Hannah Burley

Hannah Burley was a recurring character in Season 6 of Bones. She is a journalist and was Booth's girlfriend.
==History==
===Season 6===
Booth meets Hannah in Afghanistan after saving her from a situation with terrorists. Since Booth is rejected by Brennan in Season 5, he and Hannah develop a physical and emotional attraction, and start a relationship. In The Mastodon in the Room, Booth tells Brennan that his relationship with Hannah is as "serious as a heart attack" and that he's in love with her. This does not seem to be true however, and is possibly a representation of Booth's attempts to move on from Brennan. Hannah and Booth have no initial plan to be together after he leaves Afghanistan, until she surprises him with her sudden and unexpected move to the States. This relationship starts out in the conflict zone as a fun, sexual relationship, but quickly develops into something more serious once both parties are stateside, back to a more sedate pace of life and Booth is once again in constant contact with Brennan. This development mostly occurs through Booth's insistence and desire to hold on to a romantic partner who wants him, especially when faced with the daily reminder of Brennan's rejection of him. 
In a matter of months, Hannah transfers to D.C., moves in with Booth, meets his son Parker, and becomes friends with Brennan. Although Brennan comes to the realization that she still loves Booth and has missed her chance to be with him in The Doctor in the Photo, she tries to be happy for their relationship and maintains her friendship with Hannah. Booth, however, tends to push the relationship along faster than Hannah is comfortable with, from presenting her with a key to his apartment the moment she arrives in his office to brushing aside her concerns about whether Parker will like her, merely on the grounds that she gets along with everyone.
In The Bones that Weren't Booth is concerned about her following a story in a dodgy part of the city and she reassures him that she will be careful. Later, Booth gets a call that Hannah was shot when interrogating a member of the community, who tells her that the police in that area are moving drugs. The bullet that she was shot with was from a gun that is known for being a police gun. Hannah isn't seriously injured and the doctors were confident that she could be released in the morning. However, Bones looks over her X-rays and sees a fracture from the bullet which could kill her if dislodged. Hannah has a minor operation to remove this bone splinter. Hannah is seen at the hospital and receives a visit from Bones. Hannah then asks Brennan where her gift is, and asks for Brennans sunglasses.
In The Daredevil in the Mold, during a drunken night Booth and Sweets decide to buy their girlfriends engagement rings to prove their love for them. When reality and sobriety set in, Sweets is ultimately unsure and backs away. Booth, however, feels very confident that he loves Hannah and wants to have a committed relationship. Booth is especially spurred on by Sweet's inadvertent insult that Sweets does not want to remain forever unmarried like Booth. For Booth, for whom marriage is an important milestone, proposing becomes a matter of achieving his ideal and imagined life, as well as proving his self-worth and commitment to Hannah. As the proposal occurs shortly after Brennan confesses her feelings, it's possible that Booth rushes this proposal in an attempt to clear up the ambiguity he feels about where he stands with both Brennan and Hannah. Hannah gently rejects Booth, telling him that she's not the marrying kind, and Booth breaks up with her. She reluctantly accepts the break up, and decides to move out of his apartment, although she believes the two of them are not totally over, only "done for now." However, she does not make another appearance in the series.
== Personality ==
Hannah is an independent, successful, intelligent and compassionate woman. She is committed to her work and to a higher sense of justice. She loves Booth, and considers Brennan a friend, even after Brennan's confession of her feelings to Booth. She understands the predicament Brennan is in, and advises her to move on. When Booth breaks up with her, Hannah calls Brennan so that Booth may have someone to comfort him. Hannah is a risk taker as seen when she gets shot in the pursuit of a news story. 
== Analysis ==
Though it is a rebound relationship, Booth does genuinely love Hannah, just not to the depth and permanency that he stayed in love with Brennan throughout the series. Ultimately, Hannah serves as both a rebound and wake-up call for Booth, who has been attempting to run away from his feelings for Brennan since her rejection. The Booth and Hannah relationship is very different from the Bones and Booth relationship in many ways. Firstly, Booth and Hannah never vulnerably and openly talk through any uncomfortable subjects. Throughout the relationship, Booth employs the "I'm fine, you're fine, everything's fine," method, much like the noted ostrich with its head in the sand. Hannah doesn't know of Booth's past feelings towards Brennan until he is forced to tell her in The Body in the Bag, after Brennan has confessed hers. Hannah also doesn't know of Booth's past as a sniper, as in The Couple in the Cave she states that "he never went for the kill if he could help it." While this may be an honest reflection of Booth's reverence for life and unwillingness to kill, it is certainly not an accurate depiction of his life experience as a whole. We also don't see any moments where Booth speaks to Hannah about his childhood trauma or his army PTSD. Despite being his girlfriend for seven months, Hannah also doesn't know what to get Booth as a housewarming present when she moves in with him and has to ask Brennan for ideas in The Maggots in the Meathead. 
Hannah's rejection of Booth's proposal challenges his preconceptions about how he behaves in relationships, as well as the validity of his desires for an "ideal" life with marriage and children. When Brennan finds him trying to drink away his sorrows, Booth opens up to her about his flaw in finding relationships with women who want to maintain their independence. He solemnly speaks on how he's loved and cared for the woman in each relationship (including Rebecca, Parker's mother). But no matter how much he wants them, he feels none of the women he was involved with wanted him. While Brennan's rejection of Booth and subsequent admittance of her feelings for him while he was with Hannah both leave him devastated, Hannah's rejection initially feeds his anger that no woman wants what he is offering, but ultimately leads him to question his mistakes, re-think his desires and repair his relationship with Brennan. In The Bullet in the Brain and onwards, Booth shows signs that he isn't as in love with Hannah as he thought he was, and demonstrates consistently held feelings for Brennan. Angela deciphers this a few episodes earlier in The Bikini in the Soup, when she asks Booth, "wow, no twinges?" the Valentine's Day after his breakup with Hannah.
==Notes==
*Has two Peabody Awards and a National Press Award (The Couple in the Cave).
*She and Booth first made love under a fig tree.
Category:Characters
Category:Recurring characters
Category:Season 6 characters
Category:Seeley Booth's love interests