A/N: I've wanted to write this for quite some time. Months, actually. But I finally sat down and got it out, just in time for the premiere:) Set post The Man in the SUV.
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That night, dinner with Tessa is like every other dinner. She asks him how his day at work was, and he replies with a hopefully-not-too-fake smile and a Fine, how about you?
This is his answer every evening, no matter how tough the case has actually been.
He then sits and politely listens as she talks about her day, glad she has never asked him to expand beyond his customary response.
She wouldn't understand. She would pretend to, yes, but she wouldn't.
Booth knows that if he really told her how his day was, she wouldn't know how to take it. And he wouldn't want to show such a weakness in front of her, expecially if he knew - which he does - that her comfort would be awkward and uncomfortable.
No, she wouldn't get it. She hasn't been there, hasn't seen what he has seen.
She hasn't seen what he's done, either.
Today, the conversation is more forced than usual.
Because today he shot a man.
Not that he will say anything, of course.
He helps with the dishes and then Tessa dismisses herself, her excuse being court early tomorrow, but he knows she senses he wants to be alone.
And he feels that he shouldn't want her to leave. After all, isn't it her role, as girlfriend, to be there for him?
But he wants her to go. He doesn't want to burden her with things she doesn't need to hear.
He tosses and turns in bed for a few hours before finally giving up on slumber and climbing out of the bed.
Without bothering to change out of his sweatpants and t-shirt, he pulls on a pair of old sneakers and a jacket and heads out the door.
The night air is cold against him despite the coat, and he hurries to his car. He pulls out of the drive and begins the familiar drive to his partner's apartment complex.
After parking, he approaches her door and knocks tentatively, hoping dearly that she won't be too annoyed with him showing up on her doorstep at one in the morning.
He hears footsteps approach the door, and when she pulls it open, Booth is surprised to find her looking wide awake.
Brennan tugs self-consciously at the hem of the oversized shirt she's wearing over a pair of shorts, and he smirks. "Couldn't sleep?"
Smiling in return, she replies, "Nope."
She opens the door wider and gestures for him to enter. After a moment's hesitation, he does.
Because he knows she'll understand.
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End