Hi everyone,

I know I said the last chapter was the end of the story, however I had to finish it properly. Plus, I hate killing the main character off.

So here is the epilogue. This IS the final chapter.

PS - Sorry for taking so long to finish this. Was completing my final year of school, so was overloaded with schoolwork. But now I am free to write!

Enjoy xx

Three months later

Brennan stood motionless before the glass cabinet, her eyes focused on the frozen bundle before her. The snake coiled itself tightly, hugging its body, bathing its thick skin beneath its homely red light. She took in every spot, every scale, every detail, using counter psychology to attempt to rid the details of her memories. Nearby, Dr Jack Hodgins watched with mixed emotions, supervising the therapy his superior chose to undertake each week, detecting the fear and loss beneath that strong expression. He noticed the silent flinch that occurred whenever the snake took a breath or moved a centimetre.

Brennan brought out a shaky hand to check her watch. Finding her half hour observation session was over, she took a deep breath, gazing gratefully at Hodgins before slipping out of the room. She walked quickly back to her own office, leaning against the cool glass wall, breathing slowly and attempting to bring her heartbeat back down from its racing pace. Her eyes closed, and the reptile's frame imprinted itself upon her darkened eyelids. She immediately opened them again, refusing to give the creature a shelter in her mind.

She started as she saw a sudden movement in the corner of her eye, and instinct told her the snake had managed to escape, and came to seek a bloody revenge. She threw her body off the wall, her mind instantly debating whether to jump up onto the adjacent couch, or face the poisonous creature. Inching towards the couch, she suddenly saw the contrasting shape of her occupier, the built body compared to the slithering skin. The kind face contrasting the flat scales. The warm eyes juxtaposing the blackened slits.

She couldn't believe he was here. She blinked furiously, a fluttering slide show of snakes and her saviour. But he was still there, a bemused expression upon his stubbled face. She took a step forward, still careful of where she planted her feet.

"Booth?" she whispered, her mouth open in disbelief.

He responded with a grin, and limped forward. Brennan ran to him, and though having only spent a few precious moments with him, she crashed into his body, savouring his warmth as her head leant against his chest. She smiled as the strong heart beat beneath her ear.

Leaning back, she looked up into his face, still finding a glimpse of pain, but masked with joy. She led him carefully to the couch, an inquisitive expression smothering her face. He smiled before immediately quenching her curiosity by beginning his story…

"Apparently some crazy female lunatic had run to the campsite, stole some snake venom antidote, and then dragged herself back into the poisonous forest," he said with a smirk. Brennan looked sheepish, knowing the femme fatale of which he spoke. "They followed you-"

"What?" Brennan said in disbelief. "I turned around and they had stopped."

"They stopped to get some medical supplies before running after you again. You weren't hard to follow because you'd wreaked havoc along the path, and there were irregular footprints everywhere. They followed you and found the site."

"But I never saw them…" Brennan trailed off, still confused.

"They said they kept their distance, knowing the privacy concerns of these tribes. While they were attending to you, they flagged down one of the elders, and discussed my condition. Then they ran back, found the correct antidote and stabbed it into me."

"I'm amazed they didn't try to kill you."

"So am I. Apparently they saw how desperate you were, and realised that if you were insane enough to steal the antidote in excruciating pain, I was worth saving." Booth's face lit up with a cheeky smile at this comment.

Brennan exhaled a breath she didn't even realise she was holding. "How did you get out, then?"

"Damario. He helped drag me out of the jungle so we wouldn't give away the tribe, and then the doctor's radioed for another helicopter. I left just after you, apparently."

Brennan pounced onto his final word. "Apparently. Who told you all of this? Wouldn't they have all stayed there?"

Booth shook his head as he hid a smile. "Damario flew out with us. He's already flown back," he said as he saw her about to ask his whereabouts.

"Well, I believe we both owe him our lives." Brennan couldn't believe Booth's luck. He should have been killed. They did all they could to escape from their colleagues, and yet they had saved both their lives.

They sat in silence, their pain and relief combining in the air between them and creating a blanket over them. Unspoken words, unspoken horrors, and unspoken dreams were communicated within that silence. Brennan reached out her hand, and gripped the strong one she found there.

She was relieved to feel warmth, rather than the coldness she had experienced the last time she felt the dying body part, and cherished the life that had been saved.

She closed her eyes, and a blanket of pure darkness hid behind her eyes.