Author's Note: I am warning you now, this story contains some very sensitive and intense subjects. Please, don't think I am making light of what I write about. Quite the opposite in fact.

Special thanks to NatesMama1128 and Angiebc for assuring me that the thoughts in my head are not crazy. =]

She lay perfectly still, breathing slowly and staring out the window at the red sky. Her alarm would go off in half an hour and she silently wished the sound wouldn't wake Alex up. She could turn it off and get up now, but that always caused problems too.

Rule #26: "Don't get out of bed before your alarm sounds, I might need you."

She sighed, remembering what it was like at the beginning. He'd been so…perfect. In hindsight, she accepts the fact that she only wanted to believe in his perfection. But once Booth had said "I'm with someone", she knew she had to find someone too. And so she met Alex, a wealthy business owner who enjoyed the fact that she didn't want kids and didn't believe in 'soul mates'. Now, in the morning light, following one of the worst nights they've had in a while, she sees the truth: he'd tricked her. Not wanting kids meant he wouldn't have to worry about that when he beat her. Not believing in soul mates meant he wouldn't have to worry about marriage. Believing only in the truth and knowledge and evidence, he knew that she would abide by every rule he set for her.

Cringing, she felt him stir and reach out for her. She almost smiled as she remembered something her father used to say.

"Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning."

Alex grabbed her arm and roughly turned her onto her back. He climbed on top of her and entered her without care. Silently, she lay there with a tear in her eye, thinking about the only thing that got her through times like this.

Rule #1: "Seeley Booth will not be spoken of, or thought of in this house hold. He does not exist as far as you're concerned."

It was the only rule Temperance Brennan had ever broken.

"Get dressed, slut. You're alarm went off while I was having fun. Go to work," Alex commanded her as he pulled out and got out of bed. As quickly and quietly as possible, Brennan got out of bed and showered, taking care to be gentle around bruises. After showering, she carefully picked out a shirt that would cover the bruises on her neck and arms. And pants that wouldn't irritate the cut on her hip bone. She then applied her makeup using neutral tones, nothing too flashy that draws attention.

As she left the house, she dutifully kissed his cheek, knowing that if she didn't, she'd be punished.

Rule #5: "Whenever you leave the house, you will say goodbye and kiss me."

The drive to work, as always, was filled with thinking about what to say if someone noticed. So far, no one had. Not even Angela or Cam…or Booth. Not that she'd expected him to; he was preoccupied with Hannah to notice. Anyway, they hadn't had many cases lately, meaning they hadn't spent any time together. That, however, was a double edged sword. It meant Alex was happy she wasn't with Booth, but it also meant more time with Alex, more opportunities for her to upset him.

She knew that Temperance Brennan wasn't the type of person to put up with something like this. She knew she should've walked away at the first signs of it. She's stronger than this…But usually, after every beating, or every session of "making love", he'd hold her, coddle her, apologize, and swear to it never happening again. It was just the one time. It wouldn't happen again. He didn't mean it. By the time Brennan realized that he was lying, that it would happen again. It would always happen. It was too late to walk away. Then the rules were set in place. And now…now she was trapped.

She entered the lab, dropped her stuff off in her office, grabbed her lab coat and gloves, and headed for limbo: where she'd spent most of her time lately. Every once in a while, Angela would come down to keep her company or Hodgins would come down with a pregnancy question about Angela, but on the whole, she spent her time alone.

At 5pm, her watch beeped, signaling that it was time to go home and cook dinner.

Rule #15: "You will leave work every day at 5pm, and you will have dinner on the table at 7pm."

Hurriedly, she placed the bones she was working on back in its place and threw away her gloves. Her lab coat was off by the time she reached her office, and she quickly grabbed her purse and her jacket. She was on her way towards the door when she practically ran into Booth.

"Bones! Where you goin' in such a hurry? We've got a case, baby. We are back!" he clapped excitedly.

"I…I…" Brennan stumbled, not meeting his eyes. "I can't. I have to get home."

"Aw, come on, Bones! We haven't had a case in weeks. I miss you!" he pleaded her.

She had to get home and cook dinner, but the remains couldn't wait. She always told herself that her job came first… "Ok. Let me grab my case and we'll head out."

She ran back to her office and grabbed her forensic case.

Tonight won't end well…she already regretted her decision to go to the scene.