A/N: I was going to write this really long and elaborate authors note but I don't think I want to do that. I think I talk way too much. I'll just let the story speak for itself. The only thing you should know beforehand is that the start of this story takes place sometime during season 5 but before The Parts in the Sum of the Whole. That means Hannah never existed! And yay for that. Am I right?

Inherently: Chapter 1

Wednesday June 9th 11:04 PM

An unwavering blow of a right knee landed perfectly against his lower ribcage. The force of the hit mixed with his own weakness sent him staggering forward. His legs were unsteady but he managed to keep himself up even though he was hunched over and clutching his side. The assaulter grabbed him by the back of his shirt to make sure that he didn't fall to the ground before he was finished with him. "I'm not fucking around, Jared. I want every single penny of my money by the thirtieth. I think I'm being pretty fucking gracious, don't you?" Another knee to the ribs. "Owwfff!" Jared's grunt of pain echoed around the back of the apartment buildings. The flood light above them buzzed as it casted a jaundice yellow glow below. Two or three dogs barked at a distance. But no person made a sound. No one opened a door, no one peered out of a window from behind a curtain. Nothing happened. Jared could bet that half those people knew exactly what was going on but he also knew that in the part of town he was, everyone was smart enough to mind their own business. No matter what was going on outside of your home – you just didn't get involved.

Jared's mouth hung open as pain rung through his body. His stomach flipped and he heaved – nothing but saliva dripping from his mouth as he did so. He took two deep breaths and kept his head down – not wanting to get hit in the face again. Another dry heave. He spit. The assaulter closed the distance between them once more and bent over so his face was close to Jared's and he spoke through gritted teeth an inch away from his ear.

"Don't fuck me over. Big brother ain't here anymore to cover your worthless ass."

He shoved Jared hard and he stumbled again, not falling though, not giving him that satisfaction. Now several feet away again, Jared turned his head so that he was looking into the eyes of his attacker. He took the distance as an opportunity to try and catch his breath. He used the back of his hand to wipe the moisture he felt around his mouth. He didn't know if it was spit or blood.

"June thirtieth, Jared." The man pointed a stiff finger. "Or you're done." After one last hard stare the attacker began to walk away coolly, not at all concerned that Jared would try to run up on him once he turned his back.

He took a few wobbly steps backwards. When he felt his back hit the graffiti covered bricks of the rundown apartment building he slid down until he was seated in the dirt. He spit again and wiped at his mouth. He looked down at the back of his hand. The flood lights above not bright enough to determine if the wet residue there was blood or not. Next, he lifted his shirt to inspect his side. He ran his finger tips tenderly over his ribs but even with such delicacy pain still lanced through him. "Fuck!" He threw his head backwards and bit back the yelp that threatened to erupt when he connected with the wall.

Friday June 18th 7:47 PM

Booth balled up a plain black v-neck t-shirt and tossed it into his suitcase. He wasn't usually a last minute packer, but for this trip, he had waited until the very last minute. And now, admittedly, he felt a tad flustered trying to get everything together. What had started as neatly folded clothing being placed strategically inside his suitcase quickly escalated to half folded half not folded items being crammed into whatever spot it landed when he threw it into his suitcase. At first Brennan ignored it but as time passed and more and more clothing began to pile on top of each other she began to practically see the wrinkles forming on his clothing right before her very eyes and it was making her crazy. She stared at the crumpled mess as Booth continued to shove his clothes back and forth in the closet as he sought more items to pack.

"And please, Bones, please for my sake; don't give the new guy a hard time."

Without looking away from the disaster in his suitcase she replied. "Booth I'm not out to give people a hard time. He'll be treated according to how he performs. I have no problem with intelligent and rational people." She explained and paused. "Who enjoy not wasting my time." He didn't even try to stop the snort that emitted from the back of his throat. "So basically you have a problem with anyone who isn't you?" His laugh was muffled by the closet that he was still standing inside of but it was not missed by Brennan who smirked.

Another shirt was thrown and it landed on her lap. She sighed loud enough for him to hear and stood up from his bed. "Booth you have to know that this is driving me absolutely insane. If it's not a suit it's like you don't know what to do with it. You can't fold." She accused him.

He stopped rummaging for the moment and walked out of the closet with his hands firmly placed on his hips and an exaggerated expression of shock on his face. "I can fold. I just don't have time to do it according to Dr. Brennan's standards at the moment."

"Obviously." She turned away from him and looked down at the pile. She began to take everything out one by one, fold the items again and place them neatly back into his suitcase.

Once he noticed what she was doing he quickly moved to stand just behind her. To keep from reaching out, grabbing her waist and pulling her back against him he put his hands in his pockets. "Booones," he whined but still managed an appreciative tone, "you don't have to do that." He added sincerely. He was fairly certain that partners didn't fold each other's clothing. No, folding each other's clothing definitely did not fall into the partner's category. Or friends category for that matter. It was so tiring trying to constantly categorize their every word, touch, or gesture. It was just so tiring. Most of the time he would end up over analyzing the situation which would lead to confusion which would end in a headache and him just not caring. Unlike when this whole thing between them first started when he cared about everything too much. He used to care too much and he created too many rules which were made to make things easier but in reality did just the opposite.

"It's ok." She smiled. "I want to."

He didn't argue. The scene that was playing out before him….it felt…it felt good. It felt domestic and home-y and he didn't mind living in a little fantasy world for the short time she would be in his bedroom. There were more embarrassing things to fantasize about. Pretending that she's his in the way he wants her to be and she's folding his laundry because she loves him and loves doing these things for him… definitely one of the more respectable fantasies. "You're way too nice to me." He mumbled as he walked by her and towards his dresser. He started rooting through his sock drawer.

"Well this was way too irritating to ignore." She pulled a wrinkly navy blue t-shirt from the pile with Fender spelled out in red letters. It had small holes around the arm pit area and what looked to be a grease stain towards the bottom hem of the shirt.

"This… is….clean? Yes?"

He looked a tad insulted. "Of course it's clean Bones." He walked back to her, dropped a few socks and undershirts off on the bed and grabbed the shirt from her hands. He held it out in front of himself for a second, looked it over then brought it to his nose and sniffed. "Yep. It's clean." He handed it back to her. As long as he knew it was clean that's all that mattered. She folded it and put it in the suitcase as Booth walked back to the dresser and opened the second drawer down and started riffling through his boxers.

"So I'm sure Parker is very excited to be able to spend this time with you and you're family."

The woman could switch topics and change his mood quicker than anyone he'd ever known.

His hands stilled and his muscles froze. He stood stock still while he tried to control his reaction, even though at this point, he'd probably already lost that battle. He knew her eyes were on him, trying to decipher his reaction, or lack there off. Booth had been at war with himself over the last year going back and forth between A. completely separating himself and his son from certain people in his so called family. Or B. allowing his past to be his past and allowing Parker to make decisions himself based on how Parker felt. He wanted to protect Parker from people he knew were good for letting other people down. But he wanted to be fair to his son. He wanted his son to at least have the chance to spend time with his family. After all they were Parkers family too, whether he liked it or not. And he didn't want to be that parent that was hated by his teenage kid because he made the decision about family for him. It just didn't seem fair, even if his motives were pure, it didn't seem fair.

When he would finally conclude that he had made the right decision he'd lose sleep over it and go back on his decision only to decide the other way again soon after.

His mom.

His mother. Still after all these years used his father who was dead now as an excuse to drink the way she did. Last year she promised she would come to Parker's birthday party – never did. And Jared…. well, Jared is Jared. And he should be lucky that he already established a bond with his son. The fact that Parker always asks to go visit cool Uncle Jared is the only reason Jared ever sees him. Jared is selfish and it's only a matter of time before that selfishness hurts his son.

But even still they are people that he loves. People that he cannot help but to love, protect fiercely, and forgive endlessly.

The battle in him finally ended when he truly made a final decision which was to take Parker back home to Philadelphia and they would spend time with his mom at least. No one else had to be involved. It was a good first step. He had called his mom and told her that he would be coming up there soon to visit and that she needed to sober up, get the alcohol out of the house because Parker would be with him. . He'd grown up with an alcoholic. He knew what it was like and he never ever wanted Parker to be around that – even if for the shortest of time. She nearly sobbed at the mention of her grandson because she knew what a big deal it was that Booth was going to bring him around. Booth was honestly touched at his mother's reaction but he was still hesitant, and he made it very clear that if he so much as thought he smelled the smallest amount of gin or anything else on her breath, even in a dream while they were there, they were gone. Parker forever – or until he was old enough to make his own decisions.

Brennan was quiet while she waited for a response. She could tell that she had struck a raw nerve but she still wanted him to respond. She didn't know much about Booth's family but from the information Booth had shared with her over the years, it wasn't the greatest family. Booth did not have the ideal upbringing. She had wondered why he would suddenly decide to take his son on vacation to a place he never seemed to want to even talk about. She'd questioned him once and gotten nowhere fast.

Booth closed the dresser drawer and headed towards the bathroom attached to his room. "Yeah, I'm sure it'll be great for everyone." His voice escaped with an obvious lack of enthusiasm and he prayed that she wouldn't hear him or the uncertainty that was his tone but his voice stubbornly filled the small confines of his tiny bathroom quickly and easily bellowed out to his bedroom where Bones was. The last thing he wanted was to discuss his feelings about this trip. He started to search through his mirrored medicine cabinet determined to remain focused on packing hoping she wouldn't push him.

She had heard him but missed his tone as she was too transfixed on her own emotions that had suddenly taken her by surprise. "I'm sure it will be a lovely time." She muttered quietly, almost to herself, as she looked down at his now perfectly packed suitcase. She felt that familiar jolt of something that she still wasn't used to feeling even after all these years of being this close to Booth. It was a stabbing sensation that worked its way from the center of her chest and climbed up her throat nearly robbing her ability to breathe. She'd been feeling this even more consistently ever since he told her that he was going to take a trip to see his mom for a couple of weeks. She was confused about the decision but she was happy for him. He certainly needed the break. He hadn't been himself lately. He was always ready to argue – not playfully either. He seemed to be more negative than usual which was not Booth-like at all. He'd been warned several times at work for being overly aggressive with suspects. It worried her and she even wondered at some point if maybe it was her that was making him that way. It was quite obvious that something was wrong but every time she thought he was going to discuss it with her, every time she asked him to discuss it with her he would just say that he'd be ok, that'd he'd get over it. That he was sorry. That they'd be ok. And she never questioned him further because she never, ever doubted those words – we'll be ok – she never doubted them and she never would. And now her mind and her rational thinking were catching up to her heart and her sometimes rebellious feelings. She was going to miss him. She felt it. Had been really feeling it the last few days.

He returned from the bathroom and tossed his razor and an unopened toothbrush onto the bed. The sound yanked her from her thoughts. She looked up at him with hesitant eyes and a look of deep rooted confusion over something that she was keeping inside with everything she had. Booth recognized the change in her demeanor immediately. He had recognized it the very first time it happened a few days ago. He'd felt it too. He was going to miss the hell out of her and he knew that she was going to miss him too. And he knew that she'd been struggling with the meaning of that. It wasn't like when a co-worker went on vacation or even when a friend when on vacation. She was going to miss him in a different way, the same way he was going to miss her. It felt wrong to leave her. It felt wrong to go anywhere without her. It felt like they should have planned this together where she was involved and she was actually going with him.

But that was ridiculous.

They weren't together.

He couldn't just ask her to come on vacation to his mother's house with him…. no matter how many times he rehearsed the words in his head and went over every possible response she could give. But even with all the unspoken emotions and the unasked questions they at least recognized that there was something there. They weren't quite ready to speak of it just yet but they were definitely getting too old and too tired to pretend like it didn't exist.

"I'm going to miss you." Her eyes drew the words from him easily.

There was always a moment of eardrum bursting silence right after he said anything that pushed beyond the line of professionalism, whether it was way past or just a toe over. And this time was no exception. She took his words, tossed them around in her head, dissected them, and stored them in a reserved space in the back of her mind to be analyzed further later.

"I'm going to miss you too, Booth."

These days she wasn't stating her feelings as facts like she used to. If this were even only a year ago she would be telling him that she would miss him and it would sound as though she was reading it off of a cue card.

Detached. For purposes of keeping ones heart safe.

But she had evolved. And it pleased even her to hear the words coming from her own mouth. It was an expression of feeling, not a statement of fact.

It touched him. "Come here." He motioned her over with a nod of his head. She forced a smile even though she didn't feel like smiling as she walked over to him. Before she knew it he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against his chest. She put her arms around him loosely and pressed her face to his shoulder. "Please be safe. Please don't run after suspects. Stay in the car when you're asked to stay in the car." He pushed her away from him a bit so he could look at her while he spoke. "Do not go with Agent Kohler to interview suspects on their grounds, ok? Only assist him if the suspect is being brought in. Just… try to stay out of trouble for a few weeks, ok?" He smiled but it did nothing to blend out the seriousness in his eyes, his voice.

"Perhaps you could just stay and then I wouldn't have all of these ridiculous rules, or a new agent, to follow." She responded.

He knew she wasn't being serious but if she would have asked him to seriously stay, for whatever reason, he wouldn't have thought twice about cancelling the trip. He'd stay if she asked him to. And on that thought he forced his arms to fall away from her. They continued to stand close.

"If you need anything call me, ok?" She nodded. "Even if you don't need anything, call me anyway."

He rubbed his hand up and down her upper arm quickly and gave it a light squeeze. She took a few steps backwards. "I should be getting home now."

"Yeah, you should. And you should actually see about resting tonight. None of that staying up all night business. You need your rest. It's been a long day."

"Don't worry Booth. I'll rest. I promise."

She picked her bag up from his bed and placed it over her shoulder.

"And perhaps you should use this vacation as an opportunity to learn something new, like…say… folding clothes." She smiled.

He laughed at her little dig. "Nice one Bones. But seriously…thank you for the help tonight. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome. Walk me out?"

.

.

.

Her car door was open and she was standing between it and her car. He was standing on the other side of her door, leaning over the top of it. "Look Bones, if you need me to come back early or anything, I can. I will."

"For the last time…. don't worry, Booth. Enjoy your time off. Enjoy your family. You'll be back in a few weeks and we'll pick up right from where we left off."

Her words were deeper to him than she probably intended them to be. "I really want to." There was no way for her to miss the emotion that was prominent in his words and even more so in his expression. "We will, Booth. It's only for a few weeks, right?" Her voice was low and soft and maybe even hinted towards a bit of vulnerability.

He looked down at the pavement for a quick second and then back up to her. "Yeah." He was trying to put a lid on his emotions that were quickly coming to a boiling point. "I'll call you when I get there." He promised, trying to end it before something was said that had the potential to change everything between them, quite possibly for the worst. He couldn't take the chance now. For many reasons: the main one was simply practicality. He was leaving for Philly in the morning.

"Ok. Bye Booth." She waved her hand at him before she ducked into her car and closed the door.

"Bye." He waved back at her and watched as she ducked into her Prius and drove off.

So this is just the beginning of quite a long story that I have almost completely written. This is the big one for me. The story I lost sleep over, cried over, cussed at but mostly felt completely satisfied over. Hope you liked the first chapter!