Disclaimer: If I owned Bones, that would be the best present ever! Hey, there's a Christmas idea!

Chapter 10

Booth glanced up as he heard the music begin. It was starting. There was no going back, no do-over. He took a deep breath as he heard the doors open. He took hold of Angela's arm, and walked slowly down the aisle. He regretted it. Every moment. However, this was something he had to do. He released her arm as the reached the end. He turned towards the right, and went to stand beside his boss. He watched as several others made their way down the path he and Ange had just come. Cam and Hodgins, Sweets and Daisy, each of them following with pride. The music began to slow as everyone turned towards the doors. Booth felt himself gasp as Dr Brennan, with Max on her arm, made her way down the aisle. Who would've thought that Bones would ever get married. Let alone in a church! Her blue eyes stood out from the pearl white dress that flowed down past her knees. Her hair bounced off her shoulders with every step she took. His eyes gazed over to Max, who was staring right back at him. Booth could see the sympathy within them. He turned back to face the Priest, only to be met by Angela's gaze. Her eyes too, were filled with sympathy and concern. He took a deep breath and brought his gaze to the floor.

"Booth," he heard. He looked up to meet the eyes of his boss.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You have the rings, right?" Booth nodded. "Great! I can't believe this is actually happening!" Hacker turned back to the aisle and made his way down to Temperance.

"Me either," Booth muttered. He silently prayed to God. Sure, he'd told her that he had to move on, but that didn't mean he wanted to. In fact, he probably never would. Anyone compared to Bones would always be second best. He couldn't live with the fact that he would never get first. Especially when he had been so close.

"We gather here today..." the Priest began. Booth zoned out. He didn't listen. He didn't want to listen. It would just remind him of everything he was losing. The past five years of friendship turning to love, at least on his part, washed down the drain. Every time that he made her laugh, or smile, or get that cute confused look where her eyebrows scrunched together, soon to be followed with "I don't know what that means". All those times were now distant memories, never to repeat.

"Does anyone here have any objections as to why these two should not be joined in marriage?" the Priest asked.

"I do," Booth said. His eyes grew, suddenly realizing he'd voiced his thoughts. He closed his eyes and prayed that he'd never said that. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

"Booth?" Bones asked. He sighed.

"I'm sorry Bones," he said, now looking up to meet her eyes. Her face showed how hurt she was that he objected. He winced at the sight.

"May I ask why you're objecting, Agent Booth?" Hacker asked. Booth nodded. Of course he could ask. He had every right to ask.

"Yes sir. You see, I don't want Bones to marry you," he explained. Hacker nodded.

"I understand that. What I'm asking is why?" Booth took a deep breath before proceeding.

"Because I'm in love with her," he answered. Behind Bones, he could see Angela smile.

'Keep going,' Angela mouthed. He nodded.

"I've been in love with her for as long as I can remember. Sure, I didn't know it was love at first, but the longer we worked together, and spent time together, the closer we got. Up until the point where I knew, that there was no other woman for me besides Bones. I know, sir, that you asked me about us before you began to date her, but the truth is, I said no, because she didn't want there to be an us. I honestly didn't think she'd say yes to going out with you, let alone to marrying you." He took a deep breath and looked over Hacker's shoulder. He saw Bones' eyes fill with unshed tears. He sighed.

"The worst part of it is, I've just ruined what was supposed to be the best day of your lives. And as much as it hurts me to say this, I take back my objection. Bones deserves to be with the one she loves. And that's not me, it's you. So why should I ruin her happiness? She's finally found love. I just needed to get that all out before you proceeded. I apologize for my sudden confession, but it needed to be said." Hacker nodded. He turned back to Temperance.

"It's up to you. You've got two guys, both extremely in love with you. If you choose one, the other will back down gracefully. So you need to make your decision. Do you still want to marry me? Or do you want to try things with Agent Booth?" She looked down at the ground and took a deep breath. She looked back up at Hacker.

"It's you. I want to marry you." She turned to Booth."I'm sorry Booth, but you're my partner, and that's all you'll ever be." He nodded as he held back the tears he desperately wanted to shed.

"We understand if don't want to be here. You can leave if you want. Of course, we'd still love it if you stayed," Hacker said. Booth shook his head.

"I'm gonna stay," he said. "I'm gonna support my friends as they commit to each other." They smiled.

"Thanks Booth," Bones said. He nodded.

"Well," the Priest said. "If there are no more interruptions, lets finish up this ceremony." Booth heard nothing as the ceremony was completed. He merely watched, off to the side, wishing that it was him holding Brennan's hand at that moment. Joining his life to hers. He turned away as they leaned in, getting closer and closer each second. Leaning towards the kiss that would seal their lives as one forever. He glanced back over just as the couple's lips met. He couldn't stand it anymore. He raced down the aisle and threw the doors open in an attempt to get as far away from them as possible. He couldn't do it. He couldn't be their happy friend that stood off to the side their entire lives.

He raced out onto the street, running as fast as he could. He could hear his name faintly being called in the background, but chose to ignore it. He ran until he couldn't run any more. Why did he have to be a perfect gentleman? Why couldn't he say it back when Bones finally told him that she loved him? Why did everything have to go wrong? Things used to be great. He was perfectly content with their surrogate relationship. Sure, he didn't get to kiss her, hold her hand, or experience any other physical aspects of typical relationship, but that didn't matter. She wasn't a typical girl. He was happy with the fact that he got to be there for her. Protect her. Threaten guys who broke her heart. He couldn't do that anymore. It wasn't his job.

"Booth!" he heard. He could hear approaching footsteps as the person raced down the steps.

"What was that about?" Booth shook his head. He didn't want to answer. He couldn't.

"Booth, answer me!" they cried. Tears slowly began to fill his eyes. He couldn't deal with this anymore. He couldn't deal with anything anymore! Everything, everywhere, reminded him of her. More importantly, it reminded him of her rejections.

"I can't do it," he said. His voice came out rough, and scratchy. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"I know. I don't blame you. I wouldn't be able to do it either." He leaned into the touch and savoured the moment.

"I don't know if I can be around her anymore. It just reminds me of the heartache," he explained. The person simply nodded and kept their hand on his shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay Booth," they said. He nodded and closed his eyes. He sat there, in peace, recalling all the good times.

"I just wish I had one more day with her. You know, before she and Hacker got together. Back when times were much more simple." Booth could hear cheering in the background. He turned to watch Brennan and Hacker exit the church. Grins covered both of their faces as they raced down the steps, hand in hand. They turned around and gave the group a giant wave. They then leaned in for a kiss.

"NO!" Booth screamed. The world began to fade.

"You said you loved me, Bones! Me, not Hacker! Me!" The image of the couple kissing froze as he was forced to stare at the scene.

"Booth..." he heard.

"NO!" he cried. "I can't let this happen!"

"Booth," he heard yet again.

"You can't leave me like this!"

"Booth!"

"I need you!"

"BOOTH!" His eyes flew open, only to be greeted by a bright light.

"Ahhh!" he cried as he quickly shut his eyes. He heard crying.

"Excuse me, we need you to leave the room. You have to give the doctors room to work."

"We can't just leave him!"

"Ma'am, we need you to leave!"

"No! I'm not going to leave him!"

"Sir! Please remove your friend from the room!" Booth could hear a high pitched beeping. It wasn't rhythmic or steady, it was insane. He felt himself losing consciousness as a mask was placed over his face. He attempted to swat it away, only to realize that his arms were too heavy to lift. He turned his head back and forth, trying to resist the darkness from which he had come. Realizing that he couldn't resist, he gave in, using all his energy to say one last word.

"Bones..."

Author's Note

So, I realize that there are quite a few people who enjoy reading this story. For those of you who do, I apologize for the Bones/Hacker scare. My friend, who also enjoys this story, annoyed me and I felt I needed to get back at her. Again, I apologize for the belated Halloween scare. Next chapter will be up soon. It's already written, so you'll get it whenever I get around to posting it. Read, review, enjoy!