AN: Okay all, here's the next chapter. Sorry Gayle, but nothing M rated yet, and Bella, I know we discussed this and it's a little different, but it's late and I need to sleep before my little angel wakes up. To everyone else, I hope you enjoy and I know you'll be eagerly anticipating the next chapter, mostly because I refrain from giving a lot of details away as usual, but it makes for a more dramatic telling, right?

Temperance ran out of the hospital frantically looking for Booth. She couldn't believe that he would misinterpret her feelings after everything they'd been through recently, but she did know one thing; she couldn't let him leave without explaining. As she reached the parking lot, she found him on his cell phone as he stood next to the SUV.

"Booth," she called out to him as she approached the vehicle. He held up a finger as he finished his phone call.

"Yes sir, it's the only thing that I think will work. Just get me the paperwork and I'll see you tomorrow to go over the timeline." Booth snapped his phone shut and looked at Brennan. "I was just about to go back up."

"But you just brushed past me. I thought…"

"Hey, I told you I understood. I saw him turn his head." Booth pulled her to him and captured her lips with his. She allowed the kiss to go on a moment longer before pulling back from him.

"Then what was with the attitude?"

"Something occurred to me when I was talking with Gavin. Cullen wants me in DC to deal with the leak there, but the people who took a shot at you know I won't leave you unprotected, so I canceled my flight until I can work out all the details for you to be out of harm's way."

"Booth, I don't need protection."

"Generally you're right, but these guys aren't going to stop until you're dead. I have an idea of what we can do, but you're not going to like it."

"Well what is it Booth? It can't be that bad." Booth looked off to the side for a moment before returning his gaze to Brennan.

"You're going into witness protection."

"No, absolutely not."

"You don't have a choice in the matter Bones."

"What a load of… of course I have a choice. It's my right to accept or refuse protection, and there is no way I'm going to run from my problems."

"Look, this isn't about running from problems, it's about keeping you alive. I can't afford to lose you Bones. You don't know what I was like with you gone. Please don't fight me on this. Please."

"I don't want to leave my life Booth. I just met my aunts; I have a good relationship with my father and brother… I don't want to do this."

"It's not forever Temperance. It's just until my case is over. Please…"

XxXxX

Temperance sat on the couch at home and looked ready to dry as Booth worked hair dye into her now short-cropped hair. Booth looked down at her and his heart ached a little, knowing how much she hated the changes they were making. The silky locks of her auburn hair were gone, replaced with the pixyish style the forensic anthropologist now sported.

"I hate this," she said with a slight waver to her voice. "No one should change details about themselves."

"Well Temperance Brennan might believe that, but you're Joy Keenan now, so some things have to change."

"Why did you choose that name?"

"Because Joy Keenan already has a birth certificate and social security number. Technically you've been living under an assumed name, so we're just reverting back to that other person."

"But I'm not Joy Keenan. I can't associate any familiarity to that name."

"Then we'll create an identity for you. We'll figure out who Joy is, okay?" Brennan nodded miserably as Booth stepped away from her and put down the dye bottle. "There, that should do it. Now we just need to wait a bit and wash it out." Booth sat down next to her and picked up a pair of glasses laying there. The look they were going for was so different from what Temperance normally wore that she really would appear as an entirely different person. Brennan pulled the glasses from his hand to look at them.

"I suppose I can understand wearing glasses, but why do I have to wear color contacts?"

"Because your eyes are one of the most stunning things about you. You'd be recognized instantly." Booth brought a hand up to her cheek and stroked it gently. Slowly he traced a finger down to her chin and tipped her head to his for a kiss. As they pulled apart, she looked at him with a small smile.

"Stunning huh?"

"Absolutely. It was the first thing I noticed about you. When you turned to look at me I was momentarily speechless, and as I recall, you then insulted me."

"I did not."

"I believe your exact words were, 'I see the FBI standards are up to par'."

"No I didn't… okay so maybe I did."

"Okay, enough of that. Next week the schools start up again, and you'll be stepping in as a high school biology teacher."

"A science teacher?"

"Like father, like daughter." Brennan groaned and smacked Booth on the arm. He smirked at her before looking her up and down. "You'll need to be careful though. You're going to have all the boys at school hot for teacher, especially with all those cute little dresses we picked up."

"Yeah, about those… Booth I'll look like a displaced woman from the fifties. The horn rimmed glasses won't help either."

"The style's called rock-a-billy Bones. Just wear some clunky shoes with them if it'll make you feel better."

"I don't want to do this." Temperance stood and began to pace the room, her arms wrapped tightly around her middle. "I don't want to give up my life just because someone took a shot at me. I want to go back to the Jeffersonian and identify remains. I want to spend time with you and my family. I don't want to run from this."

"We've talked about this; you're not hiding from anything. Your life is important to not only me, but to your friends and family as well. What you're doing is staying safe. Once this situation is over, you'll be able to return to that life."

"Will I?" Booth took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

"Of course." He stood and tugged her to her feet. "Now, let's get that dye out of your hair." He led her to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He moved slowly toward Brennan and began to unbutton her shirt. Temperance watched him, fascinated at the care her was taking as he removed her clothing. His hands barely made contact with her body, but when they did, it was as if an electric current was shooting through her.

"Booth," she whispered and closed her eyes as his hands swept back up her body, tracing over the planes of her figure. Booth didn't respond to his name. Instead, he took off his own clothes and led her into the hot spray of the shower. He positioned her so the water cascaded down her hair and body, the spray rinsing the excess dye from her short tresses. Booth ran his fingers through the short cropped do, making sure the water ran clear before reaching for the shampoo. He lathered the product into her hair and watched as the suds tracked down her body and into the drain of the shower.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured as if speaking too loudly would break the spell. Brennan blushed a little at the statement. He'd told her she was beautiful before, but somehow in this setting it meant so much more. He didn't scrutinize her, but instead gazed at her reverently. "You're so special to me and I need you in my life so much."

"Booth, I can't do this without you." She threw her arms around him, water cascading down their bodies, making the contact between them slick.

"Hey, where's my brave girl who trekked through Tibet when she was escaping the Chinese army?"

"She's become too dependent on her partner I think."

"Dependence on someone isn't a bad thing you know."

"It feels like it sometimes." Brennan pulled back from Booth and looked over his body, really seeing it for the first time. There were a few faint scars on his chest and sides, almost all of them having to do with her. "You've taken so much damage because of me. You used to have such a smooth chest, but now…"

"When did you see my chest before?"

"I saw you that time I dropped a file off at your house, remember? Tessa came out of the bedroom with one of your shirts on." Booth smiled and shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. I'd get them all over again to keep you safe." He kissed her again, deeper, letting her know how much he felt when he was with her. The kiss turned desperate as if it might be the last one they would share together.

"I need you Booth," she murmured as she clutched at him, panting.

"I need you too baby, and we've got all night to be together."

XxXxX

Max came into the house after visiting with Russ and his family. Amy and the girls were still shaken up about the occurrences from the day before, so he helped them out as best he could with coping. Next on his list to talk with was his stubborn daughter, though he was pretty sure that she'd decline any line of conversation that revolved around getting shot at. As he hung up his coat, something on the coffee table caught his attention. He walked over and picked up the bottle of hair dye. With a frown, Max turned the bottle a little in his hand, and then set it down to pick up a pair of glasses there.

"Whose are these," he wondered aloud until the answer struck him. Temperance was going into hiding. No, he thought as he headed back toward her bedroom. That wasn't a lifestyle she would be okay with. There had to be another way to keep her out of the line of fire. As he was passing Booth's room, he paused, knowing he heard a sound from inside. When he heard the low moan again, his eyes widened, and he backed out of the hallway quickly. It looked like he'd have to wait to speak with the pair, and their new arrangement would have to be brought up as well.