Finally they both calmed, their arms wrapped warmly around one another, they melted into one another's embrace easily, and he kissed her head as he rocked her gently against him. "Where did you go?" She whispered, her question floating gingerly in the air, he waited a moment for answering. He kicked his shoes from his feet and carefully pulled himself up onto the bed, tucking her body into his, she waited patiently for his answer, as he tried to find comfort.

"I went to talk to someone." He whispered, brushing his fingers through her hair gently, he kissed her through her hair, breathing in the scent of the tangled locks.

"Who?" She whispered.

"God." He replied, hearing a slight release of air from her lungs. It could have been relief, it could have been a yawn, it could have been irritation for all he knew, his partner notorious for her denial of the existence of what she calls an 'invisible super being'. "Bones, before you..."

"No." She shook her head, her eyes meeting his in a look of understanding. She nodded tenderly. "I understand." Her lips were together in the tenderest smile, and her eyes reflected the understanding that she had spoken of.

"You're feeling better." He whispered, noting the twitch in the corner of her lips, a concealed smile given away by her involuntary need to respond to him.

"I'm tired." She whispered, moving her head down, she settled it into the hollow of his neck, her warm breath tickling his skin as it skated across it.

"You didn't have to wait for me, Bones. You knew that I was coming back."

"I knew that you were coming back, but I couldn't sleep without you." She said, and with those words, she could feel his body tense slightly, his hand stopped rubbing lightly on her arm, and she sensed that he was holding his breath a bit. "Booth?" She whispered.

"Shh…" He said softly, kissing her hair again, he relaxed a bit, but she could still feel the tension in his body. "You rest… get better, so we can spend Christmas together." He whispered against her hair.

"You can't just push it away, Booth." She whispered. "You can't avoid it."

"Temperance, please." He shook his head against her, she could hear the desperation in his voice, the fear, the shame. She could feel the need that he had for her not to push.

"You will tell me?"

"Yes."

"Just not tonight."

"No."

"But you'll hold me? Keep me safe?"

"Forever." He whispered.

"Sleep, Booth." She whispered.

"I will." He said softly, closing his eyes against her scent and her body, he felt her slowly melt into him, as her body relaxed into sleep, though his own mind was lost in a tangled world of its own, and for him, sleep was not found as easily.

His promise lasted through the night, the nurse's visits were short and silent as they checked her temperature through the night, and any rest he had gotten was interrupted with any sound other than her soft breathing against his skin.

He watched the sun rise through the half closed slits of his eyes, and felt her move against him. "Booth?" She whispered, moving against his chest, her hand rested on his sternum as she pushed herself against him and looked up at him, his eyes opening wider as he stretched slightly. "You never fell asleep." She whispered, looking into his eyes, she found no response to her statement, confirming her suspicions.

"It's fine." He said softly. "I was watching you sleep."

"It's not good for you." She whispered, concern filling her eyes as he watched her brow furrow, her hand still against his chest as he shook his head.

"Stop worrying about me, I slept a little. Just lay your head back down and rest."

"I'm done resting, I'm ready to go home." She said, scowling at him now.

"Bones. First… the sun just came up… Hodgins and Angela are probably still sleeping… second of all… not until the doctor clears you… thirdly? No." He said, closing his eyes to her narrowing eyes.

"I am going to be fine." She muttered, feeling a bit of dizziness behind the headache that was still present, as she moved a little, trying her best to not reveal the pain in her sore muscles.

"Mm… going to be?" He muttered. "Sleep, Bones."

"I'm fine." She said, watching the smirk on his face as he kept his eyes closed.

"Trying to sleep here, Bones." She let out a slight whine, and he patted her back. "Shh…" He whispered, sensing the rising irritation in the woman against him, he felt himself drifting off to sleep, and felt her pulling away from him slightly, but still holding her as his mind started to wander at the normalcy of their bickering, the comfortable feeling of her voice and stubbornness, his eyes rolled, and his mind drifted, and he fell into a deeper sleep than he had expected, only to be roused violently nearly a half hour later by the screaming alarms of Brennan's heart monitors.