A/N: I was inspired to write this after watching Bullet in the Brain once again. This story has been written in several different ways, but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone. Thanks for indulging me. Laura

Booth knew this trip would be a mistake as soon as he pulled away from the apartment.

"Where are we going?", Hannah asked as she buckled her seatbelt over her jeans and tee shirt. "After everything that's happened over the last couple of weeks, I'd think you'd want to stay home and rest…you know...relax...spend some time at home with your girlfriend..."

"I don't want to stay inside on a nice day like this." That wasn't really a lie...he didn't want to stay inside with her today. He had to get away from the pressures of DC for a while...and of course, she had to come. She wouldn't understand, but she still had to come. "We're going for a drive. I want to show you something."

They drove south for a couple of hours, with her trying to make conversation and him trying to avoid it. He was preoccupied, turning over a puzzle in his mind, and he'd hoped driving would help him clear his head. Finally he turned to his passenger, his eyebrow raised. "What?"

"I said there's a lot of great things to do on Richmond...a lot of historical sites. There's a Civil War Museum and the Edgar Allan Poe House…" Her voice trailed off as the SUV turned west onto I-64. "Of course, maybe we aren't stopping Richmond today…"

"Nope." Booth shook his head as he checked the rearview mirror. "I said I wanted to show you something…" He drove further, without saying much, traveling several more minutes before turning onto what was supposed to be an improved county road. The truck sped down the two bumpy lane highway, getting further and further from the urban sprawl surrounding DC. Finally he pulled off on a gravel road just outside of the small town of Carterville. "This is it."

"Oh." Hannah breathed out a sigh as she rolled her eyes. "I see. This is it." She stared out the window at the heavily wooded landscape on the other side of a fence. "I just don't understand. Why would Jacob Broadsky deed this parcel of land over to you?"

Booth got out of the SUV before he answered, turning to see if Hannah was following him. "I'm not sure...I've got an idea, though…"

"Wasn't that a huge waste of money? I mean, this is what...ten acres? And even at just five thousand dollars an acre, that's 50,000 dollars…" She grimaced as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "That's kind of an expensive gift…"

"He was paid two million dollars to take the shot that killed Heather Taffet. He could afford to buy this land. Anyway, the land wasn't exactly a gift for me. It was more like a challenge…" Booth walked over to the gate and looked up in the tree to see if the surveillance camera was still in place, but it was gone. "Jake knew that I wouldn't be able to resist coming out to take a look if he attached my name to this place." Trying to open the gate, he pushed hard, forcing it to squeak as it slowly turned on its rusty hinges. "He knew I'd have to come see what was out here." He offered Hannah his hand before they started up a path. "Bones was right...I was a fucking idiot to come out here by myself. Jake could've killed me and no one would've ever found my body..."

Of course 'Bones' was right. Isn't she always right? Not wanting to appear jealous or whiny, Hannah gritted her teeth to avoid saying something she'd regret. "I still don't get it. He just gave you this piece of land…"

"I don't think he really intended to give it to me. He was using to prove a point. He wanted to show me who was really in charge, I guess. He was staying on a piece of land that was supposed to be mine, and he was challenging me to come take it back from him. It was kind of like challenging me to a duel." Booth shrugged a shoulder as he walked ahead a few paces. "Us elite snipers...we all know each other. Most of us have trained together at one time or another. I trained with Jake while we were in the service. He thinks he's a better man than me, and he was trying to prove it, so he threw down the gauntlet. 'Come and get me, Seeley, if you think you're so goddamn tough. Come and take me out'. Anyway, Caroline Julian says the land is all mine now, bought and paid for, with a perfectly legal deed listing me as the owner, so I can do whatever I want with it." Booth shuddered slightly as he squinted in the bright sunlight, trying to forget the way Jake had sneered so wickedly as he stood over him that day. He could've killed me then and there...but he didn't. What's his game? The Hand of God...is he after someone else? I hope not…but probably so... Trying to shake off his anxiety, Booth picked up his pace, forcing a smile. "Let's go, slowpoke."

Nervously listening to her boyfriend's explanation, Hannah stopped and glared at Booth. "Is there a chance he's still hiding out here? We could be walking into another trap!"

Would I bring you out here if I thought he was still around? Crazy woman..."Nah...the bomb techs came out and cleared the place. No more booby traps, and I'm sure Jake is long gone by now. He probably has another job to do somewhere…" Booth continued to move up the path. "Come on...we're almost there."

Hannah stood with her hands on her hips as she watched Booth walk up a small rise. "You know, I'm still angry because you didn't call me that night to tell me what had happened."

He snorted derisively. "Helluva lotta good that would've done, Hannah. You were with the President in Oslo, right? It would've taken you almost a day to get home, and by then I would've been cleared for desk duty." He bit his lip, realizing he sounded bitter. "I'm sorry. I know you were working. It wasn't a big deal, okay? Just minor injuries. See, I'm fine…"

Trudging up the hill after him, she shook her head. "That's not the point, Seeley. We're a couple now, and I'm entitled to know what's going on in your life. Have you even bothered to list me on your paperwork as someone the FBI should contact in case you're severely injured? I don't want to have to rely on Temperance for all my news about you…"

Booth spun around, astonished as he stared at his girlfriend. "Bones called you? When?"

"It was around eight AM in Oslo the day after you'd been wounded, so it must've been midnight or so here. She said she didn't want me to worry, but that you'd been injured while trying to apprehend a dangerous suspect. Is that really how you want me to find out what's going on? Having someone like her calling me?" Hannah tapped her foot as she glared at him. "Or maybe you didn't want me to know you'd been working that case so closely with Temperance…"

"What's that supposed to mean? Look, how many times do I have to tell you? Bones is just my partner, okay? That's all." He swallowed hard as he remembered once again how he'd watched Bones through the diner window that evening, wishing things had been different between them. Bones looked so beautiful, holding that shell up to her ear...she's always been there for me… Sighing quietly, he walked back to Hannah and took her hand in his. "Hey, let's not fight, okay? C'mere…" He helped her up to the crest of the hill. They were looking down into a clearing in the trees. "So what do you think? I'm gonna put the house right there…"

"House? You want to build a house out here in the middle of nowhere?" Hannah was flabbergasted. "Are you crazy?"

"The land is paid for, so why not build on it? It's not like it's gonna be great big mansion, you know. Three or four bedrooms...a big living room for a giant television...a nice eat in kitchen…" Booth grinned as he looked out over the land. "I'd like a log cabin…"

"Just what does a single guy like you need with four bedrooms? I could understand that if it was a hunting cabin, but you're talking about living out here full time, right?" Hannah laughed out loud. "I don't believe it. You're joking, right?" She stopped suddenly as she saw the embarrassed look on Booth's face. "Oh, my God...you're not joking. You really want to live out here…"

"Just on the weekends, or maybe over Memorial Day or Labor Day...maybe take some time off in the summer when school's out...maybe spend Christmas vacation out here. Me, you, Parker...it'll be fun. We can put in air conditioning to make it bearable when it's hot, and there's a little town a couple of miles down the road where we can get groceries. Parker would love hiking out here. It'd be a nice place for the family to come together for the holidays. Maybe even the grandkids..."

"Do you know how far we are from an airport? I might be able to fly out of Richmond, but it's not nearly as easy to make international connections as it is when you fly out of DC. I'd also have to drive to DC for all of my meetings with the members of Congress or with the President. I'd almost need to keep a place in town. That doesn't sound very practical to me. Besides, I lived in the wilderness while I was in Afghanistan. I'm not looking forward to roughing it that much anymore…"

"Yeah, but we could make it work. I mean, you wouldn't really be roughing it, and it's not like we'd live out here all the time. It's mostly gonna be a vacation home…" Booth frowned sadly, disappointed, but not surprised, that Hannah wasn't sharing his enthusiasm for the plans he'd made. "I think it'd be great to have a house in the country."

"You're a city kid, Seeley. I'm not sure you're cut out to live in the sticks. Here's what sounds more practical to me." Hannah grinned as she put her arms around Booth's waist. "Why not sell this acreage and put the money down on a condo in one of those new high rise buildings? They're beautiful...granite counters, stainless appliances, lots of windows...we could get a two bedroom place so Parker would have a room…"

"You mean one of those cookie cutter places? No, thank you. I like my goofy little apartment just fine. If I'm gonna move, I want it to be to a place that's got some personality." He glanced at his watch. "I guess we should head back to DC. You wanted to go see a movie tonight, right?"

"Yes, I want to go see Crazy, Stupid, Love." My friend Allie said it was really cute." Hannah winked at Booth as they walked back to the SUV. "I bet that little town up the road doesn't even have a movie theater."

"Maybe not." He paused to listen as the birds sang merrily in the nearby trees. "But we'd have fun doing other things…or we could rent movies to watch on my big screen tv..."

"Nice try, I don't think so. Both of us need to live in the city for our jobs and to keep our sanity." Hannah giggled at Booth's annoyance. "Come on, let's go home and get ready to go to the movies. Maybe tomorrow we can go look at condos."

Booth shook his head as he unlocked the car, turning around to take a long look at the woods behind the fence. He'd been right. This trip was a mistake, but he'd learned a lot about Hannah along the way.