Title: One Night to Speed Up Truth

Author: Dizzy

Rating: M

Summary: This story is set at the very end of "S6:E13 Daredevil in the Mold". What if Brennan and Booth had shared more than a drink the night Hannah refused his proposal. All chapters are based on songs taken from the Bones soundtrack. AU/Angst/Drama/Confusion/etc.

Disclaimer: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride…but as they are not, I still own nothing. Bones belongs to many people, like FOX and Hart Hanson, but not me.

Author's Note: I hope all of you Americans had a wonderful Turkey Day…and all of you other wonderful nationalities, hope the weekend has left you well rested! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, they inspire me to no end and push me to stay up till 1am with a term paper looming in the distance (due tomorrow, yikes!) writing this whole chapter in a night! I wanted to get back to all of you amazing reviewers this week, but the holidays (which always involve extensive travel and mingling with in-laws!) have led me to make the choice between responding to reviews or writing this chapter.

A very quick and indiscriminant shout out to newer reviewers: greysanatomyintern, Monica1122, tartantrace, mickeydavis123, MJRojas28, Jenny1701, nana25, the dud pistachio, BlueMoonFan, Gabsmum, Phoenix Rysing, goalkeeper96, mariabones, and BnB447.

Thanks a million to all those of you who are constant sources of inspiration! Michele, Linda, IHEARTSEELEYJBOOTH, Covalent Bond, Bleed Like Me, Excellentdriver, sweetmaj010, Rainbowong, manue, biba79, Casket4mytears, jmbatt, jsboneslover, Dyna63, Stefmarie06, drjamband, temperancedeschanel, yatobu, boothiebabe, bblover228, jneakins, Rangers043276, mrsvartan07, EverythingEventually, penandra, and SammieAtHome!

Finally, to all the wonderful guests who leave me reviews and to those who have favorite or followed the story: THANK YOU! If I have missed anyone, I am so very sorry, it is late and I am starting to nod off! Hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 9: Aotearoa

(Song featured in in S6:E12 The Sin in the Sisterhood)

And if the past's a distant land

Maybe there is no rhyme or reason

And if we salvage what we can:

You and me

And yes, it's true we're very young,

And we have sticks and stones and bruises,

Can we do what has been undone?

Is this the way destiny chooses?

You and me, you and me

You and me.. you and me

You and me, you and me

You and me, you and me

You and me..

We are a New Zealand

And yes, it's true we're very young

And we have sticks and stones and bruises,

Can we undo what has been done?

You and me

We are a New Zealand

A New Zealand, a New Zealand

You and me, you and me

You and me… you and me

You and me, you and me

And if the past's a distant land

Maybe there is no rhyme or reason

And if we salvage what we can

You and me

We are a New Zealand

It's you and I, I, I, I, I

It's you and I, I, I, I, I

It's you and I, I, I, I, I

It's you and I, I, I, I, I

(You and me) It's you and I, I, I, I, I

(We are) It's you and I, I, I, I, I

(New Zealand) It's you and I, I, I, I, I

It's you and I, I, I, I, I

*~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~*

It was 2:30pm, but it seemed like midnight. Tempe had been back at the ranch for exactly twenty minutes and had yet to sit down. Aurelio watched as she made tea, her foot nervously tapping as she stood next to the stove waiting for the water to boil. This of course was after she had rushed into the bathroom to remove the bandage above her right eyebrow, inspect the garish bruise that lie there, wash her face, change into sweats, comb her hair, and generally fuss around the rest of the house. She had just come home from the hospital and she had already started the same cycle over again and he couldn't stand to see her pushing herself further than she already had.

"Tempe, please. You need to sit down, you need to relax." Aurelio was behind her, a warm had resting on her shoulder, a gesture of reassurance that was met with the immediate tensing of her already tense muscles. It was as if she had forgotten he had been there at all, as if the sound of another human being's voice was as foreign to her as the thought of rest. Still, he pushed on, needed to get her to calm down. "Sit. Rest. I'll get the tea."

He pulled her gently away from the stove and led her to the couch, surprised at the lack of resistance he was getting. She gingerly sat down on the plush cushions, her beautiful features furrowing as she leaned back. "I'll get you some ice for your back, too."

"Aurelio, please, you don't have to…" She began, her actions may not have suggested it, but her voice sounded with fatigue.

"Tempe, its no trouble. Plus, you were hurt at my site. I've got to butter you up so you don't sue me?" He tried for a playful smile, but confused grey-blue ones only met his black eyes.

"I don't understand what you mean? Butter?" She settled back into the couch and moved past apparently confusing idiom onto a more pressing matter. "Aurelio, of course I won't be taking any legal action against you or the Blackwater Draw Foundation. My healthcare is more than adequate and no injury has occurred that will not entirely heal within a matter of weeks."

"I figured as much, Tempe. I was just trying to lighten the mood, you seem to be…preoccupied." He said carefully as he made his way back to the stove where the teakettle had begun to sputter its shrill song. He retrieved two mugs from the cupboard and placed two chamomile packed tea balls inside the deep indigo ceramic.

"I've had a…shock…I mean…" She accepted the cup gingerly. "…today has not been easy."

"I suppose not. Still, you were given a clean bill of health, but for the bumps and bruises, your back home. You even had a friend come to visit, that must have been great…" Aurelio, always the optimist, began to trail off as he noticed Temperance's gaze shift away and become blurry with tears. He had known this woman for well over a decade and had never seen her cry. She had shared many things with him—her hopes, her dreams, even some of the parts of her past that would have broken most people—but he had never seen her cry. He was not a fool; he knew this went beyond exhaustion, beyond the fear of the fall. "Tempe, what's wrong? What has happened?"

"I…seeing Angela was difficult. She…wanted me to return to D.C." Aurelio tensed at those words. He knew that she was meant for greater things than the small archeological operation he was running, but the thought of her leaving tore at him.

"I see. What…what did you tell her?"

"I told her I wouldn't…I couldn't. I have work here. We are so close to figuring out the meaning of the site, it could be big…it means quite a bit to you." He knew his reasons for wanting her to stay were selfish ones, both professional and emotional, but above all else he wanted her to be happy, content. He knew that she was working herself to death here, and as much as he wanted to be the reason for her happiness, he couldn't be the reason for her demise.

"Maybe…maybe she's right, Tempe. I want you to stay, of course, I love having your expertise out in the field and…having you…here…it's been amazing. I just…" He took a deep breath, wondering why the hell he would be telling her to do the one thing he didn't want her to. "…I just don't think you're happy. You've always been a hard worker, and I certainly benefit from your example, but you have been manic, Tempe. You've been spinning like a top and I feel like it was only a matter of time before you lost your momentum. I'm…I'm just glad that you weren't hurt too severely."

There was silence, a deep silence that Aurelio dreaded more than any sort of indignant denial Temperance could have heaped on him. He sat with her then, knowing that the silence was her choice, her right, just as it was her choice to continue this conversation or throw him out. He knew Tempe well enough to know that she did not take kindly to unwanted advice; he learned that the hard way years ago, when she had chosen to date their professor. But this wasn't about Michael Stiers, about young misguided love, this was about something more painful, he just didn't know what.

"I can't go back, Aurelio. Not now." She said so quietly he was barely able to hear her.

"Tempe, what could possibly be so awful that you couldn't go back? I spoke with Angela. She seemed genuinely concerned for you. It sounds like many people are. Why can't you go back with Angela? It isn't logical." He pulled out the big guns; logic always appealed to Tempe. He still didn't know why he was doing this, why he was pushing her away.

"I can't…she's already gone. I can't because…I can't face…I'm…"She let out a soft whimper, as if her words were causing her physical pain. He wrapped his arms gently around her shawl-shrouded shoulders, pulling her close to his chest. She buried herself in his arms, his chest, and Aurelio simultaneously thanked the gods for the closeness and cursed them for the pain she was in. "I'm pregnant."

He forced himself not to tense, not to show the painful shock and awe his mind was reeling from. "What? How…how long?"

"Almost three months." Her voice was muffled in his shirt and he could feel the dampness of her tears through the thin material.

"Three months? Jesus, Tempe, you were going down in those caves. Who knows what could have been down there. Not to mention all of the nights out with the team." He tried to conceal the chastisement from his voice, tried not to admonish.

"I didn't know, Aurelio, I didn't know." Her head shook back and forth against him, and all thoughts left him but pity as he realized her lapses in judgment hadn't been intentional. How could it have been, this was Temperance Brennan.

"Oh god, Tempe. I'm…I'm assuming this wasn't exactly planned." He felt like an idiot, of course it wasn't, but what does one say as they hold the crying woman they love, the woman who was pregnant with another man's child?

"No, not at all…once…I had thought about it once, with him, but not now…" She pulled herself from him then wiping the tears from her eyes, dabbing her nose with the hem of her wrap.

"Why not now? What has changed?" He probed.

"He is…was…with someone. It was illogical to be with him in the first place, and…and I'm ashamed." She cleared her throat as if trying to convince herself of the statement she had just made, the statement that had just broke his heart. He could tell now, could tell that she loved him, whoever this bastard was.

"Still, he should man up, take responsibility. He took part in the indiscretion to, Tempe, you can't place this all on yourself." He was angry now and he knew it showed in his voice. Angry at this man, angry at the situation he had placed her in, angry at him for denying this amazing woman's love, angry at the world for bringing her to his arms too late.

"No. No he is not a part of this, can't be. I can't…I can't come to him knowing what I've done to this child, knowing all of the danger I have put it in. He…" She began choking on her words as fresh tears sprang into her watered glass eyes. "…he's a good man, he would do the right thing, but I don't…I don't want that. I don't want him to know what I have done, the wrongs I can place on myself and myself alone. I don't ever want him to know that I failed him in this, something he takes so…he takes this so seriously, as he should. I can't have ruined this along with his relationship along with everything else I have trampled on his life."

"Tempe, I don't think he would see it that way." Aurelio consoled.

"He would…and if he didn't, I would be able to live with myself…" She trailed off, her gaze fixed on the warm mug in her hand, as if she were trying to concentrate all of her emotions into the pottery cradled between her soft digits. "I just…I need time…time to sort this out…to decide, to make this right. Do you understand, Aurelio? Please say that you understand."

Aurelio noted the tinge of desperation in her voice and hated seeing her so distraught, so broken. If he couldn't be the man she wanted, he would be the friend she needed. "Of course, Tempe. Of course. Stay here. Rest. Think. I'll be here for you, now until forever."

She smiled softly then, the first real smile he had seen from her the entire time she had been there, the first glimpse of the Temperance Brennan he knew and loved. In that moment he could promise her anything, everything, just to see her smile like that. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, careful not to brush against the angry purple protrusion gracing her lovely brow.

"Thank you, Aurelio. I can't thank you enough." She sighed.

"Don't thank me, Tempe, just heal. I'll be here to help, but it has to come from you. You need to be strong now, not just for yourself…for the baby." She nodded then, as if she were allowing his words of comfort to soak into the atmosphere around them.

The moment was broken when a loud rapping sounded at the front door, followed by the incessant ringing of the doorbell. Confusion and annoyance played across Aurelio's face as he stood from the couch. "Stay here, rest. I'll get it."

Temperance nodded and took a tentative sip from her meg as she leaned back into the sofa. For a moment as he made his way to the door, Aurelio imagined this scene in a different light, from the view of a man answering the door as his pregnant wife relaxed on the couch. He took a moment to relish in it, but only a moment as the knocking sounded out louder and more rapid then before. Swinging the door open he was greeted by a man wearing jeans, a t-shirt, aviator sunglasses, and an inhospitable expression.

"Yes? Who are you?" Aurelio asked, his patience wearing thin as he soaked in the hostility emanating from the man before him.

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth. Who the hell are you?"

*~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~*

He had been delayed much longer than he had expected. You would think an FBI agent would have no problem boarding a plane, but apparently companies were now insisting upon warrants and reason for boarding. 'Official business' didn't seem to cut it anymore. It had taken him nearly four hours to even get placed on an outbound flight to New Mexico, as not many flights seemed to make there way to that area of the country. He was finally placed on a flight out at about 6am, after waiting around the airport for the entire night and being stuck on the tarmac for nearly two and half hours. He had been a little more than peeved knowing he had arrived only fifteen minutes after the last flight for the night had taken off, one he was sure Angela was on.

The flight had taken him to Albuquerque and he had needed to rent a car for the three-hour drive to Portales. He was running on little sleep and even less patience so he was happy to know when he arrived and Roosevelt General Hospital around 2pm that where his title and badge hadn't worked at the Washington National Airport it had worked in the small town hospital. When the staff had refused to tell him if Bones had even been admitted he'd been able to get them to talk after throwing his FBI weight around. In truth, he hated using his position for personal matters, but there was a limit to his professionalism, and anything concerning Bones had always been good reason to go against protocol in his book. Still, no amount of finesse could negate the fact that she wasn't there, at least not anymore. She had been discharged almost thirty minutes earlier, again missing his chance by a few measly minutes. After getting the her address from a wary looking nurse by the name of Irene, he had started the forty-five minute trek to a small ranch on the outskirts of town, deep in the vast expanse of the desert.

Exhausted and noticeably irritable, he took a minute to calm down as he parked his rental in the driveway. He needed to gather himself, to focus on the words that needed to be said before he came barging in on her. He pulled down the visor and stared back at himself in the tiny mirror there. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, his cheeks were gaunt and he knew now that he hadn't been taking care of himself. He never really allowed himself to assess what the past few months had done to him physically. Sleepless nights, fear of Broadsky, fear of his own wandering mind, the not knowing that came with Bones' disappearance, the pain of missing her more than anything he could ever remember. He saw now what everyone else had known for so long, he was a mess, broken.

"You look like shit, Seeley." He chastised the image in front of him then rubbed his eyes vigorously. Glancing back into the reflection, he locked eyes with himself. "You look like shit, but you got to talk to her. You got to say the right things. What are the right things?"

His mind rolled through the options. He couldn't just come out and say, 'I love you.' Not to Bones. She'd run, just like she always had, just like she did. 'I can't live without you' was ruled out too, no matter the truth behind it.

"What are the right words?" He asked his mimic. "We need you…I need you. Hannah is gone, like she was never there at all. All that's left is you, you're the hole in my heart, the missing piece."

He snorted. Bones hated metaphor, so why would she want it now? "You just need to man up, Seeley. You'll know what to say when you see her. You just need to see her." He nodded at his reflection; taking what little encouragement he could from the image in the mirror nodding back at him. He caught himself then and rolled his eyes, 'You really need to stop talking to yourself.' With one last glance at his fatigued features, he grabbed his sunglasses. Besides protecting him from the brutal southwestern sun, he hoped they'd hide the dark circles, at least upon first glance.

He couldn't help but note the quickness of his steps. The need to see her, his Bones, in the flesh, overwhelmed him a bit and he knew that he needed to play it cool. She didn't know he was coming, and he was pretty sure she wouldn't be there waiting for him with open arms. But he loved her, and he knew she loved him, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself.

As he came closer to the house he could hear muffled voices coming from inside. The open living room window framed a scene. Bones face was tired, bruised, and wet from tears. He immediately felt rage flow through him. What had happened? How had she gotten hurt and why hadn't he been there to prevent it? He halted in his tracks as his attention shifted from Bones' marred features to the large man holding her. His back was to Booth, but he could tell that the man was big, strong, and most likely taller than him by a few good inches. Booth saw red when the man leaned down and brushed his lips against her brow. This man was too close, too close to his Bones.

Every thought he had, every start to a conversation, every point he had to make about the reasons Bones should return home with him, flew from his mind and his body began to move of its own accord, independent from Booth. Within moments he found himself on the doorstep, his clenched fist pounding at the door as if he would break it from its hinges, his index finger turning white as he violently jabbed the doorbell. He couldn't seem to grasp onto his inner control, his rational mind.

The door swung open and Booth was greeted by a dark, good-looking man who was indeed several inches taller than himself. Still, it wouldn't have matter if the guy was ten feet taller, Booth knew size didn't matter. He unconsciously sized the man up, and while he was taller and powerfully built, Booth knew he could take him if he had to. He was brought out of his feral thoughts by the man's deep baritone voice.

"Yes? Who are you?"

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth. Who the hell are you?" He growled, his dark eyes narrowing behind the tinted lenses of his aviators. Both men turned as they heard a loud crash from just inside the door, the distinct sound of glass breaking. Bones was standing by the couch, confusion and fear shining through her eyes, and Booth was immediately cooled. He couldn't stand to see her looking at him in that way, as if she feared him. The dark bruising around her face and under her eyes caused him to involuntarily flash to images of his frightened and battered mother, and a wave of nausea washed over him to know that the comparisons in both women's features was so great.

"Bones…" He started, just as the other man's voice rang out.

"Tempe…" Both men stopped then, their posture not easing in its readiness, but in check. The dark man looked back at Booth, his jaw set firmly, arms crossed over his chest. "I'm Dr. Aurelio Castaneda, Agent Booth. I take it you are here to see Temperance?"

"Uh…yeah…I…" He suddenly felt awkward. He cleared his throat. "I work with Bones. I'm here to speak with her."

"Now is not a good time, Agent Boo…" Aurelio began, and Booth could feel the anger rising in him once again. He struggled to keep it at bay.

"Its…its fine, Aurelio. I'm fine. Please, if you could just clean up the mess I've made here, I'd really appreciate it." Bones came forward slowly, wrapping the terracotta colored shawl on her shoulders tighter as she moved towards them. "I'll speak with Booth outside."

"Tempe, are you sure." Aurelio's hand came to rest on her shoulder and Booth didn't like it one bit. What he thought had been anger reared its ugly head as jealousy. He was jealous of this man, this unknown who somehow had been comforting Bones, his Bones, the woman he loved. It should have been him.

"Yes, Aurelio, its fine." She brushed past the large man, his hand falling from her, and Booth felt a smug sense of satisfaction at the bewildered look on Aurelio's face. He could chastise himself for being an ass later. Right now, he needed to talk to Bones. They stepped through the door, out into the front yard garden. It was silent for a beat between the two, neither knowing how to start the inevitable conversation. Booth choose to take the plunge.

"So, you've been in New Mexico this whole time?" His voice was soft.

"Most of it, yes. I've been working with Aurelio out at a dig in the Blackwater Draw Preserve. Paleo-Indian tribes, very interesting case that involves many different sets of re…" She began to babble and Booth knew she was avoiding what really needed to be said.

"I miss you, Bones." He said simply, quietly. She didn't reply, she just stared at him; her stormy blue eyes were red from crying, but revealed nothing else to him. He went on. "I miss you so much sometimes, it…it hurts, ya know?"

Bones eyes tore themselves away from his, and even though he felt as if he were losing ground, he felt he needed to trudge forward.

"You, that night, the night Vincent died…I meant everything I said, everything we did…I broke it off with Hannah the next day. I tried to find you but…"

"But I left." Her voice was quiet, but he could hear the stoniness of it. "I left, just like you did. You left, Booth, what did you expect me to do?"

"I expected to talk to you that day, expected to tell you how much…how much that night meant to me." His voice was pleading with her. He wanted her to see, to understand. "I didn't want to leave, but I didn't want to wake you. I thought…I thought there was time, I thought you knew I wouldn't leave you, not after what we did."

"It was too much, Booth, too much." Her soft voice hung between them, and Booth feared her going further. "You…don't remember, but it happened before…it happened…"

"It happened the night I proposed to Hannah." Her eyes snapped to his, confusion written across her beautiful face, a face he could fall in love with over and again for the rest of his life. "I know…I mean…I didn't know, not until I…spoke with Hannah…but I knew all along, deep down, I'd known for months. I just…I just wasn't listening to the message I was sending myself."

"So you know now, know we were together more than the night of Vincent's death. You must know now why I left." Booth nodded, the pain of that realization had been haunting him for what seemed like forever.

"I screwed up, Bones, royally. I didn't want to hurt you…I want you, all of you. I need you, I'm a mess without you." He'd laid almost his whole hand down on the table; he needed to decide if he was all in. It took only a moment to make his choice. "I love you, Bones, more than I have ever loved anyone or anything. I love everything about you, and I love the man you make me want to be."

The silence was painful as he waited for her reply. He was a gambler, but he hated to lose, especially when what he was gambling with was truly everything he cherished most.

"It's…it's too late, Booth." He felt as if his heart was pulled from his chest, the air torn from his lungs. He thought he had been prepared for this, for her rejection, but he now realized that he wasn't nearly prepared enough. She looked at him then, really looked at him, and he knew it was with regret. "I…we…can't go back, not now, not here. I…have…"

"What? What do you have here that is so important?" He moved forward then, pulling her into his arms, pressing her warm body to him. She tensed suddenly and let out a soft whimper, and for a moment he thought he had been too forceful. That wave of sick ran through him again as he gently released her, "Oh god, Bones, I'm so sorry…I didn't mean…"

"No, its not you…my back. The fall bruised my back…it wasn't you." She reassured, her had grasping at his, holding his large hand in her own smaller, softer one. Even with the explanation, he still felt guilt and frustration. This was all going wrong, all of it. He came here to woo her, to tell her the truth, to bring her home. Instead his heart was breaking and he had hurt her.

"I'm just…I'm so sorry, Bones." He whispered. He felt her soft hand on his cheek as it slowly raised his bowed head so their eyes could meet. "I just want to start over, to make it right."

"We…I can't, Booth, not right now…maybe not ever. It…it hurts me to say this, but…" Booth looked deeply at her, waiting for her to continue. He saw her eyes well up with unshed tears as she shook away their contact. "But I can't right now. Right now, I need to be here…I have my reasons for staying, and I…promise…they are good reasons."

"Is it…you don't…" He couldn't quite grasp the words he wanted so desperately to own and he felt his anger rise up into his throat and tinge the words that had been resting there, waiting to come out. "You don't love me…I get it…you have better things to do, here."

"Booth." Her tone was a chastisement in itself and he couldn't stand it. Jealousy rolled through him like a deluge after a drought. His eyes flicked to the house, his anger settling there.

"Are you staying for him? For this Doctor so and so?" He spit the words out, letting them land between them like shards of broken glass. Bones eyes flit in the direction of the house, but she said nothing, neither confirming nor denying. "You're staying for this guy?"

"Its not what you think, Booth…I just can't leave, not now, not when we're so close…" Her words were weak and sounded like vague excuses to his ears.

"Not when you're so close? To what, Bones? Something more important than this, than us?" He ran an angry hand through his hair, ripping the sunglasses from his face. "I've been going out of my mind for months here, Bones, waiting for any word from you, any sign that you were okay…alive even. And all this time you've been playing house down here in New freakin' Mexico, with Mr. Last of the Mohicans in there."

He knew the words were harsh, too harsh, but he couldn't seem to control them as they slipped past his mouth and rolled off his tongue. He could see the hurt in Bones' features, the pain he was causing her, but he couldn't seem to put the breaks on his already frayed and fatigued emotions. He had expected many things when he had come to New Mexico, Bones with another man had not been one of them. The burning pain that she could be leaving him behind for another seared the very core of him, down to the center where only raw angry nerves resided.

"Booth, you may think what you wish," Her voice was icy and he knew that he had effectively ended this conversation moments earlier with his outburst. Bones steel walls had erected themselves once again, and he knew he would be unable to tear them down, not now. She continued, "but I have my reasons for staying, and these reasons will need to be good enough for you. I had no intention of hurting you, just as you had no intention of hurting me, but what's done is done. I won't be returning to D.C., not now. I…I care for you, for all of you, but I can't…I won't be going back anytime soon, not until I have answers. You will have to accept that."

He looked at her then, really looked at her. She was an enigma, a mystery to him and to everyone else. As he seethed with anger and jealousy, he couldn't help but love her, even when she was breaking his heart. He felt his bravado slide away, leaving only the truth in its place. With a sigh he took a step toward her, his hand gently cupping her soft cheek, and he could have sworn that she leaned into his touch.

"I guess I don't get to know your reasons. Maybe it is this guy, maybe its something else, but you need to know Temperance Brennan…" He pulled her close, slowly as to avoid hurting her tender back, "I love you, and I can't change that. You figure this out, then you come back to me."

He leaned forward then and pressed his rough lips against her soft satin ones, relishing the lingering taste of chamomile tea and something so Bones he could never really place his finger on it and probably never would. For a moment, he thought she wasn't going to kiss him back, feared it, but all doubt left him as he felt her lips slowly yield under his and open to his searching tongue. He drank from her like a drowning man, sweeping into her mouth in a quick motion, pulling her even closer. He poured every ounce of himself, every conflicting emotion, every desperate hope into her then, willing her to feel what he felt. While she was not nearly as zealous as he, he could feel her respond to him, her fingers tighten on his shoulders, her body lean into his, her tongue brush gently against his own. If anything, it gave him hope.

He pulled slowly away, letting their breaths linger for just awhile longer before completely untangling himself from her. Her eyes were wide, her lips red and swollen. Even battered and bruised she was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. He swallowed deep and tore his eyes from her. Softly, he spoke. "You come back to me, Bones, when you're ready."

With that, he turned from her, possibly the single most painful thing he had ever done. He left her with a kiss, without doubt in his feelings toward her. He had accomplished the one thing he truly had set out to do, he had told her the truth about that night, about his feelings; he had set the record straight. He could only wait and hope that she felt the same way.

*~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~*

She could still feel the burn of his lips on hers, and she was amazed that through everything, it still made her weak in the knees. As she watched him walk away from her, she felt a profound loss echo through her body. She had missed the feel of him, the taste, the smell. She missed him so much it was beyond reason, beyond rational thought, and seeing him only served to make her self imposed exile from him more difficult. She wanted nothing more than to grab her meager belongings and return with him, back to the life she knew and loved. Yet, those thoughts were made heavy with the leaden weight of reality. She couldn't go home, not now, not yet, maybe not ever. Despite the fact that he loved her, despite that she knew now that love was not only a fleeting chemical reaction in the brain, that it was something more, she still couldn't go. She felt anchored to this spot, anchored to the choices she had made.

He left thinking she had more self reflection to do, more exploring to do in the dark pits of the Blackwater Draw. He had no understanding of her true fears. Her hands slid slowly to her belly, a very faint rounding that had gone unnoticed now insisted upon its presence there. Her baby, Booth's baby, grow there inside her, despite the stress, the self-abuse, the odds. Her goal, above all else, was to keep this child, this perfect piece of she and Booth, safe. She wanted nothing more than to tell him, to share with him this small devastating miracle, but she couldn't, not yet…maybe not ever.

She felt as if she might cry again, but she couldn't. She felt too used up. Today had been nothing but heartbreak and tears and she was tired of it. Tired of feeling weak and vulnerable, tired of crying on the shoulders of those around her, tired of self-pity.

'Today,' She thought, 'is the start of a new day.' She gently caressed her abdomen and thought or Aurelio's words of comfort. She needed to be strong for this baby, and perhaps, someday, that strength would lead her back to Booth.

*~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~B&B~*

Author's Note: So, ::looks out sheepishly from behind her computer:: not the great reunion chapter I'm sure you were all hoping for. I know that I said a few posts ago that this story would be ending right about now, but after some words of encouragement from my faithful reviewers it will be extended for at least 1-2 more chapters. This definitely won't be going into the teens, but we may just break double digits! Thank you all for your AMAZING reviews and all of those following the story. Please tell me what you think of this chapter, what you think of the story so far. We're getting close to that Boothie/Bonesie good ending, it's on the horizon, I promise!