A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this. I went through a minor crisis in my personal life that left me feeling blue for about a week and then I got behind in my biology reading... needless to say I haven't had the time or the energy to write. I have my next bio test next week, so hopefully I can start writing again after that.

5 months later…

"Bones! Pack your bags, we have a case!" Booth exclaimed as he sauntered into Brennan's office that September morning.

"Why do I have to pack a bag?" she immediately asked, looking up from her computer where she was putting work into the next chapter of her novel.

"We are going to Minnesota."

"What's in Minnesota?"

"Absolutely nothing…" Booth said, coming to stand right by Brennan at her desk.

"Then why are we going if there is absolutely nothing there?" Brennan asked seriously.

"I was kidding, Bones. There's a set of decomposed remains for you to examine in a national forest. Some archaeologists on a dig found the body buried in a shallow grave nearby."

"I will have to inquire about this archaeological dig. It sounds intriguing."

"Yeah, there's nothing intriguing about Minnesota." Booth said, showing his obvious disdain for the northern state.

"Minnesota is quite beautiful this time of year, Booth. I visited there once for a lecture series at the University."

"Yeah, yeah, Bones. I'll believe it when I see it. I'm not looking forward to freezing my ass off though." Booth complained again and Brennan gave him a glare. "All right, Bones, come on, we have a plane to catch!"

B&B

After landing at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, Booth and Brennan rented an SUV and set off on the four hour drive to the Chippewa National Forest, which was pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

"I will admit, it's a lot warmer than I was expecting this place to be." Booth said as he drove the interstate, glancing over at Brennan in the passenger seat.

"Of course, it does get quite hot here in the summers. You can't honestly expect the cold to last all year round."

"Well, I've never been here, so I didn't know what I was expecting." Booth admitted. "Although I was fully expecting the people to be Neanderthals or something, being secluded in the middle of nothing."

"Neanderthals have been extinct for thousands of years, Booth."

"I know that, Bones. I meant I was expecting them to be boorish and stupid."

"Oh, well, Minnesota has one of the highest literacy rates in the country." Brennan stated.

"Thanks for sharing that, Bones." Booth said sarcastically.

B&B

Three hours into the drive, Booth got tired of the silence between the two of them and was tired of looking at tree after tree, lake after lake, so he decided to bring up a touchy subject.

"So, Bones, are you still seeing that businessman? What's his name? Barry?"

'Jerry. We went out for drinks last night. We almost had intercourse afterwards, but I was very tired so I left his place early." Bones stated, unaware of the grimace her partner was making at the mention of her having sex with another man.

The last five months after Booth and Hannah broke up were a little tense between the partners. They secretly loved one another, both afraid to admit it. Booth knew that if something were to happen between them, Brennan would have to be the one to make the first move. He wasn't about to have his heart stomped on again by her and he assumed Brennan would never have the faith in their relationship to admit her love. He was starting to accept for the second time that nothing would ever come of their relationship. He would always love Brennan, but if he couldn't have her completely, then he thought he would be fine just being her partner. As long as he was something to her, he was happy, at least that is what he believed. When Brennan began to date other men after Booth and Hannah broke up, it was the final nail in the coffin for Booth. He needed to move on.

"I don't think I'm going to see him again though." Brennan stated with a sigh as she looked out the passenger side window at the reds, yellows and oranges of the changing trees.

"Why is that?"

He isn't you. She turned to look at Booth and said, "while physically he is very pleasing to the eye, I don't feel as though we connect on an intellectual level." And he isn't you.

"Well that's too bad. I want you to be happy, Bones, you know that right?" Brennan smiled sadly and nodded. "I want you to experience true love. I want you to love someone so much that you will throw your beliefs about marriage out the window."

"That will never happen." Brennan said matter-of-factly.

"Never say never, Bones." Booth smiled wistfully as he turned his head back to the road, knowing he would never be the man that changed her mind.

Reviews are love, by the way. :-)