I meant to have this up before tonight's episode but the hockey game was on and well… I watched it till the end before I started writing. Happy it didn't go into OT, aren't ya? I am all jumpy because of the win so this might be a bit jumbled but I hope it holds up to your expectations.


"You know he loves you…" I hear Angela's voice trail off as her heels click against the tile, "Remember that Bren. It takes two… not just one and a half hearts."

"I know" I relent, trying to push my bubbling emotions deep down inside, "but you don't understand…" My eyes lick up and I sigh, I am talking to myself.

Gazing back down on the flickering screen it takes all my effort just to keep my mind from wandering. The ability to write anything that would be held up in court is way beyond anything I can even comprehend. I am a broken woman, completely destroyed by a singular fact.

I love him.

I love him more than I thought I could, more than a woman should love a man. It took five years, countless nights alone and dances with death but this woman is more sure of this then she has ever been before. The fact that he has moved on is destroying what little faith I had left.

Pulling my top drawer open, I pull out a single small box. For years this box has held all my hopes. The nights felt crying alone, the way my heart shatters when he is not around, this box has seen it all and so much more. I pop the lid open and gasp.

A thin silver band engulfed in black. The black velvet seems to almost drown out the gleaming metal but there it stands out, unwavering and devoted solely to one purpose. One day this ring will leave this box and that day I will become whole.

"She just can't possible understand…" I mumble, trying to find answers in the small black box, "Not even if they are plain to see."

"Don't understand what Bones?" His voice breaks me out of my revere, suddenly ashamed.

"No-nothing." I babble, unable to look up at the man who has stolen my heart.

"Well, we got a hit on those prints and… are you sure you are okay, Bones? You are starting to turn green." He leans forward, trying to get a glance on what is drawing my attention from him.

I snap the lid closed, shoving it with all my force into a stack of papers.

"Yes, I… I just…" I clear my throat and look up, "I am just really tired."

"I told you that you need to get more sleep." He chuckles, trying to break the sudden tension that has fallen over my office. "Do I need to stay at your place to make sure you sleep too?"

I am silent, knowing if I speak my walls will break and the words will be never ending. My eyes are drawn to him but suddenly fall, the weight of my reality hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"Well since you have no more information about the case…. I'm heading back to Hoover now, Bones." He takes a step back as my eyes darken. I am closing up as quickly as my mind can shut down. The electricity that seems to flow between us ceases as he tears his eyes away from mine on a shudder, "Lunch… I'll call you…" He pushes the words out on a stutter and my eyes once again fall.

I can feel Booth's eyes drill into my head, willing me to at least look up from the computer screen. My eyes dance across the top of the screen, playing Russian roulette with my heart but in the end they falter, jerking back to down to safety.

"Okay." I speak on a sigh, trying to will the tears from falling behind my blue walls.

"When you find the cause of death… call me… okay?" He pleads, turning abruptly and leaving me alone with the tension I created.

Once again I am left alone with my feelings. I know this won't be the last time I almost break in front of him. If I don't do something drastic… something to break the tension I feel deep down. I know this will finally shatter me completely, leaving me without any other recourse. I cannot keep living this lie any longer. I need the truth, purging what little hope I have left in exchange for a chance at eternity.

"Hey Bren… you didn't…" My hallow eyes drag up at her words, "Bren…" Her voice is a soft whisper, dancing across the office.

A single tear runs down my check, begging its companions to follow.

"Angela… I think I…" My voice holds firm but I know the truth is written all of my features, "I think I made a mistake."

"Clark double checked you figures. They are correct." She assures, pointing toward the folder with emphasis.

Without a word I slide the small black box forward, practically shoving it off the table. I hold my breath and wait, wait for the onslaught of daggers soon to follow.

"Do you think he will like it?" My voice is a faint whisper but as the colour drains from her face, I know she heard every singular word.

"Bren, this is a wedding band." She gasps, focusing on the damn metal.

"I know."

"Where did you get this?"

"A jeweler."

Her eyes dart between the box and the man unknowingly leaving me so shattered. She finally settles on the box, unable to wrap her mind around such news.

"Bren, when did you get this?" Her voice is frantic as she tries to process the surprising news.

I am silent. She knows. This piece of jewelry is not a recent purchase. If I had to count the pieces of jewelry I have bought since this one I would not be able to do so. The years of wear evident by the dust and small scuff marks over the mahogany.

"What you are saying is the man of your dreams was standing right before you… feet away from the band that professed your deepest devotion yet you just let him walk away?" She baulks, astonished at my composure.

My heart shatters slightly as my eyes affix on the sparkling silver band. So perfect in its simplicity, holding all my hopes and fears in a single circle of metal.

You turn the rational irrational

Such a small inscription yet it holds all I hold dear. All I have known and all I will know. He is my one weakness, my one unresolved struggle. As night begins to fall over my fragile heart, I know he is all I will ever need.

"Angela…" I sigh, unwilling to look up, "It is more complicated then that."

"No, Bren, no. Don't even start with me. I bet he doesn't even know you have this."

"Of course not, that would be preposterous."

"Yeah and this whole three ring circus thing you to have going on isn't. That makes so much sense. He tells you he loves you, practically grovels for you to give him a chance but you turn him down. Then six months later out of the blue I walk in on you staring at a wedding band. Yeah, Bren, that is totally normal."

"Yes it is…" I defend, matching her glare for glare, "when the man you love, loves another."