When I fall

Chapter 2

By Iana

"But oh if I look down now , will I fall
And what if the water's cold , when I fall"

Six months before

Booth stared at the titled floor in Bones' bathroom, both hands on his head. What had he done? How could he have slept with Bones when he knew Hannah was waiting for him at their apartment?

All he could plead was temporary insanity. Bones' declaration and tears made him temporarily crazy and he had made a terrible, terrible mistake. I got the signal, Booth. I don't wanna have any regrets. He sat on her toilet, naked and pondered what he was going to do next.

He had woken up tangled together with Bones in her bed, after mind-blowing sex and for a second, just a tiny second, with her hair tickling his face and her soft body molded to his, his heart had rejoiced and he felt complete. Then his mind caught up and he got the proverbial bucket of cold water in the face; hence why he was now locked in Bones' bathroom while she slept.

Booth took another fifteen minutes to gather the courage to go outside and face the music. Since Bones was still asleep, he quickly gathered his clothes, dressed and left the bedroom. On his way to the door, he paused near her phone to write a note. Since words wouldn't come, he simply scribbled: "I'm sorry…" and left without a backwards glance.

He got home in the middle of the night, rumpled and smelling of another woman's perfume. There was no way in hell Hannah wouldn't figure things out. But to his surprise, she was sleeping soundly when he arrived. The only problem was that Booth was too nice and too straight. Consumed by guilt, he sat next to her on the bed and shook her awake. Crying, he confessed everything.

"Do you love her?" Hannah asked with an unreadable expression.

"Yes. But I love you." He replied with a shameful expression.

"Seeley, do you want to be with me?"

"Yes, of course I do!"

"Then you'll have to make a choice. I won't be the other woman. And I won't keep worrying about having you fight your feelings every time you leave in the morning to go to work." She brushed the tears from her cheeks with a resolute expression. The one that only came from a woman protecting what she felt was hers.

"What do you mean?"

"If you want to be with me, you need to end your partnership with Dr. Brennan."

Booth's heart dropped to his feet. On one side, he had the woman he loved and who actually loved him and who could give him his 5o years. On the other side, he had the woman he had loved for seven years but that he had no idea if would be able to give him 50 years without alienating both of them.

"Ok, I'll do it."

Present day

Angela seethed and fumed all the way towards the FBI building. Next to her, Jack was bouncing on his seat like a kid. They had no idea what had really happened between Booth and Brennan. All they knew is that Booth had ended his partnership with Bones suddenly and she'd had been devastated.

Jack was ashamed to admit that as the months passed, with the baby on it's way and trying to keep Angela healthy and happy, they haven't actually been paying that much attention to Dr. Brennan.

She hardly ever came over to lunch or just to talk these days.

He was pondering if they really were any better than Booth as he parked the car. Angela wobbled-stomped her way towards Seeley's office and didn't even knock, just shoved the door opened, looking like a pregnant warrior. God, he loved that woman!

Smirking, Jack stood slightly behind, just watching the show.

"Hello, Booth."

Angela said as a greeting then closed the door behind her.

Author's notes:

Thank you all for the AMAZING reviews. I loved every single one of them, you guys are great!

I know this Booth/Hannah situation reminds of the Ross/Emily situation for those of you who are familiar with Friends. I just borrowed the idea for awhile. =)

I love Booth. I really do. But I thought and still think he was incredibly selfish and careless regarding Bones feelings because after 7 years he should have known her a bit better, no? C'mon, it wasn't even a whole year! If he waited the whole damn year, she'd come to her senses, but noooooooo…. Not a consolation prize, my behind. So that's why I tend to make his life miserable for the next chapters. =D

I hope this chapter clarifies some of the timeline doubts.