"So how are the two of you?" Dr Lance Sweets asks as Seeley and Temperance sit down.
"Fine," she answers.
He nods in agreement.
"Is there anything that you would like to talk about?" he asks already knowing the answer.
"Why can't Bones commit?" Seeley responds surprisingly.
"What? Why would you ask that?" she questions more than a tad offended.
"Well because you seem to be under the impression that relationships are temporary," Seley answers.
"So?"
"They aren't," Booth tells her.
"Why are you afraid to commit?" Sweets asks her.
"I'm not afraid to commit,"
"Then why haven't you?"
"Booth and I are partners. I've been committed to that,"
"Dr. Brennan he means romantically,"
"I know what he means," she sighs in disbelief.
"So why haven't you committed?"
"I don't believe in committing,"
"She's lying Sweets,"
"Booth why would you say that?" she rages.
"Because you are. It's not that you don't believe in committing, you just don't want to, because you're scared,"
"I am not scared,"
"Dr. Brennan how long did your longest committed relationship last?"
"Six years," she answers.
Both men are astounded and dumbfounded by her answer.
"This was a romantic relationship?" Sweets clarifies.
"Yes," she nods.
"Six years? You were with someone for six years and you never mentioned them to me?" Seeley questions her.
"I guess not,"
"So you dated someone for six years before you met me?"
"No,"
"No?" Booth furrows his brow.
"Our relationship was in its final stages when I met you,"
"So what happened?"
"He and I just weren't compatible," she admits.
"I can't believe that you dated someone for six years and failed to mention it to me?"
"Yes, Dr. Brennan I find that extremely interesting. Why didn't you tell Booth? You tell Booth nearly everything,"
"Angela knew,"
"Temperance don't change the subject," Seeley warns.
"Sorry," she apologizes.
"Who was this guy?"
"His name is Peter, Pete," she responds.
"You dated him for six years?"
"No," she shakes her head.
"That's what you just said," Seeley points out.
"I said that we were together for six years I didn't say that we dated for six years,"
"So you were roommates for six years?" Seeley questions.
"No. We were roommates for five years,"
"So you were friends for a year before you were roommates?"
"Among other things,"
As per usual Sweets is left out of the conversation.
"I don't understand," Seeley admits.
"May I offer a suggestion?" Sweets butts in.
"Go ahead," Seeley nods.
"Did it ever occur to you that she was more than dating this man?"
"What do you mean?" Seeley asks.
"She did say committed. Maybe she meant engaged or married,"
"I'm sure that she didn't," Seeley argues.
"I did actually," she admits shamefully.
"You were engaged to someone and you never told me?"
"No I wasn't engaged to him," she replies.
"So..."
"I was married," she declares rather emotionlessly.
"Married? You were married?" Booth repeats in awe.
"Yes," she nods.
"For how long?"
"Four years,"
"What happened?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," she admits.
"Bones...,"
She leaves the room.
He stares at Sweets in shock.
"You should go after her," Sweets suggests.
"She doesn't want to talk to me,"
"Yeah she does. You're the only one she wants to talk to right now,"
Seeley leaves the room. He finds her in the parking garage standing by the car crying.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you,"
"It's not your fault. You didn't know,"
"Anyone who is dumb enough to leave you isn't good enough for you anyway,"
"He didn't leave,"
"So what happened?"
"I filed for divorce. I left the country. When I got back the papers had been signed,"
"Angela knew you were married?"
"No. I never told her that I was married. I was embarrassed,"
"About being married?"
"About being too much of a chicken to tell her,"
"Why did you get a divorce?"
"Things don't always go according to plan,"
"Of course they don't. We don't get to plan things God does,"
"I hope you're wrong,"
"Why?"
"Things between Pete and I were never... we never had a real honeymoon phase. We'd fight and make up. That's how our entire relationship was,"
"So why did you marry him in the first place?"
"I loved him, but we were like oil and water. I was tired of feeling trapped,"
"So you walked away?"
"He never met a girl he didn't like. I got tired, and frustrated. I probably would have stayed married, but I reached a breaking point. I knew that no matter how hard we tried our marriage couldn't be salvaged. He knew that as well,"
"What happened?"
"Nothing," she lies.
"Bones," he utters her name in accusatory tone.
She climbs into the car. He climbs into the drivers seat and puts the keys in the ignition but doesn't start the car.
"What happened? You don't just walk away from people. You might push them away but you don't walk away,"
"In this particular instance I did both. I couldn't handle looking at him everyday,"
"Why not? Because of his cheating?"
"No. I've been cheated on before, that I could handle,"
"So what changed?"
"Life. All of a sudden everything in my life was upside down and I didn't know what to do. All I could do was work. I just worked, and hoped that everything would go away. And when I met you I started to feel like it might. My focus changed, but when we were done working together I couldn't face things anymore. So I took a vacation,"
"In a foreign country with remains up to your ears?"
"Among other things," she answers, "Can you just take me back? I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Ok," he agrees as he turns the car on.
When they arrive at the Jeffersonian Temperance scurries away to study remains, and Seeley goes to pay Angela a visit.
Angela is slowly eating her lunch when he walks in.
"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" she asks after swallowing.
"I need to talk to you,"
She wipes her mouth with a napkin and then replies, "Sure what's up?"
"Did you know that Bones was married?"
"No she wasn't," Angela argues.
"She was," he argues back.
"To whom?"
"Peter, or Pete?"
"She was married to Pete?"
"Yes," he nods.
"And she told you this?"
"Only to prove to me that she is not afraid to commit,"
"That doesn't prove anything,"
"I agree,"
"So what do you want to know?"
"Why did she end it? She wouldn't tell me,"
"It's not something she talks about. I told her to see a therapist, but she didn't. She started working with you and when your case was over she went to Guatemala instead,"
"What happened? Did he do something to her? Did he hurt her?"
"No. She is how she's always been. She's career driven, she always has been. However there was a point in time when she slowed down, when her focus shifted. We were all relieved, temporarily at least,"
"Meaning?"
"She got pregnant,"
"Bones has a kid?"
"No," Angela shakes her head.
"So..."
"She was... we were all surprised, even she was surprised when she embraced it. She was happy about it,"
"So what happened?"
"Everything went according to plan. She had the baby... it was a boy. He seemed fine. He went to get blood drawn... and whatever else they do with newborns. They took him to the nursery for a while so that they could move her to recovery. He was really big, so she had to have a c-section so she was out of it. As the nurse was getting ready to take him back to her he started convulsing. The seizure stopped, but he had a brain bleed, and died a few minutes later. She wouldn't even see him. And Pete was worthless. He wasn't even there. He missed the whole thing he was in Atlantic City with some old friends,"
"So she shut off?"
"Uh huh. I really shouldn't have told you, but I know she'd never tell you that,"
He leaves without saying another word.