They had stood facing each other in silence. The original surprise at being reunited had soon turned into awkwardness. Eyes not quite meeting, Booth had repeated his earlier question. Hannah had replied the same. He had pondered what to do and, after a few questions, he'd stood up and had led her out of the Hoover Building. They'd taken his SUV and had driven in silence through the streets of Washington to the Founding Fathers. At this time of day, the place was nearly empty.

"Sorry to have just barged in on you like that," Hannah apologized once again as they took a seat. "I should have called first."

Booth shrugged. The initial shock had morphed into irritation. Being here with Hannah wasn't something he was truly enjoying. The attraction was still present, yet he couldn't help the images of her rejection from flashing before his eyes. A wave of guilt washed over him. He didn't know what Hannah wanted to talk about, but he still felt like he was betraying his girlfriend's trust. He tried to remind himself that Bones was far away and that she wouldn't have minded since she'd always liked Hannah and knew he would never cheat on her, despite being angry with her.

"After I heard about the explosion, I just needed to see you."

"How did you know about the explosion?" Booth asked, surprised.

"I'm a journalist, Seeley. Give me some credit."

Booth chuckled.

"And it was all over the news," he added, a smile twitching at his lips.

"That too."

Silence fell between them and Booth cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

"I also heard about Temperance being on the run."

A small supermarket; a woman testing the firmness of apples, her profile undeniable.

She walked over. Picking at the apples, she talked about her grandmother's pies before introducing herself as Hannah Burley. Eyes met.

"Mary Curtis."

"I'm very sorry about what is happening to you, Seeley. I know how difficult it must be for you, being separated from your girlfriend and your daughter that way. Have you heard from her at all?"

She already knew the answer, but she asked anyway. Just as she had expected, Booth shook his head.

"It's better if she doesn't. It would make me an accomplice and come land us both in very big trouble. My daughter deserves both of her parents."

A dark-haired man joined Mary. The baby girl in his arms clutched a small bag of tomatoes. Hannah smiled at her. The infant looked her way before shyly turning away from her smile.

"This is my Uncle Robert," Mary said, "and my daughter Colleen."

Colleen's blue eyes betrayed her maternal genes.

"Why did you stop by my office, Hannah?"

The question brought her back to reality. The steeliness of his voice took her by surprise. She shouldn't have been surprised; she'd imagined their reunion many times over the last year, each time with a different outcome, a different attitude. The guilt at having turned him down still lingered after all these months.

"I want to help."

Booth frowned.

"I want to help prove that Temperance is innocent. We both know she would never kill anyone."

Booth rubbed his chin.

"The problem is, Hannah, she has killed before and the FBI is fully aware of that."

"She killed in self-defence, Seeley, not in cold-blooded murder."

"I still don't understand how and you would help me."

"Temperance is my friend and I want to help. I'm an investigative journalist now. I can blend in with the crowd, ask questions without raising suspicions. Criminals have a sixth sense when it comes to cops. They don't have one for journalists."

Booth sighed. Hannah's proposition was definitely tempting. His own investigation was going nowhere and they were still far from proving Pelant had manipulated evidence to frame Bones. With the Moscovitch murder, it gave him and the rest of the Jeffersonian team less time to focus on their friend. However, he was reluctant to send his former girlfriend out in the world, looking for a killer, and he had no desire of being her bodyguard.

"I'll think about it."

Hannah smiled at him before changing the subject.

"So tell me, how did this happen? Christine, I mean… How did it happen?"

Booth frowned upon hearing his daughter's name. How had Hannah found out about her name? Had it been on the news? He'd kept away from every newscast and newspaper since his family's disappearance.

"Thanks for stopping by. Can I offer you something to drink?"

"No, thanks, I can't stay long. I just wanted to know how you were doing."

"I'm doing well. I'm glad we found this apartment. Driving around the country and sleeping in motel rooms was fatiguing, especially with a baby."

Colleen sat on the kitchen floor, surrounded by a few toys.

"What's her real name?"

"Christine."

The air grew awkward around them as Booth told her about Vincent Nigel Murray's death. He explained that, fearing for his partner's safety, he had invited her to sleep at his apartment.

"In the middle of the night, she walked in my room. She was crying and she thought the intern's death was her fault. I took her in my arms and we fell back into my bed. I'd never seen her so distraught, I didn't know what to do. I kissed her forehead. She froze, looked up at me, and I… kissed her. I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

He hadn't thought of that night in a very long time and the memory of it sent a painful jolt through his heart. Their first moment together had marked him for ever. He had felt guilty at first, like he had taken advantage of her in a state of weakness. Then he remembered that, if it had been, over-rational Brennan would have taken over and said that it wouldn't be a good idea if they slept together. The guilt had then changed to strong happiness.

Hannah nodded.

"Well, I'm glad things worked out for you in the end."

Silence crept back between them. Behind them, the door opened and a bell chimed bringing loud voices into the bar. The four men made their way to the end of the room, laughing hysterically.

"I'm very sorry about…"

"Don't," Booth interrupted her briskly.

"No, really, Seeley. I am sorry."

Booth shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, Hannah. I've moved on and I'm happy with Bones. I'm glad things worked out the way they did."

"Nevertheless, I still feel guilty about what happened between us. Helping you would be my way of paying you back for all the pain."

Booth let out a long sigh. His internal struggle was weakening.

"You know it will be very dangerous? Pelant is very sneaky."

"I'll be very careful."

"That's not all. The agent currently in charge of the investigation doesn't hesitate to kick anyone close to Bones off the case. He's determined to prove that she's guilty. Nothing will change his mind."

A smile twitched at her lips.

"You're not going to change my mind about this. I want to help."

"Then, there might be something I would need your help with."

The bell chimed once more. Booth felt his heartbeat accelerate as his eyes fell on his colleague. Flynn made his way to their table, a distorted half-smile on his face, eyes glinting strangely.

"Talking to the press, Seeley?" he asked "Do I need to remind you that you are no long investigating your girlfriend's murder? Unless you were telling this beautiful lady the whereabouts of your beloved doctor, then in that case, I want to be there to hear it."

Booth glared at him. Flynn chuckled.

"Be careful, Seeley. If you meddle in something you are not allowed to, it might cost you your job."

Then, turning to Hannah, he added:

"Have any information you would like to share with me?"

Hannah scoffed.

"Like I'd tell you."

A smile twitched at Flynn's lips. Then, turning to his colleague he added:

"See, that's more your woman-style."

Booth sprung to his feet, fists clenched. Flynn merely chuckled before walking away. He'd been about to follow his colleague when he felt a soft touch on his forearm.

"Sit down, he's not worth it," Hannah ordered him, drawing her hand away.

"I want you to investigate him."

"What?"

His eyes still focused on Flynn, Booth continued.

"I want you to find as much as you can on him."

"Can't you do yourself?"

"There are things FBI files won't tell me. I want to know exactly where he lives, what kind of life he leads, who he's married to, what type of car he drives, how many parking tickets he has, what likes to put on his toasts… I want to know everything!"

"Seeley, he's your colleague."

Booth tore his gaze back to his ex-girlfriend.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure he knows who killed Ethan Sawyer."