So sorry it took me so long. That's all I can say.

This chapter is kind of short but when I wrote it I knew exactly what spot I wanted to stop at so I kind of had to just stop. Also, a lot of this chapter is dialogue, so apologies to those who don't like it much.

Enjoy!

(This is where the line break should be)

Assuming Hannah had gone back to bed after being on the phone with him, Booth tried to enter his apartment as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake her if she'd only just gotten to sleep. Pressing the door shut slowly, Booth went through his usual 'coming home' routine; dropping his keys in the bowl on the side table in the hall, kicking his shoes off in the lounge. Turning on the light as he made his way through the lunge and to his their room, Booth almost jumped out of his skin when he noticed Hannah sitting wide awake on the couch.

"Hannah! You scared the crap out of me, just sitting there quietly," Booth gasped in shock. "What are you still doing up?"

"Waiting for you," she replied curtly.

It was at those three words that Booth realised something was up. Usually when she waited up for him, he was greeted with a hug and a kiss, and more often than not, a little bit more. Tonight, she just sat there, a look on her face he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it meant.

"You didn't have to," Booth said shrugging off his jacket and hanging it off the back of a chair.

"I did, actually. I need to talk to you, Seeley."

As she stood up to face him, Booth sat down on the opposite end of the couch to where she'd been sitting.

"Talk? About what?" Booth asked.

"Don't bullshit me, Seeley. I know for a fact that when I called you, you were not at work. And don't bother denying it, just listen to me. Who is she?"

"Who's who? Hannah, what are you talking about? Are you okay?"

"No, I am not okay! Who's the woman you've been sneaking around with? Oh, don't look at me like that! I'm not an idiot. I know how long it takes you to get from work to here. If you were at work, how on earth did you get home in half the time it takes? Explain that," she challenged, accidentally knocking the TV remote off the table and turning it on.

"Breaking news! An earthquake had shocked the East side of D.C., just minutes ago. Already the damage is substantial. Entire streets are split apart, homes are caved in. It's suspected that an earthquake with an initial shock this large, aftershocks of the same and possibly even more magnitude are expected to hit in the coming hours. We have footage here, captured by a reporter who happened to be passing, of half an apartment building collapsing..."

Turning to look at the screen, Booth sunk off the couch onto his knees, his entire body frozen with fear. His heart felt as though it was stuck in his throat, restricting his breath.

"What's up with you?" Hannah asked.

After a mumbled reply from Booth that she didn't understand, she asked, annoyed, "what?"

"Bones. I said Bones," Booth said a little louder.

Confusion flooded Hannah's mind. Booth jumping from topic to topic, dodging the answers she wanted to hear.

"Temperance? What ahs she got to do with anything?"

"You asked who she was. I'm giving you the answer. Bones. Temperance. That's who I was with tonight. And I'm sorry for doing this to you and causing you this pain, but right now, I really have to go-"

"No! You can't just leave without giving me a decent explanation. Why didn't you just tell me you were with Temperance?"

"I couldn't just go and tell you that straight out over the phone. You asked me who I was with, and I am telling you honestly now, that I was with Bones. But I swear, I swear to God, we never snuck around. It was once."

"W-wait, what? When you say you were with Temperance, you mean you slept with her?" Hannah yelled.

Running his hand through his hair, he looked up at her and said, "I am so sorry, I truly am. I'm not a cheater, I never have been. I swear, when I came come just now, I was coming home to tell you everything, and I promise I will explain everything to you later, but right now I have to go."

Reaching out and grabbing his arm, Hannah tried to stop him. "Don't you dare leaver now, Seeley Booth. You don't come home in the middle of the night and admit to your girlfriend that not 24 hours ago you cheated on her and then run off! I thought you were a better man than that?"

"Hannah, just listen to me for a moment. It's always been Bones and I know you don't want to hear a word of this but I need to tell you now. She's it for me. And when I left her house, I promised her that I would come back. She didn't believe that I would. And I need to go back. I need to go back because the last conversation we had, was us arguing. I need to go back right now because, you saw that clip of the apartments on TV, right? Bones lives in that apartment block. So I need to go and find her, because she could be dead for all I know, and I didn't tell her that I loved her."

(This is where the line break should be)

Please review and let me know what you thought.

Em xXxXxxx