"Do you want me to call someone for you?" Booth questioned, his voice strained.
She shook her head. "Who would you call?" she asked. He looked at her, confusion evident in his chocolate eyes. "A year ago, you would have called you… Before that, Angela. Now she's pregnant, and married to Hodgins. You're with Hannah. Sweets has Daisy, and Cam's with Michelle. Who's left, Booth?" she said, defeated. He stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. He wanted to tell her she was wrong, but he couldn't think of anyone else to call. "No one," she answered herself, "I'll be fine by myself."
He didn't answer, and they both remained silent for the rest of the ride to her apartment. Once they arrived, he stopped the car in front of her building. They looked at each other for a few seconds, before she turned and got out of the SUV. He kept the car idling for a few moments, watching as she walked towards the door. Right before she went inside, she turned back to look at him one last time. Her blue eyes met his brown, and for a fraction of a second, he wondered why he was driving away. It was over almost as soon as it started, and he stared back at her for a moment, and then drove away, heading home to Hannah, where he thought he belonged.
As Brennan walked up the stairs to her apartment, she wiped away the tears that were continuing to fall, despite her best efforts to stop them. Eventually, she reached her door and headed inside, prepared to curl up and try to forget everything that had just happened. For the first time, she realized what he must have felt like a year ago when she walked away from him.
About an hour later, a knock sounded at her door. She recognized the loud pounding, but wondered if she was only hearing what she wanted to hear. She got up from the couch and headed to the door, wondering if it could possibly be him.
She swung open the door, revealing the very person she had hoped would be there. It was Booth, smiling and holding up a box of Thai food. However, the smile didn't seem to reach his eyes. Even though she knew it was a myth that you could see emotions in people's eyes, she could tell this smile was different. It looked the same, all his teeth were showing, and his lips curved upward in the same fashion as always, but his eyes didn't have their signature sparkle. They were… sad.
"Hey, Bones," he said softly.
"What are you doing here?" she questioned.
"You were right," he said. "A year ago, I would've stayed with you if you were upset… and just because I'm with Hannah now, doesn't mean I'm not your friend anymore," he explained. "And I figured my friend is upset, so I'd bring her some Thai food and try to cheer her up," he finished with another smile that didn't reach his eyes.
She nodded, taking the box of food from him and setting it on the table.
"Just like old times, right?" she said.
"Yeah, Bones. Just like old times," he repeated, but his voice fell flat. They both sat at the table and opened the take-out containers, settling into silence. However, it wasn't a comfortable silence, like usual. It was awkward, something that hadn't happened to them since the early days of their partnership. All either one could think about was that it wasn't just like old times. They were eating the same food and with the same company, but it wasn't the same. Unfortunately, it never would be.
Too much had changed.