Disclaimer: I don't own them but I have thoroughly enjoyed using them for my own entertainment.

Warning: M rating for sexually explicit material

You talk 'cause talking tells you things,

Like what you really are thinking about,

And sometimes you can't find what you're feeling

'til all the words run out. Harry Chapin

They sat next to each other on the sofa with enough room to be turned toward one another.

"First of all I want you to tell me everything that happened during the incident with David starting from when you dropped me at work that morning and ending with the hospital." She sounded solid in her request but he could see doubt in her eyes and there was still a physical shift at the mention of David's name.

He took a deep breath, reviewing the events and sorting them in his head before beginning. As he spoke he realized how much she didn't know about what happened. She was surprised, blushing a little when he told her they had figured out her password at work. She had never seen the e-mail from David and between the FBI and Angela his name and all correspondences had been stripped from both her computers before she ever came home from the hospital. He moved through the events staying as factual as he could and she could visualize everyone in the way he described them. When he came to the point where he was entering the house he stopped.

"You actually know more about this part than I do. I just remember seeing you, bound, frightened and then waking up in the basement, covered in blood and when I realized it wasn't mine I was terrified that it was yours. Then I could hear your voice upstairs and I was so relieved that you were alive but I heard his voice and what he was saying to you. I knew he was trying to break you. I listened, I heard you fighting him and knew you were trying to get away, I just pieced together the rest of what I heard until they found me in the basement." His fists were clenched in his lap, his eyes bright with the pain of the memory. He slowly unclenched his hands, finished the wine he'd been drinking and got up to get a refill.

"Are you ready for another glass?" His voice was weary, defeated, caught in the moment when he was powerless to save her.

She had been perfectly still, bracing herself as she took in the conversation but as she refocused her attention she seemed to relax and hand him the glass.

When he returned he settled back down beside her and continued, "I was in the ambulance behind you even though I kept telling them I didn't think I was hurt. Once I was cleared at the hospital I sat in your room and went over everything with Fischer. Angela showed up and we started to organize what needed to be done, she arranged for our things to be brought back from the hotel and went and removed all traces of David from your home and office. I don't know how my car got here; I called Cullen and Dr. Goodman about the time off and updated them on your condition."

He paused to drink, watching her, stoic, staring at him and knowing her brain was moving at an alarming rate, piecing things together, seeing the events and processing the information. He smiled at her and she nodded so he continued.

"While I was waiting for you to wake up a woman from the hospital came to talk to me, apparently the doctor had ordered a psych evaluation. She tried to prepare me for your possible states of mind and I'm sure that she thought I was being combative because I kept arguing with her. She wanted me to leave your room, telling me my presence would be too much of a shock for you. I told her she may be able to gauge how the average woman would react, but she didn't know you and you were definitely not the average woman. I refused to go and when she said she would have me removed if she thought it was in the best interest of her patient I told her I would handcuff myself to you if I had to, but I wasn't leaving. Angela came in about then and must have heard part of the conversation because she took the woman out into the hallway and I never saw her again. I have no idea what she said to her." He started to chuckle, remembering Angela's anger and the woman's shock as she was being led from the room.

"A few hours later they came and removed your chest tube and were lowering the sedation medication so the doctor was sure you'd be waking up soon. It was the next morning when you opened your eyes and you know the rest." He sighed heavily, glad to be at the end of it and amazed at how much there was to tell, how much had actually happened in that short time.

"I guess it's my turn." Her expression had changed to one of trepidation.

"Only if you want it to be." He wanted her to talk but knew it needed to be her choice.

Her voice was low, her whole body tense, "he told me, before you arrived that he was going to kill you. He said it would make room in my heart for him. I remember thinking it wasn't true; he wouldn't be able to kill you. I thought you would come and rescue me and we would just walk away from this terrible day. When you opened the door and I saw you, I was trying to tell you it was a trap but there was tape on my mouth and then the gun went off and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I heard the second shot and saw you go down but still I thought, two shots could be bad but a lot of people have survived two shots. Then he appeared from the back of the house, I know now he had gone around to get the gun, and he walked over to where you were lying and fired at point blank range. I'm missing some of what happened next because I passed out but he waited for me to wake up, then opened the door so I could see as he dragged your body by the door. I remember at the time thinking it was an impossible amount of blood and you looked so pale and lifeless. He told me you were dead and at that point I believed him."

Tears were running down her face and she kept swiping at them. He wanted to reach over and hold her but he knew she had to finish so he handed her the box of tissue and just gave her hand a gentle squeeze so she was aware he was with her.

"I have some small gaps in my memory here too. I convinced him to untie me but this is where I need to correct you. I know you thought you heard me trying to get away but I had no intention of leaving. The only reason I wanted to be free was to kill him. I didn't care what happened to me, I didn't care about anything else. In a way I was eerily calm and it was probably shock but I could feel the rage too and at that point it was greater than my fear. I only remember having that one thought and how calming it felt to know that no matter what happened, my next act would be to take his life. I was planning on crushing his skull but then I came across the gun and of course it was filled with blanks so it ended up physical and you know the rest." The tears were still falling and her unsteady breathing was starting to hitch.

"Seeley I've been so consumed with trying to figure out how to love you now that I know how it feels to loose you that I haven't considered how you felt in all this. It isn't that I wanted to shut you out but for me to have some time to heal I did have to shut down. I'm sorry, it's just that I don't know any other way and now every time that I think about how much I love you it's twisted into how afraid I am to lose you. I don't know what to do about that and I can't stop the nightmares from coming to remind me. I just know that the thought of being away from you right now fills me with such dread I can hardly breathe. I just don't know what to do." She was sobbing now, unraveling, crying for everything she had ever lost and he could restrain no longer, he reached over and took her in his arms, pulling her onto his lap and cradling her against him, trying to hold her close enough to absorb some of the pain from her. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, clinging against him.

He was rocking her gently, his own tears slipping down his face. She loved him and wanted to keep loving him and was trying to figure out how to do it without being afraid. He had been so terrified himself that she was trying to find a way to leave him that she just couldn't let herself love anymore.

"Temperance we can't let this rule our lives, if we do then, he's won, he will have successfully taken you from me. We can't let that happen. Let's go back to the same logic you used from the very beginning. I want you to think about the way we felt together from that Friday when I stopped by until I dropped you at the Jeffersonian on Monday. Think about how powerful those feelings were, how overwhelming but at the same time so amazing, so intense it was almost like being drugged. Now, think about that moment when you thought I was dead and how painful it was, would you trade one not to feel the other? Life is full of risk, I could slip and fall in the shower and break my neck. We take it one day at a time for as many days as we have left, either one of us. We risk it together and we talk about it and just like the monster check we do for Parker in the closet and under the bed, every day we chase the fear away until we've outgrown it."

He had no idea if she was still listening to him but her crying had subsided and her breathing had calmed down. He kept rocking her, stroking her hair and cooing softly that it would be alright, that they were safe, that he loved her, that he loved her, that he loved her.

Her eyes were burning and felt swollen from crying, her chest felt tight and there was a steady pain throbbing in her head. He made sense, following a line of logic she had been unable to find he had brought her back to a place where she understood. She was lulled by his rocking; just the slightest of movements and his voice washed over her like a cool breeze over her burning thoughts. Exhausted she fell asleep curled against him, his heart beat resounding in her ear.

He knew she was asleep, for them it had been a long emotional day even though it was still early, he knew she wouldn't sleep through the night but knowing how intermittent her sleep had been lately he didn't have it in him to wake her. He lifted her up, holding her against him; she subconsciously tightened her grip. He walked to the bedroom and laid down with her, keeping as much of the physical contact as he could. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, relief seeping out of him as he relaxed into the arms of sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Temperance heard the phone ringing in the distance and knew it was her home phone, it was totally dark in the room, she could tell it was late and let the machine pick up but listened. It was a wrong number and she was grateful. She was lying on Seeley, he was stirring beneath her, his arms coming protectively around her. She was too warm and she moved to sit on the side of the bed.

"Hey there, what time is it?" He sat up himself blinking into the darkness, just making out her form on the side of the bed.

"It's 3:35 in the morning, what time did we fall asleep?"

"It was about 7 o'clock when I carried you in here."

"Eight and a half hours and if the phone hadn't been ringing we'd still be asleep. I can't remember the last time I slept this long without waking up at all." She started to laugh softly.

"What's so amusing?"

"Well it's 3:30 in the morning and we're wide awake and I don't know about you but I'm starving."

"I am hungry and I want a shower, a shower without my cast, I can hardly wait." She could hear the smile in his voice and felt as though she had woken up from more than sleep.

"Then let's shower and make something to eat." She felt the bed move as he stood and came around, taking her hand and walking her to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror, a face she recognized but a woman she wasn't sure she knew anymore. Pulling the Velcro and removing the air cast she was rubbing her arm, appreciative of her ability to touch her own skin. She undressed and was in the water before he had his clothes off and he watched the water pour over her, his eyes moving over her body. He stepped in behind her, trying to forget how she felt against him, picturing crime scenes to purge his mind. She was vulnerable and he didn't want to take advantage of that, but suddenly without the casts to act as a wall between them she seemed somehow more naked to him. Mentally reprimanding himself, he began picturing the crime scenes again, closing his eyes and concentrating.

"What's the matter?" She looked concerned and had placed her hand on his chest. "You look upset."

"No, no I'm not upset, I was just thinking, I'm fine." She moved her hands to his waist and turned them so he was under the water. He closed his eyes under the rush against his face, and was surprised by her hands moving into his hair, massaging his scalp, working in shampoo.

He thought back to the day he had done this for her and smiled, "you know I can do this myself."

She mentally stepped back into the same memory and he heard her laugh. "Well even though you're capable why don't you let me take care of you for a minute, because I can," her voice dropped to a whisper, "and because I want to."

The hair on his arms rose and he was painfully aware that his penis had shifted. He wanted to accept this simple act of kindness from her without arousal but his body felt only her fingers, was hungry for her touch whether compassionate, kind or sexual. Her hand was under his chin, tipping his head back into the water to be rinsed, smoothing his hair back from his face, her fingers raking through his hair.

She was watching him closely, this man she had clung to but barely seen in the last few weeks, his eyes closed his expression moving between pleasure and turmoil. She tried to understand him, waiting these last weeks for her to return to him, reining in his wanting, offering her his comfort and companionship. He was noble even in the way he loved her. She could feel her desire, clawing at her belly, the heat rushing through her causing the water to be cool against her skin. His hands rested lightly on her hips. She began washing him and he opened his eyes, dark pools casting a lustful shadow over her every move. She moved carefully, tenderly, preparing him, for herself. She felt very tribal, very primitive, washing it all away, every bullet she saw fired, every drop of blood she thought was his, every moment that she had hurt him, every time she had pulled away. A ritual cleansing, a new beginning, she could give him this, a place from which to begin again, a catharsis for them both.

When she finished she opened the shower door, the steam billowed in thick waves out into the room. She turned, standing on her tip toes to kiss him on the forehead, knowing if she touched him in any way she wouldn't be able to stop.

"Go put on something comfortable, I'll be right there." He could see the sparkle in her eyes, the reassurance in her voice and he knew something had changed. He wanted to question it, to question her but she slid the door shut and he was alone. He did as she instructed, opting for sweat pants and a t-shirt, it was after all, still the middle of the night. He moved into the kitchen, taking out fruit and eggs deciding on crepes because they were quick and easy and she loved them.

When she came into the kitchen he already had the crepes cooked and had mixed up the filling, she came over and started to cut the fruit.

"I was just wondering where my cooking assistant was, I was lost without you."

She smiled at him a sincere smile that reflected in her whole face and he couldn't help but return it.

"You know I wouldn't run out on a job. Crepes, you read my mind, did we have apples left?"

"Apple and cinnamon, peaches with sweet cream and strawberries with cream cheese are what we're having. We're out of raspberries and blueberries so throw those on the grocery list." The sound of them as an old married couple echoed through her and she waited for the panic that didn't come. She was comfortable with him, more herself when she was around him in a way that she had never been with any one else.

"I'll write a list in the morning. I'd like to go by the lab later today or tomorrow, I know we aren't due back to work for another week but there are some files I'd like to pick up and I'd like to see everyone."

"Do you want me to go with you, just for the company?" He knew it would be her first trip back since the day David grabbed her and he wanted to be there but he was learning to let her choose.

"Yes, that would be nice and I'm sure everyone would be happy to see you too. They have a lot of respect for you and I know they think of you as a friend." She wanted him there and if he hadn't asked she would have requested that he come with her. A month ago she would have questioned him visiting her at work without a reason and now she was willing to admit she wanted him with her. Life can surprise you.

He set a plate in front of her, "dinner is served, or breakfast or whatever it is, it's served." She got up and placed three candles on the table and turned out the light. The room immediately danced with flickering light, the darkness outside suddenly thick against the windows.

"Better, it was far too bright in here." She sat down and he was staring at her, pulling himself together he smiled and began eating. "How's your hand doing?"

"A little stiff but good, I couldn't be happier about getting that cast off, I was really only looking to get cleared to drive today but when I saw you ask to gets yours off I figured mine could go too."

"Booth, is it hurting at all because it might not be a good idea for yours to be off yet? I knew I should have looked at your x-rays. Show it to me, make a fist." He knew she was serious so he lifted his hand and made a loose fist, accompanied by a small wince. She took his hand in both of hers and felt around, bending and pushing until it was sore. "Well it seems to be mending but you need something with heat rubbed into it and you need to stretch it to get your full range of motion back. You should be removing that splint up to three times a day and working that joint."

"Okay, okay. I'll do it, you can show me how when you're doing yours later." He started to laugh at the expression on her face. "What's the matter, didn't you have any intention of following your own advice?" She was so busted and he knew it.

"Of course, but the care of my wrist is different because it was a different type of break and it's relation to the joint isn't compromising like yours is, although I appreciate your concern." She sounded like his Bones again and he couldn't help but smile at her.

When they finished eating she led him to the sofa and went to get some salve for his hand. She sat next to him with her legs folded up and took his hand into her lap. He rested his head back, closing his eyes. She smoothed the ointment into his skin, massaging his palm and up each of his fingers, paying special attention to the outside of his hand, working and bending the fingers as she went. When her motions stopped he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Try using it, see how it feels."

He flexed it, then moved it to her face, cupping her cheek. She leaned her face into him, skimming over his lips, her breath trailing across his cheek. He took her face in both his hands and kissed her, his tongue running across her bottom lip, her mouth opened to him offering him a taste of her desire. He tilted his head and sank deeper into the kiss, revisiting everything he had missed about her in these last weeks.

He released her, "are you sure?"

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

He kissed her again, the urgency rushing through them, everything they had been repressing suddenly flooding through and between them. She could hardly breathe, the oxygen tight in her lungs as his hands moved over her, grazing the side of her breast she gasped before he touched her. He leaned back into her mouth and moved his hand over her breast, seeking the nipple with his thumb he was rewarded as she moaned into him. Her hands were under his shirt stroking him, her nails raked lightly down his chest, over his dark nubs, down into the trail that disappeared into his sweats. She wanted him badly, her womb throbbed deep within her, her own moisture hot against her thighs. He bent his head, nipping her tightened nipple through the fabric, rolling it's twin in his fingers. She groaned loudly, pushing herself into him. Her lips dropped to his neck, wrapping around the corded muscle there and sliding down to his rapid pulse where she began to suck the flesh into her mouth in matching rhythm.

He stood and scooped her up, surprising her, and walked to the kitchen, pausing to blow out the candles he carried her down the hall.

She was laughing softly, "I can walk you know."

"I know."

He sat her gently on the bed and lowered himself next to her, peeling her shirt over her head and laying her back. She lifted her hips as he stripped down her cotton pants and satin underwear together. She sat back up, pushing his t-shirt over his head and tugging at his waistband. He stood and dropped the rest of his clothing to the floor. She was reaching to pull him to her even as he moved into her arms. They kissed with bruising need, her fingers digging into his back. He moved his head down taking her breast into his mouth as though only this would sustain him. He drew hard on her nipple pulling it between his teeth. Her hips were jerking against him, she could feel his erection pressed between them. Her mouth was on his neck, his chest, his ear, desperate to taste him, she moved to his shoulder working her teeth and her tongue into his flesh. He groaned, moving himself to the side he slid his hand between her legs, his fingers sinking in the silky wet depth of her, "Temperance, my god…" His words growled out of his chest, her hips were grinding against his hand her body arching away from the bed.

Her hand snaked down, curling around the thickness of him, moving over each familiar ridge, stroking his length. He sucked in his breath and sank his fingers deeper, pumping in quick bursts, she was wreathing steadily, chasing his movements. He felt her release him and he exhaled deeply a momentary flash of confusion passing across his face as her hand covered his between her legs. Her fingers caressed the tight skin over his knuckles and his movements slowed, she was moaning loudly. She slid her fingers over his, sliding them inside herself, bathing them in her own juices, stroking with him. He turned his head to look, his body tense with the erotic sight before him. He watched as she slowly removed her hand, her palm caressing him and then she returned her hand to his penis. His hips lurched, his penis pushed against her slick fingers as they slid over the head of him and he groaned against her.

Her free hand wove into his hair, pulling him to her, "Seeley, now, please, we'll take time later." Her voice hissed into his ear, her lips nibbling the lobe. He removed his hand and moved between her legs, her hand guiding him between her lips before sliding around his neck. He rocked forward and her knees came up around each side of him, hips rolling, feet locking behind him, nails sinking into his back and a cry coming from her. She felt her body stretch around him, his mouth coming down on her neck as he held himself inside her. Her hand started stroking the back of his head and he began to move slowly once, twice and then as though he had been unleashed.

He was engulfed in the heat of her, his body consumed with the need to be deeper, to chase some primitive notion of making her his. Every ounce of her responded to him, with him, feeding his impulse.

Her body tightened around him, her back arcing to receive him, matching his rhythm, driving toward release. He pushed them along the sharp edge of pleasure, until she thought her body would splinter from the sweet pressure building within her. The familiar tingle ran through her limbs as his impossible pace continued, she felt his body stiffening and grabbed at his hips, her feet dropping to the bed as she slammed herself up into him, her muscles in spasm, he thrust harder, surging into her, her walls locked tightly around him pulsing in waves of shattering release as his body emptied into the depths of her. They lay, trembling against one another, small moans still escaping with their rapid breaths.

He was still above her, the air starting to cool the sweat from their skin when he felt her lips move lightly over his ear, "I missed you."

His chest tightened at her words, he knew their value. He kissed her neck, tenderly moving up, "I missed you, too." He touched his lips to hers, looking into her eyes where the first rays of early dawn danced over her pale blue gaze.

He eased off of her, she curled against him sighing contentedly her hand tracing mindless patterns on his chest. He watched her slender fingers move over him until they stilled and he knew she had dozed off to sleep and then, comfortable in the knowledge she was resting, he did so himself.

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