Disclaimer: I do not own "Bones" or the characters is this story; I am only playing with them for a while. I will put them away nicely when I am done. No money has changed hands.

Author's note: I have never written for "Bones" before. I am hoping you enjoy my addition. Please let me know what you think.

This begins at the end of "The Doctor in the Photo". I have changed it up a bit, so I guess you could say it is an AU. Suffice it to say that I never really cared for the Hannah character.

Chapter 1

The rain had stopped. The night was quiet. Booth stopped the car just outside Brennan's apartment.

"Do you want me to walk you up?" he offered.

"No. I'll be fine", she replied.

"I could call Angela", he added quietly.

Without looking at him, she replied, "I'm fine, Booth. I have always been fine alone. I will continue to be so. Good night."

Booth watched his partner walk up the path to her apartment with her arms wrapped protectively around herself. He closed his tear-filled eyes and rubbed his face as he took a deep breath. Talking to himself, he questioned, "Why now, Bones? My God, why couldn't you have come to this conclusion sooner….."

Sighing, he flipped his turn signal and pulled back onto the road hoping Hannah would be asleep when he got home and he didn't have to look at her for a while.

He was grateful when he walked in the door to find Hannah in the bedroom with the door closed and the light off. He sat on the sofa, kicked off his shoes, and put his head in his hands. What he really wanted to do was run back to Bones' apartment and take her into his arms. However, he couldn't help that another woman was in his bed, a woman he told he loved. He couldn't just dump her, send her away. That wasn't the kind of man he was. He had told Bones that Hannah was not a consolation prize, but if he was truly honest with himself, that's exactly what she was. He was settling for second best. Feeling guilty, he decided that he couldn't go get in bed with Hannah, so he scooted down and lay on the sofa, falling into a fitful sleep.