Sorry about the delay! I had a hard time writting this chapter, but it needed to be written.

For those of you who miss Booth, don't worry! He's coming!

For all those Sully haters, (and I include myself in you ranks), I'm sorry, about this, but honestly I never found it believable for Sully to come back and start killing Brennan or kidnapping Parker, so too bad!

As always, thank you thank you thank you for all the awesome reviews, and your dedication to this story!

Sully hated therapy, he really truly did. He'd though it rather amusing when Booth has been sent to therapy two years ago for shooting a clown truck. He now saw that there wasn't anything amusing about it at all. Especially when your shrink was a know-it-all kid barely out of his pull-ups.

He hadn't foreseen the therapy when he'd gotten back from sailing around the Caribbean. He had come back with a plan. All those months, lonely at sea, he had had a great deal of time to think and think hard. He would stand at the helm and recall the day he'd left. Temperance hadn't looked back, not once; she was busy being guided away by her partner. But he'd looked back, and he saw the closeness, ever present in their relationship. Sully knew Booth and Temperance had never been more than partners, but he also knew that no matter how close he was to Temperance, Booth was closer. He liked Booth, knew him for an honorable man, and he knew Temperance. They would see it someday. Sully had realized that he and Temperance would never be.

The realization had started him thinking however. What was going to be in his life? There he was, in a boat named after a woman who showed more interest in a strange toy pig, then the news that her boyfriend was naming a boat after her, alone. He had wanted to see the sights and he had wanted to escape from the horrors he faced everyday in work. The realities he knew would drown him if he didn't escape. It was making sure that justice was served that had gotten him into the FBI; that had driven him to become an agent. A sandwich shop was all fun and games but really would it make him happy? Or would he miss it? Would he miss the excitement, and the satisfaction that came from seeing a bad guy being carted away?

Temperance had been right. Logically it made sense to get away, to leave behind the horrors. But now he was irrationally missing the excitement.

Sully knew than that he was coming back, and he had, ready and equipped with a plan. He realized that he wanted what they had. He wanted the closeness they shared, that had given him many doubts late at night. That sense of intimacy that outweighed the physical intimacy he and Tempie had shared. He hadn't found it in Florida, and so he transferred to D.C., and had been partnered with Cat. They had gotten along at once, which put him off, seeing how Booth and Temperance were always at it about something.

Sully realized that it would never happen the same way for him, and he was developing a new appreciation for what he and Cat had. They weren't Booth and Tempie; they were Sully and Cat, so of course things would be different.

Then something had happened that changed it all, and he made a new plan, his currently in progress plan.

It was bad enough that he had to be on this retreat, but why did every team have to meet with Dr. Sweets every night? And why did the kid have to single him out? He'd sat through the little session with Cat, why did the shrink need to speak to him privately?

Taking a deep breath, Sully turned to face the boy.

"Agent Sullivan it has cone to my attention that you are pressuring Dr. Brennan into becoming your partner."

Sully had to give the kid props for getting to the point, he'd been imagining a long painful drawing out of information muddled with a crap load of psychological jargon and veiled meaning. "That's really none of you're business, Doc." Sully was rather surprised that Temperance had told the kid about the note. He figured she hadn't shown Booth because he was still uninjured.

"But it is, you see Agent Sullivan it is my job to keep working partnerships working. Pressuring Dr. Brennan into-."

"First off, their partnership isn't working well at all, and secondly Temperance doesn't get pressured into anything." Sully said getting angry.

Sweets nodded, and Sully thought for a moment that he'd won the argument and that he could go to bed. He should have known better.

"Agent Sullivan, I have been seeing you and Agent Dennis for 6 months now, and in that time I have been lead to believe that you were successfully dealing with the trauma you suffered."

"That's because I have dealt with it." Sully bit out, he was not going to talk about that again. It had taken weeks to get the kid to drop the subject; he wasn't going to open that can of worms.

"You obviously have not. Agent Sullivan, after speaking with Dr. Brennan I have drawn some new conclusions. I thought that you were dealing with the death by attempting to further progress you're status within the Bureau, a perfectly acceptable way of handling grief. If you are directing the grief into drive and determination, but you have gone another route. You aren't channeling that grief you're running from it."

"Oh, no Doc. I took some time off, then I past your little psycho tests, and you cleared me. I'm perfectly fine." Sully said starting to pace, he didn't want to think about it.

"Yes but your behavior suggests-."

"Passing a note to my ex isn't all that unusual!" Sully retorted defensively.

" How about grabbing her from behind in a parking garage"

Now Sully was shocked. How much had Tempie told him? Why had she told him anything? It wasn't like her to talk about her problems to anyone but Booth. "That was a mistake. It happened a long time ago."

"Before you starting seeing me right."

"Yeah, just before I started seeing you."

"But after the shooting incident correct?"

"Yeah right after I took two weeks off."

"Agent Sullivan, Agent Dennis has confided in me that she is concerned about you. Looking back into your file, and my notes from our meetings, I have concerns too. You are clearly not dealing with the actions you were forced to take. You saved-."

"Okay, that's enough! I have dealt with it. So we have nothing left to talk about. I get my job done. What more do you want?"

"What more do you want, Agent Sullivan?" Sweets asked perfectly calm. Sully hated when the kid got like that, he never seemed to lose his temper when he should. Sully hated that his calm also meant that he'd somehow given the kid some insight.

Sully hated that he was now actually thinking about the question. He wanted his plan to work. He wanted to have Temperance as his partner, and he wanted to stop having the nightmares. He wanted to get away from this kid with his small smile, and small questions that weighed heavily upon him.

"We're done." Sully said tightly and without waiting for permission he turned and strode off towards his campsite. Leaving Sweets to sit in his 'truth zone', a circle made of rocks and logs, with a fire in the middle. Sully regretted not binging his flashlight, but the moon was shining brightly enough for him too see the ground.

He was grateful that he didn't have to go back to the base camp, where everyone was waiting to have their own meetings with Sweets. They'd already had dinner and washed up, so he could go back to his campsite without running into anybody. Or so he thought, until a hand shot out from behind a tree, grabbed him forcefully and hauled him off the trial.

Sully was so surprised, that he didn't have time to defend himself, which turned out to be a good thing, because he didn't know what would happen if he were to fight Temperance, thought the incident in the parking garage gave him a hint.

"Sully, don't yell."

"Why would I yell?" Sully asked mimicking her whisper. She looked anxious, and beautiful.

"I hear it's common for people taken unawares to become disoriented and as a instinctual reaction make noise to hopefully frighten the attacker away or draw attention of a would be rescuer."

"Are you attacking me?" Sully asked, he couldn't help hope that she had thought about the note and was willing to discuss it with him.

"No." Temperance answered thinking it through. "I was hoping to talk to you."

Sully couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face; he was one step closer to completing his plan.

"Why are you smiling?" Temperance asked, still whispering.

"Because you're talking to me, that means you've been thinking about my note."

"I don't want to be you're partner Sully." Temperance said softly. "I do want to talk to you about this those."

Sully refused to let her denial disappoint him, she had sought him out, and she wanted to talk. That was good enough for now; he was one step closer.

"What is it Tempie?" Sully asked

'There's something wrong with you." Tempie replied, direct as always. "Booth says that people act 'out of character' when something 'life altering' happens to them. You have been acting strangely. I realize that I'm not great with people, but my time spent with you has allowed me to be more sensitive to changes within your common behavior."

Sully pulled away, they were standing rather close behind the tree, Temperance seemed oblivious to their closeness, but Sully wasn't'. And he didn't want to be close to her now, not when she was trying to ferret out his secrets.

"Why are you here Temperance?" Sully asked wanting to know if Sweets was behind this, but couldn't imagine Tempie doing this for the kid.

"I need your help. But before you can help me, I need you to be normal."

Sully was pretty sure he was dreaming. Tempie didn't ask for help, and she sure as hell didn't read people well enough to know when there was an underlying problem-which there wasn't-Sully though firmly. How much had the woman before him changed since he'd left almost two years ago?

"I'm fine, Tempie."

"Booth and Sweets both agree that denial is a common way of deflecting an inquirer in regards to a topic the one in denial is sensitive about, and usually suggests that they are in fact not fine."

"Taking psychology lessons now Tempie?" Sully asked trying to make a joke, and get her to drop the subject.

"No." She answered quickly, and then hedged, "It's just that over time I have watched Booth and now Sweets, use their knowledge of the human psyche to make vague hypothesis that, coupled with minute facial and body reactions to vocal, and physical actions, can be used to infer details about the person."

She really had changed Sully thought looking down on the woman he knew so well, and he felt a faint panic. Perhaps his plan wouldn't work. He needed her to be Dr. Temperance Brennan.

"I'm not sure about the details, but I have tried to apply the same references to you and the only theory I can logically see, is that you have indeed suffered something."

"I'm fine."

"Then why are you acting this way? Secret notes? Secret meetings? Grabbing me in the garage? That isn't like you, Sully."

This just wasn't his night. Sully was getting angry; he didn't want to talk about it. "It's nothing Temperance.'

"So something did happen? When? Was it on your boat trip? Or in Florida, did something happen here in D.C.?"

"I have to go Temp. Cat's waiting for me at our campsite."

'She didn't go to you're campsite. She ran up hill, crying. Further evidence that something is wrong."

Sully was silent at that. Cat wasn't the crying type; he'd admired that about her. He immediately felt the familiar guilt wash over him. He was never able to hold off the guilt for long. He blocked it away refusing to think on it, on anything but his plan, and still there were times when it came crashing down on him. He new he was being unfair to Cat, trying to get another partner, but he needed to get away from her, from the reminder.

"You can tell me Sully. I thought we agreed to still be friends. Angela assures me that friends are to share their burdens with each other. You don't have to share your burdens, I don't plan to share mine, but I do need help with a plan I have. It's only fair that I help you with something."

"You can help me by being my partner."

"You know I won't agree to that."

"Why not Tempie? You and Booth are having trouble, me and Cat are having trouble it is only logical to adjust to the change."

"I plan to adjust to it, but the answer isn't in finding another partner."

"Oh, and what is your answer then Tempie?"

"I will explain to you, after I am assured that you are just suffering a mental break due to stress, and not completely crazy."

"I'm not a crazy person!"

"Than why are you acting like one?"

"Is it so crazy to think that we'd make a great team?"

"Yes!"

"Why?" Sully shouted, they'd forgotten about whispering a while ago.

"Do you remember the case you helped Booth and I with? Where three men teamed up and used ideas from my novels to murder three people?"

"Of course I remember."

"Do you remember what you said when I was said all we were having was a fling?"

Sully recalled vaguely, he remembered that he had been angry that she was pushing him away, just like Booth said she would. He had been angry that Booth knew it was coming, when Sully though he was different for her than the other men who passed in and out of her life. He could tell that Temperance was angry, her face was flushed and she was jabbing at him, with that deadly finger of hers, and she wasn't taking silent moments to think before she spoke.

"I don't remember word for word."

"You said 'When you can't stop thinking about someone when they're not around, that's not a fling. When you remember their touch like they were still right next to you, that's not a fling. If you need to be alone with this, fine. But we both know what we have.'' Temperance seemed to be losing steam, and Sully didn't know if that was good or bad or what this had to do with her not being his partner, or her problems with Booth. He just wanted to get out of here and think about his plan.

"What about it Temperance?"

"I- I didn't think of you when you said that." She didn't meet his eyes as she said that, sounding as though the words were chocking her.

Sully wasn't sure what to do with this information. It was too much, and so unlike her. Of course she had thought of him, she had forgiven him, and admitted that he was right that she wanted to hide all vulnerability from him. But then he thought on it, he knew psychology, he was good at knowing the mind of his suspects. He tried to think back to the time, and found that perhaps he was wrong. There was something else, admitting to feeling guilty for the death of three people wasn't admitting weakness, it was admitting to humanity. It was true, but it also hid that fact that she was hiding. From herself, from him, but mostly from her partner who had denied any interest in her beyond their partnership.

"You were thinking of Booth."

She didn't answer, and Sully new he had the right answer. He felt a new weight pressing on him. He'd wanted to speak with her when he'd gotten back, but Booth assumed that he wanted to get back with her, romantically. He hadn't planed to upon his new arrival to D.C. but after the accident he had considered it. He new, the entire Bureau knew, that they were having issues. It seemed so logical. He new he couldn't have what he wanted, he couldn't have what he originally planed. But he thought he could have Temperance again, and it would be the next best thing. Sully was sure that they could work together, and if things went further he wouldn't complain. He needed her to be his partner, she didn't ask questions, she didn't make demands, because she didn't want to be needy, she didn't want to seem as though she depended on another person. They could hide behind each other.

He needed that distance she provided while still maintaining a relationship. Yeah it was a shell. But you could hear the ocean from a shell. What if going to the beach and hearing the waves was a thousand times more rewarding? He didn't need the real thing; he just needed the illusion.

Sully saw now that she couldn't be his illusion.

"When did you change so much? You still seem so much like your old self. Your self reliant, strong, logical, and intelligent to a fault, but there's more now."

"It's Booth's fault." She replied and I\he saw that she had tears in her eyes.

"I killed a child."

Sully hadn't planned on saying it. He hadn't said it out loud, ever. He didn't look away from her, wanting to know what was going to happen next. Wanting her to tear him to pieces, wanting her to examine each fact and give him the answer that would make the weight go away.

"How?"

Sully wasn't sure how to answer, but figured, being Temperance she was probably being literal. "I shot him."

"Why?"

"Does it matter?" Sully asked, he had gone over his reasons many times; no one blamed him, except for himself.

"Of course it matters." Temperance replied.

Sully saw that she was being serious, waiting to make a conclusion until she had all the facts. That was the Tempie he knew. He could tell her, she wouldn't give him reassuring crap, and she would be honest as always. And suddenly the story was spilling from him. "Cat and I had been working a arms dealer case. We had the guy trapped, but we had to move quickly. I should have waited for back up but I didn't want to risk them getting there to late. We went around the back of the warehouse, made our way in and took them by surprise. They were all putting down their weapons, except for Samuel, their leader. He had his gun pointed directly at me. Cat was watching my back, but she didn't watch her own. One of the guys grabbed her and got her gun, demanding I drop my own gun. But you know how it is, I drop it we die, I shot him anyway, we die. Cat she's really good at her job though, she pretended to faint on the guy, and gave him the drop."

"I let it distract me. Samuel ran. I shot once and missed. He was getting close to the door where his nephew was trying to get out. He was just a kid Temperance. He was only fourteen years old. I was so sure I had my shot."

'You didn't?" Temperance asked when he didn't continue.

"No, I had my shot. But he knew it too. It felt like everything slowed down, I should have seen it, I should have stopped, I had the time to take my finger off the trigger."

"It's impossible for time to slow down. What you felt was you're bodies survival instincts, your senses were heightened due to adrenaline, which made you more sensitive to quicker movements, making what you seem to move slower, because you brain is use to processing the information at a different level. You didn't have more time to react than at any other moment."

Sully though on that, and then continued. "He grabbed his nephew and threw the kid in front of him. He died instantly."

"No, you blaming yourself is illogical in this instance. You didn't make the guy throw a child in front of him. Yes, perhaps you should have waited until you had a better shot, but you are a skilled guns man, why would you doubt your ability? You can't control someone else's actions."

Sully was silent for a moment. This wasn't really helping. He had known all this before she said it. He had heard that it wasn't his fault. "You're not suppost to say that. You're supposed to tell me right answer!"

"What answer Sully? You killed someone, yes it's tragic, and yes he was a kid, which makes it harder. Numerically, you saved many more kids by your actions, illegal firearms kill hundreds of kids a year, in gang fights, and abusive situations. But that doesn't make it better, Booth says it because we all die a little with each death."

"That's it?"

"What do you want me to say Sully? I can't take back what you did, it's done, now you have to find a way rationalize this so you can continue with your job. Have you spoken with Catharine about this?"

"No! She says I didn't do anything wrong."

"Scientifically speaking when more than one person has weighted and tested a hypothesis and found it is sound, it becomes a theory. Theories give us answers. Theanswer this time being that it is not your fault. But that won't make anything change Sully. All I know is that when something goes wrong that I can't handle, I go to my partner, who stood by me through the entire ordeal."

"That sounds like psychology."

"I told you, I have found that-."

"Yeah, yeah, facial expressions, and vague hypothesis, and what not. I get it."

Sully leaned back against the tree trying to think about what she said. He felt better for having said it. Maybe he should talk to Cat.

"Tempie?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

Sully smiled at that. She was the same old Temperance, but she'd grown so much. So much so that she was giving advice, using psychology, if somewhat hesitantly, and she was asking for help.

"So, what's the deal with you and Booth?" Sully asked.

"A lot has happened since you left, even before you left, actually, and we've reached a certain point where I am finding that continuing our partnership would be more problematic the beneficial."

Sully had had his money on it being a sex thing, so he was really rather shocked, and confused. Hadn't she said moments earlier that she wouldn't be anyone's partner but Booth's?

"You lost me." Sully admitted.

"I want Booth to end our partnership."

Sully absorbed the words. "Why?"

"I just told you why."

"Yes, but why do you want Booth to end it?"

"It just has to be him okay?" Temperance said angrily.

Sully looked at her incredulously. "What about all that going to your partner when things go badly crap you just gave me?"

"It's not crap! In your instance it is relevant, in mine it is not."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because things aren't going badly!" Temperance shouted losing her temper again.

"Aha! Your running Temperance! You did it with me, and all those other guys and you're doing it with Booth."

Sully thought for a moment she might hit him, but she didn't lose control, as always. She did step closer to him, staring straight at him so he couldn't doubt her words. Her clear blue eyes where lit with a fire he hadn't seen before.

"I am not running, for once I am staying where I am. But he needs to go. You need to trust that I know what is right in this instance. I am Booth's partner, and I will do what is best for him. He needs to go. Will you help me?"

Sully didn't doubt her sincerity. How could he when she was being so open? He did doubt that Booth would ever leave her or that his leaving was for the best. Sully supposed could play along, and see what happened. After all he wanted what she and Booth had now, he hadn't based his hopes off of a broken team.

But wasn't he breaking his own team? He was trying to leave Cat and partner up with someone else. Was he, like Tempie, trying to save both himself and Cat? What was he scared of? He was, Sully realized, trying to run from the very thing he'd wanted. He suddenly felt sorry for the woman before him. He was under so much stress, and turmoil from running, yet he'd only been running for a short while, she'd been running for a much longer time. If he was exhausted, how must she feel?

Perhaps he could do something good here, make up for his mistakes.

"Yeah. I'll help you Temperance."