Her name was Dr. Temperance Brennan. She had worked at the Jeffersonian Institute. She lived at 314 Elmsworth. Her partner was Seeley Booth. Her best friend was Angela Montenegro. She was dedicated to catching murderers with her partner.
But one day that all changed. Everything abruptly stopped. For the people around her life had suddenly changed. The lights in her office at the Jeffersonian, they were always off, and her door always locked. Her second floor apartment on 314 Elmsworth sat empty, only her things resided there now. Seeley Booth, now worked with Clark Edison. Angela Montenegro had become somewhat withdrawn, and no longer wore her trademark smile. Dr. Temperance Brennan no longer captured any murders. Dr. Temperance Brennan, she was no longer.
In a parking lot adjacent to the Jeffersonian building there was a space that was never vacated. In it sat a silver Mercedes convertible. At 314 Elmsworth there was an apartment that was used for someone's belongings, because no one lived there now.
There were no smiles or giggles surrounding her friends and co-workers anymore. There were no irrelevant tangents when discussing a case. No one from the Jeffersonian visited their beloved diner anymore. No one ate Thai food either. Sweets now evaluated everyone, not just Booth. Things were quiet without her.
Things they were not the same without her. But they didn't discuss her. None of them had been able to figure out what happened. One day nearly a year earlier she had just vanished. She had simply fallen from the face of the planet.
October 25th 2009:
His son was sleeping upstairs in his room. He steps outside. He stares at the moon that shines down on him. He wondered if she was on the other side, looking at him. Maybe she could see the moon and she was wondering about him too. He hoped that she could see the moon. He hoped that she could see, or feel anything. He hoped that she wasn't an Angel on the moon, or... he stops himself. He fights back tears. With his front door open he sits on his porch in the crisp autumn air. Things they weren't the same without her. Nothing was the same without her.
Cam pulls the dishes out of her dishwasher. She places them on a towel on the counter to dry. Through her window, above the sink she sees the moon. The moon stares down at her. She wonders if the it knew something she didn't. If it had seen what happened the night her colleague disappeared. Her house was too quiet. Her life was too quiet without her favorite anthropologist. Since her disappearance she had read all of Temperance's books. She couldn't deny that she was a damn good writer. She didn't know much about Temperance... Dr. Brennan. She kicked herself for not knowing more about her. She hated herself from expecting so much from her.
Sweets sits outside on his balcony. He sits at a table smelling the night air. He stares at the moon. And it stares back at him taunting him for not seeing it. He knew now, he was sure even if her partner hadn't told him.
"Does it taste alright?" a female voice asks him.
"Yeah, I'm just distracted," he admits.
"I think we all are," she smiles understandingly.
He kisses her, and wraps his arms around her. He thinks about what he could have done, and asks himself if there was something he could have done to stop it.
Angela lays in a hammock. She hears footsteps and she looks up. A man sits down next to her. She smiles, and he takes her hand. Together they look at the moon that fills the sky. A light that might renew their faith.
"I wish that you'd give us another try."
"I can't," she tells him.
"Ok," he agrees not wanting to push.
"I want to, but I can't, not until we find her."
"Ok," he seems to understand.
"Jack... I love you. I just can't be happy right now, and I don't..."
"Angie I understand," he promises.
"I know," she admits.
He hears someone stir inside. He looks in and sees his son scurrying back up the stairs.
"You ok buddy?"
"I was just getting a drink," he hollers back down the stairs.
"Ok, but get to bed," he warns.
"I am," a sweet voice answers him.
He sits on his front step realizing that it was his fault. He did this. He was the reason that she was gone. He pushed her into... something she wasn't comfortable with. He made her do something she wasn't ready for. She left him... and then she was gone. It was all his fault. He would feel that guilt until the day he died, he was sure of that. But inside he was dead without her. He was half the man he had been. If it weren't for his son, he would have laid down and died from a broken heart. She had been his everything, even if he hadn't been able to tell her that.
She opens her eyes and her head hurts. She sees something that looks fuzzy. Lights and... something. She sees something that looks like the moon, but it must be wrong. She couldn't be seeing the moon down here. She didn't even know where here was, but she was going to get out. Whatever she was seeing looked a lot like the moon though. She closes her eyes, and sees blackness.