[Author's note: Not such a very long chapter, but I hope you like it. I've had a rough few days not being accepted into the school I quit my other school for, so I'm kind of in between dreams at the moment. By the way: Your reviews have been amazing!]

Uncharted Lands

10. Resemblances

Two days later they had made zero progress on their murder case.

Booth was getting more and more worried, seeing Bones getting submerged in the case. He had tried to get her to back off but she wouldn't, being determined to help find who murdered this girl.

She had found out some facts about her, but the girl hadn't been identified yet. Partly because there was no report of someone matching her description going missing, and partly because Brennan suspected the girl was foreign.

Brennan herself was fully aware of her involvement in the case, but she just couldn't back down. She needed to do this. Ever since the case had started, her dreams had turned into nightmares. She had even asked Booth to leave her alone last night, because she knew that if he noticed, she'd have to talk. He had respected her request and slept in his own bed, alone, but he had been at her door first thing in the morning to make sure she was all right. She pretended to be, but she felt just like she had with the Lauren Eames case. In over her head.

'You wanna take an early lunch?' a voice sounded through her office. Brennan looked up to find Booth in her doorway, unsure of how far he was allowed to go, especially after her cold disposition this morning after she'd sent him packing.

'I just want to work, Booth,' she said, her pleading eyes betraying her cold tone. She lacked the strength now to keep up the façade, and frankly she didn't want to.

'Ok, I'll get us something,' he answered, giving her a smile that told her I understand you and I'm here for you.

So a few minutes later he was back, carrying two bagels and coffee. He sat on her couch and she regarded him from behind her desk.

'If you want them, come and get them,' he challenged with a grin. She frowned. 'Why?'

'Come on Bones, just humor me. You can work from here as well.'

She gave in, grabbing her file and moving to sit next to him.

They ate in silence for a while, until Booth's eye caught a note on the paper in front of her.

'Definite signs of abuse? Jesus, it's only getting worse.'

'We will find who did this, Booth,' she said, trying to reassure both her and him at the same time.

'I know you will,' he said, handing her the bagel. 'Here, you have to eat, especially now.'

'Yeah.. About that, maybe.. Maybe this is not such a good idea,' she suddenly said, avoiding his eyes, looking down.

'What, lunch?'

'The baby, Booth..'

'What?'

She shocked the hell out of him, he couldn't believe his ears. He turned towards her, taking her bagel from her and softly lifting her chin so she had to meet his eyes.

'What are you saying? Look, I know you're having a hard time with this, but please just talk to me. What's going on?'

'I.. Is it responsible of us to bring a child into the world? With the work we do?' she said, her voice clear but her eyes watering.

'How can we protect our baby, Booth?'

His expression softened, the initial shock slowly leaving him. 'Hey, look. I know it's hard to believe, and I know you won't believe me. But just hear me out.' He saw her nod, the movement almost too small to notice but he did, so he continued.

'This, it's a miracle. We're having a baby, and we'll love it so much, Bones.. It'll be worth it. No matter what happens, no matter how hard it is for us to keep her safe.. It'll be worth it. And easier because of it.'

She sobbed at his words, and he put his arms around her, cradling her, trying to chase away her demons with soft whispers.

After a while, she became quiet, but she didn't move away. Her head was lying on his chest, where it had been so many times over the past week, and she felt safe. So safe, that no matter how ridiculous his words should sound, they sounded real. And true.

'I missed you so much last night,' he whispered in her hair, no reason for his words other than that he had to tell her. He had been miserable. Tossing, turning, unable to shake the feeling that he was abandoning her.

Of course he had felt her struggle the night before, he had witnessed her fight her nightmare. But he hadn't mentioned it, he had just tried to calm her and be there for her, never mentioning it when she was awake, afraid to hurt her pride. Nonetheless, she had sent him away and he had gone, just like that. Given her the space she had requested, because he had seen no other option: Her eyes had told him the same as her words. I need space. And he could do nothing but respect that.

But he had been sad. Angry even, at himself, for leaving her like that. Letting her fight her dreams alone, with no one around to comfort her.

She just pressed her cheek into him, seeking more contact, her body telling him she missed him too.

And she had. She'd felt it all the way down through her toes, the sharp pain that was missing him. And she was sure it had made the nightmare worse, because last night, she hadn't been trying to get to the girl with Booth at her side. She'd been trying all alone. And again, she had failed.

She sniffed, emotions getting the best of her again and she moved to sit next to him again, just being with him. 'I missed you too,' she whispered back. 'But I didn't want you to notice.'

'I noticed, Bones. Don't be ashamed of a nightmare. Let me help.'

She was astonished. How did he know? She was sure he had been asleep the two times she had woken from her dream, his body quietly breathing next to her, his arms around her making everything a little bit better, until she closed her eyes again.

'You can't help, Booth. I've been through this before. It's the case.'

'I know, with the Gravedigger?' he said, handing her her coffee before it got cold.

'Yeah.. And later, too.'

He frowned, trying to think about which case she meant.

She saw his struggle and felt a shot of pain run through her. He didn't know.

'You know, with the doctor that we found under the tree. Lauren Eames?'

His face went blank, his insides clenched. Had it been that bad for her?

'Oh. Yeah, I know which one you mean.'

Neither of them felt any need to talk about her confession to him that night. The fact that they both knew about it was enough, now was the time to concentrate on other things.

'You had nightmares then as well?'

She nodded. 'Pretty bad ones.'

'I didn't see,' Booth said softly, his voice thick with guilt. 'I'm so sorry, Bones. I had no idea.'

'I know,' she said, no particular tone in her voice. 'I didn't tell you. We weren't.. as close as we used to be then, and it was my problem, not yours.'

'We're partners, Bones,' he said, taking her hands, concerned that she didn't trust him with basics like this. 'You have a problem, I have a problem. You share stuff like that.'

'I don't,' she whispered and pulled back her hands. 'I'm used to being alone.'

He nodded. 'Yeah, I know. Still, you should have said something, Bones.. I really didn't know.'

'The point is..' She hesitated, should she tell him now?

'Go on,' he encouraged.

'The point is that that case reminded me of me. This one doesn't remind me, it just.. This kid could be ours, Booth.'

'You know, the fact that you worry about this is proof that you'll do anything to keep our baby safe, and that's all you can do,' he said, knowing it was little consolation but still, he knew it to be true.

She nodded. 'I guess you're right. I'll just have to accept that even though this world can be very dangerous, it can also be beautiful. And we'll do anything to show our child as much of that beauty as possible, right?'

He smiled at her. 'Yeah, we will. Hockey, burgers, maths, sunrises.. All of that.'

She felt a little pang of something at his words, remembering their conversation about faith. 'One plus one equals two,' she whispered.

'Or three,' he countered, and his breath hitched at his own words.

'Or three,' she repeated, testing the statement, finding it to be pure truth.

They continued their work, Booth helping her as much as he could, trying at the same time to reassure her, just show her he was there, convince her she could tell him anything that bothered her anytime. Always.

Another few hours later they had worked through every single piece of evidence they had, and some things had been cleared up. They also had a witness to interview. This proved to be their next point of argument.

'I'm going to talk to that guy, you stay here, Bones,' Booth said.

'Why?' she asked. 'I wanna come with you.'

'Bones, listen to me. Just.. Stay here, I'll be back in no time, ok? Just let me do this one alone.'

'Why?' she asked again.

He wanted to answer her truthfully. He wanted to say the man was a convicted criminal, even though he now worked at a pretty high end restaurant, he was dangerous. Two counts of illegal weapons possession, drug possession and assault, this man was a criminal. But he knew she'd want to come anyway. And besides, there was another reason.

'I just.. I think it's a good idea that you back off a little, you know, work the case from here, but just stay out of the hard stuff. Witnesses can get to you, you know that. Besides, there's a lot you can do here, help us along a little.'

She didn't buy it but she really didn't feel up to arguing.

'Ok,' she agreed weakly.

He closed the distance and put a hand on her shoulder, searching her eyes. 'Hey, you ok?'

She nodded, still weakly. 'Yes. You go interrogate this guy, I'll call you if I find anything important.'

He felt she wasn't really all right, she was probably very tired, but he didn't want to push her now. So he nodded and accepted her words with a warm smile.

'Wait for me,' he said.

'I will,' she answered, and they shared a look that was theirs, only theirs.

Brennan didn't work much. She tried to figure out Angela's facial reconstruction program, but she just couldn't figure it out like that. It would take time, time she wasn't giving herself. 'Damn,' she cursed when another attempt failed.

She decided to concentrate on the remains, but sitting in bone storage with the skull in her hands only made her condition worse. She started imagining how the child would have looked. She was quite skilled at making her own assessment based on bones, and she decided to try her hand at some facial reconstruction herself.

Worst idea ever.

Even though she proved to be quite a good artist, she couldn't help but imagine some parts. Hair color, eye color. Expression.

A few hours later, Booth entered the lab again. He went looking for Brennan, not seeing her anywhere on the platform. He decided bone storage first, then her office.

In bone storage he found the remains, without a skull.

An ice cold fist grabbed his heart. No. She wouldn't. Would she?

He knew she was desperate to identify the remains, and he knew immediately what stunt she had probably tried to pull.

Instead of Brennan's office, he went straight for Angela's.

There, he found her.

She was sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around her knees, sobbing. A picture beside her, a drawing of a young girl. Their girl.

It didn't take him a second to recognize both their facial features in her drawing, and he was frozen for a second.

Her sobs pulled him back into reality and his feet started moving towards her, reaching her in no time, his body knowing what to do without his mind being present.

He fell onto his knees beside her, cradling her trembling body, pulling her close.

'Shh, it's ok. I'm here, I've got you, baby.. It's ok,' he mumbled into her hair, hoping she would hear him.

She hadn't heard him enter but she didn't flinch when he put his arms around her. He needed no explanation. He knew. She knew it had been a stupid idea, straying into the land of creativity, her rational brain unable to discern fact from desire. She had wanted to make the picture look like this. It was partly accurate, the basics, shape of the face etcetera, but every feature had been influenced by her imagination. And he had recognized it as well. The words he was whispering to her made that clear.

'It's not her, it's ok, baby. She's fine. You're fine, I promise, we can do this. I've got you.'

He had called her baby before, in times of great stress, and she hadn't minded. She couldn't mind now, but still, like always, the word soothed her more than all his other words.

Baby. She shouldn't like it.

But right now she didn't care. She liked it. It made her belong, and that was what she needed, to belong. To have a place in the world that would be hers, where no one would judge her or put her down or speak badly of her. A place where being Temperance Brennan was enough.

And that place was in his arms.

After a few minutes she stilled, her arms still around her knees, one hand came up to hold his wrist to her. His arms were wrapped around her, one around her shoulders, the other above her own around her knees, holding her entire body close.

The contact of her cold fingers to his wrist made him open his eyes, signaled him that she was calming down.

Then, her voice came as soft as a butterfly's wings. 'I can't do this anymore.'

He knew it was the moment speaking, but he didn't care. If she needed him to understand her, he would.

'Ok, it's ok, let's get you home,' he whispered and she nodded. She didn't really want to give up now, but it was just overwhelming her and she needed to distance herself.

'Can we go to your place?' she whispered softly, and he frowned, but nodded. 'Sure.'

He'd ask her why later, right now he just guessed that she had some bad memories from the night before and the night he had rejected her, when she had thought she was all alone and would be forever.

He texted Cam and that was that, no one could stop him from taking her home. If she needed time, she'd have it. It was very rarely that Temperance Brennan needed time and space, so he knew she probably had a lot of sick days. He asked Cam to book a few for her, even though he thought she'd probably want to go back tomorrow, he wouldn't let her go without a metaphorical fight.

Cam texted an ok back, but by the time he read it, he already had her inside his home.

He made her tea and she felt like she was in a rollercoaster. No strength to stop what was happening around her, part of her accepting it, part of her scared to death.

As he sat down with her she knew she had to talk. Again. And she knew it would only help her, but she just couldn't find the words to explain to him, to just say that she had no control over her situation.

'Here,' he said as he handed her the tea, sitting down next to her, taking a relaxed position on his couch.

She smiled her thanks and accepted the cup, pulling her legs up under her body, comfortable with him and her surroundings. It was in this room where she had, maybe subconsciously, decided to let go, it would be here where she could do it again. Just talk to him.

She was an author, words were supposed to be her strong suit. But fiction was so much easier than reality. To write something, just put the words down on paper without any form of direct confrontation except with yourself, that was safe. That was what she knew how to do. But really talking to someone, Booth, about her feelings was a whole different thing. The words she'd write to him wouldn't be suitable to just say. They never were. They were fiction.

She was lost in thought for a minute, and he saw it, but he didn't comment because he knew she was probably forming sentences to say to him, make sure he understood.

A few moments later, she looked up at him.

'I'm sorry I tried that facial reconstruction.'

He just nodded. 'I'm sorry for letting you do it. I should have known you'd try.'

'You're not my babysitter, Booth. I'm not qualified to do facial reconstructions that way, I shouldn't have tried.'

He just dropped it, no point in arguing with her over something that had already happened.

'It's partly accurate, though,' she continued. 'The shape and position of everything is accurate. It's just that.. It takes some improvisation, and I'm not good at improvising.'

'We'll have someone take a look at it.'

She knew he meant an artist, who could make it accurate again, and it hurt. But she was glad he wasn't angry.

'I'm just.. scared,' she said, her voice much softer now.

She knew how he had felt now, back all those years ago when he had said he needed to talk about what he had done, back at the grave of the brave soldier. She had said he would, eventually, find someone to talk to, but he had known then that he had found that someone. He just hoped she could keep up with him and understand him. That's exactly how she felt now. Falling, falling from high ground, with nothing but cold rocks under her. But in between, he would catch her, save her from herself, like she had when she had listened to him that day.

'I know,' he whispered and their hands found each other. 'I am, too. The world isn't easy, Bones. But look at what we have. What we've built together. This baby will grow up surrounded by love, joy and happiness, it's the most beautiful thing in the world.'

She nodded softly. 'Do you have nightmares?'

He shook his head. 'No. But I did with Parker on the way. I won't pretend to know what it feels like for you, but I know how it felt for me. Shit-scared, and I still am some times, about stuff I think I can't afford or can't enrich his life with. It's parent insecurity, I think. We all want the best for our kids, you know, sometimes we can't see that we're already giving it to them.'

'But Parker's a wonderful child, Booth. You don't have to be insecure about anything, you already did it right once. I have no experience with children, especially newborns. How will I know what to do?'

'Instinct,' he answered truthfully. 'You'll know. Just trust your gut, Bones.'

'My gut knows how to raise children?' she asked, and of course it was half a joke.

He just smiled. 'Yep, it does.'

Then, they just sat and drank their hot beverage, very grateful for each others' presence.

'I just don't want to end up like my dad,' Booth stated suddenly, his voice soft and shaky. Brennan's eyes flew to his and she saw unexpected tears well up in his brown orbs. She panicked a little, wanting to comfort him but not really skilled in that department. She put a hand on his shoulder.

'Booth, you're not your father,' she said softly, her voice emphasizing every word.

'How do you know for sure?' he said, knowing it wasn't the question to ask her of all people, but still it needed to be asked.

'I know you,' she answered, surprising him. He had expected statements about certainty and stuff like that, but he should have known better. Her heart was enormous.

'I know you and you're a good man, Booth,' she said again, her voice insistent. He looked at her, and his vulnerability struck her in its power.

'My mom didn't know at first,' he said, softly, scared of her reaction, scared of his father and what he might still mean to this life.

'Listen to me,' Brennan asked more than ordered. 'You listen to me. You're the kindest, softest man I've ever met. You're strong but you never use it against anyone if you don't have to. You're not aggressive by nature, Booth. You have to believe me. I know I'm safe with you, you would never hurt me. Ever.'

Her words sunk in but still there was a wall, a wall that held the last of his doubt, her words not quite strong enough to destroy it all.

A tear fell from his eye and she saw it. Her body reacted to his tear and she pulled him close, his head on her shoulder, her arms around his back. Whenever I get scared, I'll hug you, he had said. This was that moment, even if he hadn't initiated the hug, he took all he could get from it.

That afternoon they made love slowly, so slowly that they both almost passed out with the intensity of it all. Her hands soothed and ignited every part of his body and mind, ice and fire, and he did the same for her. Afterwards they sought out the comfort of his bed, enjoying peace for a little while before going back out into the world. He rested his hands on her belly, fingers intertwined with hers, feeling better and more confident. She felt his confidence emanate from him and she felt proud. A swell in her chest caused by his reaction to her words, his body and mind easing at her touch. She caused this. She loved it.

Later that day, when the sun was about to go down, he took her to watch the sunset at the Washington monument. Sitting on the stairs she felt like she never thought she would, she felt as if everything in her life was going right. Nothing was wrong, nothing was amiss, except for their as of yet unsolved case. But she felt sure that together, they would solve their case. As they would solve anything that stood in their way.

Brennan had never been a great believer of fate, but sitting here with Booth, her head leaning on his shoulder, his arm around her waist warming her, she suddenly understood what it meant. It meant finding that perfect moment with someone or something, that perfect minute in life that you feel you've been waiting for without knowing it. Because every once in a while, this moment happens and you realize it's exactly right. That's fate, she realized. And it hadn't been kind on her until now, but she had a feeling she'd get to know fate a lot better from now on. The gods were smiling down on her, she realized something Booth had said to her once. She hadn't understood or wanted to understand it back then, but now, she understood. The sun slowly setting, the air slowly getting chilly, those where the gods. Messages from the universe.