A/N: Song "Needs" by Collective Soul

All around me I see what weakness has made
Too much tomorrow I think I'll take all today
Am I a poison, Am I a thorn in the side
Am I a picture, perfect subject tonight

I don't need nobody
I don't need the weight of words to find a way
To crash on through
I don't need nobody
I just need to learn the depth
Or doubt of faith to fall into

You're all I need
When the water runs deep
You're all I need
Now I cry my soul to sleep
You're all I need

Chapter 6

It had been one month since Booth had moved out.

He had left her alone. He had reached for the phone countless times, wanting to hear her voice, but he never gave in.

He hated the single life. He hated the solitude.

He wasn't meant to live alone. He hadn't known that until Brennan came along. Honestly, he never thought he would marry her, though he knew he loved her from the moment he saw her. When he proposed, he was surprised that she said 'yes.' But she did, and he got used to going to bed with her each night and waking up by her side every morning. He was blessed to be sharing a home with her, a family.

Now it was all lost.

He felt like the old Booth - never leaving work, spending nights at the office. He was sick of take-out and room service. He hadn't found an apartment yet, hoping that she would change her mind. He knew that he couldn't stay in that crappy hotel forever, though.

He longed for home-cooked meals and a familiar bed. He longed for his sons. He got to see Cooper as much as she promised - every other night and on the weekends. It still wasn't enough.

He had only seen her twice in all the times he had been at the house. She made herself quite scarce. She would avoid him at all costs.

He had seen Sweets twice and that didn't help him feel any better, so he stopped going altogether.

Father Michael urged Booth to speak to a counselor again about the grieving process, but he was wary of sharing his grief with anyone. He tried, and where did it get him? His priest said it might help to get other perspectives. A new therapist might have a greater understanding of the way Brennan had decided to cope with the grief. Booth knew what grief did to you better than anyone. He knew how it could turn you inside out and upside down. But why did it have to be without him? Why did she believe that tearing them apart was the way?

X-X-X-X-X-X

One day, Booth stopped at the church to see Father Michael. He needed to talk to someone, and he always found it was easiest to talk to the priest. Father Michael was someone who had known him a long time and wasn't related to his work.

"Seeley, she loves you. I know that… and you know that too." Father Michael put a hand on Booth's shoulder. "Let her be for now… and let her heart find the way back to you," he tried to reassure Booth.

Booth shook his head. "I'm afraid she will get lost on the way…" Booth admitted his deepest fear – that she would never come back to him.

"It's in God's hands, my son." Father Michael said simply, as though it would make everything alright.

"I have been so close to losing everything before… with the Gravedigger, my brain tumor... every time we came through, together." The grief on his face was evident - for his daughter, and now his wife. "Now… I'm not so sure she will."

"Try to keep the faith Seeley. I know it's not easy, but you know the reasons you keep coming through as well as I do."

Booth had nothing left but faith.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Angela thought she had the power to control her feelings, but after watching Booth's anguish, she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't be stoic, she couldn't stay objective. What Brennan was doing wasn't fair to either of them. Angela didn't understand how Brennan could treat Booth so coldly after everything they had been through together. She knew she had to do everything in her power to help both of them.

She decided that if Booth couldn't fight, than it was up to her to step up. What were friends for, right? She would go to Brennan and state Booth's case for him.

Angela called ahead first; big mistake. Brennan was coolly polite and unwilling to meet.

She wasn't one to take no for an answer.

The quick determined knocks on Brennan's front door disguised any nervousness Angela was feeling. This was it.

"Angela?" Brennan's voice was irritated, as the artist barreled her through the door.

"I had to come. You and Booth… I had to come." Angela walked in further as Brennan stepped back and closed the door.

"Nothing you say will change anything," Brennan attempted to stop her useless pleas. She didn't invite her to sit down. She kept Angela in the foyer, hoping this wouldn't take long.

"How can you do this Bren? Don't you know how torn apart he is? He loved his little girl too. How can you just turn away from him, and take his son away too?" Angela took a deep breath. "And don't tell me you don't love him anymore, because I was there in the beginning, and I know you love him, and I know he loves you."

"Things change, Angela. There was never a guarantee that Booth and I would love each other forever." Brennan's attitude had changed so much ever since Elizabeth had died, not that anyone could blame her, but now she seemed like she didn't care about anything else anymore.

"Stop it. You love him, and you know it. This is just grief talking."

"Where does it say I have to stay with a man who makes me totally miserable?"

"Your husband has been through everything with you, and that's how you repay him?" Angela said a little too forcefully. She didn't want to fight with Brennan, but she knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"So, that's the reason I should stay with him? I don't think so."

"Was it Booth who did this to you Bren? Was it Booth who kidnapped you, or abandoned you when you were fifteen… no! And now you are abandoning him. You should know how that feels. And it certainly wasn't his fault that Liz died. That was a tragedy, but it was no one's fault. No one could ever have known that your little girl would be taken away from you, and he is just as devastated as you are. Whatever you are angry with him about, it can't be that you blame him for this."

"You have all the answers, don't you Angela?" Brennan was getting frustrated.

"No! I don't... but I know firsthand what this does to a kid." She decided to appeal to the mother in her friend. Brennan was such a natural, loving mother. Maybe if she worked from that approach, her friend would soften some. Angela's eye implored Brennan, "Don't make him suffer anymore. Let Booth be his Dad. Booth hardly sees Parker; you can't take Cooper away from him too."

"I have never said that Booth can't see him. I wouldn't do that to either of them." And she really wouldn't. She wanted Cooper to have Booth there for him at any time.

"I know you think you wouldn't Bren, but when there are hard feelings, things happen. What I want to say is that I hope you two work this out. You belong together. I know it. I have seen it since you first met. You went from best friends to being a couple, and it looked incredible to the outside world. I refuse to believe it's not strong enough to withstand this. You have to get through this together. The best thing for Cooper, for all of you, is for you to stay together."

Brennan was touched by how much people cared, but they didn't understand that she just couldn't do this now. "I appreciate that you care… but I really wish…" She stopped looking for the right words, "I have to handle this in my own way." Brennan stood up to show her out.

"Okay, okay." Angela put up both hands in defense. She wasn't about to leave just yet. This was not her best friend. She remembered countless intimate conversations with Brennan, who was in love with Booth, who was so devoted to him. This cold-hearted, walled-up version wasn't the Brennan she knew, at least not anymore. Angela couldn't let this happen to her best friend. She couldn't let it fall apart like this.

"Don't do this to yourself Bren," Angela insisted.

"I'm doing what I have to do for myself, Angela. I don't have the energy to waste on talking about this anymore. Now please accept my decision, and leave it alone." At least she was being polite and wasn't yelling.

"Don't ask me to accept this! Don't ask me to stay out of it! I care about you! We all care about you, Bren. Booth loves you. You should see him; he's so damn lost right now. Don't you even care? How can you not care? He's the father of your son. The son you profess to love so adoringly, yet you take his father away just when he needs him the most." Angela was angry now. She didn't understand this at all, and maybe it was coming from a wounded place in her own heart, but she knew there was a part of Brennan that was being unreasonably selfish, and someone needed to tell her.

"I'm doing what is right for me and my son. I need time...and space. Don't you understand that?" Brennan's voice was as hard as marble.

Angela could see she wasn't getting anywhere, and she might be making things worse. "He loves you Bren, that's what I understand."

"Well, I can't accept his love right now… and you can tell him that for me, and tell him to stop sending our friends to change my mind. It won't work."

"He doesn't know I'm here. He didn't ask me to come and talk to you. I came here because I wanted to help you." Angela knew this wasn't working. Her sadness was overwhelming.

"Good." There was a tingle of disappointment in learning that Booth didn't ask Angela to come. She couldn't be with him right now, but deep down she wanted him to fight for her.

"Is it, Bren?" Angela couldn't resist one last question as she was ushered towards the door. A surge of love for Brennan came over her. She felt like she was losing her best friend, and she had no idea what else to do to help her. "I brought something for you, and I hope you use it, because I think it might make you feel better." Angela handed her a bag full of panting supplies: canvas, brushes, and paints. "I know painting is not your thing, but ... I just thought that if you couldn't write or think about anything else... I don't know...maybe painting could help you heal slowly. Just think about it okay?" Angela put the painting supply bag on Brennan's couch.

"Alright, I will think about it." It was the least Brennan could do for Angela, who was trying so hard to be a good friend.

"I'm here if you need anything - you or Cooper." She gave her a quick, uncomfortably unreturned hug. The old Brennan would have hugged her back.

"Goodbye Angela." Brennan saw her out and leaned against the closed door. Tears started to fall; she missed her little girl so much.

A/N: Thanks, you guys have been amazing? Still with me? Another chapter in two days.