"Booth? It is late. Is everything okay?" I answered, it was almost midnight and I was just getting ready for bed.

"Dr Bones?" I heard a child ask.

"Parker? Is everything okay? Where is your Dad?"

"Dr Bones I am scared. Daddy has been acting funny all weekend and tonight he took his medicine that makes him sleepy and now he is having bad dreams and I went in and gave him a hug and he stopped moving around and stuff but he is still crying in his sleep and my Daddy never cries. I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry Parker I will be over in a few minutes. Will you wait for me by the front door? I will knock six little knocks so you will know it is me and you can let me in."

"Okay Dr Bones, Thank you." He said hanging up the phone. I threw on a pair of sweats and grabbed my overnight bag and ran to the car. Luckily there was no traffic this late and so I made it to Booth's in under ten minutes, of course I was speeding a little…okay a lot, but I had to get over there.

After he called in sick on Friday and wouldn't tell me why when I knew he wasn't sick I knew something was up. Then when I talked to him earlier and invited him to go with me to New York for the 9-11 memorial and he didn't know I knew what was wrong. He always acted weird the first part of September but usually we had a case so he was busy. I never thought that he knew people who were hurt or killed but now that I thought about it I didn't know how he couldn't know someone.

I knocked softly on the door six times and heard the lock turn. Parker was standing by the door and just pointed at Booth's room. I could hear him in there still obviously having his nightmares. "Parker I want you to go to your room now okay? I will go stay with your Daddy."

He nodded and went into his room and I went into Booth's. The lamp was still on so I could easily see my way to his bed. I walked slowly across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed and put my hand on his shoulder tightly gripping it I shook him. "Booth. Wake up." I said firmly.

"Bones?" He said not quite opening his eyes.

"Shh Booth, Parker called me he is worried about you and I can see why." I said as he shot to a sitting position. I moved around so I was sitting against the headboard so when he fell against me he was leaning into my chest. I enveloped him into a hug and held him.

"Bones didn't have to come here I fine." he said in broken English as he struggled to stay awake and push himself back into a sitting position.

"Booth I know you lost someone in the attack, I know that is why Parker says you have been acting funny, I know that is why you said you were sick Friday. I know that is why you took your sleeping pills, which I am sure you took more than your prescribed dose to be this out of it. What I don't know is why you didn't just say something to me." I said running my fingers through his soft hair.

"Twenty-three." He answered back. "Five in the attack and eighteen since." He said with a wavering voice.

He lost twenty-three friends because of the attack. Even losing one, one is hard enough but to lose twenty-three I do not know how he has held himself together until now.

I felt him start to shake and could tell he had fallen back asleep, gone back to his demons, mumbling in his sleep I was able to get the full picture of what happened. He was there when the attack happened at a meeting for the Army, he was in the second tower when the first plane hit. He helped to evacuate the building he was in but not everyone would leave. His friends were still in the building when the second plane hit and they couldn't not get down because of it.

I held him and let his dream take its course until it started repeating itself again. I shook him awake and made him look me in the eyes. "Booth I am here with you and we will get though this together." I whispered as he stared into my eyes.

"I'm sorry Bones." He said his eyes welling up with tears.

"Booth you have nothing to be sorry for." I said wiping a lone tear off his cheek and pulling him close against me. I felt him relax in my arms and I leaned my head against his and closed my eyes.

"Defend us in our house of conflict; Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God restrain Him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast Satan into Hell, and with him all the other evil spirits, who wander through the world, for the ruin of souls. Amen." I whispered into his ear.

"Amen." he whispered back wrapping his arms around my waste and holding onto me.

"Sleep now Booth" I told him as I slid my fingers up and down his bare back. I watched the tension leave his body and he fell into a restful sleep.

I sat there watching him sleep until I saw the sun begin to rise. I moved so that I was able to lay down and still hold him. He needed to be held. He told me what when he is scared he will hug me and he did tonight. I only hoped that once he woke up he would not go back to being the all mighty protector and just be human like he was last night. The side of him that he never lets anyone see, the side of him he occasionally let me catch a glimpse to.

I was lost in my thoughts until I saw the blonde curls outside of the bedroom door. I waved Parker into the room and he walked cautiously over to the bed and climbed up next to me. "Is my Daddy okay now?" He asked.

"Parker your Daddy has been through a lot and someday he will tell you about it but you were right to call for help last night. Have you heard about 9-11 at school?" I asked him quietly.

"Ya it happened before I was born so I don't really know a lot about it but the teacher gets all funny when she talks about it because a bunch of people died and then the war started." He answered in a manner that made him seem years older than his actual age of six.

"That's right Parker. A lot of people did die, 2,999 died. Your dad knew five of them."

"And Daddy gets sad cuz it is almost 9-11 again and he remembers his friends?"

"That's exactly it." I answered running my fingers through Booth's hair as he started to stir.

"Thank you for helping my Daddy Dr Bones." Parker said as he snuggled into me and lay down in the bed and closing his eyes.

I smiled and rolled towards him, "Thank you for letting me help your Daddy Parker." I whispered closing my eyes and allowing myself to fall asleep.