The clock on the wall said it was half past six. Booth had known it was morning when he had noticed the sun peeking out in the horizon but he had no idea how long he and Brennan had been talking for until he had looked at the clock. He glanced over at the half-finished cup of coffee Brennan had gone to get earlier. Was it an hour ago? Maybe it was two hours ago. He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was having a ball talking to this woman. He understood why everyone seemed so anxious for him to remember her. There was definitely something between them worth remembering.

Having caught Booth glance at the clock on the wall, Brennan misinterpreted it as a sign for her to leave. She got up from her rather uncomfortable chair and groaned softly as her back confirmed just how uncomfortable the chair had been. "I should get going…"

"Oh…do you have to?"

Was that actual longing in his eyes? She could never tell. She was never very good at reading people's facial expressions. Sweets had been training her recently but she was too tired to remember anything she had learned. "I need to go back to the lab."

"Right, of course, you need to work." He nodded, feeling a little stupid for asking in the first place. "T-Thanks for staying with me all night and talking to me."

She wanted to say that she hoped it had helped but she could tell by the way he looked at her that nothing had changed. He still couldn't remember her. She could feel the sinking feeling in her stomach grow stronger. It had been that way since he had awakened. Was this disappointment? "I should get going." She repeated, as if he had not heard the first time.

He nodded again. "Yeah, ok, I'll see you soon, then?"

A small smile and a nod later, she was gone.

He was alone again with nothing but his thoughts to accompany him. He wished there was more. He wished he had his memories too. His memories of her. Why couldn't he remember her? He felt a flood of frustration invade his body and he fell back into his pillow. For the first time since waking up, he considered the possibility of never remembering who Brennan was.

***

Brennan had been so distracted by her thoughts, she had not heard the calls of her name nor did she hear the tip-tapping of the heels chasing after her. It wasn't until Angela grabbed her arm that she realized someone was behind her. "Oh, hi." She answered rather absentmindedly.

Angela frowned, trying to catch her breath. "Are you ok? It's seven. You're late."

"The lab's workday begins at seven. I'm actually on time."

"I know, I meant…you're late according to your usual schedule. You're always here before seven."

Too exhausted to lie, Brennan pushed the door to her office open and sighed, "I was at the hospital."

"Visiting Booth?" When she got no answer, Angela continued, "What happened? You look upset."

"He doesn't remember me, of course I'm upset." It had been the first time she had said the words out loud. It surprised her to know how easily the words had flowed out.

Angela nodded and watched as her friend fidgeted with the various papers and pens on her desk. "It's only been like a week. This stuff takes time."

"I talked with him the entire night. I told him about previous cases we had worked together on. I told him about everything I could think of. Every minute detail. In the end, he didn't remember me anymore than he had before I had talked to him." She shrugged and her voice grew quiet as she added the last part, "Maybe he'll never remember me…"

"No, you don't believe that. You can't believe that."

"Why not? Yes, most amnesia patients regain their memory within a couple of months but there have been cases where some people never regain their memory. It's just a part of reality. Not everything works out the way they should."

"Booth's going to remember you."

"How can you be so sure? I'm not one to use fate as an excuse for life's twists and turns but I think this happened for a reason. Maybe Booth forgot about me for a reason."

"Ok, let's just say this crazy idea of yours is true. Then what is that reason? Why would he forget about you?" Angela took a seat across from Brennan at her desk.

"You know how before all of this happened, I had wanted a baby? I had asked Booth to be the father of my child."

"Yes, and he had gone to the sperm bank to make a donation…"

"Right, but he had come to me after to tell me he couldn't."

"So he didn't do it?"

"No, he said something about a cartoon telling him he shouldn't do it."

"A cartoon?"

"It was one of his hallucinations."

"Ok, so?"

"So…maybe this is the reason why he forgot about me. The cartoon was a hallucination. It was, as you and Sweets seem to think, a part of his subconscious, like his coma-induced dream had been. His subconscious was telling him not to father my child."

"And you think his amnesia is also his subconscious telling him not to father your child?"

"It's a bit extreme but, yes. Maybe this is just another way for his subconscious to tell him that having any personal association with me is…wrong."

"Oh my god, sweetie, you can't honestly believe that's true."

"Well, why not? I mean…he hallucinated a cartoon baby that told him not to father my child. I think anything's possible."

"That's just the hurt and frustration talking. You know as well as I do that Booth wants to be associated with you, whether it be professionally or personally. I'm sure there's more to it than just a cartoon baby telling him not to do it. Don't let any of this get you down, ok? I know it's hard. I know you want him to remember you. We all want that but, it's going to take time. You need to have faith."

"Faith is…"

"Not logical. Blind. Yes. But if there's any time for you to believe in it and to have it, it's now."