Oh my I am SO sorry for the delay! I swear I'm trying to get these posted much quicker! Half of this has been written for over a week (and I think about this story and what I want to do with it multiple times a day)! Thank you for bearing with me – the reviews, nudges, messages are SO appreciated.

Chapter 6

"I have a text from Jake Roman," Brennan said to Angela, the next day. "He wants to take me out tonight."

Angela smiled and lifted her eyebrows twice, suggestively. "Well, well, well… seems the dress did the trick."

Brennan creased her brow. "I think it was our conversation. He's actually very interested in ancient medieval soldiers."

"Or," Angela suggested, "he's interested in you. And wanted to show an interest in your interests."

Brennan shook her head. "Why would he pretend to like what I like?"

"To have a reason to keep chatting with you. Bren, were you there last night?"

Now she was downright confused. Of course she was there last night. With Angela. What kind of insane question was that?

"I just mean… at least six men hit on you. All night long. And Jake. Once he got a moment to talk to you, he didn't give it up. Because if he'd stopped your conversation, someone else would've sat down and stolen your time and his chances."

"Oh," she said, her brow clearing. "I just think that everyone was being friendly. These are agents that I've gotten to know a bit from all of my years visiting the Hoover building."

"They could've said 'hi' and kept walking if they just wanted to be friendly. Face it, Bren, you were the hot commodity last night."

Something coiled in Brennan's stomach at that and she looked down again at Jake's text.

If you're available to go to dinner, I'd love to take you out. There's a place right near the Hoover, if you want to meet me here. Any chance you'll be in the building for a meeting or something?

She took a deep breath. Talking to Jake had been easy. It had certainly prevented her from paying too much attention to Booth and Hannah and having to witness their love on display – and be reminded in such a blatant way of all the ways she failed to be what she'd needed to be in the moment that mattered most – in the one moment she'd probably regret forever.

And if she were to have any chance at all of 'moving on' and finding happiness, like Booth had, she needed to be open. Take chances.

That sounds good, Jake. I'll come to your office around 7.

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Booth sat back in the chair at his desk at the end of a long day. He'd finished the paperwork from his most recent case, surprised another case hadn't popped up at all this week. It was probably for the best, since he'd had his engagement dinner this week and Hannah kept, upon realizing he didn't have a case, taking him to do wedding-related things.

Because their wedding was only two weeks away now.

Two weeks.

He took a few deep breaths and struggled to catch a good breath. Why did he feel like that? He'd felt that way for awhile – though he couldn't pinpoint when it had started. He often felt like his heart was racing and he could not catch a decent breath. He'd even gone to the doctor to make sure it had nothing to do with his medical scare from a couple of years ago.

Because he knew now that sudden changes in health could signal something very dangerous going on inside of his body.

But he'd received a completely clean bill of health. He closed his eyes, trying to catch that breath again and thought about the doctor's words that day.

"It sounds like a panic attack. Run of the mill anxiety."

"Why would I be panicking?"

"Weddings can be a lot," he'd said. "Couples put a lot of pressure on this one day. So try to relax a bit. Work less. Make time for your wedding plans so you don't go home at night feeling suffocated by a to-do list. Most couples approaching their wedding day feel exactly that way."

So he'd been putting his time into being part of the wedding planning. But it had been taking time away from work. And for some reason, the more he helped with the weddings plans, the less calm he felt. The feelings he'd been experiencing – being short of breath, having his heart begin to race, this general unsettled feeling in his gut – they weren't getting better. They were getting worse.

And he couldn't figure out why.

His phone buzzed and he looked down and frowned. It was a message from Hannah. And…. That should make him happy. She was asking what time he'd be home. Saying that she had narrowed down the choices for DJs and wanted to have a chill night of listening to music to cross off yet another item from their ever-shrinking to-do list.

But… he'd been disappointed. Every time his phone buzzed the past few weeks, the messages were from Hannah. He'd once been excited to see her name flash across his screen. Now, it felt like it was only her name.

Even during cases, Bones didn't text him as much anymore, if at all. She would call for true breakthroughs. And everything else, it seemed, could wait. During cases, they saw each other daily, so she'd just tell him about her findings in person. Anything Hodgins-related came from messages from him. Sometimes Cam would write.

But Bones was… it felt like she was taking a step back from any kind of connection with him. At first, he hadn't consciously noticed.

But now, he felt desperate to cling onto their old dynamic, though his gut was telling him that it was long gone.

So, when his phone buzzed, he knew that it wouldn't be Bones. He knew it. But the past few weeks, as he'd become more and more aware of the growing distance between them that had never been there before, he'd become more and more desperate to see her name there.

Not because of… not…

Not like that.

It just was starting to feel more and more like she was stepping out of his life. Giving him space to step into his new life.

But losing her – that had never been on the table.

It had never been a possibility.

And… it had to be that he was just overthinking it. Right? Because he couldn't lose Bones. Not after all they'd been through. It was just his mind responding to the changes because everything was changing. It was spinning out. And he wanted to hold on. But… sometimes it felt like she'd let go.

And when he felt that, something inside felt so very off, almost broken.

He didn't know why they hadn't had any kind of case all week. It was not helping that he had absolutely no excuse to talk to Bones. And in the past, he hadn't needed an excuse between cases. But lately… it felt like work was the only connection they still had anymore. But no.

No.

That was not the case. They were family. They were the center.

That hadn't changed.

It could not have changed.

But when Hannah had first arrived in town, he'd been busy chasing that dream. Love, family, marriage… he'd moved on with abandon. But… he hadn't abandoned Bones. He'd been right there. By her side. Working cases. Being friends.

And yet… he never felt so far apart from her as he suddenly did lately. He wondered if while he was busy, he'd missed something important. Let her down. Forgotten that friendship meant effort. He had been busy. And now, he wanted to give time to her. But he didn't know how.

Leaning back in his chair, he noticed a familiar figure hovering just outside his door and his stomach tightened. "Bones?"

She peeked in and waved. "Yes, it's me," she confirmed, stepping into his office. As if she needed to confirm her identity to him.

"What brings you here?" he asked, and he tried to hide his smile. Because just seeing her in his office – a sight that was so painfully both familiar and unfamiliar at this moment, was making him feel really happy. He missed her. Missed them.

She looked over her shoulder. "Don't worry, Booth, I know you have to select DJs tonight. I'm not here for… I mean, if you need to go…"

She trailed off awkwardly and he frowned.

"How did you know I had to listen to wedding DJs tonight?" he asked.

He thought he saw her smile falter. Just a bit. "Hannah texted me. When she didn't hear back from you, she thought we might be together working. She just wanted you to know the plans. But I told her that we didn't have a case but that I really didn't know if you were free." Her eyebrows lifted and her eyes looked perfectly innocent – those insanely blue eyes that had perfectly matched that dress last night…

That dress…

He cleared his throat and threw his hands into his pockets, frustrated that Hannah had written to Bones. If they had been working a case, she couldn't do that. Couldn't just… write his partner and make sure she knew not to keep him. If they'd been working a case, he wouldn't run home and just leave Bones alone to work a case anyway! Dammit, these were his cases. He'd dragged Bones into his work so many years ago. The work could be dangerous sometimes. And Bones could be a magnet for danger – especially when his back was turned. There was no way that he would ever leave her in the middle of a case to go listen to music. Wife or not. And… he needed to talk to Hannah and set that straight. That couldn't be the way things moved forward when they were married.

"I'm not in a rush to go listen to music right now," he said, truthfully. "Were… were you hungry? Did you want to grab a bite? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. And I can't remember the last time that we hung out – just us – when it didn't involve a case."

She gave him her signature half-smile and tilted her head. "I wouldn't put off any wedding tasks if I were you, Booth. Your wedding is barely two weeks away. When my college roommate got married, she said that there were hundreds of tasks and if you took even one day off, it could throw all of the plans and ruin the entire day."

Booth smiled. "Well, now, I don't think that that's true."

"I don't know. She has a doctorate."

"That means absolutely nothing in the world of wedding madness," he said.

She smiled just as Jake Roman walked up to her, a smile on his face.

Booth's smile disappeared in a moment; Jake had been glued to her all night last night. Hadn't he gotten enough of her time? Why was he once again getting in the way of him interacting with his own partner? It felt like half the agents he'd invited last night had spent more time with his partner lately than he had in weeks – and now the moment he actually got to really start a conversation with her, Jake had to interrupt? What gives?

"Temperance, you look great. As usual," he said. Booth rolled his eyes but Bones smiled back at Jake. "You ready?"

Suddenly, the other shoe dropped. "Are you two going somewhere?"

"A little restaurant nearby," Jake said.

And suddenly, Booth's chest felt like it had caught fire. And… that made no sense. What was going on? Why was he instantly pissed that his friend – a longtime agent and friend from Quantico – was taking out his partner, his best friend….

… his best friend.

"Booth?"

He looked at Bones. He'd missed whatever it was she had said. "Yeah, Bones."

"Relax tonight. Enjoy the music. And tell Hannah I say hello."

"Same, man. She's a great girl. I couldn't have picked a more perfect partner for you," Jake said.

And with an awkward smile, Bones walked away. With Jake.

And he realized that right up until Jake's arrival, he'd felt like he could breathe for the first time in forever.

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"Hacker, I need a case," Booth said, coat on, heading out. Heading home. To Hannah. To listen to music.

"Booth, I'm trying to give you a break so you can focus on your wedding. It's in a few days and if you get a case that runs long, then where would we be? We can assign any cases that would be yours to other agents. That is what I've been doing."

"You've had cases and kept them from me? Those are our cases, Hacker. Me and Bones. That's… that's what we do. And I need this. I… I need this."

Hacker leaned back in his chair and quirked a brow at Booth. "You need time to focus on yourself for a change. And I'm sorry, but staring at a corpse and thinking about murder can put a real damper on an otherwise happy time in a young man's life."

Booth sighed. "Let's just say that I am overwhelmed right now with wedding tasks and could use the distraction."

"So it'd be a favor to you."

"Yes."

"Maybe even… a gift?"

Booth rolled his eyes. "If you want your wedding gift to me to be giving me and Bones a case to work, then I'll take it. It'll be my favorite gift. I promise." He actually meant that. And… that was strange to say the least.

Man, he needed to get a handle on his anxiety because his thoughts were confusing and frustrating him to the point of what felt like insanity.

"Fine. But it won't be a big murder case. I have a little case that no one wants. You guys can take that one."

"If there's no corpse, I don't exactly need a forensic anthropologist."

"Well, this one is kind of unique. There's this therapy retreat for couples in downtown DC where three people have recently gone missing. It just came in today. In one case the male went missing and in two cases the females. I've been trying to figure out which two agents to send to pose as a couple. I think it's going to be an open and shut case – probably only take a day or two. And… correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Temperance enjoy going undercover?"

He smiled at that – thinking about her all dolled up in Vegas, pretending… pretending to be his. Her clothes, her hair… her attitude. Oh. "She does enjoy it."

"Great. Then this one's yours. If you don't close it up quickly, I'm taking you off of it. Booth, I'm not getting in the way of your wedding.

"Got it. We will get in there, figure out what there is to know, and get out."

"That's what I like to hear."

He walked out of the office to go home and smiled as he shot a text off to Bones.

We have a case. Tomorrow morning. I'll meet you at the Jeffersonian.

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"So, Chris, are we clear on the plan?" Jared said, eating his food at the bar at Founding Fathers. "This time, you will not be rough, but you do understand the plan."

His friend grunted. "I'll try to be gentle. I can't help it, honestly. When I'm playing a role, I have a really hard time separating myself from the character."

Jared rolled his eyes so hard that he thought he may have pulled a muscle. "Well, try to control it, man. She's a nice person and she doesn't need to be harassed. And definitely not because of something I'm doing. My god, my brother would kill me if anything happened to her and he found out that I was involved."

"Your brother sounds protective of her."

"He is."

"But he's marrying someone else."

"He is."

"Then why are you… I don't…"

"Don't ask questions," Jared said. "I barely understand it myself. But you know what you're supposed to do. In three days, we move into the next part of the plan."

"I'm a crazy, dangerous fan. I'm a threat to her."

"And you are aware—"

"That your brother might beat me senseless."

Jared nodded, his mouth drawing a solemn line.

"Man, I love this plan! I used to do MMA fighting and haven't had a good beating in forever. I could honestly use one. Freshen up those skills."

Jared smiled. "You're crazy man. But… do this, and you've more than paid up on what you owed me."

"Sounds good. You know, I'm a big softy."

Jared chewed on his food, smirking. "Is that so?"

"People don't think I am, but I am. I'm all about true love."

Jared smiled. "Hey, apparently I am, too. And it seems like you might just have been given the perfect assignment."

But as he hung up the phone, he started worrying that maybe he was taking this a bit too far. What if his brother really did want to just marry Hannah and move on with his life? What if Tempe got hurt when all he wanted to do was help her? And what if his brother got hurt? He'd been through enough. He didn't want any part in hurting him.

But his gut told him that he was walking down the aisle with the wrong woman. His gut was screaming that at him. And… okay… he was taking his job here maybe a little too seriously.

But hey, wasn't that the way of the Booth boys?