A/N: well, I would have posted this last night, but my dad came in and kicked me off my computer around 2 AM. Reviews are nice…
Booth and Brennan finally reached the safety and shelter of the barn, and slipped inside. Booth grinned tiredly as he saw the hay loft, completely filled with warm, sweet hay. "Bones! Hey, look at this! I know where I'll be sleeping tonight!"
When he received no reply from his partner, Booth turned around and made his way concernedly over to Brennan. "Hey, Bones? You all right?" Brennan was slumped back against a wall, eyes closed as she tried to control her body's uncontrollatble shaking. "Yes, Booth, I'm absolutely fine. Just go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." she snapped as she brushed roughly past him.
"Bones, your clothes are completely soaked with freezing rain, and you can't stop shaking. Look, I'll go to bed, but at least get out of those wet clothes. This isn't anytime to be modest, Bones, you could make yourself seriously sick."
Her tone strained, Brennan replied "I'm fine Booth. I don't need you or your alpha-male protective streak to take care of me. I've been through worse." The last part was said so quietly Booth had to strain his ears to hear it. He knew when Temperance Brennan needed to be left alone, and he was smart enough to realize that this was one of those times, so he climbed into the hayloft, pulled off his wet shirt, and tossed and turned until he had made a nest comfortable enough for himself. Yet, although he had seemingly complied with Brennan's wishes, he had no intention of actually going to sleep, not without knowing that his Bones was really all right.
Brennan waited, shaking and shivering and trying to stop, until she was satisfied that Booth had fallen asleep in the hayloft. He had tossed and turned for a while, but now he lay peacefully on a heap of hay. She began to strip, peeling her wet clothes off and tossing them on a pile on the floor until she wore only her bra and panties.
Booth had seen many beautiful, naked women in his life. He had never seen one as beautiful to him as Brennan. She stood illuminated in a shaft of moonlight, her lean body struggling to contain its shivers. He watched as she paused for a moment before walking over to wrap one of the blankets around her thin frame. Booth settled back into the hay and closed his eyes so she would not know he was awake when she came up to sleep.
An hour passed, but Booth never heard Brennan's footsteps in the ladder. Cautiously, he awoke and rolled over to get a better view of the floor below. Brennan was curled in a corner of the barn, wrapped in her blanket and sleeping fitfully.
"Aw, come on Bones. Don't be idiot, it's warm up here. I don't bite, you know. Sheesh."
Booth muttered to himself as he grumpily stood up, shivering as a cold breeze struck his bare chest. He made his way slowly to the ladder and climbed carefully downstairs and stood above his partner. He knew she had trouble sleeping most of the time, and dreaded waking her. Plus, he knew she would kick his ass before she let him help her sleep. No, it was better all around if Brennan stayed asleep. He froze as she whimpered in her sleep, and sighed with relief when she merely shifted the way she was sleeping. His heart went out to her; the strong façade she presented during the day crumbled at night, and left her showing her true vulnerabilities.
"C'mon Bones, let's get you somewhere warm." Booth whispered as he knelt down to cradle the sleeping anthropologist in his arms. He stood up carefully, shocked at how light and frail she really was, and how cold.
"Jesus, Bones, you're freezing. What the hell do you mean, Ms. I've-Been-Through-Worse?" He muttered disgruntled, and frightened for the brittle woman he was currently holding tenderly in his arms.