"Dr. Brennan!" Hodgins trotted down the stairs of the examination podium and followed Brennan to her office. "How's everything with Agent Booth?"

Brennan nodded, shedding her jacket, "Fine. He promised me he would stay put on his couch all day until I go back after work."

While she was speaking, Camille joined Hodgins at the door. "You're here. I thought you were going to take a few days off to take care of Agent Booth."

Frowning, Brennan tried to remember when she had discussed this with Camille. She hadn't. "I never said that…"

Camille nodded. "I know, I just assumed…"

"I won't need days off. I'll come into the lab as I usually do and go to Booth's after work."

"I don't wanna seem like a worry wart but are we talking about the same Seeley Booth? He's probably jumping around in his underwear, playing the air guitar…" Camille stopped herself short when she remembered who she was speaking to. Pop culture references were not Brennan's strong suit. "Do you really think it's safe to leave a brain surgery patient alone at home all day?"

"I considered that but I don't think I'll be anymore helpful if I stay there all day. I'm much more helpful here."

"You know, there really aren't that many cases. In fact, I don't even know why I'm here…" Hodgins gave Camille a look to let her know he was kidding before he continued, "We'll be fine without you for a couple of days, Dr. Brennan."

"Really, I don't think…" Before she could continue, she watched as Camille waved to someone outside her door. She looked up to see Angela walking towards them.

"Hey, what's going on? Why are you here and not with Booth?" Angela repeated the same questions everyone else had asked before her.

Brennan saw the looks on the faces of Hodgins and Camille as if they were saying, "I told you so." She sighed, letting her shoulders sag. Without another word, she sat down, propping her head on her hand.

Taking this as their signal to leave, Camille and Hodgins gave Brennan one last look of support before exiting. Angela stayed behind and joined her friend at her desk. "What's going on? When we left you last night, the two of you were doing great."

"He remembered something this morning."

Angela's initial reaction was the same as the one Brennan had earlier in the morning. "That's great! It's great!" She paused, "It's great, isn't it?"

"Of course it is…"

"But…"

"He remembered two names. The names we used when we went undercover in that circus."

"Right…ok, so, what's wrong? He's starting to remember! Isn't that what you want?"

"But it's just two names. He has so much more to remember."

"It'll happen."

"But when? I know it's very selfish of me to think this way. I know the right thing for me to do is to be happy for him. I should be happy that he's beginning to remember but I can't. I know this is going to be a long and hard road and there's always a possibility that he won't regain all his memories. That is reality. I can't just not think of that."

"Ok…and that's ok. Reality is your friend. Everyone knows that."

"That's the problem. This morning, when he remembered the names, he was so happy but then he saw that I wasn't happy." She looked down at her hands. "He could always tell when I wasn't happy."

"And you feel bad for ruining his moment?"

"He shouldn't have to feel guilty everytime he remembers something. He should be happy. He shouldn't feel guilty for not remembering enough but…I'm afraid that is what I'm making him feel."

"Honey, with or without you there, the man's going to feel guilty. It's just a part of human nature."

"But I'm a constant reminder of what he forgot without actually remembering anything. I don't think that's fair to him."

"What are you saying, Brennan?"

She looked up at Angela. It wasn't that she was at a loss for words. She just didn't want to say it. "Maybe it was wrong of me to promise him I would help him."

"Don't give up now. You've gotten so far."

"What if I'm holding him back?"

"Are you serious? You're the reason why he recovered so quickly. You were there when he remembered something this morning. You're the reason he's moving forward. You can't just leave him behind now. Sweetie, this is just another one of those frustration phases. You need to focus on the goal. I know I always say this but it takes time and you're getting there. He's getting there. It would be so sad if you just gave up now. You were never the type to give up, anyway."

"I don't know, Angela. Why do these things have to be so complicated? Everything should be simple like a math equation. Do it and get your answer. Done."

Angela smiled, "Only you would choose doing math over making a life decision."

Brennan's phone began ringing. She was thankful for the interruption, knowing she could no longer debate the issue with Angela. She glanced at the caller ID.

"Who is it?" Angela asked curiously, noting the look on Brennan's face.

"It's Jared."