Hey guys! So this story was intended to be... um let's just say more graphic but I couldn't let them betray Angela's trust like that. So this is what you get. I hope you enjoy it. I gave up on Philadelphia for now btw. Sorry. This story is only because I am trying to expand my writing style, there is a specific style I'm trying to conquer and Bren/Hodgins is just who happened to be on my mind. Don't worry I'm still a BB shipper til death but I ship B/H too. =D

Disclaimer: Not my characters or places.

They never talked about that day. Not really. It was always there between them. Sublimated, but ever present.

He had never looked at her like that before. With a deep sense of betrayal behind his eyes. Her heart thudded in her chest as he walked off the platform, her head, or her heart, she wasn't sure which told her to go after him, but her feet wouldn't move. All she could do was stare after him, a guilt washing over her.

She looked over the little boy lying on her table. What was once a little boy. Something so full of life, now gone. The quiet footsteps drawing her attention to somewhere past the platform. Her eyes caught his. The anger that was there hours ago gone. There was nothing. She couldn't help but think the Gravedigger stole more than this boy's life.

She couldn't hold his gaze. She turned her and walked off the platform. The emptiness of his eyes repelling her. It was her fault. She wasn't a cop, but she did cop things. The Gravedigger wanted her. Not him. He hadn't needed to be there. His struggle was greater than hers. She knew that. Her kidnapping was deliberate, he just ended up with her in that car by chance. And that was her fault.

She walked through the quieted lab. Her colleagues having gone home hours ago. The light to the Ookey Room filtered through the door, finding it's way to her and like a moth she followed it.

Standing outside of his office door she thought back to his eyes earlier. Such a beautiful blue shaded by something so dark. A shiver ran through her, despite the warmth of the lab.

Stepping into the room she looked around. Everything was beautiful in this room. The plants, the butterflies, but she couldn't appreciate it. Not now.

The room was quiet, other than the chirping of various insects throughout the room. She didn't know why she was here, there was no logical explanation, but when she saw him standing, staring listlessly at a tank, her feet stopped moving and became heavy. She stared at him. He knew she was here, his breathing quickened and his shoulders tensed.

She didn't know what to say, so she just stood there quietly, observing him. He turned on her a dull fire in his eyes.

"Can I help you, Dr. Brennan?" He said, his tone cold. Cold was better than nothing, at least cold implied emotion. She simply stared at him, and she knew why he was here. The same reason she was. There would be no sleep for him tonight. He looked tired. Exhausted. She wondered if her appearance reflected his. Hodgins didn't appreciate the silence. He huffed out a breath, smiled snidely and turned his back to her.

She stood her ground, not feeling discouraged. Although she still wasn't exactly sure what she needed courage for. His body was more tense now than it had been before he turned to her. She wondered briefly, if he needed comfort, why he wasn't home with Angela. She was great a giving comfort. Then a thought occurred to her. Because he and Angela hadn't gone through an extraordinary event together, and Angela would never understand what it was like to be alone with him in the darkness preparing themselves for death.

She knew what that was like. She would be the one to give him that comfort.

"I still have nightmares too." She said suddenly and if it was possible he tensed more before turning around to face her, his eyes quizzical and surprised. "Some nights they…" She couldn't finish past the lump in her throat. His shoulders relaxed and his gaze softened and he moved to stand directly in front of her and she knew she didn't have to continue. He understood. And she was glad.

His eyes shined in the light of his office, tears misting over them, and she felt her eyes doing the same. She didn't know whether it was to comfort herself or him, but she knew that she initiated the kiss. It felt right at that moment. No trace of rationality. And he kissed back, drawing from her only a comfort she could give. It wasn't a passionate kiss, just lips pressed together in understanding and empathy for one another. Their tears mixed together on their lips and they pulled apart, foreheads resting upon the other's.

Arms wrapped around one another, not yet ready to give up the comfort. He sat, pulling her with him, thinking she'd object to the position, but she was just too tired, as was he. And no amount of comfort was going to get them a doctor's recommended 8 hours of sleep but the light sleep they got in each other's arms that night would get them through the next day.