A/N: Darn classes- that's all I have to say. :P
Booth took another swig of beer and leaned his head back against the couch with a sigh. It was four o'clock in the morning; Hannah had gone to bed hours ago, despite her persistence in staying up to talk. He couldn't talk—not to her, not now. She seemed to understand, but he could swear she seemed disappointed he wouldn't confide in her. But how could he? The kiss had nothing to do with her; it was between him and Bones.
But she's my girlfriend. How could he hide this from her? He couldn't let her believe the lie—it went against everything he believed in. It felt so wrong, keeping the truth from her. So wrong that it was getting hard to breathe.
Without a second thought, Booth stood and practically ran into his bedroom, where his girlfriend slept. "Hannah, we need to talk."
The blond stirred but didn't waken.
"Hannah." His tone was louder this time.
She opened her eyes drowsily, blinking slowly. When she realized he was standing next to her, she quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes, alert. "Seeley what's wrong? Is it Temperance?"
Booth froze. He realized in that moment if he told her he would both jeopardize his relationship with this amazing woman as well as potentially ruin one of Bones' only true friendships. What right did he have to do that—to tear away a friend from Bones in the middle of her trauma?
"Is she okay?" Hannah tugged on his hands, sitting him on the bed beside her. Her concern was overwhelming.
"No, she's fine…" he began, scrambling for a sane reason to explain his actions, "I just…"
Hannah waited patiently, her eyes burning holds through him.
"I just wanted to thank you, Hannah. For being there for Bones… and for me. I know these last couple days haven't been the easiest for anyone. I'm sorry if I—"
Hannah placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. "No apologies, Seeley. You have nothing to be sorry about."
Booth groaned mentally.
"I know this has been killing you. I just wish you'd let me in a bit more. Temperance is my friend too; I feel like you've been pushing me away from her." Hannah smiled sadly. "I know she doesn't have a lot of friends; I want to be there for her."
The FBI agent nodded. "I know you do." He smiled, pushing aside a piece of her hair. "I love you, you know that, right?"
"Yep, but it's always nice to be reminded."
"Well I do." He said again, leaning over to kiss her. "You're perfect."
The blond laughed. "Yeah, well I won't be if I don't get my beauty sleep. Come on, join me."
Booth forced a groan as he rolled over to his side of the bed and slipped under the covers. "If you insist…"
Hannah shoved a forkful of watermelon into her mouth just as someone knocked at her cubicle. She looked up to see Angela standing there, a hesitant smile on her face. The reporter waved her hand, motioning her to sit as she swallowed her fruit.
"Hey Angela," Hannah began hesitantly; closing the lid to her laptop, sensing this was going to be one of those serious talks. "What brings you here?"
Angela pulled the guest chair closer to the desk. "Um… I don't know how to say it…"
"I've come to realize when people respond like that, it usually means it's a difficult subject." She read Angela's expression and knew she was right.
"You're smart, Hannah. I'm going to beat around the bush…"
Hannah nodded, appreciating her honesty. She had a pretty good idea what was bothering Angela anyway—it was probably the same thing that kept her boyfriend up all night.
"I'll say it again; you're smart—very smart. I'm sure you've noticed the signs…" Angela sucked in a breath. "Booth and Brennan have a terrific work relationship, as I'm sure you know. They've been almost inseparable since the beginning. However, over the years it's become more than that. They're also best friends; they complement each other… and I'm sure Booth has told you what happened a year ago…"
She was referring to when Seeley was in love with her. He had confessed that after they both got back to the states. "Yes."
"Okay, so you know he loves her…"
"Loved," Hannah automatically corrected, as she had been doing for the last several months.
Angela smiled sadly. "Wake up, Hannah. I mean, really. I like you, I really do. I think you and Booth are good for each other, but come on, wake up."
Hannah swallowed, her words hurting more than they should have. She blinked back a few tears and straightened up. "Thank you for stopping by, Angela."
Angela nodded, standing as she did. "Okay. I'm sorry, I know I'm the last person you probably wanted to hear from today, but I felt as if I needed to say something. I'm sorry if I offended you in any way."
"You didn't," Hannah assured, her emotions controlled. "By the way, how is Temperance?"
Angela stopped at the door. "She's hurting." With those words, she left.
Hannah let out a shaky breath as realization took hold of her mind. She couldn't believe she had let herself be fooled. Who was she kidding? She saw the signs right away. Why did Seeley such a good guy? The 'love is blind' statement had never been truer…
This day was harder for Booth than the previous four days combined. He wasn't allowed to see Bones—Angela had made that quite clear and he completely understood—he just didn't like it. He wanted to talk to her about the kiss, about her hallucinations, about everything; not talking was driving him insane.
Finally at about midnight he couldn't take it anymore. His world as he knew it was shifting dramatically and he didn't like it one bit—he was going to stop it.
Once again he found his way to Bones' hospital door, where he didn't belong and was most definitely not welcome. He hesitated, struggling within himself to do the right thing. He didn't want to do anything that would hurt Bones; he didn't want to push her over the edge—she had been through enough crap already. But he couldn't let things just stay the same; he couldn't just let it all go… she meant too much for him to do that.
With a groan, Booth pushed open the door. "Bones, please—"
"Out." Angela ordered before he could get another word in. "You need to leave, now Booth. I thought I made it quite clear that you are not welcome here."
"Just let me—"
Angela placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing him towards the door with more force than he would have credited her. "No, not now."
He struggled against her grip, slipping out a moment later. He pushed past the pregnant friend and hurried to Bones' side. She looked annoyed, but not as weak and pathetic as she had earlier. "Bones, please…"
"Don't you get it, Booth?" Bones began. "I can't do this right now. I can't handle—"
"That's what I want to talk about. I'm not about to let this friendship—this relationship fall to pieces because we're on different levels right now. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that I hurt you. You have to know I didn't mean to; that I would never mean to…"
"I know that, but—"
"But nothing!" Booth said, casting a quick glance at Angela as she backed off, her arms crossed. She was pissed. "I care about you, Bones. I really do. You're my best friend. I love working with you. I don't want that to change. I don't think it has to change."
Bones looked confused. "Who said anything about it changing? Our working relationship is very productive. I'm fairly positive if I were assigned new FBI agent that we would not be as productive as we are together. It would be irrational to break such a working relationship merely because of emotions."
She was so damn rational—that's why he loved her. Wait… love? "Bones… I…" realization was hitting him hard. How was it possible to be in love with two people at the same time?
"What's going on?"
The voice made him jump—it was Hannah's. He felt like he had been caught cheating all over again, and maybe he had.
This wasn't going to be easy at all. Two pairs of eyes were upon him, burning four holes into his head. The next words out of his mouth could change his future in an instant. They would break someone's heart, and ruin a friendship or relationship. He didn't want to say anything. He wanted to pretend like none of this happened. He wanted to go back to the way things were, before they were so complicated, but he couldn't. That would be an easy out. He had to do it the hard way; he had to do it the right way...
Okay, so this chapter was a bit rushed, I apologize. Hope you liked it anyway. I'll update soon! :D
