OK…on to the next chapter…thank you to those of you encouraging me to progress with this story!!

Chapter 2

Andrew Ryan considered himself a very patient man. In most respects, at least.

He'd been in law enforcement long enough to know that patience was key to putting together a case.

However, there were two cases that he knew of where patience flew right out the window: airports and Temperance Brennan.

When he'd first met Temperance he'd been 25 and she'd been 22. She'd come to Quebec to work in the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaries et de médicine légale (or the LSJML). He'd been a Sûreté du Quebec detective. He was more than comfortable admitting that he was what many referred to as a 'serial dater.' He'd had more women in a year than many men did in their lifetimes. That had stopped the minute he'd seen Temperance. She was confident, insanely brilliant, and the most complicated and infuriating woman he'd ever met. He was smitten.

He'd spent a great deal of time trying to convince her to go out with him. He must've asked her out every day for a month at one point. She'd refused every time, insisting on keeping things professional at all times.

Then came a night two years after they'd met. They'd been working the rape and murder of a young woman. They had managed to track down a suspect but when they'd gone to confront him Temperance had gotten snagged by the killer and held hostage. They finally were able to apprehend the suspect and he'd run inside the house to see her bound and gagged on the floor but otherwise unharmed. He'd almost cried in relief. He'd taken her home and, when she was saying goodnight, his restraint was lost.

He'd held her tight and told her how afraid he'd been. He expected her to push him away but she'd folded easily into his arms.

When he kissed her he expected her to punch him but she'd kissed him back in earnest.

They were together after that night for 3 years. Then the letter came.

He'd served in the Land Force Command before becoming a detective in Quebec. Apparently, the government was calling on his services once more and they were unable to tell him how long he would be gone for.

A few weeks later her letter came. She was being invited to work in mass graves in Guatemala. They'd taken it as a sign. He hadn't wanted the relationship to end but she'd preferred a clean break. Especially when she told him that after Guatemala she was going to Washington D.C. to work at The Jeffersonian Institute.

So they'd said goodbye. And he'd thought of her everyday since. As soon as he was told he was returning stateside, he'd booked a flight into D.C. They hadn't spoken since she'd brought him to the airport 3 years earlier so he was looking forward to her reaction.

When he'd arrived at the lab she was now calling home he'd spotted her immediately. He was momentarily paralyzed. She was even more beautiful than he'd remembered. And if she was confident when he'd known her, the woman before him clearly unstoppable.

He was content to stare for awhile but someone walked into him.

He spun and caught the woman, keeping her from falling.

"Oh, pardon me."

The woman was pretty, a nationality he couldn't place. Chinese, maybe? But something else as well. She smiled at him.

"No, it's my fault. Shouldn't read and walk at the same time."

"You wouldn't have walked into me if I hadn't been standing here gaping like a fish."

"This is true."

He smiled and turned back to the woman who'd occupied his thoughts for the last three years. She was talking to two men as she moved around the raised platform in the center of the room. One with curly hair who was looking intently at something through a microscope and another with short, dark hair that was following her every move like a puppy.

"Do you, uh, know Bren?"

He didn't look away from Temperance as he answered the other woman.

"You could say that."

The next few seconds made him reconsider his presence there. Another man entered the scene. He wore a suit and a smile. He was up on the platform in a few steps and called out to the woman on the platform.

"Hey, Bones! What've you got for me?"

Bones? Did he think that was amusing? Apparently Temperance did because he saw a smile touch the corner of her mouth when she turned her head to look at him. Who was this guy? He watched the man walk over to her and stand behind her as she spoke. Their backs were to him.

"So…who are you exactly? And how do you know Bren?"

His eyes were fixed on the man and woman in front of him. As he answered the other woman his gaze remained intent on the pair.

"I'm an old friend of Tempe's."

"Do you…want me to let her know you're here?"

He smiled inwardly.

"No, thanks. Give her a few minutes and she'll realize I'm here. It usually never took her more than a few seconds…but considering I haven't seen her in awhile I'll give her a little more time."

"Umm…alright."

She walked away to join the rest of the lab's occupants. The woman said good morning to Temperance and the man. She called him 'Booth.' Temperance didn't look up from the file she was looking at.

"Hi, Ange. You see, Booth? The index fingers are missing on all of them, as well as their hearts. This is clearly a serial."

"Trust me, Bones. I believe you. It's just that the FBI is gonna want some more proof."

"How much more do they need!? You've got five bodies all missing both index fingers along with their hearts. What else do-"

He smiled when she cut off. She could feel it…

"Bones? What's wrong?"

"Nothing…I…feel like…"

He watched her head turn to one side then the other before settling on him.

He smiled wider at her and her eyes grew wide as her jaw dropped. She went completely still for a few seconds before she started running. She jumped off the platform and sprinted the remaining distance between them. He stepped away from the wall he'd been leaning on and she threw herself into his open arms. He hugged her and lifted her up and spun her around. Once he'd put her feet on the ground once more she leaned back and put her hand on his face, her eyes searching every inch of it. She was smiling again and her eyes filled with tears (of happiness he hoped).

Then she spoke one word that sent his heart soaring like nothing else had since the last time he'd held her.

"Ryan."

"God, Tempe…I've missed you."

"I…I can't believe you're here."

"Me neither."

"What are you doing here? How did you get here? How long are you staying?"

He laughed at her speed. He glanced over her shoulder and saw that they had an audience. The short-haired man was watching them curiously. The curly-haired man and the woman he'd spoken to were watching with intense interest, a small smile on the woman's face. The last man was by far the most interesting. He looked curious, but he saw something dark fill the man's eyes.

"Uhh..Tempe? Can we go somewhere and talk? Alone, maybe?"

She turned and saw what he was looking at.

"Oh…of course…right. My office is this way. Zach, finish cleaning the bones. Hodgins, look for particulates. Ange, if you could start on the skull. Booth…I'll…be with you in a bit."

She pulled him by the hand towards what he assumed was her office. He caught one more glimpse of Booth before she shut the door and he would swear that he saw the man's jaw tighten.

She spun around and launched herself at him once more. He caught her with ease and held her for a long minute.

"I still can't believe this."

"I know…I missed you so much."

She leaned back once more and smiled at him.

"I missed you too."

"And to answer your questions: I'm here because I wanted to see you, I got here by plane and then cab, and I'm staying for as long as you'll let me."

He saw something flash across her face and then she backed out of his arms. He missed her all over again.

"Umm…I…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…I…"

"Are you…seeing someone? That Booth guy, possibly?"

"What?! No! He's…we're partners."

"We were partners once, Tempe."

"That was different."

"Well, if you're not seeing someone…then what's wrong?"

"I…things have changed. I've…changed."

"In three years? How much could've changed in three years?"

"You have no idea…"

A/N: I'm writing this under the assumption that she never shared her past with him…or at least not to the extent that she has with Booth…Andrew Ryan is the character from Kathy Reichs books but I did have to change certain things…Tempe doesn't have a daughter, was never married, and they met when they were younger than they were in the books…several aspects of Andrew Ryan's character are different as well. I 'm going to keep him in character as best as I can. Hope you're enjoying it!!