Thanks to those that reviewed and thanks to those that just lurked in the background, at least you read the first chapter. I hope it is interesting enough to keep holding readers attention even with the new season out.

Angela barged into Booth's office without knocking. He furrowed his brow as he watched her sit down in one of the chairs across from him.

"How could you?"

"How could I what?"

"Don't play dumb with me Booth."

"Huh?"

"Are you really considering taking a promotion in Baltimore?" Her voice went up an octave

Booth sighed and dropped his shoulders as he lowered his head. "Yeah I am." his voice soft and guilty

Angela's voice shot up an octave "Why? Why would you do that to Brennan?"

"Do what to Bones; I'm not doing anything to Bones."

"She loves you."

Booth sat back in his chair like a deflating balloon that hit the wall to stop its momentum. "I thought she did or. I hoped she did."

"Thought, you …"

"Whoa, when I told her, she told me I should take it; she never said anything about …"

"Of course she didn't, she is supporting you, you idiot. She will sacrifice herself, her happiness if she thinks you will be happy, she has done it more than once, and the most recent was when you came home with Hannah."

Booth sat there staring down into his lap. "Booth, she didn't show up to work yesterday or today."

Booth raised his concerned eyes to Angela "What?"

"I went to check on her… Booth she was still in bed. She was still in the clothes I am guessing she was wearing yesterday and she had been crying hard."

"Wha – What? Bones crying, that isn't like her."

"Are you sure? She isn't the same Booth, something has happened to her in the last year. I think she learned to love."

Booth fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair. "Not Bones … I mean she has the huge heart and she can love …"

"I think she figured out what we all know, you two belong together. You leaving will cause her to slide backwards… unless of course, you don't love her. In that case this whole conversation is a waste."

"I do …" his voice barely audible but Angela noticed something in his eyes "I love her" he breathed out "But she wasn't strong enough and now… and now I think it is too late."

"It isn't"

"If she rejects me… I don't think I could take it again."

"She won't not if you don't give her a choice."

"But she could and Ange. This way if I live part way in between, we can still hang out and she will be safe and …"

"And she could run for another remote jungle dig." Angela reached across the desk and put her hand on Booths, "She loves you, she is scared too. You both have abandonment issues and in her mind you switching jobs is abandoning her. If you don't do something now while she is vulnerable you will never have another chance. Once she heals from this she will never let you or anyone else back in."

Booth stood up and looked out the window. "I'll call her and maybe we can have some dinner."

"Don't wait to long, NCIS called for her expertise today, so you know what that means?"

Booth turned and looked at Angela, "She will bury herself in her work and compartmentalize everything, including me."

"Yeah, so the sooner the better" Angela stood up and headed for his door.

"Thanks Ange."

She smiled at him, "welcome G-Man." She quietly slipped out of his office door while he continued to stare out the window thinking of what he was going to say and how to say it.

Brennan stepped off the elevator and following the receptionist instructions she turned to her right, all the while scanning the room ahead of her steps looking for her destination. As she was approaching the set of desks where she was to turn left, her way suddenly was blocked by a male figure. Brennan looked at his chest and raised her eyes to look at his face.

"Hi Agent DiNozzo, Tony DiNozzo, and you are?"

"Not interested." Ziva hunched over her desk struggling to contain the laughter that wanted to erupt from her body.

"Wow, just chop a guy right off at the knees."

"I don't know what that means." Brennan looked around the cubicle of desks and the back at Tony "I've been told I don't understand pop culture references well."

"Ziva your soul mate" Ziva glared at Tony.

McGee had been watching the exchange and stepped in to save Tony from possible physical injury. "Dr. Brennan, I presume, I am Agent McGee.

"Yes, Hello Agent McGee."

"I can show you to autopsy where Dr. Mallard awaits your arrival and I will have Agent Gibbs join you when he returns."

"Thank you Agent McGee." Brennan followed him towards the back of the room to a different set of elevators.

Tony continued to stare after her. Ziva got up and popped him on the back of the head. "Snap out of it, she is above of your league."

Tony puckered his lips "No Ziva, she is out of my league."

"She is that too, glad to see you agree."

"Wait, I … you." Ziva smiled as picked up a pile of folders on her desk and headed upstairs."

Booth picked up his phone and as he sat down in his chair a picture of he and Bones that was taken for the paper came into his line of sight. It was a simple picture of them sitting on cement stairs facing each other and smiling.

"Concrete Booth, cement is an ingredient in concrete." He could hear her voice in his head.

"Why do you always correct me?" he had asked her once

"To help you evolve." She simply answered

Pursing his lips together he turned his attention back to his phone and pushed the familiar button. He looked out the window as he waiting for her to answer. On the third ring it went to voice mail. "This is Dr. Temperance Brennan, I am unable to answer your call, leave a message at the beep." Booth glanced down at he listened to the message and waiting for the beep. "Hey ya Bones, give me a call back when you get this. Was thinking we could have dinner together … and talk… So umm… yeah call me back."

"I found my inner peace Bones" He mumbled to empty air "I hope you have lost your imperviousness, 'cause I don't think I can lose you again." He hadn't realized he hadn't ended the call when he slipped the phone into his pocket.

Brennan felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she removed it looked at the name and silenced it as she stepped onto the elevator behind McGee. She knew she needed to face him, but not just yet, not today, and maybe not tomorrow. She slid her phone back into her pocket and fixed her eyes straight ahead as her and McGee rode in silence to autopsy.

"Dr. Mallard" McGee called as him and Brennan entered autopsy.

"Yes, yes, right here. Oh Dr. Brennan" Ducky crossed towards the pair with his hand extended. "It is such an honor to meet you, I have heard so much about you. I am Dr. Mallard, but everyone just calls me Ducky."

"Nice to meet you Dr. Mallard" Brennan glanced past Ducky towards the table. "Where are the remains, I would like to get started."

Ducky furrowed his brow slightly and nodded "This … This way Dr. Brennan"

"Dr. Brennan it was nice to meet you, if you need anything else don't hesitate to contact me."

"Thank you." She crossed the room to the skeletal remains on a table "Dr. Mallard I would like to see your report." Her eyes had already started her intense surveying of the skull in front of her.

Ducky watched her in complete fascination; he had never seen anyone examine bones as thoroughly as she did. She sat so still, so silent, all the while picking up each bone, her eyes running over ever millimeter of it, the only time it seemed her concentration was broken was when she was cross referencing something she saw with Ducky's paperwork. The silence as she worked covered autopsy like a shroud.

The doors sliding open broke the silence like a hot knife slicing through butter. Ducky jumped at the sound "Jethro you scared the daylights out of me", he committed as Gibbs approached him.

Gibbs creased his brow in confusion "What?"

Ducky's voice was almost a whisper "It has been so quiet since Dr. Brennan began working any sound seems magnified, especially those doors."

Brennan had heard the doors open too and had rounded the table and came up in front of both men just as Ducky's finished speaking. She held out her hand "Agent Gibbs I presume."

"You presume correct, sorry I was not able to meet you when you arrived. How is your examination going?"

"Slowly, I'd like to take the remains and any evidence back to the Jeffersonian to have my team go over it."

"That was not part of the deal Dr. Brennan."

"I was asked to come and assist in finding a cause of death. Not at anytime do I remember a deal being made stating where I could or could not examine the remains. The Jeffersonian has much better equipment and my team is the best." She glanced at Dr. Mallard realizing this is one of those times Booth would probably poke her for being insensitive. "Not to say that your team or equipment isn't adequate, however, my team is the best and has the equipment to do what you can not." Her eyes darted around some as she wished Booth was there, he would know how to take care of her blurting, as he called it.

Gibbs stared at her waiting for this woman to crumble a little under the weight of that stare and rather than crumble she straightened a little and returned his stare with one of determination. Gibbs smiled inwardly; maybe everything he had heard about her was correct.

"I want my team there" he continued to stare at her "Chain of evidence you understand."

"I am very trustworthy and I have a very high security clearance with the FBI."

"We are not the FBI Dr. Brennan, we are NCIS and your FBI clearance really doesn't hold much weight around here."

She pulled her lips into a tight line "Fine, your team can come to the Jeffersonian, but they will be assigned to one of my team and they will do as they are told." The silence in the room was so loud Gibbs could hear the roaring in his ears. It was Brennan that broke that silence, she pulled off her gloves, turned and grabbed her bag, then turned to face Gibbs again "Remember you are the one that called me for my expertise, if those terms are not acceptable then …" she shrugged her shoulders and stepped around Gibbs.

Ducky leaned towards Jethro and whispered "Stop her, we need her help on this one."

Gibbs looked at Ducky annoyed "Dr. Brennan" her name came out little more harshly than he had anticipated. Still staring at Ducky he continued "Fine, you will call the shots. My team will be at the Jeffersonian in the morning with all the evidence."

"Very well, I will need a list of names so I can have passes ready upon their arrival."

Gibbs turned to face her. "If you will come with me I will get you those names." He walked passed her and out of autopsy."

"Dr. Mallard, I will see you tomorrow."

"I look forward to it Dr. Brennan." She turned and exited autopsy.

After Gibbs obtained a list of his team, which consisted only of Ducky and Abby, he walked Brennan to her vehicle. "Dr. Brennan, I want to apologize for back there."

"I am not sure what you mean ..." Again she pulled herself in hearing Booth's voice in her head telling her to let it go and she saw a look; something she had seen in Booth before, apologizing was hard for him. "But thank you"

He opened the door to her car for her; she stopped with the door between them. "I really am the best; you made the right choice in sending the evidence to us."

"I hope so Dr. Brennan, I hope so." She slid into the drivers' seat and he closed the door behind her. She gave him a small wave as she pulled out.

All eyes were on him when he came back in. "Well don't you people have work to do?" They all lowered their heads and stared at the computer screens pretending to be busy.
"McGee"

"Yes Sir"

"Help Abby get all the evidence and the reports for this case packed up and ready to go to the Jeffersonian tomorrow morning."

McGee looked at Tony and Ziva with an uncertain look. "Are we turning the case over to them."

Gibbs raised his eyes to McGee. "No" Gibbs held his gaze for a few more seconds. "Now go" he barked. McGee jumped out of his chair and headed for Abby's office. "Oh McGee"

"Yes Sir"

"Abby is part of what is going to The Jeffersonian. So tell her to take anything she will need for a few days."

"Yes Sir." Ziva and Tony exchanged looks but turned their eyes back to their computer screens before Gibbs caught them.

Brennan was sitting in the underground parking structure of the Jeffersonian when she pulled out her cell phone to listen to Booth's message. As she listened sadness washed over her. She pushed his speed dial button and waited.

"Booth"

"Hi"

"Bones"

"I'm sorry; I can't have dinner tonight I will be working late."

"Bones, you gotta eat."

"I have a sandwich." She lied

"The bones aren't going anywhere. They will be there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow NCIS will be here with evidence, so I need to finish up some. other. things. this evening to make room for them."

"O-Okay, maybe tomorrow then?"

"I expect to be rather busy tomorrow."

"Bones we need to talk."

"I need to go Booth."

"Bones wait"

She didn't answer, but she didn't hang up either.

"Talk to you tomorrow, Okay?" Booth stated with conviction.

Her eyes darted around she knew that tone, the tone that he would not take no for an answer. Quietly she answered him "Okay"

She ended the call and closed her eyes. She laid her head back against her seat as she concentrated on controlling her breathing and the almost uncontrollable urge to cry. Once her emotions were in check she headed to the elevator and up to her office, her haven away from home, she would eventually be able to put Booth back in his box, but not today and maybe not tomorrow.