So this is my first attempt at fanfiction, after about 10 years of of only ever reading it I just couldn't get this story out of my head, so I figured it was time to start writing things myself. Please let me know what you think. I'll be posting the next chapter when it's done.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones and its characters, I'm just taking them on a little journey, but I promise to give them back. Well, maybe. :P

Booth and Brennan were seated in his office discussing their current case. A woman's body had been found dumped behind a restaurant in Downtown D.C. Although they had amassed a list of plausible suspects, they had yet to determine the identity of the murderer. Booth's frustration with the case was mounting.

"It had to be the ex-boyfriend, nothing else makes sense!"

Brennan, as always, provided the forensic counterpoint to Booth's gut feelings.

"The evidence doesn't support that assertion Booth. According to Angela's computer simulation, the killer had to be at least six feet tall. The victim's ex-boyfriend was only five feet and eight inches tall, therefore he could not have committed the murder."

Booth sighed in frustration and leaned back roughly in his chair, causing the bobble-head bobby on his desk to nod along with Brennan's conclusion.

Brennan regarded him sympathetically. Despite her continuing efforts to convince him otherwise, Booth always preferred to follow his own intuition, which invariably led to disappointment when she was forced to contradict him.

"I know Bones, and I don't doubt you or Angela. I just really wanna catch this guy."

Brennan resisted the urge to point out that the murderer was not necessarily male, and instead replied, "We will Booth, but only by following where the evidence leads us."

Booth nodded in silent resignation. Brennan smiled at him and rose from her seat, intending to return to the lab and continue with the forensic investigation. However, a voice from the doorway stopped her before she had a chance to turn around.

"Well, it's nice to see some things never change."

Booth stiffened slightly in his seat and Brennan smiled in surprise.

"Sully! What are you doing here? I thought you were still travelling?"

Despite having declined to join her ex-lover on his travels almost four years previously, Brennan had exchanged the occasional e-mail with Sully since his departure and the last she had heard he had been exploring Asia.

Sully grinned and answered, "Yeah, well I've been doing that for a long time now and I figured maybe it was time to stay in one place for a while. I thought I would see about getting my old job back."

Brennan regarded him with mild surprise, "As an FBI agent? I was under the impression that you wished to pursue a more exciting career. You mentioned several options before you left."

Sully was indeed something of a jack of all trades, having trained in such diverse disciplines as kinesiology, carpentry and emergency medicine, a fact which had greatly impressed Brennan when they had first met.

Sully agreed, "That's true, but I guess I miss catching the bad guys. Not to mention working with talented scientists."

Brennan blushed slightly, causing a grin to spread over Sully's face.

The mild flirtation between his partner and his former colleague served to propel Booth from his seat and across the room. He extended his hand to Sully, if somewhat reluctantly.

"Good to see you again Sully."

Sully accepted the handshake. "You too Booth. So, you and Tempe are still working together?"

Booth hastily replied, "Yep! Bones and I are still partners, still out there fighting crime and catching killers. Not all of us can pick up and go off exploring the world you know."

If Sully was bothered by the slight hostility in Booth's voice, he didn't show it, but simply nodded and turned to Brennan.

"Tempe, do you fancy grabbing some lunch later? It would be great to catch up."

Brennan smiled and replied, "I would be happy to Sully. I have to return to the lab first to check on the progress of the investigation, however, I would be able to meet you at the Royal Diner afterwards around 12.30."

Sully grinned, "12.30 it is. I'll see you then Tempe." He turned to Booth and said, "I'll see you around Booth."

Booth nodded as Sully turned and left the room.

Brennan regarded Booth with a look of annoyance on her face. "You were a little rude Booth, although I cannot imagine why. You have not seen Sully for a number of years. He couldn't possibly have done anything to offend you."

Booth bit back the retort on his tongue. The mere fact that one of Bones' ex-lovers had turned up right when they were just starting to recover from the strain Hannah's presence had placed on their relationship, really put him on edge. Brennan however was oblivious to the emotional ramifications of Sully's arrival, and was still looking at him expectantly.

Booth shrugged off her observation. "Nah Bones I was just, you know, a bit shocked that's all. Plus this case is frustrating the hell out of me."

Brennan looked for a moment as though she might question him, but instead replied, "Then it would seem prudent for me to return to the lab and work towards determining the identity of the killer, and thus alleviate your frustration. I'm sure My Bray will have some findings for me to review."

Booth couldn't resist commenting, "Don't forget your lunch with Sully."

Brennan's forehead crinkled in confusion. "I am uncertain as to why you feel the need to remind me of an arrangement I made only minutes ago Booth. Besides, I will have ample time to review the evidence collected thus far and update you prior to meeting with Sully."

Booth sighed inwardly. Of course she would miss the underlying hint of jealousy in his statement. Although perhaps this was for the best, he mused. Their relationship was still on shaky ground, and Booth was reluctant to further complicate things, no matter how he felt.

"Okay Bones, well, call me when you have something for me."

Brennan replied, "Of course," and left his office.

Booth sighed, loudly this time, and proceeded to return to the background check files littering his desk. At least he could attempt to be productive whilst trying not to think about Brennan's lunch date with Sully.

Brennan arrived at the lab a short time later to find Wendell and Hodgins engaged in one of their usual attempts to outdo each other and be crowned 'King of the Lab.' Unlike Cam who was more lenient in allowing for such juvenile displays of male egoism, Brennan had little patience for it and immediately questioned her young intern.

"Have you made any progress in identifying the murder weapon Mr. Bray?"

Wendell hastily moved to stand alongside the examination table. "Yes Dr. Brennan. The damage to the frontal and parietal bones are congruent with blunt force trauma, with what appears to be a rounded weapon, such as a baseball bat."

Hodgins piped up, "A maple baseball bat to be exact. I found a sliver of wood embedded in the skull fracture which, huh, Wendell overlooked." Hodgins grinned and nudged Wendell, who rolled his eyes.

Hodgins continued, "Once I match make and model, we'll have our murder weapon."

Brennan nodded, "Good work Dr. Hodgins. I'll be stepping out for an hour, so please inform Booth when you have a match."

Angela, who had been making her way over to the forensic platform, overheard the last part of the conversation. "And where would you be going in the middle of a murder investigation? Hot date?"

Brennan shook her head. "No, of course not. Sully has returned to D.C. and I will be having lunch with him."

Angela was shocked and spoke rapidly, "Sully's back in town? And you're having lunch with him? What does Booth think about this?"

Hodgins raised his eyebrows in surprise and Wendell, who had no idea who Sully was, looked on in confusion.

Brennan replied, "Yes, he claims that he wishes to remain in one location for a while and as such is seeking to resume his role as an FBI agent. He asked me to have lunch with him to catch up. As for Booth's reaction, I don't see why that would be relevant to my spending time with an old friend."

Angela sighed and took Brennan's arm to move her away from the curious eyes of Hodgins and Wendell.

"Sweetie, Sully isn't just an old friend, he's your ex-lover. The man who named his boat after you and wanted you to sail off into the sunset with him."

Brennan was confused, "While those things are certainly true Ange, I don't understand your concern."

Angela replied patiently, "Look Bren, I'm not exactly sure what's been going on between you and Booth since Hannah left, but I'm guessing that Sully turning up after all this time and whisking you off to lunch isn't exactly going to help your relationship."

Brennan responded with her usual logical reasoning, "Booth and I are not in a relationship Angela, and therefore my having lunch with Sully should not have any adverse effect on Booth."

Angela sighed, she clearly wasn't getting anywhere with her hyper-rational friend. "Alright, but just tread carefully okay? Things were only just starting to get back to normal between the two of you. All I'm saying is just don't rock the boat."

Brennan replied, "While I am uncertain as to the exact meaning of your nautical reference, I will give your advice some thought. I should get going now, Sully is expecting me."

Angela smiled as Brennan walked away, knowing that was likely the best she could hope for.

On the forensic platform, Wendell regarded Brennan's retreating form and asked Hodgins, "What was all that about?"

Hodgins chuckled and replied, "Oh man, you do not want to open that can of worms my friend. Best just get back to acknowledging my position as King of the Lab."

Wendell nudged Hodgins good naturedly, and focused his attention on the remains.

Sully was already seated at a table when Brennan arrived at the Royal Diner.

He stood up as she approached and reached to pull her into a hug. "I'm glad you could make it Tempe."

Brennan broke the embrace and took her seat. "As am I Sully, it's really good to see you."

Sully smiled. "So, how have you been Tempe? To be honest I wasn't sure I would still find you at the Jeffersonian. I kinda figured you'd be off on some exotic dig or on a world book tour by now."

The implication that her life had in some way stood still while Sully had been away stung Brennan. She recalled her final conversation with Sully, in which she had informed him that she would not be joining him on his boat. He had claimed that, although what she did was important, it was not important enough to be her whole life. As Brennan considered her response, she realized that her work did, in fact, still constitute the most important element of her life.

Shaking off this observation, Brennan replied, "Well I was on an extended dig in the Maluku Islands earlier this year. However, the findings were disappointing. I returned to assist Dr. Saroyan who was at risk of losing her job over a case involving the remains of a young boy."

Sully leant back in his chair and regarded her curiously, "And Booth was here waiting for you?"

"Well, not exactly," Brennan clarified, "He had been on a posting with the army in Afghanistan training snipers. He also returned to help Dr Saroyan at the same time I did."

"Hmm," Sully mused.

Brennan cocked her head and frowned, "You sound surprised."

Sully replied, "No, it's just that I find it interesting that the two of you were able to just pick up and leave like that. I mean, what about Booth's son?"

"Booth considered the impact his absence would have on Parker, of course," Brennan explained, "however he felt a sense of duty and decided that he was needed in Afghanistan."

Sully nodded. "Okay, but what about you? No attachments keeping you here?"

Brennan believed she understood the underlying question. "If you are inquiring as to whether I was involved in a romantic relationship that might have made it undesirable for me to leave for a considerable period of time, then the answer is no."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sully said honestly, "I had hoped that you would have been able to find happiness here."

"Your sympathy is unnecessary Sully. I am quite satisfied with my work and my partnership with Booth," Brennan asserted firmly.

Sully leant forward and placed his hand over Brennan's. "Satisfaction isn't the same as happiness Tempe."

Uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken, Brennan shifted in her seat and looked down at the table. Sensing her discomfort, Sully withdrew his hand and asked, "I assume that Booth didn't have any romantic attachments either?"

It did not escape Brennan's notice that this was the second time that day that her romantic life had been discussed in connection with Booth. Rather than dwell on any possible significance that this might have, she instead replied, "No, he didn't at the time. However he did meet a woman named Hannah during his time overseas. She moved here to be with him actually, however she left when Booth ended their relationship after she declined his marriage proposal."

Sully's eyes went wide. "His what? Wait. You're saying that Booth brought back some woman he met in a war zone, was with her for, what, a few months? Then asked her to marry him? What about you?"

Brennan replied, exasperated, "Why does everyone always insist on insinuating that either Booth or I are concerned with each other's romantic involvements? We're just partners Sully. I was happy for the two of them. I even considered Hannah a friend."

Sully huffed disapprovingly. "Seriously Tempe? How could that not have hurt you? You may not acknowledge it but we both know there's something between you and Booth. I know he's why you stayed when I asked you to come with me."

Brennan was becoming flustered. She had not anticipated that this lunch would turn into an inquisition and was unprepared for this barrage of questions.

"That's not true Sully. I told you I wanted to go with you, but I had responsibilities here."

Sully was persistent, "Yes, to Booth."

Brennan was becoming annoyed, "To myself and to my job. The work I do is extremely important and I'm the best in my field. It would have been irresponsible for me to leave."

Sully pinned Brennan with an accusatory gaze, making her feel like one of the many suspects she had watched Booth interrogate until they cracked. "Yet you were willing to take off to the Maluku Islands just a few years later. Why Tempe? What changed?"

Brennan took a deep, steadying breath as the reality of her feelings suddenly became undeniable and a flood of memories assaulted her mind. Booth's desire to take a gamble and give their relationship a shot. Her subsequent rejection that led to months of uncertainty and uneasiness between them. The feeling of sadness and loss as she watched him walk away from her at the airport and into a war zone. The pain and jealousy which accompanied Hannah's arrival after their return to D.C. And, most painfully of all, she recalled the crushing regret and misery she had felt that night out in the rain, when she had realized she had made a terrible mistake in turning down Booth's offer of a relationship. Despite the fact that Hannah had now left, her relationship with Booth was far from what it had been. Although she had never let herself dwell on the possibility, she feared that the events of the past year had irrevocably damaged what they had had together.

Brennan felt her eyes sting and looked up to see Sully gazing at her with a look of sympathy, even pity, on his face. Silently cursing her irrational emotions and desiring to regain control, Brennan allowed her more logical mind to answer his question.

"Nothing changed Sully. I was asked to head up a dig for what was believed at the time to be an anthropologically significant find in the Malukus, something that would have greatly contributed to the field of anthropology. Therefore, as a leading expert, I felt my presence was vital. Besides, it was an exciting opportunity for me. My work with the FBI does not preclude me from undertaking projects of a purely scientific nature outside of murder investigations."

Sully sighed. "Listen Tempe, you can believe that if you want to, and it might even be partly true. But you were tearing up just now. There's more to this than you're saying. I hate to be the one to say this to you, but have you considered the possibility that maybe you've been waiting around for something to happen with Booth, but that nothing ever will? It's been over five years Tempe. I mean, why else would he have asked another woman to marry him so quickly? He clearly thought there was no chance of a relationship with you."

Despite her attempts to rationalize the emotions roiling within her, Brennan was deeply hurt by Sully's words. No one had ever so blatantly questioned the validity of her relationship with Booth. Not even Sweets or Angela. No matter how much she had tried to fight it, over the years Booth had become the most important person in her life, She needed him in a way that she hadn't allowed herself to need anyone since her parents had abandoned her. It was this need that had driven her to virtually plead with Booth to continue working with her, even after she had rejected his romantic advances. The fact that he had agreed to this, even though it hurt him, had proved to Brennan that she could rely on him not to abandon her too.

Yet what Sully had said about Hannah was true. If Brennan had meant to Booth what he led her to believe that she did, then how could he have moved on so quickly? During his relationship with Hannah, Booth had spent less and less time with her, even being downright rude to her at times. At first she had accepted this, genuinely wanting Booth to be happy and knowing that maintaining some distance from her might have been necessary for him to achieve this. However, as the months went by, she began to feel bereft and isolated, feelings which had culminated in her over-identification with a murder victim and subsequent confession to Booth after he saved her from being hit by a car. She had always maintained that emotions were merely chemical reactions in the brain, nothing more. Yet Booth had succeeded in convincing her that there was such a thing as love that went beyond such physiological responses, and that she was even capable of experiencing it herself. However, Booth's recent actions had only served to prove what she had always believed. That emotions were ephemeral and could not be trusted. Science and logic were all that she could truly rely on.

Suddenly, everything she had come to believe about her relationship with Booth seemed to be thrown into doubt. She felt nauseous and rose rapidly to her feet, reaching blindly for her purse.

Sully reached out and grabbed her arm. "Tempe, wait, please. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just trying to help you see things clearly. You deserve to be happy."

Brennan pulled her arm from Sully's grip and looked at him. "I can assure you Sully, everything is quite clear to me now. If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the lab to check on the investigation."

Sully opened his mouth to protest, but Brennan was already heading for the door.