Three weeks. That's how long she'd been going through the motions. Going to work. Doing her job. Coming home. She didn't interact with anyone more than she had to. It was as if she wasn't really there, and everyone took notice. Her partner, Seeley Booth took notice first, and knew exactly why she was behaving in such a way; but when he tried to talk to her, she brushed him off, and made up an excuse to leave.

Along with going through the motions, her drinking became a regular occurrence. Alcohol had become a coping mechanism for her, and well as a way to numb the pain. .

It was six o'clock, and Brennan was leaving to get ready for a date with an old colleague of her's that she hadn't seen in a long time. She was getting ready to leave her office with Booth walked in.

"Hey, Bones. You're leaving early." He said.

She didn't look up at him, but continued packing her things up. "Six o'clock is the normal time to leave, Booth. That is the time that the lab usually closes on a Friday night."

He walked further into the room, and put his hands on her desk. "Well yeah, but we both know that you don't usually leave her until around nine. And that's with me pushing you out the door."

She walked past him and straightened up the couch and coffee table saying, "Well, I'm leaving now, so you can as well."

Booth sighed. "C'mon, Bones. We've been doing this for three weeks. Don't you think it's time we sat down and talked?"

She finally looked at him with cold, icy blue, eyes. "There is nothing to talk about, Booth. Nothing has changed. We work together, that is all. I see you during the week if we have a case, and I don't see you if we don't have a case. Nothing more, nothing less."

That stung. "What the hell does that mean, Bones. You're saying we're not friends anymore? Because I'll let you know something right now; you're my best friend. Not just someone I work with."

She picked up her bag, and stood in the doorway. "I'm leaving now." She said, turning out the light.

Booth caught up with her, walking quickly out of the lab. "Seriously, Bones? What the hell is wrong with you? Do I really mean that little to you?" He asked, visibly hurt.

Yeah, hurt like I'm hurting. She laughed bitterly. "Yeah, that's it, Booth. You mean absolutely nothing to me." She said sarcastically. "You know, you say that you're good with people, but six years working together, and you still don't know a damn thing about me."

Booth had had enough. He grabbed her shoulder, and turned her around swiftly. "Don't you dare. I know you better than anybody in this world. You know why? Because you used to talk to me. Please, will you just talk to me?"

She looked at him for a moment, and then said, "I have to go." and turned around.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, just run away like you always do."

And then she stopped. Her fists clenched at her sides, and he knew that he'd gone to far with that one. She walked up to him, chest heaving.

"Fuck you! Don't you get that I'm trying to move on?! I left you alone after that night at the Hoover. I let you move on, but you can't do the same for me?! I'M TRYING TO MOVE I can't do that with you checking up on me every five seconds pretending that you give a shit about me! You're not the only one who gets hurt Booth. So you wanna know what you can do to help me? Go fuck yourself, or better yet, go fuck your girlfriend that you love so much. You chose her, so just leave me the hell alone!" She was poking his chest with her finger, and every poke feeling like a stab in the heart.

When she was finished, she swiftly walked away into the parking lot, and Booth stood there, frozen in place. He had never seen her more angry than he had just seen her then. She drove past him on her way out, and he could have sworn that he saw a tear streaming down her cheek. Shit. I fucked up big time.

When Brennan got home, she quickly got in the shower, and tried to forget about what had just occurred. It kept playing over in her mind, and she couldn't think about anything else. She wanted a drink, and since that night three weeks prior, her need to drink had become stronger and stronger every day; but she pushed it into the back of her mind.

At eight o'clock sharp, her doorbell rang. Brennan, who had just finished getting ready, walked over to the door, and smiled. "Cody, it's so good to see you." She said, hugging him tightly.

"Temperance, you look beautiful." Dr. Cody Bryant said, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you, please come in." She opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in. Cody produce a bouquet of flowers from behind his back, and said, "For you."

Brennan smiled, and took them. "Oh they're beautiful, Cody. I'll go put these in some water. Thank you very much."

At dinner, Brennan was enjoying herself more than she had in a long time. It was refreshing to talk to someone who wasn't concerned about her well being, or worried about her. He just wanted to have a normal conversation.

"So, Temperance, how is the Jeffersonian treating you?"

She smiled. "Very well, actually. I can't believe I've been there seven years. It doesn't feel like that long ago when we were both working at George Washington."

"Yeah, well you don't look any older than you did the day I met you. If possible, you look even more beautiful."

Brennan blushed at this. "Well, thank you. The years have treated you quite nicely as well."

Brennan's urge to drink had dulled throughout the night. However, when Cody ordered her a wine, she didn't object.

Little did she know, when she excused herself to the bathroom, he pulled a pill from his pocket and slipped it ever so subtly into her drink.

Towards the end of dinner, Brennan felt incredibly dizzy, as if she had taken cough medicine, or a sleeping aid.

"Cody, I'm not feeling well. Could you take me home, please?" She asked.

He smiled, an almost arrogant smile, and nodded. "Certainly, Temperance."

As they arrived back at her apartment, Brennan was practically stumbling to her door, with Cody holding onto her.

"T-thank you, Cody. I don't know what's wrong with me. I may be coming down with something." She said, opening her purse to find her keys.

She pulled them out and shakily turned the lock. "I'd invite you in, but I don't want you to become sick as well."

Cody chuckled. "Oh, Temperance. I'm surprised you haven't caught on yet. Blurry vision. Dizziness. Balance problems. Seems as if someone slipped something into your drink." He said, pushing her into the apartment and closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing, Cody?" She asked, in complete confusion.

Cody pushed her up against the wall, and moved her hands up and down her body. "What do you think, Dr. Brennan. You're a genius, and you can't figure this one out?"

"Stop it right now." She said, weakly trying to get away. Her body was becoming more heavy, and it was becoming harder to stay awake.

She whimpered and struggled to get free, but Cody simply laughed. "Shh, sweetheart. Just stop fighting it. I think you'll enjoy this very much."

And with that, everything faded out and turned to black.

A/N: Thank you for reading, and f you liked it, please let me know!