A/N: I know I've been a little heavy on the angst the last couple of sections, but I'm not going to apologize for it --although if I really bummed you out, I am sorry for that! But without giving anything away, I think I can safely say that this chapter is less angsty than the previous two and that, yes, there is more fluff in the future :-)

Enjoy!

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The shrill noise jarred Brennan awake. It was still dark out, and for a moment she thought perhaps her alarm clock had malfunctioned. After pounding on the thing a couple of times, though, she realized it was the phone that was ringing and felt around for that appliance instead.

"H-hello," she answered groggily.

"I need you…" a shaky, almost unrecognizable voice replied.

What the hell? she thought, straining to make out the time on her damaged alarm clock. Who needs me at two a.m.?

"Bones…I need you," the voice repeated, the shaking growing worse.

Something clicked in the back of her brain. "Booth? What's wrong?"

She heard a sharp intake of breath. "I-I had another ni-nightmare," he managed, trying hard to keep himself together.

Even in her fuzzy state of mind she noticed something in his voice she'd never heard before. Fear.

In that instant, their self-induced separation was forgotten, the weeks of minimal, professional-only conversations gone, the anger and loneliness and confusion vanishing in the blink of an eye. "I'll be right there."

"Bones…hurry…please…"

"Just hold on," she told him firmly. "I'm coming."

Hanging up quickly, she grabbed her keys and cell phone, pulling a coat on as she dashed out to the car. She broke half the traffic laws on the books, noticing only vaguely somewhere in the middle of the drive that she had no ID with her and was still in her pajamas. But the observation disappeared from her mind when she pulled up to her destination and knocked on the door.

"Booth?" she called. "It's me…"

There was no answer, so she began to look for the spare key she knew he kept somewhere by the door. Finding it seconds later under the doormat—and wondering briefly how an intelligent FBI agent could leave a key to his home in such an obvious place—she slid it into the lock and swung open the door. "Booth?" The door closed behind her, shrouding her in darkness and forcing her to feel her way around as she tried to remember the layout of the place.

"Bones?" he answered shakily.

She followed the sound of his voice, tripping over a pair of shoes, a pile of children's books, and a misplaced kitchen chair before locating the bedroom. There she paused in the doorway, much the way she did when she first arrived at a crime scene, surveying the area and formulating a plan.

She stood there for a few moments before his voice broke her concentration. "Bones? Is that you?"

"Yeah," she answered, moving tentatively toward him. "I'm here…"

He sat in the middle of the queen-sized bed, his knees drawn up to his chest with the sheet draped loosely around them. He was shirtless, his skin damp with sweat and pale in the dim moonlight that filtered in through the curtains.

She reached out a hand and brushed it gently over his cheek. "I'm here, Seeley."

He turned his face into her palm and nuzzled it, seeking comfort from her touch. "I thought I lost you…"

"No, you didn't lose me," she said softly. "I'm right here."

"I really thought I did it this time," he shuddered, taking her hand from his cheek and squeezing it tightly.

She sat carefully down on the bed facing him and clasped his other hand in hers. "Did what? What did you think you did?"

"In the dream," he explained unsteadily, staring at his feet as he relived the nightmare. "I was a sniper again, out on an assignment. I had my target lined up in my sights and pulled the trigger…" He inhaled harshly and squeezed her hands harder, convincing himself that she really was there, safe and sound. "…then I realized that my target was you…but it was too late…"

"It was just a dream," she reassured him. "You would never do anything to hurt me in real life."

He raised his eyes to hers, round and fearful. "How do you know that? I killed people…there's nothing worse than that."

She shifted on the bed, moving beside him and sliding an arm around his bare shoulders. "But I know you, Seeley, and I know—without a doubt—that you'd never hurt me."

He leaned against her, resting his head in the crook of her neck. "But how do you know?"

His change in position exposed part of his abdomen to her, and even in the dark she could see the scars from the burns he had sustained when her refrigerator exploded. "Because," she answered, fingering the scars delicately, "you saved my life. Because, whether you know it or not, you're a good man…even when you were a sniper. You saved lives, then, too."

"By taking lives," he replied bitterly.

Brennan frowned and asked a question she regretted as soon as the words passed her lips. "Then why did you even join the army?"

To her surprise, he wasn't offended. "I wanted to serve my country," he told her. "I wanted to make a difference in the world, to make it a safe place for people who couldn't fight for themselves."

Her arm slid around his back in a warm embrace. "You did that. You did it for a lot of people you never met, and you did it for me, too. In fact, you're still doing it now with the FBI."

"I just…God, Temperance! I was so scared! I felt like an animal in that dream, stalking my kill…and then it turned out to be you…" He buried his face in her shoulder. "That's not really me, is it?"

"No," she insisted, lightly stroking his skin. "Would I be sitting her with you right now if I thought you were like that?"

He shook his head slightly against her shoulder in response.

"That's right," she affirmed, drawing him closer. Her fingers threaded through his hair and she smiled gently. "And I'm right here."

"You're not leaving?"

It was a simple question, but it struck her on so many different levels. She didn't hesitate, however, with her answer. "No. I'm not leaving," she told him softly. "I'll stay right here with you for as long as you need me."

He relaxed a bit in her arms, the corners of his mouth pulling back into the beginnings of a relieved and thankful smile. "You always do."

They sat together for hours, Brennan with her arms comfortingly around Booth, holding him close until he began to drift off to sleep. Slowly, then, she lay down, pulling him with her as she adjusted her position in hopes of getting some sleep herself. He snuggled up against her, drawing warmth and security from her as he faded out, feeling like things were right this way.

"I know you don't believe in God," he mumbled drowsily, his breath tickling her ear, "but I thank Him every day for bringing us together, Temperance…even when we're not together."

She knew how religious he was, and understood the significance of his statement. Smiling in the darkness, she brushed a hand through his hair and whispered, "Tell Him thank you from me, too."