Breaking canon a little bit here, sorry guys. I know Brennan's mom was born in April, but I had already planned to have this chapter happening around June in my lovely time line, long before I realized that fact. So we're just going to pretend her birthday is in June. And as always, I love reviews!


Chapter 22—Cemetery

"Hey, Ange!" Brennan called up to the platform, trying to get her friend's attention.

"What's up, Sweetie?" she asked, looking up from the computer screen.

"I'm going out for a little bit. I'll be back in a couple of hours, okay?"

"Ok, sweetie. Have fun with that hunky agent of yours!" Angela grinned down at Brennan, her eyes sparkling in delight. He's getting her out of the lab in the middle of the day, and it's not even for a case!

"I'm not going anywhere with Booth. If he comes looking for me, just tell him I'll be back soon," Brennan replied, wondering why Angela always assumed she was going somewhere with Booth.

"Uh huh, sure Bren," Angela replied, a knowing smile on her face.

"Thanks, Ange. I'll be back in a while," she said, turning and walking out of the lab.

Leaving the lab, Brennan pointed her car out of the city, stopping only to purchase a bouquet of daisies on her way to the cemetery. As she pulled into the gates, she turned her phone off, dropping it into the glove box. She parked the car as close as she could to the grave and climbed out, walking slowly across the grass with the bundle of flowers in hand.

Arriving at the grave, she ran her fingers gently over the letters etched into the stone, tracing her mother's name. Kneeling, she placed the flowers in front of the headstone, unsure of why exactly she had come.

She pulled on the small weeds that were growing near the headstone, tearing them from the dirt and clearing them away from the grave. She sat in silence, thinking about everything she had learned over the past few weeks, about her father, her brother, and the circumstances surrounding her family leaving when she was fifteen.

"I wish you were here, Mom," she said softly, closing her eyes and taking in the sunshine. Tilting her head towards the sky, she let the warmth wash over her, spreading through her body. As irrational as it was, she found peace there. "I miss you."


Meanwhile, across town…

"Hodgins! Where's Bones?" Booth asked, bursting into the lab in a panic.

"Calm down there, G-Man," Hodgins said, lifting his attention from the insect classification guide he was working on. "She said she was running out for a few hours. Did you try her cell?"

"Of course I tried her cell!" he shouted at the scientist, trying to control his panic. "It's turned off or out of range, and she's not answering at home either."

"Calm down, Booth, I'm sure she's fine," Hodgins tried to ease the worried agent. Spying Angela approaching, he decided to give her a slight warning before Booth jumped on her. "Hey Ange, did Brennan say where exactly she was going?"

"No, she just said she'd be back in a couple of hours. Booth, are you okay?" she asked the agent who was noticeably pale.

"I'm just worried because the only times I can't seem to reach her or when her phone is turned off are when she's in trouble," he explained, praying she would call or tell someone where she was going next time.

"Chill, Booth," Angela soothed, placing a hand on his arm. "She just told me to tell you she'd be back soon. You're welcome to go wait in her office if you want." She smiled inwardly, seeing the agent's worry over her friend.

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea," he replied, his panic subsiding. He walked up to her office and sat on her couch, pulling out a case file and reading through it. Getting bored, he stood and paced the length of her office, finally sitting down at her desk and turning to the computer. If he was stuck waiting for her, he might as well do something productive, like checking his email.

While he waited for his email to load, he looked at the things on her desk, the little knick-knacks, the cup off the pens she loved, and her open planner. He gave in to his curiosity and looked at the planner, hoping it would shed some light on where she had gone. The date had been circled in red on the calendar, but no notes were written in the box.

Why does today matter? he wondered, staring at the red circle. What happened today?

He sat there, deep in thought for many minutes. Finally he jumped up quickly, all but running out of her office, and barely pulling the door shut behind him as he left the lab.


I'm just scared, Mom, she thought, trying to analyze everything that was going on in her life. I hate being scared. I don't know what to think about Dad. I mean, I know he deserves to be in jail, but I don't want him to be locked up. I know he killed people, but he's still my father, and he was just doing it to protect Russ and me. I just don't know what to think anymore.

Letting her mind wander, Brennan thought of the other things happening in her life. Things she had been trying to ignore or forget about, but couldn't avoid much longer. Booth. I have no idea what is going on there, she thought, her mind turning to the ever-evolving relationship with her partner. It's just been awkward since Angela and Hodgins took off and left us there, standing on the altar. And the way he looked at me, all I wanted to do was kiss him. But that's insane!! He's my partner! I can't feel this way about him, I mean, if something happens… If something happened to him, I don't know how I would get through it. I don't know if I could, or if I'd want to. Where is this even coming from? I don't believe in marriage or life-long commitments to one person, but with him, I'm willing to do it.

Shaking her head, she willed the thoughts of Booth away, turning instead to Angela and Hodgins. I just want them to be happy, she thought, disappointed they hadn't actually be able to get married. And I know getting married will make them both happy. I hope they can find this guy Angela married so long ago, because she deserves to be happy.

As hard as she tried, thinking about Angela and Hodgins brought her back around to Booth. He makes me so happy, she thought, at the end of a long day, he can always make me smile. No matter what is going on, he's always there with me.

As she continued to think about him, she felt his presence behind her. Even though he hadn't made a sound, and her eyes were still closed and tilted heaven-ward, she knew he was there. She could feel him watching her, silently observing.


He watched her, shaking his head at his stupidity earlier. Of course she would be here today. Even though she didn't understand the point of coming to visit a grave, he somehow knew she would go on her mother's birthday.

"Hey Booth," he heard her say, her eyes still closed.

It surprised him that she knew he was there, but he didn't comment on it. Taking a few steps forward, he placed a small bouquet of flowers next to the ones Brennan had brought, then backed up so he was kneeling behind her.

"Hey Bones," he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving them a light squeeze. "I figured I'd find you out here today."

Opening her eyes, she looked up at his rich, chocolate ones, holding his gaze. "Before my parents left, my mom and I always used to go out on her birthday. We'd get all dressed up and go somewhere fancy for dinner…" she trailed off, breaking eye contact as she looked at the headstone marking the grave.

Reaching out, she traced the letters in the stone, "Even after she left and I was in foster care or in college, every year on her birthday I would put on my best dress, I would get a haircut, and I would pretend she was coming home to take me to dinner." She stopped speaking, taking a deep breath, "And every year I would be disappointed."

He sat there in silence, his hands still on her shoulders, as she looked at the headstone, lost in her own thoughts, in her memories of better days and bitter disappointment. There was nothing he could tell her, nothing he could do but sit with her and support her as she worked it out. And so they sat.