Title- Nightmares and Thai Food

Summary- Catching a murdering pedophile is hard on everyone involved, especially those with children themselves. What does Booth do when sleep evades him?

Disclaimer- Not mine, never mine- I'm just playing with them. Although, I must say- Hart Hanson is a right genius, and no doubt about it.

Warnings- Not much, really. Pretty straight forward, although Angela does have a dirty mind. Oh! B&B, duh. This is actually my first het relationship. Yay!

Author's Note- First Bones fic, please be kind. Can be set anywhere after 'Aliens in a Spaceship' or the 'Glowing Bones' episodes, because that's where I think they get close enough for this to actually happen. I'll try to keep them as in character as possible, but that's a 'try', darlings. And I've only seen to disc 5 of season 2, so I don't know everything that's going to go on.

Author's Note 2- All my knowledge of the FBI and standard protocol is made up completely off the top of my head, and what (little) I've learned from watching Bones.

Enjoy!

… … …

Booth woke up with a jolt, trying to separate what was real from what was not. Head in his hands, his muscles quaked as images from the nightmare flashed through his mind over and over- Parker, crying, tied to a pole with duct tape, Parker dead, throat slashed like the three other victims, Parker hating him for not finding him fast enough, his son's accusing eyes spearing through him as he found the boy's dead body- the phone was in his hands and dialing before he'd even thought about it.

Three rings later, a sleepy voice answered the phone. "Booth? Booth, do you know what time it is?"

Booth closed his eyes, letting the voice flow over him.

"Booth? Seeley, what's wrong?" Silence for a moment, then "Are you there?"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, Rebecca, I am."

"What's the matter?"

He rubbed his eyes. "I had a- um, this case I was involved in- please, just tell me, is Parker alright?"

He heard rustling, and then a concerned, "What's going on, Booth?"

"Just tell me my son is sleeping, please? Okay? Just please tell me that."

A huff. "Fine- hang on."

Booth listened to some more rustling, a grumbling male voice, the sound of one door opening, and the slow, quiet creak of another.

"Booth, he's in bed- he's asleep, and he has a death grip on that dinosaur you got him from the Jeffersonian. Now what's going on?"

The FBI agent breathed out a relieved sigh. "I just solved this case- this pedophile, he would" swallow "would steal little… little boys and then- and then we'd find them, and they'd be- and I had this nightmare, and I had to make sure, you know?"

"Oh, Seeley." He heard Rebecca's sigh. "He's fine- it was just a nightmare."

"I know that!" The agent snapped. Then he sighed. "I'm sorry. Hey, thanks Rebecca. Go back to sleep. I'm gonna go to work or something."

"Alright. Booth, you know it's eleven thirty, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, whatever. Goodnight, Rebecca."

"Goodnight, Booth."

… … …

Brennan looked up sharply, frowning as someone knocked on her door. Getting up, she peered through the peep hole before opening the door on a laden Booth.

"You realize it's midnight, right?"

He edged past her and into her kitchen, leaving Brennan to lock back up. "Good morning to you too, Bones. And, I notice you're still dressed- you can't tell me you were asleep."

"Well, I wasn't- and though it is technically morning, it's still the middle of the night, Booth."

He turned around and handed her a white container and a pair of chopsticks. "Roast pork mei fun, Bones. Tell me your gonna turn it down."

"Of course not. Although, I've told you before, all this midnight takeout is going to make us fat."

Booth just grinned and settled onto her couch before digging into what smelled like chicken fried rice. Brennan just shrugged. She'd figure out why he was here soon enough- she'd needed a break from writing her next book, anyway.

As it turned out, she didn't have to wait that long. Booth had finished his meal while she was still halfway through hers, and placed the container on the coffee table before leaning back, a brooding expression on his face. Brennan slowly set down her food, then put her hand on her partner's knee and asked, "What's the matter, Booth?"

Slowly, his head turned to her, a haunted expression in his eyes. "I had… I had a nightmare, Bones. About Crane and his victims." Brennan started to say something, but Booth brought his hand up and said, "Let me finish."

He took a deep breath, then said in a rush, "I dreamt that he'd taken Parker and there was nothing I could do about it, and that it was my fault."

Brennan sat back a little, thinking about that statement. "Well, Gordon Gordon says that nightmare's are the subconscious' way of telling us what we fear. Logically, though, it never could have happened. The probability that Crane A- knew about Parker's existence, B- could get past all the FBI Agents shadowing his every move, and C- could do anything to harm him before you got there are all factors that are astronomically against his success."

She watched his face as her partner took in what she said, watched as the stress and tension ebbed out of him. His grin was breathtaking( if she believed that something like a grin could take away one's breath, which she did not).

"Thanks, Bones. That was exactly what I needed to hear."

Brennan frowned. "I was only stating facts, Booth."

His grin got wider. "Yep. Now, what were you doing up at this hour of the night, anyway?"

She turned to the laptop on the far side of the table, pulling it closer. "I was working on my next book, Booth."

"Sweet! Well, don't let me keep you from that any longer. Oh…" Brennan turned to him, not liking his mischievous tone of voice, "are there any bits with me in it, Bones? Eh?"

"You are not in this book, Booth! Stop thinking you are!"

He grinned and leaned back, eyes half lidded. "So you say, Bones. So you say."

She huffed and turned back to her laptop, quickly getting caught up in the plot. It was only two hours later, when she shut down her computer with a pleased sigh, did she realize Booth was still there, stretched out, and passed out, on the couch behind her.

Brennan leaned back against his thighs, noticing that he'd at least had the decency to take his shoes off before putting his feet up on her couch. She'd have to make fun of the Loony Toons ™ on his socks before she woke him up. But she just wanted to close her eyes for one second- they hurt from staring at the computer screen for so long…

… … …

Angela tapped her foot as she waited in Brennan's office. It was eight o'clock in the morning- the woman was usually in at seven on the dot! Hodgins passed the door, saw Angela waiting, and came in.

"Is she still not in?" he asked, amused.

The artist shook her head. "No! And she didn't call saying she was going to be late." Eyes narrowed, she fished her phone out of her pocket, saying "I'm going to call her and find out what's up with her."

Hodgins watched in amusement as the woman made good on her threat.

Angela listened as the phone rang once, twice, and finally get picked up on the third ring.

"Brennan." came the husky voice, and Angela's eyes widened as she heard the sleepy quality.

"Hey Sweetie. What are you doing?"

"Sleeping." The anthropologist was starting to sound a little annoyed, and if what Angela was thinking was correct, then the artist did not want her friend to wake up.

"Okay. Well, call me when you wake up, okay?"

"Kay, Ange. Bye."

"Bye, Sweetie."

Angela slowly hung up the phone, staring at Hodgins. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"She's asleep! And I think there's a guy with her."

"What! Really?" Hodgins looked even more surprised than Angela.

Making a decision, the artist headed out of the office, trying to find Cam. "We," she said, "are going to tell Dr. Saroyin that Bren needs a half day. And then, when she comes in, we can find out what went on last night."

Hodgins chuckled as they neared Cam. "You are evil, Ange. Completely evil."

She eyed him slowly. "Mmm-hmmm. And don't you love it."

… … …

She was really, really warm. And comfortable. And so tired… But she needed to get up- she had to go to work, and given the angle of the light, she was really late.

Brennan blinked her eyes open, clearing the sleep from them as she tried to focus on what she was seeing. It didn't look like her sheets- they were green, this was red- and it was moving. Sheets didn't move. She went to get up, but the arms around her tightened, holding her securely to the chest she was staring at.

She was suddenly awake- she knew that chest. And as her eyes traveled further up, she realized she knew the neck, and the jaw, and the face, too. With a groan Brennan let her head fall back on Booth's chest. This was not good. She contemplated their position. Booth was stretched out on his back, arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist. She was cuddled against his side, with head pillowed on his chest, her arms trapped between them, one leg stretched alongside his and the other across his thighs.

When Brennan went to try to get up again, Booth moved. Rolling towards her, he trapped her between himself and the back of the couch, pressing them even more intimately together than before.

Booth muttered something- Brennan caught the words "comfy… sleepy… tired" before he fell back asleep. She closed her eyes. She'd thought the sound of his voice would finish waking her up, but no. It made her realize just how much she agreed with what she heard. She was comfy, she was tired, she was falling back asleep.

Brennan dozed, her head tucked under Booth's chin, for about another hour before she woke up again. This time she was hot, uncomfortable, and wide awake. She struggled out of Booth's grasp, ignoring the very compromising positions that put them in, before leaning over and shaking him awake.

"Booth! Booth, wake up! We are so late to work, I'm going to be fired, I have so much to do, I have to take a shower…"

He grunted and squinted up at her, yawning and stretching. "I'm up, I'm up." he muttered.

Brennan ran into her bedroom, grabbing clothes and towels for a very quick shower. When she went past the living room to get to the bathroom, she was Booth putting the rest of the Chinese food away. Then she was in the bathroom, staring in the mirror. She had creases from his shirt on her face. She scowled. They had better be gone by the time I get out of the shower, she thought.

When she emerged, dressed and hair thrown up in a hasty ponytail, it was to see Booth in leaning against the island in her kitchen, travel mug of coffee in one hand, and a plastic container of fruit in the other, white plastic fork sticking out of the top.

As she made to grab her bag, he handed her the coffee( dark and very sweet, just how she liked it) and the fruit. "I got the bag, Bones- you eat, I'll drive."

After snagging another travel mug off the counter (Brennan hadn't known she'd had two) they made their way down to his SUV.

Brennan eyed her partner. He was wearing the same thing he'd come over in yesterday, and she suddenly felt bad about rushing him out of her house. "Did you need a shower, or a change of clothes, Booth?"

He laughed as they got into his car. "Nah," he said. "I showered before I came over last night, and I got a change of clothes in the back."

"Okay." was her uncertain answer.

Before they pulled out into the hectic D.C. traffic, he reached over and tucked his knuckle under her chin. "Don't worry about me, Bones. Just eat, okay?"

Brennan nodded. Then, as he drew his hand away, she noticed the time. "Booth! It's eleven forty-five! We are so late!"

"Nope, just you, Bones. The FBI has this policy of giving a day off to Agents who solve crimes like the one from yesterday. The Jeffersonian should pick it up."

Brennan just frowned at him, mouth too full to answer back. The drive was quick- Booth was speeding, but all the local cops could spot an official vehicle with their eyes closed- and they got to the Institute in record time. As Booth made to go towards the Structure, Brennan said, "Where are you going?"

Booth gave her a look and said, "To park."

She pointed the opposite direction, saying, "Today you can park in my spot. Since I don't have my car today, Booth."

He just grinned.

After he parked, he hopped out of the truck and went around to the back, popping the hatch. Brennan followed him.

"Hey, do me a favor, Bones? Tell me if anyone's coming?"

She looked around. "No, no one's coming. You're all glass."

Brennan heard a muffled laugh. "All clear, Bones. You mean all clear."

She turned to him just in time to see him straightening his new tee shirt. As he shrugged into his jacket, she scolded, "You can't get changed in a parking lot, Booth!"

He turned to her and pointed his finger at her face. "That's why you were looking out for people."

She swatted at his hand and turned to go inside, ignoring his quiet laughter.

… … …

Angela was excited. She'd had one of her friends in Security promise to tell her when Bren showed up, since she doubted the woman would remember her promise to call Angela, and she'd just been notified the Dr. Brennan was here, along with Agent Booth. If the scenario's her mind was supplying was accurate, then there would be something new between the two of them. Something…romantic.

She sighed, then straightened from her post by Bren's door when the two partner's came around the corner. They were bickering about something- not unusual, but Angela wanted to know what the squabble was about. Maybe bed hogging, or too much time in the shower?

But the real reason was so much better than she'd imagined.

"-can't do that, Booth! They have security camera's all over the place!"

"So? Who cares? It's not like I did a strip show or anything."

That's when Angela was spotted. But instead of changing the subject, Bren walked right up to her and said, "He can't get changed in the parking lot, can he, Ange?"

She looked over her friends shoulder to Booth, who threw his hands up. "I was practically in the car, and all I did was change my shirt!"

Ange looked back to Brennan. "Sorry, sweetie, but I have to agree with Booth an this one. With a figure like that…?" she trailed off, eyebrows raised and shaking her head appreciatively.

Brennan narrowed her eyes. "Fine." She went into her office, dropped off her bag, grabbed a lab coat, and came back out. "Do you know where Dr. Saroyin is? I have to apologize about being late."

Angela waved her hand. "Don't worry about it, Hon- I told her you needed a half day today. You aren't supposed to be here for another" she checked her watch, "three minutes."

Brennan stopped. "How did you know I was going to be late?"

"Bren, sweetie, I called you at eight o'clock. You were still sleeping." Ange smirked a little at the look on her friends face.

"Oh. Thanks, Ange."

"Not a problem, Bren. Now, if you'll excuse me, Hodgins and I have a lunch date at that Egyptian place…" she said as she walked off, a smug look on her face.

As she walked away, Angela heard Brennan say to Booth, "This is all your fault."

And heard Booth's reply- "Yeah, I know. So, I'll buy you dinner and give you a ride home. Good?"

"…Fine. Yes, that's fine."

Angela grinned. Just wait until Hodgins hears about this!

… … …

So, eight pages in Word. Pretty good, huh? So, what did you think? I , personally, liked it, but that's kinda par for the course. Does it go a little fast? It took me about three hours to write it, so it didn't feel that way writing it, but reading it…? Lemme know what you think.

Anyway, I hope all you all liked it- please review! Constructive criticism would be best, but I accept all kindsa of flattery.

Ta!

MannyWitch