A/N: I made up a lot of stuff in this chapter, in order to fit with my story. If you notice something that is inaccurate, feel free to leave a message, but please keep in mind that I need to fudge some facts in order to make the story fit. With that in mind, go ahead and start reading. Warning: this is not a very pleasant chapter, and it deals with some sensitive issues.

"The most recent ones are from my trip to El Salvador. I was there identifying victims of the death squads when I was abducted by a group of men who wanted me to stop what I was doing. They bound me and transported me in a sack, and then dumped me in an underground cell where they cuffed my hands to a wall. I lost track of time while I was in there. By the time I got back to D.C., I had been gone for a month, so I spent about 3 weeks in that cell. I don't know how many of them there were. A different person came into my cell each day, usually with a knife or some other kind of instrument that could be used for torture. Sometimes they would tie me flat on the ground and pour a bucket of water over my head so I thought I would drown. Other times, they would bring a gun and shoot me in various places. Some of the wounds got infected, and even now I have side effects that include being incapable of digesting certain foods, and being unable to gain back much of the weight I lost. I wasn't a person to them, I was a toy, and they enjoyed playing with me. I wasn't the only one, either. They captured other women too, and raped them. I can still hear their screams when I sleep."

"Bones, they never..they never..did they do that to you?"

"No, Booth. Not them. I'm not done, Booth." Brennan replied softly.

"Before El Salvador, I was in Uganda. While I was there, a unit of guerilla fighters ambushed us while we were hiking to another site. They captured me and two others, but the rest of our group managed to get away and form a rescue crew. We were only in captivity for a couple of days, but I'm not sure if we would have survived had we not been rescued when we were. They wanted to kill us. We weren't allowed any food or water, and we slept in a pit. At night we had to huddle together for warmth, as they made us sleep naked. During the day, they tied our hands to the top of a pole and let us hang there. If they were in a good mood, we would go for about half a day without a beating. Otherwise, the men would take turns beating us with sticks until our backs and legs were covered in blood. With the previous scars I had on my back, I bled much more quickly than any of the others, yet they beat us all for the same amount of time. When we were rescued, the doctors said that I would have died if I had lost any more blood, especially combined with the malnutrition."

"Bones, what do you mean 'with the previous scars I had'? How many foreign countries have you been abducted in?"

"Booth, those were the only two times I've been kidnapped in a foreign country. The rest of my scars came from about 15 years ago"

"15 years ago? But, Bones, you're only 30 years….oh god, Temperance."

"I had just turned 15 when I was put into the foster system. No one came to get me out, so I left when I turned 18. Over the three years I was in the system, I lived with nine different families. Some I stayed with longer than others, but I never stayed more than 7 months in one place. Out of the nine families I stayed with, three were abusive. The original lashes on my back came from when I stayed with the Fishers. Carl Fisher was the only one of the three who abused not only me, but his family as well. I had a room – it was required – but more often than not, he forced me to sleep in the closet. If I failed to complete any of more chores, or even if I didn't do them to his satisfaction, he would beat me up, or throw things at me. Often, I missed school because the cuts and bruises were too noticeable. After a few months, I told my social worker, who began an investigation. I paid for that, but it worked. He lashed me with his belt every single night afterwards, but my social worker got me out a week later. The second family, the Grunewald's, weren't quite as bad. Eric Grunewald only abused me, so sometimes his wife was able to help with the injuries. Whenever they were particularly severe, she secretly drove me to the emergency room while he was at work. The burns on my arms, my two broken arms, my broken clavicle, and four concussions can be attributed to him. I was taken out of that home after 3 months, when my caseworker heard about the multiple trips to the hospital. The third family was the Harrisons. Mark Harrison first raped me when I was 16. He continually raped and abused me until I got pregnant and was forced to have an abortion. My caseworker removed me from the family a few days before my 17th birthday."

Brennan looked fixedly at the opposite wall, her knees still hugged tightly to her chest. She could hear Booth's breathing behind her, but she couldn't look at him. When Booth picked her up, pulled her onto his lap, and wrapped her in his arms, she stiffened and stayed motionless until she realized he was crying. "Booth..why are you crying?"

"Because, no matter how hard I try, I can't always protect you. I want to, and I try to, but I can't" his voice was a hoarse whisper as he pulled her even closer to his chest.

"Booth, you've done a better job of protecting me than anyone else. This is not your fault!" she whispered equally softly as she finally relaxed against his bare chest. "Please don't tell anyone. I don't need pity. No one else knows, except Goodman and Cullen, and Goodman is gone"

Booth shifted around until he could look into her eyes "Temperance. You're not alone. You know that, right?"

"I know, Booth. I've got you" she said quietly, her eyes never leaving his.

Without breaking his gaze, Seeley Booth slowly leaned forward and gently touched his lips to those of the woman curled in his lap.

Her eyes searched his face before leaning up to kiss him again, gently, before dropping her head and pressing closer into his embrace.

"Booth…"

He dropped his chin to the top of her head "just sleep, Bones. For now, let's just sleep."

And they did.

Well, that's the last chapter. If there's enough interest, I might do a sequal, so tell me in you reviews if you want more! I'm off to watch my Bones DVDs, finally, so go ahead and click that little button down there : )

~emily~