Well, I'm in an angsty mood, as you will be able to tell. And this was just a thought I had this morning. My good buddy, Coilerfan35, and I were talking last night about a certain agent that we both despise (Agent Timothy Sullivan) and I know that some people like him, but I just felt I needed to write this. Probably out of character, but I'm pretty proud of it.

Chapter Eight:

-A Few Days Later-

Brennan gingerly crawled into her empty bed, willing her body to fight against the pain in her torso.

It was now her fifth week pregnant. She had all the symptoms of a mother not very far along. The nausea and fatigue were the worst of these and they only seemed to be happening in the morning. A slow starting morning she wouldn't mind so much. However, the throbbing ache in her shoulders and chest had nothing to do with being knocked up.

Angela and Cam had driven her home at five, not letting her work a minute past five, even thought the doctor they'd taken to beforehand had suggested she go home and rest. They'd gotten her some ibuprofen and made her some tea before she started asking them to leave, feeling like an incompetent child. They knew there wasn't a whole lot they could do for Brennan at this stage, so the women reluctantly left. As they walked down the corridor to the elevator, they had one comment each.

"In all my time in the Bronx, I don't think I've ever seen anyone that tough." Cam mumbled.

"That's our Bren for you." Angela's voice cracked as one single tear trekked down her cheek.

All Brennan wanted to do now was to sleep, but she was sure that wasn't going to be coming any time soon. It was now seven, and Booth would be home soon. She hoped to be asleep by the time he came into the bedroom so he'd just nuzzle up beside her and be content. But if she was still awake, she was going to have some explaining to do.

She'd finally found a not-so-painful position on her side and had just turned out the bedside lamp when she heard the latch of the door click and the deadbolt slip into place. He was home.

Brennan heard the keys clatter on the counter as he would slip out of his suit jacket and drape it over the back of the couch. With nothing to do in the living room, he would sneak into the room, trying to be considerate and not wake her. Booth would strip to his boxers and undershirt and slide into bed next to her.

All of this happened just in the way she predicted it to…until he tried to burrow into her shoulder and she whimpered at the sting it caused.

The shift in weight was hardly noticeable because of the foam mattress, but she still felt it.

"Bones, why are you still awake? Better yet, what are you doing in bed so early?" he asked, his hand still resting against her hip.

She opened her eyes, only one visible while the other one was hidden into the pillow. "How did you know?"

"I didn't. You just told me."

Brennan closed her eyes again, angry at him for his stupid word games.

Booth turned on the light on her side of the bed, knowing now that she was indeed fully awake. "What's wrong, baby?"

"I'm not a baby, and I can't be tired?" she didn't meet his eyes. Her focus was centered on the corner of her nightstand.

"Of course you can be tired, but why so early? You're going to end up waking up at three in the morning." his hand closed around her shoulder.

Booth didn't have to hear the whimper, even though he did. He felt the jolt of electricity that shot through her body at his touch.

"Bones?" he tried to turn her over, but she gripped the edge of the bed tight.

"You have to promise me not to get mad." she said quietly.

He ground his teeth together. Booth knew this woman like the back of his hand. Along with that, he'd seen too many women battered to know how they act and the lengths they'd go to in order to keep it a secret. "I can't make that promise, Bones. Just let me see."

She didn't want to, but the pressure on her side was beginning to make her aching shoulder feel like it was on pins and needles. Brennan reluctantly rolled, making the damage visible.

Booth took in a sharp breath. A giant purple spot had formed already around her eye and the once mystic blue eye had been dyed red from the broken blood vessels. Her neck had battle scars all its own in the fingertip-shaped bruises that adorned it. He tried to avert his eyes to the black dress shirt (his shirt) and saw a red mark peek out from the shoulder. He unbuttoned three of the clasps, realizing how much work it must've taken her to get it on and buttoned evenly. Her clavicle looked as though it was stretching her skin and muscles painfully. Both shoulders and the upper part of her chest was covered in red and blue splotches. The pale veins were visible through her skin, along with the pulse point in her neck. It was almost ironic. That was the only color Booth was seeing at this moment.

His hands trembled violently, the rage that was now boiling his heart had taken over his mind. His voice contradicted him, though, sounding lost and hopeless. "Who the hell did this to you?"

Brennan tried to calm him, "Booth, he got arrested. It doesn't-"

"Temperance!" he shouted, "Who?!"

She recoiled into the mattress a bit more and guarded herself with her hands.

Her defense broke through his anger as he watched her, blocking the punch he would never throw. Booth's eyes softened and then watered. He'd rather die than hurt her.

"Hey, I'm sorry." he moved her hands down to look at her face again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you." Booth sat up and lifted her into his arms, taking a gentler approach to the subject. "What happened to you, Temperance?"

Brennan snuggled closer, despite the pain, as she relived her day.

~*~

-Jeffersonian Institute: Earlier That Day-

"Ms. Wick, these microscopic vertebral punctures, they strike you as unusual?" Brennan asked the optimistic intern.

"There are some on the backs of the ribs, too. They look like someone got a very bad acupuncture job." she replied.

Brennan was in a good enough mood that she enjoyed the humor, even happier that she understood what someone was talking about for once. "I'm going to let you take a closer look at these by yourself. Angela needs me to run through some simulations with her. You know where to find me." she instructed.

"Yep. No problem, Dr. Brennan." she commented cheerily.

Brennan smiled and stepped out of the bone room. Since the mummy case a couple months ago, she was starting to see where her most ambitious intern was coming from in her over-eagerness.

The pulled back curtains in her office. There was a male figure in her office, in a suit. She assumed it was some F.B.I agent was trying to stand in for Booth's replacement again. Hacker had sent over three different agents, all saying they were reassigned as her new partner. She sent them all back with the same message: I don't work with anyone but Booth.

"When are you guys going to take a hint?" she asked, not turning to face him. "I've told both Cullen and Hacker to stop sending people. It's not worth while." she shuffled through the files that Cam left on her desk. Toxicology reports and tissue analysis of their countless other bodies took precedence over another bureau drone.

"Well, I wouldn't say it wasn't worth my while coming over here." the man stated.

Brennan froze mid-sentence and would've dropped the files had her palms not started to sweat profusely. She set the papers down slowly, trying to halt the chill that ran up her spine. "Agent Sullivan."

"That's a little formal, Bren. Whatever happened to Sully?" he joked and stepped up to her back, running a finger along the tops of her shoulders.

"Stop that." she said harshly. "What do you want?"

His hand dropped to his side, "Jeez, Tempe, what's wrong? You used to like that. Said it gave you chills." he taunted.

She turned to him. "I said it made my nerve endings jump as an involuntary reaction to being touched so lightly. It had nothing to do with being cold." she clarified.

Sully held up his hands in surrender. "What's wrong with you?"

"You made me uncomfortable." Brennan stated as she walked around her desk and shoved the files into the appropriate slot. "I found an appropriate way to make myself comfortable again. Didn't know it was illegal." she muttered her last sentence.

"Is it bad that I showed up here or something?" he asked.

Brennan met his eyes, "It would make me feel better if you weren't here." she mumbled. It surprised her that her mood went from happy to extremely annoyed in less than five minutes.

"Tempe, I don't know what you're problem is. I came back to D.C to see you, like I promised." he sounded offended.

She had about twenty seconds to process that, in fact, almost three years ago, he said he'd come back for her a year. She believed he would come back in a year, but after another year had passed, she decided it was likely he wasn't coming back. Brennan also started believing her feelings for Booth were more than just a partner/physical thing. Now that she knew what those feelings were, she couldn't understand why he was even there.

"You said a year, Agent Sullivan, and I waited a year. Not a single interest. And when a year went by, I was done putting my life on hold for you." she stated over her ringing cell phone before picking it up. "Brennan…oh, you can't make it?…no, I get it. I've had to work through lunch before, too…don't worry about it…okay, I'll see you tonight…love you, too." she felt spiteful returning that last comment that Booth made to her over the phone, but it was the truth. Temperance Brennan prided herself on speaking her mind.

She hung up the phone as he looked at her with hurt eyes. "Who was that?"

Brennan shook her head. "Irrelevant. I moved on. You should do the same." she stated it as simply as though she was talking about a skeleton.

"Temperance." he took a firm grip of her shoulders. His voice was filled with venom, along with the look in his eyes. Neither showed a trace of tenderness.

"Let me go, Sullivan." she didn't moved, nor did her expression change. Brennan wasn't a woman that scared easily. She would have to admit, however, the look he was giving her was unsettling. His eyes weren't as clear as what was considered normal. They were almost a little glassy.

"Not again." he throttled her and shoved her up against the wall. She was taken aback, but was more concerned with getting both of her feet back on the ground.

"You think this is a game? You toss my emotions aside because there was nothing better to do." he tightened his grip as she tried to breathe, only to be met by her blocked windpipe. Her body didn't respond to the commands she gave it. She couldn't kick, she couldn't fight,…she couldn't scream.

"You don't know what love is, Temperance. You know you don't know what love is, and you never will now." he threw her to the ground as she coughed and panted. Before she could even begin to crawl away, he was on top of her, and he had her throat again. She saw the fist before it came into contact with her face and she was blind in said eye. Brennan didn't focus on fighting back. Her maternal instincts, despite the few she had, kicked in as she curled into the fetal position and crossed her hands over her stomach, protecting what was growing there.

She couldn't tell when Daisy had come in. It had felt like an eternity. She just remembered seeing her grad student's eyes grow wide in horror before she heard "SECURITY!" and she tackled him off of her professor.

"You think it's fun beating on expectant mothers?!" Brennan heard the high female voice yell before there were rapid footfalls and people calling her name. She passed out then.

~*~

"When I came to, Angela and Cam took me to the emergency room. They said it looked worse than it really was. Sully got arrested and the police said he was on steroids." Brennan whispered. She didn't have the strength to use a full voice when she was right next to Booth's ear.

"What about-?" Booth started to ask before she stopped him.

"It's fine, the baby's fine." she reassured. "They took a sonogram and said the attachment's strong, but if he hit me in the stomach like he had to give me this…" she gestured to her black eye. "I probably would've lost it."

Booth stroked her back in soothing circles. His gentle touch was very contradictory to the thoughts that were racing through his head. He decided to say something so she wouldn't get scared by his silence. "Looks like a lot of people are into you, Bones."

She smiled, despite the throb that was still in her jaw. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Not many people are going to want to be looking at me when I look like this."

"I don't care what other people think. You're still the most beautiful woman in the world." he stated.

"You can't know that." Brennan didn't want to argue, but it was a reflex.

"Doesn't matter, Bones. I think you're beautiful both inside and out, and that's all I need to know to come to that conclusion." he stated.

She shrugged, then winced at the discomfort the action caused. "Can we sleep now, Booth? I'm hurting everywhere and I just want to go to sleep." Brennan tightened her arms around him.

"Of course, Bones." he managed to process the thought to sink down into their bed a little further and pull the blankets up around them.

"There's something else, too." she said quietly. "Please don't go sneaking out in the middle of the night. I need you here. Promise me?"

Booth looked down, "How did you…?"

"That whole mind-reading thing can go both ways. Promise me." she repeated.

"I promise, Bones. I won't go on a tirade of vengeance in the middle of the night." he said. Booth silently added to himself 'I'll save it for tomorrow.'

* * *

Booth walked into the claustrophobic interrogation room that was the local police's favorite. Chained to the chair that was in front of the small table was one former Agent Timothy Sullivan. Booth looked at his prey, rolling up his shirt sleeves.

"Cops tell me you don't remember what happened yesterday, Sullivan."

"They filled me in. You have to know I wasn't in my right frame of mind, Booth. I'd never hurt Tempe!" Sully tried to explain himself.

"I'd like to believe you, Sullivan, but the facts say otherwise." Booth rolled his shoulders and straightened his back. "Let me fill you in on a little something. When someone threatens and beats the woman I love,…the mother of my unborn child,…it doesn't get you very many brownie points with me."

Sully was silent for a long moment, then " God, I'm sorry, Booth. I didn't know that was you she was talking to on the phone."

"Oh, so you were there when I was on the phone with her?" Booth asked.

Sully sighed, "Yeah…I guess so."

"Here's a little piece of advice Sullivan." Booth's voice dropped several octaves and was harsh with emotion. "Stay away from her. You come near her again, you've got me to deal with. And out of anyone on this Earth, I'm probably the one who's most likely to get away with murder."

Booth turned to leave, but not before giving the incarcerated lowlife the hardest right-hook he'd ever given anyone.

"That's for Bones." he said before he left and didn't look back.

Well? Is it out of character? A little too angsty? I need suggestions, my loyal followers! What do you want to see from me? Click that green button and leave me your thoughts. XD