A/N: So my mom's picking up my DVDs for me, which means that you lucky people, get more updates!! Would you agree that maybe the quick new chapters deserve some reviews? Just a thought… : )
Morning sunlight shone weakly through the skylight on the other side of the barn. In a pile of sweet smelling hay, a man and a woman lay wound around each other, with the woman tucked close to the man's chest. She was wearing nothing but underwear, and he was missing his shirt. However, he was still wearing a red-and-silver belt buckle proclaiming that he was "cocky" and rainbow striped socks that seemed out of place with his suit pants, and the suit jacket and dress shirt tossed carelessly on the hay.
Any innocent onlooker would have assumed that the two were young lovers, headed to the mountains to do some skiing but who were caught in the snowstorm and forced to take shelter in the nearby barn. Unfortunately for the two asleep in the hay, that romantic story was not true, and their peaceful rest was almost over.
"Oh my god! Booth, what the hell do you think you're doing?!? This is completely inappropriate, and you had absolutely no right whatsoever!" Brennan scrambled back from her partner's embrace and hid herself behind a pile of straw, her eyes wide and accusing.
Booth woke up confused at the sudden lack of contact with his partner. He looked around bewildered until he locked his eyes on his partner. "Bones! I'm sorry, it's just..you were so cold! Why didn't you come up to the loft? Don't you trust me?"
"I can take care of myself, Booth. If I wanted or needed you to help me, I would have asked you. Trust is not the issue here – there was a reason I didn't come up to the loft, and you had no business forcing me to be somewhere I made a conscious decision to avoid." Brennan answered Booth in such a way he knew that she was locking away her feelings in order to evade dealing with them.
"I did what I thought what best for you Bones. I'm sorry if you don't like what happened, but I can't take it back now, and I don't think I would want to! Plus, you seemed pretty happy in the middle of the night."
"My reaction was natural – it is human instinct to gravitate towards a center of warmth, especially when one's body temperature is dangerously low. I can't work like this, Booth. I need to be partnered with someone who understands I am capable of being self-sufficient. Obviously, you are not that person. I'm going to go get dressed. When we return to D.C, I will speak with Cullen about severing our partnership."
With that, Brennan began walking across the loft to the ladder. However, she didn't anticipate Booth's reaction to her harsh words. He sprung out of nowhere to stand in front of her, multiple emotions playing in his eyes. "You wouldn't. You wouldn't dare sever our partnership. I know what you're doing, Temperance. You're trying to run, because you feel vulnerable, and you think the best way to feel normal is to run away from the problem. That's not going to happen this time, Bones. You're not going anywhere until you tell me how the hell you got all those scars."
Brennan stared determinedly at a section of the wall past Booth's head, until he used her first name. Then, her head snapped up and they stared at each as he finished his speech. Brennan was backed against a wall. Booth's hands were pressed against the wall on either side of her face, and he gazed at her intently.
"Why should I tell you Booth? What makes you so special?" Brennan's voice cracked on the last word as she struggled to maintain the façade that she was fine.
"Why should you tell me? Oh, I don't know, maybe because I'm you partner? Or, maybe because I care about you? Or, how about because I carried you up here last night, and had nightmares all night long about how you could have gotten all those scars and burns? Or maybe because I then spent the night trying to figure out if I had somehow failed you, and if you had gotten any of those scars while her were partners? I'm sure I can come up with more reasons why you should tell me, instead of keeping secrets from the people who care about you!" Booth was angry now, because he couldn't do anything to help her.
Brennan's eyes revealed the hurt she was feeling and a tear slipped down her cheek as she crumbled under the intensity of his stare. Booth's anger abated instantly as he saw her fall apart, and he gathered her into a hug as she cried. "Ssshh, Bones, it's ok. It's ok. I'm sorry, Bones, I'm sorry" he murmured soothingly to her as he rubbed her back.
She pulled away from him after a few minutes, and went to sit in the nest they had been quietly sleeping in less than 30 minutes ago. After she felt him come sit down behind her, she brought her knees up to her chest and softly began to talk.