Disclaimer: I do not own this show. Don't sue me.
It wasn't as if she had never been alone before. Every day of her existence was laced with the hollow feeling of seclusion. To her, the image that played in her mind was that of a lost child in the deep woods, where only the echo of her small voice penetrated the still air.
It was a comfort to her though, something to hold onto. As long as she was alone, there would be no heart ache. There would be no abandonment. However, through the last few years, she has let a couple people in past her barricade: Booth, Angela, and Sully.
Sully was gone. He left her heart sick and as she watched his boat sail away, her heart was reminded that she wasn't worth it to anyone. And then she turned to see her partner standing there. She had hoped he didn't notice the way her eyes widened as a result of her fluttering heart. When he draped his strong arm over her shoulders and squeezed her to his body for an instant, she felt a strange sense of warmth come alive in her.
Now she sits on her couch, sipping a cup of hot chocolate at three in the morning. It's the weekend, and she knows it doesn't matter if she is up late, but even if she wanted to, she could not sleep. Her empty apartment reminds her of the image of a lost child alone in the wilderness, and she opens her mouth to speak.
"Why is there no one to want me?"
Her words are lost in the silence, and she feels a couple of tears slide down her cheeks. "This is ridiculous…" She mutters as she stares at the cup of warm liquid. "Now I am talking to myself." She sucks in a deep breath trying to still her painful heart; to stop her tears.
There is a knock on her door. She freezes for a moment, wondering who would be up at this time of night. She sets the hot chocolate on her coffee table and stands, looking down at her crumpled blue cotton pajamas. Straightening her shirt slightly, and wiping the remnants of her tears, she pads to the door and quietly looks through the peep hole.
Instead of seeing a whole face, she sees one large familiar brown eye staring back at her. She knows those eyes…
She unlocks the dead bolt and opens the door, seeing her partner standing with two boxes of her favorite Thai food. She looks at him from head to toe, taking in his dark jeans, and fitted black t-shirt. She blinks a couple of times before she realizes she is staring.
"Booth…What are you…?"
He smiles, and she swallows hard.
"I thought you might be hungry." He says, holding up the boxes and giving her the infamous 'charm smile.'
He couldn't help but notice her comfortable attire, and her uncharacteristically messy pony tail. She's never looked so beautiful.
"It's…Three in the morning." She says, moving aside so he can come in. "How did you know I was awake?"
He grins as he sets the food down next to her hot chocolate on the coffee table. "I didn't. I would have woke you." He says, turning to face her with his hands in his pockets.
How does he always know when I need him the most?
She drags her hands down the sides of her face, trying to erase the thought that came to her by surprise. She forces a small smile. "Have a seat. I will get some napkins." She says, and goes to retrieve them from the kitchen.
She watches him as he sits down, opening the boxes. Tearing off a few paper towels, she realizes he caught her stare. Their eyes lock for a moment, and then she looks away. She quickly returns to the couch, and sits down after handing him one of the towels.
"I would have thought you would have linen napkins." He jokes.
She looks at him briefly as she unwraps her chopsticks. "Why?" She asks, in that annoyingly innocent tone of voice she always gets when she doesn't get a joke.
He laughs, and the melodic but gravely sound causes goose bumps to rise on her arms. "Nevermind." He says, taking a bite of rice.
She shrugs and mixes some sauce in with the chicken. "So why are you really here?"
His body tenses for a moment. Because I needed to see you…
"I thought you could use a friend."