A/N: This is based off the promo for Sin in the Sisterhood. Their song is in the promo, so we know big stuff's a-happenin'! Enjoy.
Now these clouds will disappear
Like we were never here
And I swear there was a time
I thought that it would never stop
And now I only think about you
If it's raining or it's not
-Jolene, The Weepies
"You can love a lot of people in this world, Bones. But there's always one person you love the most."
Brennan paused, her bar stool spinning towards him a little. "What?"
"I just, uhm, just the case. I don't know, I guess I understand the guy," Booth said, looking down at his drink.
"So..." She paused again, "You're considering being a polygamist? I don't know that Hannah will approve of that, she's fairly westernized."
"No, Bones, god! That's not what I meant."
She had known that he hadn't meant it that way. She knew. But still after all this time, playing dumb was easier.
"Oh, well I'm glad, and Hannah will be pleased."
"Why do you always do that?"
"Do what," she said. And she genuinely didn't know what he was talking about now. She was seriously lost. Why was he so mad at her all the time?
"Always change the subject to Hannah when I'm trying to talk to you?"
She finished her glass of scotch. She'd taken to drinking the hard liquor in remembrance of what her life used to be, and because if she had enough of it, she could forget the same thing. She signaled for the bartender to pour her another one, and he complied. "Because," she started, as if she had an amazing reason. "I don't know what you want me to say. I just...I just do."
"How about you be honest?" He said, and then added, "Honest with me."
She finished off her drink again, and she realized she would be drunk sooner than later. After a long pause she said, "I deleted your number from my cell phone."
"What, are you serious? Why? What the fu-"
"Because, I kept considering the idea of calling you. When I'm drunk."
"When and where would that happen? I've only seen you drunk a few times, Bones, and that says a lot."
"You haven't known me for a while now," and she ordered another drink.
"Bones, are you being serious? You're drunk."
And she was. Serious, that is. It was possible that she was drunk, but she didn't care. Not now. Because she was serious. Dead serious. And she'd been so honest with herself lately. With Hannah, with Angela, with her dad. She was doing well. She was getting by.
"I deleted you phone number because I kept trying to drunk dial you. And you don't love me anymore. And I realized, you don't even really know me anymore. And I don't know if I even know you. Not like I used to. So I deleted your phone number.
"I have your office number in my phone as 'FBI' but that's it. I obviously have your cell phone number memorized, because of my high intelligence, that isn't hard. But I guess I'm just waiting until the day I don't care enough to remember. So that finally I can be okay again."
"Bones..."
She finished off her fourth double of scotch, and shakily tried to stand. "Don't call me that. Not anymore."
"Stop it," he said. "Sit down."
"I find that I am very conflicted right now. That I want to simply go hail a taxi, and head home. And that I would also like to sit, because I'm so tired of avoiding you like this."
"You're definitely wasted," he said, motioning for her to sit.
And she did. He pulled his stool closer to hers and finished off his own scotch. "What I meant earlier is that you can love a lot of people, but there's always that one person you're going to love for 30, or 40, or 50 years."
She audibly gasped. He wasn't supposed to bring up that topic. Not now. They were both quiet, and then she quietly said "Zach."
"Huh?" He asked, actually surprised.
"I'm always going to love Zach. I miss him a lot, you know. The only intern I enjoy in the least is Mr. Bray, but still, he's not... He'll never- he isn't-"
"He's not Zach."
"I miss him very much."
"He loved you, Bones."
She nodded, and looked down at her hands. She hadn't noticed recently, but she realized now that her hands were always cold. And then she saw it. His hand. She hadn't felt it, really. Probably because of the alcohol, but his hand was most definitely on her thigh. And she was going to start panicking. She knew it. So she simply said, "I loved him too."
And they were quiet again and she hiccupped and he ran his hand up and down her leg to soothe her.
She accepted it. Because she needed this break. She need the moment. "But," she said quietly, almost crying, "I never loved him this way."
His hand stopped, high on her leg. And then he said "I've never loved anyone like I love you either, Bones. Never will."
She finally started to cry, and he moved even closer to her, if that was possible. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and mumbled to her softly.
The writer in her imagined what this must look like. What it would look like if Hannah were to walk in. If anyone they knew were to see them, what those people would think. What the would assume about them, their legs pressed together, his arm around her and his hand on her thigh. It would be quite a sight.
"Okay," she mumbled softly. "Okay."
"Okay, what?"
"I'm going to wait. I'm going to wait until she's gone and until you give me a reason to put your number back into my phone. I'll wait for that."
"Why?"
"Because you didn't wait for me."
