A/N: Is it at all horrible that I watch one of the most B/B filled episodes of Bones and get more fic ideas that aren't B/B? Anyway, this was the first idea that popped into my head. Title makes it self-explanatory, I think.
Disclaimer: The tiny amount dialogue that wasn't in The Woman in Limbo is mine. But the characters aren't.
SPOILERS: Finale. If you haven't seen it and don't want to be spoiled, don't read.
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Seven year old Kyle Keenan pumped his legs furiously on the swing set in his backyard. It was brand new. His dad had just put it together the day before, and he'd been playing on it ever since.
His father came out into the backyard, his mother close behind. He grinned and waved at his little sister, nestled in her mother's arms. Joy smiled shyly in return.
Max approached his son with a grim expression across his face. He reached out and grabbed hold of the swing's chains, slowing Kyle to a stop.
"What's wrong, Dad?" Kyle asked, a childlike innocence to his voice.
His father knelt beside the swing, looking his son in the eyes. "I have something very, very important to tell you, okay? I need you to listen real closely."
Kyle nodded, leaning in to hear the news.
"You're not Kyle anymore." Max told him. "Forget about Kyle. You're Russ."
He furrowed his brow, utterly confused, and at the look on his father's face resisted the urge to ask why he was telling him this.
"You're Russ. You got that? Russ Brennan." He enunciated the name very carefully. "You're sister isn't Joy anymore. Okay? She's Temperance. I need you to remember that. Temperance Brennan."
Kyle – Russ? – nodded. He could tell his father meant business; that something bad was happening and that he should listen to his dad.
"If you ever tell anyone – the police, anyone, you will be killing your mother and your sister. You cannot tell anyone, you hear me? Anyone. No one can know about Kyle Keenan."
He nodded again, his confusion beginning to morph into fear and worry.
"Swear. You swear on your baby sister's life you won't tell."
Yet again, he nodded, unable to speak.
"Say it. Say that you swear."
He cleared his throat. "I-I swear."
"Now, what is your name?"
The boy's voice was weak and shaky. "Russ Brennan."
"Say it again."
His voice grew stronger. "Russ Brennan."
"Keep going."
"Russ Brennan. Russ Brennan. Russ Brennan. Russ Brennan, Russ Brennan…"
The man who had once been Max Keenan spoke along with his son, cementing the name into his mind forever.
"Russ Brennan. Russ Brennan. Russ Brennan."
Kyle repeated his new name over and over again, until slowly the words began to lose all meaning. They flowed naturally from his mouth now, without thought.
"Russ Brennan. Russ Brennan. Russ Brennan."
"Okay." Matthew raised a hand, signaling Russ to stop. "That's enough."
And as his father walked away from him, Russ knew that he was getting into something a lot bigger than he could handle.
Kyle was gone forever.
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End
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