A/N: Sorry for the random sporadic updates today and the shortness of this particular chapter. I'm trying to do a deep clean of my place and I stop and write between rooms... I hope you're enjoying and I take all reviews into consideration :) Thank you! I really appreciate them! As always, I do not own Bones.
Booth felt her before he even saw her. It was like a part of his heart that was missing had finally come home. Or maybe he had calmed down enough to realize that his anger only masked the pain and fear he had been harboring. He didn't want to lose her, he couldn't. Not again, not ever. But it didn't mean that he was ready to welcome her with open arms, either.
She sat down next to him on the steps of the Washington Monument, close enough to be barely touching him. This was his spot, the spot she always found him. He came here to think and to remind himself of who he was. This Monument, the city before him, was built by his ancestors as a tribute to a new way of living. He had to take history and learn from it to build a new future.
The two sat in silence, unmoving. The wind whipped her hair, but she didn't fix it. Seconds, minutes, hours, days... It all seemed the same. The tension so thick he would have needed a knife to cut through it. Yet inside, he was falling apart and coming undone. As bad as it has ever been, he'd do anything for her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her sitting there, as vulnerable as ever. Her hands were wrapped tightly around herself, holding on for dear life. Never had he imagined she would come to him, not after their last encounter.
He took a deep breath and nudged her with his knee, suppressing a smile, hoping for the best. He didn't know how she would react, if she would at all. After what seemed like an eternity, he felt her arm slipping through his and her head leaning against his shoulder. He was holding back tears as he heard her whisper get lost in the wind... "I missed you."
A/N: Better? Worse? Still many unanswered questions... And don't worry, there will be a nice plot twist coming up shortly so keep reading and reviewing!