Brennan opened the door and hesitated before she crossed the threshold. She had arrived home many times alone, but this time the very air around her felt different. As she clung to her daughter she remembered people talking about houses looking and feeling happy. She of course thought these were completely ridiculous ideas, houses where inanimate objects they could not feel or convey happiness.

But tonight her house conveyed sadness; she could swear she could almost see the beams sagging as if it had lost a loved one. As she closed the door and juggled her daughter to put her keys in the bowl by the front door, she looked towards the inner section of the house and noticed how cold and uninviting it seemed. Not physically cold, but cold just the same.

As she flipped on lights Christine as always looked around as if looking for something, that something Brennan believed was her father. They had arrived home before Booth many times, but she believed Christine sensed something was different.

Once in the kitchen Brennan sat her daughter down while she began to prepare their dinner. She had to stop herself several times during her dinner preparations and remind herself to make smaller portions as Booth was not there. This was just one more realization that he had truly moved out and this tore at her heart.

Dinner was quiet, except for the babbling by Christine. Brennan wiped her daughters hands and face off prior to placing her in her playpen so she could clean up. Once the kitchen was clean Brennan checked the locks, set the alarm, and turned off the lights as she climbed the stairs to give Christine her bath.

Christine playing in the water was the one thing that had brought a genuine smile to Brennan's face. For that moment she could look at Christine and pretend that everything was the way it should be, her giving her daughter a bath and Booth kicked back in the living room watching TV waiting for her to come and curl into his side with one of her books.

"Mom mom mom mom mom mom" Christine chanted until her mother looked at her and then a big familiar grin crossed her face.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Brennan asked knowing what the answer would be as Christine giggled and slapped at the water sending it flying into her mother's face. "Okay young lady, I think it is time for us to get you ready for bed." Brennan pulled the plug to the tub and lifted Christine out of the tub and wrapped her in her Dora towel.

Once Christine was placed in her crib there was a sound that startled both mother and daughter. Brennan made her way to the hall door and listened intently. "Booth" she called out only to be answered by silence. Backing away from the door she quietly closed it and pulled her cell phone out of her sweater pocket.

Booth walked into the cold impersonal hotel room and sighed as he shut the door and sat two plain brown bags on the table. He pulled off this jacket and haphazardly tossed it over the back of a chair. He let his body follow the jacket by almost falling into the chair, pulled his cell out and tossed it onto the table and proceeded to open the bag with a very desirable smell coming from it.

Booth thought he was hungry, but as soon as he started to eat he found himself wondering what Brennan and Christine had for dinner and then looked at the goop in the earth friendly container and he stomach flipped thinking about putting this garbage in his body.

Booth grabbed the small ice bucket and made his way down the hall to an ice machine, the short walk only gave him time to allow the depression from everything that had occurred to start taking hold of him. Once back in his room he retrieved a plastic cup from the sink and pulled a bottle of scotch from the other brown bag, poured himself a glass on the rocks and sat back and stared at the opposite wall.

He found himself looking at the time and imagining what Brennan and their daughter would be doing at that moment. He could imagine Brennan cooking dinner while Christine played in her playpen near the kitchen where mother and daughter could see each other.

Although it had only been one night, Booth already missed their normal evening routine. Well it wasn't really a routine because they didn't always arrive home at the same time. It was their routine and sometimes a competition to see who could get home first to start dinner. If Brennan arrived home first, Booth was fated to eat whatever concoction Brennan put together that evening. Living with a vegetarian had come with its own challenges. But right now he missed whatever meal she put together tonight for herself and their daughter. He didn't even have to know what she cooked to know he was missing it, he missed her..

The look in his eyes changed from sad and beaten to hard and cold. He took a long drink from the glass and sat it on the table while he retrieved the large case he had left in the makeshift closet somewhat hidden by his large suit bags. Lying the case on the bed he released the catches on the sides and opened the case. He starred down at his sniper rifle, a rifle he religiously cleaned, tended to, and practiced with and took a deep breath and he pulled it out to begin the ritual of cleaning it and making sure all parts were in optimal working order.

Confirming the safety was on, he pushed a button producing a click as it released its hold on the magazine and then a slight scraping sound as Booth removed the magazine from its seat in the rifle. He confirmed the chamber was empty of any rounds and was just about to begin the process of dismantling it when his cell went off with a familiar ring tone.

Quickly and gently he put the rifle down on the bed and grabbed for his phone. "Bones?"

"Booth" he could hear the quiver in her voice.

"Is everything okay?" he was already putting his belt holster on.

"I heard something, I… I… thought it was you."

"Where are you?"

"I don't hear anything now; it was probably just the wind."

"Bones there isn't any wind, I am on my way, where are you?"

"We are in Christine's room."

Booth was out of his room and was taking the stairs two at a time; he didn't want to waste a moment waiting for the elevator. He scared a young valet when he reached past him to retrieve the keys to his truck and headed for the parking area. "Bones, I think we need to call DC police they can get there much faster than I can."

"I am fine. I don't hear anything now, it was probably nothing, and I'm just not use to being here without you is all. I am sorry if I worried you."

"Bones, stay where you are, I'm on my way, okay. Look I know you're probably fine" he said as he hit the lock release for his truck as he approached it "but for me, please stay where you are and let me check things out."

Booth immediately turned on his lights and siren as he exited the parking structure pushing the truck hard as he headed it in the direction of his house. Booth put his phone on speaker and let it rest in the console to allow him both hands while driving. "Bones you tell me if you hear anything else."

"I will, and Booth, the alarm's set."

"Okay"

While the drive seemed much longer, Booth was pulling onto his street and turning off all the lights on his truck in just 8 minutes "Bones, I'm here, you stay in Christine room until I come get you."

"Booth, I could …"

"Bones, Stay. in. Christine's. room until I come get you understand?"

"I understand"

"Promise me"

"Booth …"

"Bones, promise me."

"I promise"

"Sit tight baby." With these words Booth disconnected the call and rolled quietly up to the curb 3 houses away from his.

Exited his vehicle he quietly closed the door, pulled his weapon, holding it at a low ready in front of him as he approached his house staying in the shadows so he could observe anyone or anything that might be there. Seeing nothing in the front of his house he moved using the shadows for camouflage while he moved to the gate that would lead to the back of his house.

After several minutes of listening and moving window to window which he one checked for possible tampering, and two he would glance inside to see if he noticed anything unusual. When he was satisfied he entered through the back door and immediately went to disarm the alarm.

Still on high alert checking every corner and closet as he made his way up the stairs to where his girlfriend and daughter were, once in the hall he called her name as he turned the handle of the door to their daughters room. He knew the consequences of not announcing himself after being laid out a time or two.

"Booth" She stood up and holding their daughter and moved across the room into the safety of his arm.

"Hey" he breathed a sigh of relief and kissed both his girlfriend and his daughter on the forehead "It's okay baby, you're safe."

After they put their daughter to bed, they move back downstairs and the awkward silence took hold of both of them. Both stood for several minutes sneaking peeks at the other but for the most part memorizing a specific area on their floor.

"I should be going" Booth looked up at Brennan "But if you need anything you call okay."

Booth was nodding slightly while he waited for Brennan's answer. She looked at him with sad eyes, eyes that almost got the better of him. But, he knew he needed to give her space. "I love you Bones, don't doubt that." He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek as he let himself out.

She reset the alarm and quietly climbed the stairs alone.