(After 'The Lance to the Heart')

I still don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooo

She'd been trying for weeks to return to the United States, but her editor refused to let her leave Donbass. The war between Ukraine and Russia was heating up and Tim Mathers needed one of his best reporters on the ground there. Ukraine had started a counter offensive against Russia in April and who knew how long this was going to last?

Hannah had finally demanded to be allowed to return to Washington D.C. for a few weeks because of pressing family issues, but Tim couldn't see how she could help the situation back home. It also didn't help that Tim knew what those family issues were and he'd tried to persuade her that she wasn't needed. She just thought she was.

Disgusted with her editor's lack of empathy, Hannah had threatened to quit her job and Tim realized he'd have to allow Hannah her time at home or lose her permanently. "Three weeks, Hannah then you have to go back. Are we clear? Three weeks is all I can give you. Try to take care of it in one week though."

"Got it, three weeks." Hannah knew that Tim was only caving in because she had got three job offers from other networks in the last month and he couldn't bear for her to work for someone else.

Unfortunately for Tim, she knew her self-worth.

Oooooooooooooooo

It had come as a surprise to Hannah when she found out that Brennan wasn't living in her old home. She hadn't realized there was an issue with the house until she sat in her car on the curb in front of the house and saw carpenters and plumbers moving in and out of the building. Contacting a friend who worked for the police department, she had found out where Brennan was currently living and drove over to see her.

Not sure why she was feeling nervous, she knocked on the front door of the house listed as belonging to Brennan and Booth and waited for someone to come to the door. Surprisingly, a stranger opened the door.

"Um, I'm looking for Dr. Brennan." Hannah noted the man seemed to be judging her and she felt a little uncertain about why. "I'm a friend."

"And does the friend have a name?" James Aubrey was babysitting Christine while her parents and their friends attended the funeral of Lance Sweets and he wasn't about to open the door to just anyone. He had promised to take care of Christine and he would.

Slightly amused, Hannah smiled. "I'm Hannah Burley. I'm a friend of both Seeley and Temperance. I've been overseas for the last few years, but I've tried to keep up with what's going on with Seeley. I'm here to help with the situation with Seeley, if Temperance will let me."

"Help?" Aubrey stared at the woman standing in the doorway while he tried to remember why her name seemed so familiar. "Oh, you used to live with Booth before he got married to Dr. Brennan." He'd read that fact in Booth's personnel file and he'd also gossiped with Hodgins about the partners. The scientist knew a lot about what had happened between Booth and Hannah right after he came back from Afghanistan. Aubrey had found Hodgins to be a font of knowledge about everyone that worked at the Lab or had any connections to the Lab and the agent planned on using Hodgins' knowledge whenever he needed it.

"Yes, I did. I've read in the News about Seeley being jailed for killing some FBI agents and since I know there is no way he would ever do anything like that . . . well, I want to help prove he's innocent." Hannah wasn't sure why she was telling this to a stranger, but her emotions had been bottled up for weeks and she needed a release valve. She just hoped she wasn't making a mistake saying something to the keeper of the door. "Is Temperance here? Do you know where she is?"

Opening the door wider, Aubrey motioned for her to enter the house. "Keep your voice down, the Booth munchkin is taking a nap."

Once in the house, Hannah looked around and found the architecture to be interesting in an old fashioned kind of way. "May I ask who you are?"

"You can ask." Aubrey closed the door and faced the reporter. "I'm Special Agent James Aubrey, Booth's partner . . . well, almost partner."

Confused, Hannah shook her head. "Partner? I . . . were you his partner before he was put in prison? I thought Temperance was his partner."

"I'm kinda his copartner along with Dr. Brennan. I started working with him after he was released from prison. I helped him find out why he'd been set up for crimes he didn't commit and by who." Aubrey pointed at the kitchen. "Want a beer or a Coke maybe some water? They always have something to drink in the refrigerator."

"Water would be fine." Hannah followed him into the kitchen. "So, Seeley isn't in prison anymore and he found out who set him up for murder and why? Goodness, when I left Donbass, I thought he was still in prison. I hadn't heard any news while I was in Ukraine that he was free. My boss sure didn't say anything . . . My sources let me down I guess . . . I wanted to come back and help prove he was innocent, but I guess this was a wasted trip . . . he didn't need my help after all." She took the bottle of water from Aubrey, opened it and drank some of the cold water. "I've been trying to get back to the states for weeks, but my boss wouldn't let me . . . I should have come anyway . . . I'm glad Seeley's out of prison. He didn't deserve that. He's one of the good guys. He always has been."

Not sure what he was supposed to say to the reporter, Aubrey leaned against the counter and opened the beer bottle he was holding. After he drank some, he placed the bottle on the counter. "Yeah, Dr. Sweets had me transferred to the Hoover to work with Booth when he got out of prison . . . That's where Booth and Dr. Brennan are, they're at Dr. Sweets' funeral."

Shocked, Hannah sat down on the chair near the kitchen table. "Funeral? Dr. Sweets is dead? How? Why?"

Uncertain how much to say, Aubrey decided caution was in order. "Well . . . He was murdered. His killer is dead so there won't be a trial." Studying Hannah for a moment, he found her to be very attentive. "I won't go into the why and how. If you need to know it's in the newspapers."

"You remind me of Seeley. He could be closed mouth about cases too." Hannah drank more of the water then placed the bottle on the table. "Will you tell me about what happened to Seeley?"

Slowly shaking his head, Aubrey remembered he was talking to a reporter. "Like I said, it's in the newspapers . . . Reporters have got me into trouble in the past, so . . . I hope you understand."

Laughing, Hannah nodded her head. "To tell you the truth, reporters have got me into trouble too." Looking at her watch, Hannah felt her time would be better spent arranging for a flight back to Ukraine. Her visit over, she stood up. "Thank you for talking to me. I appreciate it. I don't think Seeley and Temperance need to see me. I'm just a reminder of awkward times . . . still, it would have been nice to see Seeley one more time . . . old friends . . . well, I guess the past is the past." Leaving the house, Hannah felt a sense of relief. Her ex-lover was safe and that was all that mattered to her. She didn't need to see him as long as she knew he was alright.

Ooooooooooooo

Entering the house behind Brennan, Booth still felt like a stranger even though this was his home. He missed the old house, The Mighty Hut but Brennan was having it repaired and wanted to sell it. Since there was no peace in the old house anymore, he knew she was right. He would never feel comfortable in that house again. It was the past and he had to move on.

While Brennan walked down the hallway to their bedroom to change clothes, Booth walked into the living room where Aubrey and his daughter were watching cartoons. "Hey, we're back." Smiling at his daughter, he held up a paper bag. "I brought you a donut."

Excited, Christine ran to where her father was standing and took the bag. "Thank you, Daddy." Hugging his leg, she smiled up at her father, released him and ran back over to the couch and sat down. Looking inside she found two donuts. "I have two donuts. Do you want one, Uncle Aubrey?"

Never one to turn down food, Aubrey held out his hand. "You bet I do." Once he had the donut, he stood up and walked over to where Booth was standing. "Hey, how'd the funeral go?"

"It wasn't much of a funeral." Booth sighed. "We scattered his ashes which is what he wanted . . . It was fine. It's a nice place to rest."

"Yeah, that's good." After taking a bite of the donut, chewing it and swallowing it, the agent looked at Booth for a moment before giving him the news. "Okay, you had a visitor while you were gone . . . Hannah Burley came by. She thought you were still in prison and she wanted to help get you out. She's been overseas so she's behind on the news."

Shocked, Booth stared at Aubrey in amazement. "Hannah . . . Hannah wanted to help me?"

"Yeah, she was in Donbass and she's been trying to come back here for weeks, but I guess her boss was an ass and wouldn't let her . . . Anyway, I told her you were out of prison and out of trouble and she was glad. She was sure you didn't do what the papers said you did . . . She said you're one of the good guys. It's nice to have old friends that believe in you."

"It is." Booth had never thought he'd hear from Hannah again and though she was late, she had wanted to help him. Wonders never ceased. "Do you know where she's staying?"

Slowly shaking his head, Aubrey finished his donut before answering. "She didn't say. She said you didn't need to see her because it would be awkward or something like that. I guess she's going back to Ukraine since it's a hot situation over there."

"Yeah, she always wanted to be in the middle of whatever hot story was happening." Patting the other agent's arm. Booth smiled. "Hey, thanks for looking after Christine. I appreciate it."

"Not a problem." Aubrey grabbed his phone from the coffee table. "It's good practice. Someday, I'm going to have a kid . . . I'm sorry about Sweets, Booth. He didn't deserve what happened to him."

Feeling sad about the loss of his friend, Booth knew that he was going to miss Sweets. "He was a pain in the ass most of the time, but he was my friend too . . . We were his family and at least he had that."

"Yeah, it sucks not to have any family." With that, the agent left the house and walked over to his car. He might not have a family either, but it was possible, he might have found a new one and that made him hopeful that he'd be missed by someone when he left this world, whenever that happened. "God, stop being such a downer. Life is good, James Aubrey. Life is very good . . . well, most of the time."

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