A/N: I've got my buffer chapters built up again as I work toward the end of this story! Probably only 3 - 4 more chapters from here! Thank you to everyone who has been reading and commenting and those who have been reading and lurking silently. Sorry this took a few days longer to post than anticipated!

Booth watched as Angela's friend sauntered back into the lab, both arms holding large paper takeout bags. He watched, waiting for Bones to follow the guy in, but she didn't.

"Hey, where's Bones?" he asked, standing up from Angela's couch and approaching her desk where the guy was putting down the bags.

"Uh, she left." he answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Of course she did. "And you just let her head off into the night on her own?" Booth asked, crossing his arms. Granted, she was a woman who could probably take on at least three potential parking lot predators with one hand tied behind her back; a woman who fought off armed guerrillas in the Indonesian jungle with a big stick, but he wasn't about to mention any of that if nobody else was. If he were being completely honest with himself, he'd admit that he was just trying to find a flaw in the guy.

"No, I walked her through the underground parking garage to her car, a pretty flashy looking Mercedes, which I teased her about because she doesn't strike me as the type of woman to like flashy cars."

"It was a gift from her publisher." Angela interjected. "She usually has it parked in Hodgins' garage."

"She assured me she typically drives a hybrid Prius but it's in the shop. I laughed. She laughed. I gave her my number again, made a date to see her next week, then stood back and watched as she got into her car, locked the doors, put on her seatbelt, and drove away." He snarked back with a stupid grin.

Smartass. Booth nodded, smiling patronizingly at the guy as he pulled out his phone and dialed Bones' number. It rang three times before her voicemail kicked in. "Hey Baby," he murmured, and saw Angela roll her eyes dramatically. "I just wanted to make sure you made it home safely. Call me when you're all tucked in safe and sound."

"Something tells me she's not really the type of woman who likes to be called 'baby'." The guy commented with a lift of his eyebrows.

"Yea, something tells me you're not the kind of guy who tries to take up with a woman who's clearly seeing someone." Booth commented, flashing a smirk at the guy.

"Hmm, well, I didn't realize she was seeing someone." he commented, and Booth nodded, ignoring Angela's head-shaking as she tried to ignore them both. Booth flashed a cocky grin and turned toward the door, intent on leaving it there. "She didn't seem to realize either, though, so…"

Booth froze. A million fantasies about decking the guy in the jaw flashed through his mind, but he simply shook his head. The only guy deserving of a punch in the fucking face right now was him. "Listen, uh, I'm working on that, and, uh, guy to guy, I would appreciate you backing off." Booth said, and he couldn't believe he was saying it. Bones would deck him for saying it. Angela was probably reeling up to do it, but he hadn't turned around yet.

"Guy to guy, based on the kiss she planted on me in the parking garage, you're too little, too late." he said, and Booth swallowed, stalking away without turning back around.

"Brennan kissed you in the parking garage?" Angela asked, her voice trailing off. As he made it through the automatic doors, he could still faintly hear her voice. "Wow…"

Hopping into his SUV, Booth drove toward his apartment. It wasn't until he'd opened the door that he realized he was running on autopilot and was supposed to go back to the hotel where Hannah was staying. He hesitated in the doorway before entering and locking up. He gave the place a quick sweep before stowing his gun in the safe and dropping unceremoniously onto the couch. Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to Hannah saying he was going back to the apartment to make sure everything was ok. She didn't answer, and he hoped it meant she'd gone to bed.

"Wakey, wakey."

Booth stirred as a delicate hand stroked over his cheek, brushing against his stubble. Opening his eyes, Hannah's smiling face came into focus. "Hey." he muttered, unconsciously moving out of her touch and standing up from the couch as his back protested. "What time is it?"

"Early. I'm just grabbing my stuff and I'm off." she said slowly, raising her eyebrows at him. "Sure you don't want to come? You can be my personal security." she teased with an enticing tone.

"You know that I can't." he told her firmly, wishing she'd understand that Broadsky needed to be stopped.

"Yea." she sighed, heading into the bedroom. He headed toward the bathroom and saw his bag from the hotel sitting by the door. "I checked us out." she told him, nodding at the bag as he stepped over it.

"Thanks." he muttered as he closed the bathroom door. When he came back out she had a bag slung over her shoulder. "Can we talk?" He asked her, knowing that his timing was probably shittier than ever. It wasn't a conversation he wanted to have over the phone while she was traveling.

"I have to go, Seeley, Dan is downstairs waiting." She told him, pecking a kiss to his forehead. "I'll call you when we land safely, and we can pick this up, okay?" She told him before rushing out the door.

"Good talk. Thanks." He muttered to his empty apartment.

Brennan jumped at the sound of Booth's voice as he practically shouted her name upon entering her office. "Where have you been?" he asked, his tone bordering on accusatory.

"What are you doing here?" she countered, standing up from her desk and glaring at him.

He was supposed to be gone. She had planned her trip to see Russ, Amy and the girls around his departure date so that there wouldn't be an awkward goodbye. She'd felt like an out of place idiot calling them up and asking if she could visit for a few days, but they had been so happy. It wasn't that she thought she'd be unwelcome, but they had been so excited for her to come, like they'd wanted her there. It made her feel badly about not seeing them more often and using them as an excuse to avoid Booth.

Once she had settled in, it was actually quite nice. They had routines as a family, just like she and Russ had before their parents disappeared. They sat down together for dinner, watched a movie on Friday night, all of them curled up in their modest and cozy living room. It was… so nice to be a part of that again. She almost hadn't wanted to leave.

"I asked first. I've been calling you for three days. You just disappeared on me. Nobody wanted to tell me where you went. Cam finally got annoyed enough and said you were visiting your brother. Why didn't you say anything?" he accused her, walking toward her couch and dropping a take out bag on the table. She hadn't noticed it when he first walked in. "It's Thai." He muttered petulantly when he saw her eyeing the bag.

"I— thank you." She replied, joining him on the couch. "I've been angry with you." She told him as he pulled the small food cartons out of the bag, and he nodded. He figured as much. He didn't blame her. He was pretty angry with himself. "You're with Hannah. I— I need to accept that. I didn't want to be around when you left." She admitted, and his heart ached. He'd hurt her; one of the most important people in his entire world, and he fucking destroyed her. "Shouldn't you be in San Francisco right now?" She asked quietly, and he shook his head.

"I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, Bones." He told her firmly. "I didn't want to leave with Broadsky still out there. He needs to be stopped." He said, and she nodded. That was a valid reason. "And, I, uh, I didn't want to leave you." He added. "I tried to end things with Hannah before she left, but she was in a hurry, and, anyways, uh, it's not something I want to do over the phone. I think I owe it to her to look her in the face, ya know?" He asked, and she nodded silently, her head tilted down enough that her curtain of hair was blocking her face.

"You love her, though." She pointed out, and turned to peek at him as he nodded thoughtfully.

Booth took his time, forming the thought carefully before opening his mouth. "I love the idea of her." He said quietly. "I love the idea of someone who wants to spend their life with me, someone who is safe and if things went to shit it wouldn't ruin everything else in my life." He admitted, feeling a bit of well-deserved shame as he said it out loud. He watched as she eyed him sideways, placing a dumpling on his plate. "I mean, if we broke up, and she moved away again, uh, it would hurt me, you know, but it wouldn't make going to work hurt. As much as I've tried to really foster a good relationship for them, it wouldn't hurt Parker or Pops if Hannah wasn't around anymore. Things like that." He explained, and watched as she bit her lower lip, absorbing his words. "Not like it would hurt them if you were suddenly no longer around. It would literally kill me if you were no longer around." He told her firmly.

She finally looked directly at him, but it was with a dubious glare. "It cannot literally kill you for a person to leave your life." She countered, but her words were spoken half-heartedly. She knew what he'd meant.

"It would. It would kill me if you weren't around. Maybe not physically, but in every other way, I'd be dead." He told her earnestly. "Bones, being with Hannah was safe because it meant that I could have what I want, you know, a safe, secure relationship with a really great woman, while still keeping you at arms length." Her face fell, and the pain he saw there was probably the worst thing he'd ever seen. "Because I know if you and I were to get serious, more serious, committed, if we were committed to each other and something went wrong… losing you would mean losing everything. It would mean losing my best friend, my partner, all of the friends I've met through you… the idea of not having this life scared me." He explained. "I was— I was fucking selfish."

"So you're saying that you want to give us a chance?" She asked carefully.

"Yes, and no." He told her, and watched that pained and confused expression morph over her features again. "I want to not see anyone else right now, but I also need some time, Bones. I haven't been the guy you fell in love with for a while. I've been treating you like real shit lately, and uh, I can't ask you to be with a guy who's capable of treating you that way. You deserve way better than I can offer right now."

"So you want to be with me, but you need time." She stated, nodding slowly as she took it all in. He nodded, reaching for her hand and squeezing. "Space and time, or…?" She asked, her blue eyes staring imploringly at him.

"Just a little time, Bones." He assured her with a smile, tugging her closer to his side as he leaned back into the couch cushion, their food forgotten. "A little time to remind myself of the guy I want to be for you. The guy who would beat the living shit out of the guy who's been treating you like a dirty little secret and going behind the back of a woman I claimed to love."

"So, we aren't going to have sex anymore?" She asked him, and he closed his eyes because if she offered it, he wasn't sure he'd resist.

He shook his head. "No. We're not going to have sex anymore. Not for a while. I need to get my head on straight." He explained, and she nodded with understanding.

"So to clarify, you want to explore a monogamous romantic relationship with me, but you need to gain some perspective first?" She asked, and he nodded, smiling softly as she took it all in. "I suppose I will need my masterbatory aids again after all." She muttered absently.

"You gotta stop saying shit like that in public." He scolded her lightheartedly, trying to chase away the image of that shower head between her thighs. She defended herself, looking around and explaining that they were hardly in public.

"I was simply trying to convey that I will not engage in a sexual relationship with Angela's friend Jeremy." She explained, and his throat went dry.

"You, uh, you liked that guy?" He asked, and she shrugged. "He told me you two were going to go out on a date this week." He started, afraid to look at her face. "And that you kissed him when he walked you to your car."

"I certainly did not." She defended, leaning back to glare at him. Booth smirked when she tucked herself back into his chest. "Not that you have any room to complain if I was less than monogamous prior to this conversation." She reminded him, and he agreed with her. She was right.

She was silent for a long time, so he glanced down at her, catching sight of the single tear rolling down her cheek. "Hey, talk to me." He told her quietly, tilting her chin up.

"It's foolish." She told him, pulling out of his embrace and shaking her head. "I just feel like. It feels like we've broken up, but we weren't even—"

"We were. We– are." He corrected her. "We kind of are, okay, and you're right to be upset about the changes right now. I'm— I'm upset too." He admitted. "But this isn't us saying goodbye to the idea of being together. We're just… putting it on pause while I get my shit together."

Silence stretched around them as she curled back under his arm. "I really enjoyed spending time with my brother." She whispered, as if she was embarrassed by this. "It was nice to be a part of a family again." She added, and murmured about menial tasks like setting the table together and going for a walk in the evenings. She told him how she'd enjoyed tucking her nieces into bed and taking them to the local flea market.

"It sounds like you had a really nice time, Bones." He whispered back, unable to bring himself to break the spell they were under by speaking in a normal tone.

"I want— I want that. I want what they have." She told him, tilting her head to look up at his face. "I want a mate and children who want to ask me questions about my job and make beaded bracelets." She told him, holding up her wrist to show him something that was clearly handmade by a child.

"You'll have that, too." He assured her. "You will." She didn't look convinced.

"With you?" She asked, working her jaw like the question would be met with anything but love.

"Yea, with me." He agreed, closing his eyes. When she didn't say anything else, he decided to continue. "You and me, we'll buy a nice house just outside of the city with a big backyard, so we can build a big treehouse." He started, laying out the picture he'd had in his head for years. "We'll have like five or six kids so we can have our own hockey team." He said, smirking when she tensed.

"Will you be birthing some of them?" She asked with a scoff, and he laughed out loud.

"Ok, fine, maybe just two more. Two would be nice." He agreed.

"I think Parker would enjoy having a little brother or sister." She told him almost shyly, and he nodded in agreement. Parker would love that. "I really liked having a brother when I was a kid." She murmured softly.

"Yea, me too." He agreed. Their kids would have everything he and Bones missed out on, that was for damn sure.

"How much time do you think you'll need?" She asked quietly, and he couldn't help the small chuckle that rumbled through his chest. Of course she'd need a number. Numbers made sense to her. Timelines and math were her way of dealing with emotions.

"Let's do this, ok?" He told her, jumping up from the couch to grab a pen and piece of paper from her desk. He sat back down beside her and ripped a small piece off of the sheet, handing it to her and then repeating the action for his own little strip.

"What is this for?" She asked, and he smiled, hiding his strip of paper as he jotted down a note.

Handing her the pen, he nodded at the strip of paper in her hand. "Write down a date. You write down a date that you think we'll be together, and I write down mine and then," he rifled through his pockets until he found his ever-present Zippo lighter. "And then, we burn 'em. We send them off into the universe in a puff of smoke and ash and our wish will come true."

She looked at him dubiously, but she took the pen anyway, and turned her body to hide whatever she was writing. Quickly folding it when he tried to peek over her shoulder, she held her little scrap of paper out.

He smiled indulgently, glad she was humoring him even though it went against everything she claimed to believe about the universe and wishes. He'd never tell her he peeked for real, noting that she'd written down something that started with October.

It didn't matter that he'd written down 'Always' and she'd been literal, picking an actual date. He'd make sure he was ready by October, so her wish would come true.