AN- Sorry for the cliffhanger! I really didn't mean for it to be so dramatic, LOL. I hope you're not disappointed. Thanks again for all the alerts and favorites…. Looking forward to reading your reviews!

Chapter 10 – Breathing Room

"So, are you going to avoid me all day?" Angela asked, leaning on the door jamb of her best friend's office.

"What?" Brennan asked, distracted.

"You got back from Indonesia two weeks ago," Angela stated. "We had one brief little visit before you took off for North Carolina, and now you've basically locked yourself in this office for the better part of the day… what's going on, Bren?"

"Nothing, Angela. I don't know what you mean."

"Don't try that with me, missy. You know precisely what I mean. When you get back from these things, it's usually impossible to get you to stop talking about it. But I can't get a word out of you."

"I told you all about the dig when I was at your house last week. But you don't want me to talk about the project," Brennan stated flatly.

"Well, no…" Angela admitted. "But something's better than nothing."

Brennan sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, alarming Angela who rarely saw signs of distress in her best friend.

"Sweetie, are you okay? Did something go wrong with Booth?"

Brennan scoffed as she looked up, a sad smile spread across her face as she accepted the irony of her friend's statement.

"No, Ange," she answered. "Everything went right."

"Talk to me, Brennan."

"I'm just tired, Angela," Brennan answered. She didn't know what else to say. It was true, she was exhausted. She was tired physically from the trip to the beach and the long drive home. She was tired emotionally from the never-ending roller coaster of opening herself up to love. And she was exhausted intellectually from trying to figure out what it all meant and how to live in the kind of relationship that Booth deserved without losing herself. "I think I need a break."

"But you just got back," Angela replied, truly confused.

"From Booth."

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If Booth thought he had handled all the paperwork surrounding his return to work, he'd been sadly mistaken. He looked down at the mountain of forms sitting in front of him and realized that he'd never be able to get away and drag Bones off for lunch.

It's probably for the best, he thought with a sigh. He knew he probably wouldn't get her out of the lab until late in the evening on her first day back anyway. He looked up when he heard a light knock on his doorframe.

"Booth, may I have a word?"

Great. Hacker. Just what I didn't need.

"Of course, sir," Booth answered. "Please, come in."

Andrew Hacker walked in to the office and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the desk and took the seat opposite Booth.

"Good to have you back," he said. "Major crimes has definitely missed you."

"Perotta and Hanson seem to be doing a good job," Booth said.

"Oh, they are," Hacker agreed. "But it took promoting two of them to cover the department and the Jeffersonian the way you do."

Booth tried to hide the smile of pride that naturally raised the corners of his mouth.

"And," Hacker went on. "Their solve rate doesn't come close to yours with Temperance."

The smile instantly fell from Booth's face. He knew it was irrational, but he really hated the guy's familiarity when it came to his partner. Irrational? God, she is rubbing off on me.

"We do make a good team," Booth replied. What else could he say?

"Speaking of Temperance," Hacker said, seemingly hesitant.

Oh god. What now?

"I was wondering," Hacker went on. "Have you spoken to her since she got back?"

Of course I have, you moron. Then it hit him. A million thoughts raced through his mind. He doesn't know. Of course he doesn't. Cullen isn't going to say anything about their personal life and Mitchell avoids the idiot like the plague. He had to stop himself, he wasn't being fair. Hacker was a good guy. Booth actually liked him before he started chasing after Bones. Think logically, Seel. You've got about two more seconds before he thinks you checked out on him.

"I have, sir. She's back at the Jeffersonian this morning."

"It's funny," Hacker said. "She hasn't returned any of my calls."

It's funny, she hasn't mentioned you calling.

"I'm sure she's been really busy, I know I had a lot to do when I got back."

"Maybe I'll go over there and see if she's got a minute. I'd like to ask her to have dinner with me sometime soon." Hacker said, more to himself than to Booth. "Thanks, Booth. It really is good to have you back." His attention no longer focused on Booth, he stood and turned toward the door.

"Wait," Booth called out to him.

"Yes, Booth?"

"There's something you should know."

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"What do you mean you need a break from Booth?" Angela challenged, her mouth gaping open. "Okay. You need to tell me exactly what happened. I want to know everything you were hiding from me the other night and everything that happened since then."

"Ange…"

"No, Brennan. I mean it. Start with the minute you met at the Reflecting Pool and bring me all the way up to this minute. What exactly is going on with you?"

"We met at the coffee cart, and it was a bit uncomfortable. I don't think either of us really knew what to say. So, I suggested we go the diner for lunch…I told him, Angela," Brennan began. "Just like you said I should. I told him that for the entire year I was away, I couldn't stop thinking about him."

"That's a good start, I'm sure he loved hearing that."

"I told him that if he still wanted me, I wanted to give a relationship between us a chance… He agreed. Then we went back to my apartment."

"Now we're getting to the yummy part," Angela said smiling. "Is he as good as I think he is?"

A wide grin spread across Brennan's face.

"Better," she answered conspiratorially. "He was right, Angela. It's different. Better. Making love with someone you really love is much better than having sexual intercourse to satisfy biological urges."

Angela held back a giggle.

"Keep going, because I fail to see the problem here. What happened next?"

"We spent the day with Parker… I went to New York to meet with my publisher… we took Parker to North Carolina… and we just got back last night."

"Wait, Booth and his son went with you to visit your brother?"

"That's what I just said."

"Wow, for you that's like lightening speed."

"And therein lies the problem."

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"What is it, Booth?" Hacker asked, turning back to the desk.

"It's about Bones," Booth said.

Hacker stopped to listen to what Booth had to say. He never used his nickname for Temperance when talking to him. Booth almost always referred to her as 'Dr. Brennan' in his presence.

"I'm listening."

"You probably shouldn't ask her out on a date," Booth said, wincing to himself if not externally.

"Why not?" Hacker asked, tilting his head in contemplation. He had considered that a year is a long time and that she might have developed a relationship while in Indonesia. "Is she seeing someone?"

"Yes," Booth answered. "Me."

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"Other than the night that Parker spent at Booth's apartment," Brennan said, "we've been together constantly."

"And you're feeling a little smothered," Angela surmised.

Brennan nodded.

"I'm not used to spending that much time with someone. I don't know how to do it."

"You and Booth have always spent the majority of your time together," Angela said.

"We did, yes," Brennan agreed. "And I spent the last year in the jungle, mostly on my own. I tried to stay on my own as much as possible… it was very hard once Miss Wick began to get homesick…"

"Oh, Daisy in Maluku… this is something I want to hear about, but right now we're talking about you and Booth."

"I enjoy being with Booth, I want to spend time with him…. But Ange, I actually felt relief when I woke up this morning and he wasn't there. It was nice to wake up in my own bed, alone… and be able to get up and take a shower and just think. To enjoy the solitude…"

She got up and began pacing.

"I finished getting ready for work and walked out to the kitchen. He was sitting there at the counter, drinking coffee and reading the paper like it was something he does every day."

Angela smiled, knowing that it was best not to interrupt her friend at this point, but loving the idea of Booth and Brennan being so domestic together.

"For a minute, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think about anything but coming here to the lab, I needed to focus on something else for a while."

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"Oh," Hacker replied. That was a new wrinkle. He'd always suspected that there was more to their partnership than they admitted, but this was unexpected. "I always wondered…"

"It's not like that, sir," Booth said. God, this is uncomfortable. "While we were away, we realized that our friendship ran deeper than just our partnership…"

"I understand."

"I'm sure she was planning to tell you herself…" God, grant me the serenity….

"Thank you, Booth. I appreciate your candor," Hacker said, as he turned back to the door. "I'll talk to Agent Perotta about becoming the Jeffersonian liaison on a permanent basis."

"What? No. You can't…"

Before Booth could sputter the rest of the sentence, Hacker was gone. This was not good. Not good at all.

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"My dad told me to step back if I needed to," Brennan said. "To take a breath."

"He's right," Angela said. "You're facing some big changes, Bren. But they're good changes. You have to relax and let yourself enjoy them. Being in a relationship isn't easy, and you'll get through the hard parts. The most important thing is that you talk to that man of yours. Let him know how you're feeling. I think you'd be surprised at his reaction. He'll give you space when you need it, Sweetie. Just don't keep things from him."

"I think I can do that."

"So, take your breather. Call Booth and tell him you can't have lunch… grab a sandwich and head down to limbo or wherever you need to go to refocus. Trust me, he'll understand. And Jack and I are always here if you need us, too, you know."

"I do know," she answered. "Thanks, Ange."

"I'd better get to work, "Angela said with a wink as she stood up from her chair. "The boss is a slave driver."

Following Angela's advice, Brennan picked up her phone. She sent Booth a text that said she couldn't get away for lunch, but that she'd seem him after work. She grabbed her wallet from her bag and headed down to the cafeteria, thinking about everything that Angela had said. She knew that her friend was right and that she could talk to Booth about anything, she knew he would understand as long as she followed her father's advice and made sure he knew she wasn't running away.

She picked up a salad and a bottle of water and left the cafeteria on her way to bone storage. As she passed her office, she noticed there was someone standing at her desk. She walked to the doorway.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

She was surprised to see Andrew Hacker leaning over her desk.

"Temperance," he said. "I was just leaving you a note."

"Andrew," she said in greeting.

"Welcome back," he said.

"I'm sorry I haven't returned your calls," she said. "I've been very busy preparing to come back to work. You should know that I won't be able to see you socially. I've entered into a relationship…"

"With Agent Booth," Hacker said. "Yes, I know. That's sort of why I'm here. I wanted to talk with you before we meet with Dr. Saroyan and Agent Perotta about the liaison position between the FBI and the Jeffersonian."

"I've been reading the case files," Brennan said. "It seems that she and Agent Hanson have been doing a good job along with Dr. Edison. Booth and I should have no problem taking over any open cases when he returns to field duty."

"Temperance, I'm sorry. You must not understand," Hacker replied. "I'm reassigning Agent Perotta as the Jeffersonian liaison."

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Booth snapped his phone closed and tossed it on the seat next to him.

"Damn it, Bones," he muttered to himself. "Why aren't you answering your phone?"

It was probably for the best, he conceded. This was something he had to talk to her about in person.

It was just his luck that Cullen was in meetings all afternoon. He'd made arrangements with his assistant for the two of them to meet with Cullen before he left for the day. He'd straighten this out. Cullen had assured him that the bureau would not split them up because they were in a personal relationship. He knew that he could get Cullen to straighten this mess out, but he had to get to Bones before she found out about this from anyone else.

He literally slid the SUV into a parking space and threw it in park. He took the steps to the front door two at a time. He barely waved at the security guard at the lab doors as he sprinted past the empty platform, setting off a series of alarms in his wake. He reached her office door in a minute and prayed he'd find her at her desk.

She wasn't there. What he found was an uneaten salad and a bottle of water sitting on the desk, and no sign of his partner.

He sat down at her desk, hoping to find some sign of where she'd gone. He found the note from Hacker.

"Damn it," he said, pounding his fist against the top of the desk.

He took out his phone to call her, and realized that her BlackBerry was also sitting on the desk. Letting out a long sigh, he scrubbed his face with his hands. He didn't notice the person who'd entered the room.

"You promised," she said softly.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw her. Thank god she hadn't run.

"I know, baby," he answered, looking up into her tear-filled eyes. He stood up and walked around to take her in his arms. "We'll get through this."

"Will we?" she said, her quiet voice muffled against his chest.

"We're meeting with Cullen this afternoon," he told her. "I'll fix this. I promise."

He'd realized his mistake in not including Hacker in his meeting with Cullen and Mitchell. He'd wounded the man's pride, first by taking Temperance away and then by going over his head at the office. Hacker had the authority to reassign agents, but not to the detriment of the agency. This was vindictive and it was personal.

"Just don't give up on me," he whispered into her hair. "I will fix this."

Hacker didn't know who he was messing with… or just how far he'd go to keep the woman in his arms happy.