"Daddy, why did mommy leave me?" Booth heard hesitantly come from the back seat.
Gripping the wheel tighter he let out an exacerbated sigh. After five years one would think it would get easier but breaking his daughter's heart was not something he did willingly. Six months: no letters, no calls, not even smoke signals. His daughter deserved better. She deserved a mother who cared, who was more than a paycheck.
He didn't even know if she was dead or alive. He knew he deserved that much. Even if part of him had died the day she walked out of their lives, he still lived on. Not for him but for that brown haired, blue eyed girl that reminded him daily of all the things he loved about his partner. Or what he knew of his partner. The last he heard she was touring around Europe with her latest novel.
The book that still lay neatly in its box on his nightstand. He had received it a year ago but never got up the courage to open it. Everyone told him to read it, that it would give him some closure but Brennan's writing on the top was enough to send him over the edge. The woman he loved was out there, somewhere, holding a piece of his heart and all he got in return was a stupid pre-release copy of her new book. Did she even remember her daughter's name?
"Daddy… why?" The girl lightly prodded, notebook and pen ready to take down the same notes she had for the last six years.
"She didn't leave you, munchkin." He stopped at the red light, smiling at the brunette in the booster seat, "She just needed to go to work."
"Oh, okay." Joy lightly smiled as she began writing.
A flood of relief rolled over Booth as the silence filled the cabin. Even though it had become a nearly daily occurrence, his heart still raced as the broken words flowed out of his angel's lips. Although she was named for her mother's namesake, she had become the joy of his life. Without her Booth didn't know what he would have done. She gave him a reason to go on with only half a heart and shattered dreams.
"Daddy…" She whispered, closing her notebook and tucking it back in her bag.
"Yes, Joy?"
"Can we have pizza for dinner?"
"Sure." Booth pulled up to the school and smiled, "Be good."
"I will daddy." She assured, bounding out of the back seat with a smile firmly implanted.
"And no more science experiments during lunch!" He yelled as the door slammed behind her but it was too late. Joy was half way up the stairs before the words fell from his lips.
Turning over the picture on his dash, Booth let out a somber sigh.
"Oh Bones…" His thumb rain lightly over his partner's outline, "Where are you? Joy needs to know you love her… she needs you in her life. She's getting smart now." He beamed as a single tear rolled down his check, "All the excuses I come up with are becoming silly to her now. She needs the truth… and she needs it from you." Placing the picture back in its designated spot, Booth pealed out and drove to the Hover to start his work week.
Little did he know she was closer than he ever expected her to be. Closer then she even thought she could be.