Brennan opened her door to Booth with Thai and movies.

"Booth I don't understand why you insist on having this 'movie night', the custom is ridiculous."

"It's bonding!" he shrugged as he slipped past her into the apartment.

"She rolled her eyes and shut the door before following him to her living room. He slipped The Princess Bride into the DVR and opened the food. She sighed and snuggled into his chest.

"I call the rice stuff." she surrendered.

In the middle of the movie the thunder and lightning started. Brennan shifted, in a way that only someone who really knew her would realize was uncomfortable. The power was knocked out and Brennan screamed. She curled up into a ball on the couch, rocking herself and whimpering. Booth hugged her, concerned about her level of fear.

"Hey, hey, shhh, it's OK, you're safe." he comforted her, "Do you want to build a blanket fort?"

"I don't know what that means." she whispered faintly.

"OK, just, where do you keep your flashlights?"

She pointed to a cupboard beside the TV (that Booth had bought her). He picked her up and laid her down on the fluffy purple rug and quickly grabbed four lanterns, turning them on and placing them on each corner of the rug. He pulled over four kitchen chairs and grabbed a bunch of pillows and blankets, successfully building a blanket fort. He pulled her in with him and began telling her a story, a story about mischief and fairies, princesses and dragons, magic and monsters, successfully making Brennan forget about the storm.

When the sun came out in the morning (they had fallen asleep in the fort together) she thanked him for keeping her from having a panic attack.

"Why are you so scared anyway?" he questioned her.

"Well, when I was a foster child, my," she paused, a look of loathing on her face, "male foster guardian, shot me with his shotgun..."

"You stupid bitch!"

"Please, it's only dented!"

"I loved that car more than my bitch of a wife! And now you're gonna pay!" he grabbed his shotgun off the wall.

She burst into tears, gripping her arm where the bullet was lodged.

Her foster mother came rushing out of the kitchen screaming at her husband about the blood on her carpet. When she realized how much there actually was, she crossed her arms

"Hmph. I think we gotta take her to the hospital." she frowned, "What'll we say?"

"We say we were hiking and some crazy-ass hunter accidentally shot her."

"Fine."

He kicked her. "Get up you little whore."

Still crying, she tried to get in her usual spot in the car.

"Get in the trunk, you've damaged this car enough."

"Stew, we'll be inna hospital. They can see her come outa a trunk."

"Bitch, we'll take her out a street away."

He shoved her in the trunk, still sobbing. Her blood was dripping everywhere.

"That's how I got this scar," she said pointing to her arm, "it still hurts, really, when you get shot."

"So, why does thunder scare you?"

"The sound always reminds me of that gunshot."

He hugged her closer. "Your life was so fucked up."

She smiled sadly. "Thanks."

"No, I just mean like, it was messed up, and I wish I could have fixed it."

She shrugged, "You couldn't have. We didn't even know each other then." She snuggled into his chest. "But you know me now, we protect each other now."

He kissed her head, "I know. I know." he paused, "I love you." he whispered.

"I love you, too" she replied.