So, I was listening to Martina McBride's "In My Daughter's Eyes" the other day, and this idea popped into my head. Musie and I had a few issues with how it was gonna go, but we finally decided to compromise, and this was the result!

I would suggest you listen to the song while you read, it's such a beautiful song!

Oh, and btw, I guess I should issue a tissue warning for this one! Enjoy!

BBB

Saturday, May 5, 2030

8:03 AM

Zoe Booth reached for the videotape, pulling it off the shelf in her room, lovingly running her fingers lightly over the case before removing the tape and inserting it in the VCR.

Turning, she made her way over and sat down at the bottom of her bed, curling her long legs up under her. Waiting for it to start, she glanced around her room, her gaze passing over the desk and chair under the window, the dresser, lined with pictures, and the two bookshelves full of every book imaginable, before coming to rest briefly on the wedding dress hanging on the back of the closet door. The dress her mother had worn 23 years ago when she had married her father. The dress Zoe herself would wear today.

She turned back to the TV as she heard the opening notes of the song that her mother had chosen when she had made this video seventeen years ago.

In my daughter's eyes, I am a hero

I am strong and wise, and I know no fear

But the truth is plain to see

She was sent to rescue me

I see who I wanna be, in my daughter's eyes.

As the music played, Zoe watched her mother, looking beautiful despite the tousled hair and fatigue in her features, cradling a baby and smiling a broad smile towards the camera. Her blue eyes were sparkling, and anyone could see the absolute joy she was feeling as she held her newborn daughter in her arms.

Zoe smiled, remembering her dad describing that day. 'Your mother was so nervous all through the pregnancy, but the moment they put you in her arms, all the doubts disappeared, and she fell in love.'

She continued to watch as the events flashed before her eyes. Coming home from the hospital. Her first birthday, all the squints doting on the little girl in the pink jumper with the dark brown pigtails. Her first day of preschool, clutching her backpack, her mother clinging to her as if she never wanted to let go. Swimming in the pool, playing in the ocean. All the childhood memories passing across the screen, the one constant, her mother, always beside her, guiding her, loving her.

A single tear escaped her eye and trickled slowly down her cheeks before dropping unnoticed on the bedspread, as she became caught up in the memories.

In my daughter's eyes, everyone is equal

Darkness turns to light, and the world is at peace

This miracle God gave to me

Gives me strength when I am weak

I find reason to believe, in my daughter's eyes.

Booth paused in the doorway of his daughter's room. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, sitting on the bed. He watched her, bathed in the morning sunlight shining through her window, and tears falling from her eyes, before looking to the TV. Zoe, five years old, her eyes wide and full of mischief, wandering through the lab, Temperance following behind.

He crossed the room and sat down beside her. She shifted slightly to make room, and he pulled her into his arms. She lay her head back on his chest. "She was even beautiful after she lost her hair."

"As beautiful as the day I met her." Booth closed his eyes, remembering. Learning about the cancer. The denial, the tears. Then the determination. God, she was so strong, so much stronger than he had ever been. He opened his eyes, once again drawn to the screen, watching what was to have been her last gift to the daughter she had loved with all her heart.

And when she wraps her hand around my finger

Oh, it puts a smile in my heart

Everything becomes a little clearer

I realize what love is all about

It's hanging on when your heart has had enough

It's giving more when you feel like giving up

I've seen the light, it's in my daughter's eyes.

Booth tightened his arms around his daughter. Twenty two years old, and she was still his little girl. He felt his own tears begin to fall, and Zoe turned to look at him, reaching up to wipe them away. "I love you, dad."

Smiling down at her, he felt his heart twist at how much like Temperance she looked, from her auburn hair, right down to her mesmerizing blue eyes. "I love you too, Zoe."

In my daughter's eyes, I can see the future

A reflection of who I am and what will be

And though she'll grow and someday leave

Maybe raise a family

When I'm gone, I hope you'll see

How happy she made me

For I'll be there, in my daughter's eyes.

The final notes faded, and the tape clicked off. They sat there in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts, until a voice pulled them out of their memories.

"Are you two going to sit there all day watching old movies?"

Zoe looked up into sparkling blue eyes, eyes exactly like her own. Her mother's eyes.

Temperance Brennan Booth smiled at her husband and daughter. "Because if you're done crying over ancient history, we have a wedding to get ready for."

Zoe laughed. Booth stood and walked over to his wife. "So we do." Walking out, he glanced back over his shoulder. "Coming, Zoe?"

"I'll be there in a minute." She watched as they walked out the door, wiping the tears from her eyes before following them, silently thanking God that her mother was so strong. That she had fought so hard to live. Thanking him for the miracle that was her family.

BBB

11:27 PM

Temperance walked into the dark bedroom, not bothering to switch on the light. The moonlight was shining through the window as she made her way to the TV. Pressing the eject button, she waited as the video slowly slid out. She pulled it out, placed it back in it's case, and returned it to it's place on the top shelf.

She thought back to the day she had made the video. It was to be a gift to her daughter, something to remember her by when she was gone. So that Zoe could see how much she had meant to her, how much she had loved her. Thankfully she had never needed it for that purpose. She had never been a quitter, and she had seen no reason to start. She had fought, and she had won.

She had found her reason, her reason to live. Her beautiful daughter, who could light up a room with her smile. Who had captured everyone's heart. The child she never thought she wanted, and the child she couldn't imagine living without.

"Bones?" She turned at the sound of Booth's voice, and watched as he walked through the shadows playing across the room. He reached her, then ran his hand lightly down her arm. "You okay?"

She smiled. "I am now." She took his hand and followed him from the room. Her husband, her partner, her best friend. The man who had freed her from herself. Her other reason for living.

BBB

Now, you really didn't think I'd kill Bones, did ya? Come on, it's me, one of the princessess of fluff!! lol!

Okay, I know it was kinda sappy, but I just couldn't help myself!