It was fully dark when Hodgins and Booth rescued Brennan from the wrong side of the cliff. Her cries of pain when they accidentally bumped her broken leg made Booth clench his jaw tight.

"Why didn't you call people to help you?" Brennan asked. She was sitting near the fire they'd started, enjoying the warmth on her skin.

The two men looked at each other and shrugged. "We weren't sure how to explain what we knew," Booth finally answered. Sighing, he sat near her and waited for the inevitable questions.

But she surprised him by not asking a single one. Instead, she slumped against him. Ignoring the warning bells in his head, he wrapped an arm around her. "You need to get some rest, Bones," Booth said.

Brennan looked at the tent and at the two men, embarrassed to find herself tearing up. Hodgins noticed, and made some excuse to walk away.

Booth pulled her tighter against him, careful to avoid her broken leg. "What is it, Bones?" he asked gently.

Brennan knew she should pull away, but couldn't muster the energy to do it. And if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to. "Logically, I know you'll be outside the tent, but…"

"But," he encouraged, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Her tears had always hurt him, even when he wasn't the cause.

"But I can't be in there all by myself. Not while I'm still up here. I'll feel like I'm over that cliff, all by myself again." She tried to pull away, but couldn't escape his grip. "It's silly, I know. I'll be fine."

Her admission of need almost broke him. Soberly, Booth nodded and looked at their limited supplies. "We'll open the sleeping bag and cover up with blankets. I'll stay next to you. You won't be alone."

Hodgins reappeared and set up a place of his own. "Angie's not going to be happy when she hears we didn't use the tent," Hodgins said.