Chapter 6

The Ex in the Girlfriend

To say she was not amused would be the understatement of the century. Even "super pissed" could not quite cover her feelings right now. Because last night was the night that she found out her boyfriend, the man she fell in love with and left a job she loved for, was a liar and she suspected a cheater.

When Hannah got out of the shower last night to an empty apartment and saw Seeley's note, she originally felt sorry for him. He seemed off somehow when she came home, which threw her a little bit because she was ready to celebrate her good news about work in their usual way. But the second she mentioned that she needed his input, he froze and almost looked grateful when his phone rang, grateful to get away from her. Usually, he was very attentive to her, almost clingy at times. And she enjoyed the attention. When she talked to her girlfriends about him, she had once compared him to a kicked puppy, desperate for love and affection. That was something that always struck her about him; how this big, strong, handsome man could be so unsure of himself, so convinced that any feelings of affection or love he conveyed would be shoved back in his face. Deciding to give some of that back and be a good girlfriend even though she was tired, she grabbed her keys and went to the diner to grab him some dinner. Maybe they could close the blinds in his office and still have the private celebration she had planned.

On the way to the diner, she passed Temperance's apartment, noting that the lights in her apartment were off. Not surprising, though, given the woman's insane work schedule. She didn't know how Seeley kept up with her sometimes. Hannah smiled as she glanced down at the sunglasses that previously belonged to the forensic anthropologist, now sitting in her cup holder. Maybe that was a little passive aggressive on her part, but she had to hand it to Temperance; she had been nothing but warm and welcoming since she had come to Washington, even though her woman's intuition screamed at her that something had happened between the "just partners." But if it had, Seeley made it very clear that it was her he was interested in, usually several times a night, so she wasn't concerned. Seeley was hers and it was wonderful.

The diner was packed, as usual, but she made good enough time, avoiding the traffic on the freeways and using the side streets to get to the Bureau, probably her least favorite spot in D.C. Seeley's co-workers hated her. While she understood and was happy Seeley didn't seem to care, it angered her that she had to put up with the glares every time she walked through this building. Maybe if they didn't screw up so much, she wouldn't have as much to write about, so in reality, it was their fault, not hers, that she profited of their incompetence.

Walking up to the front desk to get a visitor's badge, she spotted someone familiar being waved through by the security guards.

"Dr. Saroyan!" she shouted, leaving the food at the desk momentarily. Her natural curiosity that made her a great journalist was peaked at Cam's presence here tonight. She knew from the past cases Seeley had told her about that it was usually just him and Temperance that worked on the paperwork. The woman was obviously surprised to see her, narrowing her eyes for a moment before realizing who it was. A brief look of panic crossed her face before Hannah noticed she schooled her features to reflect nothing, just a cautious smile.

"Hannah," she greeted, desperately trying to stay calm. She did not do well when surprised and usually couldn't stop herself from talking. And having no idea how much Booth had told her about why he was here, she decided to be as vague as possible. "What are you doing here at this late hour?"

"Seeley left me a note saying he got a break in the case and had to come in late tonight. I brought him dinner," she said, turning briefly to point at the food containers still sitting on the desk at the guard's station. "What are you doing here? Seeley said he got a break in the case. Is the lab bustling with whatever new evidence was found?" she asked, knowing exactly the how to ask the minimum number of questions to get the maximum amount of information.

Cam felt her heart rate rising, trying not to panic. She could strangle Booth right now for putting her in this position. "Well, I'm actually not here to see Booth and the lab was empty when I left it. I'm here to see Dr. Sweets, yes, that's right. He asked me to come by to discuss, um, the personality tests my staff took to better utilize the lab personnel," she said, forcing herself to stop talking.

Hannah knew instinctively that the doctor was lying. "That's interesting. Seeley told me that his session with Dr. Sweets was cancelled yesterday because the young doctor was out of town for the week with his girlfriend," Hannah informed her, every journalistic instinct she had screaming at her that something was not right.

The urge to strangle Booth was becoming more intense. "Well, he told me before he left to pick up the results from his office and review them so we could discuss them in more detail once he got back. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really have to get going," Cam told her, quickly walking through the lobby to avoid giving any more information away. She really needed to stop talking before she starting giving out case details.

Hannah looked after the lab administrator, curious as to the real reason why she was here tonight. She thought that the 'squints' as Seeley called them were a little strange but this was beyond ridiculous. Walking back over to the guard's station, she was surprised to see that her visitor's badge was not on the counter yet.

"Is there a problem?" she inquired, wondering if this was just the Bureau's way of keeping her out.

"Sorry, ma'am, but we have no record of Special Agent Booth checking into the Bureau tonight. He hasn't been here since this morning. I'm afraid you'll have to surprise him with this dinner somewhere else," the guard told her, glancing back down at her computer screen immediately, silently dismissing her.

Now Hannah was really confused. Why would Seeley lie to her? She thought for a moment that maybe he could be at the lab finishing up the paperwork with Temperance but quickly remembered what Cam said about the lab being empty when she left. Picking the food up off the counter, she turned toward the exit, her mind quickly going all sorts of places she wished it wouldn't.

Unfortunately, in the early part of her career, she covered a lot of scandals in the Senate, mostly the ones about the married Senators using federal funds to take trips with their various girlfriends. And even though only half an hour ago she was convinced that she was the only woman in Seeley's life, now her mind raced with visions of seedy motel rooms that charge by the hour and Seeley's gravelly voice moaning 'Bones' in the throws of passion. Being a journalist made her naturally suspicious and her mind was now coming up with boatloads of different scenarios, all of which included Seeley and Temperance in bed together while she acted like a sucker and tried to bring him some dinner.

Driving back to Seeley's apartment, she tried to think of other reasons why he wouldn't say where he really was, what he was really doing tonight. And while there were plenty of other legitimate, not sleeping with Temperance reasons as to why he was not in the Bureau right now, it was the only one that her mind kept coming back to. With those thoughts also came questions about everything else in their relationship. Was there something that she missed from earlier in their relationship that more clearly pointed to him being unfaithful?

As she climbed into their cold, empty bed that night, the food forgotten on the kitchen counter, she hoped she would wake up with his warm, hard body curled up next to her.

Of course, when she woke up the next morning, she was still alone. And even though she didn't know it at that point, the day was only going to get worst.

The drive into work was hell but for the first time since she got to Washington D.C., she was excited to go to work, excited to investigate a story that she was actually interested in. She didn't regret leaving the excitement of her job in Afghanistan to come out here with Seeley (well, at least not yet, she added bitterly) but she did hate that her job had become more, well, dull. Following politics was one thing when you were in the affected area, chasing down leads in foreign lands but it was completely another when you were in the belly of the beast. She was convinced she had gotten more information out of ex-Taliban soldiers in the past than any of the Congressman's aides she had spoken to since she got here. But now, with this sniper case, she was almost assured some action and she couldn't wait to get started.

Walking in and going straight to her desk, she caught up on her emails and drank the coffee she grabbed before coming in this morning. The office was oddly quiet this morning and she quickly remembered that the President was making a statement this morning on healthcare and she knew most of her colleagues would be covering this story. Let them have the President; she thought happily, I want the DC sniper.

After doing some research on the victims and the way in which they died, she quickly realized that this sniper was not just some idiot with a sniper rifle. These shots were executed in a very proficient manner, with both forensic reports suggesting that the shots were taken from a very far distance away, far enough so the cops could have no chance of catching the man once they found the body. He was already long gone by the time he took the shot. Several hours later, she now realized she needed Seeley's information about how this guy worked, how he set up his shots, what went through his head as he was staring through the lens of his rifle. Any journalist could interpret the information in the police reports to spin a good story but none of them had the advantage that she had: an ex-sniper boyfriend, one of the best the military had ever trained. He could turn this into her Pulitzer.

By the time her phone rang, it was already mid-morning, Hannah finally getting lost in the work that she loved. It was a good feeling and she didn't realize how much she missed it.

"Burley," she answered into the phone.

"Hey, baby, it's me," she heard and her hackles were raised again. She wasn't going to give him an inch.

"Hello," she answered coolly. She didn't say anything else, letting the pause at the end of her greeting say more than she ever could.

"Sorry I didn't call you sooner but I was really busy all last night. But Bones and I think we have a good lead and the case should be over soon," he said and Hannah could tell that he knew she was angry but just avoiding the issue. Tired of his game, her anger bubbled up and she unleashed it.

"Cut the bullshit, Seeley, I know that you and Temperance were not at the Bureau or the lab last night. In fact, I have no idea where you two were last night. Discussing 'case details' in a dark motel room maybe?" she asked sarcastically, knowing exactly what she was implying.

"Hannah, what are you talking about?" he questioned and Hannah could hear the insecure little boy voice that sometimes crept into his tone.

"I tried to bring you dinner last night but the guard at the Bureau wouldn't let me in because he said you were not in the building. Dr. Saroyan said that the lab was empty, Temperance's lights were off, and you didn't come home last night so what the hell am I supposed to think, Seeley?" she asked him, trying to keep her voice from rising in the open office she was currently in.

"Hannah, you know Bones and I are just partners. You know that and you know me; you know that I would never cheat on you. How could you even think that?" he asked, no anger in his voice, just hurt.

"Well, Seeley, I'm beginning to think I don't really know you at all. I really don't think I ask for much and I don't think it is too much to ask for the truth. If you have a problem with that, maybe we should reconsider this relationship," she said, not really meaning it but wanting to let hi know that the possibility of them breaking up was an option.

"No!" he said quickly and assertively, just as she expected. "Look, baby, I'm sorry about last night. Bones and I were at the Bureau last night and I'm sorry the guard told you otherwise. It won't happen again, okay? Just don't do anything rash or make any decisions until I can see you again. I promise I'll explain everything."

"I'll think about it Seeley. That's all I can promise. I have to go now, I'll see you tonight." And with that, she hung up without giving him the opportunity to say anything else. She felt a little bad for treating him that way but she needed him to understand how angry she was right now and that she wasn't going to tolerate anything other than the truth from him.

Burying herself in her work once again, she researched straight through lunch, trying to put the backbone of her article together so she should add in Seeley's information. Journalism today was all about being the first person with the information and she knew she would have to get Seeley to talk to her tonight so she could get the story to her editor by tomorrow morning.

"Hannah, I need to see you for a moment," she heard from across the office and noticed the request came from her editor, standing in the doorway of his office. Carl Lewis was a hard ass and as blunt as they came but he went to bat for his reporters with any who called their stories or sources into question. She respected him for that even though his deadlines were sometimes impossible to meet. Getting up, she stretched for a minute, not realizing that she been sitting all afternoon and that it was now 4 o'clock. A session with the treadmill was definitely in her future.

"What's up, Carl?" she asked as she stepped into his office. While in Afghanistan, she learned to rely on her instincts for information and right now, her instincts were telling her that something was not right.

"Hannah, as of right now, you are off the D.C. sniper story. And for future reference, you can't keep anything from me that may jeopardize the authenticity of something I may publish. Is that understood?" he told her, looking her straight in the eye. Hannah was shocked. She had absolutely no idea where this was coming from.

"Excuse me? Carl, what are you talking about? What information?" she asked, hoping against hope that there had been a mix up somewhere and that she could stay on this story.

"Don't play games with me, young lady. Your boyfriend, Special Agent Seeley Booth, the one you told me could get you good info for this story, has been implicated as the prime suspect in this case. He spent all night and some of this morning at the Bureau being questioned about his involvement." Seeing the bewildered look on his employee's face, he backed down a little bit. "Didn't he tell you any of this? Where did you think he was last night?"

Almost too stunned to speak, she managed o gather herself enough to answer his question. "No, he told me that he was working on a case last night, that something came up and he had to go in urgently to investigate. He never mentioned that he was the one being investigated. Carl, if I had known, I would have told you immediately. I don't want you to think that my journalistic integrity is in question," she told him, not wanting to get stuck on writing up police logs because of her association with Seeley, her anger that him doubling with the knowledge that he might have hurt her career.

"Your integrity as a journalist is the only reason why I'm reassigning you instead of firing you. There is a story in New York City at the United Nations that I think because of your experience in Afghanistan with foreign politics suits you perfectly. Your plane leaves tonight and our New York office expects you to report first thing in the morning. Pack your things, this story is expected to develop over the next two months." He gave her a plane ticket and then said nothing else. Hannah picked up the ticket and left the office, surprisingly happy about the assignment that yesterday would have broken her heart. Pulling a box out from underneath her desk, her began packing up her things, devising in her head about how she was going to break up with her boyfriend tonight.

Booth unlocked the door of his apartment, feeling balanced for the first time in a long time. It was amazing how the talk he had with Bones soothed his senses and now, he was ready to talk to Hannah, to get everything out into the open. If she loved him as much as he loved her, he knew she would accept him once she got over the initial anger at him for not telling her everything up front. But he found he was excited, excited to begin this next part of their relationship together. He hoped this talk would lead to the same silent understanding he had with Bones and he knew it could only add to the intimacy of their relationship.

But when he opened the door and saw the suitcases in the front hallway, he almost went back outside to see if he had the right apartment. This couldn't be happening.

"Hannah? You in here, babe?" he called out, apprehension filling his heart and all the sudden very, very nauseous.

She came out of the bedroom with another suitcase and if Booth was counting, he would see that all the suitcases she came with were currently filled with her belongings.

"Hello, Seeley. I'm glad you're home. We need to talk," she told him and he was worried when she made no move towards him, her face an emotionless mask.

"Okay. What's going on, Hannah?" he asked, being purposely vague.

"Seeley, I told you on the phone today that I didn't ask for much, only the truth, which I am beginning to think you never told me. And quite frankly, right now I don't want to hear anything from you. I almost lost my job today because you lied to me about being the prime suspect in the D.C sniper case. Thankfully, Carl gave me another chance to prove myself, a story in New York City and I don't plan on having any distractions getting in my way this time. I think our relationship has run it's course and I don't think we should be together anymore."

Booth was surprised he was still standing at this point, his brain much more busy trying to figure out what had just happened. Here he was, coming home, excited to take their relationship to the next level and become even closer and here she was, breaking up with him. His brain wasn't even processing that she knew about how he spent his night last night. Her last sentence was replaying over and over again in his head and the only thing he could think of was what he could say to make her stay.

"Is there anything I can say to make you change your mind?" he asked, realizing that he sounded pitiful but she was the first person in so long that made he feel worth something, like there was finally someone in this world not related to him that was excited to see him everyday.

"Let me ask you a question: when you were in trouble last night and you needed support, did you call Temperance?" His silence answered her question. "That's what I thought. I'm not stupid, Seeley. But I deserve better than this. I don't know what may be happening or has happened between you and Temperance but I deserve to be first in my man's life, which I have never felt in our relationship. I'm sorry, Seeley, but it's over." She handed him her key and a piece of paper with a New York address on it. "I think I got everything but if you find anything I may have left behind, could you send it to this address? I'm staying with a girlfriend when I get to New York City."

A honk from down below signaled her cab was here and Booth was at a loss for words, not believing that it was really over.

"I really loved you, you know," was the only thing he came up with.

He saw her smile back sadly at him from the doorway. "Seeley, you may have convinced yourself of that, but we both know the truth." And with that, she grabbed her last suitcase and shut the door, out of his life for good.

He did the only thing that seemed right. He picked up the phone and pressed '1' on the speed dial.

"Bones? I'm sorry to ask this, but could you come over? I really need you here right now."

The man glanced through the scope of his rifle, looking at the blonde woman getting in the cab with all of her things. He smiled, knowing his plan was working. Seeley Booth's life was falling apart and not only did he have a front row seat but he had a starring role.

A/N: Comments? Critiques? Did it live up to the title? Big thanks to GrayIsTheCatsPajamas for her awesome editing.