A/N: Thanks for the response so far. For those of you that are concerned about Hannah's presence in this story, just know that unlike the show, she has a very specific purpose for being here other than being in Booth's bed. ; ) So hopefully, that won't deter you from reading but if it does, I understand. Enjoy! It's going to be an angsty ride!

Chapter 1

The Addict in the Agent

He felt like shit.

Last night, he had skipped out on Angela and Hodgins' pregnancy announcement to be in bed with his girlfriend.

And this morning, he had three messages from Cam and one from Angela telling him what an asshole he was.

He had rationalized it last night on the way back to his place. What was the big deal anyway? Everyone already knew that they were pregnant. And about an hour before she had called him, he felt that itching under his skin again, that need to be with her in every sense of the word. There was no way he was going to be able to sit and be happy for his friends while he knew Hannah was in his bed, waiting for him, so they were better off without him anyway.

Of course, after the anger he heard in Cam's voice on her message, he wasn't even sure he could call them his friends anymore.

But what did it matter anyway? He was an FBI agent with a beautiful son and a smoking hot girlfriend. What did he need a bunch of nerd squints for?

All of his rationalizations though didn't make him feel any better. He reached into his bedside table and pulled out his Protonix pills, taking a couple to hopefully stop the churning he felt in his stomach but they never helped. There was only one thing that could do that anymore and she was currently in the shower.

He was in bed still, blissfully remembering their activities last night. After just wrapping up a case, he felt the stress and tension within his muscles, within his bones. The only outlet he had found so far was inside of her. And that gratification was the only thing keeping him going right now. As proof of that, currently he was thinking of ways to convince Hannah to play hooky with him today, to just say in bed with him so he could try to quench his undying thirst for her.

The unfortunate ringing of his phone interrupted him from his very important thoughts.

"Booth," he answered gruffly, wanting the person on the other end to know that their interruption was not welcome.

"Booth, it's Dr. Brennan," he heard her say and automatically he winced. She was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. Ever since he had gotten back from Afghanistan, her voice grated on his every nerve. He didn't even want to look at her anymore, didn't want to see the eyes that knew him better than anyone else to examine his actions, to pick him apart like she did with her bones. It was almost as if he could feel her disapproval of him through her eyes and it pissed him off. What should she care what he was doing? She obviously did not want any part of the life he built around her for the last 3 years so as far as he was concerned, she could go screw herself.

"What is it, Bones? I'm really busy right now," he said. It was a bald-faced lie but he would say anything to get her off the phone.

"Booth, could you come by the lab today? I have some papers for you to sign to finish up the chocolate case," she said. If he were paying attention, he could hear the hurt in her voice at his dismissal but he choose not to pay attention. And the absolute last thing he wanted to do was go to the lab today.

"Bones, could you just fax it to my office? I'll just sign it and fax it back to you," he told her, reiterating the way they had done business since his stint in Afghanistan ended.

He heard her sigh through the phone line. "Booth, I just think it would be nice for you to come talk to Hodgins-"

"Bones, I don't care what you think okay? You stick to your squint thing and I'll stick to my people thing and we'll get along like we always have. Bones, I gotta go. I'll call you when we get our next case." And with that, he hung up, hoping that she got the message and wouldn't bother him anymore.

"Who was on the phone, baby?"

He turned to see her leaning against the door of his bathroom, wrapped only in a soft blue towel and drying her blonde hair with a smaller towel. He never got tired of staring at her, the light from the bathroom framing her and making her look like the angel, the savior she had become to him.

"Nobody. It was a wrong number," he answered, not sure why he lied to her. Hannah had been so understanding about his partnership with Bones but it was like, subconsciously, he did not want Bones tainting any part of his relationship with Hannah. His girlfriend didn't know some of the more complex things in his life and if he had anything to say about it, she would never know. She couldn't leave him, she just couldn't.

Feeling his need for her rise up within him yet again, he took her face in his hands and brought his lips to her own. She responded as sensuously as she normally did, opening her mouth to his and slipping her tongue inside his mouth. His hands began wandering underneath her towel, silently persuading her that work was something neither of them should do today. As if reading his thoughts, she pulled away and he was thrilled to see the regret in her eyes.

"Seeley, I have to go into work today. I have an interview this morning with the White House Press Secretary that I absolutely cannot miss. I'm sorry, baby."

He was sorry too. But he wasn't going to argue with her, he was just grateful that she joined the Washington Press Corp in the first place. She did it for him, even though she missed the action of being out in the field. When he found out that she had placed his needs, his happiness above her own, he fell more deeply in love with her than he was before. He couldn't remember the last time someone had done that for him. His whole life he had been taking care of other people, first his dad and Jared, then his buddies in the Army, then Parker and Bones; it was nice to have someone take care of him for a change.

"It's all right, babe, I understand. I should probably head into the office and finish up some paperwork anyway."

"You know, the interview is only in the morning and then I should have the write up done by this afternoon. You just finished a case, right?" she asked tracing patterns on his bare chest. He nodded, half listening to her and half trying to repress his physical reaction to her touch, even though he definitely needed to take a cold shower before work.

"Then why don't you take a half day today and then we can get out of town for a few days, head up to a B&B in Vermont or New Hampshire? We can take a long weekend together, forget to turn our cell phones on… what do you say Seeley?"

That had sounded like the best idea he ever heard. Dimly, he realized that he had no idea whether or not he was supposed to have Parker this weekend. And his guilt started all over again when he thought about the fact that he was thinking about putting his lust for his girlfriend ahead of spending time with his son. Wanting to forget again, he stared into her eyes, wanting to lose himself.

Because right now, she was the only good thing about him, the only thing pure about him. The rest of him felt dirty and tainted.

"That sounds perfect," he told her, forcing a smile and making a mental note to check his calendar when he got into the office. Her answering smile had the exact effect he was looking for; it made him feel invincible again.

An hour later, he was walking into his second least favorite place: the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building with the first currently being the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab. His work environment was another thing that changed since his return from Afghanistan. Word had spread quickly that his girlfriend was a prominent member of the Washington Press Corp and suddenly, nobody talked to him anymore, everyone worried some of their case details would end up on the front page of the Washington Post. Booth always rolled his eyes at their ignorance; if they thought he and Hannah were talking about cases over dinner, they were very much mistaken. When him and Hannah were home, there was not much talking at all, the only vocalizations coming in the form of moans or grunts of pleasure.

Whatever, he told himself. He didn't need any of them. It was probably better for everyone that he didn't participate in the office gossip. Checking his calendar, he was relieved to see that his weekend with Parker was next weekend so he could go away with Hannah. Instantly, some of the tension he had been feeling all morning was released and he finally felt like he could sit still for a couple of hours.

The morning passed quietly, the only interruption being an agent dropping by the paperwork that Bones faxed to him. He worked efficiently, his only thoughts on getting done early so he could start his weekend.

That itching feeling started again.

For the second time that day, the phone interrupted his thoughts about his girlfriend.

This was getting to be an annoying pattern.

"Booth," he answered in the same gruff tone that he had this morning.

"Seeley, what the hell is going on with you? Why haven't you been answering my calls? I called you three times last night."

Shit. It was Cam.

"Don't call me 'Seeley,' Camille," he said, trying to stop the headache he felt coming on by massaging his temples, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder.

"Cut the crap, Booth. You know I have never taken any crap from you and I am not about to start today. Where were you last night?"

"Cam, I don't need to explain myself to you but for your information I was spending an evening in with my girlfriend. We hadn't seen each other for a couple of days. We're in love, Cam, it's not unusual for people in love to want to spend time with each other," he told her, seriously considering hanging up the phone. He would have too, but he knew Cam would keep calling back until she said what she felt she had to say. He didn't understand why but lately, his friends were driving him absolutely crazy. Were they always this intrusive into his personal life?

"That's all well and good Booth but that doesn't mean you have to isolate yourself from the people you care about you. You could've just brought Hannah last night, Booth. I know for a fact that Angela and Hodgins' were in a 'the more the merrier' kind of mood."

"Cam, if we were out in public last night, we definitely would have been arrested for indecent exposure," he told her, not stopping the leer that spread across his face as he thought about last night.

"Damn it, Booth, will you start thinking with your brain and not your dick for once? Last night, your friends, the people you have worked with for seven years, had a huge announcement that they wanted to share with their family. They considered you a part of that family and you let them down for a roll in the sack with your girlfriend, something you could have done later that night. What the hell is wrong with you, Booth? Why have you been avoiding us so much?"

"Look, Cam, I'm not really avoiding you guys. But some of us actually have a life now and would like to live it without interference from noisy co-workers," he said, knowing that would hurt her but desperate for them to just leave him alone. He knew his words had their intended effect when there was a long pause at the other end of the line. He was just about to hang up the phone when she started talking again, but this time he heard no anger, no malice in her voice. Just concern.

"You know what, Booth, I don't know what your problem is, maybe you've got some PTSD after coming home. But don't you think for one minute that all the solutions to your problems start with isolating yourself from your friends." He heard her sigh. "Listen, I would suggest not coming around here for the next couple of days. Angela and Hodgins are really upset with you and Dr. Brennan-"

"Don't, Cam, okay? You don't need to tell me about how the squint squad is upset that I choose to spend time with my real family instead of them. I'll send Angela some flowers or something. Just leave me alone," Booth practically growled at her, now gripping the phone with white knuckles.

"Okay, Booth," she said and with that she finally hung up the phone. He slammed it down in the cradle, almost knocking it off his desk with the force of the action.

It was for the best, he kept telling himself as he downed some aspirin without water to try and stop the headache that was threatening to erupt. He didn't need them meddling in his life. Ever since he had started to work with them seven years ago, they had an unhealthy relationship, with the line between the personal and professional aspects of their life's smearing to where it didn't even exist anymore. He was doing the right thing by enforcing that line again. Why didn't they see that?

Brennan was in her office; going over revisions her editor had just sent on her latest book. In this one, Dr. Kathy Reichs has to investigate the case without her partner as Andy Lister was on an undercover assignment. She was not surprised when her editor was not pleased with his absence. But ever since Booth has stopped coming around and had only become her work partner (and sometimes not even that, she thought bitterly), she had trouble writing for Lister. Begrudgingly, she finally admitted to herself that Booth was her inspiration for Lister. An inspiration that had completely dried up.

"Sweetie, what are you doing this weekend?" Angela asked as she breezed into her office, not bothering to knock. Of course, thinking back, Brennan wasn't sure she ever remembered Angela knocking.

"Just some revisions on my novel," she answered honestly. Since this last case had wrapped up she knew that she would have some time all to herself and she was thankful for it. This book really needed to get done before she lost the inspiration to write all together.

"We should go shopping. I'm getting too fat for my normal clothes and I found this really cute boutique that sells adorable maternity wear."

"Angela, you're not getting fat, you're pregnant," Brennan instructed her.

Angela smiled at her statement. "Believe me, Bren, I know that. But whether or not my expanding waistline is due to pregnancy or other reasons, the end result is still the same: I need new clothes."

"Okay, Ange, I'll go shopping with you," Brennan agreed, excited at the prospect of going out with her friend. Ever since Ange had gotten married to Hodgins and Booth had Hannah, she found herself staying in more than she had in the past. Surprisingly, she found the she missed the human interaction that had once scared her. Just as Angela stood up to leave her office, Brennan felt her stomach signal to her that it was definitely lunchtime.

"Ange, do you want to grab some lunch?"

"Bren, it's Friday," Ange told her with a frown.

"I am well aware of the day, Angela. What does that have to do with getting lunch?" Brennan asked her, confused as to why this matter was even brought up in the first place.

"Don't you always get lunch with Booth on Fridays?"

Brennan couldn't help her wince at the mention of her partner's name. She couldn't even remember the last time they hung out together outside of work and her memory was much better than the average person.

"We don't do that anymore, Ange. We haven't done that for a while now. So, lunch?" she asked, wanting to change the subject, getting up from her desk and grabbing her coat.

"Of course, why would Special Agent Douche Bag do anything with his partner and friend of six years?" Angela muttered but Brenna heard her clear as day.

"Ange…" Brennan said warningly.

"No, Bren, don't you dare try and defend him. What he did last night to Hodgins and I felt like a slap in the face and it is going to take a lot of groveling and apologizing on his part for us to even begin to forgive him. But what he has done to you since he has gotten back with his little girlfriend is unforgivable Bren, and you know it."

"Ange, I told him to move on. Besides, Booth thinks of us as family, he was the one who originally told me that there was more than one type of family," Brennan insisted, not sure as to why she was still defending him when he had been the source of her tears for the last six months.

"But apparently family doesn't matter when you have a blonde doing the spread eagle in your bed."

"Angela, stop it! This isn't Hannah's fault; it isn't even Booth's fault. I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding last night."

"Well, Bren, I'm still glad he has you to defend him because the rest of us are pretty glad he doesn't hang around here anymore," Angela finished, her anger draining out of her. "Well, I've wasted enough breath on him for the day and Junior thinks your suggestion of lunch is a good idea. I'm thinking Indian food…" Angela trailed off, absently stroking her abdomen.

Brennan sighed heavily as she followed Angela out of her office. Truthfully, she was glad he wasn't hanging around the lab anymore either.