Looking in the mirror, she tried to find something. She didn't know what she was looking for. She didn't know why. All she knew was that she kept thinking she looked different. She touched her cheeks, traced the very feint lines around her mouth, and wrinkled her forehead before leaning her hands on the counter. Nothing has changed. That's good though, she said to herself as she unwrapped the towel from her damp hair and threw it along the counter top.

Brennan fell into the soft couch and picked up one of the books she'd brought to keep herself busy. As she turned to the last book marked page, she found herself thinking of resting her fingers along his strong neck. With a snap, she closed the book and just lay there. What could she say about last night? It was a very big mistake. Of all the things she had done, this one had gone too far. However, she was a woman. He was a man. They did share a strong history so the probability of them kissing wasn't that outrageous. It had been over a year since they'd last seen each other. It's possible they had simply over compensated for the absence of the other. All this made sense in her mind, and all this she accepted. So, it was settled. Friends. That was them.

With her mind made up, she picked her cell phone from the table and dialed his number. After the fourth rang, she wondered if everything was okay.

"Hello?"

She frowned into the phone and sat up.

"Um, hello. This is Temperance Brennan. Is Booth there?"

"He's not here right now. After last night, well, we were hungry and so he's out getting us some food."

Right, she thought as she shook her head. She'd forgotten about her.

"Well, will you tell him to call me whenever he gets the chance? I mean, we need to talk about some things."

The woman on the other end of the phone tilted her head and snapped her mouth before checking her watch.

"Of course I'll tell him. Is that it?"

"Uh, yes. Thanks."

"Your welcome. I'll see you next time."

Samy hung up the phone with a snap and glanced at her packed luggage on the bed. Flipping the phone open, she erased the call and tossed it at the pillows. A smile crossed her face as she glanced at herself in the mirror. She had more than six hours until her flight left and she'd be out of here for good. That was more than enough time to make one last visit to Seeley's friend.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

It was early evening by the time he left Howard's cabin. After the fight with Samy, he'd spent the rest of the day thinking there. Booth sighed and checked his watch before tapping the table with his knuckles again. Lane's Grill & Bar wasn't a very loud place, but it was the weekend and people were filling in. He glanced towards the doors every time it opened, expecting to see Scott's face. Taking a sip of his beer, he thought one more time about Bones. As if he hadn't been thinking of her the whole day. In fact, he wished he could just get her out of his mind for just one second. The more he thought about her the more he realized how much effort it was going to take to make her love him.

"Agent Booth…are you here?"

Booth frowned and slapped the arm waving in his face. He leaned back and waited as Scott sat across from him. The waitress took his order, smiling and leaning more than needed at him. Scott didn't seem phased by it, and Booth wondered what kind of man he was.

"I should really kill you."

Scott raised his eyebrows.

"I should really be offended."

"You called Bones a good lay. I am offended."

For a moment, Scott didn't know what to say. He leaned forward, elbows on the table before the waitress brings him his mug. He took a long draught before finding his words.

"That was a mistake. I didn't mean to say that about her."

"So, you didn't mean to say it but you said it anyways? Sounds like you meant it."

"I was angry with her. I let myself get over involved and projected my anger onto her even though," he sighed and ran a hand over his face, "it wasn't her fault."

Booth took a long look at the man in front of him, telling himself he couldn't throw him over the table and knock the hell out of him. Instead, he breathed in.

"Stay away from her Rafferty. She doesn't need you anymore."

"What is that supposed to mean, Booth?"

"It means you've already hurt enough. She was telling me about you last night, and I've got to say, you didn't come out too shiny."

"Neither did you."

"I don't know what that means."

Scott smiled sourly at the remark. The man had it written all over his face. He loved her.

"She told you about me, but she didn't tell you about you?"

"Hey, I'm not here to play riddles or questionnaire. You got that?"

"Settle down, Booth." Scott leaned back and folded his arms while shaking his head.

"You think that she was pissed at me for what I said? I know she was. But do you think she wasn't pissed at you for leaving?"

"We already talked abou-."

"No, you didn't. You listened to what she said and if I know Temperance, she didn't tell you everything. She didn't tell you what made her hurt. When I met her, I had heard about the two of you. I knew you were thick as thieves, as the saying goes. Not once did she say anything about you, though. I worked with her nearly every day, and she never said your name. She never told me any stories. She didn't even have pictures of you. There was one time, before we dated, when I asked her about you. Do you know what she said? She told me that you had left her and refused to talk to her. She told me the friendship had ended and that there would be no more questions about you."

He waited for a reply. He watched as Booth stared at him, trying to dissect his answer before taking a long drink.

"You think I hurt her? I didn't hurt her near as much as you did. Two months after we were dating, and she still wouldn't talk about you. Not even Angela could get her to talk about you. If she did say your name, or if someone else did, she either cursed you or didn't say anything in response at all."

A lump rose in his throat as he listened. He wanted to tell himself Scott was lying, but he knew her. It sounded like her. He didn't want to hear it was because of him.

"We've gotten past that," he said hoarsely.

"You think?" Scott asked incredulously. "You left her! You essentially abandoned her! Do you really think she's over that? She's still not over her parents abandoning her and she still even holds a twinge of anger towards Russ. Do you really think that you're any better than me? Than any of us? If anything, you're worse. You left with no reason, no cause. You had an excuse, but you were running away."

"Stop it now, Rafferty."

"No. You think I'm awful for wanting kids. I guess I am. I'm over that. I want her however she'll take me. You think you're better than me? She has a reason for hating me. She doesn't have one for you. She can forgive me, she might not, but she could. But can she forgive you? I mean, can she really forgive you? After all you two went through, after everything that you two witnessed, do you think she can forget that you left her alone?"

He slammed his fists on the table before standing and rounding it to grab Scott by the collar of his white shirt. In one swift motion, his fist collided with Scott's nose and a wonderfully loud snap and crack was heard.

Shocked at first, Scott quickly rebounded and ran head forward into Booth even though his face was screaming. They tumbled to the floor, Scott pounding into the man's gut and making a solid connection with his jaw before being pulled off of him.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

They sat on the curb in the snow outside of the bar. Scott pulled the napkin away from his nose to gauge the blood on it before placing it back. Booth put his hand to his jaw and tried open his mouth, muttering in pain. Their breaths expelled white in the freezing cold and Booth realized that the situation was laughable.

"That was such a cheap shot."

Booth looked over at Scott who was still holding the napkins to his nose.

"You're just saying that because I broke your nose and you didn't break anything of mine."

Scott nearly snorted and grimaced in pain before glaring at Booth.

Without a word, Booth shook his head and touched his midsection. He had to admit, the man was strong. He was going to have a nasty bruise by tomorrow. If he weren't so hell bent on hating him, he would have liked him. They could have been friends, he thought to himself as he looked down at the light snow. He's not horrible. It's that thought that stuck with him as he sighed. He hates him because he loves her and she loved him. But that was the key difference. She didn't love him anymore.

"She doesn't love you anymore."

Scott closed his eyes before looking at the building on the other side of the street.

"I know."

"So why try to win her back? You know she's too stubborn."

He waited for an answer and looked at the same building Scott was.

"The same reason you're trying too," he finally said. "She's something different. She doesn't love until she has your trust, but when she does, she doesn't hold back. She doesn't let anything stand in her way. She says what she wants too, even if it goes against what people expect. And I love her for that."

Booth looked down at his hands and before placing his head in them. The dirt bag was right. He was absolutely right, and he had blown his chance. He'd thrown it away and tried to move on. Except now, he had a second chance didn't he? He stood suddenly and reached into his pockets. Where the hell was his phone? A groan escaped him as he remembered leaving it on the table before telling Samy it was over.

"You got a phone on you?"

"For what?"

"I need to call Bones."

Scott looked up and raised his eyebrows. With a frustrated sigh, he dug in his pocket and handed the cell to Booth.

"Hey, Bones…wait, what? No, no she didn't tell me. I left it in the room and I just now remembered. Yeah, I'll hang on." He rubbed a hand over his brow before stopping dead in his tracks as he heard the other voice on the other end.

"I'll be right there, Bones."

He snapped the phone shut, threw it at Scott and ran to his vehicle. If Samy tried anything, she was going to be in for a surprise. He hadn't joked when telling her Bones did not like being touched by strangers, and if Samy was jealous, god rest her soul because Bones would not hold back.

A/N: so, i thought it was ironic that booth set out to hate scott, and ends up bonding with him in the end. granted, i still don't think scott should be forgiven, but now we've got a small, very small drama about to unfold with samy. don't worry though, it's solved quickly. review me guys!