I know it's a crossover, but I had this brilliant idea and couldn't help but write it. I hope you enjoy it...

August 2004

It all started with one simple statement.

"Hi. I'm Seeley Booth, and I have a gambling addiction." Bobby Manning's head jolted up, surprised. Booth? Seeley Booth? Fellow FBI agent Seeley Booth? He came back? The others murmured their greeting to Booth before it went quiet again. Bobby craned his ears to listen.

"I know I should have taken this program seriously long before this," Booth began. "But for the longest time I denied I even had a problem. Until today, I used gambling as a way to cope with my memories of war. After today, I am going to stop. That's...that's all really." The audience clapped when Booth stepped down. Bobby watched as he made his way back to his seat. He could easily sense the guy was nervous as hell. He made a mental note to talk to him once the meeting was over. The rest of the group went up to speak, and suddenly it was Bobby's turn himself. He rose, feeling confident. He'd been coming here for a few years now. This was not new to him.

"Hello. Bobby. Gambling Addict," he started.

"Hi, Bobby," the others chorused. He looked to see Booth staring at him in shock. He didn't let it bother him.

"Good week this week," Bobby said. "We caught another bad guy. That's all I'm saying about that. I had one urge to gamble, but it was fleeting. I went to the shooting range instead. Thanks!" He got down quickly. Once the meeting was over, he didn't have to approach Seeley. Seeley approached him.

"Agent Manning?" Booth asked, stunned. "I had no idea..."

"Yea. Keep it that way," Bobby replied.

"Oh I get it. I really do. We'd lose our jobs..." Booth trailed off.

"So. You came back, huh?" Bobby prodded. He was curious. He had heard lots of good things about Booth throughout the years, but they worked different departments and didn't cross paths very much.

"Yea. I...I figured it was time to take this thing seriously," Booth nodded. He didn't mention the fact that it had been because of a woman, a woman who he found himself to be desperately attracted to and possibly in love with, but his feelings were not reciprocated.

"Wanna grab a cuppa?" Bobby asked. Booth felt unsure. This was all still so new to him, and he didn't know if he was ready to talk about it yet, but Bobby was a great guy, or so he had heard. Booth had almost been placed with Bobby's team, but then they decided they wanted him upstairs instead.

"Okay," Booth agreed, not really sure what he was doing. He was following his gut. They ended up at some quaint little coffee shop on a quiet street. As they talked, Booth discovered he really liked Bobby and knew that if anyone was going to keep him on the straight and narrow, it would be him.

"So what really made you come to the meeting tonight?" Bobby asked suddenly. Booth froze. The question had come out of left field, and he didn't know how to answer it.

"Like I said," Booth replied. "I knew I needed to stop using gambling as a coping mechanism."

"Besides that," Bobby said. "I know there's something else to it. It's all over your face."

"Nope," Booth lied.

"Come on, mate," Bobby said. "If you're gonna start a new life without gambling, you gotta be honest with yourself and others. You'll only fall back into it if you don't."

"Hrmph," Booth grumbled. Brennan's eyes flashed through his mind quickly.

"It's a sheila isn't it?" Bobby asked, eyes twinkling.

"A...what?" Booth asked, confused.

"A woman. What's her name?" Bobby watched as Booth squirmed in his seat before giving in.

"Dr. Temperance Brennan," Booth finally spit out.

"There you go. Doesn't that feel better?"

"Not really," Booth shook his head.

"So tell me how she influenced you into coming to this meeting tonight," Bobby urged.

"We...we had a case together. We solved a murder, and...and there was this...attraction between us. When I was with her, I didn't want to gamble. I had no urges at all. It got me thinking, so I came here," Booth finished.

"You want to smarten up for her," Bobby noted. "You want to show her that you are capable of conquering an addiction."

"Uhhh," Booth trailed off. Did he? Wasn't that his intention? To make Brennan see that he was not a complete loser?

"Is she or is she not the main reason you came tonight?" Bobby pressed.

"She is," Booth answered.

"Does she know?"

"That I have a problem? Yes. I told her," Booth nodded. "I wanted to be honest with her right away."

"Hmm," Bobby mused. That was interesting. "Where is she now?"

"She left. We...we had a fight. She hit me. She doesn't want to ever see me again," Booth sighed. It had all been so stupid. They had gotten drunk on tequila so he could fire her, and they made the decision to have sex before Brennan changed her mind and took off in that cab, waving to him as it drove away. But their kiss...it had been so powerful. Booth couldn't stop thinking about it.

"So it's over?" Bobby asked.

"Yea," Booth replied sadly.

"But you still want to stop gambling," Bobby noted.

"I do," Booth agreed. They looked at each other.

"You really care about this doctor," Bobby said, tilting his head.

"I...I think I do, yea," Booth bobbed his head. "But it's over. She hates me. There's no going back."

"That's what you think," Bobby said.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you believe in fate?" Bobby asked.

"Yes."

"Then if you're meant to be with this woman, you will be," Bobby said simply. Booth thought about it. Bobby was right. It was fate that he and Brennan were brought together. Booth knew from the moment he met her that she was the one.

"Do you sponsor other addicts?" Booth asked Bobby. "Cos I think I'm gonna need one."

"Absolutely," Bobby replied. He scribbled down his number and handed it to Booth.

"Thanks," Booth grinned.

"See you around then?" Bobby asked, getting up to leave.

"Yea." Booth watched Bobby pay for their coffees and walk out the door. He sat there for a long time thinking over everything that had happened to him in the last week. He needed to find a way to talk to Brennan again. Their story was not finished, whether she thought it was or not.

A few months later

Bobby was talking with Tara Williams, his coworker, when his phone buzzed. He checked it, seeing that it was Booth.

"I'll catch up with you later," Bobby said to her as he left. He answered his phone.

"Bobby?" Booth's voice came to his ears.

"Yea, mate. What's up?"

"I...I'm sitting here outside the pool hall. I really, really want to go in there," Booth said. Bobby tensed up. This wasn't his first desperate call from Booth, yet it was still unnerving.

"What's happened?" Bobby asked.

"I...I shot someone today," Booth replied. "It was self-defense, but he died. I really...I just can't focus..."

"Take a deep breath," Bobby instructed. "Think about the consequences."

"I know. I'll lose all progress I've made," Booth said. "It's not worth the thrill. It will only hurt me in the end." This was their mantra that they had come up with to help Booth stay sober from gambling.

"So what are you gonna do instead?" Bobby pressed.

"I'm gonna go home. I'm gonna forgive myself, and I'm gonna do something fun that counteracts my urge to gamble," Booth finished.

"You need to meet?" Bobby asked.

"Yes," Booth said instantly. As much as he believed he could handle this urge himself, he needed a friend's support.

"Coffee place. 10 minutes," Bobby instructed. He hung up. His coworker and best friend, Jack Hudson, caught sight of him leaving.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"Sponsor crisis," Bobby answered. Jack just nodded. He was the only one who knew about Bobby's gambling addiction. He knew Bobby was sponsoring someone else, but he didn't know who.

"I'll cover for ya," Jack said as Bobby took off.

"Thanks, mate," Bobby called over his shoulder. He arrived at the coffee shop within the ten minute time frame. Booth was already there.

"Thanks for coming," Booth said. "This has been so hard."

"I get it. How can I help?"

"Just...talk to me. I dunno. Tell me something I don't know," Booth laughed.

"Hmmm. All right. Darcy wants me to go to the opera with her tonight, but I hate opera," Bobby said. "What should I do?"

"Oohh tough one," Booth nodded. "Go?"

"I knew you'd say that," Bobby laughed. "I guess like any man I have to suck it up and do the things you don't want to do for your woman."

"How did you meet Darcy?"

"She was a reporter on one of my cases. She drove me insane, but then it all just kind of...happened," Bobby replied, smiling to himself.

"She sounds great," Booth said.

"She is. You should come have dinner with us sometime," Bobby suggested.

"Okay," Booth agreed. Aside from Parker, his son, he didn't really have much of a social life. They talked for a while longer, and Booth began to feel under control again.

"I think you're good to go," Bobby noted, seeing the change.

"Yea. Thanks, Bobby. I really owe you my life," Booth responded.

"Nah. Don't worry about it," Bobby grinned. "Take care of yourself." He noticed Booth hadn't brought up Dr. Brennan this time. He wondered why.

Months Later Still

"You went on a date with Tara?" Booth asked. "Really?"

"Yea," Bobby nodded.

"And you kissed?"

"Yea."

"But...you're not dating?" Booth said.

"No."

"I'm lost," Booth said.

"She's...it's complicated," Bobby said.

"How is it complicated?" Booth demanded. "Do you like her?"

"Yea."

"Then why aren't you asking her out?"

"Because. It was a rebound date. I don't want to hurt her. I'm still upset about Darcy..." Bobby trailed off.

"Yea but you've always liked Tara, right?" Booth asked.

"Well...yea."

"You make no sense at all," Booth laughed.

"I was gonna talk to her about it," Bobby said, "but Stanley showed up."

"Who's Stanley?"

"The guy she was dating before."

"So you just bowed out?" Booth asked.

"Pretty much."

"You're crazy, man," Booth chastised him. "You need to talk to her."

"I'll talk to her when you talk to Dr. Brennan," Bobby reiterated.

"Well played, Manning," Booth said, shaking his head. Bobby grinned. Booth's phone rang then, and he looked at the screen.

"Case?" Bobby asked.

"Yea. Raincheck?"

"You got it."

"Cheers," Booth said, plopping his change on the table. Then he was gone. Bobby sat there thinking about what Booth had said about Tara. Maybe his friend was right.

September 2005

"I'm going to intervene at the airport," Booth was saying. "I've got it all planned out. One of my guys scoops her and then I swoop in and save her." He was eager to tell Bobby about this. Their friendship had deepened over the past year, and Booth knew he could tell Bobby anything.

"She is not going to like that at all," Bobby winced.

"Why not? It's heroic."

"It's stupid," Bobby laughed. "She'll be even more pissed at you than last time."

"It's been over a year," Booth countered. "She can't still hate me."

"I hope you're right," Bobby sighed. Booth looked at his watch.

"I gotta go if this is gonna happen," Booth said.

"Good luck," Bobby called after him. He felt a little worried for Booth. He knew how much this meeting meant to Booth. He knew how badly Booth wanted to kickstart his relationship with Dr. Brennan again. Booth had missed her terribly, Bobby knew, and he only hoped that this woman wouldn't reject Booth after all this. Bobby leaned back in his chair. All he could do now was wait.

Later

"She agreed to work with me again!" Booth said excitedly to Bobby over the phone.

"How much arm twisting did you have to do?" Bobby asked.

"Erm, not a lot. Not really," Booth replied. It had taken a bit of convincing. She had even jumped out of his car and started walking away before he caught up to her and changed her mind. He didn't mention this to Bobby.

"So, she was receptive of you?" Bobby asked, bringing Booth back out of his thoughts.

"Yea. Sort of. You were right, she did not like my rescue attempt," Booth laughed a little.

"I told you," Bobby tsked.

"It was worth a shot," Booth huffed. His partner didn't think so. He had been royally embarrassed by Brennan's self-defense tactics at the airport.

"So what happens now?" Bobby asked.

"We work this case," Booth replied.

"And what about Dr. Brennan?"

"That...that's not gonna happen," Booth admitted.

"Why not?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea to bring that up right now. We need to re-establish a professional relationship before we broach the subject of us," Booth explained.

"All right," Bobby agreed. "Just be careful."

"I will."

"You have any urges?"

"Nope. None," Booth said emphatically.

"Good," Bobby cheered.

"I gotta go," Booth said. "Bones is waiting for me." They disconnected, and Bobby stared at his phone for a moment. He smiled. He felt like good things were going to happen for his friend. He saw Tara walk by with Stanley, and his heart twisted. If only things could go good for him.

Thoughts? *Chews nails anxiously*