Jenny1701, SamBrace, Guest and Beckbones want this story to continue. Since I will be veering away from Hannah after chapter 2, I decided to make this a seperate story.

The first three chapters were printed in "Hannah Stories". New Chapters will start with chapter 4.

This takes place at the end of "Bullet in the Brain".

I don't own Bones, but we all know that.

Oooooooooooooooo

Booth was sitting in the Royal Diner watching Brennan talking to her father through the window next to him. They were standing outside and seemed to be having a fine moment, a rare father daughter moment. Booth was happy for his friend. She and Max finally seemed to be moving closer together and Booth knew that Brennan seemed to be happier for that movement.

Interested, he watched her raise a sea shell to her ear, which brought Booth a moment of pain. He still recognized that he had feelings for Brennan and he knew they would never go away, but somehow he had to ignore those small pains in his heart. She wasn't his and she never would be. He had Hannah and that's what he wanted wasn't it? He'd moved on and that was good for both of them, right?

Ooooooooooooooooo

After Max left in a cab, Brennan walked slowly back into the diner. Moving back to the table where Booth was sitting, Brennan sat down across from him and smiled.

Her seashell now resting on the table, Booth pointed at it and asked, "What's that?"

Fondly, Brennan patted the shell and replied, "Dad bought it for me. It's a tooth brush holder made from a seashell."

The smile on her face rather endearing, Booth asked her, "Can you hear the ocean if you hold it up to your ear? I saw you holding it next to your ear when you were outside."

Picking up the shell, Brennan handed it to Booth and answered, "The seashell really just captures the ambient noise around you and it resonates inside the seashell. The shell acts as a resonating chamber, but in a way it does sound like the ocean."

Curious, Booth took the shell from her hand and held it to next to his ear. He loved that Brennan had to make sure he understood why the shell did what it did. He did love that big brain of hers.

Satisfied, Booth handed the shell back to her and smiled, "Yep, it sounds like the ocean to me."

Concerned about her partner's injuries, Brennan asked him, "Is Hannah coming home tonight?"

Shaking his head, Booth replied, "Nah, she's still on an assignment. She'll be back in a few days."

Her concern growing, Brennan moved her shell closer to her side of the table and fussed at him, "Booth, you have a sprained ankle and a dislocated shoulder. You can't drive and you shouldn't be alone right now. What are you going to do?"

His glance moving to the shell, Booth tried to assured her, "Don't worry about it Bones. I'll be fine. I'll take a taxi home and once I'm in my apartment I'll just go to bed. I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't lived by myself before."

"Booth, I don't want you to be alone tonight." Not pleased with his plan, Brennan protested, "You've been injured and I really think you need to stay with someone for a least a couple of nights." Hesitating momentarily, Brennan finally blurted out, "Why don't you stay with me for a day or two? You know I have a spare bedroom you can use."

Suddenly nervous, Booth looked away from Brennan and explained, "Gee, Bones, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, Hannah could come home anytime depending upon the President's schedule and if I'm at your place she wouldn't know it and she might worry about me, about where I am. You know how it is, don't you?"

Not wanting him to do something that made him uncomfortable, Brennan tried to smile and offered a better solution, "Yes, of course. Perhaps I could stay at your place tonight. I can sleep on the couch. I can drive you to work tomorrow and then drive you back home tomorrow evening . . . I would tell you that you need to stay home for a few days, but I know you're worried about Brodsky and you won't rest properly until he's caught."

Returning her smile, Booth looked at Brennan's concerned face, "You know me so well, Bones. I do have to go in tomorrow. I can't stay home. As for you staying the night at my place, I don't think you need to do that. My couch is pretty bad. I think you should sleep at your own place in your own comfortable bed. I'll be fine, really." Aware that Brennan was still unsure of his plan, Booth continued, "Come on Bones. It's ok. It's just a sprain and the dislocated shoulder will be fine in a day or two. I do appreciate the offer. . . Now that I think of it, I would like to take you up on the offer to drive me to work and then back home, if that's okay."

Trying to overcome Booth's stubborness, Brennan asked, "Can't you call Hannah and ask her to come back early?"

Shaking his head, Booth answered, "Nah, Hannah is traveling with the President right now and she'd shoot me if I asked her to come back right now. She has some story she's hot for and wants to spring it on the President as soon as she gets confirmation from one of her sources."

Puzzled about Booth's reticence about her staying with him for the evening, Brennan shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "I will of course drive you home. There is no reason to deal with a taxi when I'm available. I'll make sure you're in your apartment and then I will go home."

Grateful for her thoughtfulness, Booth replied, "Thanks."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Arriving at Booth's apartment, Brennan parked on the street and made sure that Booth made it safely across the street and up to his apartment. Standing outside the apartment door, Brennan pointed to the fake rock laying to the right of the door and stated, "I hope you don't still keep a key in that fake rock. That doesn't seem like a very secure place to hide a spare key. Your neighbors must be exceptionally dense."

Amused at Brennan's fussiness, Booth opened the door and looked back at Brennan, "Nah, I learned my lesson a few years ago when a certain someone I know used it and busted into my apartment. She interrupted my bath and . . . well a man's bath is a private thing." Laughing to show he was joking, he assured her, "Mrs. Riley, my neighbor next door, has my spare key."

Assured that his key wasn't available to burglars, Brennan watched as Booth hobbled through the doorway and then turned around to look at her.

"Good night, Booth. If you need me, please call me." Hestitating to leave, Brennan lingered for a few seconds.

Raising his hand, Booth replied, "Thanks Bones. I really mean it. Thanks. You're really a very kind person and I want you to know that I appreciate that."

A sad smile gracing her lips, Brennan turned and walked down the hallway to the elevator. Booth watching her walk away, thought, "I appreciate you more than you'll ever know, Bones."

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I think one of the saddest faces I've ever seen on Booth was when he saw Brennan standing outside the Diner and she held the sea shell to her ear.