Seeley Joseph Booth is a decorated third-generation Army war veteran who served in the 101st, 75th, and Special Forces prior to turning his hand to being an FBI Special Agent. Wracked with conscience over those he killed during his term of service, he made a promise to himself to bring at least as many criminals to justice as people he killed. To that end, he partnered with Temperance “Bones” Brennan, a forensic anthropologist from the Jeffersonian Institute. Where Booth is intuitive, observant, and favoring the human touch, Bones is more logical, calculating, believing in science. This often brought them to blows over their styles but allowed them to solve many crimes over many years.

Working in the homicide investigation department, he has seen a lot of things people have done, and after a few cases concerning what he thought of as the seedier side of life, he has started to open his mind to the possibilities of new experiences. This has led him down a wonderful rabbit hole that now means he is searching for someone to love, guide and protect. Five years after he started working with Brennan, the Army wanted him back for a year to train sharpshooters. How could he refuse an offer like that? They promised to meet a year later, at the coffee cart by the reflecting pool.

He returned from his service in Afghanistan, but things had changed. He'd met someone, Hannah Burley. A journalist who transferred to DC to be with him. He feels like the relationship is “serious as a heart attack” even while he continues to work with Bones, and scared of being alone, he proposes. Hannah said no. She wasn't the marrying kind. Even as she tried to calm him down, to fix the relationship, he couldn't shift that feeling of loneliness. He threw the ring into the reflecting pool, never to be seen again. Bones kept him company at the Founding Fathers that night while he drank his sorrows away.

Some time later, Booth's mentor turned vigilante tried to kill Booth, resulting in the death of one of the squinterns. Booth did everything he could, and blames himself for Vincent's death, as he asked the squintern to answer his phone, making him the target. He took Brennan home with him, for protection, and she slept on the couch. In the middle of the night she came to him, grieving for their lost friend, and after a discussion about how Booth's faith in God worked, she curled up on the bed with him and slept with him.

Pelant forced him to tell the woman he loved he didn't want to marry her. He was broken, devastated, and it drove a wedge between them. She didn't understand why he didn't love her, why he turned her down. He could never tell her why he told her to leave him alone. He turned to drink, developed a problem, moved back into a spartan apartment and buried himself in his work. He could only work with Bones because he knew she was the best at what she did. It took him a while to get over her, but he did eventually. They're still friends, but both of them wonder what else could have been. Neither wants to try, but would like the other to be happy.

He got a new partner, James Aubrey, who was near Sweets when he was killed in the course of duty. Booth took the loss of his adoptive little brother to heart. Little did he know that Lance had [redacted] he would [redacted]. Nor that [redacted] where [redacted] was [redacted]. He got married to Daniela Leanne [redacted] after a whirlwind romance and [redacted] the [redacted].