A/N: Just a short, sad but at the end fluffy one-shot, hope you like it. The lyrics that I used are called Wounded by Good Charlotte, it's a hidden song right behind the bonus song on the Chronicles of the life and Death CD, the death version. Thank you to beaglelvr93 for Beta'ing!
Disclaimer: Bones is not mine, never was and never will be. Good Charlotte isn't mine either, oh how I wish both of them were.
It was 3 am and Temperance Brennan couldn't sleep. She knew that once she would close her eyes the horrific images would come back to haunt her. At times she thought her life was one big façade, pretending to be fine, pretending to be this strong person all the time. Never showing how vulnerable she once was and how vulnerable she sometimes still was. She always told her self and others that the past was in the past and that it couldn't hurt her anymore but in reality, at times it did.
Lost and broken
Hopeless and lonely
Smiling on the outside
But hurt beneath my skin
My eyes are fading
My soul is bleeding
I'll try to make it seem okay
But my faith is wearing thin
Especially now that she worked on cases with the FBI, there were these cases that hit a little to close to home. Like the most recent case she and Booth had solved. A girl, 15 years old, had been brutally murdered by her foster father, and the girl showed evidence of longtime abuse.
It had brought back those old memories. And it had ripped open wounds, she thought were long gone. But now she knew they never properly healed in the first place.
She had been driving around aimlessly and it had led her to Booth's apartment. So here she was in front of his door hesitating whether to knock or to just walk away. And she broke into tears no longer able to put up the façade of being the strong Dr Brennan.
Meanwhile Booth was still wide awake, he couldn't fall asleep. Worrying whether his partner was really fine or if she was just saying so. This case had been horrible for everyone. But he knew it must have hit his Bones extra hard after being in the system herself. He got up when he heard someone crying in front of his door. When he opened it, he saw his partner, his Bones crying her heart out. She looked so lost, so broken and his heart ached at the sight.
"Bones come in" He simple said and he took her in his arms and held her until she stopped crying. He led her to the couch and waited for her to start talking.
So help me heal these wounds
They've been open for way too long
Help me fill this soul
Even though this is not your fault
That I'm open
And I'm bleeding
All over your brand new rug
And I need someone to help me sew them up
"Oh no, look what I did. I promise I'll pay the dry-cleaning bill." She said referring to the tear made stains on his shirt.
"Nonsense Bones, it's just a shirt, it's what wash machines are for" Booth said smiling at her.
She then decided to start talking. "He killed her, he just kept beating her until she was dead. She tried, she tried to escape and he just kept hitting her he.." she trailed off and broke into tears again.
"It could have been me" she said through her tears.
Booth's eyes grew wide at that statement and anger began to well up inside of him. He knew her childhood was far from easy and happy, at least after her parents left her. He knew horrible things sometimes happened to foster children but he had never made that link to his partner, he had never wanted to make that link. It killed him to see her like this. And it filled him with anger at the monster who had done this to her and it saddened him that he hadn't been there to protect her.
"Ssh it's ok, I'm here. He won't be able to do this to you anymore Temperance. I'm here, it's ok" he told her soothingly.
"Booth" she cried.
"It's ok, I'm here and I always will be" he said, with a new sense of determination to never let anyone hurt her again.
Life had been so blissfully numb before he came along, she had stuffed all the pain away and made sure no one came close to her, so no one could hurt her again. But she knew now that it hadn't been a real life. He made her want a real life. She didn't want to be numb anymore.
I only wanted a magazine
I only wanted a movie screen
I only wanted the life I'd read about and dreamed
And now my mind is an open book
And now my heart is an open wound
And now my life is an open soul for all to see
But help me heal these wounds
They've been open for way too long
Help me fill this soul
Even though this is not your fault
That I'm open
And I'm bleeding
All over your brand new rug
And I need someone to help me
She had to think back to the beginning of their partnership when she had been pushing him away and how she still pushed him away at times. And how at the same time, they had a bond unlike anything else she had ever experienced. She realized that he had pushed through her boundaries, and that he had been able to come close to her. And now she felt the pain of all those years ago. But this time she had someone who wanted to heal her, who would protect her with all he had. Who wanted to keep her safe what ever it would cost him. And most importantly who accepted her for who she was. And she knew it was time to let him in completely no holding back.
So you come along
I push you away
Then kick and scream for you to stay
'Cause I need someone to help me
Oh I need someone to help me
"Booth, please don't leave.. ever" she said her voice weak
"I won't, I promise" he said looking her in the eye
"This case hit a little to close to home" she hesitated a little, she knew she had to share this but it was still hard.
"My second foster father, he used to get really drunk and than beat me. One night he got so drunk he kept hitting me and he kept telling me I was no good of no use. I.. I managed to get away. I ran as far as I could. The next day a sweet elderly couple took care of me and made sure I didn't have to go back there." She said tears falling from her eyes again as she remembered all the painful details. The words of her foster father had hurt more and had done more damage than the beatings.
"Where did he hurt you" Booth asked his voice cracking. He was about to take a big risk, a huge leap he knew that. But he somehow sensed that the time was right. She took a deep breath.
"I had a black eye, a broken nose, a busted lip and overall bruising." She said wiping away her tears.
Booth kneeled in front of her and softly kissed her eyelids, than the tip of her nose and her lips.
"I promise you that no one will ever hurt you like that again" he said.
"I know" she murmured and kissed him back.
To help me heal these wounds
They've been open for way too long
Help me fill this soul
Even though this is not your fault
That I'm open
And I'm bleeding
All over your brand new rug
That night Brennan took her first step to recovery and it was for the first time in her life that she felt completely save and peaceful.
She knew she was going to be ok. She had Booth and together they could heal her wounds.
And I need someone to help me sew them
I need someone to help me fill them
I need someone to help me close them up
A/N Sorry I had to change a couple of things!