Quick oneshot based on the events of Aliens in a Spaceship.

Disclaimer: I dont own Bones

To Whom It May Concern

She was fiddling with electrical wires and doing her best to concentrate. She didn't see the concerned glance he threw her way or hear the ripping sound as he tore a clean page from her book and as a result she jumped at the sound of his voice.

'Anyone you wanna say goodbye to?'

For milliseconds she did nothing but look in his direction, an odd expression on her face as she eyed the paper he was offering. She took the paper slowly, cautiously transferring the crumpled sheet of book paper from Jack's hand to her own whilst she pondered her actions.

Was there anyone she wanted to say goodbye to?

The answer to that was a simple one, no, she didn't want to say goodbye to anyone but since they were fast running out of both air and options she was beginning to re-evaluate her wants and her needs were becoming more of an imperative and she needed to say goodbye. The car was cramped. She longed to stretch but she couldn't so instead she twisted to lean against the car door, her knees raised up to lean the paper on as she reached for a pen and thought about what to write.

That part came easily, she wanted to say goodbye, to praise her friends for the effort she knew they were surely making. The paper on her knee and pen in her hand were her last chance to leave a legacy, to make a change. Yes, the 'what' was easy, the 'who' was somewhat more problematic. Who did she trust to pass on her message, to deliver her final words?

Her first thoughts were of Booth and her brother. Russ wasn't an option, she doubted his bail extended to reading your deceased sister's last wishes. So she thought of Booth, his easy nature, his generous friendship, but she quickly dismissed him. A letter to him ran the risk of her thoughts straying only to him. It would be all to easy to let emotions rule and to reveal feelings far too delicate and profound for a hurried note scribbled on a piece of scrap paper. Besides, she wouldn't do that to him. She refused herself to allow herself the selfish indulgence of confessing her still delicate feelings only to leave him to deal with them alone if she died. No, it couldn't be Booth.

She considered Angela briefly before dismissing her too. Angela was all about emotion, she was sentimentality on its highest level, her heart far out-ruled her head. To impose upon her the responsibility of supporting others and passing on Brennan's message would be unfair. Temperance swiftly decided her friend would have enough to deal with if the worst was realised. She was well aware of how hard Hodgins' death would hit Angela. She couldn't write to Angela.

Zach was a definite no, as much as Temperance cared for and respected him as her equal he just wasn't right for the task. Zach was too much like her. The polar opposite of Angela he was firmly a head person and she knew for sure that he would become flustered at the first sign of emotion in the letter she was about to write. For those same reasons on the face of it Cam was the perfect person to address her note to. The forensic administrator was close enough to the group to deliver the message yet detached enough to retain some sense of decorum in the process. However…she wasn't writing to Cam. She had the distinct feeling that the rest of the squints would see that as some kind of betrayal and quickly forgot Cam.

She shifted in her seat in an attempt to get more comfortable but it was to no avail as the door handle dug into her back. She sighed, close to telling Hodgins that no, there was nothing she wanted to say when suddenly it happened, sat in the cramped front seat with limited oxygen and even more limited options she suddenly knew exactly what she wanted to say and who she wanted to say it to. She touched the pen to the paper and the author within her leapt free.

I don't really know how to write this, I can only say that if the worst does happen then I hope someone has the sense to keep this from you until enough time has passed for you to read this, until you're ready. If you are reading this then it means we failed, it means we weren't able to escape and we weren't found in time but its ok, I'm not scared. In my line of work you see death so often its almost impossible to be afraid of it.. I understand death, understand and appreciate in some respects the way it reduces us to our simplest form. Death doesn't discriminate, it isn't selective. Death doesn't lie and it doesn't pretend to be something it isn't.

Depending on when you read this and if you're still in contact with them I need you to talk to my friends for me. I need you to tell them I'm sorry, sorry I didn't make it, that I couldn't hold on for them. Tell them I know they did everything they could, I don't blame them and neither does Hodgins. We both want them to carry on doing what they do best, to catch the Gravedigger and make this whole mess worthwhile

Assuming logically that you reading this means I'm dead then Hodgins probably is too so I need you to make sure that Angela understands how much he loved her and how he'd want her to carry on being the fun-loving, amazingly happy person she is. Zach should know that I believe in him wholeheartedly and I know he'll be just as brilliant with or without me but I need him to know not to make the same mistakes I did. I need him to understand that the lab can be your best friend but it'll never be an appropriate substitute for the real thing. I know Cam will take care of the lab to the very best of her abilities and want you to tell her that I respect both her and her position and despite our differences I consider her a friend.

And, to Seeley Booth…

She paused, ignoring the way her heart momentarily seized up as she thought of the best way to phrase her emotions.

No words could ever do justice to the partnership he and I shared so I wont try to find any. Instead I will simply say that despite my lack of faith in God and supreme beings I do have faith in him and I believe in the work we do. I only wish we had a lifetime more to do it.

I need you to take good care of him for me, to love him in a way that I was never given the chance to and to make sure he knows I am not another name for his list. My death is not on his hands. I need him to be happy and you can do that, you can make him happy.

I should go, its now or never. My final sentiment is for you. I hardly know you really and it seems so odd to be writing something as personal as my dying requests to someone who knows so little about me and yet it felt somehow appropriate. I want you to remember to always try to be happy, I want you to have a good life and to enjoy every minute of it because if I've learnt one thing its that its far better to regret doing something than to regret not doing something. I suddenly wish I'd done all the things I avoided doing, like going to the movies with Tommy Granger the night before finals or going to junior prom. So I want you to promise me you'll make mistakes. Promise me that you'll make mistakes and you'll learn from them and your life will be as full as mine wasn't. And finally I want you to forget me. I want you to forget you ever knew me and move on with your life, enjoying every minute.

Yours Temperance Joy Brennan

'Bones'

She exhaled and folded the letter in half before writing the name of the intended recipient on the front. She tucked it neatly inside her shirt pocket and finished manipulating the wires connecting the airbag explosives before she clambered into the back to sit beside Hodgins and did something she'd never done before…she prayed. She prayed that they would be safe, prayed that if they weren't their loved ones would understand. She prayed that her partner would accept either outcome and promised to never waste another second doubting what she felt for him is she were saved. Finally she prayed for the recipient of her letter, prayed that their life would be better than her own, prayed that her letter would help rather than hinder their life and prayed that they would be safe and happy.

On that momentous afternoon, in a car buried four foot deep in coal rich Virginia soil Temperance Brennan closed her eyes as she joined two wires together. She closed her eyes and prayed that Parker Booth would never have to read the letter she had written to him.

Reviews welcome :)