(The Hero in the Hold)

A/N: This is a reminder that I am not retelling the Bones episodes. My story is AU and I'm writing the things that might have happened if Booth and Brennan had been a couple at this point.

I don't own Bones.

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He'd almost died. She found it so hard to believe that she had almost lost him forever in a fiery death in the hold of a ship, but he was saved and she wouldn't have to go on without him. When she had seen him standing on the deck she had felt faint with relief. The terror she felt as he failed to immediately run to her and safety made her almost leave the helicopter to help him, but because of the helicopter pilot's warning, she had stayed in the vessel and screamed for Booth to hurry to her. She knew that they had but a few minutes to rescue Booth or the pilot would leave without him. When he was finally in the helicopter, his arms around her, she had allowed herself to cry. It had been so close and she never wanted to go through that again.

After they returned home from the hospital, Brennan insisted that Booth go to bed and he had complied. He was suffering from the effects from being tasered and drugged when he had been kidnapped. He had also suffered from dehydration and exposure to the chilly sea waters that had poured into the ship when he had escaped the lower depths of the ship. To add to his problems, he had a minor concussion which was the result from being thrown to the deck when he'd used an explosive to expose a stairwell to get to topside. The doctor had sent Booth home with orders to rest and to Brennan that meant bed rest.

Exhausted, Booth was beyond arguing with Brennan's plans for him. He was so tired he could barely get undressed and the idea of putting on sweats or shorts to sleep in would require more strength than he had at the moment. As he lay down, Brennan covered his naked body with a comforter and sat down next to him. "Sleep Booth. I'll be here when you awaken."

As he closed his eyes, Booth nodded his head. "Thank you Bones . . . thank you."

"You're welcome, Booth." She brushed her hand across his cheek and felt the coolness of his skin. Brennan knew that Booth would be alright, but she still felt deep anger for the gravedigger. "We have the gravedigger in custody. She can't hurt you or anyone else ever again. It's okay to sleep. No one will steal you from me again."

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To say he was shocked would be an understatement. The fact that his brother had jeopardized his career to save his life meant a lot to Booth, but it was unexpected. Jared had never done anything for him in his life. All of the favors ever done between the brothers had always been one-sided and Booth usually ended up on the wrong side of the favor. His brother was the most self-centered man Booth had ever known and yet he was going to be court-martialed because he had broken the law to save his brother.

As he sat in the waiting room, Booth mulled over the fact that he owed his life to his brother. An odd turn of events if there ever was one.

Surprised to see Booth in the waiting room, Jared opened the door, entered the room and sat down. "What are you doing here?" Jared wasn't sure if he was pleased to see his brother or not. The last few days had been surreal to say the least.

"I wanted to check on you and see how you are." He wasn't sure there was anything he could do for his brother, but he would try. "And I wanted to thank you for helping Bones save me . . . I know you're in deep trouble because of it . . . I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Jared leaned back against his chair and gave his brother a smirk. "I've told you before, I carry my own water. You were in trouble. When Temperance told me how I could help, I did it. If you thought I was going to stand by and let you die . . . well, you never did understand me very well. I'm not a complete asshole no matter what you think."

Booth chewed the inside of his bottom lip for a few seconds and then nodded his head. "No, I guess not . . . I want to testify at your court martial. Maybe we can still save your career."

"You can if you want to, not that it will do any good." Jared had already talked to his lawyer and he knew his naval career was gone. "You can't save me this time, Seeley. I'm out and there isn't anything you can to do stop it . . . I'd do it again if I had to. You're not the only one that's willing to risk his career for family . . . yeah, I know how you got me off the hook with the Virginia State Police. I guess it's what we do. Blood is thicker than water and all that other bullshit."

He didn't consider loyalty to family bullshit, but he wasn't there to argue with his little brother. "I haven't told Pops yet . . . Me and Bones plan to go see him this weekend and tell him what happened. I can't tell him on the phone."

Jared shrugged his shoulders. "He'll be pissed I guess . . . Still, it doesn't matter. He'll forgive me, he always does whenever I screw up . . . You know Temperance is really someone to have on your side. You're lucky. The way she moved heaven and earth to save your sorry ass . . . She didn't care who she insulted. She was willing to crush anyone that stood in her way and the way she figured out that Taffet was the Gravedigger . . ." Jared shook his head. "Damn Taffet didn't have a chance. That bitch went down and I'm glad. At least she can't kill anyone else."

"No, she can't." Booth had been so relieved when he had heard that the Gravedigger had been captured. "Life doesn't mean anything to Taffet. She's killed kids as well as adults, all for money . . . I hope she fries."

"Me too." Jared noticed his brother looked a bit haggard, but since it was a miracle the man wasn't dead, being tired was the least of his problems. "When you see Pops tell him not to worry about me, I'll be fine. I always am . . . I'll just find something else to do."

Booth knew that Jared had a hard path to follow if he got a dishonorable discharge, but if he really tried, he knew that his brother could still make something of his life. "I'll try to help you if you need it. Bones and I are looking around for a new house. We want a place of our own. I think she wants a house with at least four bedrooms and if that happens, we'll have room for you if you need it."

"Thanks, but I have plans." The last thing Jared wanted was charity, not from his brother anyway. "I might visit you, who knows, but I'm not a charity case."

"I didn't say you were." Booth held his temper in check. His brother had a way of making him angry and he needed to make sure to remain calm. The man had saved his life and he was in trouble with the Navy. He wasn't going to pile on. "I'm just saying if you need to stay with us for a few days down the road, we'll have room . . . I'm going to contact your lawyer and see if my testimony will help. I want to at least try."

Jared stood up and walked over to the door. "Don't forget to tell Pops that I love him and I'll call him as soon as I can." His brother's concern was starting to make him feel a sense of dread he hadn't felt until now. Maybe he was kidding himself, but he still felt that a court martial wasn't the end of the world. Maybe he'd take a trip overseas. That might be fun and why not have some fun? He was due to have a good turn of luck, wasn't he?

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.