I suppose I'm in a bittersweet mood today. Not because it's Valentine's Day (I'm not a Valentine's Day hater, despite a lack of one Seeley Booth in my life), but because a friend's dad died recently after 20 months with an icky brain tumor. : ( So, please bear with me.

Inspired by "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder. (But DON'T listen to it when you read this, because believe me, it makes no sense to anyone but me, I'm sure.)

Disclaimer: I own naught but my schizo computer.

For the longest time, she had tried not to care about this man, the one who, in theory, should have been a major part of her life. But since the day he and her mother left her, she had felt little connection to him. At least, she refused to admit feeling more than a passing regret for the lack of a traditional family setting. But today - oh, today. She let herself sink down to the cushions of the practically-hued couch she had picked out when she decorated the apartment. In her hands was a letter; and in this letter were the final words of the one person she wanted so desperately not to care about. With a deep breath and the steeling of her heart, she unfolded the paper, and saw what he had written:

Temperance -

I just wanted to say I love you.

- Dad

And only then did she cry - over the loss of a man whose love she didn't know until it was too late.

A/N: Le sigh. So sorry for the bittersweetness. Oh, that's a word! How cool. See, we can always end on a happy note. If you all disagree, I'll just remind you of one thing: Special Agent Seeley Booth. 'Nuff said.