I need this story like I need a hole in the head but after the S10 opener and Eric Millegan's tweet, it practically writes itself. It will be a short one, probably only 2-4 chapters.

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Two weeks had passed since the funeral.

Life slowly returned to normal . . . a painfully new version of normal that now included a gaping hole in the space once occupied by a well-loved friend.

Work resumed, as it always did. The business of death never stopped. The ghosts that filled the brightly lit spaces in the lab were as restless as ever, their silent whispers an endless plea for answers . . . for justice . . . for peace. There was comfort there, as odd as the acknowledgment sometimes felt. No matter what happened in the world outside, inside the lab you could hide among the dead.

It was a trick they'd all used before. Some of them more than once.

Just now, they were all doing it again, burying themselves among the bones and the whispering ghosts and hoping for a few precious moments of forgetting. They were so busy being busy, in fact, that it was a rude shock when the double doors slid open and Daisy appeared.

After a beat of surprised silence, Angela rushed down the steps and pulled her into a hug.

"Daisy! What are you doing here? You should be home resting!"

Her concern was valid. The expectant mother was pale, the purple shadows under her eyes deeper than ever. Despite the new fullness of her cheeks added by the last stages of pregnancy, her face looked wan and almost gaunt.

Daisy shifted the rectangular white box in her arms to a more comfortable position.

"I found something . . ." She sought out Brennan. "I thought you should see it."

With a snap of latex, Brennan removed her gloves and tucked them away in the pocket of her blue coat as she descended the platform. When she reached Daisy, she put an arm around the younger woman's shoulders.

"Come sit down. The last few weeks before childbirth can be difficult under normal conditions. You should be more careful."

Daisy accepted their concern and fussy scolding with bittersweet patience, aware that it was as much for her child and his now absent father as it was for her. She was soon settled on the sofa in Brennan's office with a cup of herbal tea, a pillow at her back, and a circle of curious faces surrounding her.

She patted the box in her lap.

"I was going through Lance's things -"

A lump in her throat choked off the rest of the words. Gentle hands patted her shoulders and knees until she managed to find a modicum of composure.

"I was going through Lance's things." Her shoulders straightened with an air that testified to her determination to remain focused. "I found this."

She removed the lid from the box to reveal a stack of typewritten pages. Her eyes locked on the woman she idolized.

"It's a draft of a book he was writing. I started reading it last night and once I realized what it was, I knew you should have it, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan merely looked puzzled.

"I thought he'd long ago discarded the book he was writing about me and Booth. It was based on a faulty premise and as such, his findings were completely inaccurate. It's unpublishable."

Daisy shook her head. Her expression was almost apologetic.

"It's not about you and Agent Booth." She hesitated only briefly. "It's about one of your former interns. It's about Dr. Addy."

Brennan stared at the box for a few seconds and then brushed her fingertips lightly on the edge of the first sheet. The faintest trace of a smile curved her lips.

"I was aware that Dr. Sweets continued to see Zack regularly. I visit him every month. He mentioned it to me several times."

With her next breath, Brennan discarded the almost wistful air and assumed a brusque, impersonal mien.

"You never met Dr. Addy," she said to Daisy. "He is a brilliant scientist and that is still true despite his present circumstances. If he had not allowed himself to be manipulated by a monster and ultimately driven to commit murder . . . Well." Sadness and regret showed in her face. "He had enormous potential. He was the brightest of all my interns."

"No."

Brennan chuckled. "Ms. Wick . . . Daisy," she amended. "You are very intelligent and an excellent forensic anthropology student but you are not in the same category as -"

"Dr. Addy didn't kill anyone." Daisy held the box out to Brennan. "He lied. It's all in here. Read it."

Brennan now stared at the manuscript as if it were a snake about to strike.

"He confessed," she blurted out. "Rather than risk a trial, he confessed to murder. He's been incarcerated in a mental hospital for seven years."

"He felt responsible even though he didn't actually kill anyone." Daisy's voice was gentle as she offered the explanation. "Dr. Addy had a chance to bring the murderer to justice and instead, he helped him find more victims. He confessed out of guilt." She offered the box to Brennan once more. "Lance set it all out here because he hoped one day to be able to tell you the truth. He even wrote a note to himself to think about a snappy dedication to you."

"I knew it," Hodgins breathed quietly from his chair beside the sofa. "I knew Zack wasn't capable of murder."

"You have to read it, Dr. Brennan," Daisy insisted. Her eyes began to swim when she noticed the tears glimmering in Brennan's. "It's Lance's gift to you. It's his last gift."

With her reluctance obvious in the slowness of her movements, Brennan reached for the box.

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FYI, I am not in the Bring Back Zack! club but I do think Brennan should know the truth about him.

Thanks for reading!