"I guess I'm the only one living the life they expected."

Those words haunted her from the very moment that they left her mouth. They were a reminder of her inability to take risks, her inability to trust someone enough. She would put her life in his capable hands, let him shelter her from the harm that followed them daily, but yet she could not give him the only thing that he had ever asked from her in return. She would not, could not give him herself.

And now as she looked at the glow of her computer screen, she wondered if it had been selfishness or selflessness that night. It played over and over in her mind like a pivotal plot point on the story they were writing. The tale was timeless, two people, who loved each other more than they could comprehend and yet never being able to get it together. Their time came and Brennan watched it leave, like a train that pulled out of the station, she stood on her platform and watched the one thing she never believed in pass her by.

The evidence in front of her, it held nothing of interest. She longed to share it with him, to sit near him and smile at his antics. She craved the small peices of humanity that he restored to her, bit by bit. She missed all of the metaphors that held no scientific basis, and yet were the only way she could see him.

He was the greatest man that she had ever known, surprising her daily, treating her with a gentle delicacy even when she was being unkind. He ignored her ignorance and embraced her knowledge and a year ago he would be right there, in the chair across from her, watching her work, waiting for her brilliance to really sparkle.

There she went again, with those silly metaphors. It seemed like all she could think about anymore was the crushing weight that their new relationship laid on her shoulders. Even though she knew that the feelings were ephemeral and that they were only temporary, they still came. Every morning at eight am she sat in the diner, waiting with her coffee knowing that he was still at home. Knowing that something he loved kept him there. Even if it was temporary, she still felt the gentle stinging. And yet she sipped, and watched and waited.

"Sweetie?" Angela's voice broke the inner pity party that Brennan threw herself on a daily basis. She struggled to put on the mask of happiness that she spent her life viewing the world with. It was the same one she had always used, keeping herself distant and composed. Now though it was cracked allowing in the harsher lights of reality. Even through all the protests, these people, they found their way in.

"Hello Angela." Brennan looked to the doorway where her best friend stood, glowing with the gestation of new life. Married life suited her well.

"Sweetie, why are you still here? We solved the case. Shouldn't you be out with Booth celebrating?" Angela moved with quickness as she made her way to Brennan's desk, the careful draping of her dress, hiding the slight swell of her unborn child.

"He is having dinner with Hannah." The words almost cracked on the way out. No matter, it was pointless to hide things from Angela. Much to Brennan's utter dismay, and certainly not that she would ever admit it, her best friend was always right.

"I see, and you feel left out?" Her gaze, like the hunting watchful eyes of an eagle, sought Brennan.

"No, I was just working. I do not want to leave anything unfinished."

"Tell me."

"What do you want to know?" Brennan looked up surprised, her mind reeling, her longing to share all the feelings that she had felt for so long. She wanted to sob all the time, to got far away and find the meaning of life. Accept, the meaning was not in the remote tropical local, it was right here. Somewhere in the mess she had made of everything was the answer.

"Tell me about Booth."

"I made a mistake." It slipped; it was not supposed to come out. Not like this, not ever.

"That I have known for almost a year. What I am wondering, is if you do." Angela tilted her head, the long dark tresses of her perfect hair reaching her waist. It had been so long since they had a moment like this. The knowledge of her radiating from her best friend, the only person that knew her almost as well as Booth. She had missed having a confidant, missed being able to unload, missed fighting the knowledge that stared her in the face.

"I face that realization every day, and yet I do not know what it is that I am so sorry for. I did the right thing, I did the responsible thing." Brennan looked down for just a moment, unable to meet those probing eyes.

"What are you talking about? You got scared. I knew you would. Bren, it takes you weeks to change the type of coffee you drink. I would have never expected you to respond in a positive light to something so massive so quickly." Angela's head tilted as she took a seat. So many things were wrong; so much was left to sort out.

"He never deserved it. I could never do that to him. I could never give him what he wanted. And yes, perhaps in the beginning he would think that was not an issue. But eventually, eventually he would want everything. I don't believe in marriage, I would never be a conventional partner. Our domestic coupling, it would be holding him down. Perhaps not right away but eventually. And when it did, when I was not able to be the person he wanted, I would lose him forever, and I would have shattered him beyond repair. I could never do that, Angela. He doesn't deserve that." A tear rolled down Brennan's cheek, her voice the same mild squeak it had been that night. That cool spring night outside that had changed everything.

"What you are really saying, and what you have been saying all along, is that you don't deserve him. Sweetie, you never believed that you deserved to feel the way you do, you don't understand it. I have watched you struggle with this for years; I've watched it consume you. You ran to the other end of the earth to get away from it. And it's still there, you still feel it. I don't know what proof you need to make it more real for you. This is not going away, and this is not something that you can get away from. You love him, and regardless of this being a chemical reaction or something so true it flows through your veins, it won't change." Angela reached out, her soft skin connecting with Brennan, the pity in her eyes evident. It was a new emotion, something Brennan had never seen before. Angela felt sorry for her, and it sent something off inside. She did not want pity, did not need it, all she wanted was to feel a fraction of normal. The only problem was that it had been so long ago that she felt anything like it; she had forgotten what it was that she missed. The silence in the room was thick, heady with the scent of denial. Both knew the other, both fighting the outcome.

"You are wrong; you do deserve this, this gift of love. And I can say, with all the clarity in the world, that if you had taken the risk, if you had let things stray just a little off course all your questions would have answers, and everything would make sense." Without waiting for a reply Angela stood and walked towards the door. The truth hung in the silence of the glass office. With a smile she looked back, knowing the everything she said was like a stone and that there was only one left in the palm of her hand. So without further ado she opened her mouth and cast the final blow, "The only person stopping you from being happy, is you. Science and logic have made you the brilliant person you are today, but they do not make you the person you really wanted to become. Perhaps the most important thing you need is the brutal honesty only you can give yourself."

Without pause she left, never looking back at the glow of the office light. There was nothing she could do, the ball was in Bren's court and she truly hoped that Brennan would take it.

All Those words came undone,

And now I'm not the only one

Facing the ghost that decide if

The fire inside

Still burns….