AN: Had to take a breath and decide if I need to change anything given last night's episode. I think the premise still holds.

Chapter 7: The Future Unfolds

Booth nodded to the security guard stationed outside, and then strode down the hall towards the closest waiting room. Still pondering the chaos that would be his future with Bones, he didn't pay much attention to where he was going and ran smack into Hannah without even seeing her.

"Sorry..." The word came out of his mouth automatically, before he registered who he'd bumped into. "Oh Hannah."

"Seeley, I was hoping to catch you. I wanted to see how Temperance is doing, and how you are too, of course. I am supposed to leave on a presidential trip tomorrow afternoon but -" She paused, presumably waiting for him to jump in and protest her leaving at a time like this.

"Good. You should go." He knew he was being abrupt, but he couldn't help it. Every time he looked at her, he remembered why he didn't take Bones' call and he had to look away. It wasn't her fault, he knew, but he could never let himself be distracted like that again.

"Yes, go on the trip," he continued. I won't have to worry because there will be so much security. Just keep the bodyguard assigned to you until you leave, please. Until we catch this guy..."

Hannah appeared to visibly deflate at his words and he felt sorry for that. He knew she could sense the cosmic shift in his emotions. She was quick, like Bones. In fact, her independence, her guts, her honesty - everything so much like Bones. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized that before.

"Seeley, I know that now is not a good time, but we need to talk, don't we? Though I really don't understand what is happening, you are clearly pulling away from me and I'd like to understand why, figure out what we can do to fix this." Hannah gripped his arm as she spoke, and it was all Booth could do not to flinch.

He'd thought he loved Hannah. He really did. Perhaps if Bones had never been in his life, he could have made it work. Hannah was everything he thought he wanted - beautiful, smart, independent, feisty. When Bones said she didn't want a relationship with him, Booth had tried to move on. He'd convinced himself that he had moved on. Perhaps he would never have woken up to reality if this terrible attack hadn't happened. Or, maybe he would have a year, five years, down the line, and realized that he'd made a terrible mistake.

Booth gazed directly at Hannah now, knowing that his eyes showed great sadness and regret. The future he'd seen just two days ago when he'd looked at her had now completely evaporated.

"Yes, we do need to talk. When you get back, maybe things will be more settled. I'll text you any developments..." His words ran down and he stood looking at Hannah, at a loss as to what to do next. He took an awkward step towards the waiting room doorway. "Well, I should get someone to go sit with Bones while I take a break. I think it's Max's turn-"

"Seeley Booth! I've been waiting for you to emerge!" A short platinum blond woman moved into the waiting room doorway, hands on her hips. Angela stood directly behind, a broad smile on her face.

Booth's eyes moved from Angela's face to Avalon's and back again, the first wave of hope he felt in two days rushing through him. Irrational he knew, but he couldn't resist the feeling. He had come to almost believe the psychic's predictions, so if she had something good to say...

"Ms. Harmonia, why are you here? Did you see something?"

Avalon smiled her enigmatic smile and stepped back so that Booth could enter the waiting room. "Come in, you look dead on your feet. Sit down and I'll tell you what I've seen." Taking in the confused expression on Hannah's face as the reporter tentatively followed, Avalon introduced herself. "I'm Avalon, a psychic who worked on a case with Seeley and Temperance a year or so ago. Ah, I see from your face that you feel the same way about this as Temperance does. A non-believer. You must be Seeley's new girlfriend; I saw that in the cards too."

"Yes, Hannah Burley," Hannah replied thrusting out her hand for Avalon to shake. Skepticism warred with interest on her features.

"Let's all sit down, why don't we?" Avalon took a seat and motioned for everyone else to do the same.

Booth started to sit and then straightened up, turning to Max, who sat with Russ near the back window. "Max, they are changing her bandages, but can you go down there so you are ready to go in the minute the nurses leave? I don't like for her to be left alone. And, remember to talk to her as much as you can."

The older man smiled sadly and clasped Booth's shoulder as he walked by. "I got it Booth, don't worry. Thought of some great stories about her mother that I think she'd like to hear. Russ will catch me up on what goes on in here." He slanted his head towards Avalon and raised his eyebrows.

Once everyone was settled into the hard waiting room chairs, all eyes turned to Avalon. Besides, Angela, Booth, Russ and Hannah, Sweets, Daisy and Mr. Nigel-Murray occupied the other seats.

"Well," Avalon began. "I was at home cooking dinner last night and for some reason decided to turn the television on for background noise. Something I never do. Anyway, I heard the story about Temperance. They aren't releasing any real details, just something about her being taken to the hospital after an attack in her home." She swept a few straggling blond hairs out of her face and stared at Booth. "Of course, I was extremely upset to hear that and wanted to know more. I knew that the hospital would never release any information to me and it was too late for visiting hours, so I decided to do a reading."

Booth pushed forward in his chair, as if to hear better what Avalon would say.

"The first card was a...sorry...you don't need those details. The first few cards gave me some details about what happened - fear, beating, bravery, injury. So, I knew that Temperance being Temperance had fought back and been hurt."

Unable to hide his impatience, Booth began circling his hands to encourage the psychic to continue.

"The next cards were very interesting, and perhaps helpful to you Seeley. They showed that the evil comes from you." At his horrified look, she rushed to continue. "Something to do with you. I saw an army, and a man, a brother, and death. Someone died related to this man, perhaps more than one person. There is a lot of hatred. I think he blames you, Seeley."

"That is consistent with what Angela has deciphered from the voicemail," Sweets interjected.

Booth huffed in impatience. "Bones, Avalon, what about Bones?"

Avalon leaned back in her chair, the tension that had arisen when she spoke of the attacker now dissipated. "She should wake up before the next sunrise, sometime during the night -"

"That's quite interesting, did you know that 65% of all coma patients come out of their comas between the hours of -"

"Not now, Squint!" Booth cut him off, not unkindly. He was too excited by Avalon's news.

"Sorry," Mr. Nigel-Murray murmured.

Booth had more questions for the psychic. "Is she okay? I mean, her brain. Is there damage? The doctors don't see any but, well, Bones' brain may not be like other peoples..."

Everyone in the room smiled at that comment, many nodding in agreement.

"All I saw is that she will be fine. I don't know if that is immediate, or if it will take time."

"And what about..." He paused, glanced at Hannah, and shut his mouth.

Angela's face brightened at the half-question and she looked like she was going to interject, but Avalon put a hand on her arm to forestall the outburst.

Avalon glanced meaningfully at Hannah, then back at Booth. "Like I told you before Seeley, it will all work out eventually. Nothing I have seen since has changed that conclusion."