(The Death of a Queen Bee)

A/N: this story idea came from 'akbk'. I hope this is what you had in mind.

I don't own Bones.

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He looked at the ring on his left hand. It was there because he and Brennan had gone undercover at her class reunion. He played the part of her husband, Bobby Kent and though the role had been uncomfortable in the beginning, he had enjoyed himself at the dance. His arms around her, slow dancing. It had seemed so right and yet he knew it was so wrong.

The rings had been Brennan's idea. When she went undercover, she tried to be authentic which he found amusing most of the time. Once the ring had been placed on his finger he had felt the weight on his hand and it could not be ignored. He had worn it because Brennan had insisted on it, but he had paid a small price doing it. The meaning of the ring was purely superficial to her, but it had real meaning to him. The irony was not lost on him.

He had asked her to take a chance on a relationship the week before and she had turned him down. It was probably the worst moment they had had between them. When she rejected him, he had realized that she didn't love him. She had told him that she didn't have his heart which was her way of telling him that she didn't believe in love. She had told him that many times over the years, but he had hoped that she could see that he loved her more than life itself and she might try to give them a chance. Wasn't he worth a chance?

His hopes had been dashed and he had to live with the fact that she only wanted to be his partner and friend. It hurt, but he knew he needed to be strong for both of them if their friendship was to last. He had told her he needed to move on, because what choice did he have? Not accepting her refusal would have been gross. She had a right to say no and he had to accept that. To do anything else would be a betrayal of her friendship and he could never do that.

Now that they were ready to go home, he no longer needed to wear the ring. Before he removed it, he kissed the solid gold ring and stared at it longingly. Slowly he removed the ring and placed it on top of the dresser. He needed to return it to her before they left. She had bought both of their rings in a jewelry store in town and they belonged to her.

Sitting on his bed, he stared at the ring as it glowed in the light from the lamp on the nightstand. He had loved Brennan for a long time, but he would never get what he wanted. She was his friend and his partner and he had to accept that, but that ring . . . that ring was such a powerful symbol. "Damn Bones. I know you're afraid, but I love you. I guess I'll always love you."

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She looked at the ring on her left hand. The simple band of gold hadn't really cost that much and she had wanted to use it to influence her former classmates. It was important that they thought she was married to Booth. They were undercover and their roles as a married couple meant they needed the rings.

Wedding rings are a powerful symbol, but she hadn't realized just how powerful that symbolism was until she bought Booth his ring and he had placed it on his finger. The look of sadness on his face had almost broke her.

The previous week had been a trial for both of them. The book Sweets had written about her partnership with Booth had been filled with inaccuracies. Sweets had concluded that Booth and she were in love, but that they used their jobs and friendship to mitigate the attraction. He seemed to think they were afraid to admit that they were in love when the fact was they weren't in love at all.

Then Booth had asked her to take a chance on a relationship with him outside the Hoover and she had almost panicked. Ever since Booth had had his brain surgery he had felt different to her. Most of the time, he acted like he was in love with her, but she knew he wasn't really in love with her or anyone else. The removal of the tumor had damaged his brain. Most of the changes in Booth were minor and could be overlooked, but the looks of adulation that he gave her when he didn't think she was looking had been worrisome. She had hoped he would remember that they were just friends, but that hope had proved futile when those longing looks had turned into a plea to start a personal relationship with him. He couldn't see that what he was feeling was not real. She had told him she didn't have his heart and she had meant it.

Love wasn't real and what he felt had been caused by his surgery . . . hadn't it? He had been her best friend for a long time and she loved him as a friend. She would do anything for Booth, but she wouldn't live a lie for him. She couldn't live with him. That would be enabling his fantasies and he needed to come back to reality. He didn't love her because love didn't exist. It had never existed. What he was feeling wasn't real and she felt that she had to be strong for both of them.

It was up to her to protect their friendship and to not let it slip into a fantasy that would be destructive in the end. Since love didn't exist, she had to protect Booth from making a grave mistake. If she had agreed to his plea for a chance, she was certain that it would have ended in the loss of their friendship. The pressure would be too much.

As she slipped the ring from her finger she had a momentary pang of regret. "If only love was real. It would be nice to be in love with you Booth. It would be nice to know that you love me."

She sighed and placed the ring on the top of her dresser. If they went undercover again as a married couple, she would not insist they wear wedding rings. It wasn't worth the sadness on her partner's face. It wasn't worth the pain she felt protecting them from Booth's romantic side.

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As they ate breakfast, Booth watched a couple in a nearby booth, kissing each other. They were young and obviously in love. He thought about what it was like to be in love and he knew that so far in his life, love had caused him more pain than pleasure.

"Booth . . . Booth do you have the ring I gave you?" Brennan wasn't sure what she was going to do with the rings. More than likely she would place them in her jewelry box in her bedroom and never look at them again.

Booth slipped his hand in to his pants pocket and it came back out empty. Next, he slipped his hand in his other pants pocket and it too came out empty. With a look of puzzlement on his face, he checked his jacket pocket and found his wallet, truck keys, a comb and his phone. "I'm sorry, Bones. I guess I lost it . . . Just tell me how much you paid for it and I'll give you the money when we get back home."

"No that's alright." She was disappointed that he had lost it and she wasn't sure why that was, but she wasn't upset. After all, it was just a meaningless piece of jewelry. "I didn't pay that much for it." She would have liked to have had the ring back, but she wasn't going to worry about it if that didn't happen.

Embarrassed, Booth shook his head. "No, let me pay for it." He didn't want her to be out money on the ring. "I lost it let me pay for it."

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "If you insist, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'll pay for it." Booth needed to pay for it.

"Alright." Brennan finished her coffee and stood up. "I'm going to go to the bathroom before we leave."

Once she was out of sight, Booth pulled the wedding ring from his pants pocket and stared at it. He couldn't let her have it back. Being Bobby Kent was the closest he would ever get to being in a relationship with his partner. Sighing, he placed the ring back in his pocket. He'd pay for it, so it wasn't actually stealing, was it?

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.