A/N: Hey, so this is the new chapter, and it's what many of you have been waiting for: tt's time for some ass-kicking! Hope you all enjoy! Also, I want to thank everyone reviewing, reading, alerting and favoring this fic! You are all wonderful!
A big shout to bertie for revising this chapter and for being always so patient with me! You're an angel!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.
The accelerator was never let up as Booth sped down the last street to Brennan's apartment building, the light from the streetlamps flickering off the hood of the SUV. Fleeting wisps of different plans floated through his mind, swiftly being chased away by all-consuming anger.
Abruptly parking his car outside the apartment, he didn't bother to lock it as he ran towards the entrance and up the staircase, taking two steps at a time and breathing heavily in his haste to get to his partner.
It didn't take long before he found himself at the end of her hallway. Quickly, his sniper-trained senses picked up on the sound of raised voices and he realized with horror that the shouts were coming from her apartment.
Managing to resist his initial urge to burst into the apartment with his gun drawn, he searched his pockets for his keys. Finding her space key, he silently unlocked the door, pushing it open just enough for him to slide through.
The living room was empty, but it wasn't up to Brennan's usual standards of cleanliness. Instead, papers and cushions were scattered on the floor along with some artifacts which had tumbled off her shelves. One of her coats was draped over the couch, along with her purse, as if she had just entered the apartment and thrown her things there.
The shouting escalated as he approached the hall, gun out of the holster and firm in his hands as he prepared himself for whatever he might find. Brennan's voice was high-pitched, getting louder and louder as Matt shouted back with an equal amount of venom, but the agent still couldn't understand what they were arguing about.
The door to her bedroom was open, and as he edged closer the first thing he saw were clothes scattered on the floor, including a dress, jeans and some socks, all of which belonged to Brennan. Pushing the door further open with his foot, what he saw destroyed any restraint he had left.
Two pairs of alarmed eyes stared back at him as Booth's gaze fell on the hands that were gripping one of Brennan's arms tightly. Matt was standing in front of her, eyes blazing and face twisted with anger.
The agent's blood boiled at the sight and Matt had only milliseconds to realize what was happening before a fist collided with his jaw.
"Booth!" Brennan screamed as she watched Matt tumble to the floor, his head nearly connecting with the hard wood of her bed. As Matt rubbed his jaw with a groan of pain, Brennan was ready to step between the two when the other man suddenly got up and lunged towards Booth.
The two men collided with her wardrobe; Booth's back hitting the wood with a loud thud and a grunt escaping his lips. His knee came up, slamming into Matt's stomach, and the other man bent double, clutching his gut.
"Booth, stop!" she yelled again but he couldn't hear or see anything beyond his anger.
Preparing his next move, Booth made a move to grab Matt's arms but instead received a right hook right above his left brow. Stumbling back through the hallway, he heard Brennan's insistent shouts for them to stop but, consumed by their rage, neither listened to her pleas.
She ran after them into the lounge just in time to see Booth deliver another punch to Matt's face. Blood dripped from his lips as his head snapped to the side with the force, and a few drops fell down onto her carpet. Still neither stopped.
It was only when Booth's fist met his face for the second time that the younger man seemed defeated. Falling to the floor, Matt spat at his feet, glaring up at him angrily. But before he could enter in for round two, Brennan got between them.
"What the hell is going on?" she shouted, looking from Booth to Matt and then back to her partner.
"He's the one that came at me," Matt growled, getting up from his position on the floor to stand beside Brennan.
Seeing the man so close to his partner, Booth felt his anger returning and took a step forward. "You son of a bitch."
Booth was ready to launch himself at Matt again, but Brennan stepped in front of him, her delicate hand on his chest stopping him from walking any further. "Matt, you need to get out now," she said, not taking her gaze off her partner as she watched his eyes glinting dangerously. Sensing Matt's reluctance, she turned to him and spoke with all the authority she could muster, "Get out now, Matt. Go wait in the car."
He didn't leave immediately, eyes focused on Booth and one hand rubbing his painfully throbbing jaw. But seeing that Brennan wasn't likely to move from between the alpha males, he stormed out of her apartment, slamming the door behind him.
As the other man disappeared from sight, Booth let out a deep breath, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. However, when Brennan turned to him, eyes blazing with a fury he was all too familiar with, he suddenly felt defensive again.
"What the hell was that? You can't just barge into my apartment hitting people!" she yelled, hands on her hips and chin high in defiance as she dared him to speak.
"He was hurting you!" he yelled back, rotating his shoulders to assess his injuries and finding with relief that there were no major problems.
Brennan rolled her eyes, glaring at him as she pulled her silky robe tighter around her body protectively and answered icily, "No, he wasn't. Look, Booth, just go back to your girlfriend and let me handle my own problems."
"I can't," he said sharply, startling her with the ferocity of his voice. "I can't just pretend like nothing's wrong. Jenna saw bruises on you and I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened."
"Nothing happened," she said firmly, eyes blazing but voice cold. "Like I told Jenna, I don't need your help."
"She was trying to help!" he replied angrily, hands gesturing wildly as he raised his voice. "You're hurt, and she wanted to do the right thing."
"How is interfering in my life the right thing? She should have stayed out of this," Brennan spat, frustrated by Jenna's indiscretion. Even though she knew the photographer had done it with a good heart, it didn't mean she had the right to mess with her life. No one had that right, not even Booth.
"Maybe she shouldn't have told me, but you should have. I'm your partner - I can't believe you didn't trust me with this," he said, his words strengthened by the hurt behind them.
Even if she did notice, Brennan didn't let it show as she replied with indignation, "This isn't about trust! It's personal, so why can't you just let it go?"
"Because you're hurt! You need help," he retorted, almost pleadingly.
"Help? How is beating up Matt helping me? You and Jenna are both way out of line." She took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions as she spoke bitterly, "You should go back to her; you obviously make a great pair." She didn't mean to sound jealous, or even resentful, but the thought of Booth and his apparently perfect girlfriend getting together to 'save' her just made her blood boil.
The words flew out of Booth's mouth before he could stop them. "We broke up, alright? I broke up with her tonight because I couldn't get you out of my damn head!" That stunned Brennan into silence for a moment, but Booth kept going, fuelled by anger and humiliation, "Don't know why I bothered now." Sarcasm crept in as he said cruelly, "You and Matt are obviously so good together."
Brennan's eyes widened and she took a step closer to him, voice raised, "Matt and I are none of your business! I don't need you here, Booth; I can take care of myself."
"Right," he said mockingly, taking a step toward her in return and meeting her gaze. "You take great care of yourself. That's why you've got bruises from where that asshole you call a boyfriend hit you."
Her teeth clenched, furious blue eyes staring into dark brown ones as she snapped, "He's not my boyfriend!"
"Sure looked like it from where I was standing." Breathing hard, he glanced down at the arm that Matt had grabbed earlier. "And I guess he's not the one that caused the bruises either?"
"He didn't hit me!" she shouted again, before lowering her voice and saying with all the authority she could muster, "This is none of your business."
He stepped forward again, his face inches from hers as her hot breath mingled with his. "Damn right it's my business! You're my partner and if you think I'm going to stand by and let you get hurt-"
She let out a dry laugh. "What? You'll do what, Booth? Storm in here and beat people up? I can look after myself and I don't need-"
This time he was the one to cut her off. "Yeah, you do, Bones!" His eyes locked with hers, his gaze filled with fierce determination as he tried to make her understand. "You need me."
She shook her head from side to side, trying to deny it more for herself than for him as she spoke, her voice quiet but with a steely tone, "I don't need you."
Breathing hard, Booth lowered his voice, saying with confident sincerity, "We both know you do. I'm not the only one who's been a mess these last few months. You need me." He took a deep breath, eyes falling close for just a moment before they re-focused on hers again. "You need me, Bones. Just as much as I need you."
She gasped quietly, eyes softening as she gazed at him. Inch by inch, he leaned closer to her, anticipation making her tingle everywhere until his lips finally touched hers. His hands gripped her waist, bringing her body closer to his as his tongue requested entrance into her mouth with a new found hunger, finding no resistance as she leaned into him, more than enjoying the familiar taste of him again.
But in the back of her mind she knew it was wrong, and the face of the kind photographer flashed before her closed eyelids. With a great effort, she pulled away from him, hands gently pushing at his chest.
"Booth, we can't do this now. You just broke up with Jenna," she murmured breathlessly, slightly ashamed to know that she'd come between the photographer and Booth when Jenna had treated her with nothing but kindness.
A look of pained regret crossed his face as he gently cupped her cheek lovingly. "It was always you, and I should have known from the start," he said, searching her eyes. "We ended things between us because we both knew it could never work."
Brennan dropped her eyes to the floor, guiltily. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
Before she could finish, she was cut off as his lips covered hers with a gentle pressure, hands moving back to her hips to pull her close again.
"I have no regrets, Bones. When you weren't here, I-" He took a breath. "I hate what I had to do to Jenna, but it's best for us all. I need you," he murmured against her parted lips before resuming the kiss.
How he'd missed the taste of her, the feel of her against his body as his hands mapped every curve of her body. She was intoxicating, inebriating, and addictive. And he was drunk in the essence of her. He didn't know how he had survived so many days and nights away, apart.
Temperance felt her problems melt away, every single painful memory of the six months she'd spent away from him momentarily fading into oblivion as his tongue caressed hers, heat and desire pooling between them and they fought to get closer, passion slowly taking over their bodies.
She gripped his T-shirt as he pulled her impossibly close, every inch of her body against his as she felt her knees weaken. Stars danced behind her eyelids as she tasted him, smelt his cologne and felt the warm skin under the fabric of his shirt.
But then his hands traveled higher, and before she could say anything, his palm pressed against a sensitive bruise, and she could do nothing to stop the gasp of pain that escaped her lips.
Booth broke away immediately, hands gripping her arms lightly as he searched her face. "What's the matter?" Realization dawned and his eyes widened apologetically. "I hurt you? God, I'm sorry; I didn't know-"
She smiled, placing a finger over his lips to stop the rambling. "You didn't hurt me. If anything, I feel better than I have in over six months," she said, her bright smile reassuring him as he leaned to capture her lips once again. But he felt the tension still in her body, and took care not to hurt her again.
Shifting back a little, he cupped her face with both hands, placing a light kiss on her forehead as she smiled with closed eyes, openly enjoying the feel of his lips against her now feverish skin.
"Temperance," he whispered softly, her name falling from his lips as if in prayer, and she lifted her eyes to meet his. "Show me."
It wasn't an order, but a request, one she could have easily turned down. But as he watched her, nothing but affection reflecting back at her in his brown eyes, she couldn't have denied him anything.
Silently she turned her back to him, untying the knot of her robe as she slowly slid the red silk off her shoulders.
His mouth fell open in shock as he took in the fading bruises on her upper back and the pinkish marks closer to her sides. Gentle fingers traced a round spot in the middle of the mark, and her muscles clenched involuntarily at the contact.
"Did it hurt?" he asked quietly, his breath hot against her skin.
"Yes," she answered, equally quietly, and he was touched by her honesty.
"Does it still hurt?" he inquired, brushing a spot between her neck and her shoulder blade.
"Yes." She echoed her previous answer, and he closed his eyes against the assault of images of how exactly she came to receive those wounds. Moving in, he kissed a tender spot in the back of her neck, sending a pleasurable shiver down her spine as she tilted her head to the side.
"Talk to me," he said, an almost imperceptible plea in the tone of his voice that only Brennan could ever catch. "Tell me what happened to you."
Eyes falling shut, Temperance breathed deeply, settling back against him as he wrapped his arms gently round her waist, being cautious not to hurt her. She pulled the robe up over her shoulders, covering her bare chest before turning in his arms, avoiding his gaze as she nodded in agreement.
Booth nodded back, taking her hand in his and squeezing it in reassurance, letting her know that he was there for her.
Sighing, Brennan looked down at their hands, somehow knowing that after tonight things would change forever, making their lives irrevocably intertwined.
Are you still with me? Good! So now please take a deep breath and don't hate me for ending the chapter here! Just look on the bright side: the next chapter will definitely answer all your questions! Hope you all enjoyed this!
Big kisses!