Temperance Brennan shifted uncomfortably.

She was early.

Really early.

In fact, she'd been sitting, waiting and pacing for the majority of the day. The reason for her discomfort now was both the cool stone of the bench she was sitting on, and the fact that she was here to meet him today. The pounding of her heart was technically an increase in epinephrine released from the sympathetic branch of her nervous system, a normal response to stress. Booth would say she was excited...and maybe a little nervous.

She tapped her heels against the pavement impatiently. Reaching into her purse for the hundredth time, she grabbed her compact mirror and inspected her makeup. Yep, still flawless. Temperance gave a small smile as she thought of what Angela would say if she could see her right now. Not much could rile the confident woman, but everyone, even Temperance Brennan, had their weaknesses. Hers just happened to be a certain warmhearted FBI agent. She glanced at her gold watch and sighed. Where was he? She couldn't wait much longer. She needed to tell him that she - a rough voice broke into her thoughts.

"Ma'am, this is private property. I'm going to have escort you - "

She whipped around to find Special Agent Seeley Booth smiling back at her. He was dressed in his version of "regulation FBI uniform", complete with a blue and red zigzag tie. Temperance could only imagine what crazy pattern he had on his socks. She gave a very uncharacteristic squeal and flew into his arms. He hugged her back, burying his face in her hair. With her face burrowed into his neck, she could smell his cologne; a mix of something spicy and masculine, and she breathed it in. After a long while, she leaned back in his arms.

"You were teasing me, weren't you? It's funny because you said this was private property when it's obviously not." She grinned up at him.

He grinned right back and answered softly, "Yeah, Bones."

They stared at each other then, for three seconds that felt like years. They once again memorized the details that had begun to grow a bit hazy - though neither had admitted the fact until that moment. They hadn't made it a full year, and it was still too long. Temperance felt the now familiar warmth in her mediastinum - that is, her chest - that she had come to associate with this man in front of her. She needed to tell him, and she needed to do it now.

"Booth -"

"Bones -"

They laughed.

"You go first." Temperance said before he could. Her confession could wait; she wanted to hear what he had to say. And she was still pretty nervous. Maybe getting back into the natural swing of conversation would help calm her nerves.

Booth removed his arms from her back and slid his hands down until he was holding her elbows. He took a deep breath. Grinning again, he took a step back with a flourish of his arm, revealing a pretty blond behind him that Temperance had not noticed before. The warmth in her mediastinum turned into a cold rock and tumbled into her abdominal cavity.

"This...is Hannah." The enthusiasm in Booth's voice confirmed her fears. This woman was significant to her partner. It was an uncomfortable feeling, being aware of this fact and to being unhappy about it. She found that she would rather be oblivious, as she had been in the past. Booth, with his hand still on one elbow, turned back to Temperance.

"Hannah, this is partner, Bones." His smile was smaller, his voice almost imperceptibly softer. It wasn't full of excited pride as it had been when he introduced this Hannah woman. Temperance didn't like that, but she was unaware that, from Hannah's perspective, the vivacity had been replaced with a profound fondness.

Stepping forward, she extended her hand. "Temperance Brennan," she was tempted to add "Dr", but Booth had explained that it wasn't necessary when meeting friends of friends, as it was too formal and often intimidating. She wasn't sure of this woman, but she didn't want to appear uppity and embarrass Booth.

"It's so great to meet you, Temperance! Seeley has told me so much about you." As Hannah stepped up to take her hand, Temperance assessed her.

Closer now, she realized that Hannah wasn't just "pretty". She was stunning. Her face was almost perfectly symmetrical and her zygomatic arches were to die for - although, that was a phrase Temperance had never fully understood. The feeling in her gut (Booth's term) worsened. Anthropologically speaking, attractive people often sought companionship with an equally attractive partner. It just so happened that Seeley Booth also had phenomenal zygomatic arches and pleasingly symmetrical features. This was not good.

Apparently, the silence stretched a few seconds too long, and Booth cleared his throat.

"Hannah is, um, a journalist."

"Oh." Temperance Brennan was almost never at a loss for words, but her vocabulary seemed to be severely restricted at the moment. Her eyes darted from Booth to Hannah and back. Why did she feel so confused?

"Are you, um..." Her voice trailed off. The Hannah woman probably thought her to be quite socially inept, or worse, of average intelligence, with the way that she couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence.

Booth seemed to sense her discomfort, and like always, he understood what she meant, "Together? We're, um, yeah."

"Oh." Again? She mentally reviewed every point of social etiquette that she had learned from Booth. Oh yes! She should appear interested in Hannah's work or her relationship with Booth. Her stomach hurt. Okay, definitely the first topic.

"What kind of journalism?" It wasn't much, but at least it wasn't "Oh".

The sudden switch between subjects threw Hannah for a moment. "I...well, I was sent to the same area of Afghanistan that Booth was stationed in," she looked at Booth and they shared a knowing smile and a small laugh, "and he..."

Funny, Temperance didn't remember asking how they met. The cold stone in her abdominal cavity turned into a knife, twisting painfully. A sense of panic started to creep in and she wanted it to go away. No longer caring about being polite, she interrupted Hannah's story - something about being somewhere she shouldn't have and a fig tree -

"I'm sorry, but I really must get back to the lab," It was only when she saw the disappointment in Booth's eyes that she added, "Perhaps we can finish this conversation another time?"

Taken aback, Hannah simply nodded and Temperance hurried off, leaving Booth wondering what had happened to spook his partner.

All Temperance knew was that she needed to get away. It wasn't rational, the way she was acting, but something had just come over her. It wasn't supposed to be like this, was it? She should have stuck to her previous conviction that she was better off alone. It hurt far less, didn't it? She had been stupid to entertain ideas of her and...Booth grabbed her arm and turned her.

"Bones, are you alright?" The concern that marked his face made Temperance feel worse. She shrugged away from his touch and mustered a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Of course. I just need to get to the lab. I'll, um, see you there," she thought her voice might crack, but she added softly, "Welcome home, Booth."

With that, she turned on her heel. She thought she heard him say something, but she didn't turn around.

As she distanced herself physically, she struggled to distance herself emotionally. She wasn't accustomed to this feeling, she never had such a strong response. Her tear ducts, she noticed, were working overtime.

Welcome home.