A/N- I'm SO SORRY I haven't published in a while. My life has practically fallen apart and...well, I haven't been using much technology in a while. So...yeah. But hey, at least I have something up now, right? :)

So this chapter isn't very fluffy. I apologize. But in the future it will be :) We all know there's drama between them that has to be addressed first, before a serious relationship can occur. Hey, drama is what makes a good story :D I'm estimating about five or six more chapters of this. Not sure yet though. But yeah, it's far from over :3

Temperance Brennan was a strong woman. With what she had to go through as a teenager and the career path she decided on, she's seen and done things that you've only read about in books. She thought she'd be able to handle anything that life threw her way...until she saw the love of her life with another woman.

She cried, she screamed, and she cried some more inside her apartment late that night. It was close to two in the morning, and she had absolutely no desire to try to sleep. She had to figure out a way to be able to look that man in the eyes again so that no one would know. After all, if she didn't go back to normal soon, people would start to notice.

And by people, she meant Angela. Oh, who knew what would happen if her best friend knew something was off?

She probably did know. She was, after all, very good with people. It was a quality that the scientist had envied about her. Tempe wasn't that great with people. But...that's why she'd always had Booth around. He filled in her gaps. Sweets had said that they complement each other, and she sure as hell knew he was right.

She sat down, exhausted from crying and the horrible sleep she'd been having for a few nights now, her eyes wandering around her room. She took in pictures of Angela, Hodgins, Cam...her heart winced slightly when she looked at Zack's picture, the day he had received his doctorate. He was smiling, something that she missed seeing. Right beside him, with his hand on the young man's shoulder, was Booth. He had been so sweet that day to do what he did for her. Er...Zack. It was Zack's day, not hers. Right.

She needed something to get her mind off of Booth, but everything in her apartment seemed to remind her of him. So without giving it much thought, she grabbed her purse and a jacket and headed out, unsure of where she'd go. One thing was certain: anywhere was better than here.

Booth couldn't sleep. The look in his partner's eyes when she met his girlfriend was burned into his mind, haunting him as if he'd made a serious mistake. Of course, he knew he'd made one, but hey, he needed to move on. If she didn't love him and had no intention of giving him a chance, why should he wait anymore? So what if she's his true love?

He sighed heavily. This was harder than he'd imagined it would be. What he would give to hold her in his arms right now...

He paced around for a little while, wondering what she was doing. He looked at the clock and sighed again. It was almost three already. So much for getting any sleep.

He sat down on his couch, thinking about the night he had begged her to give him a chance. She looked hopeful then, in contrast to what she had looked like earlier that day. There was a sparkle in her eyes, undeniable to him, that gave him some slight hope. He wanted to believe that one day, she would be his forever.

But until then, they'd have to figure out a way to cope with the dating game again. He wasn't sure how he'd do it, but he knew she'd be alright.

It was more himself that he was worried about.

She sat in the park that morning, watching the sun come up and feeling slightly more at peace. Trees slowly lit up, as if tiny lights were turning on from between their leaves. She watched the city come to life as more cars appeared on the road and the whole area was bathed in a warm light. She closed her eyes and lifted her head when the sun fell on her face. The warmth felt good, she had to admit, but she couldn't stay there long. Sunrise meant she had to be at the Jeffersonian soon.

She stood up, brushed herself off, and began to run, leaving part of her broken heart on that lonely bench.

"Who's the new intern?" Angela nudged Hodgins later that morning. She was referring to the tall, vibrant red head on the forensic platform.

"Her? That's Isa Muller. She's the youngest intern we've had since Zack was around."

"Isa, huh? That's an interesting name."

"Dr. Brennan likes her, I think." Cam walked over to them and smiled. "She works diligently, I'll give her that."

"Where is Dr. Brennan?" Isa walked over to them as she took her plastic gloves off. "I thought she was supposed to be in early this morning."

"I don't know," Angela answered, looking around. "I haven't heard from her since yesterday. Maybe she's just running behind."

"Perhaps...but without her, I don't know what else I can do." Isa looked at Cam. "What do you want me to do?"

"Sorry I'm late, guys." Tempe walked in hurriedly, making a beeline for her office. The others followed her, Isa leading the pack.

"That's alright," she said gently, noticing almost immediately how stressed she was. "Is everything okay, Dr. Brennan?"

"What?" She spun around after hanging up her jacket, as if she had heard something completely different. "What did you say?"

"Are you alright?" she repeated, her green eyes clouded with worry now.

"Oh. Yes. I just haven't been sleeping well." She shrugged it off as if it were nothing. "So have you determined cause of death yet?"

"Yes, I've left all of my notes right there on your desk."

"Sweetie, maybe you should relax a bit," Angela suggested, clearly concerned for her best friend's health.

"I agree with Angela," Cam said. "Isa and I can take it from here."

Isa smiled softly. "Actually, Dr. Saroyan, I'd like to stay with her. There's really nothing else I can do until she goes over my notes."

"Ms. Muller is right." Temperance sat down on the couch with Isa's notes in hand.

"Well...okay. Let me know if you need anything," Angela said as she and Cam walked out.

Isa sat beside her, watching her expression as she carefully reviewed the folder. "What do you think?"

"You did a very good job, but..."

"But?"

She closed the folder and sighed, rubbing her temples. "I apologize, Ms. Muller-"

"Please, Dr. Brennan, call me Isa."

She looked at her. "I haven't been in the right mindset lately."

"I understand." She gently touched her hand. "Life doesn't wait for anyone. If there's something you think you need to handle and you can't be here, I get it. But...call me if you need something, okay? I know I'm only an intern but...wow, I don't want to sound like Daisy." She chuckled a bit, her short hair dancing as her body shook. "I'll quit before I enter that zone."

Tempe smiled softly. "It's alright. Thank you."

"May I ask you one thing?"

"What?"

Isa looked at her hands for a moment. "Does it have to do with Agent Booth?"

Brennan sighed heavily and rubbed her temples again-a dead give-away.

"Perhaps...you and I could go to dinner after work tonight? You can tell me all about it if you'd like."

"I'll think about it."

"Hey, Bones, you're finally in?" Speak of the devil.

Isa smiled brightly. "I'll see you later then, Dr. Brennan." She glanced at Booth for a moment, then hurried out. Like all of the others, Isa knew when she wasn't wanted. Something was about to go down between the two...something big.

Tempe turned away from him, quickly realizing that she wasn't going to be able to handle being near him yet. She was afraid of doing something irrational. "What do you want, Booth?"

"...Have you been avoiding me?"

"No, I came in late. Why, do you take my tardiness as a personal attack?"

"Bones, please. I've been your partner for-"

"I know how long we've been partners, Booth." She grabbed her jacket and put it on quickly. "My question is: do you know?"

Booth blinked. "Where did this come from?"

"I've put more of myself into this partnership than you give me credit for," she continued. "It may not seem like it, but at times I value our relationship more than I value anything else." She looked away for a moment, then met his warm yet genuinely confused brown eyes once again. "So...no more secrets, okay?"

Seeley just stared at her, unable to speak. At first, he thought she was going to rip his head off, but the sadness in her tone as she spoke now made him feel wretched. What was worse - he couldn't explain why.

Tempe turned to her desk as tears rolled down her face again. "I have work to do, Booth, so if you didn't come for a specific reason-"

"Trixie wanted to know if you would go to dinner with us on Friday night. It's her birthday and she wants to go to a karaoke bar. I had told her about when you sang "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and she thought it'd be fun for you to get out and spend some time with us."

She had to smile at that. He made it sound so innocent, like going out with him and his girlfriend was no big deal. Ha.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Booth."

"Why not? It's just a bar. Besides, you could bring the house down if you sang again."

She smiled wider. "True. Okay, I'll go."

"Great!" He smiled happily and clapped his hands together. "So I'll pick you up around eight, then?"

"Sounds...good."

A/N- I like drama. It's a guilty pleasure that I'm sure some of you have as well. That being said, I have some ideas for chapter three that I think you guys are going to like! :)