This short story takes place during "Boneless Bride In The River". I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and although she is a big B&B shipper, she could never figure out why Brennan would have turned down Sully when he asked Brennan to come with him. This is my attempt to explain her reasoning. This story is being told from Brennan's point of view.

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Sully wanted me to go with him. He bought a boat and he wants to start a fishing charter service in the Caribbean. He had a lot of plans and he wanted me to be part of them. He asked me to take a year's sabbatical and go with him on his new grand adventure. Sully tried to persuade me by telling me that there was more to life than corpses and murderers. He doesn't want to be an FBI agent for the rest of his life and he doesn't understand why I would want to be an forensic anthropologist for my entire life.

I was torn for a few days about my decision. I wanted to be fair and give it a lot of thought.

When we had our conversation about me leaving the Jeffersonian he brought Booth into the equation. Sully was certain that Booth had tried to talk me out of going with him, but Booth had actually told me to go with Sully. Booth had the temerity to tell me that Sully was a step up from the men I had dated in the past. Booth can be so condescending sometimes when it comes to the men I date and I'm not sure why. He is my best friend and I do value the things he tells me, but sometimes he can be so infuriating . . . especially when he may be right. I don't look too deeply into the character of the men I'm interested in. I like men and I like the fun I have with them. I just never bother to see if there are more to them than they are. I know this drives Booth crazy. I wish he would just mind his own business when it comes to my affairs. I don't interfere with his.

Our case was almost over and Sully and I were watching Booth interrogate Jackie Burrows about murdering Ling Fan. Booth is very good at interrogating suspects. He seems to understand how most murderers think and he always seems to be able to figure out their motives no matter how obscure. I don't understand how he does that. I can understand rage, I can understand hate, but what I don't understand is taking a life for reason like monetary gain. It's grotesque at best and it makes no sense to me what so ever.

He kept pressing me to make the decision to come with him. Sully wanted me to commit to him and leave as soon as he'd signed the loan for his boat and I truly weighed his words . . . That's the problem . . . his words. He wanted me to give up my career and to do what he wanted to do. There didn't seem to be any compromise on his part. He wanted a new life and he wanted me in his new life without thought as to how I would fit in to this world he wanted to create.

If someone loves you, why would he want to make you less than you are? If someone cares for you, why would he ask you to be unhappy so that he can be happy? This is one of the reasons that I can never marry. I could never put my needs behind someone else. Booth has never asked me to quit doing the thing that I love the most, my job. Booth worries about my safety when it comes to our partnership, but his solution is to be there for me, to protect me so that I can do the thing I love the most. I am very good at solving the mystery of how people die just by looking at their bones. It's my specialty. I worked hard, I studied hard to get where I am today. I am really the best in my field. Booth calls me a Bones whisperer. That's a really awfull appellation, but that's Booth. He loves to say things like that.

Sully had no thought about who and what I am. He wanted me to become someone I'm not, to be less than I am. I know Sully loves me and I didn't want to disappoint him. While we talked I tried to see his side of it, I really did . . . I told Sully I should go with him, I could see the possibilites, but in the end I couldn't do it. I turned him down as gently as I could and I saw a look of sadness come over him . . . His words were so . . . I don't know . . . filled with regret? "What you're doing, it's important. But it's not important enough to be your whole life."

He kissed me and then he walked away from me. I couldn't do what he wanted me to do and he abandoned me without further thought. He didn't try to compromise or try to fight for me. It had to be his way. He told me that he really wanted to be with me, but he didn't . . . he couldn't have . . . not really. If he had he would have stayed. He would have found a way to make our relationship work, but he instead he left me. Love is enigmatic to me and yet I think I loved Sully. I just didn't love him enough and he didn't love me enough.

I didn't need another lesson about love, but once more I was given one. I gave a small piece of my myself to Sully and he left me anyway. Abandoned once more by someone that supposedly loved me.

I have very few friends in my life. Most of the time, this doesn't bother me. I know that it should, but it doesn't. Angela was my first true friend. I do love her as a sister, but I think I confuse her sometimes. The one friendship that I value above all others is Booth. I can count on him to be honest with me. He is willing to answer questions that others won't answer. He says he will never abandon me as so many others have. I believe him. I believe him because I know he values my friendship above all others. I could not abandon Booth any more than he could abandon me.

Sully didn't understand that. Sully didn't understand that not leaving was the only way he could prove to me that he really loved me and wanted me and he couldn't or woudn't do it. I wasn't important enough to him.

I cried because I couldn't go with Sully. I can't change who I am. I am an anthropologist who is the best in her field. I work with Booth who is the best in his field. The most important thing that happened to me, when I was dating Sully, was this fact that I discovered about myself, I can't abandon who I am and I will not give up the few friendships I do have. Angela and Booth's friendships are very important to me. I may never find another friendship like I have with them. I won't abandon Booth or Angela.

Booth is the only one in my life who has ever promised not to betray me . . . not to walk away from me . . . The only one.

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What do you think? I think Brennan cares more than most people realize. People see the surface of Brennan. They don't bother to see how compassionate she can be. As far as I can tell, only Booth and Angela have ever bothered to look.

Thanks for reading my story. Reviews would be nice.