Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

This story idea was borne out of a discussion I had with regbride12. We were discussing Booth's reaction to Brennan's confession to him in The Doctor in the Photo. To me, the entire story arc after that iconic scene in Booth's car could have been handled better. I also thought that Booth should have reacted differently to Brennan's confession. So here it is, a short fic, making right the events of that episode. I apologize in advance if I inadvertently cause any distress by including Hannah in this story.

This story is set after the events of Season 6's, The Doctor in the Photo.

Seeley Booth dragged his feet as he walked towards the door to his apartment. He couldn't remember the last time he dreading going home. Step by dreaded step, his feet somehow moved him forward until he was left standing, staring at his front door. He knew who was waiting for him behind that door but he was in no mood to be with that person. Tonight, he simply wanted to be alone. He turned, leaning back against the wall adjacent to said door, his head hitting the wall with a thud. He closed his eyes, hearing her voice in his head.

"I got the signal Booth. I don't want to have any regrets."

He remembered the first thought that popped up in his mind as he heard those words coming from her lips. Is this some kind of sick joke someone is playing on me? Is she saying what I really think she's saying? Why the hell now?! He had told her that the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her but he knew he had.

He heard her anguished sobs in his head and his heart broke along with hers that he had broken that night. Right then, he hated himself more than anyone else in the world. He sighed. He had to go home. His clothes were still wet from getting drenched in the rain. Slowly he turned, his entire being filled with a soul-crushing sensation of dread as he turned the key to his apartment door and entered. He knew she would be waiting up for him.

As he locked his gun in the gun safe on the shelf by the door, he hoped futilely that she was already asleep.

"Seeley."

No such luck.

"Hannah. Hey."

She walked up to him wrapping her arms round his neck and planting a kiss to his lips. Booth didn't react, but took a step back, freeing himself from the strangely suffocating confines of her arms.

"I uh… I got caught in the rain. I'd like to hit the shower."

"Of course." If she noticed anything different about her boyfriend, Hannah didn't show it.

Booth hurriedly escaped into the safety of his bathroom. He peeled off the clothes that had seemed to be stuck to his skin and turned on the shower, adjusting the heat until the water was scalding hot. So hot, it hurt. The pain felt good. He felt the need to punish himself. He began to soap and scrub at his skin, trying to wash away the feeling of disgust with himself that he had since he had dropped his partner off at her apartment. He was angry. Angry at Brennan for having the gall to tell him now, when he was with someone else, angry at himself for the way he had reacted to her confession.

The night's events flashed in his mind again. There had been something off about her lately and he was sure it was the current case they were working on. His gut had told him to follow her. Just like he had done for the past six years, he was following his instincts to protect her. He was glad he did. He had saved her from being run over by a car in the pouring rain. He shuddered at the thought of losing her. He wouldn't have known how to live with himself if he had ignored his gut and she had gotten seriously injured or worse, killed that night. He knew he could not live in a world without her. And then the epiphany hit him like the car that would have hit her if not for his timely intervention. He was still in love with her, Temperance Brennan, Bones.

He was now stuck in a no-win situation that he had dug himself into. He let out an angered roar as he punched the tiled wall of his bathroom. The water was beginning to turn cold and he got out of the shower. Towelling himself dry he realized that his clothes were outside in his bedroom. He knew if he walked out of the bathroom naked. Hannah would have wanted sex. That was the last thing he wanted to do then. He wrapped the towel round his waist and opened the bathroom door.

Hannah was on his bed, waiting for him. She licked her lips involuntarily at the sight of him. Booth suddenly didn't feel like being naked in front of his girlfriend and grabbed a pair of boxers and a shirt, quickly slipping them on.

Hannah looked at him questioningly. "Why the hurry to get dressed?"

"Listen Hannah, it's been a long day. I'm just really tired. I'm gonna get some sleep okay?"

This time Hannah let her disappointment show. She sighed. "Okay. Maybe tomorrow morning before work then."

"Yeah, maybe."

As Booth climbed into bed next to her, she leaned in to brush her lips against his. Again, he didn't respond.

"Night." He mumbled as he turned his back to her, no longer desiring any physical contact with her. At that moment he did not desire any physical contact with anyone. He just wanted very much to be alone. He lay very still, waiting for her breathing to slow, signalling that she had fallen asleep. Booth couldn't sleep. He was worried about Brennan. He knew she had to be hurting, he had broke her heart. He had promised he would always protect her, but he had failed. His gaze fell upon his cellphone. He wanted to call her, but then, what would he say? She was probably mad at him. She had said she would adjust and he had no doubt she would. She was a one of the strongest women he knew. The sound of her voice and sobs tortured him. He hated that he was the one who had made her cry.

He thought of Hannah and of the months they had been together. He couldn't just dump her for Brennan. It just didn't seem right. He just wasn't that kind of guy. And he had basically already told Brennan that he wasn't going to do that. He groaned inwardly again at his impossible situation.

Unable to sleep, Booth's mind tortured him until the clock beside his bed read 4:47am. Careful not to wake Hannah, he stealthily climbed out of bed. He had to see her. He was certain she wasn't with Angela or Max. The thought of her hurting and alone was too much for him to bear. He threw on a pair of jeans and grabbed his jacket. In his truck, he was about to take the road to her apartment when he realized she wouldn't be there.

Booth walked into the deathly silent Jeffersonian medico-legal lab. He was thankful it was a Saturday morning and they didn't have a case on hand. The rest of the squint squad were likely still at home at this unearthly hour. He knew exactly where to find her. True enough, there she was in the bone room, hunched over a human skeleton. He felt relief wash over him. She was okay. But then again, he hadn't been egoistic enough to think that she would be balled up in a corner still crying over him.

He knocked on the doorframe, signalling his presence.

"Hey Bones."

Brennan looked up, clearly surprised. "Booth. What are you doing here?"

"I um… I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just… you know after last night." Her eyes looked puffy from crying and it compounded his guilt.

"I told you Booth, I can adjust. You needn't have worried."

"Right." He took a tentative step towards her. She didn't back away. It was a good sign. "Listen, about last night…"

"There's no need to explain yourself Booth. You made your position very clear."

"Yeah but you're still my partner and I still care about you. You're still important to me."

"Yes. But you're with Hannah now. I understand that."

"Bones I never wanted to hurt you. You believe that don't you?""

"Yes."

She was being so nice and polite about it. He wished she was screaming at him, telling him how angry she was at him, because he was still furious at himself.

"Are you satisfied that I'm physically and emotionally well?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Do we have a new case?"

"No."

"Then I'd like to be left to my work please."

"Right. Yeah." Booth knew she wanted him to leave and he didn't know what else to say. "So I'll see you around?"

"Yes. When we have a case. You have Hannah now."

Why'd she have to keep reminding him of that? She had reminded him of a sad fact. Since he had gotten together with Hannah, they had spent less time together.

"I know that. But I also want you to know that I'm still your partner. I'm still here for you." At that moment he felt like a hypocrite.

"I appreciate that Booth."

Booth offered her a small nod before turning to leave. He glanced back at her but she seemed engrossed in her bones again. He sighed. The thought of going home to Hannah made the same feeling of dead envelope him again. When he got home, Hannah was sitting at the kitchen counter eating breakfast.

"Where were you this morning?" She asked as he entered.

"Um… you know this case, it was hard on all of us."

"You were with Temperance."

"Yeah." Booth didn't want to lie. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

"And is she?"

"Yeah. I think."

"You wanna fool around? I really wanted to last night."

"You know what Hannah? I just… I'm not in the mood."

It was the first time he had turned down sex with her. She seemed to take offense. He read it in her face and the way she folded her arms across her chest.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Temperance."

"She's my partner. We go out for drinks after we solve a case to celebrate. I've explained this to you before."

Hannah nodded. "You're having your son over this weekend?"

Parker. His name is Parker. "Yeah, I'm going over to Rebecca's to pick him now. Have breakfast, then maybe a trip to the park. You wanna come?"

He was confident she would say no. She never liked spending time with Parker.

"I have this lead on a story I need to chase. I'll be out of town for the weekend. I'll see you on Sunday night?"

"Yeah."

Hannah put the empty bowl of cereal in the kitchen sink and moved towards Booth. He allowed her to plant a kiss to his cheek. "See you Sunday."

After breakfast Booth took Parker to the park as planned. They sat on the bench, catching up on what the boy had been up to since the last time they were together. This was followed by tossing a football to each other and a mandatory tumble in the grass as Brennan liked to describe it.

As Booth threw the football to Parker, he realized it had been a long time since his partner had joined them in the park. He remembered times before Maluku and Afghanistan, when Brennan would join them. He remembered that on some weekends they spent time at her pool or enjoyed a picnic in the park.

"I wish Bones was here." Parker said as he ran up to his father, tossing him the football.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." The boy shrugged. "I don't get to see her anymore. I kinda miss her."

Booth missed spending time like this with her too. But the dynamics of his relationship with his partner was too complicated to explain to his ten-year-old son.

"Since Hannah isn't here with us today, could we ask her out to lunch? I'm hungry."

"Lunch? We just ate breakfast."

"Not right now. Maybe she could meet us at the Diner later and we could have milkshakes together. I miss having milkshakes with Bones."

"Yeah um… you know what buddy? I think Bones is kinda busy this weekend."

"Bummer. Can I see her though? Some time soon? I only saw her once since you came back from the war."

"I'll ask her okay?"

"Okay. I like it when Bones is around Dad."

Booth sighed as Parker ran towards the playground, signalling to his father to follow. Just like his son, he liked it when she was around too. He was again reminded of the impossible situation he was in.

It won't be long before things get fixed, hang in there!