A/N: This is a co-written story by myself and ImHereandTyping, the credit belongs to BOTH of us. As many FF's concerned Booth returning from Afghanistan as there is, this one, we like to believe is different again. We think this borders unique, but I must admit the original idea is ALL ImHereandTyping's.

Angela poked her head around the corner of Brennan's office.

"Are you going to pick him up?" she asked her best friend.

Brennan didn't even look up from her computer screen. She simply shrugged her shoulders and made a groaning sound.

"BREN!" Angela's voice barked.

She reluctantly lifted her gaze. "What?"

"Are you coming with Hodgins and I to collect Booth from the airport?" she repeated.

Brennan felt a crushing weight in her chest. "No," she responded.

"Why not?"

"I'm busy," she shrugged.

"And you can't take an hour break?" she said. "This is Booth we're talking about."

"I'm busy, Angela."

Angela shook her head with disapproval and slammed the door after her.

Brennan's eyes glanced back at the screen, but her concentration was long gone. The Anthropologist had been back in D.C for two weeks, and in that time had said nothing to Seeley Booth, nor had she spoken to him in the many months that made up a year, when he was in Afghanistan. She knew nothing of his current situation, and at the moment, she didn't care to find out.

Brennan was still fighting feelings she had discovered while in her own little corner of the world, in the Maluku Islands. She wished she hadn't come back. D.C seemed different now, and not in the way that she found comforting. Brennan didn't want to be thinking about anything other than work and her latest manuscript.

Cam poked her head in the door a few minutes later. "Hey, Dr. Brennan, I thought you would have been picking Booth up at the airport," she noted.

Brennan felt that stab again, in the centre of her chest that just wouldn't dim. "I'm busy," she answered curtly. "Is there something you need, Dr. Saroyan?"

Cam frowned gingerly and then shook her head. "No."

"Then excuse me please, I have things to do."

"Yeah… of course, no problem," she quietly closed the door behind her.

Brennan sighed heavily when she was sure that no one was around to hear her.

… … … …

Brennan couldn't stand the silence of the Jeffersonian, it was too quiet and against her will she shut down her computer and stalked out of her office, needing some air. But seemingly, her legs having a mind of their own seemed to find their way to her car, and then drove to the airport.

She didn't know why she was here, and the excitement and nervousness seemed to form bubbles in the pit of her stomach, as she lingered in the back of the crowd, awaiting the passengers on the plane to collect their luggage.

Brennan could see Angela and Hodgins in the front of the crowd, and Cam standing close beside, she could have sworn she even saw Rebecca and Parker standing around Angela.

Brennan allowed her hand to rest on her stomach as she tried to calm her bubbled stomach, her heart rate increased somewhat as she waited in anticipation.

Finally, the passengers began descending the flight of stairs. Brennan's eyes scanned every person, waiting for Booth, and when the last person descended, she felt a stab of disappointment when she saw no one else was coming out of the plane.

"Where are you, Booth?" she whispered to herself.

Just as she turned to walk away, she saw a glimpse of another being hauled down the stairs on a plate, and she caught his eye as the wheelchair was lowered to the ground. Her heart felt instantly crushed, as she realized the man in the wheelchair was indeed Booth.

Her hand flew to her chest and rested on her beating heart.

Oh my God, echoed in her mind.

Brennan stood stunned as Booth was wheeled through the crowd and watched as his family and friends greeted him warmly. Brennan was frozen to the spot. Her eyes watching him all the time, until he finally scanned the airport and stopped his gaze on Brennan.

"Hey, Bones," he said casually. He sounded like himself, and yet he didn't. There was something missing in his expression as his eyes lingered on her face, but she couldn't pin point it.

All eyes seemed to turn on her.

"Dr. Brennan," Hodgins announced. "I didn't know you were here."

"Bren, you came…" Angela said with a weak smile.

Booth frowned. "You weren't gonna come?" he asked.

Brennan couldn't seem to find her voice, it was lodged somewhere in the back of her throat, and when she tried to speak all that came up was air. Her eyes remained locked on Booth's as she tried to register the disaster before her. He was in a wheelchair… no longer capable of walking… he would never lift her into the air and swing her around like she had seen in the movies.

He was incapacitated.

It was too much to bear, and the moment that Booth looked away, to greet his son and his mother, and to make small chat with his friends, Brennan turned and walked away, needing to get as far away from him as possible.

She didn't even know how he injured himself.

Mmm, how can the duo handle this dilemma? Why did Bren run away? What happened to Booth in Afghanistan?

The next chapter will be from Booth's POV…