A/N: A little post-finale angst. Set as the team is looking for Brennan's father. I've gotta give credit to a small scene in the CSI episode Feeling the Heat for the inspiration for this story.

Disclaimer: Not mine! Darn.

Prompt: Hit, for livejournal community 100(underscore)situations.

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Seeley Booth entered his partner's office, worried after she'd abruptly exited the lab with no explanation. He was unsure as to whether she'd be welcome to his presence.

Booth cautiously lowered himself beside Temperance on the couch. She turned away from him just slightly, an almost imperceptible motion. He softly placed a hand on her forearm and was surprised when she didn't jerk it away. Brennan spoke quietly, a bit of shakiness to her voice, as she faced away from him. "We're not going to find him, are we?"

He sighed. "Temperance, you know as well as I do that we're not gonna find him if he doesn't want to be found." She looked down, pulling her gaze towards the floor. "But that doesn't mean we're giving up, all right?" Booth continued. "We'll keep looking."

Brennan nodded in agreement, letting out an unsteady breath.

"He's good at this; at hiding." Booth cast his eyes downward as well, adding to the statement under his breath. "Especially from you."

Brennan turned to him, the unshed tears in her eyes glimmering, even in the darkness of the room. "Don't you say that, Booth."

Seeley looked up as well, meeting her watery gaze. He spoke softly. "It's true."

"It is not." Brennan hit him somewhat weakly on the shoulder, which was all the strength she could muster. She hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in days, and neither had her partner. "It is not true." The emotional walls she'd put around herself had already begun to crumble throughout the emotionally trying investigation, and this seemed to just knock them down completely. She enunciated her words every time her fist made contact with his body. "Don't say that, Booth. Don't ever say that."

He merely listened and took her punches stoically, knowing that it would was good for her to be doing this, to be letting go. Her voice grew more and more wobbly as her blows grew weaker. Eventually he caught her hands in his larger ones and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her as she collapsed into his chest, crying silently.

Brennan spoke, her words a bit muffled by the soft material of his jacket. "I'm sorry. I just… You were right."

Booth softly patted her on the back in comfort. "I know you want to find him."

"I-I do." She told him, pulling away and wiping her eyes. "I don't know why, but I do."

He smiled. "He's your dad, Bones. You love him. You can't help it."

Brennan sighed. "After what he did… I shouldn't want to see him. I shouldn't care."

"You should care. It's nature; the way we are. It's unconditional love."

There was a lull in the conversation as Brennan took a moment to absorb what he'd said. She spoke again, quietly as she broke through the silence. "You're really not giving up?"

"No, not if it means this much to you."

She smiled, just barely. "Thank you, Booth." Temperance stood and began to leave, Booth's eyes following her movements. She paused in the doorway, a slender hand resting on the frame as she turned back to face her partner. "You'll find him. I know it."

Brennan gave him a genuine smile before walking back into the lab.

And Booth knew that she was right.

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End