your first Wake-Up D.C. interview with Stacie Goodyear… The one where…"
"…I said I didn't want children…." Brennan tried to get up, Booth held her still.
"Booth…"
"Hang on a second. Christine had just finished watching it when you came in her room…";
"So now she thinks I don't want her…"
"Yes, but we talked about it. She knows you want her and Hank. I told her I was going to talk to you about it and when you were ready you'd come to her and talk about it."
Brennan nodded, "Thanks, Booth."
"You're welcome, Bones. Hank and I are gonna clean up the treehouse. It smells worse than a lockeroom not to mention Christine found something moldy in the corner."
"I have a new box of gloves and masks in my bag if you want to use them…"
"Thanks, Bones.." Booth stood up and kissed Brennan.
B&B
Ten minutes later Brennan softly knocked on Christine's door, "Christine?" Brennan walked into the room.
"I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean it."
"I know Christine, it's okay. We should talk…"
Christine nodded and watched as Brennan sat on the bed across from her
"Years ago, when I first started working with dad and for years before that I didn't want children…"
"Why not?"
"Because when I was your age my mom and grandpa Max disappeared two weeks before Christmas, by the new year Uncle Russ put me in foster care and headed to North Carolina. "
"Why did they disappear? Why did uncle Russ put you in foster care?"
"Because Dad was a con man and he got in some really bad things and took mom with him for mine and Russ' safety. Dad and mom changed their names along with ours. My name at birth was Joy and Russ' was Kyle. Mom's name was Ruth and dad's name was Matthew. Russ put me in foster care because was only nineteen and didn't know how to take care of himself let alone his little sister too…"
"Oh. So that's why you didn't want kids because you were in foster care?"
"Yes. My foster families were abusive…"
"Like really bad stuff?"
"No, it wasn't anything sexual, but it physically and mentally abusive. The reason I didn't want kids is because I didn't want them to end up in foster care and go through what I did if something happened to me."
"That makes sense I think. I know grandpa came back, but what about your mom?"
"A few months after I started working with dad, my assistant Zach, pulled a set of remains from limbo that just happened to be my mother…"
"Oh my God…"
"Yes. The day he pulled the remains I had court with your dad that morning. I'd forgotten my notes and went back to my office to get them that's when I noticed the 3-D picture of my mother's face on Aunt Angela's computer…"
"What did you do?"
"I grabbed the envelope of personal effects that were found with the remains and went to my office to look through it. I found mom's favorite dolphin belt buckle, Russ' favorite marble and some soil samples. When I was gone too long dad came into the lab to hurry me up. He saw my mother's face on Angela's computer and told everyone who was on the screen. Then he called me out of court…"
"…Kinda like getting called out of school…"
"Yes…" Brennan smiled a little.
"What happened?"
"Dad and everyone else worked together to find out how she died and who was responsible for her death."
"…It wasn't grandpa was it?" Brennan took Christine's hands.
"No, it was someone who they knew that was part of their band of criminals. Mom and Dad were bank robbers …"
"Seriously?"
"Yes…"
"I thought grandpa was a science teacher?"
"He was after he changed our names…"
"Oh…What happened to her?"
"Mom was hit in the head; her death wasn't instant. She likely had a headache and went to sleep and didn't wake up. She didn't suffer."
"That's good…I think…"
"Yes…"
"Did you get out of foster care?"
"I aged out when I turned eighteen, but thankfully my last foster parents were nice and let me stay with them until I graduated high school and left for college. After I graduated college I started at the lab and two years later I met and started working with your dad."
"Cool…"
"Yes, I am very thankful for how my life turned out after college. I have your dad to thank for a lot of it. I didn't want to get close to anyone anymore because I was afraid they'd leave me if I got too close to them. Your dad very patiently and slowly showed me that I could allow myself to trust him and build a family with him. A few years before you were born I decided I wanted to have a baby…with your dad. I wanted raise the child by myself, but I knew he'd be there every step of the way."
"Why didn't you have a kid?"
"Because that's when we found out dad had the brain tumor. After he recovered we weren't sure what we wanted to be to each other so I didn't bring it up again. A few years later I got pregnant with you, I was very surprised that I was pregnant, but I wanted you from the moment I saw the positive test. I was nervous to tell your dad about you. We'd decided that we were going to be more than partners the night we slept together, but we weren't planning on having a child so soon."
"Was dad happy you were pregnant?"
"Yes, the night I told him was the night Michael Vincent was born. I hadn't meant to tell him then, but he was talking about how happy Angela and Hodgins were and I just blurted it out. He smiled so big after a few seconds and we kissed and held hands all the way back to my apartment. I made macaroni and cheese and we talked about things all night. When we went to bed, I woke up in the middle of the night with your dads hand up my shirt resting over you. I was nervous about raising you, I didn't know how to take care of an infant and I didn't have mom to help me. Dad reminded me that he'd NEVER leave me and he'd help me and I'd be a great mom.. "
"You are…. "
"Thanks Honey. Are you enjoying watching my old interviews?"
"Yeah, you looked so young ."
"Well, the beginning interviews were 25 years ago, I was young then…"
"Yeah. Can I read your books?"
"I'll think about it…."
"Okay. Is Andy really dad?"
"The first book he was totally made up but in all the subsequent books Andy is your dad except with blue eyes."
"Cool."
"Yes…"
"Will you watch some with me?"
"Sure." Brennan settled back on Christine's bed as she picked up her laptop.
B&B
A little bit later Booth found Brennan in the kitchen making spaghetti sauce. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "You okay?"
"Yes, we talked for a while, I gave her a very condensed version of finding mom's remans in limbo and about mom and dad's pasts. She was surprised and had questions but I think she took it well. When she gets a little older I will give her the full version if she wants to know. Hank too."
Booth nodded and kissed Brennan's cheek. "I love you, Bones and I'm so proud of you."
"I love you too, Booth. Did you and Hank get the tree house cleaned up?"
"Yeah, it was disgusting. Thanks for the gloves and masks."
"You're welcome. Angela called and invited the kids over for a sleepover, Hank is going. Christine is staying with us. I think she needs some mom and dad time. I'm making spaghetti."
"That's understandable. Her favorite…"
Brennan nodded. "Christine wants to read my books…"
"She's too young for the spicy bits, especially page 187…"
Brennan laughed and turned in Booth's arms, kissing him. " I gave her the first two. Can you make the salad?"
"Sure…" Booth grabbed the big bowl from the cabinet and started tearing lettice into it.