Disclaimer: I don't even know why I'm bothering to write this (the disclaimer, not the story), but it makes it more legit.

A/N: This is my first attempt at a Bones fanfic. I had previous experience on another account with Twilight stories and received a reasonable amount of reviews, but ultimately a year a later I realized that I no longer wanted to be associated with mindless literature like the Twilight Saga.

I was extremely unsatisfied with the lack of conclusion from "The Doctor in the Photo", but it intrigued me so much CAUSE IT WAS JUST SO DRAMATIC. O_O This little one-shot takes place the next morning, and you might interpret it as just as inconclusive as the episode, but oh well. : D

Click. Click. Click.

Dr. Temperance Brennan slowly looked up to the source of distraction; the clock ticked by with amplified sound as she realized it was 4 AM in the morning. She smiled, for it was another night that she had made it through. Rubbing her eyes, she continued to trudge through the paperwork of their latest case. Normally, she had nothing against sleep because it was a natural cycle of human beings to shut down their body in order to prepare for the following day. Lately though, sleep only proved to be a hindrance for her. Every time she closed her eyes the face of someone always appeared, someone who could never get out of her thoughts. Booth was like a planet and she was an object that could never reach escape velocity. She smiled to herself that an analogy materialized so easily into her mind; it was something picked up from Booth of course.

She closed her eyes as she stopped to contemplate. You do realize that you're the hypocrite here right? Wishing for something more with Booth right now makes no sense; you told him that you were an unrelenting scientist who couldn't take a chance with him, she thought. Yes. Of course she realized that, but that didn't ease the suffocating feeling she felt every time a certain someone crossed her mind.

Brennan wasn't stupid either; she was not going to pretend that there was still a chance. She was also not going to pretend to be sad and miserable around others either. It was a talent of hers, being able to shut out factors in her life that were not wanted.

As she stumbled upon an old newspaper that featured her and the Jeffersonian, she gently let her hands come in contact with the woman in the photo. She looked serious and without a smile, but there was no pain or sadness. She was just… Temperance Brennan. She closed her eyes and realized all the changes that Booth had brought upon her. He showed her into another perspective of the world that she had isolated herself from. He showed her that she could belong in such a place. Love and acceptance had made way into her life, but it only hurt her. She couldn't help but think that without Booth in her life, both happiness and pain wouldn't have existed. The cosmic scale of happiness would be at absolute zero, but she could do with equilibrium.

You've certainly changed over these 6 years, and quite frankly I think you would've been better off without him, she thought. I'm suited for being alone. And being alone doesn't equate to being lonely. The longer you put this, this mangled relationship that you have with him right now, the more it's going to hurt later.

Brennan reflexively ran her hands through her hair, which she had noticed had lost its usual softness. And she couldn't but help to ponder the beautiful long tresses of Hannah. A pulse of anger ran through her and she threw a glass pencil holder against the wall. She breathed erratically as she realized what she had just done. Anger management had never been a problem, but she guessed frustration was.

I told Booth I didn't want him. Now he has a new love interest. I should be happy for them, she rationalized. End of story. End of anything with Seeley Booth. Go back to work.

Brennan picked up her pen and continued.

...

Colors. Faces she couldn't memorize. Pandas?

Suddenly, a particularly overweight panda tapped her shoulder. She looked over and tried to pry the mammal off. However, it didn't stop.

"Stop it, you endangered animal! Why is an Ailuropoda melanoleuca like you even here?" She asked, confused.

The panda opened its monstrous mouth and yelled her name.

"BONES! BONES!" it yelled in a distorted sound. Booth once mentioned some character from pop culture that had a similar sound, Garth Cater? Something like that.

Suddenly, the panda assaulted her arm and shook her violently.

Brennan's head snapped up and she stared into the eyes of Seeley Booth before her mind actually woke up. She slowly realized that it was a dream.

"Bones you okay? I thought for a moment that you passed out or something. I shook you like 8 times, and you almost hit me." He chuckled as his warm brown eyes lit up.

"There is no physical harm brought upon me." She declared, rubbing her eyes and checking the clock. "It was so weird, I was dreaming about pandas and colors."

"Were you here all night?" he asked, as the situation between them became less comfortable.

"I'm perfectly fine; I figured that if I couldn't sleep I at least should get something done. Do you have a case?" she asked, shuffling around the papers on her desk, careful not to make direct eye contact.

Booth was a bit taken aback by the tone in which she replied. It wasn't cold or friendly, but it sure wasn't what he was used to. With the silence between them, the issue of their talk last night in Booth's car started to loom over their presence.

"No, I don't have a case." He said, still watching her shuffle around, with a smile. "But can't I visit my favorite anthropologist without work as a reason?"

She stopped abruptly.

"Stop it, Booth." She snapped. "You know perfectly why you can't visit quote my favorite anthropologist unquote. It's quite apparent that there is a significant other in your life. It is unwise and illogical for us to pretend that we can be friends." she thought.

"I'm flattered to hear that." she said in a monotonous voice. "Thank you for the visit, and if there is no case for us, I will need to continue with this paperwork."

"Bones are you still upset about last night?" he said with a twinge of caution.

"I am not upset. It was merely a thought that was floating around my head; it was not a logical thought as I am aware that you are in a committed relationship with Hannah. It was also my own decision to not give our relationship a chance.." She said with the sincerest confidence that she had. "The heart is a muscle. It does not break. And as for my mind, the human memory is capable of forgetting. So the answer to your question, is that no, I am not still upset about last night."

The heaviness of the atmosphere was interrupted by a call from Booth's cell phone. Brennan heard the slight shuffle as he reached for the device in his back pocket, and breathed just a little easier knowing that she wouldn't hear his reply as soon.

"Booth." He said, listening. "Okay, I'll be right there."

"It was Hannah and she needs my help with a story about an emerging drug dealer group." He said, halfway out the door.

"Alright. She requires your assistance." She said, with a tone that neither of them could recognize. There was no happiness or anger; in fact, he realized, it was nothing. Nothing.

She kept it obvious that she was not upset with the blank expression on her face. Her icy eyes stayed the same.

Booth lingered a bit longer, expecting a goodbye or some sort of farewell. But it was apparent that such a thing was not going to be said as she stood up to pack her things up, presumably to freshen up at home and to come back for another all-nighter. She continued to move around, with no intention of continuing conversation.

He walked out.

A/N: DON'T HATE ME. -_- I don't have the patience to expand this plot, but please tell me your reactions/CONSTRUCTIVE criticism/hatred toward this little snippet. If you don't review, Bones shall be abducted by a panda and then Booth and her will NEVER be together. Muhahahaha. :D