Guest prompt: I would love some closure on the show at some point. Maybe they could talk like at an end of case at Founding Fathers or the Diner and he could tell her that he had trouble reading people and that he seriously misread Hannah and the whole situation. That he did not start reading people correctly until Hannah was gone and Brennan was back more in the field again.

Let me know if you're getting tired of my Hannah stories or not.

This takes place after "The Change in the Game".

I don't own Bones.

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They'd just finished up a case and Brennan was really happy about the outcome. Booth had been at the top of his game and had figured out how they could trick their suspect into confessing. Brennan had done a little play acting and had helped push the murderer to slip and brag when he should have remained silent.

Sipping her club soda, Brennan laughed, "You are very good at reading people. You read people like I read bones. We are very good at what we do."

Booth, thinking about what Brennan said, felt a wave of sadness roll over him. Moving his glass back and forth between his hands, Booth thought about the last few cases they had completed and compared them against the cases they had after his brain surgery and much to his surprise, he had an epiphany.

"It's weird; but, you know for awhile, I kind of lost the ability to do that, read people I mean."

Puzzled, Brennan placed her glass down on the table and said, "I don't know what you mean. You've always been very good at reading people. You always know when people are lying to you or not. I have difficulty with that; but, you don't."

Shaking his head, Booth replied, "Yeah, I've always been really good at reading people; but, for some reason, it just dawned on me that after my brain surgery I wasn't very good at it anymore. I really had a hard time reading people. I don't really think I started to get that ability back until a few months ago."

Puzzled, Brennan glanced down at the table and then back at Booth, "But you've always been able to read me. You are one of the very few people I know who understands me. I can be very difficult for people to understand. You are very good at that."

Sighing, Booth smiled a little sadly and responded, "No, for awhile I couldn't read you at all. If I had been able to do it I might have avoided a lot of the crap that's happened in the last year."

Unsure at the turn in the conversation, "What do you mean? Could you explain further?"

Nodding his head, Booth replied, "Sure. Remember that time I said I loved you in an atta girl kind of way?"

Smiling, Brennan answered, "Yes, that was a very odd conversation."

Snorting, Booth picked up his glass and sipped some of his scotch. Placing the glass back down, Booth frowned, "That's because I just wanted to say I love you; but, I panicked after I said it. I realized that I couldn't tell what you thought about it when I said it and I was afraid I'd scared you so I added an atta girl kind of way. I backed out of what I said because I couldn't tell how you took it when I said I love you. I couldn't read you. That was the first time I'd ever had a problem reading you and it scared the hell out of me."

"So when you said you love me you meant you love me as a man loves a woman not as a friend loves a friend?"

Nodding his head, Booth replied, "Yep. That's what I meant."

Sighing, Brennan commented, "I didn't realize that your brain surgery had affected you so profoundly."

Sighing, Booth chuckled, "Yeah, I didn't really get it until just a few minutes ago. I kind of knew it; but, not really. . . It's kind of hard to explain."

Smiling, Brennan replied, "I'm not going anywhere. Take your time and tell me in whatever way makes you comfortable."

Patting her left hand, Booth leaned back a little and remarked, "I think what I have to say may be kind of painful to hear."

Shrugging her shoulders, Brennan commanded, "Say it anyways."

Looking into her blue eyes, Booth sighed, "You know when you said you were going to Maluku I thought you were throwing our partnership away. I thought you were throwing me away."

Opening her mouth, Brennan then closed it and nodded her head.

Taking that as a sign to continue, Booth cleared his throat, "I thought you really didn't want to be around me anymore after I'd scared you outside the Hoover. When the Army wanted me back I looked around and I saw all the people that I know say to me go, it's ok, go. I didn't hear anyone say to me that I should stay. I don't know if that's really true; but, that's what I saw and that's what I heard. No one wanted me so I left."

Watching Brennan very closely, Booth continued, "While I was in Afghanistan, I met Hannah. I thought ok, here is someone who wants me. She fell in love with me and she wanted me and that made me want to love her. I really thought I had found someone who wanted me and I was pretty happy about it. . . You know, I just realized a little while ago that I couldn't read her any more than I could read you. When I looked at both of you I might as well have been blind. I didn't have a clue what you both were trying to tell me; but, like an idiot I thought I did."

Shrugging his shoulders and drinking down his drink, Booth stared at his now empty glass, "Yeah, well we see how that turned out. I thought you didn't want me as anything other than a partner when I got back and I thought Hannah loved me and wanted me when she followed me back here. I really, really messed that up. Now . . . looking back, I can tell that I had you and Hannah's motives completely wrong."

Looking back up at Brennan, Booth sighed, "You loved me and Hannah didn't. I couldn't see it; but, I'm right aren't I?"

Nodding her head, Brennan replied, "I don't know about Hannah; but, I didn't want to lose you. You may not be aware of it; but, I've loved you for awhile Booth. I just couldn't admit it to myself and I most definitely couldn't admit it to you. I couldn't allow myself to dwell on it until the Lauren Eames case. You could say that is when I had my epiphany and I allowed myself to admit that I did love you and I had missed my chance outside the Hoover."

"Yeah, well, I know Hannah didn't love me. It took me asking her to marry me for me to figure it out though. She just wanted a boyfriend who'd help her have a good time. She wasn't interested in love or relationships. She just wanted a good time. I didn't see that though. I totally misread her and totally misread the situation. I had to humiliate myself in front of you and my friends before I finally figured that out. That hole in my head made me stupid . . . I'm not using that as an excuse by the way. I'm just saying that the surgery affected me in ways I never realized until now. Now that I really can read people again, I realize that I had actually lost it for awhile. . . Now that I think about it, the dumbest thing of all was I couldn't even read me. I think that's pretty bad, when you can't even read yourself."

Cocking her head to the side, Brennan looked at Booth's sad brown eyes and asked, "But you can read people now, you can read me?"

Smiling, Booth sat up straight and replied, "Yep, like an open book."

Clearing her throat, Brennan smiled and asked, "What I am I thinking about now?"

Blushing, Booth leaned towards Brennan and said, "That we need to blow this pop stand and go back to your apartment for a little . . . you know."

Laughing, Brennan patted her right index finger against the tip of her nose and replied, "Yes, I do know."

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So, what do you think about this chapter?