Yikes! I appreciate everyone's reviews! Although now I know how all those people feel that get chased out of town by the townsfolk with pitchforks! Lol. I know Booth is being a less than stellar version of himself. I honestly feel that, had HH not got rid of her when he did (she shouldn't have existed at all IMO), that we would have seen Booth get on the right track at the same time as being with Hannah. I appreciate you guys sticking with me, even though we are all angry with Booth and his naughty behavior. I was going to end this quite soon, but I've gotten a few ideas from some of you, so it's going to go for just a little longer than planned. Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! It explains the way I see things going in my head, so maybe it'll make things a little clearer? I dunno. Anyway, read on!

It was a week and a half later that the fates aligned for Hannah to do the thing she had been waiting so long for. The day she came home to the Booth boys making pizza had been a tense affair. The three ate and laughed and everything felt right, save the elephant in the room. She knew Booth was hiding something, and she played along and waited until Parker was reading in his room. She poured Booth a glass of scotch and sat on the couch across from him. She had demanded he explain everything, and though he fought her on the issue, he conceded and let loose the anxiety that was building at Ange's harsh, but true, words. Hannah had nodded in all the right places and gave him the space he so obviously needed. She thought on the words everyday for ten days. On that tenth day, she got a phone call from Booth stating that Ange would have to meet her earlier than planned for them to narrow down wedding ideas. Hannah smiled and told Booth it wasn't a problem and hung up. She promptly rearranged her schedule to have the rest of the day off, called two of her sources to postpone their meeting and went to the diner to await her prey. Ange arrived five minutes early. Hannah could hardly contain her excitement.

"I'm so sorry we had to move this up. We just got a new shipment of artifacts in at the Jeffersonian and I am elbow deep in reconstructions." She ordered a cup of coffee and brought out her laptop. Hannah seized the opportunity while the laptop booted up.

"We really do appreciate your help with the wedding, you know that, right?" Angela nodded as she typed in her password.

"It's no trouble, really. I do love weddings, and I have a knack for decorating on a budget. I did go to art school!" She smiled at Hannah, and Hannah let the air take on familiarity. She was in the process of a confrontation after all.

"Before we get started, I'd like to straighten some things out. I would like for you to back off of Seeley." She let her words hang and watched as Angela's face turned from an open, listening posture to a closed off, guarded scowl.

"What are you talking about?" She wanted to know how much Hannah actually knew.

"I'm talking about you making him feel guilty for his relationship with Temperance. I do appreciate your intervention somewhat, misguided as it is. I can understand where you're coming from. From a certain perspective, it looks like he's playing me, or her, or both of us. Seeley is not that kind of man. He would never do anything if he thought he was betraying me. Or Temperance. I may not know everything about him or them, but I know enough." Angela was itching to jump in, and Hannah could see that. She stopped talking to let the woman get her thoughts out.

"I don't think you do know enough." Ange wanted to think her words through carefully. Her first instinct was to tell Barbie she was completely wrong and that if she knew what was good for her, she'd high tail it right back to Afghanistan where she came from. Or at least New York. Somewhere that wasn't D.C.

"Booth is not a man that lets go of things easily. He will fight until there is nothing left to fight for, and then he will still continue to fight for it. The thing between him and Brennan, nothing can stop it. They are drawn to each other, no matter the circumstances. My main concern is that she does not get hurt while he figures out what he's doing." Hannah narrowed her eyes.

"What he's doing is marrying me. If you continue to push him, he's going to end up making a decision I think none of us will enjoy." She wasn't confident enough to say that he would choose her over Temperance. She didn't want Angela to see that she had any doubts about where she, herself, stood with him. Her voice never wavered and she knew her posture showed strength, but she wasn't about to say what she thought from the moment she met the man all those months ago.

Angela sat still and took in Hannah's words. She was sure she understood the underlying factor in what she spoke, but she decided to take the high road and not address it. She nodded her head as she came to her decision.

"I understand what you're saying. I can respect your wishes so long as you know what you're getting yourself into. I suppose it is high time that I stop shoving my nose in everyone's business. Do you still want to talk wedding plans or is this not going to work anymore?" Part of Angela wanted to walk out after dumping her hot cup of coffee into Hannah's lap. The more sensible part of her decided she would be tactful and pleasant. Sometimes she hated that sensible side.

"I think we can still work this out, but I should probably get to the office. I'm assuming there's nothing left to be said about Seeley?" Angela nodded.

"We are completely clear on that point. Will next week sometime work for decorations and cake sampling?"

"I'll check my calendar, but I'm sure I can switch some things around. And really, Angela, thank you for trying to help. I do appreciate it, honestly." Hannah gave Angela one last smile and grabbed her bag and walked out. Angela sat for a few minutes, wondering what in the hell just happened. She walked back to the Jeffersonian in bewilderment. She went straight into her office and sat at her desk and stared through her screen. She didn't notice she was followed until a paper ball hit her in the head. Angela shook her head, picked up the ball, and was ready to chuck it back – full force – until she saw it was her best friend.

"I've been calling your name since you walked into the building. What's wrong?" Angela was torn. The two hadn't shared a word between them that wasn't about work for over a week. She wanted to vent that Army Barbie had one-upped her, but then that would mean admitting to meddling again. And Bren was adamant that Angela wasn't to meddle. She bit the bullet and went with it.

"I just met with Hannah about the wedding, but everything took a strange turn." She waited to see if Brennan was going to say anything, or ask a question; she received a quirked eyebrow so she kept on.

"She confronted me about talking to Booth." Angela stopped talking because her best friend was failing at hiding her laughter. The woman was actually laughing out loud.

"I warned you to leave it alone, did I not? I am happy for Booth, Ange. I really am. If Hannah makes him happy, then I am happy. I am not delusional enough to think that we are going to end up together. I just want him to remain in my life. Those months in the Maluku Islands without him, I just could not take it. I was miserable. So many times I wanted to pick up the phone and just tell him about my day, just hear his voice and I couldn't. Call it being desperate, call it pining, call it what you will. It does not matter to me. I know that he and Hannah are together and I know that they are getting married. It hurts, sure; but not enough to walk away from him." At some point, Brennan had walked over and sat in front of Ange. Ange was shocked to see the strength in her best friend's eyes, but she accepted it. She took Brennan's hands in her own.

"Sweetie, I would do anything in this world for. If you really are okay with this, then I really have no choice but to back off, do I? I just worry about you. We need to find you a man! How about we hit the club Friday after work, huh? Like old times?" Ange winked and Brennan shook her head and walked out of the office. Booth's attitude as of the last few days was now explained. She couldn't help but feel a slight pang of betrayal at his lack of confiding, but she understood why it had to be that way. He was always one to protect those that he loved and she smiled to herself that she was still in that category. She didn't want to outright dismiss Ange's ideas of needing to find someone, but she knew no one would compare to Booth, and as long as he was still the bar everything needed to raise to, she would be content to live her life the way she had for the last nineteen years. Things were better now than they have ever been. She had Russ back in her life, she had her work, her book and she had real people that she could actually count on.

She stepped into her office to find a small box sitting on her desk. She looked around, wondering if Booth had stopped by at some point, but didn't see Parker's bag or anything that would give Booth away. She went back to her desk and picked it up, noticing it was sitting on top of a once folded piece of paper. She read through the note and, though she was shocked and slightly disappointed by the person it was from, it put a small smile on her face nonetheless.

Temperance-

I am truly sorry that my presence has turned everything on its head. I hope that by my interference that everything can get back into some semblance of normal. There are no hard feelings on my end about your relationship with Seeley, and though I am jealous from time to time, I understand the need for him in your life. We have a special man, Temperance, and I would never wish for me to come in the way of the two of you. I am aware it is unconventional, but so long as we all understand where we belong I know this can work. I hope this gift comes off as more of a meaningful gesture and less of an overstep in boundaries. I would like to go out for drinks this weekend, but I understand if it would be awkward for you.

Hannah

"Well, lucky for you, I have perfected the art of awkward." Bones laughed out loud and slowly opened the well wrapped box. Inside was an ivory letter opener. It wasn't anything special, but she placed it on her desk anyway. She didn't want Booth to come by and it not be there. Still, it was a nice enough gesture. She folded the paper back up, placed it in her top drawer and threw the box away.