The drive back to the Jeffersonian was silent, both lost in their own thoughts. As a woman entered the crosswalk in front of them, forcing Booth to come to a stop, he took the opportunity to look over at her.

Somehow during their time apart, she'd grown more beautiful. Alluring without meaning to be, she was still everything he ever wanted.

Bones stared out the side window, but he could see her reflection in the glass. Lost in thought, he wasn't sure she realized he'd turned toward her. What was she thinking as she stared into the distance?

Was she thinking about the past? Booth knew he hadn't been fair to Hannah. Allowing her to follow him back to DC was a mistake. She'd used the lack of excitement in her new job as an excuse to leave but she saw the truth just as he did. The difference was, she'd been brave enough to end it before either of them wasted more time.

Now he was right back to where he started. In love with Bones and not sure of the path in front of them. He'd already been burned once. This time, he wouldn't let anyone push him into doing something he knew she wasn't ready for.

Except there was something there that hadn't been there before. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it lurked in the back of her eyes when she glanced at him. An emotion or desire he couldn't name and that she was fighting to hide.

It should have scared him, what she kept hidden away. But it didn't feel like anything he should fear.

The honking from a car behind him forced his eyes back to the road. The desire to just sit and stare at her was as strong as any urge he'd ever had. To see what he'd missed during their time apart.

It was matched only by his desire to talk to her. About Maluku and the last few months of her life. What had she been doing during the days they didn't speak? How many days had she worked too late, forgetting to eat. Were her nights similar to his? Haunted by regrets and wishing he could go back in time and change everything that came between them.

He could have asked her any of those questions at lunch. But another opportunity had come and gone. Sooner or later, he wasn't going to get another one.

When he pulled into the parking garage and shifted the vehicle into park, she jumped. Had she traveled as far as he had during the short trip back?

Brennan never looked in his direction, but his presence was impossible to escape. This was what she'd been hoping for over the last several months. A chance to make things right between them. Now that the moment had finally arrived, both of them were avoiding what they really wanted to say.

Their conversation had been almost as painful as not talking at all.

He'd been kind during lunch. Asking questions about her plans and listening to her outline for the presentation in Scotland. If they were going to grow close again, the two of them had to accept they were no longer the same people. Even after claiming she couldn't change, she couldn't deny time had done exactly that.

They couldn't forget the past, but maybe it was time to move past it.

Thoughts jumbled, she moved to leave.

"Wait," he said, holding out his hand as she reached for the door. When she paused and turned to him, Booth realized he shouldn't have acted so impulsively. Now he was going to have to say something.

Honesty. Bones valued honesty. This chance wasn't over. Time to talk.

"What you said, back on the sidewalk, about me being annoyed with everything you said?" He waited until she nodded. Knowing she'd remember, but wanting the confirmation she was listening. "It wasn't just you. Not that it's an excuse. I have no excuses. But I was that way with everyone. No one said anything to me that made me happy." He chuckled darkly. "There are several agents that still avoid me when they see me in the breakroom."

He needed her to understand. His goal hadn't been to be cruel to anyone in his vicinity, least of all her. In order to protect his own heart, he'd pushed her further and further away.

"Why?" she asked, her voice soft. Booth noticed one hand remained on the handle to the door, ready to escape his presence. Though she remained in the car, which he took as a good sign.

"Good question," he responded with a sigh. But he owed her an answer. "My heart was as confused as my head. I made some mistakes. And instead of fixing it, I took my confusion out on everyone I knew. Including you," he admitted, looking directly into the blue eyes he loved. "I don't know how to fix this, Bones. I just know I want to."

When the stare became uncomfortable, hinting at an intimacy they no longer had, Brennan shifted her eyes down to her lap. "You aren't the only one to blame, Booth. I could have sent you an email. Called you. Not just now. During the entire time we were apart." It was one of her greatest regrets during her time in Maluku. It would have alleviated the loneliness for both of them.

She was close enough to touch, and he took a chance, brushing his fingers across the back of her hand. "We can't change our past, Bones. I want to change our future." It was as close to admitting his feelings as he dared to go. "If you feel the same. Can I take you to lunch again tomorrow?" He wasn't going to let distance fall between them again.

Fathomless blue eyes blinked at him before she nodded, finally opening the passenger door.

"Have a good afternoon, Bones," he called out.

Feeling like they'd missed an opportunity, a chance to change their path to something beyond awkward lunches, she offered a distracted reply. Then began a slow walk back toward her office.

Putting the vehicle back in drive, he waited with his foot on the brake while she approached the elevator that would take her to the main part of the building.

If someone had asked him if things were better or worse between them, he wouldn't have been able to give a clear answer. He had no idea. Better, he thought, since she had agreed to lunch again tomorrow.

After the doors opened to let her in, she turned and met his eyes. Even across the distance, he could see there was something there. That emotion he hadn't been able to identify. Reaching out her hand, she stopped the doors from closing and stepped back out of the elevator.

"Shit," Booth muttered, along with several other expletives as she crossed the parking garage back toward him. One lunch and two rides in his vehicle and she'd already made some sort of decision about the two of them. Changed her mind and was going to cancel their plans.

Booth braced himself and tried to prepare. She wasn't one to just jump to conclusions, so this had to be something she'd spent some time thinking about. Sure she was about to end their partnership permanently, his brain was already preparing arguments to attempt to change her mind. None of which sounded very convincing.

The noise of the passenger door opening echoed through the silence of the parking garage. No one was around to hear his heart break if she said what he feared.

"I want to apologize," she said, leaning through the door but not climbing back in. "For jumping to conclusions about what you said to me during our lunch today. Though, based on previous evidence, what I did wasn't necessarily incorrect."

Booth stared at her. Had she really just offered him an apology? She never apologized. "There is nothing to apologize for," he argued. "Don't apologize. Please don't. You didn't do anything wrong."

She'd thought about the two of them all the way to the elevator. For months, she'd been hoping for some sort of breakthrough. If it had any hope of being successful, they had to put the past year behind them.

He'd pulled back from her. She'd done the same with her trip to Maluku.

If anyone understood building walls to keep a heart safe, it was her. She could see a little bit of herself in Booth's actions. Pushing people away because it was painful to do anything else.

Watching her, Booth tried to read her emotions. It was the season of miracles but this was too good to be true. She was going to push them past this by doing the one thing he'd been telling himself to do. Talk and be honest.

He'd have a long talk with Angela the next time they spoke about how useless vague warnings were. These weren't small changes.

Realizing she was waiting for him to say something, he searched for words. "I'm the one that should be apologizing to you, Bones. For the way I treated you. For not picking up a phone. For not being honest with you or myself about what was going on."

She nodded, accepting his words. "In the future, if you need space, I need you to tell me."

She saw them together in the future? "I don't want it now. I don't need space from you, Bones. Our time apart hurts me." He shook his head, not quite sure what happened in the time it took her to walk to the elevator and back.

"Me as well," she admitted softly. "I would like for it to end. Not talking, I mean."

His brown eyes were bright and he was afraid to blink, sure this was only a fantasy. A spell that would break if he even took a breath. "Are you sure, Bones?" His voice faded until it was barely more than a whisper. "You don't have to do this. I am apologizing. For everything I said and all the things I should have said and didn't."

Eyes stubborn, she gave him a small nod. "I don't do anything unless I'm sure. And your apology is accepted." Eyes met and held as some of the pieces of who they were together fell back into place. "Would you like to walk me back up to my office?" she asked him.

He nodded and after she stepped back, Booth found a place to park the SUV and joined her in the parking garage.

"There's more we need to talk about," he said to her.

"I know," Brennan said. "We have time."

When the elevator doors opened, he guided her in with a hand carefully placed at the small of her back.

And she didn't pull away.