Hi everyone! First of all – wow and thank you for the comments, messages and reviews! But I'm sorry that I left so many people so sad! This one's a journey – and I do thank you for sticking w/ me through it. For those who thought that might be the ending…. Oh man, no. I would not leave it like that! I'm a B/B shipper to my core. Thanks again & enjoy this next part! – Mac

Chapter 24

"So, you're telling me that you've just been sitting around writing, visiting a bistro and… nothing else?"

"Angela, actually, I didn't say that. I just confirmed that I have been writing and I have been visiting a bistro." Brennan really hated lying to Angela, so she settled for omitting the upsetting parts from her story. Namely – seeing Booth, facing some old high school bullies and going back to the worst foster home she'd ever lived in and facing that old demon as well. Angela would worry. And… she was pregnant. She shouldn't worry. Someday she'd go through the full story with her. But unless she wanted her best friend to hightail it out of DC like Booth had and track her down, she needed to keep quiet.

"And hanging out a lot with some guy named Rob," Angela added in. Brennan could almost hear her smiling on the other end.

"It's not like that," Brennan said, zipping up her coat – getting ready to meet up with Rob for their dinner.

"Where are you going?"

"Dinner."

"With who?"

"Rob."

Angela laughed. "Interesting. That's… interesting."

"We're just friends. I promise you that."

"If you say so. Oh, I forgot to tell you. Hacker assigned this new guy to the Jeffersonian. His name is Agent Sam Blake. Kind of a tool, actually. But he has a case that needs, you know… what we do."

Brennan stopped at that, a strange feeling twisting in her stomach. "They've already assigned a new agent to our team?"

Angela sighed. "I guess they had to. This case just popped up."

"Do you need me?"

"We always need you, Bren. But… it's pretty straightforward. He thinks it'll be an open and shut case. We have Dr. Edison. And Cam is all over it, making sure things go smoothly."

Brennan took a deep breath and closed her eyes. This was the expected outcome of her decision to end their partnership. Just like it would take Booth time to get used to a new partner – this would involve adapting as well. She decided to look forward to meeting this Agent Blake.

Twenty minutes later, she got out of her car at the bistro to find Rob standing outside, waiting for her. He smiled when he saw her but didn't make a move to enter his restaurant.

"Are you unable to do dinner?" she asked.

"Let's go somewhere new tonight. Now that I've realized how bad your experience in Camden was the first time around, I'm determined to show you some of the more notable places." At her look, he added, "Don't worry – we can swim in the lake if we get bored."

She laughed and followed him to his car and they drove for a few minutes until they reached a place called Margaritas. Colored Christmas lights were strewn all over the outside of this hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, and she could hear lively music inside.

Once they were seated, the waitress brought chips and salsa to their table and took their drink order.

"So," Rob said, finally looking at her. "That was the guy who doesn't know you're alive."

Brennan realized he was referencing Booth.

He smiled. "Your words. And, if I may… I'd say he looked like he was quite aware of your existence."

Brennan smiled sadly. "I don't know. That's how it felt at one point. Like I didn't exist." She looked at Rob. "I will agree that while he was here, he seemed more like his old self."

He popped a chip into his mouth and looked around, considering her words. "And I'll bet that confused the hell out of you."

She looked at him with some surprise. "Yes!" she said. She was used to feeling thrown by her own emotions and most definitely by the feelings of others. But she was hardly used to being understood. Even Booth when they were at their best, didn't always understand her. But… he'd accepted her. They'd worked hard to listen to each other and always meet back in the middle. At the center. Holding their unique family together with the sheer strength of that bond. It had felt unbreakable. "I kept having to battle two images of him in my head. I wanted so badly to just fall into our old relationship, move away from everything that has ever come between our friendship – especially since he was here, saying that's what he wanted – and I did. I kept him with me when I… well, when I did a few things that I'd meant to do alone. I had wanted to do them alone. I don't want to need him. Not like I used to."

Rob nodded. "I've been there."

The waitress returned with their beers and they clinked their glasses together.

"Tell me about it," she said.

Rob took a sip of his beer and looked around. "I've told you all about it."

"You haven't told me what you two have been through, though. Not really. I know that your ex helped her get drunk and Jeremy… well, I know all of that. But tell me about your friendship. If you've had these feelings… all these years… there must've been a fallout. I can see now that that's inevitable when love ruins friendship."

Rob sat back and looked at Brennan very solemnly. "I wouldn't say love ruins friendship."

"In my experience, that's exactly what it does."

Rob nodded. "Well, I guess I've felt that way, too. When she turned me down after prom, I left for college. I went early. I couldn't be here anymore. She and I had seen each other every day – almost every minute of every day – for five years. And suddenly, we weren't even talking."

"You were hurt," she ventured.

"I was crushed," he said. He took another chip and looked around. "I was a kid at prom. A seventeen-year-old, immature kid who had a lot of growing up to do. But I'll tell you. I wanted to marry her. I told her how I felt because I could see the rest of my life and there wasn't a scenario in which she wasn't in it."

"But you left, and then she wasn't in it anyway."

"Bingo." He took a sip of his beer. "Keeley would keep me in the loop on Amy. I didn't ask her to, but… she just did. But when I was away, I stayed away. I did internships that kept me from coming home. Work study programs. I had a double major and double minor in business and began creating the bistro at school. Laura was in those classes. She had big dreams, too. We hit it off. And we had this whole relationship. Away from Camden. I would only come home for Christmas."

Brennan shook her head. "If you gave up on your friendship, how are you two still so close? You seem like you've been so close forever."

"It wasn't as bad all through college. The first Christmas I came home, I couldn't bear to see her trying to avoid me. My sister told me she thought I hated her. And… it was so far from the truth, I just wanted her to know that we should still be friends. And after that, we at least talked on the phone sometimes. Texted probably daily."

Brennan smiled. Rob's eyes did this thing when he talked about Amy. And she loved it.

"I think that's why Laura resented Amy. She hated that we talked so much. Even though I still wasn't see Amy face-to-face much, she must've had issues with our friendship. But she never let on. She pretended to like her. And I was the idiot who believed her."

"You were going to marry her."

He nodded, grimacing at the memory. "She was awful to her. And I was so bent on creating my own perfect life – my business, a new wife – I had plans. And Amy had hurt me more than I'd ever been hurt in my life. And a part of me was just… still bleeding from that wound. I put a band-aid on it, maybe… but I never really fixed the problem. That hurt is the only reason I can think for what I was."

"What were you? It sounds like you were just living your life, being her friend… not trying to hurt anyone. Trying to protect yourself."

He shrugged. "I was blind, Temperance. Keeley sat me down, days before my wedding, and told me. Laura had gone out of her way to mention Amy's living quarters in front of the whole wedding party. Like those pricks from high school. The only time I ever saw Amy cry was that day at school. They humiliated her in front of the whole cafeteria. Made her feel ashamed, when she loved her parents so much. That home, that was all they could give her. And… fast forward and someone that I brought into my life made fun of her in front of my sister and a bunch of women who she was supposed to be in the wedding party with. Laura had apparently told Amy that it would be best for the photos if she dyed her hair brown. Seriously. And Amy… she bought the dye. She was all ready to do it because she didn't want to ruin my wedding pictures. Laura made sure to get the most expensive bridesmaid dress, shoes, and everything and made a show of assuming Amy couldn't afford it."

Brennan shook her head, thinking of Amy. Her red hair dazzled – the curls were always falling out of her ponytail, and in the sunlight it looked like strawberry wine on a summer day. She hated to think of someone – anyone – trying to humiliate someone who was just so sweet and kind. And funny. And real. What was wrong with people?

Rob bowed his head and Brennan waited. He finally looked back up, looking hurt. This stuff – it was past. But he was feeling it. Probably because he'd always loved her. And her pain was his, too.

"Amy had told Keeley not to tell me. To just not worry about her. She thought Laura made me happy."

"Did she?"

"I thought so," he answered, honesty in his eyes. "But.. I never really knew her. If I'd had my eyes opened, noticed any of that. She and I would've ended long before all this had to happen."

Brennan sipped her beer and sighed, waiting for this next part. She knew it but not from Rob's own memories.

"I'll never forget the day Keeley told me everything. She came into the bistro and she was crying. She was all dressed up. I was closing up. The customers were gone. She told me that she had to tell me but Amy didn't want me to know… and the fact that she was this upset and it had to do with Amy made me already start to freak out. Because I knew that something was wrong. I yelled at her to tell me. Just tell me. And…she did. She went through the past year, through every moment of torture my wife-to-be had thrown at my best friend behind my back. But… Keeley said that she couldn't find Amy. That Laura had given her shot after shot, practically poured them down her throat. And that before she could take her home, she found out that Laura had told Jeremy to take her. But she wasn't home. Keeley didn't know where she was. She just knew that the last time she saw her, Amy could barely stand or see straight."

He put a hand through his hair and squeezed his fist. "I found them in his hotel room. She was passed out. He was completely sober, saying that this was her idea. I punched him – as you can imagine. I mean…"

Brennan nodded. She kind of wanted to punch this guy herself.

"Keeley and I took Amy home. We sobered her up and she wouldn't stop crying. And… I freaked out. I called Laura, called it off. Told her to get out of my town. And my life."

"Rob… I'm sorry. That's… I can't imagine how you felt."

"I didn't even know how I felt. Amy had insisted it was not date rape. But… it was. I wanted to be there for her. But she kept pushing me away. It reminded me of prom all over again. I was trying to be there, and she was walking away and I didn't know why. But then I found out she was pregnant and it made a bit more sense. I reeled from that news – threw myself into work, and for awhile I couldn't talk to her. And I hate myself for that. It didn't matter that she was pushing me away. I needed to show up and be there for her, and I was too angry at myself and angry even at her – not for getting pregnant, god no… but for not telling me everything! Because it never would've happened if she'd just told me what was going on!"

"So you stopped talking to her again?"

He smiled sadly. "Amy and I have been on quite the roller coaster for about seventeen years now. When we get mad at each other, we like stop talking. It's bad. I'm not proud of this."

"You shouldn't be proud of that. You can't just stop talking to someone and hope they go away. Not if you really care about them. That's… that's confusing."

Rob nodded, smiling at her in a knowing way. "When it was time for her first doctor's appointment, Keeley told me about it. Told me she was nervous. And going alone. And… I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't keep running from her. No matter what else there is, she's my best friend."

"But why don't you just tell her—"

"Because she doesn't love me…because telling her I loved her took what we had and threw it out the window and it took us years to get back to a place that even resembles what we used to be. I can't do that again. I feel like she went through hell for me and is right now in a bad situation again because of me. But, I'm done leaving her. I can't do that. Ever again."

Brennan tilted her head and looked at Rob, something in his words hitting her hard – reaching her through the fog and confusion still swirling inside about everything she and Booth were facing.

"What did Jeremy want today?"

Rob sighed and looked out the window for a moment. "He wanted to sign away his rights to the baby. He had the paperwork all drawn up."

"How did Amy feel about that?"

"She was relieved, actually. She won't get the financial support, but… she doesn't want him involved with the baby at all."

"And you?"

He let out a low whistle. "I wanted to punch him all over again, honestly. Doing what he did, acting like it was just one meaningless night, like it had been her idea… and then coming by when she's this vulnerable and telling her she's on her own. I wanted to kill him."

"But…" she offered, because she could see him holding back.

"But I also felt relieved that he wasn't trying to share custody. That he wouldn't be forever connected to her. To them. Not in any significant way, anyway. Because – and maybe this is selfish – I want nothing more than to see him walk out of her life- and my life- forever."

Brennan held up her glass. "Cheers to that."

He clinked his glass to hers and smiled. "To the bad guys – going away, finally."

She laughed. He had no idea how true that was.

B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B**B*B*B

Booth walked into Royal Diner at five minutes to eight – his mind still reeling from everything. He was seeing Sweets in the morning because he needed help. He needed advice. The way he left everything with Bones felt so… wrong. There were moments while he was there that had that old comfort of what they used to share.

He wondered if he should've heeded Sweets and Angela's advice and just stayed away, but… he couldn't. Not when he knew where she was going and who she planned to see.

On the plane, he just kept seeing images. Her crying outside the reunion, all alone. Looking broken. Her confession at the lake, their intense hug afterward. He'd held her as her words crashed into him, nearly breaking him in two. Everything she'd been through. She'd been seventeen. And she'd survived one of the most traumatic experiences he could've imagined.

He could see her fighting tears – not allowing herself to cry in front of him. Because… because the last time she'd cried to him, he'd seriously laughed about it with his girlfriend. His heart hurt. It honestly hurt. Regret coursed through him as he wondered how on earth he could ever have done any of this to her. She was everything to him. She always had been. He'd aimed to move on. Okay. Fine. But… but how on earth could he have just stopped seeing her, noticing her pain, being her friend…

This week, learning that he'd lost her, he'd felt the ground pulled out from beneath him. And yet… he'd been the one to give her up. Willingly. Those moments… they added up to the single biggest regret of his life.

At eight sharp, Hannah walked through the door, and he took a deep breath, wondering again what on earth she wanted.

She walked in and went to give him a kiss in greeting – like she'd always done since they'd begun dating – but when he realized she was doing that, he turned his head and backed up a bit. She looked stung, but sat down across from him.

"Thanks for coming," she said. And he noticed she looked like she was dressed to impress. Tight jeans, a tight top, her blonde hair long and curly, lots of makeup on. It was such a contrast from Bones. In Camden, she'd worn her hair wavy, worn almost no makeup – and just looked different. And she'd never looked more beautiful to him.

She had the waiter bring her over a vodka on the rocks. When she asked if he wanted a drink, he waved his hand dismissively.

"What did you need to see me for? I thought we already covered everything. You know… broke up." He crossed his arms and leaned forward on the table. "Usually that implies going separate ways."

She pulled back and frowned at him. "Well, I realized that I kind of messed up and I never got to apologize."

He sat back and looked at her expectantly.

"I should've told you about Temperance being at Founding Fathers, and about her crying. I know you're friends. It was… insensitive of me to hold back that she was hurting so much. If you'd known, you could've maybe prevented her calling off your partnership."

He fiddled with the menu. "Okay," he said. "Thanks. Was that it?"

She looked taken aback by his bluntness.

"Seeley. Stop. You and I, we had something. Don't do this. You are pushing me away because you're angry."

He laughed, though he felt no humor. "Well, that's apparently what I do."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "If Temperance has made you question the kind of person you are, then she doesn't deserve you, Seeley."

"Don't talk about Bones."

"Come on. Honestly. She—"

"Don't talk about her."

"I still feel like she's guilted you into a trap to worm her way back to the number one spot in your life. It's pathetic. I hope you can see that."

He sat forward and met her eyes. "If she wanted to be in the number one spot in my life, then you'd be looking at a very different man right now."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He groaned, tired and exasperated. "What did you want to meet about? We broke up. What did you want?"

"I wanted to get married to you, you big idiot!" she said, a small smile on the corner of her lips. She clearly expected him to react happily. And a week ago… he might've. He might've been excited for a marriage proposal from her, untraditional as it was. So badly he'd wanted these things. But back then, he didn't know. He didn't know anything.

"Married?" he asked, swallowing hard.

"You want that, Seeley. You said. That's all you would say. That you wanted someone who'd be there for 30, 40… 50 years. You wanted it."

"And you said you weren't sure you were the marrying kind," he reminded her.

She smiled and reached out to touch his hands. He pulled them away.

"I want you, Seeley. I don't want to lose you. I'm prepared to be the marrying kind for you."

"Hannah, you don't even know me." His voice was quiet, almost a whisper. But the truth of those words was louder than anything.

"What are you talking about? I'm telling you, you can have it all. You said you wanted all of this."

"I was wrong. I've been wrong a lot lately."

"You don't want to get married? You don't want that life? Seeley, you deserve it. She hurt you. Remember? You moved on. You deserve to be happy."

He stared down at his hands, suddenly feeling near tears again. He'd wanted all of that. He'd wanted it so badly he'd thrown everything he held dear away because of the idea of the life he wanted.

"I thought you wanted to get married. I thought you wanted a family."

He stood up. He thought about Angela and Hodgins, Cam, Sweets… and Bones. Their hug before they left. Touching her chin tenderly in far more distant memories, talking about the different kinds of family, making promises he never ended up keeping.

"I do want my family," he said, his voice thick. "That's all I want."

"But, Seeley—"

"Goodbye, Hannah."

And without looking back, he walked out of the diner and grabbed his cell. He looked down and saw a text.

From Rob.

She's doing good, tonight / Hang in there.

Booth closed his eyes, feeling some relief. And then he opened another text thread and wrote another message.

Bones. I miss our family. And even though I just saw you earlier today…. I miss you. But that family we created, together, for years? It's all I want, Bones. I got confused. Thought I wanted something else.

He looked through the window at Royal Diner, seeing Hannah sitting there alone and felt relief that they were finally, truly over.

But I don't. I just want our family.