Hi everyone! Thank you for the reviews and messages! It means the world to hear what you think of this story. SORRY for the huge delay… I really don't mean for the delays to stretch on like they have. The reviews and nudges to continue honestly do spur me forward. So without further ado: Enjoy!

-Mac

Chapter 13

Booth had no idea where he was going. He was flying toward the Jeffersonian, sirens on, but he knew that Bones wasn't at the Jeffersonian. He didn't know where she was. If he'd paid more attention to the newscast, maybe he could've figured that out. He called Bones over and over. No answer. He'd tried Angela. Same.

Sweets.

Where the hell was everyone?

He couldn't believe that man was there, practically threatening her on live TV. When he ever saw that it was that man – that man who'd moved in on her space last week, grabbed her wrist like he had a right to her… Booth groaned and closed his eyes briefly at a red light. This was a nightmare.

It was a nightmare and Booth honestly wanted to kill this man, if he got the chance. His blood was boiling and he curled and uncurled his fists

How could Bones not tell him about her signing? She always told him when a new book dropped. She'd talk about the sales. The interviews. And the events. If she received stalker-styled letters – especially anything threatening – she'd always show him. And, honestly, the last three times she'd released a book, she'd had a huge number of letters from fans who were too obsessed and kind of scared him. So he'd go with her. He'd stand back, but he'd be there. And he knew she appreciated the backup. He knew that some of her "fans" were just too much. And she knew there could be a threat in the crowd. She'd admitted that to him before, when she'd thanked him for coming.

This time… she'd said nothing. And someone who definitely seemed to pose a threat to her was just a few feet away from her, leering at her, while he sat across town at a dinner that she should have been invited to.

He threw a hand through his hair as everything crashed down around him. If anything happened to her…

His phone rang and he saw his brother's name lighting up the screen and held back an actual grunt. His brother was not the person he wanted to talk to right now. He still couldn't get over what he'd said; that he'd encouraged Jake to go after Bones because she was vulnerable. But right now, no one was answering so he pushed the talk button and pulled the phone up to his ear.

"What?"

"Whoa," Jared replied coolly. "Let's bring it down a notch."

"What do you want, Jared?"

"You ran out of here like an overprotective ape, so I figured I'd check to see if you even knew where you were going."

Booth opened his mouth to say goodbye to his brother because he didn't have time for Jared's annoying back-and-forth, but then he stopped. "Wait, do you know where she is?"

"Boxcar Books, the superstore on 8th."

"I know the one, I've taken Parker there," Booth replied.

"Well, if you'd waited a moment, the news anchors did give details that you may have needed."

"Yeah, well, I didn't really think about it."

"That was obvious," Jared said. "I'm not sure what got you so spooked but your fiancée looks kind of pissed."

Booth frowned. "I'll deal with it later. This… it's what I needed to do right now. I can't… I couldn't just sit there, after—"

"I get it."

"And, Jared… thanks."

After a long pause, Jared cleared his throat. "Sure."

When they hung up, Booth pulled into the lot for the bookstore and leapt out of the car.

B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B

A sudden commotion caught Brennan's attention and her head snapped up, pen mid-air, mid-signature. An eager fan was practically bouncing up and down in excitement for her autograph, but her mind was a bit preoccupied. What on earth was going on?

"Dr. Brennan," a man said and he stood before her, towering tall and somehow familiar. Who was he?

"Can I help you?" she asked, as fear began springing to life, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Before she could say anything else an explosion of light appeared before her, a deafening noise boomed in her ears, and she felt herself falling hard. She could barely breathe – the wind had been knocked out of her and for some reason, she couldn't open her eyes. Everything was dark and quiet, but for that deep voice.

"I told you it wasn't over."

B*B*B*B*BB*B*B*B*B*B*B*BB*B*B*B*B*B*B

"Don't worry," Jared said into his phone for the tenth time to a very distraught Angela.

"That was not okay, Jared. What was that? Where is she?"

He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was going to kill Chris. Because that… was not quite what they'd discussed. And if anything happened to Temperance, he'd kill the guy himself, if his brother didn't beat him to it.

"I don't know. I'm trying to reach Chris. But he knows what he's doing. He's not planning to hurt her."

"That was an explosion, Jared! This was not what you said. My god, why are we doing this. She's my best friend. I feel like the bad guy."

"Keep trying her. I'm trying Chris. She will be fine. I promise."

B*B*B*BB*B*B*B*B*B*BB*B*B**B*B*B*B*B*

Booth rushed into the bookstore, seeing smoke and a frantic crowd heading right for him, trying to escape. Copies of her book were strewn all over the floor and a feeling of pure dread filled his gut as he marched forward, gun drawn.

He got to the front of the crowd finally and saw the reporter sitting beside her cameraman who looked like he was unconscious. He looked at the signing table and didn't see his partner anywhere.

"What happened?" he asked the reporter as he got closer.

"I don't know," she said, still shaking. "I was interviewing Dr. Brennan and some audience members. Then it was like total chaos. This one guy…." She looked around, looking spooked. "He said he was going to get her, he knocked Jacob over, and there was a loud noise and a lot of light. I haven't seen her, but… everyone is running, so… maybe she ran outside. I don't know. I just don't know. I cover stories like this all the time, and they're boring at best. This has never happened before."

Booth walked away from her and searched the immediate area, growing urgency making his heart race and his whole chest ache. Finally, he spotted Angela and Hodgins in the corner, their cell phones to their ears and he ran over to them.

"Did you see what happened?" he demanded.

"Booth," Angela said, looking near tears, putting her phone down, hanging up on whoever she'd been talking to. "Why are you here? Don't you have a rehearsal dinner to be at?"

"Honey," Hodgins said, a warning edge to his voice.

"Well, it's true. He has a huge personal night tonight. He doesn't need to be checking in on any of his colleagues."

"Colleagues?" Booth was stunned. "Are you serious?"

Hodgins clicked off his phone. "Her cell is going right to voicemail."

Booth took a deep breath. He didn't have time to unpack any of Angela's disappointment right now, not when Bones was gone and something was clearly very wrong. "Were you watching her when this happened? Did someone take her? What happened?"

Angela looked at him for a long moment and he could see it all. She was blaming him for not being here. Not just today. For not being here anymore. For all this distance, for all this change. Their whole team felt like it was just up in the air, like it was all broken to pieces. And it had been him who'd promised to move on. But…

He hadn't meant to move on from everything. He couldn't even imagine his life without his partner, without his people, without these friends.

Angela clutched a hand gently to her stomach, seemingly for comfort. And he remembered how when they were officially sharing the news of their pregnancy with their friends, he didn't bother to even show up. He went to have sex with his girlfriend and he didn't even attempt to hide that fact from Bones. And he knew…

… he'd moved on from every single thing in his life. He'd stepped into a new life that left all of these people – his people – behind. Far, far behind.

"Well, what on earth was that?" a female voice said. He turned and saw a woman who looked vaguely familiar approaching them. "I suppose it was that publicity stunt we were going to do, but it wasn't meant to be like that, to ruin the entire signing!"

"Katia," Angela said. "We are trying to reach Bren. Did you hear from her?"

Katia. That's right. Bones's publicist. He'd met her at past signings. When he'd been actively involved in everything Bones was up to, including things like this that had nothing to do with their caseload.

"No," Katia said.

"What do you mean 'publicity stunt'?" Booth asked. He kept looking around, trying to locate Bones. Where was she…

Where was she!?

"This guy said he had a way to create a distraction during the signing that would get a lot of media attention and help the sales of her book spike."

"What guy?" Angela asked.

"Did Bones know about the stunt?" Booth demanded, growing angry, defensive. This wasn't the first time her publicist had put her in a situation that was not in her best interest for the sake of book sales. He used to get involved in an effort to defend her from being used because sometimes her lack of social awareness prevented her from realizing just how much people took advantage of her in her life, until it was too late. He used to help her. And for these events – he used to show up.

In so many ways, he used to show up. He put a hand through his hair and squeezed. His heart was racing and he didn't know where to even begin right now. He could see she was gone. He was sure she wasn't in the crowd storming out. And he was left feeling helpless.

And guilty.

This was not his fault. So why did it feel like it was? Even Angela seemed unable to keep the blame out of her eyes when she looked at him right now.

Katia shook her head. "He said not to tell her. That that would ruin it. Because of the way she is with people, with acting – she would've ruined it, but he promised that it would really spike sales. Now, I'm feeling a little bit like this guy was not the professional PR rep I thought he was."

"You let some man just tell you he was going to do something to her, and you did nothing?" Booth asked. He was honestly seething now.

"Well, no – he came through all the proper channels. I don't understand any of it."

At that, Hodgins and Angela exchanged a meaningful look and if he wasn't mistaken, they looked almost guilty.

"What?" Booth asked them.

But Angela just shook her head at him angrily and walked away. Hodgins followed. And Booth stood there wondering what on earth was going on.

B*B*B*B*B*BB*B*B*B**B*B*B*B

Brennan opened her eyes and saw a man sitting close to her. Too close. He seemed to be scrutinizing every feature on her face. Her eyes widened in alarm.

"Oh good," he said, breathing out in apparent relief. "You're okay! I was going to be in so much trouble if you weren't okay. I wasn't expecting such a big blast. I was aiming for theatrical. But it just sort of took on a life of itself. But basically… I went off script. And he's not going to be happy."

Brennan rubbed her head – she felt like she'd banged it hard into a wall. "Who's not going to be happy?" Did she have a concussion? Everything felt confusing. "Am I dreaming?" Nothing looked right, or felt right.

"Let's go back out to the people so we can show them all that you're just fine. And honestly – sorry. Really. I'm sorry. But your book sales will spike. I promise."

She stared at him, her head swimming. She was so confused. "What?" It was the only question she could manage.

He stepped forward and pulled a hand up to touch her forehead but she flinched and swatted his arm away in a move of self-defense. "Don't touch me."

"That's going to leave a mark," he said, a grim expression on his face. He definitely seemed like he was worrying about upsetting someone. Whoever put him up to this no doubt. It sounded like a PR stunt gone wrong. Sometimes that happened, but she never felt any actual physical pain before from a mishap. Just usually some ruined books or an embarrassing interview.

He actually seemed pretty harmless so she took the proffered arm for support and allowed him to lead her out of this strange room. It looked like the basement of a book shop.

As she began ascending a staircase she realized it was the basement of a bookshop. It was the basement of Boxcar Books, where she'd been sitting and signing copies of her book just moments ago. At least… she thought it was moments ago.

As she walked out into the space, the brightness hurt her eyes for a moment. She could see two people in police uniforms walking around, taking notes and interviewing people. And Angela and Hodgins were calling people on their cell phones. There was some smoke emanating the air. She walked over to her friends and stood there on shaky legs. Whatever was going on, they seemed to know.

When Angela noticed her, her eyes grew wide. Brennan registered an intense look of relief before she let out a cry and hugged her tightly. "Bren!"

She hugged Angela back and then noticed Booth walking through the door, looking angry. What was wrong – he looked positively miserable. And in his eyes, there was unmistakable fear. His hands were shaking and he was looking around. She'd seen the look. It was how he surveyed more serious crime scenes. But there was something far more personal – more emotional – running under the surface that she had never seen before. Was something wrong with Hannah? Tonight was a big night. Why was he here?

Hodgins walked over to Booth and clapped him on the shoulder, pointing at Angela. And when Booth's eyes found hers, his mouth fell open. In a heartbeat he was standing in front of her.

"Bones!" he said. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine, Booth," she said, her voice shaking just a bit. Why was it shaking.

Before she could ask him why he'd looked so upset before, why he wasn't at his incredibly significant dinner right now, and why he seemed to be shaking before her, he pulled her into his arms tightly. He held on tight and after a moment, she wrapped her hands around him, too.

They hadn't hugged like this in forever. Like they were best friends, like they were the center. Like they had to hold. Like nothing else in this entire world mattered…

"What happened?" he asked, still holding her, his voice thick and constricted.

"I'm not sure." She pulled back and looked at him. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be uptown. Is everything okay? You didn't have to come. I'm fine."

He searched her eyes, his jaw muscle tightening a bit at her words. "I came because you're my partner, Bones. I… I saw, and… I didn't know what happened, if you were okay. Of course I'm here."

Her breath caught at those words and then she noticed that guy – that weird, strange man, walking over towards her.

"So if you're all set here, I'm just going to go—"

When Booth caught sight of the man, he lunged – literally lunged – at him.

"What did you do!?" he yelled. And before anyone could stop him, he threw a punch and the guy went down.

"Booth!" Brennan yelled, but it was hopeless. Hodgins was trying to pull him off of the guy but Booth was throwing a barrage of punches. The guy was fighting back.

"She could've been killed," he said as he held the man down. She was shocked by the amount of anger – where was this coming from?

"It was just a magic trick. I know what I'm doing. She was never in any danger!"

Booth still held the man down though his anger left him a little and he just shook his head helplessly. "Are you kidding me?"

The guy looked over at Brennan. "It just didn't go as smoothly as it was supposed to. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you hit your head. I'm sorry that I scared you. And you," he added looking at Booth. "All of you really." He glanced at Angela now as well.

And then Jared and Hannah walked in. Jared looked shocked and moved to yank his brother off of this man, finally.

"Seeley," Hannah said. "What are you doing?" She looked at Brennan and Brennan felt ice enter her veins. Oh, she was angry.

Hannah walked over to Brennan. "I feel like whenever I need him, you somehow get in the way."

Brennan's mouth fell open at that and she looked at Booth. His brother was holding him now and Hodgins was holding the other guy.

Booth was looking at Hannah now, breathing hard. God, she didn't want to be in the way. He deserved to be happy. She was trying to let him go. She was really trying to let him go! She wanted – she needed – to move on. She knew that. And it wasn't easy. But she was not trying to hurt anyone.

"I didn't ask him to come," she said to Hannah quietly, her eyes filling with tears. And her head just throbbed.

"It was a publicity stunt gone wrong," the guy said. "But she's okay."

Booth looked at the guy again. "If she wasn't, you'd be dead right now."

Hannah stepped forward and looked at her fiancée closely. "Let's go. My mother is still there. They ate without us. We can still go back for dessert. This is our night. Let's go."

Booth didn't look at Hannah. She spoke to him but he just looked past her, a sort of desperate look in his eyes as they searched hers. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm okay, Booth. Please… just go."

Jared released Booth and gently nudged him. "The cops are here. Temperance is fine. We need to go back. That's what you need to do right now. That is where you need to be."

She could see it but she didn't understand it. He was nodding like he knew his brother was right, that Hannah was right. But his eyes were desperate to do what he used to. To stay.

"Go, Booth." She took a step toward Angela and then she noticed Jake Roman walk in. He walked up to her and caught her eyes. And, even though he wasn't Booth… even though she didn't feel anything romantic toward him… he'd become a friend. He felt safe. Not safe like Booth made her feel. But she was still shaking and he was kind and he cared. So when he touched her forehead, where she was sure there was a bruise, she moved forward until he was holding her and she was in his embrace. A tear slipped out of her eyes because it's not the embrace she wanted. It wasn't even close to the one she'd just shared with her partner.

But he held her and she held him.

"Booth, man, it's okay. I'll make sure she gets home okay. Go back to your dinner. It's an important night man."

Jared stepped towards his brother and Booth… he was just staring at her and Jake with this look on his face – a look she didn't understand at all.

"She'll be okay," Jared said. "Jake can take care of her."

And for some reason, Booth pushed his brother hard and took a step towards her.

"Bones, if you need anything—"

"I'm okay. Please go," she said, her eyes skittering nervously over to Hannah. "Go."

Booth turned to look at the cops nearby. "Make sure someone takes a look at her."

"Got it, Booth," one of them said.

"Bones." She looked at him. Why did he look so…

… tortured.

"Booth," she said, her voice a mere whisper. "Go."

And finally he did.

He left with Hannah, the woman he was marrying in a little over a day.

And finally Brennan realized something important. Something she always knew, but had been ignoring.

She couldn't attend their wedding. She wouldn't. She loved Booth. She knew that more now than ever before. She kept trying to move on and it wasn't working. It just wasn't working.

Watching him marry someone else was going to kill her. It was going to actually kill her.

So she wasn't doing it. She was not going to her best friend's wedding. This, right here…

… this was goodbye.