It's strange how fast changes can come. How they sneak up behind you, without even a moments notice. They lure you into a false sense of reality. Making you feel like everything will just stay the same. That maybe you can keep that lulling comfort of the familiar. If you hold on hard enough, maybe it won't slip through your fingers.

She had tried to hold on, tried to keep some semblance of logic in her head. She wanted to listen to her head. To what she knew was right. But her heart kept intervening.

There relationship seemed to have changed in the blink of an eye. It had shifted without warning. She wasn't prepared. But then again, with Booth, when was she ever?

It wasn't like the way fall comfortably drifted into winter. That gave warning. The leaves would drop slowly, until the trees were nothing more then barren silhouettes. Nights got cooler, and snow dusted you hair as you stepped out in the morning.

No, this was more of the kind of change that she had no time to prepare for. They had been thrust together faster and harder then she was prepared for. She didn't even think she wanted this anymore. She had Darcy, and that should have been enough.

But it wasn't.

Something about being with Booth in secret kept pulling her back. It was wrong. And dangerous. And still she couldn't keep herself away.

She'd never cheated before. And although she believed that monogamy was completely unreasonable, she found herself caught in limbo. Booth was Booth. But Darcy….the more time she spent with Booth, the more the horrible guilt ate away inside of her.

And she had tried. She wanted to breakaway from him. And he had tried to do the right thing. Pull away from her. She was in a relationship.

But still…she found herself with him. She'd come over to give him the case file. Telling herself that was all. She had dinner plans, and she and Booth were a physical attraction. Smoldering chemistry. That's all it was. She could restrain herself.

I'll keep telling myself that till its true.

And yet, she couldn't help but kiss him back hard as they found their way to the couch. He let her down carefully, his body hovering inches over hers, their lips locked together.

She moaned lightly as his lips attacked her collar bones, his fingers pulling down the loose straps of her tank top.

Biting her lip, she arched her back lightly as the sensation of his touch sent shivers down her spine.

She tried to regain some semblance of consciousness, but as his fingers traveled across her hips, pulling her shirt over her head, she failed miserably.

She ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed her shoulders, his hands exploring her torso.

"Booth, you know, I'm just here to give you the case file, that's it."

He nodded, "Uh huh. The file," He reached across the coffee table, lifting it and letting it drop with a significant thump so she could tell it was there. "Very important."

She laughed, as his lips found hers. His hand slid up the curve of her waist, and just as his fingers were about to find the clasp of her bra, they were interrupted by the violent vibrating of Brennan's cell phone on the table.

"Don't pick it up." She could see the desire and pleading in his eyes, but she lightly pushed him off of her, sitting up, she reached for the humming phone.

"I have to. It could be important."

He rolled his eyes. "Everything could be important Bones. It doesn't mean you have to pick up."

This time she rolled her eyes, smiling, as she grabbed the phone off the table. "That's illogical and you know it."

A wave of nausea rolled over her when the caller ID showed up as Darcy. She felt trapped, and she knew she couldn't be this close to Booth while she talked to him. It almost felt like he could see her. Grabbing her shirt, she pulled it on quickly, before standing up and walking to the opposite side of the room, turning away from Booth.

She flipped open the phone, biting her lip in anxiety. "Hello."

"God, Temp I thought something had happened to you. Where are you?"

God, does he know? He can't know. That's logically impossible. Get a grip Brennan.

"I'm fine Darcy. I'm at home." I'm also crap at lying.

She saw Booth's face darken out of the corner of her eye. He stood up, leaving the room, and she could see the evident anger and frustration in his face.

"I guess you forgot then."

She felt like chucking the phone across the room. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt anyone. That hadn't been the plan, but it was obvious she was hurting two people she cared about. She hated that.

"About what?"

"Our dinner plans? I'm sitting in the restaurant right now Temp. If you're working I swear I'm going to come over and drag you out of your apartment."

She bit her lip, tapping her fingers on the cool glass. Outside snowflakes were dancing lightly, and she couldn't help but wish she hadn't answered her phone.

"No, no I'm not. I fell asleep," She heard Booth scoff from the other room, and she kicked the wall in frustration. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Do you think you're up to it, or not." Even though he was trying to be understanding, Brennan could hear the growing annoyance in her real boyfriend's voice.

I want to stay with Booth.

"No, definitely. I'm fine. I'll see you there in 15, ok? At Gillian's right?" She tried to sound cheery, but her heart wasn't in it.

She heard the sigh of relief on the other side of the phone. At least someone was happy with her, because she had the lurking feeling that Booth was going to be decidedly not.

"You're sure? If you're tired---,"

She cut him off, not in the mood to talk anymore. "I'm fine Darcy. See you there."

Closing the phone with a decided snap, she threw it across the room with more vigor that she had wanted, and it slammed into the wall with a loud crack.

"Damn." She muttered as she walked to retrieve it, grabbing her sweater off the table where it had been discarded minutes before.

Pulling it over her head, her eyes met Booth as he leaned against the doorframe leading to the kitchen, a beer in his hand, his eyes cold.

"Let me guess, Darcy right? Your boyfriend?" She watched as a look of pure hatred crossed his face when he spat out the words.

As much as he was trying to disguise it, she could see the hurt in his eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest, not moving from the spot.

"Don't Booth. You know it's not like that." As much as he thought it hurt him to see her with someone else, she felt even worse.

He shook his head, making his way over to her. "I do know what we're doing here Bones. Its obvious that you'd rather be with him, so I don't even know what you doing with me."

She took a step towards him, putting a hand lightly on his arm. "You know that's not true."

"I don't know what to believe anymore. How do I know you're not lying to me too?" She turned away, and then looked back at him, their eyes meeting.

"I want to be with you Booth. I just…I don't know what to do."

He turned away from her. "You tell me when you figure it out. You should go, Darcy's waiting."

She blinked back tears, as she turned away from him, walking towards the door. He didn't look as she closed the door quietly behind her. She leaned against it, her back sliding down against the smooth wood. She didn't know why she was crying.

What had she expected Booth to say? Stay with me. Leave Darcy. Booth was too good of a man, and too proud for that. But she wanted him to tell her he needed her. She needed that. The reassurance that they were more then just sex. More then physical attraction.

Sighing, she stood up, brushing the hot tears out of her eyes. There was someone waiting for her.

Someone who didn't know the lies she was capable of. And she had the haunting feeling that it was just the beginning.