(After the Parts in the Sum of the Whole/The Change in the Game)

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I don't own Bones.

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"She said no." Tired, upset, sad, Booth stared at his clasped hands as he talked to his grandfather. "I asked her to take a chance and she said no."

He could see that his grandson was feeling defeated and he hated that the boy couldn't see that this wasn't the end. He'd met Temperance Brennan and there was no way this was the end. "What exactly did she say? Just no?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth considered not responding, but he couldn't be disrespectful, not to the man who had raised him. "Well, I may not remember everything exactly, but . . . She said no, then she said I thought I was protecting her, but she said I was the one that needs protecting." His emotions were getting the better of him, so Booth paused, took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"I asked her from what and she told me . . . she told me from her . . . She said she doesn't have my open heart . . . The only reason why I have an open heart is because of her, Pops. I . . ." He shook his head. He'd always had trust issues and the few times he had listened to his heart instead of his head, he had been betrayed . . . Rebecca, Tessa, a few others and now Brennan. "I just wanted a chance. I've known her for six years. We've been partners for five and I think we've been friends for at least four years. I just wanted a chance . . . Bones told me that she's a scientist and she can't change. She can't change for me . . . I'm willing to change for her . . . I am, but she won't take the risk. I guess I'm not worth the risk." He swallowed hard, leaned back against the couch and placed his arm against his closed eyes. He didn't want to cry, he didn't want to be emotional, but he knew that if he did, his grandfather wouldn't hold it against him.

"Shrimp." Hank stopped. He didn't want to give his grandson platitudes. The boy was hurting and he deserved sympathy and respect. "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning . . . Winston Churchill said that in 1942. It sounds complicated, I know, but he said this after the British routed Rommel at Alamein. It was the turning point of the war. What he was saying is that one victory didn't mean the war was won but was the beginning of victory. In your case, you can take that to mean that one defeat doesn't mean that you've lost Temperance. She's uncertain about the future and that scares her. She's been on her own since she was a kid. She didn't have anyone to rely upon but herself and here you are asking her to change that, change the way she's living and to rely on you. That's scary Seeley."

"But she knows me." At least Booth thought she did. "Hell, maybe that's why she said no. She does know me . . . I haven't had a perfect life. I have a lot of baggage that I carry around with me. I try not to let the past influence me, but it does. She knows that my father was pretty bad and that he beat me and Jared and Mom . . . She knows that you took me and Jared away from Dad after Mom ran away . . . I don't blame her for not wanting to take a chance, but . . . But I love her and I'm not my father. I'm not him. I would never hurt her. I'd die first, but . . . but maybe she sees something in me that says I'm wrong."

Appalled that his grandson was saying such nonsense, Hank held up his hand. "Stop, stop right there . . . That isn't true and you know that. She said she was protecting you from her, not that she was afraid of you. I can't . . . Seeley, she told you why she can't take the risk and it has nothing to do with you. It's about her. Her fears, her uncertainty . . . I think that if you waited and tried again in a few months, maybe things would be different. I don't know that for certain, but just because she said no now doesn't mean the answer will always be no."

He didn't want to give himself false hope. "I can't stalk her. She said no. I can't ignore that. If I discount what she said and keep after her to say yes, I'll destroy our friendship, our partnership and I don't want to lose her. It's better to be just friends than to never see her again, never talk to her again."

Hank didn't know what to do or say to fix this. His grandson was in love with someone that didn't love him back or at least loved him as a friend and wasn't willing to let that evolve into something else. It was a tough situation to be in. "You know her better than me, but Seeley, please don't give up. You have time."

"I told her I was going to look for someone else." He didn't know if he had given up too easily, but he could never force Brennan to do something she didn't want to do. "Was that wrong? I don't want to put anymore pressure on our friendship and maybe if I just move on, I can still keep her friendship. I don't see what else I can do. She said no and when Bones says no, she means no."

"This isn't the end, Seeley." Hank didn't want his grandson to give up, but it wasn't his life to live. "I promise you this isn't the end."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

His excitement was palpable. Booth had called his grandfather and told him he was coming for a visit. He had some important news and he didn't want to tell it to him on the phone. Now that they were in Hank's apartment, Hank wondered if his grandson was going to tell him he was going back into the Army. He hoped not, but . . . "What did you want to talk to me about?" Please don't tell me you're back in the Army. Please God, he needs to stay home.

"Well . . . I'm just going to say it. Bones and I are in a relationship. We finally got our act together and well, she's with me . . . I'm with her . . . we're together."

Stunned, Hank stared at his grandson for a moment then gave him a broad smile. "It's about damn time. How did it happen? When did it happen?"

Holding up his hand, Booth laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll explain. Just give me a chance."

His grandson's excitement was something he was happy to see. Hank leaned back against his couch and waved his hand at his grandson. "Alright, then explain."

"Well, when I broke up with Hannah, I was in a bad place, you know that." Booth's heart had been crushed when Hannah had turned down his marriage proposal and he had become angry with the world. He had tried to move on from Brennan and Hannah had been someone he had thought he could live the rest of his life with, but she had turned him down and he came to the conclusion that no one wanted what he had to offer. He was flawed and no one wanted someone like him. His anger had consumed him for weeks, but he finally realized that Hannah had done him a favor. He would have been unhappy married to her. He thought he had loved her, but if he was willing to dump her when she turned him down, then he knew deep in his soul that he hadn't really loved Hannah enough to fight for her. Brennan had stood beside him during this dark period and when he finally came out of his funk, he realized that things had changed between Brennan and himself.

"Bones and I have been dating for a while." They had started seeing each other after their day trapped in an elevator because of a power failure. "It was just drinks and dinner, but we talked about us and our future and what that would look like. We were taking it slow and steady until last week when Jacob Brodsky, that murderer for hire we've been looking for . . . anyway, he tried to kill me by shooting through the glass roof at the Lab and he killed one of Bones' interns instead . . . she took that pretty hard and she needed comfort and . . . well, life is short and we decided we'd waited long enough. We're together . . . We haven't told anyone yet, but this is real, Pops . . . You were right, when Bones turned me down it was the end of the beginning and I just didn't see it, but you did. We just needed time and maybe some crazy shit to wake both of us up, but we're there now Pops. We're . . . we're happy together. We've always been happy when we worked together and we liked to hang out together . . . we were just too afraid to rock the boat, then when I finally decided to push the issue Bones wasn't ready, then we both left the country . . . We needed the time and the space I guess . . . When we came back, I hooked up with Hannah and I thought it was what I wanted and what Bones wanted but then she told me she missed her chance, but I was with Hannah and . . . God we've been such a mess for a long time . . . anyway, when Vincent died we were finally able to see that being together made us stronger and well, we're a couple."

Glad that everything had worked out, Hank knew that Temperance Brennan was the only one that his grandson could ever love and be himself. He had known that the day he had met his grandson's partner. "When are you getting married?"

"We're not." Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Bones doesn't believe in marriage and I won't push her away because of that. I accept Bones for who she is and she accepts me for who I am and that's what we both need Pops. Acceptance and trust. We have each other and that's all we need."

Although he was unhappy that his grandson wasn't getting married, he knew that Seeley was happy and that was all he had ever wanted. "Congratulations, Shrimp. You bring Temperance around when you both have time and we'll go out and celebrate . . . I'm happy for you, Son."

"Thanks, Pops."

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