Disclaimer: Bones originally belongs to Kathy Reichs, but is currently under the great care of Fox, Hart, Deschanel, and Boreanaz.
A/N: This chapter is a bit Brennan-centric, but don't worry there's much more teen Parker to come in the next chap.
Brennan returned to her apartment feeling confused and lost. Parker wouldn't have come to her unless he was genuinely concerned about his father.
In ten years it wasn't as if Booth hadn't moved on. There had been other women for him after Catherine. But none of them really seemed to stick around longer than a few months. And now, Brennan realized that Booth had been single for quite some time.
She had dated other men of course, but none really lasted after the first few weeks. At least Booth had a better track record than that. She had been off the dating circuit for a while as well.
It wasn't as if any of this affected their partnership. It was still going strong after they're near decade together. Nothing had changed in the magnetic dynamic between them. The banter was still there, the caring, the friendship, et all. Had she really been so blind all this time?
Brennan headed towards her bedroom and pulled a shoebox out of her dresser. She sat on her bed and spilled the contents of the box around her. It was filled with things from the year that she and Booth had spent apart.
A picture of her and Daisy Wick in the paper, next to an article about their miraculous find. Next, was a picture of Booth in full fatigues, joking around with a member of his Platoon. There were letters that they had sent back and forth with promises to Booth that she hadn't found anyone else. And promises from him that he wouldn't be a hero, that he would make it home in one piece. Both promises proved to be true that day they met at the reflection pond by the coffee cart.
Brennan smiled to herself as she went through the rest of the stuff. There was a picture of Hodgins and Angela taken in front of the Eiffel Tower. There was a picture of Sweets reuniting with Ms. Wick, and soon after it was taken they had gotten wed. And then... Brennan froze, the picture a sure sign of her social incompetence.
It was a photo of her and Booth when all of the Jeffersonian Team had gone out together after his return. They were staring into each other's eyes. A crooked grin on her face, and Booth's patented charm-grin on his. But what made her freeze was the look in his eyes- it was a look of pure joy, pure love, and it was directed at her as if she were the only woman in the room.
Angela must've taken the photo when neither of them had been paying attention.
Brennan dropped the picture into the box and picked up her cell phone. She hit "1" for speed dial.
"Booth? I think we should talk."
A/N: cheesy cliffhanger I know. more to come soon. I pinky promise.