Dec. 12th: Vtdrew2 chose the word "soapy".

OOOOO

Booth practically carried her into the house and straight into the bathroom. He let go of her only to open the shower door and start the water. She was strong but after the day's ordeal he was legitimately worried she might faint in the steamy environment. He helped her undress but Brennan stepped under the spray of the water all on her own. Booth quickly undressed and joined her. She leaned into the spray to wet the back of her hair and Booth watched her on high alert. He reached for her shampoo and poured some into his hands. She wordlessly turned around to let him shampoo her hair. They moved silently, on autopilot after years of moving in sync.

As Booth slid a soapy loofa over her soft curves, washing her clean of the day, Brennan seemed to register what he was doing. He felt her gaze on him as he scrubbed her clean but he didn't look up. He was focused on destroying evidence. Right now, this was the only way he knew how to take care of her and he wasn't going to let her independence rob him of his only useful task. She tugged upwards on his elbow, wanting him to stand up again. When he did, his look of concern for her made her face crumble. She buried herself into the crook of his neck and he held her fast as she began to cry. If not for the small shakes her body was making against him, the tears would have gone unnoticed. They mixed with the rivulets of water and the noise of the shower and disappeared unseen down the drain.

Booth kissed her softly on the temple, hoping to comfort her as he held her. At the simple action, Brennan pulled away and glanced at his lips with hopeful eyes. He knew all too well that she needed some distraction from whatever she was feeling and he would gladly give it to her. He would give her anything if it would make her feel whole again. She pulled at his neck as she kissed him, her body wrapping itself around him as if he was her cure. Booth carefully lifted her by the thighs and pressed her into the shower wall and Brennan gasped against his mouth at the cool sensation on her back. The warm spray of the shower hit his lower back and fell down his spine as he hitched her tightly to him. She slipped easily over him and he began to move slowly, not wanting to hurt her. She clung to his neck, her warm tongue dancing in his mouth as he tried to erase her pain.

She came silent and shivering, only adding to her heartbreaking appearance. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he spilled within her, holding her as tightly to him as he could. It was only then that the realizations of how easily she could have been taken from him finally set in. He pulled her down to the shower floor as his legs gave way from underneath him. He whispered his love and thankfulness for her in her ear as he rocked her against him. In the steam filled enclosure, an intimate atmosphere seemed to cloud around them, hiding them from the outside world. Here, they were safe, they had each other, and what was between them was theirs.