Author's Note: Thanks for all the great reviews! I hope you guys like this chapter. If you don't, just let me know. I guess that's all I really have to say...my computer is messing up, so I hope this comes out right. Okay, read on...

The night was cold and overcast. Standing in the middle of a darkened field, Temperance gazed up toward the sky, noting that the stars had been completely blocked out by the thick clouds that crowded against one another, battling for dominance in the night sky. In the distance, she felt certain that she heard the faint rumble of thunder. A storm was coming.

Turning her attention to the ground, Temperance's eyes were greeted with the image of a corpse, a young woman, lying broken on the ground. The body was not yet decomposed—in fact, it was still leaking blood—and Temperance wondered for a moment why she had been called out to recover it. She stared at the body for a few more seconds, watching in macabre fascination as the crimson liquid flowed from the body, consuming the alabaster snow that blanketed the ground. Slowly, the white earth at Temperance's feet was saturated by the maroon flood…

"Bones!" His voice cut through the night. Snapping her head up, Temperance saw Booth jogging toward her. "We have to get out of here!"

The thunder rumbled louder. "Okay! Just get me a body bag to package the remains and we can go!" she called back.

Booth was closer to her now. She noted the expression on his face—a strange twist of pain and pity. "Bones, you can't be here right now. We have to get you out of here."

Temperance felt more puzzled than angry. "Okay. Just get me the body bag. Then we can go."

Booth was standing in front of her by this point, and he reached out and put his hands on her upper arms, as if convincing her to look into his eyes. His fingers were like ice. "Bones?" he said, his voice questioning. "It's going to be okay, Bones. We'll get her. Just come with me now. Just let me get you out of here."

Temperance, still confused, glanced at the ground. And then, she understood. She understood why Booth was trying to take her away. She saw what he had been trying to protect her from.

"ANGELA!" she shrieked, dropping to her hands and knees. Her hands grabbed for her friend's shoulders, her fingers pressing to her neck, vainly searching for a pulse, her vision growing blurry as she continued to scream.

She felt Booth's hands on her arms as he lifted her up. Kicking her legs, screaming to be let back down, she struggled against him. He was strong, however, and he heaved her up, pulling her against his chest and moving her away.

His fingers were numb with cold, and her struggling caused his hands to momentarily slip. When he did, Temperance seized the opportunity to run. He caught her almost immediately, however, now spinning her around so her face was turned toward his chest.

He hugged her to him then, and she hit her fists on his chest as she was overcome by sobs, her entire body convulsing with the strain. As her frame shook, Booth just pulled her tighter, enveloping her in his arms, running his hands through her hair, trying to sooth her, trying to absorb her anguish.

Temperance had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually Booth placed his finger under her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. "I know, baby. I know. But we have to get out of here now. We have to go where it's safe. We have to go now."

"We can't leave her…" her voice was choked with sobs.

"Shh…it's okay. It's going to be okay. Just come with me. We'll get her. Just come with me now." His eyes were pleading hers to understand.

Understanding that he was trying to protect her, Temperance nodded slightly and laced her fingers through Booth's. Then, they began to run, back in the direction from which Booth had come.

Soon, Temperance found that they were running through the woods. "The car's just on the other side of these trees," Booth puffed out as they ran. "We're almost there."

And then, abruptly, Temperance stopped. She stood, completely frozen, in the middle of the woods, staring at Booth. He turned around and gave her a questioning look. "Come on, Bones, we have to go!"

Temperance just shook her head, and Booth walked back toward her. "Come on, Bones. Just come with me. Please."

Temperance continued her mute stare.

"Bones, please just…" and then Booth stopped speaking, fear flashing in his eyes. "Bones, what the…"

Temperance looked down at her clothing, which was stained with Angela's blood. Then she glanced at her hand, which was now raised in the air, a knife clenched tightly in her fingers. The silver blade shone with shiny red.

"Oh, God, Bones…" Booth said. "What have you done…"

"I had to, Booth," Temperance answered, her voice strangely calm. "It had to be done."

"She was your best friend…"

"The snow creeps over her bones…"

Booth's eyes shone with utter terror. "Please, Temperance, no, don't do this…"

Temperance smiled. "Another for the count." And with that, she began to bring her arm forward, the blade flying toward Booth as he screamed, seemingly unable to move out of its path…

"BOOTH!" Temperance screamed as she sat bolt upright in bed. Her chest was heaving and her skin was soaked in a cold sweat. "Oh my God, Booth, Booth..." She repeated his name again and again as she struggled to untangle her legs from the sheets. As her eyes darted about in the darkness she believed that she could still see the blood--Angela's blood, Booth's blood--and, redoubling her efforts against the sheets, she shrieked again.

She had just lunged free of the blankets when she heard a loud CRASH! and the noise caused her to jump again. Her eyes were blurry with tears, her entire body was shaking, and suddenly all she could think was 'Someone is in my house. Someone knows what I've done.' Desperately looking around, still believing she could see the non-existant blood, her brain began to scream, 'run! Hide!' She was completely lost to her terror as her eyes flew around the room, seeking a place of concealment.

He burst into her room then, yelling her name. However, the hysteria from the dream was still holding strong, and so she opted to continue hiding in the shadows by the bed instead of answering his voice.

Booth froze and stood perfectly still. In the silence that wrapped the room, he perceived her quiet whimpering, and from it he determined her location. He threw on the light, the room suddenly washed in its golden glow, and he was at her side in an instant.

He kneeled in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She averted her eyes from his, her body still trembling.

Seeing her state of fear, Booth did his best to speak soothingly. "Bones," he said, rubbing his hands down her arms. "It's okay. Calm down. It's just me." She voiced no response, only shook harder. "Bones, listen to me. Shh...it's okay. It's going to be okay."

At this statement, she roughly pushed his hands away and tried desperately to move away from him.

He quickly grabbed her arms again, however, and held her steady. "BONES! It's just me. It's Booth. Calm down. It's just me."

She allowed her eyes to meet his, and it was as though she were seeing him for the very first time. "Booth?" she said, her voice weak and tentative.

"Yeah, Bones," he said, careful to keep his tone quiet. He saw the exhausion in her eyes. He knew that she was still struggling to wake up from what appeared to be a horrible dream. He saw the wild confusion and fear swirl through her irises. He recognized the look. It was the same look Parker had given him when he had woken up from a nightmare that had been inspired by some television show he had seen. Not entirely sure what to do, he decided to try to comfort Temperance the same way he had comforted his child that night.

"It's okay," he said, slowly stroking her arm. "It's just me. You're safe. It's just me."

She stared at him, still working out the lines between reality and her dreams. "But...you're dead. You died. I saw..."

He did his best to give her a reassuring smile. "It wasn't real, Bones. I'm here. I'm fine. Nothing happened to me."

"I saw the blood...I saw Angela..."

"Angela's fine, too. It was just a dream. Shh...just a dream."

He continued to stroke her arms, softly telling her that she was alright, that he was alright, that it was just a nightmare. Eventually, she began to calm.

As her breathing slowly began to return to normal, Booth moved closer. Before long he found that he had wrapped Temperance in his arms. He rocked her gently as her heart rate continued to slow.

When she was sufficiently calm, he sat back slightly and placed a finger under her chin. Lifting her face so that she was looking him in the eyes, he smiled. "Now, why don't you tell me what happened?"

She shook her head. "It was...it was so real."

He nodded. "But it was just a dream, Bones. It didn't happen."

"I saw you get killed. I saw Angela dead..." she shook her head, as if trying to dislodge the images. Booth felt his chest ache. He wished he could take the visions away. He wished there was something he could actually do. However, he instead chose to simply continue rubbing her arms.

"I didn't die. I'm fine."

She looked him in the eye. "You were killed right in front of me," she whispered.

He smiled. "But I wasn't killed. Look at me. I'm fine." He took her hand and placed it over his heart so that she could feel the beat. "I'm alive."

She curled her fingers lightly in his shirt as she stared at his chest. "I thought...you were right in front of me." She looked back at his face. She wanted to explain it to him. She wanted to tell him that she had been the one who killed him. She wanted him to know how terrified the thought of losing him made her, how sickened she had felt when she saw the blade in her hand. She wanted to explain about Angela, how she had murdered her. She wanted to tell him how she had used the killer's words in reference to him...another for the count...but the words would not come.

Booth just looked back at her with a smile. Gently, he laced his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. "It's over now, Bones. I'm fine. I'm not going to leave you."

Slowly, Temperance relaxed in his arms. When she was practically fully calmed, he reached up and pushed the hair off her forehead, looking into her eyes. "So...are you okay?"

She smiled and nodded slightly. "Yeah. I'm okay."

He studied her for a moment and then smiled back. "Okay."

They pulled back from one another with reluctance. Temperance glanced at the clock, and realizing that it was almost 11:30, looked back at Booth with puzzlement. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"I got home and saw that you had left your cell phone in the car. I was just bringing it back over. I must have gotten to the door right when you were waking up. I heard you scream, so I broke in."

"You broke in?"

Booth shrugged. "You were screaming. It seemed like the right idea at the time."

Temperance had to smile. "Thanks, Booth."

Charm smile. "Hey, what are friends for?"

Temperance pushed herself up so that she was standing, and Booth copied the move. Her eyes darted about the room for a moment as she straightened her clothes.

Booth glanced at the clock. "Well, it's getting late."

Temperance glanced at him. "Yeah."

Booth looked at the woman standing in her pajamas in the bedroom. She looked so vulnerable, so delicate, so...'beautiful,' his brain filled in. He wasn't used to seeing Temperance this way. She was normally so sure of herself, so self-confident that he had almost come to believe that she was really as strong as she appeared. Now that he was standing in her room, however, he saw her differently. She was just a person, just like everyone else. She needed people, too.

He suddenly wished that she would as him to stay. He realized that he didn't want to leave her alone, not after what had just happened. 'Ask me to stay,' his brain begged. 'Ask me not to leave you.'

When she made no move to do so, he took matters into his own hands. "Would you mind if I crashed here tonight, Bones? I'm really tired...I don't know if I'm up for another drive home."

He thought he saw a brief note of relief flash in her eyes as she answered. "Yeah, sure."

With a smile, they set about gathering the blankets.

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