Buffy booked a room in a five star hotel and spent hours trying to decide what to wear. She had a bunch of clothes, but she wanted to blow Seeley's mind away. She wanted to be perfect for him at least visually.

She was a nervous wreck, dying to see him again, and terrified of it at the same time. She had no idea how she would act if he just told her to get lost and never contact him again. She wanted to stop feeling so crazed, but she decided not to rely on drugs and booze this time; she wanted to be clean to remember every second of her meeting with Seeley, no matter if it turned out good or bad. So, she flushed all the coke down the toilet and drank herbal tea instead of champagne.

"C'mon, Buff, just get dressed already."-she whispered to herself and picked a stunning green dress that looked so good with her green eyes. Seeley wasn't a fan of much make up so she just used a bit of lip gloss and mascara.

Then she sat on the couch and started flipping through TV channels, trying to find something fun to distract her… Her phone beeped and she hoped it was him, but it was just Faith: 'HIYA, B. GET LUCKY OR U COMIN' BK SOON? JEAN PAUL IS PRETTY PISSED CAUSE U BAILED. IT'S BORING HERE W/O U.'

It was Faith's way to tell her she missed her and Buffy had to smile. She replied: 'HAVEN'T SEEN HIM YET, BUT HE SHOULD BE HERE SOON. I'LL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES. TELL JP TO CHILL :P BTW, MISS U 2.'

Her phone rang just when she was gonna catch it and it made her jump a little. She took a deep breath and answered Seeley's call.

"Hello… started thinking you wouldn't call at all."

"I started thinking that I shouldn't call. But… well…. Where should I pick you up?"

"I'm glad that you called, Seeley. I know I don't exactly deserve a second chance, but… I'd love to talk to you and seriously can't wait to see you. I'm at Four Seasons."

"Four Seasons, huh? You really are a celebrity. See you in ten minutes."

Buffy thought she heard a bit of contempt in his voice, and it hurt her, but at least he was coming to pick her up. Her hands were shaking and her heart was stuck in her throat, pulsating wildly. She caught her cup of tea and sipped slowly, wishing it had the immediate effect on her. It wasn't helping her relax and it didn't even taste so good.

She exited the hotel and waited in the front, dying to catch some air because her lungs felt clogged. She saw a 2008 Toyota Sequoia stop and then Seeley opened the window and said "Hop in, Summers."

Her legs felt a bit weak, but she forced a smile and walked to his car as fast as she could.

He drove away very fast, and he barely glanced at her and said "You've lost weight."

"And you've gained some."-Buffy joked, but he didn't find it amusing so she quickly added "But, you actually look more handsome than ever."

"Buffy… we're going to have dinner now and talk like adults, about the last five years. But, don't think that you can just come back to my life and make it chaotic again. I've changed. I'm not a youngster who thinks he can save the world anymore. Now I'm a man who's seen too much and had no one to share it with, except for my co-workers, of course."

He never even looked at her while saying that, but she could read him better than anyone. He was still hurt and mad. She couldn't really blame him for that…

"I'm sorry, Seeley. If I could go back in time, I would change everything. I should have stayed with you. I was selfish and thoughtless… I'm so sorry."

Her green eyes filled with tears and shone like sapphires, and Seeley couldn't help swallowing hard when he saw the look on her face.

"So am I, Buffy. But, what's done is done. You have to move on. I was just starting to and then you showed up again."

"You have a thing for your partner, right? She's pretty. Saw you guys on TV."-Buffy said, trying to sound nonchalant, but in fact she was jealous and hurt more than she could handle. She was seriously dying for a drink or something to take the edge off.

"Bones is pretty awesome. She's pretty, yes, and so smart, a total genius… and she's loyal, a great partner and a friend that I can count on without thinking she might just disappear one day."

"I didn't just disappear, Seeley. You let me go. You could have stopped me."

"What would be the point of stopping you? You would have started hating me for it. Looks like you were right, you chose the right career. You're a star; you're so rich you can afford staying in Four Seasons…"

"Everyone mistakes being rich and famous for being happy. I was one of those people, and I was wrong. The only time I was really happy was when I was with you. "-Buffy said and gently placed her hand on his. She flinched when he quickly pulled it away.

"You chose your career over me, Buffy. Now you have it, and you don't have me, it was YOUR CHOICE so you have no right to cry about it now. Did you really think that I would see you and kiss you and forget about the last five years? I don't know you anymore, you don't know me and you have to stop living in the past."

"Just don't shut me out. We can get to know each other again… we can reconnect. I'm not the same Buffy that left you. She's long gone, just like that version of you I had fallen in love with. Maybe you won't even like this new Buffy, cause I don't like her too much, but… give me a chance. I wanna make amends. I want us to be at least friends."

"Do you really think we can be just friends? Buffy, I fell in love with you the first time I laid my eyes on you at that party at Wesley's when we were seventeen. I never stopped having feelings for you, but it doesn't mean that I can just let you back in again. I have a whole new life, and Bones is a great part of it. She's…"

"Amazing, I know. Smart and gorgeous. But, you're not in love with her. I know that. I know you and that look in your eyes when you're in love… you used to look at me like… like I was the only thing in the world that you could see."

Booth stopped the car and they got out of it, and finally looked each other in the eyes. There was no 'I love you so much I don't see anyone or anything else' look in his eyes, but there was something besides hurt and anger. A little spark that made Buffy's body flush with desire.

She could see that he was digging through her eyes, trying to read her mind. He couldn't help getting lost in her beautiful green eyes that once had a spark of light and love dancing inside. That spark was gone, they seemed to be a darker shade of green now…

He needed a moment to collect his thoughts and form a sentence. "I don't think I'll ever look at anyone that way again."-he said and it broke Buffy's heart a little. Maybe she didn't deserve his love, but he deserved to feel love and be loved again.

"Seeley, I…"

"Let's just get in the restaurant. I'm actually getting hungry."

"Yeah, me too. I was too nervous to eat."-Buffy admitted and they walked to the restaurant in silence.

They sat down, facing each other and Booth ordered a bottle of wine. None of them could wait to drink some to stop feeling so tense.

"So, how's in Paris?"

"It's a beautiful city, people are so friendly and romantic, but the language barrier can be exhausting sometimes. Thank goodness there were a few American girls with me or I would have lost my mind right at the beginning."-Buffy smiled and sipped her wine.

"And in that friendly and romantic city, you never found anyone… romantic? You know…"-Booth asked and looked into his glass of wine. Buffy thought he was absolutely adorable when he did that.

"It's not that I've been a nun for the last five years, but… I never fell in love."-Buffy said and looked into his deep brown eyes for a second and then also started staring at her glass. It was suddenly very interesting.

"I saw you on TV many times; I even started paying more attention to fashion. You notice I don't wear just black clothes anymore", he tried to joke and Buffy had to smile a little. " I never saw you with anyone, except for your sister, and that brunette model… Faith? The papers never wrote a single thing about your love life."-Booth admitted, looking a bit embarrassed.

"They can't write about something non-existent."-Buffy said, smiling for the first time because Seeley was curious about her love life. "Well, I haven't been a nun, but there was no other guy for me. I've been having a kinda strange relationship with Faith…"

She noticed a surprised look on Seeley's face, but he didn't comment anything, so she continued: "We're not dating, but we've been having sex. I care about her, but as a friend… we're not in love. We've just been keeping each other company. Faith often said she was keeping me warm for you, but when I decided to come here, I noticed she wasn't entirely ok with that."

"Never thought you'd end up with a woman… Gotta say I'm surprised."

"Trust me, I never thought I would either."-Buffy chuckled and sipped more wine. "Just like I never thought I'd drink champagne and expensive wine everyday or start snorting cocaine and taking pills to be able to sleep."

Booth looked at her, surprised, again, but this time there was a bit of worry and sadness in his gaze.

"Told you I wasn't the woman who left you that day. Trust me, that Buffy is long gone. The only thing I have in common with that Buffy is that I love you as much as she did, if not more. Seeley, I'm sorry. I'll never be able to show you just how sorry I am exactly."

"I can't believe you really started doing drugs."-he sounded so disappointed, Buffy wanted to slap herself for being so stupid.

"Fashion, fame, pressure… I'm not looking for excuses, I'm just being realistic. I wasn't ready for success and facing it without you. It all happened too fast and I almost lost it."

"Well, I'm glad you're ok now. You… are still beautiful."-Booth said and Buffy smiled widely, feeling heat in her cheeks.

"Thank you."-Buffy said, smiling and she put her wine aside and poured herself a glass of water. It was time for some serious cleansing and doing amends. Really doing amends, not just saying she would do it and then forget about it as soon she got offered a bit of that magic white powder.

"I ran into Willow and Tara a few weeks ago. They adopted a really cute little baby girl and named her Annie. They had a business trip to Washington, cause Willow is, as you know, a pretty darn good Chemist. Also, Xander's a dad too. He and Anya have a really cute little boy. They named him Liam."-Seeley decided to get to some lighter subjects because he noticed that Buffy really had some serious problems of her own to deal with. She needed something to help her get her spirits up. Maybe she didn't exactly deserve it, but Seeley was a good guy and she had been the love of his life.

She still was the love of his life; he just didn't want to admit it to himself.

"I know, I still talk to Willow and Xander. We Skype sometimes, so I've seen their kids. Can't wait to see them in person! Geez, I haven't even told them I was back here… I'll have to fly to L.A. Maybe it's really time for me to come home."

The waiter brought them food that looked and smelled absolutely divine, and they both immensely enjoyed their meals… They also enjoyed some friendly banter and giggles that turned into laughter when they both got a bit more comfortable.

Buffy knew that they still had a long way to go, but this was a good start. He didn't tell her to leave and never come back, he apparently enjoyed her company and it was more than she could have ever hoped for.

Booth, who was very careful about letting anyone in, was surprised when he realized that Buffy still was able to make him relax and laugh so easily. It should have been tougher for her after all their time apart-which was entirely her fault-but, for some reason he couldn't just tell her to leave. He couldn't tell her that he never wanted to see her again, because the truth was that he did want it.

The problem was that he wasn't supposed to want it. He was supposed to have dinner with Buffy as quickly as possible and then go to Bones' place to tell her what a horrible waste of time meeting Buffy had been.

But, he couldn't do that.

He was kinda afraid of facing Brennan. He cared about her, and this dinner with Buffy… it wasn't supposed to mean anything, but it did.

'Goddamn women.'-Booth thought when he left Buffy in front of the Four Seasons hotel and when she gently kissed his cheek and said goodnight.

He didn't kiss her, but he wrapped his jacket around her bare shoulders and wished her a good night.

"It was the best night I've had in five years."-Buffy said and walked away, smiling.

"It didn't suck as much as I thought it would."-Booth yelled after her, but they just grinned at each other and then he jumped into his car and drove home.