Chapter 1

A/N: I would not classify this as a songfic, rather as a story inspired by a song to begin with. I was listening to 'Hey Jealousy' by the Gin Blossoms and the idea stuck in my head where Booth shows up at Brennan's door after years of separation. Other songs have played a part in inspiration for sections of this story, particularly 'February Song' by Josh Groban (more the intrsumental than the lyrics). Just so you know, Italics represents the past, or a flashback or some sort. This storyline is not something I'd usually write, but I gave it a go. So please enjoy...

He'd been living in Philadelphia for three years now, and in those three years he had not once spoken to his best friend, his partner.

For everything she was excellent at, Dr Temperance Brennan was never able to accept when something good was happening to her, and that night outside the Hoover, where Booth wanted to give 'them' a chance, was no exception.

She ran.

And then so did he.

His time in the Philadelphia FBI Field Office had been pleasant, and he was quickly accepted as an expert in his field, and promoted to Special Agent In Charge of that particular FBI office. The FBI Office was much smaller than that in DC, but his job here as Special Agent In Charge was practically the same as what he'd done in Washington, aside from the fact that he rarely went into the field and was more of a desk-jockey in the years he'd been in charge.

Had he been tempted to keep contact with his old life? Yes. Had he regretted his decision to leave DC after having his heart ripped out and thrown at him? Hell yes. But there was always a part of Booth that knew that he had to leave, that things had to change between him and Brennan, his Bones.

It was on this particular night, though, that Booth found himself driving through the familiar streets of DC, soaking up the memories of the place he once called home. The why escaped him, Booth had no clue why he had come back to Washington. There was nothing here for him, and nothing he had to offer the city either.

Booth parked his car in front of a particular apartment building, surprised to see the lights dimly lit at such an early hour of the evening. Things must have changed a lot since he left, and Booth knew that he had no right to just walk back into someone elses life. He had promised he would never abandon her, promised that he would always be there for her no matter what. Yet when everything got to be too much, Special Agent Seeley Booth, the man who had hidden his true feelings for Brennan for so long, could not even stand to be in the same city as the woman who had broken - crushed - his heart.

Booth had taken the opportunity to go to Afghanistan, though the distance truly did make the heart grow fonder, and though he wished that Brennan would be different - more open - when they got back, he was denied, again. It was then, after a few cases back, that Booth knew for certain that things between them needed to change - and fast. He took a few weeks off work, trying to 'find himself', as he explained to Sweets, and figured his past was the best place for him to be. Within the week, Booth had submitted his transfer request to the Philidelphia field Office and waved goodbye to his friends and family in DC, leaving them behind forever.

He had said it to her before. "Things have to change". He just never expected to be saying it in this context. He was seated at the Founding Fathers bar, with Brennan at their table. His beer was half empty, and Booth had been trying to summon the courage to tell Brennan of his plans.

"There's something I need to tell you, Bones" he stated, not looking up from his beer, trying to hide so she couldn't read him.

Brennan looked up from her wine, and tried to search his eyes. Booth was always open to her about... everything, yet she could sense that this time, this time he was trying to keep something from her.

"Go ahead, Booth" she encouraged, grasping at Booth's hand on the table to reassure him that whatever he had to say, she would be okay with it.

"I... I think I'm gonna move back to Philly, Bones." He felt terrible. Seeley Booth was not a man who ran from a fight, in fact he preferred to run towards them, to protect those he cared for. Yet this time, Booth was weak at the knees, terrified at what her response would be. All of his promises to her were broken in an instant, in a mere sentence.

She searched his face for clues, but all that Brennan could detect was remorse - for what, she did not know. "I don't know what that means."

It was her defense mechanism, in this case at least. Brennan had some clue as to why Booth was leaving, but she wanted - no, needed - to hear it from him.

"It means, Bones," Booth was afraid to continue, and he disguised his fears with a long sip from his beer, hesistantly placing it back on the coaster in front of him. "It means that I can't stay here Bones. I put my transfer in on Monday, and I leave Saturday afternoon."

In that moment, Booth saw, actually saw, Brennan's heart break. The flash of pain that briefly flickered across her eyes was enough to make him cry, but Booth had to be strong - he had to do this. The woman in front of him had been his entire life for almost seven years. She was the only person that he had ever loved enough to let them be, and when push came to shove, Booth knew the best thing to do for her, for him, for them was to leave, and never look back.

The tears rimmed in her eyes, threatening to spill over in a neverending stream. "Why? Is it because of me?" She felt a physical ache in her chest as the words slipped from her lips.

Booth sighed. She was a woman of logic, of reason, and though his reasons for leaving were rooted in things that she would not believe in, Temperance Brennan deserved the truth.

"Yes" he whispered, barely audible. Brennan caught the reserve and regret in Booth's tone as the single word answer was uttered.

"What I said to you outside the Hoover that night, Bones, all of it was true. I love you, Temperance, and I can't stop loving you. I've tried, God have I tried. I let you run to Maluku, Bones, for a year, a year and it didn't help. And I can't take it anymore, Bones."

"You don't want to love me?"

Booth almost choked on his beer as he scoffed at Brennan's remark. "No, Bones, you don't want to love me, or at least try to love me. I love you so much, so fucking much, that it actually, physically hurts, Bones, and I can't stop loving you. That's why I gotta go, Bones." With that, Booth finished his beer, slammed a few notes on the table and slowly dragged himself out of the bar, leaving his partner, his best friend and the woman he was so madly in love with behind.

This is a new story whose prompt had me going for a while (What would happen if BB returned and everything remained the same between them?) I've written a few more chapters so far, but I'd like to know what everyone thinks, and whether or not I should continue.

Thanks,

Kiz