C'mon Temperance. You can do this. Just a few more minutes. She told herself. Temperance Brennan was the highest ranked Forensic Anthropologist in the entire world. She prided herself on her logic and reason, her rationality.
So why was it that she was having to convince herself not to run at that moment?
The answer lay with the blonde holding onto the tall, brunette man's arm. Hannah. The woman who had come at exactly the wrong time. Brennan smiled at her and continued their conversation. But on the inside she was crumbling.
Booth kissed Hannah's temple and Brennan's carefully constructed mask slipped for a second before she turned away and took a small sip of the glass of water. She desperately wished it was alchohol, some substance that she could drown herself in and make herself forget.
She hadn't felt this much pain since her third year of partnership with Booth, when she had thought he was dead. She thought for a while that that pain was the worst there could be. But she didn't know her opinion would be challenged like it was now, having him living and breathing, so close to her. But surrounded with his love for another woman.
He was so close, and still so far away.
"Do you want to come?" she heard the slightly bubbly voice speak. Brennan turned around, plastering the smile back on.
"No thanks, I have too much work to do here." She said from her seat at the desk. She sat in her office, usually a place of such comfort to her but right now it was a place of sorrows, missed opportunities, and forgotten love.
"Alright then, suit yourself Bones. Just don't stay up too late." Booth said in his deep, gravelly voice. It was the voice he got when he was concerned. She knew him so well by now, as she should. Perhaps too well. Perhaps that was one of the things she needed to forget, the patterns of behavior she'd long since documented about her partner of six years, Seeley Booth.
Just smile and they'll go…then you can have a break Temperance. She thought to herself, smiling at the couple.
"Have a good time Booth." Damn! Brennan thought as she heard the longing in her voice. She cleared her throat once and added, "And you, Hannah."
Hannah just nodded and dragged Booth out. Brennan watched them go, and the second she heard their footsteps fade, the false smile fell from her face as her head fell against the desk with a thunk! She draped one arm around her middle, feeling as if she had to hold herself together that way.
Luckily it was nighttime. Lucky that everyone had already gone. Lucky that she was alone again…or was it so lucky? A single choking sound could be heard, carrying throughout the Jeffersonian, before she finally let the flood loose.
The tears she'd barely kept concealed began to pour in earnest down her cheeks. Her mouth fell open, gulping in fresh waves of air whenever she could manage to stop the convulsions of her stomach. Dry heaving. She really had never felt this way before Booth.
As she choked out sobs, her face scrunched up in pain and she cringed. She couldn't control the odd flipping movements of her stomach as she tried to hold in her sobs, just in case there might still be someone there.
After a full half-hour, the sobs ceased. Brennan stayed laying on the desktop for another thirty minutes to gather her composure. She took a tissue and delicately dabbed at her eyes and nose, hoping that she wasn't all red and blotchy.
It was becoming harder and harder to hide these signs of weakness. Her brain went shooting off to different signs of feminine weakness in different cultures, but always it came back to her own weakness. She had the chance.
She knew she had had the chance to choose between bliss and utter heartbreak as she was feeling now, and she was scared. Terrified even, terrified that if she chose to give her heart away, he would have the power to crush it, throw it in the dirt, rip it in half. He could give her supreme anguish if she'd given him the chance.
So like with everything else in her life, she went on the offensive before someone else could. Brennan hurt him before he could hurt her. Little did she know at the time that her decision would be the cause of so many nights of sleepless heartache.
Her hand pressed to her chest as she felt more pain coming. It seemed to be a never-ending flow. Every time she thought it was gone, it came back worse until she could barely breathe.
"You were supposed to wait…wait for me to catch up." She whispered as she sank to the ground, too tired to cry anymore but feeling the pain shoot through her again, gripping her sides tightly as she breathed shakily in and out.
This is so stupid. She thought as she felt another wave of pain crash over her. It's just a man.
And yet, the voice of reason (sounding very much like her mother) whispered in the back of her head.
No, Not just a man. It's Booth You love him. And she couldn't disagree with herself on that point. She did love him, otherwise there wouldn't be all this heartbreak.
The hurt finally receded and she was able to stand again. after a few shaky steps, she managed to shake it off a bit and make her way to the bathroom to find tissues.
Little did she know that as soon as she got there that something terrible was about to happen.
Brennan wiped the make-up from her eyes and took a final look into the mirror. There she saw a face staring back at her that wasn't her own.
Her tear-addled brain didn't register the attack until it was too late and black surrounded her while pain exploded throughout her head.
…
Booth, just a few miles away, pulled away from his girlfriend whom he had been kissing.
Something was wrong. Very wrong. He didn't know what just yet, but he felt it in his gut and that was good enough for him.
He instinctively grabbed for his phone and hit speed dial, #1.
"Seeley, whats wrong?" Hannah asked him.
"I'm not sure yet." He aaid in reply. Finally someone picked up.
"Hello?" came a deep, muffled voice. Booth went on high alert, popping up.
"Where is Brennan?" he growled out, rage spreading rapidly throughout him.
"You've got one week to give us the information. If you don't, Temperance Brennan will die." Came the voice.
Booths hand shook as she gripped his phone tightly, closing it slowly.
"What happened?" Hannah asked, looking concerned.
Booth didn't trust himself to speak. Instead he punched the wall next to him so hard his fist went through.
"Damn it!" he said venomously.
"Seeley?" Hannah asked timidly as Booth pulled his fist out, wanting to hit it again and again in his anger.
"Temperance…she's been kidnapped." He said in anguish, anger and pain mixing throughout him.
A/N: What do you think for a first chapter? Okay, I'm friggin obsessed with Bones, can't wait for S6E5! Personally, I don't dislike Hannah, I just wish she'd go away so Booth and Brennan can get together! Gah, it's so annoying! I think they're going for something like what the Office did with Jim and Pam in season 3 and 4. Well anyways, I got sudden inspiration for this because last night…I experienced my first broken heart. And I don't doubt it'll happen more than that. It sucks being in love with your best guy friend. Just saying. Ha, well I don't want ya'll to get dragged into my own personal agony except for through my writings.
One more thing, I don't know how often I'll be able to update b/c I'm working on another story as well as this, I hardly ever have free time, and I have a huge research paper that's due Monday I haven't even started on. Yeay, I love my private school, but it's a BUTTLOAD of work! Anyways, look out for the next chapter, like I said I have a happy story and a sad story right now in the works, and I work on the two depending on wether I'm happy or upset. Thanks for reading, please review!