A/N: Here is the next chapter! Thanks for the reviews! I am enjoying writing this story and I am sure Hart is too!

She woke up and immediately knew she was lying in bed with her head on Booth's chest. Her lips curled into a smile as she revelled in how good it felt to be lying there in his arms, as if nothing had happened.

The reality of the situation however, soon hit her. They were only in this position because they had fallen asleep after he comforted her. Thoughts of their aborted sex exploit last night made her stifle a groan. She had wanted it so badly, even now she still wanted it and yet it wasn't possible.

She was tired of the incident taking over every aspect of her life. She subconsciously ran her fingers over her wounds. There was going to be scarring, the doctor had told her as much. It would be a constant reminder of that day, an ordinary one just like the one before it, turned into something ugly and violent. She wondered whether ordinary days were ever going to be possible again. Would she ever be able to sit and watch a movie with Booth and Parker without remembering how the first shots rang through the air?

She felt Booth shift underneath her and she smiled. God she loved this man. She didn't understand how the shift from partners to lovers took so long, why her former self was so stubborn in resisting him. He was hers and she was his. That was just the way it was. She only hoped that this love between them was strong enough to get him through this, to get all of them past this.

She knew he was awake and she felt his eyes on her without even looking up.

"Hi." She said softly into his chest.

"Hi." He replied. "Are you hungry?"

She nodded and he pulled away and slipped out of bed, his arms stretched above his head.

"Pancakes?" She asked, enjoying the familiarity of this discussion. It felt just like the dozens of mornings before. Maybe she was wrong, maybe it just took a while for the ordinary days to come back.

"You got it Babe." He said, flashing his charm smile before leaving the bedroom.

She leaned back against the pillow and smiled. He seemed better today and she, well last night was the first time she hadn't had a nightmare since she got out of the hospital. She didn't know that he'd spent hours staring at the wall before exhaustion finally took him.

'Things will be fine.' She thought to herself as she slowly got out of bed. She trudged into the bathroom and checked her wounds. After making sure they were okay, she padded into the kitchen.

"Chocolate chip or regular?" he asked, mixing the ingredients into a bowl.

"Chocolate chip." She replied enthusiastically.

She watched has he prepared the pancakes and set them down on the table, his comfort and ease in the kitchen was something she'd always admired. She sat down and immediately dug into the pancakes, each bite utterly delicious. Booth always made the best pancakes.

"Where's Parker?" Brennan asked, glancing around. If there were chocolate chip pancakes, the boy shouldn't be too far off.

"I let him sleep since he stayed up so late last night. Rebecca will be here to pick him up in about an hour."

Brennan nodded and continued concentrating on her food.

"So…" She said, swallowing a large bite. "I was thinking about visiting the lab today."

His fork and knife clattered as they hit the plate.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I said no." He repeated.

"I'm just going to visit, not to work and besides you can't tell me what to do."

"Yes I can." He replied. "I'm your boyfriend, I'm taking care of you."

"And?" She said questioningly. "That doesn't mean you have control over my life."

"Bones I'm just…" He stopped short, seeing the anger on her face. He decided to take another tack.

"You can barely take care of yourself, we couldn't even have sex and now you want to go to work?" He fought to keep his voice under control while her eyes burned with her own barely contained rage.

"Just to visit."

"The squints can come here." He said firmly.

"Do you understand how important it is for me to be there?" She asked.

"No I don't understand." Booth replied, his voice growing louder. "You were shot twice in the chest, Temperance. and you are acting like its nothing."

"I know its not nothing. I have to live with it ruling over my existence every single day." Brennan said angrily. "But you have become this over protective alpha male, more so than usual even, and I don't need, or want it."

Her words felt like a punch to his gut. The very thing he had been trying to do the entire time, was the one thing she said she didn't want. After a long, tense moment of silence he pushed himself away from the table and stood up, leaving the room.

She sighed as she picked up the plates and put them in the sink. Hearing the shower run, she decided to go work on her book in the study. She just didn't want to see him right now.

He stood in the bathroom, letting the water run as he stared at himself in the mirror. The man who stared back at him was not the one he knew. There were dark circles where there used to be none. His eyes were slightly blood shot and he was scruffy, having not shaved the day before.

He looked down at his clenched fists and felt the anger swell up in him again. He unballed his hands, bringing one up to rub over his tired face. He felt his pounding heart and willed himself to calm down.

It wasn't working. He moved out of the bathroom and towards the dresser.

Brennan had made space in the bottom two drawers for his things. Reaching into the drawer, he pulled a purple sock from the very back. Sliding a bottle of pills out of the sock, he quickly popped the lid and dumped two into his hand. He could feel his heart calming already in anticipation of those small white pills.

With a sigh, he shoved the sock back into the drawer and he made his way back to the bathroom.

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Travis looked across his desk and suppressed a sigh. It was clear his friend wasn't getting better and he wasn't sure how to help him.

"So then, the bullets match casings found in a series of carjackings that have occurred in the city but we still don't have a physical description, or anything of the like."

"That's it?" Booth asked stonily.

"Look Seeley boy, I am trying the best that I can okay? You know tha'." Travis said. "But it doesn't help that you are in here every day riding my arse. You gotta give me time to figure this out okay?" Taking a breath, he leaned back in his chair and loosened his tie, "Now whats wrong?"

"Nothings wrong." Booth replied automatically. "And I'm sorry that I am 'in your way.'"

"You still takin' those sleeping pills?" Travis sidestepped the snide comment with ease and watched Booth carefully as he answered.

Almost immediately Booth clammed up.

"I was off them okay?" Booth said defensively. "So I am fine. I just want to get back to work but it seems Cullen has other ideas."

"It was a big deal, what happened to you Seeley." Travis said seriously. "Maybe you should think about seeing someone…"

"Look I came for an update about the case not a lecture" Booth snapped. "So is that it?"

"Yeah." Travis replied. "I guess so."

"Fine." Booth said, rising from his chair and stalking out the door.

Travis sighed. There was something seriously wrong with his friend and it was time someone did something about it. He picked up his phone and rifled through his desk drawer for a wrinkled piece of paper. Dialling the number Booth gave him, he sat back in his chair and waited.

"Brennan."

"Dr. Brennan, its Travis." He said.

"Yes?" She asked, her tone slightly frosty. This gave him some indication about Booth's mood.

"I'm calling about Seeley. He needs to be talked to and you should be the one to do it." Travis said bluntly.

"I don't want to talk to him right now." She replied. "And frankly, I don't appreciate you running interference between us."

Travis sighed and pressed on his eyes with the heel of his hand, forcing himself to exhale deeply. He knew he shouldn't lose his patience with his best friend's girlfriend, but he was too worried to care.

"He is doing his best with this thing too you know?" He said, harsher than he'd intended.. "It's eatin' away at him, what happened…for a man like Seeley, he feels like he failed. Like he's lost control, that's a lot to handle and he has got to deal with it. He's not accustomed to asking for help so you've got to confront him. He'll listen to you."

"Look Agent Ferguson…"

"Do you know about the pills?" He asked brusquely.

There was silence for a moment.

"Yes." She replied, her voice considerably softer. "He takes them to help him sleep."

"Not juss for that." Travis said.

"I know." She said quietly, her anger rapidly dissipating.

"You should talk to him, it's only going to get worse."

"I don't know how." She said honestly. "What…what do I do?"

She sounded so plaintive that he wanted to take back his earlier anger.

"Just talk to him. Talk, make him listen. He'll try to walk away and brush it off, don't let 'im. You two have a connection, I know that Seeley loves you."

"How did you know about the drugs?" She asked quietly.

He hesitated before answering. "His finger twitched. It's a common sign of drug misuse."

There was silence again before she answered as she regained her composure.

"Right." She said firmly. "Well thank you for calling Travis."

"Your welcome." He replied, hanging up the phone. He hoped that his friend could finally get some help.

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Brennan sat on the couch, her head in her hands. She had known about the pills but didn't think much of it. She had been too concerned about her own problems and frustrations that she forgot to remember his. Thinking back to their earlier argument, she felt a wave of guilt wash over her.

Booth was hurting. He was in trouble and she needed to help make it right. It was time to confront him about everything. She would help him get better.

That's what partners did.