When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight...

The Beginning

Temperance Brennan awoke on May 13, 2008 feeling as though sleep hadn't even occurred. She sat there for a moment, taking in her bedroom surroundings. The sun was just starting to come up. Her alarm began to sound, and she sighed. Turning it off, she looked at the time: 6:30. It was another day. She slid out of bed and padded to the kitchen to start her coffee maker. She pulled out some bread and threw it in the toaster. There was some leftover yogurt from yesterday morning in the fridge. As she was changing, figuring out what she wanted to wear that day, her phone rang.

"Brennan," she said, already knowing that it was Booth.

"Meet me at the diner for breakfast," he said. "I wanna go over stuff about the case."

"So demanding," she said, a slight teasing in her tone. "What if I said no?"

"You wouldn't. I know you," he said, a smile in his voice. "See you around 8?"

"All right."

She hung up, finally deciding on an outfit. She went back to her toast and ate it slowly while sipping her coffee. She would save the yogurt for later. Once she was finished, she got ready for her run. Sometimes when she worked a case, she didn't have time for a workout, but today she was making an exception. It helped her stay focused.

...

Booth grinned when he saw her. She was feeling exerted from her workout, and the food was a welcome sight. How he always knew what she wanted, she would never know.

"Good run?"

"How did you...?"

"You have that post run glow," he answered, waving his hand. "So, I've been doing some thinking about this case."

"Uh huh," she said, sitting down beside him as he slid the plate over to her. Her stomach growled.

"I just can't get over the whole open mic night thing. I mean, I get it when you're in college you think you're going places, but these guys are over their 30s...do they really think they're gonna reach fame?"

"Perhaps it's just the need to stand out in a crowd," Brennan said.

"I just feel it's a bit obnoxious."

"You were the best sniper when you were with the Rangers," Brennan pointed out.

"That's different," he said, furrowing his brow. "That was a job, and I did it well."

"And it set you out from the others."

"Bones, this is singing we're talking about here, not being in the army."

"It doesn't matter. The superior mate is the person who has the power and status."

"I seriously doubt any of those guys are gonna be mating," Booth said, a smirk at his lips. She gave him a look.

"They still have prestige and power. You're a very good agent, Booth, and you enjoy it."

"Yea?"

"Yes, and it would be devastating to work with someone beneath me since I am the best in my field," Brennan finished.

"You know, sometimes I think you think you're better than me," Booth said, looking hurt.

"Well, I am more intelligent..."

"Here we go," Booth said, exasperated. Brennan placed her hand on his arm then, making him look back at her.

"Not in all areas," she said. "I know my limits. I...I admire your expertise in areas that I am not well versed in."

"You admire me?" he asked, a shine hitting his eyes then. Brennan released his arm and went back to her food.

"In certain areas of expertise," she said again. His phone ringing cut him off from continuing, and he answered. Brennan tuned out his conversation, thinking about her relationship with Booth. She remembered their conversation of how they were the center, and sometimes she had this feeling that deep down Booth was waiting for something more from her than she could offer him.

"I have to go to the office," Booth said, disgruntled.
"How come?"

"Pam Nunan wants to talk to me."

"I'll come with you..."

"No, she wants just me."

"What? Why?"

"It would appear that she doesn't like you, Bones," Booth said, sliding off his chair and tugging his coat on.

"I'll see you later then," she said. "Thanks for breakfast."

"No worries," Booth said, tossing down some bills. She watched him leave, admiring the strong of his back and his shoulders.

...

Brennan got to the Jeffersonian just before 9:30, and she got an update from Zack and Hodgins before heading to her office.

"Good morning," Cam said, passing her in the hallway.

"Good morning, Dr. Saroyan," Brennan nodded. She slipped into her office and shut the door. She sat at her desk to look through Zack's notes for a while until Sweets entered.

"Hey," he said. "You gotta see this."

"See what?" she asked as he came in further, leaving the door open. Somehow, this irritated her a little.

"I found Tommy's MySpace," Sweets said. "He's uploaded himself singing on it."

"It wasn't good enough to be on stage he had to let the world see it online too?" Brennan asked.

"It's worth watching," Sweets said, moving to take over her computer. Brennan was now annoyed. She felt that Sweets was a little like Booth sometimes. He just took over and did what he wanted without reading the room.

"There," Sweets said, and Tommy's video popped up. He wasn't all that bad, Brennan mused.

"What are you guys doing?" Booth asked, coming in then.

"Dr. Sweets found Tommy's video on his internet account," Brennan answered. Booth winced after listening for a bit.

"He's trying too hard," Booth said.

"There are two types, presentational and representational," Sweets said. "One is ego driven whereas the other is to gain a cathartic response from the crowd."

"Is there a fancy word for just showing off?" Booth asked. "Cos that's what he's doing."

"Tommy is definitely in the presentational category," Sweets agreed.

"So, this is all just simple psychology to you?" Brennan asked. Sweets began to argue with her, and after a moment of their back and forth, Booth pulled Sweets chair and all away from Brennan and set a chair down for himself to sit in between them both.

"I'm breaking this up before you give me a headache," Booth said. "Keep fighting and nobody gets dessert."

"It's not fighting," Sweets argued. "It's a mere collegial debate."

"Right," Brennan agreed, just going with it. She decided to change the subject. "How was Pam?" She knew it would get Sweets all riled up.

"You...you saw her again?" Sweets asked, right on cue. Booth shot Brennan a glare.

"No big deal. She gave me a pair of socks," he said. Brennan laughed at this until both Sweets and Booth stared at her.

"What?" she asked.

"It's not funny," Sweets answered.

"No, it's not," Booth chimed in.

Sweets starting going into Booth about Pam's manipulation tactics when Brennan spied something on Tommy's page.

"Hey, look," she said, nudging Booth. "Tommy was going to release a CD."

"'I Can't Do Better Than You?'" Booth read.

"I bet Pam thought it was about her," Sweets said immediately.

"You know, up until I was thirteen, I wanted to be the next Cindi Lauper," Brennan mused.

"Seriously?" Sweets asked.

"I'd say she's kidding with us, but she doesn't do that," Booth pointed out. Brennan bristled inside a little. She could too kid.

"My mother said I was just as good as Cindi," Brennan bragged, not knowing what else to say.

"Mothers say that," Sweets dismissed.

"Not mine," Brennan argued.

"So belt it out then," Booth egged her on. "Go on!"

"No! I don't just burst into song, Booth. I need music and the right atmosphere."

"Hey, hey!" Sweets said, interrupting them. "Look at that guy's face when Tommy sings to that woman. He looks pissed."

"He also plays the guitar," Brennan said, her mind whirling. "That's how Tommy died."

...

After using Hodgins and Zack to demonstrate her theory of how Tommy died, Brennan stood behind the glass in the FBI watching Booth interrogate their potential murderer. She always admired the way he did this part. She wished she had that ability, but then again, that was Booth's expertise. She wouldn't want him trompsing all over her territory and doing better than her. Not that he would. She caught the man saying something about a Dr. Jason. She met Booth's eyes through the window, knowing he knew she was looking at him.

"Yea," Booth was saying back. "We've met."

...

Brennan found Hodgins in his part of the lab.

"I need your results of the particulates you found in the C5 vertebra swab," she said. "Booth doesn't think the guitar player did it. There's no motive."

"I'm analyzing them now," Hodgins promised.

"Let me know as soon as you have them."

"I will."

...

They were in the middle of interrogating Dr. Jason when Hodgins burst in.

"Hey, whoa! Excuse me," Booth said, angry. "You can't just..."

"There was elemental evidence on the vertebra!" Hodgins burst out.

"Such as?"

"Phyllosilicate minerals and aluminum oxides."

"Um, English?!" Booth said, annoyed.

"Clay," Dr. Jason said, sighing.

"Nice!" Hodgins commended him.

"I have nothing to do with clay," Dr. Jason went on.

"I know," Hodgins said. "You'll get cleared."

"Hey!" Booth exclaimed.

"Dr. B, there was a case of this particular clay delivered to the other unit of our victim's duplex recently," Hodgins finished.

...

"The mad artist did it," Booth whistled. They were leaving the duplex where they had confronted Tommy's neighbor. Brennan watched him be loaded into the police van.

"I guess you weren't the only one who didn't like his singing," Brennan noted.

"So, what do you have going on tonight?" Booth asked.

"Just going to be at home, why?"

"No reason," he said slyly.

"What are you up to?" she asked, sensing his ploy.

"I'll call you later," he winked, heading off to meet the police officer. Brennan shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. Her partner was definitely up to something.

...

"Why are we here?" Brennan asked, taking in the crowd. She found Cam, Hodgins, Angela, Zack, and Sweets all sitting at a table.

"It's time for you to sing," Booth said into her ear. "See? Music's all ready for ya."

"Wha-no," Brennan started, but the beat was intoxicating. She saw Booth's excited face, and she couldn't say no. She grabbed the microphone and jumped up to the stage. Her friends were all whooping and shouting at her. No one saw the woman slink in, watching the scene. No one saw the gun in her hand. No one noticed until she was screaming Booth's name.

"I'm doing this for us," Pam said softly. She pulled the trigger. The time was 9:43 p.m.

So I read this book (and watched the movie, but of course the book was better) called Before I Fall, and I was moved, annoyed, brought to tears, and somehow satisfied with it all at once. The theme of the book has rolled around my brain for over a year now, and I wanted to write a story using the same concept, but I've been afraid to. I know readers don't like a death of a main character, and I'm not even sure how I will end this story yet. I don't want to give anything away, if they survive or not, because I like leaving a sense of mystery to my stories, but I also don't like to cause anxiety and remarks of how sad it is on every chapter. I really want readers to look beyond the death and see what I'm doing plot wise. Anyway, I'll stop rambling. The only thing I ask is please don't flame me...I am a real person behind this anonymous username.

P.S. The music that inspired this chapter and all the others is the original score for Before I Fall by Adam Taylor.

P.S.S. I am also aware of the film Groundhog's Day. I prefer Before I Fall style themes for this story.