A/N: Good evening, lovely readers! I hope you're as happy to see me as I am to see all of you! ;-) I present to you chapter three of this new saga, and I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed creating it. We're just another step closer to the end of Ellen, and the beginning of the next phase of the B/B relationship.

I can't thank you all enough for the wonderful reviews you've left me! I'm so appreciative of all the wonderful feedback, and I'm especially impressed by the number of requests I've received to not hurt Ellen too badly. You guys really are awesome! And just to ease your minds, I do promise not to crush Ellen's heart. =)

I simply cannot thank my beta, Hannah Taylor1, enough for her patience, support, editing, and ideas for this story. She is a wonderful writer herself, and always makes me writing ten times better as well. Check out her fic, Problem Solving, The Booth and Brennan Way. I guarantee you will love it!

Disclaimer: Bones isn't mine, but sometimes I like to pretend.

Without further ado...

Friday 7:23 A.M

"You seem to be more fatigued than usual." Brennan observed as she stirred creamer into her coffee.

Across the table, her partner looked up, rubbing his hand across his eyes. "Yeah, I was up pretty late last night and then had to get up early to meet you."

It was unreasonable, but his words put her on the defensive. "You didn't have to. Despite the fact that we have developed a tradition of having breakfast on Friday mornings, it is not a necessity. You could have simply called."

"Easy, Bones." He shot her a smile. "I like having breakfast with you. It just means I got less sleep, that's all."

She thought about this for a moment. "What kept you up so late?"

"Date went a bit long." He said around a bite of his pancakes.

There was that strange sensation again, the one she couldn't quite identify. The one that confused her. Confusion had always irritated her.

"Well perhaps you should manage your time better." She suggested bluntly.

He glanced up at her. "Somebody's feeling a little grumpy this morning. Did you not get enough sleep either?"

"I got plenty of sleep, and I'm not… grumpy."

"You're a little grumpy."

"I am not!"

"A little."

"Booth, stop it."

"Here, have a bite of pancake. It'll make you feel better." He speared a bite and held it out to her, coaxing her until she parted her lips. She chewed the overly sweet bite, meeting his smile with a cool glance.

"Better?" He poked at her hand, grinning at her.

"No, why would that make me feel better?"

He sighed. "Never mind, Bones."

~B/B~

Friday 10:16

"Alright, what I want you both to do is close your eyes and just allow yourselves to feel. Allow yourselves to explore the most prominent of your emotions and just go with it. Let it wash over you, become that emotion, let it take you over…"

"Booth has a new girlfriend." Brennan interrupted Sweet's soothing voice without warning.

"Bones!"

"I wanted him to stop talking like that. Didn't you?" Brennan whispered to her partner, keeping a wary eye on Sweets. "It was ridiculous."

"And that's all you could come up with? Booth has a new girlfriend?" He hissed back, glaring at her.

"Actually, Agent Booth, this is exactly the sort of thing that I need be kept in the loop about." Sweets interjected, pulling the focus back to himself. "When an event occurs that will affect your partnership it is crucial that you inform me as soon as possible."

"Yeah, and when an event occurs that actually does affect our partnership, you'll be first on my list of people to tell." Booth shifted on the couch, straightening his tie. "This doesn't affect it. Right, Bones?"

Before Brennan could reply Sweets spoke to her. "Dr. Brennan, remember that this is a truth zone. You need to be perfectly honest about your feelings.

Brennan shook her head. "I'm not upset by the fact that Booth has chosen to date."

"See?" Booth said triumphantly. "She's not upset."

"Why would you assume that I would think you would be upset?" Sweets cocked his head.

"Because you often make assumptions that are incorrect." Brennan crossed her legs, keeping her gaze steady.

"So then it would also be incorrect to assume that you feel this is a betrayal to your partnership with Agent Booth?"

She shouldn't feel that it was a betrayal . She shouldn't, and she wouldn't. "Not at all. Booth should be free to date whomever he wishes. It has absolutely no affect on me whatsoever."

"Well, it had some affect…" Booth offered, his left leg bouncing up and down. "She was pretty uncomfortable with the idea at first."

"Is that true, Dr. Brennan?" Sweets asked.

"What? No." Brennan glared at Booth. "I was not uncomfortable with it."

"Right, so all those little comments… the way you tried to intimidate Ellen, that was because you were completely comfortable."

"I did not attempt to intimidate her." Brennan sat further up, turning towards her partner. "If she was intimidated by me, perhaps it is because I am obviously superior in a number of areas."

Booth rolled his eyes. "Ok, yeah, that doesn't make you sound like someone who is uncomfortable with her at all."

"This is excellent discussion." Sweets nodded, making notes. "But let's try to refocus. Dr. Brennan what specifically made you uncomfortable with Agent Booth dating?"

"Nothing!"

"Ok, let me rephrase. Did you feel uncomfortable with Agent Booth spending time with her that he otherwise would have spent with you? Or perhaps you felt that his commitment to you was being threatened." Sweets cleared this throat. "Or perhaps the idea of him being… sexual with a woman bothers you."

"I am not bothered!" Brennan protested sharply, sitting forward.

Booth immediately rose to her defense. "Hey, back off, Sweets. You're upsetting her."

"I am not upset, Booth."

"Agent Booth, it is important that we discuss these things. You may feel uncomfortable with the topic but pushing these feelings aside will only force them to grow within you."

"See, now, Bones, wouldn't it have been better if he'd kept droning on about letting our emotions take us over?" Booth looked over at his partner, and found her sitting with her hands clenched in her lap. "Bones?"

She stood abruptly.

"Bones, hey, what's the matter?"

"For the last time, I am not upset, Booth." She began to move towards the door.

"Um, our session isn't over." Sweets stood as well. "We still have like twenty-five minutes."

Booth glanced at Brennan, who had already opened the door and was leaving the room without so much as a look back at the two men. "I think we're done for today."

~B/B~

"Bones!" Booth shouted after her, catching up with her only when she had almost reached his car. "Geez, Bones, wait up, would you?" He took her arm and turned her around. "What is going on with you today?"

"Nothing. I simply would like to return to the lab. I have a great number of projects to work on. We've received a new set of Civil War remains that require my attention. Not to mention my publicist has been calling repeatedly, requesting an update on my latest book. And aside from all of that…"

"Bones, seriously." He cut her off. "You're always busy, but I've never seen you run out like that before."

She shrugged. "Discussing your love life is an impractical use of my time. Not to mention Dr. Sweets was appearing very foolish with his unsubstantiated guesses as to the nature of my feelings on the issue." She eased her arm from his grasp. "It seemed in everyone's best interest that we end our session."

"You're the one who brought up my love life!"

"In hindsight, that was a poor decision." She turned away from him, reaching for the door handle.

He grabbed her hand, turning her around again. "Bones, stop. Talk to me. Please? I have no idea what's going on."

"Why do you think something is going on?"

"Because you're not acting like you. You're acting all… un-Bones-ish."

"That's not a word." She pulled her hand away, and he let her get in the car this time. "Booth, I'm ready to return to the lab."

Sighing, he walked around to his side and got in the car, starting it up and pulling out of his parking spot.

"We're going to have to talk about this sometime, Bones." He said after five long minutes of silence.

"There is nothing to talk about, Booth. I just want to be allowed to do my job. That's all." She stared at the window as she spoke, missing the concern written on his face.

"Fine. Whatever." He muttered under his breath.

~B/B~

Friday 6:13

"Hey, Bones." Booth tapped on the doorframe of her office.

She glanced up at him from her desk, watching silently as he stepped inside. His smile was more timid than usual.

"Hello, Booth." She said politely, moving her chair back from her desk and folding her hands in her lap. "Did you need something?"

"Just thought I'd stop by on my way home." He leaned against her desk, looking down at her. "Bones, you'd tell me if there was something wrong, right? We can talk about stuff, can't we?"

"Yes, we are typically quite honest with each other." She blinked up at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Come on, Bones, you haven't really been yourself today. Not for the past few days really." He reached out and tugged at her hair. "I miss my partner."

"I'm right here, Booth." She spoke confidently, though she shied away from his touch.

"What are you doing tonight?"

She gestured towards the papers littering her desk. "Research for my book. My deadline is approaching."

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is." Offering a smile, he teased her, "No time for your partner tonight then, huh?"

"I assumed you would have a date. It is Friday night after all. I believe most couples consider Friday night to be especially desirable for going out."

"Yeah, I do… later on. Ellen's got a late meeting, but we'll meet up afterwards." He shrugged. "Thought you might want to grab some dinner or something."

She wanted to say yes, but held herself back. "I have a great deal of work to do."

"But you gotta eat, right?" He made an attempt at his charm smile. "I'll buy."

"No, Booth."

"Bones…" He trailed off when he saw the look on her face. "Yeah, alright." Shifting, he moved away from her desk and towards the door. "Have a good weekend, Bones."

~B/B~

Friday 7:42

"Is everything ok, Seeley? You're awfully quiet tonight." Ellen moved closer to him, slipping her hand into his as they waited in line for movie tickets. "Did you have a rough day?

"What?" He glanced down at her. "Oh, no. Pretty typical day."

"So nothing's bothering you?"

He shook his head, then reconsidered. "It's just Bones. She's been acting really weird lately – weirder than usual, I mean. Weird for Bones. It's just… throwing me off since the woman is nothing if not consistent."

Ellen stroked her thumb along his knuckles. "I'm sorry. How is her behavior different?"

He shrugged. "It's hard to explain. She's just more withdrawn, more harsh. I mean, she's always a little harsh, but usually she doesn't mean to be. Today… I don't know. There's something bothering her and she won't tell me what it is."

"Perhaps she needs to deal with it in her own way." Ellen suggested.

"Yeah, Bones doesn't really deal all that well…" He started to say, but the sound of his phone ringing interrupted him. "Sorry, that's work." Flipping his phone open, he barked out his name. "Booth."

The voice on the other end of the line brought only bad news.

"Yeah, I'll be there in fifteen."

He hung up his phone, and gave Ellen an apologetic glance. "There was a body found…"

She nodded. "Of course. I understand, you have to go."

"Yeah." He squeezed her hand. "It's not far from here though. If you wanted, you could come with me and wait till I'm finished at the scene. Bones' stuff usually takes some time before I can get started anyways. Maybe we can still squeeze in some dessert or something."

"Sure." She smiled up at him. "I have to confess I'm very interested to see what it is exactly that you do."

He grinned, guiding her out of the line and draping his arm around her shoulders. "You want to watch me give orders, huh?"

~B/B~

Friday 8:02

"Somebody talk to me." Booth strode up to the forensics team milling the scene. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brennan stooping over the body, her hair pulled tightly back, her jump suit in place.

"Burn victim. Some homeless guy saw the blaze and called it in." Someone called to him.

"Oh, my." Ellen murmured from her place at his side.

He looked down at her, placing his hand on her arm. "Hey, it's fine if you want to wait at the car. There's no need for you to see this."

"No, I'm fine." She gave him a shaky smile. "I'll just wait here. Out of the way."

"Sure." Leaning down, he pecked her cheek before heading towards his partner.

"Hey, Bones, whatcha got?" He sucked in a breath, the sight of the mangled remains affecting him the way they always did. He didn't have Brennan's cool detachment and acceptance.

"Female. Early twenties. Caucasian. Cause of death undeterminable at this point. Fracture to the right tibia shows signs of remodeling. You brought Ellen." She delivered her speech fluidly, without looking at him, and he almost barely registered the last sentence.

"What? Oh, yeah. We were on our way to a movie when I got the call." He leaned down, looking over her shoulder. "What's that?"

Following his line of sight, Brennan reached across the body and picked up a small, metal toy soldier and held it up. "It's a child's plaything."

"A toy?" He straightened up, reaching out a hand to steady her as she stood. She held the toy between them as they both looked at it. "She had kids." Booth said softly.

"That seems logical, yes." She raised her eyes to his, sharing a sympathetic moment. It was the closest he'd felt to her in days.

Dragging a hand through his hair, he sighed. "I hate it when they have kids."

She nodded, reaching out and touching his arm. "I know."

"Seeley?"

Booth broke eye contact with Brennan, looking over to where Ellen was waving him over. He felt Brennan's hand drop from him.

"She's calling you."

"I hear her, Bones. Just a second, ok? I'll be right back."

He walked over towards Ellen, looking over his shoulder to find Bones frowning after him. "Hey, Ellen, look, I'm sorry. I should never have suggested you come out here. This must be… awful for you. Do you want to catch a cab or something?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. I just, I heard you say that you found a child's toy."

"Yeah?"

Ellen bit her bottom lip. "I think you should do a sweep of the area to make sure there isn't a traumatized child hiding somewhere."

He frowned, his brows coming together. "Ellen…"

"Seeley, mothers don't usually carry their children's toys around with them for no reason. Chances are there was a child with her recently. A child who might have run off when his mother was attacked. A child who could be scared to death out there somewhere."

Looking down at her face, he could see the earnestness in her brown eyes. He nodded slowly. "Sure, we can do a sweep. Even if there's no one out there, it won't hurt to look." Leaning down, he pecked her cheek again, his hand reaching out for hers.

When he leaned away from her again, he was startled by the appearance of Brennan at his side. "Geez, Bones, you scared me."

"I need the remains transported the Jeffersonian."

"Sure, in a minute. Ellen suggested we do a sweep of the area to make sure the kid this toy belongs to isn't hiding out somewhere." He gave Ellen's hand one last squeeze before releasing it.

"She doesn't work with us." Brennan said flatly.

"No, but she's a social worker and I think she has a good point, Bones." Booth gave her a look, hoping she would take the hint and cooperate.

"It's illogical to jump to the conclusion that there is a child in the area simply because a toy was found. The toy may have been here much longer than the remains. Her assumption is ludicrous."

"It won't hurt to look." Booth said, taking her arm and pulling her closer so that he could talk to her in a hushed tone. "Bones, you're really acting out here."

"I don't know what that means." She yanked her arm out of his grasp. "I just know that my crime scene will be potentially compromised by agents searching for a child that likely doesn't exist just because you want to keep your girlfriend happy."

"Hey!" He said sharply. "Enough, Bones."

"Dr. Brennan…"

Brennan whirled on Ellen, her eyes blazing. "You do not work with us."

"I'm aware of that, Dr. Brennan, I just thought that…"

"You shouldn't even be here."

"Bones!" Booth grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him again. "Stop it, Bones. What has gotten into you?"

"What has gotten into you, Booth?" She demanded, jabbing her finger into his chest. "I'm not the one who brought my latest lover to a crime scene just so I didn't ruin my chance of having intercourse later."

"That is enough." He said coldly, dragging her a few feet away in a lame attempt at creating privacy. "You can't talk about her that way. Do you get that? That was completely inappropriate."

She jerked away from him once more. "I was simply stating a fact."

"No, you were lashing out about whatever it is that's got you all tied up in knots lately. Now either talk to me about it, or let it go, Bones. Cause what just happened cannot ever happen again."

She met his heated gaze with her own icy one, staring him down. When she finally spoke, her words were clipped. "I'll be at the lab waiting on the remains to arrive."

He let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head and taking a step back. He held up his hands in a sign of surrender as he spoke. "Fine, Bones, whatever you say. Just keep running away. That's just fine."

~B/B~

Friday 8:24

"Dr. Brennan!"

Brennan was nearly at her car when she heard the unfamiliar, female voice calling her name. She turned towards the sound automatically, then turned right back around when she determined the source of the voice.

"Dr. Brennan, I need to speak with you."

"I need to return to the lab." Brennan's response sounded clipped even to her own oblivious ears.

"Dr. Brennan, I am very good at my job. I do a great deal of work with severely traumatized children, and I've seen far too many situations just like the one tonight when a child is in need of help and people who are less experienced with troubled children don't realize the significance of the situation." Ellen caught up to Brennan and stood between her and her car. "Please listen to me."

"This discussion is irrelevant given the fact that the agents found no trace of a child in the area." Brennan attempted to sidestep the woman, but found her to be more persistent than she had expected. Only the knowledge that Booth was already furious with her stopped her from ensuring that the woman would no longer stand in her way.

"But there could have been." Ellen insisted. "That's not the real issue here, though, is it, Dr. Brennan? It wasn't so much my suspicion about the existence of a child as my presence here to begin with that bothered you."

"I am not bothered!" She said too forcefully. "Though I will admit that I found your appearance here and the interference with our case to be inappropriate and unprofessional."

"Well, I apologize if I offended you." Ellen said sincerely. "But I don't really think this is about professionalism either."

"I'm not concerned with what you think." Brennan snapped, attempting to sidestep her again. Ellen moved with her. "Ms. Wolfe, I have a job to perform and you have a date to return to. This discussion is over."

Ellen let her pass, but before Brennan could feel relief at escaping, Ellen called after her, "You know, Seeley cares about you a great deal."

The words made Brennan stop in her tracks, though she didn't turn to face the woman speaking to her.

"The change in your behavior is upsetting him. He doesn't understand it, but I do. I can recognize jealousy when I see it, Dr. Brennan."

"I am not jealous." Brennan turned slowly around. "What do I have to be jealous of? He's my partner."

Ellen nodded. "He is. And I appreciate that fact. I would never try to undermine that."

"Then perhaps you should stay away from our crime scenes." Brennan turned and headed towards her car once again, desperate to get back to the safety of her lab. But Ellen wasn't quite done.

"Dr. Brennan, I refuse to take the blame if your partnership falls apart because of your reaction to my relationship with Seeley. If you drive him away by lashing out like that, it'll be your fault, not mine. I just want that to be clear here and now."

Brennan didn't have the strength to respond as she threw open her door and dumped herself into her car. Her tension morphed into speed as she forced her way back into traffic and fled the scene of the crime.

~B/B~

Friday 9:13

The lab was deserted. She hadn't called anyone in to work on the remains with her. She didn't want anyone else there. She did, however, desperately hope that Booth would show up, demanding information. Or call for an update. Or send her an email asking what she was doing.

Anything.

But the minutes ticked by and he didn't call. The seconds slid by and she couldn't focus.

Words spoken by the person she wanted to think of the least flooded her mind.

If you drive him away… it'll be your fault, not mine.

She dropped her head into her hands, wishing that she understood what was happening to her. It would be so much simpler if she could just ask Booth to explain it to her, but something kept her from talking to him about what she was feeling. She was irrationally afraid of what his conclusions would be, and that confused her even more.

Your fault, not mine.

She stood up quickly, grabbing her coat and her bag. She wasn't getting any work done. She couldn't focus. The shame that was filling her was too oppressive and she knew she had to fix things between her and Booth quickly, or Ellen's horrible prediction would come true.

She owed him an apology and she wasn't one to be indebted to anyone.

~B/B~

9: 48

She knocked on his door, hoping beyond hope that he was alone and that he would answer despite the fact that he would know it was her. Not that she would blame him if he didn't want to talk to her.

He didn't keep her waiting long, though, and when the door opened he stood before her dressed in sweats and an old t-shirt.

"Bones."

"Booth…"

She bit her lip, unsure of what she wanted to say to him. So she just began to speak. "I'm very sorry for my behavior earlier this evening. I was out of line. I know that. You have every right to be frustrated with me, however, I hope that you will at least allow me inside to discuss the situation because I…"

He cut her off, his arms swooping down around her and drawing her in to his chest. Letting out a sigh of pure relief, she allowed herself to lean into him, her hands moving up to rest on his back. He was warm and smelled of soap and comfort.

"Bones, you are driving me crazy lately." He muttered even as his hands tightened around her, squeezing her shoulders. "I can take you being mad at me, but I can't take you not talking to me about it. At least tell me what's going on."

"I'm not angry with you, Booth." She pulled back to look into his dark brown eyes. "Why would you think that?"

He gaped at her for a long moment before tugging her inside and closing the door behind them.

"Why would I think that? Bones, you've been pulling away from me for days. Every other thing that comes out of your mouth is harsh or not-so-subtle way of telling me to leave you alone. What am I supposed to think?" He settled his hands on his hips, his eyes demanding answers from her.

"Booth…"

"I thought we were closer than this, Bones."

She frowned. "We are… I've just been… confused."

"So tell me what you're confused about. Let me explain it to you." He took a step closer to her, tipping her chin up so that she had to look at him.

She shook her head, dislodging her chin from his grasp. "Booth, I just came by to say that I was sorry for my earlier accusations. That's all."

He dropped his head, looking at his floor as he steadied himself. When he looked up at her, his jaw was set. "Would you ever lie to me, Bones?"

"No." Her response was automatic.

"Then tell me. Are you upset with me because I'm dating Ellen?"

~B/B~

*ahem* cliffhanger *ahem*Did you hear something?

I won't beg for reviews - I'll just tell you that I greatly appreciate each and every one I do get and that hearing from you guys makes my day and inspires me to write more! Thanks for reading everyone!