AN: Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews! I was amazed to get such a wonderful response. I apologize for taking so long to update. I have a lot on my plate so I beg you to please be patient. Enjoy and please leave behind treats in forms of reviews!

TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
BONES

Saturday Night

The murmurs barely even registered as he tapped his finger against the wooden surface of the bar, tossing back the shot as soon as the bartender poured it before signaling for another one.

Running his hand through his hair, he stared into the amber liquid as flashes of his fight with Hannah intermingled with his worried thoughts over Bones.

"Seeley," Hannah walked out of the room she shared with her boyfriend, "Have you seen my –really, Seeley? You're calling her again?"

He didn't look up from his phone, elbows on the table's surface as he typed with his thumbs, "I haven't heard from her all week. She won't respond to my calls or texts –"

"She's a big girl, Seeley," Hannah tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder, placing a hand on his shoulder; "She'll talk to you when she's ready. Just leave her alone."

"She's my best friend –"

"And I'm your girlfriend," Hannah's voice had a slight edge of irritation, which caught Booth's attention as he finally looked up at her; "I know that –why are you all dressed up?"

"The office party I told you about," Hannah arched an eyebrow at him, rolling her eyes as she turned towards the living room, grabbing her black trench coat from the back of the armchair, "Last Thursday. Then again, you were so busy checking your phone you probably didn't hear me."

"Give me five minutes to get ready," Booth stood up, checking his phone again before slipping it into his jeans' pocket.

"You don't have to come."

"Hannah –"

"Seeley, I don't want you to come," Hannah clasped her hands before her, the trench coat clutched in one hand, "Keep trying to get ahold of Temperance…and I'd rather you do that here, where my colleagues won't notice you ignoring me."

"Hannah –"

"Give Temperance my regards," Hannah's long legs carried her to the front door as she called out over her shoulder before closing the door behind her, "I'll see you when I get home."

Tossing back the shot, he looked down at the phone he'd placed on the bar, screen face up. Swiping his finger across the touch screen, he saw Hannah's one word response to his plans to come to the Founding Fathers for a drink…which had turned into four as he signaled the bartender for another shot.

"You drunk, man?" Hodgins sat at Booth's left, looking over at the bartender as he poured Booth's shot, "I'll have a Porter."

Nodding, the bartender poured the popular IPA into a glass, sliding it across the bar towards Hodgins before heading to the other side where two women were waiting to give him their drink orders.

"Not at all," Booth answered as he tossed back the shot, setting the glass on the bar with a thunk, "Barely scrapping the surface with four shots. Have you heard from Bones?"

Hodgins took a healthy sip of his IPA, turning to look at Booth as he placed his glass back on the bar, "Is that why you invited me to join you? To ask for Dr. B's whereabouts?"

"Why the hell is no one telling me where she is," Booth leaned back from the bar, picking up his phone to wave it in Hodgins' face, "She won't tell me, Cam won't tell me, Angela won't tell me –I even asked Sweets and he won't tell me! Why the fuck does he know where she is?"

Hodgins stared wide-eyed as Booth tossed back his fifth shot as soon as the bartender filled up the glass. Tapping the bar's surface for another one, Booth turned to look at Hodgins, "Is she doing this to punish me? This is all Sweets fault –that little rat bastard pushed me, told me I was the gambler, that I should break the stale mate. What the fuck was I thinking? Nothing good ever comes from listening to fucking Sweets! Remember that, Bug-Boy –Sweets' advice sucks."

Taking a sip of his drink, Hodgins did his best to keep his face from showing the amusement he was experiencing due to Booth's sudden verbal diarrhea, simply nodding as the usually reserved Agent continued to spill his chaotic thoughts as he tossed back two more shots. At the rate he was taking those drinks, Booth was going to end up with his head in a toilet at some point tonight.

"She wasn't ready –I knew that! I panicked –all I could hear was Sweets' voice in my head, over and over again, telling me how I'm supposed to make the first move. Six years of waiting –down the fucking drain. I knew, Hodgins…"

He turned slightly glazed brown eyes towards his silent drinking buddy, not noticing when the entomologist motioned for the bartender not to refill Booth's shot glass, "From the moment I first laid eyes on her, I knew…six fucking years, Hodgins. Watching her, waiting…what the fuck was I thinking?"

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to answer so he just quietly kept drinking his IPA. Sure enough, not even half a minute later, Booth spoke up again, the quiet sorrow in his voice causing a lump to form in Hodgins' throat, "I had to move on…I told her I had to move on…as if I could move on from the one who holds my soul."

Booth kept his eyes lowered, watching as he spun the empty shot glass in its place, "I love Hannah…I do. I've made a commitment to her…and she's great. She really is –she's smart, funny, beautiful…and she gave up her dream job to be with me. I can't ignore that. She loves me…and she's not afraid to let me know she loves me. She's never spouting off anthropological reasons why monogamy doesn't work or telling me how love is just some brain thing…"

Finishing his IPA, he shook his head at the bartender when the guy motioned if he wanted another one, turning his attention back to Booth, the Agent slurring his words slightly as he gave him a squinty look, "What do I do, Bug-Boy? What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

Letting out a sigh, he took out his wallet, leaving enough money on the bar to cover both their drinks before he gave Booth's shoulder a brotherly pat, "First, you're going home and sleeping it off. Drunk is not the way to make decisions. Come on –let's get you a taxi."

"I brought my SUV."

"And you're not driving it," Hodgins took the keys Booth had pulled out of his jeans' pocket, grabbing the phone from the bar before he ushered the Agent to the door, trying not to laugh as he stumbled his way out of the Founding Fathers, "You can pick it up tomorrow morning."

"Gotta go to church tomorrow," Booth slurred as the cold wind hit his face, blinking at the street lights bouncing off the wet asphalt and sidewalks, "Need my wheels."

"You need your life more than your wheels," Hodgins steered him towards his car, trying not to laugh at the befuddled look on Booth's face as he stared at the European car.

"You want me to get into this tin can," Booth asked as he looked over at Hodgins, his hand against the car's frame, the other one on the open door.

"Hey," Hodgins pulled his keys out of the pocket of his jacket, "This car is a classic."

"You know what else is a classic," Booth weaved slightly as he squinted at Hodgins in an effort to focus, "A clown car."

"Do you want me to drive you home or call you a cab? If you prefer, I can call Hannah and have her pick you up."

"Hannah," Booth leaned against the door, letting out a long breath, "What am I going to do, Bug-Boy?"

Letting out a long breath of his own, Hodgins moved to lean against the side of his car, crossing his arms over his chest, "The only thing you can do, Booth."

"And that is?"

"Be true to yourself. You're an honorable man, Booth. You take loyalty and commitment to a whole other level –you're one of the good guys," Hodgins shifted against the little red and white British Mini Cooper, looking over at Booth, "You didn't hurt Dr. B on purpose. And you're right about Sweets –letting him push you when neither of you were ready was not the smartest thing you've ever done. You have every right to be happy, as does Dr. B. You love Hannah, and you're committed to her…"

"Why did you stop," Booth looked over at him, "I do love Hannah –she's not a consolation prize."

"You make sure that's true," Hodgins pushed himself away from the car, clapping his hand on Booth's shoulder, "Because you pretty much told Dr. B there's no chance of anything ever happening between you two. She'll learn how to adjust, but there will come a day when she'll want more –and she'll find someone other than you who will give it to her."

Booth glared at Hodgins, pushing away from the car, "I don't like that."

"That's too bad," Hodgins shrugged, his face sporting a look of nonchalance, "'Cause you no longer have any say in it. Are you gonna get in the car or not?"


Sunday Morning

The smell of burning candle wax was exacerbating Booth's headache but he did his best to push past it. Shifting to get more comfortable on the kneeling bench he was on, he tried to get his thoughts back on track, eyes shut and head bowed as he prayed.

God, if you can hear me…tell me what to do. Send me a sign or something, help me out here. I don't want to lose Bones. She's the one constant in my life. She's been my center for so long, I don't know how I would be able to face the days without her in them. Help me be a better friend, I know I've screwed this up so bad but please, God, please help me find my –

The feel of his phone vibrating against his thigh had him let out a sigh as he pulled it out, his heart jumping into his throat when he saw Bones' name on the screen. Swiping his thumb across it, he pushed himself up and moved out of the pew towards the doors, grateful he had sat at the back of the church so he wouldn't disrupt the ongoing service. As soon as he was outside, he tapped on the message icon, letting out a long breath as he read her message.

Meet me at the coffee cart after church?

His lips tilted into a smile as he typed with his thumb: By the Reflecting Pool?

Yes

See you in a few

Pocketing the phone, he let out a sigh as he glanced up at the clear blue sky, slipping on his Ray-Bans before the sun fried his eyeballs, Thank you, God.


She fiddled with the rim of her coffee cup, eyes trained on the surface of the still water reflecting the Washington Monument and the clear blue sky behind it. A soft breeze lifted strands of her hair, the sunrays warm against her exposed skin as it slowly made its trajectory across the blue sky.

"You've got that lost little girl look on your face," Booth moved around her to sit to her left on the bench, taking the cup of coffee she held out to him, "What are you thinking about?"

Lifting her shoulder in a shrug, she took a sip of her coffee while she studied him out of the corner of her eye, "How have you been?"

Booth leaned forward to rest his elbows on his splayed thighs, coffee cup held loosely between his big hands, "Worried…haven't seen or heard from you for over a week. No one would tell me what was going on, how you were doing…and, of course, you were ignoring all my calls and texts."

Dropping her eyes to the half empty cup of black coffee, she let out a soft breath, voice soft as she explained, "I needed time and space."

"And now?"

"Just space," she lifted the cup to her mouth, sipping a bit of coffee as she looked out towards the still surface of the long rectangular pool of water, "I've taken the time I needed."

Straightening to a sitting position, he took a gulp of his coffee, grimacing at the lukewarm taste of the black caffeinated drink, "So what you've been up to?"

Re-crossing her legs, she shifted in her seat, resting her cup on her knee as she watched a young boy throw a Frisbee, a golden retriever chasing after it, "I watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon, went spelunking and biking in Virginia, took a couple of flying lessons."

"Alone?"

"An instructor is needed for flying lessons," Brennan looked over at him, realizing what he was asking, "No, not alone. Chris Markham invited me to accompany him to Arizona. We were there on Sunday. We went to the caves in Luray, Virginia on Tuesday, biked the Virginia Creeper Trail on Thursday. Friday and Saturday were spent up in the air, on this Cub Piper plane he owns. He said by this time next year, I should be able to get my pilot's license."

He stared at her, eyebrows dipped low as he watched her study the people walking to and fro, the sun bringing out auburn highlights from her dark brown hair, "Chris Markham? The helicopter pilot from the Eames case?"

"Yes," finishing her coffee, she set the cup on the bench beside her, resting her now empty hands on her lap, "I went to see him the morning after you…I told him what happened with Lauren. We had breakfast, talked about Lauren...We have a lot in common, so we just listened to each other…he's one of the few people I can actually understand."

He nodded, not knowing what to say to all she'd shared with him. He wasn't entirely happy with the fact she'd spent an entire weekend with the pilot who'd made crazy eyes at her, but he wasn't in a position to say anything about it. Swallowing the last of his coffee, he took her empty cup and stood up, Brennan standing along with him, "So, uh…you want to have lunch?"

Sliding her hands into the pockets of her beige sweater, she shook her head, easily keeping in step with him, "No. I've got some catching up to do at the lab, and I'm sure Hannah is waiting for you."

He nodded, dumping the cups into a trashcan as they continued to walk towards the parking lot, "So, when you said you need space…"

"I…" she stopped, trying to think of the best way to express to him what she was feeling, "I need some time apart, outside of work."

He turned to look at her as she turned to him, "Bones…we're friends."

"I know," she gave him a small smile, her light blue eyes bright as she struggled to get her rising emotions under control, "That's why I'm asking you to give me some space. Don't text or call me unless its work related…it won't be for long, just long enough for me to get some perspective."

He nodded, the lump in his throat making it hard to swallow. Closing his eyes as she reached up to kiss his cheek, he opened them in time to watch her walk away from him, his chest feeling as tight as his throat.

Standing still as she moved further away from him, he blinked hard to get rid of the burning sensation in his eyes as he whispered into the wind, "I'm a fucking idiot."