See Chapter 1 for Official Disclaimer (stating that Seeley Booth is not chained to my bed).

While You Were Dead - Chapter 2

Brennan could hardly bring herself to go through his things; it would make it that much more real, and she was pleasantly foggy and numb. She knew that it had to be done, though, so she forced herself to sit up and pull the bag closer to her.

Before she undid the straps that held it closed, her fingers traced the letters of his name that were embroidered across the top. Shuddering, she opened the bag.

The first things she encountered were some of his clothes. In a completely irrational and inexplicable move, she pulled off her shirt, tossed it on the floor, and pulled one of his t-shirts on. It smelled like him, and all of her compartmentalization skills went to hell as tears stung her eyes.

She pulled out his wallet next, unable to keep herself from opening it and looking through its contents. In addition to a few dollars and his ID, there were a few pictures inside. She expected to see the ones of Parker, of course, even remembered taking the one of Parker and his dad on the swings at a nearby playground. She hadn't expected to see one of her…of them…but there it was. She slid it out of the plastic sleeve and set it on the bed beside her.

Reaching back into the bag again, she found his 'Cocky' belt buckle, something that he'd apparently taken with him even though he couldn't wear it. His lucky poker chip was also there, as was the chain holding his St. Christopher medal, which she slipped over her head.

Towards the bottom of the bag, to her surprise, she found a letter addressed to her. Hands trembling, she pulled the pages covered in his familiar handwriting out of the envelope.

Dear Bones,

If you're reading this, then I guess I'm dead, so the first thing I want to do is apologize. I can guarantee that I did everything possible to come back to you, and I'm sorry that it wasn't enough. I never meant to break a promise to you.

I know you're probably going to be all logical about this, and try to compartmentalize or whatever (I'll even understand if you don't come to my funeral), but you should listen to Sweets when he tells you to grieve. It's not because I want to see you sad, but because grieving will let you take a step towards being happy again. It doesn't sound like it makes sense, but please, for me…try.

Look Bones, there's something I want to tell you again, and since I'm not there to say it in person anymore, I'm going to put it in writing…that way, you can read it whenever you want. Maybe if you read it enough times, you'll believe it, and I gotta tell you, Bones, if you do believe it I'll be the happiest man in the universe.

Okay, here goes.

Temperance Brennan, I love you.

I love you with every molecule in my body, so much that it hurts.

I don't have those 30, 40, or 50 years to prove it to you anymore, but I'm still that guy…the guy who knew. Somewhere in the bag they've given you with all my stuff, there should be a little black box. Pops gave it to me a few years ago; it belonged to his grandmother, then to my grandmother. I want you to have it, Bones. I'm just sorry I couldn't give it to you in person.

There's one last thing, I guess. I know we had talked about it, but then there was my surgery and it didn't really come up again, so…well, before I left, I stopped by the Washington Fertility Study Center, just in case. I don't know if you're even thinking about it anymore, but I do know that if you decide to, you'll be a wonderful mom.

I'll be watching out for you, Bones…and one of these days, if we both make it into Heaven (and I'm pretty sure we will, even though you don't believe in God), I'll be waiting for you.

Forever yours,

Booth

She realized that she was crying when her falling tears hit the paper and made some of the ink run. Drying the spots and swiping at her face, she dug through his personal effects until she found the box he'd described. It was simple and unadorned, giving no clue as to what it was.

When she opened it and saw what it contained, she was speechless. Nestled inside the box on a velvet bed was one of the most beautiful rings she'd ever seen. The setting was some sort of white metal, and there were delicate flower carvings down the sides of the band. In the center was a modest round diamond. After five generations, she could see where the metal had started to wear (one of the flowers had almost lost its edges completely), but the diamond still sparkled as brightly as she was sure it had more than a century ago.

She was glad that she was sitting down; if she hadn't been, she would have fallen. An engagement ring, a symbol of an institution that she didn't believe in. His letter had even implied that he'd planned to give it to her. To one day marry her.

But that was never going to happen now; he'd left her alone, just like everyone else.

And yet…

She forced herself to focus again on the last part of Booth's letter.

He'd left a part of himself, left it for her. 'Just in case', the letter had said. She sat there for a long time, watching the sunlight play in the facets of the diamond. Eventually, she made a decision. Before reaching over to pick up the phone, she slipped the ring onto the third finger of her left hand.

A/N - Yup, plot is now completely AU. Ah well. Reviews, as ever, are adored!