Letters Written & Promises Kept
Part 4
He rode back to the lab with the squints, explaining what they didn’t know. How the bureau had faked his death to catch the guy he tackled at his funeral. He didn’t understand why Bones was so angry. She was supposed to have been told the plan. As his partner, she was on his list to know.
Everyone thought she would be at the lab, but her office sat dark. As the squints spread out to look for her, Hodgins stayed with Booth. “They’ll call us if they find her,” he said. “I need to show you something. Come with me.”
As the open jacket of his dress uniform moved stiffly with his body, Booth talked non-stop at Hodgins, not necessarily to him. “I told them to tell her. I made sure she was on the list. But, I mean, regardless…this is Bones. She can compartmentalize better than anyone. She uses logic…she lives for it.”
“No she doesn’t,” Hodgins interrupted as they arrived at his workstation.
“What?”
“Dr. Brennan relies on logic; it used to be a constant for her, but not anymore. For as much as she used to live for logic, dude…now she lives for you.”
Booth stumbled over half started words, not sure what to say. The jumbled thoughts organized themselves finally, to his relief. “Nah…Hodgins, you…you got that one wrong. She’s my partner… and don’t call me dude.”
“Trust me man, I’m not wrong.” Hodgins pulled open his bottom drawer and took out a plastic bag with a piece of paper, the size of one of Dr. Brennan’s books inside. “When the gravedigger buried us, the only thing that kept her going was that she knew you were looking for us…that you wouldn’t give up, so she wasn’t about to either.”
The color left Booth’s face at the memory. Those were the worst 12 hours of his life. He thought he had lost her forever. Drifting off to that dark place, Hodgins voice brought him back.
“Before we blew that airbag, we each wrote a letter in case we didn’t make it. She doesn’t know I took them from the car after the FBI dug it up. The government has no right to use our words as evidence; they played no part in solving the case. They were personal so I’ve kept them all this time. This one is hers.”
“Hodgins, we can talk later about evidence tampering…again, but…”
“Just read it Booth. Think about the woman she was then and the woman she is now. Think about where she was for the last two weeks. Then go to her.”
Written on the back of the page dedicating the book to her friend and partner, Seeley Booth, were the scribbled words of its author…his partner…
Booth –
We did everything we could to survive just as I know that you did everything you could to find us. Hodgins says what I have is faith in you, but I have seen you work and I know it’s nothing as intangible as faith. It has been my honor and privilege to work beside you and to be your partner. Thank you for trusting me and for teaching me to trust others, especially you.
As we prepare to blow the airbags, our last attempt to escape, I will close my eyes and make you my last thought. I will picture you smiling at me and remember how it makes my stomach flip each time. As we hold our breath and cross the wires, I’ll picture myself with you, telling you what I am only now able to admit…I love you.
Always,
your ‘Bones’
Booth stared, mouth hung open, at the letter written in his partners hand. She trusted him and he had done what he promised her that he would never do…betray her. He had broken the rules for her before. He should have done it this time. He should have made sure she knew. She had tried to hold the blood in his chest and pleaded for him to fight. As he thought back to that night, the panic in her voice gave him chills even through the heavy wool uniform.
“My Bones…” he whispered before bolting off.
“You’re welcome!” Hodgins called after him, shaking his head as Booth waved briefly without turning around.