Wow! I love the responses I've already gotten for the first chapter. Thanks so much for your opinions, and to kinseyjo and the others for volunteering to help me out! I really appreciate it guys, and I'll contact you pretty soon.
As for those of you who are speculating...you'll just have to wait and see, won't you! I am following the song, so those of you who were surprised that Booth is dead while she's pregnant...I probably wouldn't have done that had it been my song, but I really hate it when people change the lyrics of a song to fit their story...so yeah, that's why I'm doing it this way. LOL Thanks so much...
Chapter 2 -- The Funeral
The next weeks passed slowly. Mary Booth had been devastated by the loss of her oldest son, and had dealt with her grief by holding tightly to her relationship with his wife, Temperance. Temperance was living in a daze those few weeks. She could not sleep in the bed she had shared with Seeley. Instead she found herself falling asleep in the baby's still unfinished room. After Mary found her curled up in the glider the second night in a row, she convinced her to move in with her and his father, so they could watch over her and the baby.
Temperance found herself organizing the funeral in an almost detatched manner. He would be "buried" in Arlington, so the military was taking care of most of the details, leaving only a few decisions to her and his mother. Cam had placed her on maternity/bereavement leave the moment she had heard, and the rest of the team tried to be supportive, bringing meals and helping to take care of some of the calls that had to be made.
The morning of the funeral was almost surreal. She woke up that morning, in her bed at his parents' house, and stared at the ceiling. Their baby was kicking, and she placed her hand over the spot to quiet her. As she lay there, she began to cry silently, the tears running off of her cheeks and soaking the pillow. Booth, her Booth, partner and best friend of five and a half years, husband of one, was really and truly gone.
Angela came in a little while later, and Temperance allowed her friend to help her get ready, and get her to the church. Temperance sat in the front pew with Mary, Daniel, Parker, and Rebecca, accutely aware of the eyes of her friends watching her in concern as she struggled to maintain the walls around her emotions. When the service concluded, they made their way to Arlington National Cemetary. She stood in the thin layer of snow that still coated the ground, from their Christmas snowstorm, unable to tear her eyes from the casket. Logically, she knew he was not in it, there had been no remains to bury, but her irrational side had taken over in the last few weeks. As she watched them begin to lower the casket into the ground, her knees buckled, only the arms of Mary and Angela kept her from collapsing completely. Parker, who had been holding tightly to the hand of his mother, broke away, running to Temperance and flinging his small arms around her. She held him tightly, conscious of the fact that the small boy in her arms was the spitting image of his father. She gathered herself when the soldier, the same one who had informed her nearly two weeks ago, stood before her. He placed the folded flag in her arms and saluted. She nodded and he stepped back. She flinched as the guns saluted, and the funeral concluded.
As people paid their respects and began to drift away, she was startled by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to meet the sad eyes of Deputy Director Cullen. He cleared his throat apollegetically.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan." She nodded in acknowledgement, biting her lip against her tears. He pulled a plain white envelope from the pocket of his suit jacket. "He left this with me. Just- in case." Cullen handed her the envelope and she felt the tears begin again as she saw Bones written across the front in his unmistakeable scrawl. She nodded her thanks and Cullen squeezed her arm comfortingly before quietly walking away.
She looked around the area, at the people still standing nearby. She saw Mary standing off to the side, speaking with some family members. She saw Rebecca holding Parker on her hip, saying goodbye to Daniel and Jared. She felt Angela and the rest of her collegues join her, standing with her in silent support. Rebecca had turned to leave when Parker spotted his stepmother. He wiggled to be put down, and ran towards her. She almost smiled in spite of herself when he hugged her legs. She ran a hand through his hair, tenderly ruffling the unruly curls.
"Tempe?" He asked in a baby soft voice.
"Yeah kiddo?"
"Is- is my baby sister still coming, if Daddy's not here?" He asked innocently, looking up at her, his big eyes filled with sadness and a little fear. She felt her heart break as she looked down at him, taking a deep breath.
"Of course bub." She whispered, taking his small hand and placing it on her belly, where the baby was moving. "She still wants to meet her big brother." She assured him, and he hugged her again before he had to leave with his mother.
"Bren sweetie?" She heard Angela ask tentativly behind her. "Why don't we head over to the reception now?" She suggested softly.
Temperance looked up, shaking her head slightly. "I'm going to stay. Read this. You go on ahead, I'll take the car over in a little while."
Angela reluctantly left her friend, and Temperance glanced down at the envelope in her hand. With a last glance back at where a few people were still speaking softly, she wandered away. She found herself standing in front of John F. Kennedy's Eternal Flame. She sank to her knees as she slowly opened the envelope. The letter was handwritten, and dated just days before he had left. The words he wrote filled her eyes with tears.
My Bones,
If you're reading this, with my mama sitting there, it looks like I only got a one way ticket over here. I sure wish I could give you one more kiss, and war was just a game Jared and I played when we were kids. Well I'm laying down my gun and hanging up my boots. I'm up here with God and we're both watching over you.
If you're reading this, half way around the world, I won't be there to see the birth of our little girl. I hope she looks like you, I hope she fights like me, and stands up for the innocent and the weak . I'm laying down my gun and hanging up my boots. Tell my dad I don't regret that I followed in his shoes.
If you're reading this, there is going to come a day when you'll move on and find someone else and that's okay. Just remember this, I'm in a better place, where soldiers live in peace and angels sing amazing grace.
So lay me down in that open field out on the edge of town, and know my soul is where my momma always prayed that it would go. Because if you're reading this I'm already home.
I love you, and our daughter, with all of my heart.
Yours,
Seeley
Her hands were shaking as she read his final words to her. Tears were streaming silently down her face. She jumped at the sound of footsteps behind her. She swiped away the tears, turning, and gasped.
"Dad?" Max Keenan stood silently behind her, wearing all black. He had watched the service from a distance, his heart breaking when his daughter had to be supported by her friends.
"Hi sweetheart." He greeted her sadly, as he sank to his knees beside his daughter. "I came as soon as I heard."
She nodded shakily, closing her eyes against the tears that were beginning to fall again. She looked up at him, eyes wide, and he recalled a time when she was a toddler, upset over the death of a catapiller she and her brother had found in their backyard. Her sob brought him back to the present.
"He's gone Daddy."
His heart broke all over again, and he pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back as she clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder.
"I know, baby girl, I know."
A/N: Gah! I was crying as I wrote this...It may be a little while before I update again...please review and I'll try to make it fast...
