A/N: As with Chapter 10, this chapter contains a description of being buried alive so if this is not for you, you might want to skip the second half of this chapter.

I wake early the next morning when I hear a knock on the door. I sit up and reluctantly extricate myself from Booth's arms. To my relief, he opens his eyes when I move. I had been worried that maybe he would still be drowsy from the drugs, but he seems alert. The door opens and Dr Hodgins pokes his head around the door.

"Can I come in?" He asks.

I hop down from the bed and say, "Yes of course."

He enters the room carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder and walks over to the bed. "Hey, man." He says to Booth with a smile. "Good to see you're awake at last." Booth nods his head and then Jack says to me. "How are you both doing?"

"We're fine Hodgins, thank you."

"So, what did the doctor say?" He asks looking between us both, wondering who is going to answer him.

"I'm fine, Hodgins." Booth says irritably and I am relieved that he sounds more like his usual self. "There's nothing wrong with me apart from the drugs in my system. I just want to get all these stupid wires and tubes off me and go home."

I roll my eyes at his impatience. "Booth, you were hypothermic when they brought you in, it wasn't just the drugs. They only said you might be able to go home today."

Hodgins chuckles and shakes his head. "Well, about that," He puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out a car key. He reaches over and hands it to me.

"What's this?" I ask, confused.

"Wendell and I went and retrieved your car. I hope you don't mind, we had to use Angie's key for your apartment to get your stuff and find the spare key for your car. The FBI still have your set with the rest of the evidence. We just thought you might appreciate driving yourself home. It's parked in zone D just outside the main doors, you can't miss it."

I am touched by the thought our friends have put into our situation. I briefly wonder what time he and Wendell got up this morning in order to retrieve my car and bring it here. I feel tears pooling as my eyes meet his and I tell him sincerely "Thank you."

"Everything else you asked for is in here." He gestures to the duffel bag which he places on the chair opposite.

"Thanks Jack" Booth says to him with genuine warmth.

"You're welcome guys. I'd better get going. I've got to get to the lab and Wendell is waiting for me outside." Hodgins says with a glance at his watch. "See you." He says with a small wave and leaves.

"What did he bring?" Booth asks me.

I go over to the bag and open it. Inside is a set of clothes each, a few miniature toiletries that I recognise as being from Angela's stash that she collects from hotels she has stayed in. She had obviously noticed how dirty I was and figured I'd appreciate a shower. There is what looks like a burner cell phone and Hodgins had obviously found my purse in my car as that is also in the bag. I pick up the phone to see Angela has preprogramed a few essential numbers into it to get me by until I get my own phone back. "There's clothes, a few toiletries, my purse and a cell phone."

"You know Bones, you still haven't properly told me what happened. I don't remember any of it and my imagination is running away with itself. I can see the bruises around your neck and wrists and I'm starting to imagine all sorts of crazy shit. And why have the FBI got your keys and where's your cell phone?" His eyes burn into mine as if he is trying to pick the answers from my brain. I can see his anxiety, but I don't want to tell him here. I know his anger might get the better of him and I don't want to deal with that in the middle of the hospital.

"I will explain everything when we get home Booth. It's a long story and I would rather tell it without the risk of interruptions."

He narrows his eyes at me but doesn't object.

"I'm going to take a shower." I say as I grab my spare clothes and a few toiletries and head into the tiny attached bathroom. It feels good to wash away the dirt and grime from yesterday as I shampoo my hair and use the little bottle of body wash that smells wonderful. I towel off and quickly dress in the fresh clothes. As I scoop my wet hair into a ponytail, I examine my reflection in the tiny mirror above the sink. My eyes have dark circles under them, and I can see the bruising forming on my neck that Booth could see from where Lucille Burton had her hands on me trying to strangle me. My eyes drop from the mirror, I do not wish to see any more evidence of how much of a close call it was yesterday. It is then that I notice my breasts don't seem to fit into my bra properly and they are tender. I sigh at yet another side effect of pregnancy. Although I am pleased to find that the morning sickness doesn't appear to be as severe this morning. I need to tell Booth about the pregnancy soon as he is bound to notice the changes in my body.

I exit the bathroom to find Booth sitting up in bed with a nurse removing his IV. "The doc says I can go home." He says happily.

The nurse smiles at him and says "Let's just get you out of bed first. Your legs might disagree."

"I told you, I'm fine" He says petulantly as he swings his legs off the side of the bed. He stands up and holds his arms out in demonstration to the nurse. "See!" he says.

She laughs and rolls her eyes at him. "All right, Agent Booth. Just take your time. Breakfast should be along in a minute so you can leave after that if you prefer."

After she has gone, I fold my dirty clothes ready to put them in the duffel bag. I pull out Booth's fresh clothes and put them on the bed for him, but as I put my dirty clothes in the bag, the sonogram picture slips from the back pocket of my pants and flutters to the floor. Before I can retrieve it, Booth stoops down and picks it up. He examines it for a moment before he lifts his eyes to meet mine.

"Bones? What's this?"

My mouth has gone dry and my heart is pounding. This is not how I wanted him to find out but as my name and the date is stamped on the picture, it is obvious what it is and that it is mine so I know I cannot keep it from him any longer. "It's a sonogram picture of my uterus. I'm pregnant."

His face goes blank and I cannot tell at all what that means. But before I can say anything else his face breaks into a huge, joyful smile. "Really?! You're pregnant?!"

"Yes."

He closes the distance between us in a couple of steps and throws his arms around me. "I can't believe it! This is amazing!" He says as he drops one hand to gently caress my stomach. "Is this what caused the throwing up and all the sleeping?"

"Yes," I take in his happy smile and my own happiness overtakes my concerns over the situation, and I return his smile. "you're happy about it?"

"Of course I am Bones! Why wouldn't I be happy? You being pregnant with my child is something that not so long ago I could only have dreamed about. I'm more than happy, I'm ecstatic." He moves both of his arms so they are around my waist and examines my face for a moment. "Are you happy about it?"

"Yes, I am." And it is the truth. Despite my initial fear and concern, I am happy. "I didn't want you to find out this way. I almost told you Wednesday night, but we had that fight and I hadn't done a test by then and I wanted to be certain before saying anything to you in case my suspicions were incorrect."

I feel him stiffen when I mention the fight we had.

"Listen, Bones, about the other night, I'm sorry. I was an ass. I'd spent all night worrying about you, worrying that you were sick and that you were hiding it from me. I worked myself up and took it out on you and I shouldn't have. I came to bed and wanted to apologise but you were already asleep, and I didn't want to wake you. I'm sorry, I should have. If not then but before I left for work. I hate the thought that those angry words might have been the last thing we said to each other."

So, he did come to bed. I am still unsure as to why it feels so important to me, but I feel comforted by the knowledge that even if he is angry with me, he still won't leave me. "It's ok Booth. I'm sorry too, I should have called you, I know how you worry, and I also should have attempted to make amends. But I wasn't keeping anything from you. I didn't figure it out until just before I came home, until then I didn't know myself what was wrong with me."

"You could have talked to me about it, you know. You can tell me anything." He chastises gently.

"I know that Booth. But I think I knew how happy you would be at the prospect of having a child together and I couldn't bear the thought of telling you and then finding out I was wrong. I didn't want to cause you any unhappiness if it could be prevented."

He smiles at me affectionately and pulls me closer. He cups my face in his big hands and presses his lips to mine in a soft, loving kiss.

0-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-0

Booth has showered and dressed, and we have both eaten the breakfast the hospital provided. He has signed all the necessary paperwork and we are heading towards my car when the burner cell rings. The unfamiliar ringtone confuses me for a moment before I realise it is my phone making the sound. I pull it from my pocket to see an unfamiliar number.

I answer the phone "Brennan"

The voice of Andrew Hacker greets me, and I groan internally "Good morning, Tempe. I trust that you are well."

"Yes, thank you Andrew." My reply is unintentionally curt, but his voice irrationally makes my skin crawl and not for the first time I wonder why I ever considered having any type of relationship with him before I was together with Booth.

"Good, I am glad. The reason I am calling, Temperance, is I am trying to contact Agent Booth. I have called the hospital to be told he has been discharged and according to your colleague at the lab, he is in your company. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is. Just a moment." I hand the phone to Booth telling him "Assistant Director Hacker wishes to speak with you."

He raises an eyebrow in surprise and takes the phone. I can only speculate at what Hacker is saying as all I can hear is a series of "mm-hm's", "yes sir" and "of course sir" from Booth's end of the conversation.

Booth hangs up just as we reach the car. "Hacker wants to see me in his office ASAP. He wants to discuss the events of the past few days, and I quote 'Dr Brennan's field privileges in particular'."

I freeze with the key poised in my hand.

"What? Why?!" I feel affronted that Hacker has called Booth to a meeting to discuss my field privileges and not included me.

"I dunno, Bones. You tell me. I was unconscious for most of it. It's time you told me what the hell happened yesterday."

"Now? I don't know if it's wise to recount the events of yesterday while driving."

"Fine." He says and grabs the key from me. "You talk, I'll drive."

"Booth…"

I am about to argue that that isn't what I meant but he opens the door and says, "Just get in the car, Bones."

0-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-0

We have been in the car for 5 minutes and neither of us has spoken. I can see Booth getting more agitated with each passing second. With a sigh I say, "Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning would be good, Bones." The tension seems to be rolling off him.

I take a deep breath and begin. "We first realised something was wrong when Sweets came looking for you at the lab. Angela was showing us what she had found out about William Burton's sister, Lucille."

"Yeah, Angela called me about that. She said that she couldn't find records of her that should have been there. She said they had been erased. It was when she said that I knew."

"Knew what, Booth?"

"That Lucille Burton was Heather Taffet's partner. When you described your dream to me, you said the Gravedigger's partner told you he didn't exist on paper, that his identity had been erased. So, when Angela told me that. I just knew it was her. I knew it wouldn't take long for you to figure it out as well. I'd called Sweets to meet me because I wanted his opinion on her, get an idea of what she might be capable of. That's why I was heading to the lab. I needed to know you were safe and I also wanted to be there to try and deflect any more questions Sweets or the squints might have had about why we were looking into William Burton in the first place."

I turn my head to look at him, feeling overwhelmingly grateful that he is my partner and that he always has my back. He catches my gaze and grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. He doesn't let go and our hands rest clasped together on the centre console.

"Thank you, Booth. However, that won't be necessary any longer. I had to tell them. I knew that if we were to have any chance of catching her, we all needed to work together and that wouldn't happen if I didn't tell them the truth."

"What did they say?" He asks, concerned.

"Nothing, we didn't have chance to discuss it any further. Cam came looking for you with a message from Hacker. It was then we realised you weren't answering your phone. Then Sweets remembered he had seen your vehicle in the parking garage. I think I knew, Booth. I knew she had you. It was completely irrational and without reason, but I knew. It was then that I got the call."

"From her? The Gravedigger's partner?"

"Yes. It didn't sound the same as previous Gravedigger calls, the voice was robotic, like preprogramed words spoken by a computer. But it was clear who it was. It said that you were buried alive and that I alone must go the specified GPS coordinates." My voice breaks and I take a gasping breath to halt a sob. Booth squeezes my hand and it is a welcome reminder that he is here and safe. "She said if I brought anyone with me or involved law enforcement she would know, and you would die. So that's what I did. I went alone."

"You went alone?!" Booth raises his voice and his grip on my hand gets tighter. "Have you lost your mind, Bones?!"

"No Booth! It was the only way. There was no way to know if she was watching or not, and I couldn't take that risk."

"So, let me get this straight, my partner - no, my pregnant girlfriend, goes to confront a crazy killer, ALONE! Jesus, Bones!" He has released my hand and his free hand is pinching the bridge of his nose while the other is gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles are white. His face is bright red and I am concerned he might be having a coronary episode.

"Booth…"

"Just give me a minute here, Bones. Ok?"

I watch as he works to calm his breathing and his face returns to its usual colour. "Now I understand why you didn't want to have this conversation in the hospital." He says ruefully through his teeth. "What happened next, Bones? What happened to you when you went to meet her?"

"Angela had given me a tiny cell phone to hide somewhere on me so they could listen to what was happening and be able to track my location. Before I arrived at the coordinates, I called her and hid the phone in my bra. The coordinates led me to an old barn in the middle of nowhere. I knew it was unlikely she had you in there as it was too visible from the road. I walked around the perimeter of the barn but there wasn't anything that seemed out of place, so I went inside. It appeared to be empty apart from a vehicle that I assumed was hers. I was only a few feet inside when she grabbed me and injected me from behind. It was only a matter of seconds before I passed out."

"What happened next?" His words are strangled as if he is in pain. I glance at him to see he is fighting to control his breathing again.

"I woke up in a basement and it was cold, and I was restrained with handcuffs on my wrists and feet. She was throwing water in my face to rouse me. I recognised her, Booth. She was the nurse in the hospital who came to give you your meds just before we left when you got blown up by Broadsky."

He raises his eyebrows in surprise.

"She had taken my gun and my phone from my pocket-"

He interrupts, incredulous "Your gun?!"

"Yes, Booth. I procured a small 9mm to fit into my pocket. I didn't want to be completely defenceless."

He shakes his head "I think I'm starting to understand why Hacker wants to discuss your field privileges. What then?"

"I told her I knew who she was. She clearly wasn't happy about that, but she said she knew we might figure it out when she saw that we'd found her brother's body. I think she had been watching us." I am uncomfortable at the thought she had been stalking us. I recall what happened next and hesitate before I continue.

Booth looks at me and frowns "What is it, Bones?"

"Are you sure you want to hear this, Booth?"

He reaches over and takes my hand again. "Yes."

"She began to rant about how she had been in the crowd when Taffet was shot. She asked me if I knew how it felt to watch the person you love die in front of you. She had dug two shallow graves and you were laid in one of them." I am shaking. I'm not sure I can recount this story. The reality has ended up being far worse than what my unconscious mind could ever dream up.

Booth squeezes my hand gently "It's alright Temperance, I'm right here and I'm alright. Tell me." He implores.

"She said she had intended to bury you alive like they had always done before, but she had changed her mind. She wanted us to suffer before we died. She- she was going to bury you in the dirt while you were still alive but unconscious. You would have aspirated the dirt and suffocated, and she was going to make me watch."

I hear his sharp intake of breath and as I take in his pained expression, I begin to doubt telling him exactly what had happened to him. He carefully rearranges his features into a neutral expression and says, "Go on."

"She started to cover you up, starting with your legs. I knew I didn't have much time so when she wasn't looking, I spat out the handcuff key I had concealed in my mouth and started to work on the lock on my wrists."

"Hold on, why did you have a handcuff key in your mouth, Bones?"

I feel my cheeks redden "Because in my dream, I was bound with handcuffs. I knew there was a possibility that the situation wouldn't happen the same way, but I wanted to be prepared, just in case."

He looks at me and I can read a mixture of surprise, pride, and anger in his face. "What would you have done if she hadn't used handcuffs?"

"I don't know. It was completely irrational, illogical and stupid. I relied entirely on that specific part of my dream being true in order to save you. If she had used another type of restraint, there is a strong possibility we both would have died." I admit shamefully.

"I don't believe this." He says, shaking his head. "The most logical, rational person I have ever met has just told me that she used her gut instinct to save my life."

"No, Booth it wasn't gut instinct, it was the dream."

He laughs in disbelief "It's the same thing, Bones. Where did you even get the key from?"

"Angela had one in her office drawer."

"Of course she did. Why am I not surprised to find out that Angela has handcuffs?"

"What do you mean Booth?"

He snorts and says "Never mind, Bones. What happened next? You got the cuffs open?"

"Yes, I kept her talking to keep her distracted. I think I made her angry though because she suddenly told me that burying you was taking too long. She raised the shovel high in the air, and I believe she was intending to strike you in the chest with it. I lunged at her and knocked her down. We fought; she rolled on top of me and put her hands around my neck trying to strangle me. I managed to topple us both into the second grave and I struck her in the nose with my elbow. I grabbed the shovel and as she tried to stand up, I hit her in the face with it. She collapsed and I went to tend to you." The shaking from my body intensifies as I recall what happened and consider the consequences of what would have happened if I hadn't been successful in my attempt to save him. My voice drops to a whisper "I've never been so afraid, Booth. I couldn't wake you. Your heartbeat was weak, your breathing was faint, and you were so cold to touch. I took the phone out of my bra and told Angela to call an ambulance. I dug you out and pulled you out of the hole. Agent Perotta and Sweets arrived with the ambulance then they took you to hospital. The rest you know."

"That's everything?"

"Yes."

"What happened to Burton, after you, you know, hit her in the face with a shovel?" He winces as he says it and he glances at me nervously.

"She's dead, Booth. I- I killed her." I feel remorse for taking a life, but I know I would do it again in a heartbeat to save his life.

He is still holding my hand and he is rhythmically running his thumb back and forth over my knuckles. "I'm sorry you had to do that, Bones."

"I only meant to temporarily disable her to stop her. I did it in self-defence, I didn't mean to kill her."

"I know you didn't Bones but I can't say I'm sorry that she's dead."

"It's all my fault, Booth."

"What? What are you talking about? How is it your fault?" He is confused by my segue.

"If I hadn't had that dream, we wouldn't have gone looking for her and this might never have happened. None of this would have happened!" I wave my hand through the air and my voice gets louder as my agitation grows. I immediately regret my words as I realise how they could be misconstrued. My hand drops to my stomach as I remember the life growing inside me. It is unlikely I would be pregnant with Booth's baby now if I hadn't made the changes to my life after the dream and I briefly ponder what else about my life would be different. I raise my eyes to see Booth is looking at me and he appears to be upset.

His hand slips from mine and his voice is quiet as he speaks. "You don't mean that do you, Bones? Do you regret everything that happened because of your dream? Even… me?"

"No, Booth! I love you!" He did misconstrue my words. I have to fix this; I don't want him to believe even for one second that I regret our relationship. "I love my life now and our life together. Our relationship, it's symbiotic. You and I are bound to one another. So much so that I don't feel I could survive without you. My existence relies on yours, Booth. That's why I went to face Lucille Burton alone. I wasn't willing to risk your life for a second because without you there is no me."

"Bones…" His eyes are shining with unshed tears "I think that is the most romantic thing you have ever said to me." He smiles and reaches for my hand again.

I return his smile but feel I still need to clarify further what I said. "I will always be thankful to the dream for making me take action on my feelings for you. Without it, I don't know where we would be now. I just wish I had forgotten the rest of it. Chasing the Gravedigger's partner certainly now seems like it was a very stupid idea."

"Yeah, maybe Bones. But you weren't alone in doing that remember? I kinda talked you into it. But we got her, Bones. We don't ever have to worry about it again, wondering if she's out there waiting for her chance to take revenge. Even if we didn't look for her, there's nothing to say she wouldn't have been looking for us. It might not have happened now, but I believe she would have come after us eventually. We just speeded up the process."

We have no way of knowing if he is right, but I am comforted by the thought that neither Burton nor Taffet can hurt anyone ever again.

After a few moments of comfortable silence between us I ask the question I am almost reluctant to know the answer to. "What do you think Hacker wants?"

"The usual probably. It's just procedure, y'know? Anytime an agent gets hurt, shot, kidnapped, well, you get the idea, there has to be a debrief and an inquiry. And…" He turns his head to look at me briefly and squeezes my hand again. "you did go into an unknown, dangerous situation with a firearm which you know you are not permitted by the FBI to do and you killed the perp. He's gonna want to discuss that."

"But, if I had involved the FBI, she would have killed you, Booth! And besides, I'm not employed by the FBI, I work for the Jeffersonian and I was acting on my own volition!"

"That doesn't matter, Bones. In the eyes of the FBI, you went to rescue your FBI agent partner while we were working on a case. You were working under the jurisdiction of the FBI and they're gonna want answers."

"Then surely if that is the case, then Hacker would be asking to see both of us, wouldn't he?"

Booth looks uncomfortable and glances at me nervously.

The realisation hits me that Booth knows exactly why Hacker wants to see him alone and he is trying to protect me. "Oh my god. He's going to terminate our partnership, isn't he?"

He swallows and says tightly "I think it's a possibility."

Several emotions swirl through me all at once. Anger, disbelief, sadness, regret. Anger eventually becomes the dominant emotion and words spill from my mouth in a torrent. "He can't do that, Booth! If I hadn't done what I did you would be dead! He can't do this to us!"

"Calm down Bones, ok? It will be ok. I'm sure once he knows all the details, he won't have grounds to. But even if he does try, I won't let him. I'll take it all the way to Cullen if I have to. Don't worry, I've got your back, Bones. Just like you've got mine." He says with a crooked grin.

Booth's words have calmed me somewhat and realistically, I know that if Hacker was to try to sever our partnership, he might change his mind when he realises that he would lose the cooperation of the Jeffersonian as a consequence. I am still seething with anger though as this wouldn't be the first time Andrew Hacker has tried to split us up. When Booth and I first began our relationship, we agreed as we had in the past about our work partnership that what's ours is ours and our change in relationship status was nobody's business but ours. However, about a month into our new relationship, it became apparent we would have to come clean about it to the FBI when Booth overheard one of his field agents bragging that he had won the betting pool on when we would get together because he had seen us kissing in Booth's SUV in the Hoover parking lot (we had tried to be discreet, but sometimes, when we were in such close proximity to each other, we weren't always successful.). Booth had consulted Caroline Julien previously to make sure that we weren't breaking any rules. She told him that because I am a consultant partner it wasn't against the rules but there was a possibility that it might still be frowned upon. She was correct. We made the decision to approach Hacker together to inform him of our change in relationship. I can still recall how his face turned puce as he ranted at us about how inappropriate it was. He had told us he had to consult with Deputy Director Cullen before he could allow us to continue working together. I knew that my previous relationship with Hacker complicated matters and his jealousy that my relationship with Booth is one like I never attempted with him affected his decisions. Only a day after our meeting with Hacker we were summoned to see Cullen. He reluctantly allowed us to continue to work together but only on the proviso that we didn't allow it to affect our work, hence our agreement not to allow displays of affection at work. Every time I have seen Hacker since then, he has barely spoken to me saying just enough to be civil and Booth has told me a few times that he has made his life more difficult at work than he used to before. He has made it clear that he doesn't approve and has insinuated to Booth on more than one occasion that he doesn't believe we should still be partners. I find I am now feeling increasingly anxious that I have just given him the excuse he needs to finally break us apart.