(The Parts in the Sum of the Whole/The Change in the Game)

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I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

It had been a long night. They had spent the afternoon talking to Sweets, letting him know that his book was crap and afterward it had all gone wrong. Very, very wrong. He wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe he was just tired of waiting for Brennan to see that he loved her. Maybe he'd let Sweets goad him into making a move, he didn't really know and it really didn't matter. One minute they were leaving the Hoover and the next minute he was asking Brennan to take a chance on them. He just wanted a chance, was that so wrong?

She had told him that she didn't have his heart and she turned him down. It wasn't the saddest moment of his life, but it certainly felt like it at the time. He loved her, but she didn't love him and she probably never would. Love was chemicals in the brain and apparently it tricked you into trusting people that you shouldn't or something like that.

A feeling of grief had flooded through him for a few moments and he had known that even if she refused to trust him with her heart, she trusted him to be her friend. What could he do? She didn't want him and once she made up her mind there was no changing it. He had to give up on his feelings for her and move on. It was what she wanted. He would be her friend, but there would never be anything else between them.

After he had dropped her off at her apartment, he had driven aimlessly through the city with no particular destination in mind. He was tired, but he wasn't sleepy. He wasn't sure what would happen when he finally allowed himself to go to sleep, but for the moment he didn't want to find out.

Once he was outside of the city and in the state of Virginia, he stopped at a convenience store, parked his truck and walked inside. Thirsty, he bought a bottle of beer and with little thought about what he was buying, he grabbed a bag of chips and as he was checking out, he bought twenty dollars of Lottery tickets.

Back in his truck, he drank the beer, ate his chips and stared at passing traffic. His mind on nothing in particular, he sat in the parking lot for a couple of hours and finally decided he was ready to go home. His apartment was dark except for the night light in the kitchen and in the hallway. Dropping his coat on the couch, he removed his jacket and his shoes and sat down on his recliner. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and tried to relax. He was certain that he wouldn't be going to work in the morning since it was four in the morning already. Not really caring what anyone would think about his absence, he finally slept and with that sleep came some dreams. There were always dreams.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

The next few days were awkward. Both Booth and Brennan were unsure how to react towards each other. We're they still friends? They thought so. Was their partnership safe? Probably, but they didn't know what was going to happen next and that made them nervous.

Since they were determined to prove that nothing had changed, they met for breakfast three days after their eventful talk and discussed their latest case. While they were talking, Booth noticed someone checking their Lottery tickets against the winning numbers listed in a newspaper and remembered that he had 10 tickets in his wallet that he needed to check on as soon as he could.

After he was back in his office, Booth turned his PC on, logged in and checked the Virginia Lottery website to see what the winning numbers were for their latest lottery drawing. Carefully checking his tickets, Booth was surprised to find that two of them were winning tickets. He'd never won anything from the Lottery when he used to play and now that he was not gambling anymore, he had won. He was in trouble and he knew it.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

"Gavin, thanks for meeting with me." Booth had called his GA sponsor and was meeting with him at the Founding Fathers. After he shook his sponsor's hand, Booth picked up his wallet from the table, opened it up and removed two Powerball tickets, placing them on the table in front of him. "I won."

Shocked, Gavin picked up the tickets and stared at them. "How much?"

Lowering his voice, Booth took the tickets from Gavin's hand and leaned closer. "One ticket is worth $40,000 and the other one is worth $200.'

"Shit!" Gavin knew that Booth was in trouble. "You can't cash them."

"I know that." Booth was feeling ill. $40,000 would be a huge boost to Parker's college fund, but he knew that Rebecca would be furious if she knew the money had come from gambling. His visits with Parker had come about because he had given up gambling and if his ex thought he was gambling again she might take away his visitation rights. "It's $40,200. It's a lot of money."

Worried for his friend, Gavin could hear the tremor in Booth's voice. "It is, but you can't cash them . . . give them away."

"I thought about that . . . I'm afraid that if I do that, it will be like me cashing them in. I won this money no matter what happens to the tickets . . . I . . . it's $40,200." Booth was afraid. He considered himself a brave man, but this was his future they were talking about. This was his life and he wasn't sure if he could just walk away from this much money. "I want to give it to Parker, but Rebecca would think I was gambling again . . . "

"And she'd stop you from seeing Parker." Gavin had seen this before in other people he had sponsored and he knew that Booth had a right to be afraid.

Placing the tickets back in his wallet, Booth slipped the wallet into his jacket pocket. "I don't know why I bought the tickets . . . Bones and I went through something a few days ago and I was feeling reckless. I didn't think buying lottery tickets would be a big deal. I've never won a dime from any lottery . . . maybe this is a test. Maybe God is testing me."

"Maybe." Gavin knew that Booth was a religious man. "But you don't have to give in to the temptation . . . You can fight this. You have to fight this."

Filled with uneasiness, Booth finally nodded his head. "All I have to do is hold out for 180 days. They'll expire in 180 days. I checked that before I drove over here."

"180 days." That seemed like a lifetime to Gavin. "Can you do it?"

"I have to do it." Exhaling deeply, Booth knew that this was going to be a big test for him. "I will do it."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

They'd been in a relationship for three weeks and so far, they were both still giddy from the novelty of the situation. Brennan had slept in Booth's apartment and Booth had slept in her apartment and they still couldn't believe that they were allowed to kiss and to touch each other in an intimate way.

While picking up Booth's pants and moving them to the bed, his wallet slipped out and fell to the floor. After she picked it up she rested it on the pants and left the room. Once Booth was done shaving, he walked back into the bedroom and saw his pants and wallet on the bed. Sitting on the bed, he opened the wallet, removed the faded Powerball tickets he kept in the fold of the wallet and stared at them. He'd managed to hold out for the 180 days while they were redeemable and he hadn't cashed them. The temptation had been great during those long 180 days and twice he'd almost mailed them into the Virginia Lottery to be cashed, but at the last minute he'd found the strength to stop himself. He was proud that he'd fought such a tough personal battle and won.

Entering the room, Brennan noticed the lottery tickets and sat down next to Booth. "Are you playing the lottery?"

"No, I bought these tickets last year." A slight smile on his face, Booth kept his eyes on the tickets. "I bought them after our conversation outside the Hoover. I don't know why I bought them, but I did. Imagine my shock when I found out they were winning tickets."

Worried that Booth had gambled, Brennan placed her hand over the tickets. "How much you did you win?" She didn't think it was a lot since she assumed he would have mentioned it at the time.

"I won $40,200 . . . I didn't cash them in." Booth chuckled. "Believe me, I wanted to. That is a hell of a lot of money, but I couldn't do it. I was afraid that if I cashed them, I was giving up my sobriety and I couldn't do that. I made a vow to give up gambling after I met you and I try to keep my promises. It's important that you can trust me."

Relieved, Brennan clutched his hand. "I know you fight your addiction every day and sometimes you've been tempted, but this proves that you're strong. You're right, that is a lot of money . . . I'm proud of you, Booth. I'm proud that you could walk away from it. It probably was a hard thing to do, but you accomplished it by yourself."

"No, not by myself, Bones." Booth placed the tickets back into his wallet. "I know that to be your partner I have to be the best at what I do and I can't let gambling get in the way of my career. You only work with the best and I'm the best because you make me try hard to be the best."

Moving slightly, Brennan leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You are the best, Booth, never doubt that."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

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