Authors Note: I have written two small oneshots before, but this is my first multi chapter fic. I would love love love any and all feedback you are willing to give me!

I do not own Bones, if I did, Booth and Brennan probably would have been married and living in a suburb with 2.5 children by now...

Three days.

Three days for the world to be right side up again.

Well, it had been three days, and while Brennan was no longer seeing her face when looking at photos of victims or listening for answers from remains, her world was far from right side up. She had finally opened her heart, and the results were crushing.

She had felt something, and at first, that was enough. She told herself that at least she was living. After all, what had she been expecting? That Booth would drop Hannah within seconds of her professing her love?

'First of all, you didn't profess your love' she told herself, 'and secondly, yes, that is exactly what you were hoping for.'

But that wasn't Booth, and she knew it. It was one of the reasons she cared for him so much. He was loyal, trustworthy, and a good friend. At least he had been a good friend. She wasn't sure were anything stood between them now. There partnership and friendship were incredibly rocky.

'That is an extraordinary understatement.' She scoffed.

So as she signed the last few documents for the Lauren Eames file, she closed her eyes, resting her head in her hands and listened to the silence in the lab. It had been hours since everyone had left. Cam was meeting Paul for dinner, Hodgins and Angela left early after an afternoon bout of morning sickness had Hodgins wrangling a very cranky artist, and Booth, well he was home with Hannah. They had all moved on for the evening.

They had all moved on in their lives.

And Brennan was exactly where she had been 5 years ago. Alone. Only now instead of an empty shell, she was experiencing pain and loss she hadn't felt since she lost her parents.

Progress.

~~~~~~~~~~B&B~~~~~~~~~~~

The shrill ringing of her cell phone awoke Brennan in the early morning hours. It had been two weeks since the Lauren Eames case had been closed, since she had divulged her biggest regret to her partner. Two weeks of no cases and no Booth.

The emotional and physical distance between the partners had been palpable since that infamous night in the SUV. On some level, Brennan had thought that they could go on pretending, but she quickly realized that she no longer wanted to pretend that everything was ok. She was not ok. Every time his name was mentioned or her phone flashed with a text message from his cell, the pain came flooding back. She didn't want to be in pain, she didn't want to think of the way things used to be, or could have been. And since she could no longer go back to a place of not feeling, she avoided his presence all together.

Only now, as his name flashed across her caller ID, she knew ignoring him was no longer an option. She was a professional; she would do her job and she would do it well, just as she always had.

"Brennan."

"Bones, we got a case. I will be by to pick you up in 15."

"I can drive myself. Text me the address." Brennan quickly hung up before the argument could ensue, knowing she would probably regret that decision later. But she had come to realize that things were not what they once were, and to pretend that everything is the same is completely irrational and foolish.

Thirty minutes later, Brennan pulled up to the crime scene, quickly glancing around to prepare for the situation she was about to embark on. She quickly spotted Booth, overseeing the FBI technicians already working the scene. Having learned in the last five years how to read Booth's body language, she was prepared for the bickering she expected would follow.

"Hunter found the remains this morning, I imagine they have been scavenged pretty badly, but no one has gone near the body. Didn't want to compromise the evidence." Booth curtly noted.

'Ok… No hello, but you cut him off Brennan, you can't have expected him to be thrilled with you He wants all business, we can do all business.'

"Female, 25-35 years old, Caucasoid, fracture on the occipital bone, likely as a result of blunt force trauma or possibly a fall. I won't know more until we get the remains back to the lab. Samples should be taken of the soil surrounding the body so that Hodgins can look for particulates. Once Cam is finished with the remains, I will do a thorough analysis and let you know the results. I am sure you can handle transport; I have a great deal of work to finish back at the lab." Brennan finished as she stood and flexed her back.

'Don't make eye contact Brennan; he will see that as an opening. Just collect your kit and leave'

She attempted to enact her plan quickly, but all was lost when her foot slipped on the slick ground. Booth reached for her elbow, swiftly supporting all of her weight and keeping her from a painful fall.

"Bones, you ok?" he questioned with genuine concern, all former frustration forgotten the second he saw her lose her footing.

For a brief moment Brennan felt comfort in his strong grip, flashing to a promise of "I will never let you fall"; however that moment was incredibly short lived as all the recent times she had fallen, quite alone, came slamming back to her in an instant. She pulled her elbow away, mumbling a quick thank you and made her way to her car; all the while ignoring the call of "Bones" coming from behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~B&B~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well that went well…" mumble Booth as he watched her car pull away.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting in their first case, their first interaction, since that evening.

He had made multiple attempts to contact her, but all had gone unheeded as she repeatedly ignored his messages. He considered dropping in on her, like he had done so many times in the past, but this was no longer the past. He couldn't keep doing things as he always had, he had a future now, he had Hannah.

Hannah.

The balancing act in the last few weeks had been torturous.

'Who are you kidding Booth, it has been months that you have been trying to keep your two worlds from colliding'

The constant worry about Bones, the constant worry about Hannah seeing him so worried about Bones, it was all starting to weigh very heavily. But as much as he told himself that he had moved on, that Hannah had become his priority, he couldn't stop his thoughts from drifting to his partner in the middle of the night.

He was certain Hannah had picked up on something, no matter how diligently he had been trying to hide it. Her investigative and journalistic nature had her questioning him daily. He was certain she knew something was wrong, but hadn't quite put her finger on it yet.

'She can't know. If she finds out about your past, about Bones, it's over.'

Each thought had him more determined to quickly work things out with his partner so that he can refocus on his girlfriend.

'Good luck figuring out how to square things away with Bones. She is angry and sad, and there is nothing you can do about it. This is your fault.'

A wave of anger flooded him along with his guilt. His fault! His fault! He had done everything she had asked of him, and now that he was moving on, now that he was happy, she does this. Their problems were far from his fault and if she wanted to fix their partnership, their friendship, it was going to fall on her to make the first move.