I know it's been done a dozen times before, but I wanted to try my hand at it…

Surgeon General's Warning: This fic has not been beta'd, so please do not read any further if you suffer from any of the following: allergic reactions to atrocious grammar, plotless-story avoidance, or a fear of OOC-ness. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: All right, so I don't own it. But it was nice to pretend for a while…

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Dr. Temperance Brennan has had a lot of names in her life.

The first was one she doesn't remember. Joy Keenan. The name her parents gave her when she was born. The name her brother returned to her decades later. The name that meant nothing to her now.

After that came Temperance and its inevitable nicknames. Tempe and Bren were chief among them, but Russ had a select few of his own. And, of course, he used to (and still did, for that matter) play that Marco-Polo game with her, even if it wasn't quite a nickname.

During her foster-home years, not a particularly happy time for her for a multitude of reasons, she had been called any number of things. Most of the time it was "hey, you" or "kid" or even just "c'mere" and a pointing finger. Other names were more hurtful. There was the boy in her junior English class that called her a "parentless freak" and a "trash-bag girl" because of her foster-child status. That same boy ended up with a broken nose and a reason to get her expelled from yet another school.

By the time she reached college, she thought that she was immune to the sting of hurtful names. Unfortunately, she was wrong. David, her boyfriend at the time, called her "cold and distant," going as far as "Ice Queen" when she didn't match his enthusiasm for certain… extracurricular activities.

The trend continued throughout her graduate school years. Even her so-called friends didn't call her by her full name. Instead, most of them opted to call her "Temp," a mispronunciation of Tempe that she didn't bother to correct because that's what she felt she was. Temporary.

By the time she joined the Jeffersonian staff, she was resigned to the fact that her name and demeanor would earn her certain epithets, so when a new coworker, named Angela Montenegro, breezed through the doors of the lab, she braced herself for the inevitable. But Angela surprised her that day. She did call her "Bren," but she did it in affection, not indifference or hatefulness.

Working with Angela also earned her a new nickname – "Sweetie". To tell the truth, she hadn't noticed the first time Angela used it. She was so used to the other woman's affectionate attitude that it didn't register as a nickname until it was already an integral part of Angela's vocabulary, and by that time, she realized that she didn't mind the name, anyway.

Even Zach, her reclusively shy and almost painfully socially inappropriate lab assistant, had his own name for her. Her time with him in the lab was almost the only time she was called "Dr. Brennan" in a professional sense, the only time the name was actually a description of her life rather than just a way to get her attention.

When she published her first book, she received fan mail and greetings on the street. Some people would go so far as to call her "Temperance" or "Ms. Brennan," but most were reduced to "hey, aren't you that famous author?" to which she would be obligated to answer them with a polite affirmative, sign whatever they thrust at her, and be on her way. None of them ever made an impression on her.

It was when a certain Special Agent entered the picture that she got her most significant nickname. At first, she hated it when Booth called her "Bones," but she gradually grew to tolerate, if not enjoy it, as their friendship deepened. Of course, this nickname brought on pet names of its own, like Sid's affectionate "Bone Lady," but she found that she didn't mind.

Something about that one name – which could have easily turned into the most hateful of slurs – was comforting and familiar, more like a real name than her real name was. When Booth called her "Bones," she knew he was talking to Dr. Temperance Brennan, the brilliant forensic anthropologist, not Tempe the beautiful girl or Temperance the abandoned child or even Bren the artist's best friend. With "Bones," she knew where she stood.

Even as her relationship with Booth morphed from work partner to friend to something else entirely, "Bones" stayed the same, a constant in her life that she could look forward to after a difficult case, and cling to when she didn't know who she was anymore. When she first learned her real name and her parents' true natures, her entire life was thrown into chaos.

She didn't know who "Joy" was, and even "Temperance" was in question. Was she the strong student, or the shy and insecure co-ed? Was Joy who she was before the change of name, before her parents left? Or was she still Joy, with a little bit of Temperance thrown in?

When the thinking, agonizing, wondering were too much, all she had to do was turn to Booth and he would be there with a concerned and affectionate "Bones" hovering on the edge of his lips, ready to comfort her.

And that's what kept her together, kept her human during all the turmoil in her life. Even when Booth was engaged elsewhere, with another woman or with work, she knew that he would come to help her no matter what, and it kept her sane. It no longer matter to her that she never asked for the nickname, it only mattered that the sentiment behind it was sincere and heartfelt.

And she knew that, no matter what, "Bones" would always be her name.

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So, just a bit of fluffy from me. It was an idea that popped into my head while I was sitting at the computer and I decided to pound it out, quick like a bunny. Hopefully it was enjoyable. Even if it wasn't, it was fun to write, but I would like to hear what anyone has to say. Thanks for reading!

TTFN!

PS – Reviews power Santa's sleigh! I bet you didn't know that, did you?