Okay, so I've had this story rattling around in my puny brain for awhile now. I feel like Bones, I have post it notes and little pieces of paper with snippets scribbled on them all over the place! Now the challenge is to put them all together! Usually I have an idea, then I sit down and write it, but this time... Anywhoo, I hope you enjoy it!

Oh, and since I have been bad and haven't done it in awhile...

I do not own Bones. I wish I owned DB, and in my dreams I do, however...

BBB

Present

Brennan stood outside the door, waiting to get up the courage to knock. She didn't even know what she was doing here, they had said their goodbyes earlier, she only knew that something had compelled her to come.

She just knew she couldn't let him go without letting him know what he meant to her. The last week felt as if it were a dream, and right now, all she felt was emptiness, an emptiness only he could fill. She took a deep breath, and raised her hand to knock...

One week earlier

The quiet knock on the door roused Brennan from her writing. Throwing a quick glance at the clock, she was surprised to find that it was 11:30 pm. She had been so engrossed, she hadn't noticed the passage of time.

Smiling to herself, she stood and made her way to the door. She knew it would be Booth, he was the only one who would show up here this late. She hoped he had brought food, she was starving.

Pulling open the door, she braced herself for the inevitable admonition of checking to see who was there before opening the door, but to her surprise, it never came. "Hey, Booth." She looked down at his hands, which were surprisingly empty. "What, no food?" Her eyes finally came to rest on his face, and her heart skipped a beat. "Booth? What's wrong?"

He stared at her for a moment, and the look in his eyes scared her. "Can...can I come in?" His voice was low, thick with emotion.

Wordlessly, she moved aside and he walked inside. She shut the door behind him, then turned. He was standing in the middle of the room, looking at her, shoulders slumped, his eyes empty, and it chilled her to the bone. "What happened? Is it...Parker?" She didn't know what else would make him look so distressed, so haunted.

Booth shook his head. "I..." He stopped. How could he tell her? He knew what it would do to her, how she would feel, but he had to do it. Putting it off wouldn't make it any easier. He took a deep breath. "I'm going to Iraq."

All the blood drained from her face. She had envisoned all kinds of horrors, Parker being hurt, his family...but nothing had prepared her for these words. "What? No..." Her voice was a whisper. He was leaving her? This couldn't be happening.

Booth's heart ached at the look in her eyes. "Look, Bones..."

"No." She shook her head. This couldn't be. He wouldn't leave her, he had promised her...and she trusted him. "I...I don't understand."

"Listen to me." He reached for her hand and took it between his. He was desperate to make her understand. "It's...complicated, but just trust me, okay? They need me."

I need you. The words almost came unbidden to her lips, but she stopped them. She shook her head again. "Tell them no." Her emotions were spinning out of control. "Tell them you can't go, that I...that you're needed here."

He caught the slip, and he felt his heart break. "Temperance...I can't."

She pulled her hand from his grasp. "Why?" She hated her voice, her words. She sounded weak, but she couldn't help it. It felt as if a piece of her was being ripped away, and she was helpless to stop it.

Booth raked a hand through his hair. "I told you. I don't have a choice." He looked at her, his eyes pleading with her to understand. "Please, you know I would never leave you if I could help it."

Brennan closed her eyes, fighting the panic that was now welling up inside her. She would be okay, she didn't need him. She didn't need anyone. Opening her eyes, she steeled herself. "How long?"

"Nine months."

She forced her voice to stay calm. "When?"

Booth sighed. "In a week."

"You...you're leaving in a week?"

"Yes, but..."

"I get it." She turned and walked away.

"No, you don't." Booth caught up to her and pulled her back around to face him. "Temperance, I need you to understand. This isn't goodbye. I'm not walking out on you, I promise." He lifted her chin with his finger, forcing her eyes to meet his. "I'm coming back."

She heard the conviction in his voice, but she also saw the fear in his eyes. Fear he tried to hide, but she saw it anyway. He knew as well as she did that he may not be able to keep that promise, but she also knew that she needed to be strong. Because as much as she was hurting right now, his pain had to be ten times worse.

She took a deep breath. "Okay." She forced a smile, though all she wanted to do was cry. "But don't expect me to like my temporary partner."

Booth smiled at her and dropped his hands to his sides. "Hey, you didn't like me at first, either."

"And who says I like you now?"

"Very funny, Bones." He was happy she was able to joke with him, but he knew she was still hurting. He wanted to pull her into his arms, to never let her go, but he knew that was impossible. "Well...I should go."

"Yeah, okay." She watched as he walked across the room toward the door, glancing over his shoulder once he got there, his eyes sad once more.

"I'll be by the lab tomorrow, okay? I still need your report on the Fisher death." She nodded. "Everything's gonna be okay, Temperance. I promise." With that, he was gone.

The door closed softly, and Brennan fell onto the sofa, blinking back the tears that had been threatening to spill over. She was not going to cry, it solved nothing. Besides, he would be back. She had had faith in him to find her when she had been buried alive, and she had to have faith in him that he would find his way back to her.

BBB

Okay, like it? Hate it? Let me know! I hope it's not too confusing with the flashbacks, there are more to come, but it's just the way musie wanted to write it.