(The Man in the Wall)

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I don't own Bones.

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Rapping on the doorway of her office, Booth poked his head in and asked Cam, "Hey you got time to talk?"

Closing a file, Cam smiled at her friend. "Sure come in." Waiting for him to settle on the chair next to her desk, Cam noticed the glum look on his face. "Why the long face? I thought you and that partner of yours were doing well together . . . Don't tell me you did something to end your partnership again?"

Annoyed, Booth crossed his arms and shook his head. "There isn't anything wrong between me and Bones. We're knocking it out of the ballpark. People are noticing too."

Not sure what the problem was, Cam decided to wait her friend out. "Okay, that sounds great . . . um, why are you here?"

Wary of Cam's suspicions, Booth shrugged his shoulders and glanced at the picture of her parents on her desk. "I'm going on vacation and I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me. I have two plane tickets already paid for."

Surprised and a little confused, Cam stared in shock at Booth. "Why isn't Tessa going with you? . . . oh my God, what did you do? Are you two broke up? Seeley . . ."

Very irritated at her assumptions, Booth shook his head. "This is not my fault, Cam. I thought Tessa and me were fine and the next thing I know she tells me she has this thing and she can't go on vacation with me and then she moves her stuff out of my apartment. No explanation . . . nothing. One minute we're a couple making plans to go on vacation together and the next thing I know . . . her stuff isn't in my apartment. She says we aren't broke up, but come on . . . of course we are. I'm not stupid."

"And you didn't do anything?" Puzzled at Tessa's behavior, Cam stared in wonder at her friend.

Throwing his hands up, Booth shook his head in denial. "I promise you it wasn't me . . . I don't get it. I thought I was doing everything right too. She seemed to be happy with me . . . I don't know, I don't get it."

Sad that Booth had been dumped again, Cam leaned over and placed her hand on his knee. "I'm sorry, Booth. You know I didn't really like her, so it's kind of hard for me to be sad that you two aren't a couple anymore. She was . . . I don't know. She's too much like Rebecca. You can do better than that. A handsome guy like you. An up and comer at the FBI . . . just be patient Booth. The right one will come along some day, I promise you."

Disgusted with the whole situation, Booth exhaled deeply. "Yeah, well I'm thirty three years old and I'm getting tired of looking. When is it going to be my turn? What's wrong with me that I can't find someone that wants to be with me? Am I that damaged that . . ."

Interrupting him, Cam shook her head, "Booth, the problem is not you, okay? It isn't. Just give it time. You're going to find who you're looking for some day and when you do, it will be worth all this heart ache you're going through . . . I promise."

Not sure she was right, Booth crossed his arms again. "Neither one of us is doing very well in the heart department, Cam. I thought for sure that you and Andrew Welton were going to make it and then it blew up and you haven't found anyone since."

Her hand raised to quiet him, Cam warned him, "Don't go there Seeley. I did what I had to do and even though it broke my heart to leave Michelle behind, I had to do it. Andrew was running around on me. There was no way I could stay with him once I discovered he was being unfaithful to me. I won't be used like that."

Embarrassed that he'd brought it up, Booth rose from his seat, leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it. I'm just in a crappy mood." Settling back on his chair, Booth confessed, "I tried to get Bones to go with me on vacation, but she refused . . . I'm not sure why I invited her except that I don't want to go on vacation by myself."

Surprised at his confession, Cam assured him, "Don't worry about it. It's not like I don't think about Andrew from time to time and I do bring him up sometimes . . . To answer your question, I can't go with you. I'm going back to New York for a few months. The Federal Coroner up there is going to have hip replacement surgery and I'm going to fill in while he's gone. If he decides he can't come back then I'll stick around until they find him a replacement. I'll probably be gone for about six months, but it could be longer. It just depends upon whether or not he comes back or not. I need to pack up my stuff and put it in storage. I'm going to live with Dad while I'm up there since it's going to be for just a few months."

Disappointed, Booth stared at his friend, "This is really sudden. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Leaning back against her chair, Cam replied, "I was going to tell you when I had confirmation. I didn't really know this was going to happen until this morning. Dr. Gray told me it was a possibility last week, but it wasn't set in stone until now." Sad for her friend, Cam wished she could go on vacation to cheer him up. "I really wish I could go with you, but you see I can't don't you?"

Slowly nodding his head, Booth smiled rather sadly. "Sure Cam. It's okay. I'm still going to go on that trip. I think I'm going to go to Jamaica . . . beaches, sun, maybe a little snorkeling, I'll be fine. I need a break and an island vacation is just the ticket."

Glad he was still going on vacation, Cam smiled at him encouragement. "That's a good idea. Take some time and have some fun. I'll probably be gone when you get back, but I'll call you. I'll only be a phone call away, so we can talk anytime."

"Yeah, maybe if I can get some time off, I'll come up and see you." Glancing at his wrist watch, Booth stood up. "I got to go. My plane leaves this evening and I want to go by Rebecca's place and see Parker. She invited me over for dinner."

Watching him walk over to the doorway, Cam called out to him. "Have fun Booth. I'll talk to you when you get back."

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