The following story is a Sequel story to one of our other stories: Saint in the Shadows

If you have not read that story, we recommend that you do. This, as Saint in the Shadows was, is written by both JenMcdreamy and Greysisthecatspajamas, with special consideration to what you over here on ff(dot)net would refer to as a 'beta'... Lola (I thought it'd be nice to give her a little bit of writing cred, since we did what we did to her character in the last fic.) Please sit back and enjoy the ride, just as the other fic stated... not everything is what it seems... This is a B&B romance fic, though as with any real life situation, there is a lot to work out. Please be patient... Thank you to the writers and commenters who messaged us their suggestions! You are very correct! There are a LOT of questions that need to be answered, and a lot of making up to do... if you know what I mean. We welcome comments from all of you, and appreciate your words. Thank you, and buckle up... the ride is about to begin... keep your fingers on the keyboard at all times, and don't look away from the screen for too long, you don't want to miss anything! Oh! and... in my profile under 'homepage', we put the signature banner for this new story... Lola gets the cred for that too! :)

Update 1- Elephant in the Room

Temperance slipped the clean sock onto her daughter's bandaged feet, wincing as she tried to be as tender and as careful as possible. She looked up at the little girl, whose face showed no sign of emotion, she just watched her mother with a near blank expression on her face. "You know you're going to have to talk to me soon, Antonia. Mommy is here to help you." She said softly, glancing to the door when a knock was heard, she looked up into her daughter's brown eyes, and watched them flick to the door, and then back to her mother. "It feels good to be in your own clothes again, doesn't it?" She said, watching the little girl's focus remain on her eyes, her mouth remained closed as she just stared at Temperance. "A little bit of communication would be very helpful." She whispered, sighing as she leaned up and kissed her daughter's cheek. "Stay right there…" She said as she walked toward the door.

Temperance stepped to the door and opened it slowly, peering out into the hallway at the person standing on the other side of the door, her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" She said, her voice full of anger and disdain. "You are not welcome here."

"I came to see Antonia." He said softly, his eyes sincere in his attempt to regain Temperance's trust, though he knew that it were possible that it could never happen again.

"She is being discharged, Christopher. I am trying to get her out of here, so that we can try to get back to some semblance of normal." Temperance said coldly. "I don't wish to speak to you, and I don't want you to speak to my daughter."

"Temperance." He said softly.

"No." She said sternly, glancing into the room, she saw Antonia was sitting on the bed, her head looking to the floor as she waited for her mother. "No, no… absolutely not." She scolded as she stepped out of the room, pushing him back slightly as she closed the door behind her, staring into his eyes angrily. "You… lied to me. You kept things from me… there were… secrets and lies and… all I want right now is a little bit of control, okay? My daughter won't speak, Christopher. She won't speak, she won't look me in the eyes. The police are breathing down my neck for her to tell them what happened, and I don't have any answers for them, okay? I don't have any answers for them, because my daughter is traumatized! I want to know what happened in that place! I need to know!"

"Did you ask Booth?" He asked, watching her eyes widen in surprise as he mentioned her former partner. "Did you ask him what happened in that room? Did you ask him what happened in that place?"

"I… No." She whispered.

"Has Antonia seen him since he's woken up?"

"No, Christopher. Please stop pushing. I need to handle this the way that I know how to handle this." She replied.

"By what? By taking his family away from him? By taking her…"

"Stop." She said sternly, putting her hand out in an obvious attempt to get him to stop immediately. "Just, stop… right there. For the past two weeks, I have spent my time between my daughter's room and Booth's room." She whispered. "He won't speak of this, and she has not been awake when she has been in there with me. So no, no… she hasn't seen him. She hasn't seen him hooked up to tubes and wires with all of those machines connected to him, she hasn't seen him. He's seen her… that's what's important."

"And she's waiting for you to take her to him, Temperance. She needs to know that he's alive."

"I told her that he is alive."

"She needs to see it with her own eyes." Harding replied.

"Stop." She said simply, closing her eyes for a moment to ward off the anxiety in her heart. "Just stop pushing." She whispered. "I haven't slept in a bed for two weeks, Agent Harding. I just… want to get my daughter home… I just want her to be in a place that is familiar, and I'm hoping that she'll feel confident enough to tell me what she's thinking when it's time."

"What about Booth?" Harding whispered.

"What about Booth?" She said, shaking her head, her voice cold and distant. "Booth is handcuffed to his bed, Harding. He ran away from a federal program, and he's going to prison. I can't do anything for Booth."

"You can't take his family away from him, Temperance." Harding whispered, taking the hit of her icy gaze. "She was all he had for years, Temperance. She was his connection to the world he lost, to the world he lost out on. You can't take her away from him, and you can't take him away from her. It isn't fair to either of them."

"You can leave now, Christopher." She said coldly as she turned toward the room. "I have to take my daughter home." She said as she turned and grabbed hold of the doorknob.

"Temperance…wait." He said, taking her hand on the doorknob, he waited for a moment as she stared in the window at her waiting daughter, sitting, her eyes downcast, her hands in her lap as she waited patiently for her mother to return. "I brought her a gift… can I at least give her a gift?" He asked, his eyes pleading desperately with her as she glared at him.

"Fine." She whispered. "You can have five minutes, but we're leaving…"

"That's fine." He nodded as he took his hand from hers, and watched her open the door. "Antonia?" She said softly, stepping into the room, the little girl hadn't looked up at the entrance of her mother, her eyes still downcast as she waited. "Baby…" She said, her voice tentative. "There is someone here to see you." She said, watching her daughter's head lift to her words. There was a look in her eyes for a split second that Temperance could only imagine was hope, though it was quickly masked by the sadness of disappointment as Harding stepped into the room. "Sweetheart, it's Ace… he came to bring you a gift." She said in a faux hopeful tone, her eyes on Harding as he moved across the room.

"Hey, kiddo." Harding said, his voice slightly coddling as he spoke in a low, even tone. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. "I brought you a gift." He said, stepping across the floor slowly, she watched him, her eyes on his as he made his way toward her, crouching in front of her, he smiled. It was a genuine smile, and she could see that, the corners of her lips turning up just slightly as she watched him reach into the gift bag. "It looks like you got a lot of other gifts too." He said with a smile, looking around at the balloons and bears that had been sent from friends and well wishers who had heard of her trauma. Slowly, he pulled a small gray elephant from the bag. It wasn't the same elephant that she had since she was a baby, but a different one, brand new and wearing a little bow tie, he had a smile sewn onto his face, and his trunk up turned. Harding handed the elephant to the little girl, who took it in her hands reluctantly. She stared at the toy carefully, her eyes filling with tears. "Hey…" He whispered as he watched her, his eyes moving to her mother, who was watching everything carefully to ensure that her daughter didn't swing into another wild tantrum. "Ant… don't you like it?" He whispered, watching a tear roll down her cheek, she looked up at Harding and reached the toy back to him. "You don't want him? He's not a replacement you know… he's Deuce's brother…" He said as the little girl's eyes snapped to Harding's. "It's true… his name is Chip… he's Deuce's brother… and he… um… he needed a home… and since… you know, his brother lives with you…" He shrugged, watching the little girl's brown eyes staring intently into his. "Oh…" He said, a smile curving onto his lips, he reached into the bag once more, very slowly pulling another gift from within it.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the formerly battered toy. He had been carefully sewn up and suitably patched, his stuffing replaced, and his fur delicately washed. Harding heard a slight gasp from Temperance behind him, and the little girl grabbed the elephant from his hands and hugged both of the toys to her chest as she closed her eyes. "He had some … mild injuries…he has a bandaid here and there, you'll notice… but when he was hurt, he was brought to the elephant hospital… they worked on him for several hours, but when he was released from the hospital, he insisted that I bring him here immediately to you. He was so worried about you." Harding said as tears rolled down the little girl's face as she gripped the toys in her arms tightly. "I hope you like your gift, sweetheart." He whispered as he leaned up and kissed her forehead softly. "If you need anything… ever… let me know." He said sincerely as he stood up, his body turning to face Temperance, whose eyes were filled with tears as she watched her daughter. "Thank you for letting me give her the gift."

"How did you?" Temperance said in a whisper, her words completely escaping her.

"You left him in the car when you went into the warehouse… All I did was take him to the elephant hospital and make sure he made it." He swallowed hard. "Deuce is a tough elephant, Temperance… but he wouldn't have made it without you. He wouldn't have made it without Antonia." He whispered. "And maybe you know what they say about elephants… maybe you don't…" He shrugged as he walked toward the door. He took the doorknob in his hand and turned to face her, his eyes sincere and true as he gave her a half smile. "Elephants never forget." He whispered, turning from the room, he walked out without another word.

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Temperance watched the door for several moments, the silence in the room was unbearable as she quickly swallowed the lump in her throat before turning her attention back to her daughter. Antonia was sitting on the bed, holding her two stuffed animals tightly, her eyes closed in a moment of peacefulness as Temperance moved toward the wheelchair. "Are you ready to go, princess?" She whispered, her eyes focused on the little girl, who hadn't even moved at her mother's words. Temperance didn't try again, her focus was solely on getting her daughter home safe and soon. She lifted Antonia up and felt her arms circle her neck, her two toys held tightly in her hands as she looked around the room. "Uncle Bugs says he's going to come and pick up all of your pretty balloons and get well gifts." She whispered into her daughter's ears, bending down to place her in the wheelchair, she found that the small arms around her refused to let go. "Would you rather have me carry you, baby?" She whispered, feeling the grip on her neck become a bit tighter at the question. "Okay…" She whispered. "Okay."

Temperance walked toward the door, pulling her bag from the chair beside the bed as she opened the door and started walking toward the elevators. All of the discharge paperwork had been completed, and all she had to do was walk out of the hospital with her daughter. It was all she needed to do, and everything would be fine. Everything would be back to normal, everything would be… different. She stepped into the elevator and closed her eyes, turning around as the doors closed behind her, though the elevator didn't move. She was in the elevator car with just Antonia, and she didn't know which way to go. Downstairs would lead her to the lobby, to the outside, to freedom, and Upstairs would lead her to the past, Booth, and feelings that she was keeping so deeply embedded in her soul that she feared that she would burst if she were to hold them in any longer. There was so much passion, so much anger, so much conflicting emotion that was building up inside her soul, that she didn't have any way of knowing how rational she could be in that situation. She had her daughter to think about, she had her baby to take care of. She had to get out of that hospital before someone else made the decision for her, as suddenly the elevator started to move up. Temperance slammed her finger down on the button for the lobby, angry that she hadn't made the decision sooner, upset that she was being pulled upstairs against her will by someone else. The doors opened on the Intensive Care Unit, and a doctor stood staring in at her as she stared at him wide eyed. Seeing that someone was already in the elevator, the doctor took a step back for her to pass him, his hand reaching out to hold the door for her as she opened her mouth to protest.

He nodded and smiled politely, watching as she stared back at him with wide eyed surprise, and stepped off the elevator. He stepped into the elevator and watched the young woman with the little girl securely in her arms, and wondered for a moment why she looked so spellbound, her actions seemed almost as if forced, as the doors closed on the sight before him as he pressed the button for the lobby.

Temperance walked directly toward the room that she had come to know as familiar, and in the chair beside the room sit a uniformed military man who stood up as she approached. "Doctor Brennan." He said with a nod, knowing that the Doctor had full access to his charge.

"Is he alone?" She asked weakly, her eyes imploring the officer to nod his head so that she'd have an excuse to hightail it back to the elevator.

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded, reaching for the door, he turned the doorknob and pushed it open, allowing her access to the room.

She stepped into the room, and immediately, his eyes were on hers, invading her senses the moment she stepped in the room. She moved to make an indication to remain quiet, to not say a word, for she wasn't sure that Antonia was ready for this, she wasn't sure if she was ready for this. "Bones." His voice rasped, a smile sliding up his still bruised face, as his eyes immediately filled with tears at the look of fear in her eyes. He then noticed Antonia was dressed in plainclothes, and remembered that today was the day she was going home. He hadn't expected to see either of them this day, this was their day. His eyes widened as the little girl moved, and he was immediately concerned that she would reject him.

Her head turned, her eyes widened immediately as the man that she loved so much came into view. He was alive, he was awake, and he was looking directly back at her. Her jaw dropped open, but not a sound escaped, as she turned and immediately buried her head into her mother's shoulder, and began to cry.