It was a crisp fall Wednesday morning as Temperance Brennan drove down a tree lined residential street on her way to the Jeffersonian. The beautiful red and yellow fall colors brought a wistful smile to her face as she recalled autumns past and drives through the countryside with Booth as they headed to various crime scenes. Temperance had always loved autumn best with the respite from sweltering summer temperatures and the sometimes spectacular displays in the leafy residential areas of DC. She had found a kindred spirit in Seeley Booth and when the colors were at their peak, he would often take "the long way home" so they could spend as much time as possible "oohing" and "aahing" over the dazzling colors. She would try to explain to him the scientific processes behind the changing of the colors, but he would just get a big Boothy grin on his face and say, "Magic!", and she would turn to look out her window so he couldn't see the little smile she often got witnessing his playful nature. They always felt fortunate that they had the type of job that allowed them those little dalliances, but they justified it by using that extra time together to bounce theories off each other about the crime scene they had just left. Brennan also secretly enjoyed being the passenger at those times because it allowed her to really enjoy the views without the task of keeping the car safely in its lane. Of course, she never admitted that to Booth, she thought, with another sneaky smile to herself.

But there had been none of that this autumn. In fact, it seemed like every week that had gone by in the three months since they had both returned to Washington saw them seeing less and less of each other and slowly pulling apart. Not only were there never any "long way home" days, but he often found excuses for having her return to the Jeffersonian with her crew because he had places to go that were in the opposite direction and it was out of his way to drop her off. Plus, he had been finding more and more reasons to just have her meet him at the crime scene instead of their usual routine of him picking her up at home or the lab. There was a very simple and very obvious explanation for this gradual change in both their routine and their relationship. Hannah.

When Booth returned from Afghanistan with the news of his new relationship, Brennan secretly worried that things between them would change, and when Hannah arrived in Washington several days later, it seemed like her fears were realized. But Booth assured her that nothing would change. They would still work together to identify victims and bring their killers to justice. They would still meet in the diner for lunch several days a week. They would still have their celebratory drinks in Founding Fathers. But despite his assurances, things had changed. The change had not been sudden, but it seemed that every week he pulled further and further away from her. She found herself in the lab more because Booth was gradually taking Sweets out to question suspects or even going on his own. Hannah started to stop by the diner to join their lunches, and she was just realizing that there were now never any one-on-one lunches - it was always the three of them. In fact, Brennan had recently started to find excuses not to join them because it was just easier. And the drinks at Founding Fathers after closing a case? The only times Hannah didn't join them anymore was when she was out of town researching a story. Prior to their seven month sabbaticals, Brennan had come to consider Booth her best friend, but she now understood that was no longer the case. Of course, it made sense that their relationship had to change once Booth found the person he hoped to be his life partner. And she understood that this really was all on her because she had turned down his proposition that they give themselves a chance for that type of relationship. But that didn't lessen her pain. The idea that she could have tried to open her heart and possibly found herself in the position that Hannah now occupied was often on her mind. Would they have worked? If they had tried and it didn't work, would the pain have been greater than what she was feeling now? She often wished she had that answer, but the real answer was that she would never know. For once in her life she was starting to have regrets.

Later that afternoon, she was sitting at her desk writing a report on the identification she had just made on a set of bones from "limbo" when a man walked into her office. She recognized him as one of the agents she saw on occasion when she was working with Booth at his office at the FBI. "Doctor Brennan? Hello, I'm Special Agent Tim O'Brien. I don't think we've ever been formally introduced, but I have seen you often on our floor at FBI headquarters." Brennan stood and accepted the extended handshake. She motioned for him to have a seat. "What can I do for you Agent O'Brien?" The agent had a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. "Did you not receive a communication that I was coming to meet with you?" Brennan pulled up her email inbox and scanned the ones from the last 24 hours and saw none from an FBI address. He cleared his throat, "Well, I'm your new FBI liaison. I'm really excited to be working with you and your talented team. The Jeffersonian has a sterling reputation and I was thrilled to be asked to partner with you. I can tell you that many of my colleagues were a little green with envy that they weren't chosen." He ended with a chuckle and a hopeful smile. But he was dismayed to see that all she could do was stare motionless at him. Her body was motionless, but inside she was spinning. 'What the… There has to be some mistake…. They would never break us up… Why is this happening?' She pulled herself together and calmly asked, "Who made this decision? Why wasn't I consulted?"