Hannah walked into the bedroom, pressed a quick kiss to his lips, and moved away towards the bathroom, already slipping out of her jacket. Booth remained in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed. "What did you mean the other night when you said you couldn't imagine going from being a woman to being a mom?"

"What?" she called back distractedly. "I don't know."

He could hear the sound of running water as she turned on the faucet, a splash as she washed her face. "I just want to know what you meant," he told her. He knew he sounded a little harsh, but the comment had been bugging him ever since the night they had dinner at Bones' apartment.

She appeared in the door, patting her face dry with a towel. "I think it's pretty self-explanatory, Seeley," she said.

He shook his head slightly and clasped his hands in front of him. "I don't think it is, actually."

She leaned against the doorjamb and frowned. "I just meant I can't imagine going through that. Gaining all that weight, losing my figure, the stretch marks. Trading in late nights on the town and sex for breastfeeding and changing diapers." She shrugged. "I like my life the way it is, you know? I like feeling sexy and putting on make up to go out. I don't want to be tied down like that."

Throughout her speech, he remained motionless, perched on the edge of the bed. He didn't nod or react. His gaze remained passive. When she finished, he took a deep breath and gave her a long, appraising look. "You do realize that being a mother and being a woman are not mutually exclusive, right? In fact, I would argue that being a mother makes a woman even more feminine and beautiful."

"Okay," she said slowly, looking at him strangely. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree."

She began to move away from the doorway, but he stopped her. "Hannah." She turned. "What about Parker?"

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what about Parker? You can't be with me without being with him. If we're together, you're going to have to be a part of his life. You're going to have to go to the soccer games and recitals and graduations. You do realize that, don't you?"

"Yeah," she said vaguely. "Sure."

He sighed. "What I mean is, you have to really do this. You have to be in it. You have to commit to being 'tied down' as you so delicately put it."

"Seeley, I…"

"Tell me you're in it," he said softly. "Tell me you won't walk out this door the next time you get offered a job halfway across the world. Tell me this all hasn't been a game. Tell me you're not that selfish."

She moved into the room and crouched down in front of him. "It wasn't a game. I do love you, Seeley. But I…I can't promise that I'll be here forever. I can't…"

"What?"

"I can't promise how I'll feel a few months from now or a year from now or three years from now." Her tone was gentle.

He gave her a wry, ironic smile. "You and Bones really are similar, you know that?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what that means."

He laughed a low, bitter laugh. "Exactly."

She sighed and bowed her head forward. "I've actually been meaning to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"I got a job offer. In India."

"Doing what?" he asked.

She smiled sadly. "Does it even matter?"

He shook his head. "No, I guess it doesn't." He reached for her hands, gathering them between his own. "You're taking it," he said. It wasn't a question.

"I'm sorry," she told him. He could tell she was.

"I know."

"You weren't a game, Seeley," she told him again. "And neither was Parker."

He nodded. "Alright."

"I did love you," she promised and the verb tense didn't escape his notice.

He nodded. "So did I."

—BB—

A few weeks later, Booth sat across from Brennan at the diner, holding the letter she had handed him only a moment before between shaky fingers. "Africa, huh?" he murmured, setting the letter down between them. His eyes fell to the table. His chest ached. "That's great, Bones," he said softly. "That's really great."

"I'm not going," she told him.

He looked up at her. "What?"

"I'm not going," she said again. "My life is here now. With Angela and Hodgins and Cam and Sweets and Parker." She smiled slightly. "And you."

He swallowed past the tightness in his throat. "But, Bones, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

She nodded. "It is," she agreed. She glanced at the letter, then back at his face. "But so is this." She reached across the table and took his hands. Gripped them tightly. "I learned that the hard way, Booth. I thought I'd missed my chance. I don't want to make the same mistake twice." She smiled at his awestruck face. "I don't want any regrets."

Impulsively, he lifted her hands in his and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you," he breathed softly. She smiled as he lowered her hands to the table, his thumb absently tracing patterns across the smooth skin. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

—BB—

"You've changed," he told her as they walked arm-in-arm through the park.

She nodded. "I have."

"It was that night in the car, wasn't it? You were different after that."

"My world was turned upside down," she said. "I thought that I'd be able to adjust. I thought that I'd be able to go back to the way it was before, but I never really did." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Something happened to me that night, Booth. It was as if a door was opened and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't shut it again. Sometimes, I really wished I could."

They came to a bench and sat down on it. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she leaned into his side. "I realized my mistake. I realized how I…felt about you. It was even worse punishment than the confusion and emptiness that preceded it, because now I was aware of how lonely I was."

"Ignorance is bliss," he supplied.

"It is."

He let out a long breath and turned towards her. "How you've been feeling for the past month? That's how I've felt for six years."

Her face fell. She leaned into him, suddenly wanting to touch him, suddenly wanting to wish away all those wasted years. "I'm so sorry, Booth."

He shook his head and lifted his finger, gently evening out the lines of worry that had worked their way into her forehead. "I'm glad you're here, Bones," he told her, hoping she knew what he meant.

She smiled and leaned towards him. "I'm glad I'm here, too."

Her lips were soft and hesitant as they brushed against his, gently at first and then with increasing sureness. He ran his hand up her arm to the back of her head, cradling her mouth against his, his fingers slipping between the strands of her auburn hair. When they broke away, she bowed her head forward and he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "You're nothing like Hannah," he breathed, so softly that the words were lost to her, even though she felt the shape of them as his lips moved against her skin.

"What?" she asked, pulling away to meet his gaze.

He shook his head. "Nothing," he told her. He kissed her nose. "I love you," he told her like he'd been saying it everyday for the past six years. Maybe he had.

She smiled. "I love you, too."

Okay, so that was cute, right? I knew I had to do something about the most recent episode, but I couldn't bring myself to face it head on. I honestly die of sadness every time I think about that scene in the car and Brennan's admission that she feels sad. God, Emily kills me. Emmy anybody?

So anyway, this was my roundabout way of dealing with it. I hope you liked it!

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