Author's note: You've probably read this before but this is my first Bones fic so please be gentle. I finally gathered enough courage to post it. You can't imagine how scary this place (the Bones section of Fanfiction net) actually is! I'd appreciate it if you left me a review. It doesn't matter if it's a good or a bad one. I'll probably like a good review more than one full of remarks on how my story sucks. Don't get me wrong though, I like criticism. Criticism helps someone become a great writer. So feel free to tear my story apart. But you know, do it in a gentle and polite way.

The idea of this story: I got the idea for this thing when I was listening to Land of the Living by Milk Inc. Listen to the song and you'll probably understand where this story is going. It'll be about 5 to 7 chapters long. The first chapter is pretty … well, boring. It's sort of a long introduction. You have been warned. lol

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Bones. I didn't get them for Christmas. °sobs°

- Week 1: Monday -
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It was Monday. Another perfectly normal Monday. Dr. Temperance Brennan slowly opened her eyes when she heard her alarm clock go off. She stopped the beeping with a swift movement of her hand. Seven o'clock in the morning, time to get up. Temperance got out of bed and walked straight to the bathroom to take a shower. After her shower she made herself a cup of coffee. She didn't eat or drink anything else. A cup of the dark liquid was the only thing she needed in the morning. She quickly finished her cup, grabbed her coat and rushed off to her car. Twenty minutes later she pulled up at the Jeffersonian. The institute looked the same as always: impressive and very empty. She was always one of the first scientists to arrive in the morning.

Temperance greeted the guard before scanning herself onto the platform. She overlooked her work place - an empty examination table on her left, a couple of microscopes on her right and a computer in front of her. She continued her way to her office. As always she hung up her regular coat and put on her blue lab coat. A small smile tugged at her lips when she closed the buttons. The second her lab coat was closed and her hair was up in a pony tail, she was no longer Temperance but Dr. Brennan. She turned into a scientist who examined dead bodies: writing down observations, discovering abnormalities and after careful examination, drawing conclusions. She was no longer a person, just an observer – a pure investigator. Just like her partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth. Only she investigated facts while he relied on his "gut feeling". She shook her head. Now was not the right time to think about her partner. Dr. Brennan was only interested in facts, not in the way Booth solved murder cases. Temperance made her way back to the examination platform. She emptied a box full of bones on the metal table and started sorting through the skeleton parts, trying to put them in the right order.

An hour later Zach Addy and Jack Hodgins scanned themselves onto the platform. Temperance briefly glanced at them. They both gave her a short nod. Hodgins went immediately to another examination room. Zach disappeared into his own office and emerged a couple of minutes later, wearing a blue lab coat. He sat down behind one of the microscopes. Temperance was still trying to put the bones before her in the right order. They were each working in absolute silence, completely absorbed by their work.

Fifteen minutes later, that silence was broken by a cheerful "Hi". Temperance looked up and saw her best friend, Angela, come onto the platform. The artist sat down beside her.

"So … How was your weekend? And please don't tell me that you spent it working!"

"That's exactly what I've done." Temperance replied, lifting up a short piece of bone. She examined the piece closely. Was this really a finger bone? She wasn't entirely sure, the bone was quite damaged. Angela decided to try again.

"So you didn't …"

"Do something with Booth? No Angela, I did not."

"You really should …"

"Go out with him?"

"Yes, absolutely sweetie! You two would make …"

"A perfect couple?"

"Yes, exactly!" Angela shot back, grinning widely.

"How many times do I have to tell you Angela? There is nothing between me and Booth. We would not make a great couple. We're too different."

"Opposites attract each other. Besides, I don't think you're that different. You're actually quite similar."

"Angela, drop it. Please. I'm trying to work here."

Angela rolled her eyes but decided to leave her friend alone. Temperance wasn't really in the mood for talking. She never was when she was working on a skeleton. The artist grabbed her papers and left Temperance alone with her bones.

---°---

The rest of the day continued like this. Angela worked on her drawings, Hodgins examined some bugs and a weird fungus, Zach studied a virus and Temperance completed her skeleton. At seven o'clock Hodgins and Zach went home. Angela stopped at Temperance's office to say goodnight before heading off herself. She found her friend sitting behind her computer, tapping her key board.

"Working on your book?"

Temperance tore her eyes away from the screen to flash Angela a quick smile. "Yes."

"What have you got so far?"

"You know I can't tell you."

Angela smiled. "Well, there's no harm in trying."

"True." Temperance smiled back. "You came to say goodnight, right?"

"Yep, thought you'd like to know that you have the lab to yourself now. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight sweetie."

"Goodnight Angela."

Temperance turned her head back to her computer screen. She almost had another chapter finished.

---°---

Two hours later, Temperance saved her file and turned off her computer. She grabbed her coat and headed down the stairs towards the exit of the Jeffersonian. She greeted the guard and pushed the door open. She got in her car and drove home. At home she changed into her pyjamas and crawled into bed. Temperance thought she would fall asleep rather quickly but tonight was different. Half an hour later she was still awake, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. Something was bothering her. It had been another regular Monday. She had studied bones. She had discovered things. She had identified a body. She had done everything she always did. Why couldn't she sleep then?

It was not because a certain FBI agent hadn't asked her to find out the cause of death of some corpse that she hadn't had a meaningful and productive day! Temperance groaned. Spending the day with dead people was what she always did. It was something she was good at. Studying remains brought in by an FBI agent was not more interesting than studying remains found by archaeologists!

Besides, Booth always distracted her. She couldn't work properly whenever he was around. At least today she had been able to work undisturbed, like a normal scientist. She didn't have to switch between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Because whenever Booth was around, she always had to switch between her normal, living self and her inner scientist, the person who was good with bones. Otherwise he didn't understand a word she was saying. It had been a perfect day. Her inner scientist was happy. Satisfied with her last thought, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.