Dr. Temperance Brennan sat at her desk, working late to finish typing the report that she had been dreading. As this particular case had developed, she had found herself becoming more and more emotional, something so unlike her. Booth had come to her almost three weeks ago with the new case, a young girl kidnapped and murdered on her way to school. He had always had more trouble with these types of cases because of his son, but Brennan never felt that attachment - until now. She had tried so hard to distance herself from the brutality of the murder, rattling off the injuries sustained by the young girl in technical terms. But as she typed up her final observations, Brennan could feel her guard slipping, and the tears she had been holding back for weeks now began to slowly stream down her face.
She wiped her cheeks and tried to sniff back the tears, but to no avail. She pulled back from the desk and walked to the couch, allowing herself this one emotional outburst. She sat with her head in her hands, softly sobbing, the pain reaching her in waves. She could have been sitting there for minutes, hours - and then her partner Booth walked through the door.
"Bones, what are you doing here so late?" He asked with annoyance. But he stopped his planned tirade when he saw the state of his friend. He walked quickly over to the couch and sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her shaking body and pulling her gently towards him. She succumbed, settling into his arms as the sobs began anew.
"It's ok, Bones. It's ok," Booth said softly, stroking her back to calm her down. He had seen his partner like this very few times - she was rarely emotional, rarely showed to the world the pain she had felt for so long. He remembered when she had identified her own mother's remains with no emotion, finally breaking down in McVicar's barn. And when he rescued her from Kenton and she clung to him, her arms around his neck and her body so close to his. He held her closer to him now, wanting nothing more than for her to feel no more pain.
Brennan's sobs slowly subsided, her breathing becoming less shallow, and she pulled slightly away from the comfort of Booth's arms. She missed it immediately.
"Thanks," she whispered, her eyes trained on her hands twisted in her lap. Booth could see that she was embarrassed, but he still pushed her chin up so that her eyes would meet his. The light blue color had darkened with her tears, and in it he could see her immense vulnerability.
"I'm always here for you," he said, and she closed her eyes, the proximity of his face to hers overwhelming her. She drew in a shallow breath as she felt him kiss each of her eyelids softly. He kissed each of her cheeks, and she could barely breathe as she felt his warm breath on her lips. She opened her eyes, and in the brown warmth of his she found solace. He slowly leaned in, and his lips met hers. She closed her eyes again, and found her lips moving gently against his. But he soon pulled back, and both pairs of eyes met again. She saw in his the fear that he had gone to far, and could sense that he was searching his mind desperately for a way to tell her he hadn't meant it.
But in hers, there was only a deep-seated happiness, the same happiness she had not felt since before her parents had left her and her brother. And this time it was she who leaned in, and their lips met in an even sweeter kiss.