A/N: I remain the most grateful person in the world for all of your reviews and alerts. Have I ever told you guys how emotionally draining my job is? Because it's true. I tell you this so that you can understand exactly how low my angst threshold is in my extracurricular life. I see plenty of tragedy and ambiguity in real life, so I like my entertainment with a happy ending, thank you very much. I just thought that might be helpful to know as you read this chapter...

Spoilers: There is a brief reference to a spoiler about a gift that Brennan receives later in season 5

Chapter 10: The Truth, Finally

Booth didn't even want to think about the number of traffic laws he had violated while racing to his partner's home. He had never been so tempted to take advantage of his siren in his entire life. He knew it was a Friday, but God, what was up with all the 1:00 AM traffic? When he finally reached her building, he ran toward the stairs, forgoing his typical friendly small talk with the security guard. His heart was pounding, and his sense of urgency was as strong as if he were racing to catch a suspect. Caroline's dressing-down was running on an endless loop in his head.

It was almost too much for Booth to process. What could have upset Bones enough to lead to a breakdown over dinner? Why had no one informed him that the reason she had taken off for Guatemala after his brain surgery was because she had been told that she was delaying his recovery? Might she actually love him back? Had he been that foolish? Could it really be that simple?

Feeling both anxious and optimistic, he began pounding on the familiar door. His knock went unanswered, but he could see the light seeping from the gap below. No way is she shutting me out tonight. As much as he hated to force her hand, he knew he had an ace in the hole...he just happened to be the guardian of her spare key.

"Bones! I know you're awake- your light is on. I'm counting to ten, then I'm using my key! I mean it. One..."

As he expected, that got a reaction. He heard his partner's still shaky voice on the other side of the door. "Go away, Booth. I'm tired, and I don't feel like talking tonight."

The note of vulnerability in her words was almost too much for him. He almost gave her what she wanted and left. Under normal circumstances, he had a hard time denying her; hearing her now, sounding so broken and raw, made it damn near impossible. Of course, all he had to do was imagine returning to his apartment and facing the wrath of Caroline Julian, and he quickly decided that, of the two, he would rather deal with Bones.

"Sorry, Bones, but I can't leave. Something bad is obviously going on, and unless you open this door, I'm going to have to assume that you've got another creepy serial killer in there waiting to attack. I'm serious. I'll have to come in shooting."

She opened the door with her hands on her hips, not inviting him inside. "Booth, that's ridiculous. Under no circumstances is it acceptable to enter a room shooting...well, unless someone is shooting at you, which is obviously not the case. Furthermore, I know your threat is empty, because I know how much you despise the paperwork that accompanies discharging your weapon."

He grinned, taking in her no-nonsense tone and her I-could-kick-your-ass stance. Same old Bones. His smile faded, though, when he took in her face. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed in red. Her face was splotchy, and though she tried to hide it, her lip was trembling. Standing there with her hair pulled up and her pajamas on, she looked for all the world like a little girl with a broken heart.

His chest clenched at the sight. He wanted nothing more than to gather her up in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay, because he loved her, and he would never let anyone hurt her ever again. He was pretty sure that if he tried it, Bones would knock him clear into next week. Sometimes she was like a skittish animal- you had to be careful how you approached her when she was upset. More than that, some of Booth's optimism was starting to fade. He had spent the car ride over strategizing how to avoid traffic and get here as quickly as possible. He was beginning to realize that he might have been better off taking the long way and spending his time planning what he would actually say when he got here.

Should I just stick to trying to figure out what has her so upset? I mean, I let Caroline get me all excited about the love stuff, but what's really changed? Why would loving me make Bones cry at dinner? Besides, he remembered with a sinking feeling, the one thing I do know is that she's currently dating my boss. I would say that's pretty convincing evidence that she has no romantic interest in me.

Suddenly Booth felt foolish and unsure...not to mention slightly heartbroken. Still, his partner stood in front of him, looking more devastated than he had ever seen her, and he pushed his feelings aside. He was here for her, and he wasn't leaving until he had fixed whatever had broken inside of her. Figuring that his best bet was his old stand-by (send in the clowns), he gave her a silly grin.

"I know how you feel about pie, Bones, but you could have just turned it down. It certainly wasn't Gordon, Gordon's best, but I don't know that it was anything to cry over."

Brennan experienced a rush of warmth at her partner's familiar teasing tone, and she was tempted (so tempted) to allow it to lull her into a false sense of comfort. It would be so easy to pretend that this whole night had never happened, to laugh with him, to allow myself to fall just a little bit more in love with him, to give in to the delusion that one day, I might be enough. It would be so easy...but it would always end the same. Better that it end now.

"I don't want to talk to you Booth. It's after 1:00 AM. Leave."

Booth was taken aback by the hostility in his partner's tone. While he wasn't exactly expecting her to be a fountain of self-disclosure, he didn't really anticipate that she would seem so angry with him. They had been okay before dinner; it didn't make sense. He was just going to have to tease it out of her.

"Nope. I told you earlier...I can't leave...not until I know what made you act so, well, so un-Bones-like at dinner." She pursed her lips and glared at him, so he continued. "Fine, you don't want to tell me, then I'll just have to guess. Let me see...were you stuck with Daisy all week? Did she shatter another skull? No? Well, did Sweets somehow manage to corner you at dinner and mandate more therapy sessions? That would certainly make me cry. Still no, huh? Oh, I got it! You remembered that you're dating a guy whose idea of a nice gift is a magazine subscription!"

Her head snapped up, and she looked at him as if he had just slapped her. "Stop it. Don't do that Booth, just stop it. Leave Andrew alone." She shook her head. "It's not fair."

Booth knew he had gone to far, and he tried to back-pedal. Way to be a jackass. You come over here to try to make her feel better, and instead behave like a jealous moron. "Look, Bones, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to make fun of your boyfriend-"

"Yes you did! You always do this. Always. You don't want me, but you do everything you can to make me feel badly about anyone who might!" Realizing a moment too late what she had said, Brennan closed her eyes and covered her mouth.

"Wait," it was Booth's turn to sound raw and shaky, "what? What did you just say? What was that about me not wanting you?" He stared at her in shock.

Brennan opened her eyes and looked at her partner. That was it. She was all out of lies. "Booth...I can't...," she took a ragged breath and ran a hand over her face. Better that it end now. "Hacker's not my boyfriend. I haven't seen him in, God, I don't even know how long. He was that inconsequential to me. He was one interrupted dinner and a coffee date. That's all. I lied about him being my boyfriend. I hate lying, but I did it because you wanted me to...and because there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you."

"Bones-" Booth felt his heart skip a beat. Is she saying what I think she's saying?

"No, Booth, you have to let me finish. You wanted me to talk, and I am, so now you have to listen. I can't live by your line. I've done it for three years, ignoring everything I've felt, behaving just as you wanted, but I can't do it anymore. I think you will agree that my behavior tonight supports this conclusion." She swallowed her pride as she continued. Time to go all in. "I love you, but not in a professional way. In a personal way, a very personal way. I...I thought we could be fine...I mean, I know...I know you don't feel the same way..."

"Bones-" Booth could not believe what he was hearing. Never in his craziest, coma-inspired fantasies could he have imagined this moment.

"No, Booth, I'm serious. If you say one more word, I am slamming this door in your face and barricading it with a chair behind me. You have to listen. As I was saying, I know that you view me as a colleague, and...I hope...as a friend."

The tentativeness in her tone almost brought him to his knees. How could she have gotten me so wrong? How could we have gotten each other so wrong?

"The thing is, I realized tonight when I heard you tell Sweets that you could reassure Catherine with the fact that I hadn't cried at your funeral..."

"Bones, no. Oh my God, you don't understand..." Finally it all made sense. He couldn't believe it. Caroline was right. He had done this. He couldn't even muster up any anger against Sweets. This time, he had no one to blame but himself.

"No, listen Booth, it's okay...It is, really. I'm glad I heard you, because it made me realize that I had been harboring a fantasy that you might change your mind. That you might want me too." Seeing that he was going to try to interrupt her again, Brennan continued quickly. It was imperative that she say all of this now, before he had the chance to comfort her with platitudes on his tongue, pity in his eyes. She would show him how strong she was. "It was good that I heard what you said, because it forced me to confront the fact that I could never be right for you. We just don't fit...and you have Catherine now, and she fits. She makes you happy, and Booth? I really, really want you to be happy. I would never purposely do anything to keep you from happiness." Brennan decided that it was time to switch to business mode, hoping that she might be able to end this evening with a shred of dignity. "So, all of this is to say that, I love you, and I'm sorry. I recognize the value of our partnership, and our work, so I have formulated a plan that I hope will allow us to continue that work in the future. I propose that we end our partnership temporarily. I could ask to work with another agent- perhaps Agent Perotta."

"Hell no, Bones. Look, there have been some pretty significant misunderstandings here-"

Brennan held out a hand to stop him, determined to have her say. "I know that I have expressed my displeasure at having to work with Agent Perotta in the past, but I believe that she enjoyed partnering with the Jeffersonian. Under the circumstances, I believe it is an acceptable compromise. The time apart will give me a chance to get my feelings under control, something I am sure I will be able to do with a little space, and it will give you time to focus on your relationship with Catherine. Once I feel that I am able to participate in our partnership while respecting the line you have drawn, I will contact you, and we can resume working together...I mean,if you still want to." She looked at her feet, afraid she had been presumptuous, before continuing. "I will speak with Cam first thing Monday morning so that she can facilitate the reassignment. That will give me the weekend to formulate a sufficient excuse that will not embarrass either of us.... So...that's it. You know what went wrong, and you know what I'm doing to rectify the situation. I'll be in contact with you as soon as I feel I am able."

She moved as if to close the door, but Booth blocked her with his foot. "No way Bones. This is not over. Don't you even want to hear what I have to say?"

"No, Booth," she shook her head, her control slipping, "I really don't. Please, I just want to go to bed. Please. Let me be."

Let her be?! She basically just told me that my most improbably fantasy was, in fact, a reality, and she wants me to let her be? Not a chance. Not when I can fix this for both of us. "Bones, you need to listen to me-"

"Booth," both her voice and her eyes were full of pain, "please." She was begging, and she never begged. "It hurts me to look at you, to be around you." Her breath was ragged, and she looked as though she might shatter. "Please. You're hurting me."

The step back he took was reflexive, a visceral reaction to her words and how she said them. It gave her the tiny window she needed to close the door on him, to close the door on this night.

TBC

A/N: One more chapter left, and it will be up before Thursday, inshallah