A/N Here's a short one, it's an angsty little S.O.B. but hopefully you'll forgive me when you read 'Forget' which is the prequel to this and which I will post ASAP

Fix

"You've got to be kidding me. Learn how to drive or get off the road!" Brennan glanced surreptitiously at her fuming partner. He'd been in an awful mood all day and driving around the city was obviously not helping. She wanted to say something to help his mood but she was painfully aware that his hostility level ratcheted up every time she spoke.

It's been weeks, three incredibly painful, frustrating weeks. He'd finally stopped avoiding her after she cornered him in his office a few days ago. She'd thought his indifference was the worst thing resulting from that day but his open hostility was crushing.

He didn't even yell at her, nothing negative was directed her way but every time he snapped at a co worker, waiter, or some other undeserving person she felt the words like knives in her gut.

Getting passed that day was proving to be impossible for both of them, though she suspected it was for very different reasons. She knew it was impossible but it didn't stop her from wishing with every fiber of her being that she could erase what happened. If it had never happened- she wouldn't have to concentrate so hard just to be normal around him and he wouldn't have to be so filled with guilt he could barely look at her. Shame filled her chest as her thoughts drifted into the past.

She had woken slowly, the way you do when you're completely comfortable and relaxed. As she stretched, her hands hit an unfamiliar headboard and she froze, willing herself to remember. The entire day came flooding back to her all at once, the vulnerability of it making her flinch. Oh god. What had she done? She'd shown up at his door and she'd been so-… and he'd tried to-… but she just-….Her mind went into a full blown panic, made worse by the fact that her partner was definitely not in bed beside her; he'd probably escaped as soon as she'd fallen asleep and she really couldn't blame him. She'd practically forced him into sleeping with her!

She had to fix this. He was too important to her to allow one stupid night of her own weakness to ruin everything. She knew how he felt about sex, how he believed that there was a responsibility attached to it- more than anything she didn't want him to feel tied to her, responsible for her because of something she'd made him do. His sense of obligation wouldn't allow him to do what needed to be done, but she could. As hard as it might be for her, she was certain it was the best thing for him.

She threw the covers from the bed, unaware of the small slip of paper fluttering to the floor, and set about gathering her clothes. She barely bothered to get fully dressed before she cautiously made her way out of the bedroom and into the living room. Though she'd been hoping not to run into him, not seeing him made the hollow void in her chest go cold. He'd really left. He was somewhere, right now, beating himself up for what was entirely her doing.

The last thing she wanted to do was stay in the apartment any longer but she knew it was for the best if the next time they saw each other this was behind them. She grabbed a pad of sticky notes from his junk drawer in the kitchen and scrawled over them quickly before she could change her mind.

Booth, I'm sorry for showing up last night like I did. Please just forget I ever came here, I need things to stay the way they were. Please. –Brennan

She'd stuck the note on his bedroom door and slipped out of the apartment only minutes before he'd returned carrying coffee and bagels.

He had of course, tried to call and talk to her but she'd stood her ground. He'd wanted a reason, convinced this was just one of her attempts to keep people out, that she was running scared. She could never tell him how much it had meant to her, how safe she'd felt, or how her whole body now felt like an open wound because she knew it could never happen again. She knew he would stay if she asked him to. Knew it like she knew the bones of the human body, but she also knew he'd be staying for the wrong reasons. He always punished himself, always felt overwhelming guilt whenever something happened to her, whether or not he was even present at the time. He had to make everything better, he had to save her. When she'd shown up at his apartment that night, it was only about comfort, he was only trying to fix what he hadn't been able to stop.

But now, he was so angry all the time and she didn't know what to do. If it were anyone else she'd be talking to him about it. As it stood she just felt lost in her own life. She'd known it would be awkward, that despite her ability to compartmentalize (except apparently when it came to him) the days following were going to be hard for both of them. She'd never dreamed it would be like this… and she had no idea how to fix it.

A/N I'm toying with writing this from Booth's POV. What do you think?