Disclaimer: I really need to stop saying this! You all know that I don't own any part of these characters/story:)

Here's the third chapter! Or is it the fourth...hmm...I'm not even sure anymore. :) Make sure you review please!

Pairing: Booth x Brennan once again!

For the next few weeks, everything seemed to go smoothly. The case that Temperance and Booth had been working on solved itself easily- when they interrogated the dead woman's husband, he confessed to killing her in a drunken rage.

Tempe didn't see David at all, and her life was finally settling into a normal routine again. But there was one thing - or person- that caused her to lose sleep at night; and that person was Booth.

After breaking up with David, Booth had become somewhat like her protector. In the field, when other agents eyed her, Booth immediately tensed up and told them off for being unprofessional. Apparently checking out someone's partner in the field was just that; unprofessional.

Not only that, but he called first thing in the morning to make sure she got to work okay, and sometimes even drove her home at night. The only reason Tempe could think of as to why Booth was doing this was to avoid seeing her beaten again.

Not that Tempe minded all the contact with Booth though –it felt completely natural to have him call and check in on her during the day, to have him drive her home at night. What bothered her was the fact that he had suddenly stopped calling and seeing her. She had never felt that at ease with David, let alone any other man. And she had never felt this lonely when a man did not call. She had never needed a man to call her before.

Having never felt this before- this peculiar feeling of comfort and loss- Tempe decided that she needed to talk to someone. That person was Angela.

"Angela, I just don't understand." Tempe said as she cradled the phone against her ear. It was a Sunday night and she was sitting on her sofa. Dressed in only a tank top and sweats, she was relaxed and comfortable.

Angela smirked on the other line, even though Tempe couldn't see. Finally! Booth had already come to terms about his feeling for Temperance, had come to terms that it was more than friendship. He had finally realized that he was in love with Temperance Brennan. They were both just waiting for Tempe to realize the same realization.

"Angela, are you still there?" Tempe's voice sounded annoyed, and Angela realized that she had been silent for nearly a minute.

"Sorry, I was thinking." With David out of the picture, it was Booth's turn to shine. When Tempe had broken down at the office after learning about David, Booth had come to her for advice.

"Angela, now that David's gone, I can finally be with her more, ya know?" The handsome FBI agent was leaning against the doorframe of Angela's office, and he was more nervous than the artist had ever seen him. "But…I don't know how to do it, without coming right out and saying it." Booth ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Say what, Booth?"

"You know…that I know love her." Even though Angela knew how Booth felt about her best friend, it was still a shock to hear him say those three little words.

She paused for a second, thinking of a way that Booth could become a permanent fixture in Tempe's life. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" Booth looked up at the artist, confused. Apparently Booth had been thinking about something- or someone- else.

"I know how you can be with her." Angela was sure she had a smug look on her face, but she didn't care. If this plan worked…

"Well?"

She had gone off on her own train of thought, and had totally forgotten that Booth was waiting to hear her master plan. Swiveling around in her chair, Angela put her fingers together and looked up at the hunky FBI agent. "It goes like this…"

Angela had concocted that that Booth could just start being in Temperance's life. Calling Tempe before and after work, even taking her home at night. Eventually, Tempe would grow accustomed to Booth's presence in her life. Then Booth would completely ignore his partner for a day or two- not come around the lab and cease all contact. Tempe would miss Booth's company and finally realize she was in love with Seeley Booth.

"Anyway, before you got to thinking," Tempe continued. "I was saying that I don't understand. I mean, it's like he's avoiding me. Just last week we did dinner together, and now he hasn't called or come by the lab. Usually, when he doesn't have a case with us, he'll still drop by to say hi. He hasn't done that at all." She sighed- this was all so confusing.

"So what don't you understand? Just because he hasn't called could just mean he's busy." Angela played along.

"That's not what I meant. I don't know why I feel so…empty. Like part of me is missing. When Booth was around me, I felt so happy and joyful all the time. I felt like I was complete. He makes me smile, and even when we argue, I still fill happy. And when we fight, its like…sparks or something seem to fly between us, and when he enters a room, everything brightens up. But now…I feel empty, and lonely. The world doesn't seem bright enough, and everything feels so dull. And I miss him, probably more than I should." Tempe sounded nervous, as though she didn't know what she was feeling, much less why.

"How long have you felt like this?" The artist questioned.

"Since Booth and I stopped seeing each other regularly. When he stopped dropping by and calling." Tempe sounded slightly sheepish now, almost as if she was admitting to something that she had denied previously.

"So you miss him?" Angela prompted.

"Yes. Like I said, I miss him more than I should. I just don't know how to explain it. With him I feel happy and whole. Without him I feel lonely and incomplete." At the moment Tempe sounded sad, but Angela was ecstatic. Her plan was coming together perfectly.

"You need to tell him."

"Tell him what? That I miss him? That I wish he could be with me all the time?" She continued, almost as if she had forgotten that her best friend was on the other line. "Should I tell him the torture that he's put me through by not calling? The absolute pain and misery my days have been filled when I wait for him to drop by? Should I tell him that I love him?"

Oooh! Big shocker there:) Haha, the next chapter is coming soon, so have no fear, the story will continue!

Reviews still feed my soul!

Charlotte