A/N Welcome back!

Again, I cannot express enough, how much everyone's reviews have meant to me. The suggestions, the comments, the private messages and emails – they've all been great and welcomed.

In response to a few messages and reviews – Yes, I wrote Hacker a bit OOC, but I felt I needed a tension between Booth and a possible rival, and Hacker seemed the most logical, given his interest in Bones and his status as Booth's boss. I quite enjoyed letting Booth just give it to him, so to speak… (sheepish grin from my inner-muse…)

I hope you continue to enjoy the story. This chapter is a bit longer, but there was a lot to cover, and I felt compelled to leave it all in rather than edit it out… Don't forget to review and please tell your friends!

Disclaimer… Still don't own the show or characters, but can't figure out why… LOL. I do own this story line, however, and maybe someday HH can buy it from me… HAHA Like, in my dreams!

At the sound of gunshots, Brennan became uncontrollably distraught. She had been succumbing to the mind games Baker was playing on her. No one is coming to rescue me. Now he's preparing his gun to kill me. Booth, why didn't you come? Why didn't anyone come? What have I done that is so terrible that no one cares?

Launching into a full-on panic, Brennan pulled against her restraints, causing the rough twine to cut deeper into her wrists and ankles. She was screaming into her gag, desperate for someone to hear her as she thrashed her fragile body against the thin mattress, expending all her remaining strength, which was very little. Her shoulders burned, the whip gashes on her back broke open and bled once more, her head throbbed; but all of this was forgotten as her body went into overdrive, determined to survive.

Then she felt hands on her wrists, trying to steady them, and she fought against the strength that held her. Flailing against the power that seized her arms, her stamina waivered, threatening to fail all together. She was out of energy, and she was out of time. She knew this was the end and she cried openly. Then the hands that were holding her still, lowered her arms to her sides, and moved to her head, untying the gag and blindfold. Although the light was dim, she was blinded after being behind the dark bandana for nearly 24 hours. She direly wanted to see the face of the man who was about to end her life, but she was temporarily sightless. She tried to swing her arms at the figure, but he moved too quickly, his silhouette moved down towards her feet, and she felt the pressure of her ties lessening, but she was unable to kick her legs out. She continued to cry maniacally as hands reached around her shoulders and pulled her body upward. She was too weak to fight anymore; she simply could not beat this man, so she gave up, becoming limp in his arms.

Then she heard it...his voice.

No, I am hallucinating, she thought, Booth's not coming for me, he's given up on me. Her instinct to survive returned, and she felt a new strength to lash out at the arms that held her and at the shadowy figure in front of her. But she hadn't the strength she thought she found; her movements were hindered by a steel grip that held her in place.

She heard it again. Or more actually, she felt it, as her head was held to the man's chest. The timbre of his voice was ringing thru her ears and registering deep within her subconscious.

No one else has that resonance; no one else's voice has that cadence.

Booth? Did he really come for her?

"Bones, it's me. It's Booth. Stop thrashing, you're going to hurt yourself. Bones, open your eyes, look at me. You're going to be OK, I've got you. Shh… It's going to be OK, please, open your eyes, Bones, look at me." Booth was attempting to console his distressed partner, who was so frightened with blind instinct that her body was finally shutting down after the great struggle while he was freeing her from her constraints.

I'm so tired, so hungry, so cold… so cold… I can't do this. Please make it quick. Her mind was reeling with confusion. Booth's not here, this is my mind playing tricks on me. Please kill me quick; please don't let me continue in this state of mind.

His voice once again invaded her thoughts. But she could not understand what he was saying, but it was his voice. There is no way someone else had that voice. A sudden warmth began to move into her body, there was something draped across her shoulders. Her eyes eased open, her ears still not processing what she was hearing. Her eyes focused on the T-shirt against her face. FBI. There was an FBI logo on the chest. FBI? Booth? She was being held against his chest; the arms around her were solid but gentle.

"Come on, Bones, please open your eyes. You're going to be OK. Your body is going into shock, but I need you to stay with me. Can you stay with me, baby? Please? Please, answer me, tell me that you hear me. Show me that you recognize me. It's Booth. Come on, Bones. Please, baby, please, you're stronger than this, stay with me." Booth was frantically speaking to Bones, calm and quiet, but insistent. He didn't even register the moniker he used, twice, while trying to calm her. One arm held her at her shoulders, pulling her close, his other arm snaked over her legs, pulling her onto his now-seated lap, right on the floor beside the mattress that had been her prison for the past day.

She inhaled thru her nose. Then inhaled again. She allowed herself to fill her lungs with this delicious aroma. She smelled his cologne. There was no other smell in the world like Booth. His cologne mixed with his aftershave, mixed with… mixed with Booth.

He felt her body language begin to change. She was shifting in his arms. A sobbed escaped her throat, just before he heard her speak. It was the first word she had uttered since he held her. He tipped her chin upward, trying to get her eyes to focus on his face, on his eyes.

"B-Booth? Booth, are you here? Is that really you?" She spoke. She didn't recognize her own voice; it was hoarse and weak.

"Yeah, Bones, it's me. I'm here… I'm here. I'm sorry it took me so long to find you, but you're going to be OK. I'll make sure you're OK. No one is going to hurt you again." He rested his cheek on the top of her head as she exhaustedly lowered her head back to his chest.

"Booth?" She spoke his name in a weak, but clear voice.

"Yeah Bones?"

"You came for me. You didn't give up on me. You came for me…" her voice died down to a whispering whimper.

"Bones, yes, I came for you. Of course, I didn't give up on you. I will never give up on you, ever. Don't ever think that. I will always come for you. I promise. I promise."

"Booth?"

"Hmm?

"I'm cold. So cold. So hungry and cold. And tired. But so cold."

"I know Bones, I know. Here, let's button up this shirt," he pulled together the front of his shirt, which he had draped around her immediately upon discarding his Kevlar vest. He averted his eyes slightly from her naked form, out of respect for his best friend & partner, but before he did so, he caught a glimpse of the bruises that riddled her torso. The blood from her back had already soaked thru the thin material of his Oxford shirt. His stomach twisted in anger as he tightened his arms around her as protectively as he could without inflicting more pain. He then reached for the blanket which he had dropped aside the mattress while untying her. He brought that also around her shoulders; over the arm that was embracing her, and pulled it low enough to cover most of her bare legs.

As she felt him slowly rocking her like a child, she felt a sudden calm wash over herself. She sat on his lap and just let him hug her tightly to his body. Then she felt him moving, standing up, and she winced at the pain caused by her body weight shifting on itself.

"Shh… It's ok, I am just moving over here closer to the fire, to the chair there, we need to get your body temperature up a bit before I take you outside. We'll just sit here for a while, ok, Bones?" He spoke tenderly and quietly, tentative because he feared she would pull back from him, as soon as she realized her predicament

He felt a little nod against his chest, and he approached the chair near the fire pit. He cradled her shoulders in his left arm, and used his right arm to reach over her legs, grasping them in a reverse-bridal position. He sat her down on his lap, keeping her head and shoulders as steady as possible, and using his right hand, now free, to readjust the blanket that was sheltering her bare body. She squirmed and shifted her body slightly higher, so she was sitting higher on his lap, her torso flush against his chest, her left arm wrapped tightly around his neck and she allowed her face to nuzzle into the welcoming space between his shoulder and neck. Once again, she took a deep breath and filled herself with the scent that was uniquely Booth. She had come to truly enjoy that smell. It was very Booth-y, she momentarily thought.

He was purring warm words into her hair; she was sure they were words of encouragement, but she couldn't understand him. Her ears were flooding with the sound of her own blood pumping thru her body - she was acutely aware that she was still alive. She was still alive because this man had killed for her. She knew her partner hated taking lives, and avoided it whenever possible, but he had taken down her captor, in the series of gun fire she had heard earlier. He came for her, and killed for her…

She could feel the vibrations of his vocals, emanating from his chest against hers, and from his neck, as she pressed closer. She didn't care what he was saying, just as long as he was talking, she found it extremely soothing. Say anything. Just talk to me Booth, just keep talking, she willed her voice to say it out loud, but nothing came, just a small moan; he kept talking, somehow aware it was making her feel better. They sat like that for a good half-hour. His arms wrapped her up in a 'Boothy' cocoon as he gently rocked her back and forth. She allowed herself to be held; for the first time since she couldn't remember when, she just allowed herself to be held without fight, and she felt …she felt something unfamiliar to her… she would imagine that the beautiful man holding her would tell her this is what it felt like to be loved.

She knew this was very uncharacteristic for herself. She knew she would, under normal circumstances, never allow someone to hold her like this. But suddenly, she was OK with it. She tried to rationalize it, to no avail. She was suddenly OK with Booth holding her so close. She was OK with his overprotective nature and his incessant need to know where she is, every day. She was OK with his alpha-male tendencies that he always demonstrated, whether in private or in public, because she now understood this was his way of showing affection and, while it used to drive her crazy, she was aware, now, of how good it made her feel, knowing she could depend on him like she had never depended on any other man in her life. She sank deeper into his arms, and although her body ached unlike ever before, she felt safe. She felt like she was suffering from a sensory overload with all of these new realizations, these revelations, but it was a warm feeling, so she did not fight it.

While they sat in comfortable silence, Booth took that opportunity to text the team. Found Bones. Perp dead. Will get back to you with more news when we know what's happening. The simple response came to him almost immediately, XOXOXOXOX to you both.

After a while, she felt him start to pull away, and she fiercely tightened her grip of his neck to hold him close. "No, no, don't leave yet. Don't leave, I'm not ready to be alone again," she cried into the crook of his shoulder, "not yet, Booth, not yet."

He maintained his steel hold around her shoulders, but pulled his head back, and looked at her, "Bones, I'm not leaving. I'm just looking at you." His chocolate brown eyes conveyed only truth when she looked deep. Like no one else, he could talk to her without words. Simple nods, looks, smiles, gazes between each other, the two could communicate with no one else hearing, it was like their own language.

"Don't do that," she groaned, "don't…" her small voice died down.

"Don't what, Bones? Don't look at you?" He furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced down at her, seeing her slight affirmative nod. "Bones, I thought I was going to lose you today, I may never stop looking at you…" His voice was soft and caring, Brennan was feeling confused, not sure what to make of his words.

"Booth, I feel like shit. I'm dirty, I'm bloody, I'm bruised, my entire body aches; I can just imagine that I look as bad as I feel. Please, Booth, I hate – I hate that you're seeing me like this. I'm…I'm not worthy of the looks you give me on a normal day, Booth, let alone now, looking like this, in this… condition." She paused and looked squarely at him. She wanted to say more. She wanted to tell him that she knew he still cared, but the words didn't form. Instead, her mind wandered a bit and she simply continued, "Your eyes… when I look at you, it's like I can see thru the looking glass and into your 'metaphorical' heart… " Her tiny voice quivered, a dead give-away that she was on the verge of breaking out in tears.

"Bones – No, Bones, don't ever think that you don't deserve to be looked at, to be… to be admired. Bones, I – Bones, listen," he was breathless, just being near her never failed to take his breath away, and he knew needed to convey those feelings to her. He wanted her to know how much she meant to him, but he didn't want to scare her, overwhelm her or make her rebuild those walls he worked so hard to break down. The last time he opened his heart to her, she ran half-way across the globe. She was fragile right now, and possibly not thinking straight, but he had to tell her, he couldn't wait any longer.

He reached up and cradled her cheek in his free hand, turning her face towards his. He was happy to feel that her skin was warming nicely, and he said a silent thanks to the Man upstairs, simultaneously asking Him for the strength to say what he had to. "Bones, you are the most beautiful person I've ever laid eyes on. Period, hands down, you are gorgeous. Your eyes never fail to remind me that angels walk among us. Your smile - God, Bones, your smile is a rainbow arced across the sky on a rainy day. Your skin brings tears to my eyes when I look at you, when I think of you. Your mind, you have the most delightful, dedicated and brilliant mind… People dream of having a mind like yours, and for you, it's second nature. You radiate beauty, Bones. You will always be beautiful. Nothing can take that away. No one can take that away from you; no matter the dirt or bruises. Bones, you're like the cherry blossoms in the spring; like the sunrise over the Atlantic; a star-filled sky on a clear night. You don't even know you're doing it, but you effortlessly amaze me every day. When I've had a shit day at work, and I can't relax, I just go thru a mental list of you. Just you, and suddenly my tension disappears, Bones… and Bones, all seems right in the universe when you're sitting beside me, whether it's in the car, or at one of our offices, in the interrogation room - anywhere. You make things feel right for me." He had said more than he intended, and hoped it wasn't too much.

He was lost in her teary eyes, as they gazed up at his. He though she looked so innocent…

She was truly astounded at what he was saying to her. "Booth…" she whispered, almost inaudibly. "Booth, I - " but her words were cut off by loud noises and voices coming

from upstairs, at which she involuntarily flinched and threw herself into his chest. He tightened his hold on her, keeping her firmly on his lap and against his torso, and he reached for his sidearm.

Postscript

A/N So, there you have it, he got her! Yay! Did we really have any doubt that he would save her? BUT, what's all that racket and commotion upstairs? Does Baker have a partner that Booth didn't know about? OMG…. I can't wait to tell you!

BUT, my ego needs that little bit of encouragement…. See the review button down there? Would you click on it and tell me what you think, please?