Okay, the delay is completely and totally my fault, I apologize and am avoiding doing research for school so I can post the next four chaps all at once, so...feel special. lol. Bones is on tonight!!!!!!


As she walked down the hall to Travis's office, Brennan was struggling to recall the last time she had been in the FBI building. It was most likely before the incident, maybe to take Booth out to lunch or something. Back when their lives were normal. She felt him squeeze her hand and she smiled. At least they were starting to get back on track regarding their relationship.

Despite the lack of sex, she was beginning to feel like they were a couple again, and when she looked at him she could tell he felt it too, and it fuelled her confidence.

They sat nervously in Travis' office after reluctantly separating and sitting in a pair of leather chairs in front of his desk. He watched them for a moment, as if assessing their stability. When Booth began to fidget impatiently, he spoke.

"So we caught the guys responsible." He stated without pretext, his Irish accent soft and thick on his words.

"How?" Booth replied, relief momentarily delayed by the need for information. Relief washed over Brennan's face, but her posture indicated she was just as eager for answers.

"We caught two guys jackin' a car over on Millard."

"And?" Booth said impatiently.

"Calm down lad, I'm getting to it." Travis said. "We searched ther place and found the guns. Plus one o' them was wounded in the arm. Ballistics matched the bullets from ther firearms and they finally confessed so…its over." He finished hesitantly, knowing his friend well enough to know he wouldn't take this well.

"That's it?" Booth asked in disbelief.

"Thas it. The boys were thrill seekers, coupla' bad eggs with no rhyme or reason to their crimes outside of gettin' a rush." Travis replied. "Case closed."

Brennan felt Booth tense up beside her. She reached for his hand and squeezed it, but got no response.

"It's too easy." Booth grumbled.

"Please don't tell me you wish it was more complicated, Seeley-boy."

Booth remained silent, it wasn't so much that he wished it were more complicated...it just usually was.

Travis continued. "Look be glad for what it is and that its over. Why don't you take your lass now and relax."

Before Brennan could object to being called a 'lass', Travis slid some familiar keys across the desk to them.

Booth leaned forward and picked them up gingerly. Did he want to return to his apartment, the scene of an apparently senseless crime only a few short months ago?

"Thanks." He said quietly, rising from his chair. He wanted more. He wanted to be able to go after the guy himself, ask him why he did this. Kick his ass for it. He felt oddly empty, as if justice wasn't really served. As if he might have been more satisfied if it had been some serial killer with a vendetta, at least then there would have been a reason. The thought that they'd been living in this hell for over two months and it was all because some kid got off on hearing people scream…it made him sick and angry. Angry enough that he was almost glad he hadn't been allowed in that interrogation room when they questioned those boys. Almost.

Travis watched them go and sighed at the slump in their shoulders. He'd done his job, he'd done his best. But for some reason, he felt as if he'd failed. It was a feeling he was neither accustomed to, nor fond of.

As Booth headed out the door, he felt her fingers slip into his. Glancing over, he saw the worried crease in her brow and tried to give her a smile. He knew she was thinking about the apartment and to be honest, he wasn't too excited about going back either.

The blood would be cleaned up, that's for sure. But there will still be bullet holes in the wall and couch. They may have swept up the broken glass, but the windows would still be covered in plastic and taped off. Exposed.

They drove in silence over to his place, he didn't even ask her if she had wanted to go. It was silently understood that she would. When he pulled up in front of the building, he turned off the SUV but didn't move. They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither quite sure about what to do.

Finally Booth took a deep breath, unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. Brennan followed suit, waiting by her side as Booth came around.

She watched him carefully as they started up the walk. He had acted strange in Travis' office, almost disappointed. He'd been tense and unapproachable in the car, far too quiet for her liking, both in voice and movement. She was almost afraid he was pulling away again, but when his hand clasped in hers, she began to feel more confident. They could get through this. They didn't have a choice.

Booth unlocked and opened the door slowly, prolonging the inevitable. He was surprised as he looked around and saw things were not as he expected. There were no bullet holes in the wall. The windows had been replaced with new panes of glass and the leg on the coffee table had been reattached. He smiled.

Travis. He thought to himself and they moved farther in.

Brennan on the other hand was having an entirely different view of the apartment. He'd let go of her hand to open the door, and now she was beginning to feel like that was the only thing that had been keeping her calm, and sane.

As soon as she had stepped inside she was assaulted with the memory of what happened here. She could hear the bullets ricocheting off the walls, the sound echoing in her mind. She could smell the gunfire and hear Parker's screams as they mixed with the smell of drywall and silence.

"Daddy!" Parker wailed, his hands shaking as he clasped them over his ears. It was too loud. "Parker! Just stay down!" Booth yelled over the noise.

A bead of sweat appeared on Brennan's forehead and she absently brushed it away blinking hard and trying to grip reality as it slowly slipped away. She didn't want this, she didn't want to be back there…but she couldn't seem to make it stop.

She remembered Parker standing up and Both yelling at him to get down. The pillow stuffing flying around after it was shot, a calm, strange snowfall in the chaos.

She swallowed, her mouth was dry, she scrunched up her face in a frown. She was too hot. Closing her eyes, hoping to regain her control, she could taste the metal in her mouth as she looked down at her bleeding chest.

She thought maybe she could smell Booth's cologne, perhaps he was nearby. Even standing next to her, but she couldn't see him.

She reached out and touched the couch, bracing herself as her legs became weak. She could see the light patches on the wall where bullet holes had been patched, the clean new windows that replaced the shattered ones. But it was all a lie. It had happened, and no matter how much they tried to cover it up, it was all she could see. All she could feel.

Her feet began moving without her mind realizing what she was doing and in two steps she was at the door, turning the handle. She needed to go, she needed to get away from this place.

Booth might have said something, she wasn't sure. All she could hear was a high pitched buzzing and screams that pulled her between reality and memory. Her heart was beating in unison with the gunshots ringing in her head as she moved down the hall. Stumbling down the stairs, she made her way outside as fast as she could. Her body was spinning.

Blinking hard to clear her vision, she made her way down the street, faster and further until her footsteps pounded against the pavement. She needed to run. She was being crushed, she could feel it in her chest and her head and she needed to escape if she was to survive. They were coming for her, for all of them and she had to get away. She could hear shouts from behind and began to run faster. Crossing the street, she didn't see the cars that screeched to a stop only a few inches away from her knees.

Her heart was pounding and she pushed away a wave of dizziness, stumbling as her balance was thrown off. Then suddenly arms were around her and she struggled, all the while screaming for help at the top of her lungs, tears flowing freely down her face as her body withered with exhaustion.

Her attacker kept saying the same thing over and over again but she couldn't make out what it was. She thrashed against the arms that had an iron hold on her, but exhaustion was taking it's toll. Her mind was cloudy as dizziness overtook her and she sunk to the ground.

"Temperance! Temperance!" Booth shouted as he tried to rouse her, she was dead weight in his arms. His chest heaved as he held her, they'd run more than ten blocks. He didn't even know what had happened, one moment he was looking at the apartment, the next he was turning to see her flee.

He watched as Brennan's eyes blinked open and looked at him, hazy with confusion. "It's me, Temperance. It's me, Booth." He kept repeating himself until finally realization dawned on her face.

"Booth." She said hoarsely, reaching up to cling to his jacket.

"Yeah." He replied, touching his forehead to hers. "It's me."

He felt her arms wrap around his neck and he pulled her up into a hug. They stayed that way for a while as her breathing evened out and she became calm again.

"You scared me." He whispered.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He added adamantly, "We're okay."

She nodded but didn't speak, only gripped him tighter, wishing to never let go.

We're okay.

She wanted to believe him, but somehow, wasn't sure she could.


Well this chap was written by the wonderful Willgurl, so show her how much you love her and poke the button!