December 21- 5:30am

Temperance woke suddenly to a vice grip around her waist, the hot breath in her ear let out a broken whimper. She shifted slightly, and felt his arm tighten once again, not to the point of pain, but to the point of desperation. Instead of pulling away, she attempted to turn beneath his arm, pulling herself into his chest, his neck and his entire body. His arm seemed to relax a little with her turn, her arm snaking its way around him. She looked up at his face, and was immediately taken aback by the pain in his sleeping expression. His eyes were closed, but his forehead was creased in intense despair, and he let out another broken sob. She was certain that she had heard him whisper something, his legs twitching.

She carefully pushed her leg between his, using her heel as leverage as she pulled herself ever closer to him. He gasped for air, letting out a low whine from deep in his chest, his arm again holding her tightly. "Booth." She whispered, dropping a kiss on his chin, she could still see that he was in the middle of his dream. "Booth, it's okay." She said, gently running her hands across his back, trying to lull him slowly from his nightmare. He let out another sob, his head dropping to her shoulder as she held him against her. "Shh..." She whispered. "I've got you." She whispered, something he had whispered to her time and again when she had been upset or injured. He never showed his vulnerability to her, rarely showed his pain if he didn't have to. He gasped again, mumbling words into her skin that she couldn't understand, his tone was frightened, desperate. She gently ran her fingernails over his shoulder blade, whispering his name in his ear, when suddenly everything stopped.

His legs stopped twitching, his cries ceased, and his breath seemed to be held. She knew he was awake now. She moved to see his face, her arms and legs still entangled in him, and she watched his eyes remain closed tightly. Instead of speaking, she brought her lips to his cheek, gently dropping a kiss against his skin. She kissed his lips, his nose, his chin. Her hands gently rubbed across the bare skin of his back, and her leg pulled herself tighter into him. She let out a sleepy groan against him, watching his face for recognition, and slowly the creases on his forehead disappeared. After another gentle running of her fingernails down his back, she felt his held breath release with an aching groan. She kept her eyes on his face, a slight smile upon her lips, when finally his eyes flickered open to hers.

What he expected to find in her eyes wasn't there. He expected pity or fear or regret. What he saw in her eyes, however was nothing but pure and complete love. Her eyebrow lifted, and a devilish smile now adorned her lips, a smile that was enough to make him forget nearly everything about the nightmare that he had just woken from. He couldn't help but smile back at her.

"You are the most beautiful thing that I've woken up to in a very, very long time." He whispered. The room was dim, early morning, and he imagined he could see the blush to her cheeks. He watched her eyes search his for a moment, as if looking for something, perhaps fear, doubt, or disappointment, and he was sure to express his feelings directly to her.

"You don't cuddle like this with the other soldiers?" She asked, the tone of her voice was coy and soft, and she felt the laughter in his chest before she heard it.

"Bones." He chuckled, lifting the arm that was around her to touch her soft features, he gently pushed the hair from her ear, allowing his eyes to follow his fingertips for a moment before they settled on hers again. His palm rested gently on her cheek, his thumb gently running across her skin.

"Are you alright?" She whispered.

"Yeah." He replied, nodding sincerely. "They... they come and go." He whispered. "Thank you for being here. Thank you for taking care of me."

She responded by dropping a kiss on his lips, her hand moving to his shoulder, pulling him closer. She listened to him groan beneath her touch, a gentle hum of appreciation, as he hugged her, rolling them together until she was lying on top of him, smiling down at him as he then buried his face in her neck. "Booth!" She let out a laugh as he rolled her again, depositing her on the other side of him, their bodies twisted in the blankets and sheets, he smiled at her laugh, reveling in her beauty for a moment. "I like being close to you." She whispered.

"I love being close to you." he said, moving his fingers across her cheek, his eyes following their movement, before settling back on hers. "I just..." He swallowed hard, she could immediately see the emotion in his eyes. "I..."

"Hey, I'm the emotional one." She said, her tone tender and loving. She watched a slight smile on his lips. "You're the strong one."

He laughed a little, his tears holding off for a moment. "I'm sorry." He swallowed. "I just have so much I want to share with you. We don't have a lot of time." He said.

"But we have time." She reassured. "Why don't we get up now, go to the diner for breakfast? We can spend as much time together as we like." She smiled. "I know you're hungry."

"How do you know I'm hungry?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her playfully.

"Your growling stomach is actually what woke me up." She grinned at her playful ribbing, and his jaw dropped playfully. She tried to roll away and he lunged at her, and she let out a squeak as she struggled to get out of the blankets. "No!" She laughed.

"You're gonna get it!" He laughed, wrapping his arms around her as she struggled, laughing uproariously as he tried to tickle her. She managed to struggle free, and rolled from the bed, her hair standing every which way, her body hunched as she jumped away from his grabbing arm. "You fight dirty!" He teased, reaching for a pillow, he tossed it at her, watching her catch it.

"I do not!" She exclaimed, leaping back onto the bed, she rolled on top of him, listening to his happy laughter, as she landed on top of him, straddling his body as she whacked him with the pillow, again and again, listening to him laugh as he tried to fend her off.

He grabbed the pillow and threw it away, reaching for her arm, he gently pulled her toward him, sending her body forward. She squeaked a bit when she landed against his chest, her hands on either side of him, their faces just inches from one another both flushed from laughter and their playful game. His smile faded slightly, but the laughter remained in his eyes, and Temperance couldn't help but smile herself at his happiness. "Now you're in trouble." He whispered, smiling at her, daring her to make a move.

"You are the one that's in trouble." She whispered, her voice a bit husky as she hovered over him, their lips just a breath apart, their eyes suddenly blazing with passion.

"Hell yes, I am." He growled playfully, finally pulling her to him as their lips crashed together, as the final decision was made about how they really wanted to spend the short time they had together.