OOOOO

A/N: Immediate Chapter One. Because even I'm not that mean.

Wednesday morning

"Hey, I thought I told you never to leave me alone with Zack ever agai..." Booth froze in her doorway as he saw her troubled face. "What's wrong?" He asked, immediately checking his internal reaction of wanting to reach out and hold her.

"It's a note." She said sadly. "From my Dad." Booth sighed.

"The first one?" She nodded as she set it down. He couldn't help but look for the envelope, hoping it would give them some clue as to where they were.

"No postmark. It was hand delivered." She said, knowing what he was looking for.

"What does it say?" He asked hesitantly, unsure if she actually wanted to talk about it.

"Just that he is watching out for me. Like he did when I was younger." She threw the letter down on the desk. "Why is he doing this?" She asked Booth, wanting an answer to an unanswerable question. "He handcuffed me to a bench and drove off. He left me. Again. He doesn't have the right to just contact me whenever he wants. It's not fair." She had no control over the situation and he knew better than anyone what that did to her.

Now he also knew why.

"He wants you to know that it wasn't personal, you know? That he loves you and cares about you. A dad just wants his kids to be happy." She gave him an annoyed roll of her eyes. He could tell that she wanted to argue but she knew what being a good father meant to him so she let it slide.

"Well, I'm not happy." She said as she threw the letter in the trash and walked out of her office.

OOOOO

Wednesday evening

She stared into her glass as a voice cut through her dark thoughts.

"Whatcha doing?" She heard Booth ask from behind her. She didn't bother to turn around, simply waited for him to occupy the stool next to her.

"Just sitting here wondering which version of the story is worse: knowing that he abandoned me or knowing that he kept tabs on me for all those years, saw all of that pain, and didn't do anything about it."

"Max was just doing what he thought was best. He was just, you know, trying to protect you the only way he knew how." She was tired of people telling her that. It wasn't for the best. Watching your daughter go through all that she had gone through without offering any help was sick. She would never agree with his decision, no matter how well intentioned.

"Do you remember when I cried in that barn? When the pig farmer kept calling me Joy?" She turned to ask Booth. He looked surprised by her question but nodded. "It was so ironic that I spent my entire life identifying people for a living and I didn't even know who I really was." She drained the last of her glass and set it back down on the bar with a hollow thud.

"I know who you are." He said it with so much certainty that she had to give him her attention. "You're Bones." He said simply. She sighed and rolled her eyes at his answer. Still, he had gotten her to smile. "Who you are has nothing to do with your name. Every day, you show people who you are with your actions. You're a good-hearted, brilliant scientist who is saving the world with every case you solve." He smiled at her. "You don't need anyone else to tell you who you are, Bones. You've always known, all by yourself." Before she knew what she was doing, she laid her head on his shoulder. She felt his breathing hitch before he inhaled slowly. The world was starting to spin and she knew she should probably stop drinking.

"Let me take you home." It was more of a question than a command and she nodded, giving her permission. He helped her off of her barstool and she wrapped an arm around his waist, needing him to stay upright. If Booth was surprised by the action, he didn't let on. He helped her out to the sidewalk and flagged down a cab. She slid into the backseat and he followed behind her, giving the driver her address. In her inebriated state, she couldn't resist curling up against his warm chest as she leaned against him. He just felt so solid, so secure. She needed him tonight in a way that both frightened her and sent her blood racing all at once.

Once they arrived, Booth escorted her upstairs and helped her to her room. Brennan crawled onto her bed, wanting to stop her crazy day from continuing another second longer. But her sheets felt cold against her overheated flesh and it sent a chill right through her.

"Booth?" She called him back.

"Yeah?" He appeared almost instantly, a glass of water and some aspirin in hand. She smiled inwardly at the kind gesture. He handed her the pills and she took them dutifully. She returned the half-empty glass of water back to him and he set it on her bedside table, obviously hopeful that she would continue to drink it.

"Would you, would you stay with me tonight?" She asked, unable to even look at him as she asked. Even in her intoxicated state, she knew what she was asking was more than he had ever offered. "I don't want to be alone." She added as she finally looked up at him.

"Of course." She blinked at his automatic reaction. He hadn't even thought twice. He toed off his shoes and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You know you never have to be alone, right? We're always here for you. Angela, Hodgins, me? All you have to do is ask and any or all of us would be here in a heartbeat." He pulled the sheets towards him and she slid under as he tucked her in like a small child. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had tucked her in. She had been far too independent as a child to allow for such foolishness: big girls tucked themselves in. They required no help from their parents. Then again, maybe that was just as well as her parents hurried out the door to rob banks as soon as she was asleep.

"I don't want anyone else." She informed him groggily. "I just want you." She closed her eyes and sleep overcame her.

OOOOO

Saturday Morning

She wanted to wake up. Why couldn't she open her eyes?

They had drugged her.

She slowly remembered where she was, the prick of a needle as they filled her with sedatives before taking her out of the van.

These people took no chances.

She tentatively reached up to examine her head. She winced as her fingertips made contact with the open laceration. She had no idea what they hit her with, but she hoped that it had been clean. She knew an infection would be worse than a concussion in this situation.

As she finally got her eyes to cooperate, she looked at the ceiling above her. It wasn't a ceiling at all, but a steel trap door. She slowly got up and climbed the ladder in the wall to push on it. She wasn't surprised when it didn't budge. She glanced around. She was in a small room, about the size of her walk-in closet at home. There were no lights, no windows, and no furniture. There was a tarp covering the floor and she had been lying on top of a dirty blanket. She immediately checked her pockets but there was nothing in them. They had taken her phone and probably destroyed it. These people really knew what they were doing. But then again, so did Booth.

"I used to do this kind of work."

"What, rescuing people?"

"Or being the person they needed to be rescued from."

"Oh."

"But if I had a choice, I picked an isolated, rural area."

Is that where she was now? An isolated, rural area? She had no idea where she was, who had taken her, what they planned on doing with her, or why she was taken.

Booth would know; he always knew why people did things.

Still, that thought did little to cheer her up at the moment. Now, sitting in the dark, she felt lost and more alone than she ever had. She sat down and closed her eyes.

Hurry, Booth. I need you to hurry.

OOOOO

Wednesday evening

Booth stared at the clock and then again at her sleeping form. He had been watching her for over an hour, just sitting on the edge of her bed, unable to move. Part of him knew that he should head for the couch. It was late and he needed to work tomorrow. But another part of him knew that she needed him close by, only him, for whatever reason and he couldn't bear the thought of her waking up alone after all that she had gone through that day. She had already been abandoned by her father and her brother, he wasn't about to be yet another man who left her when she needed him most. Especially when she had been vulnerable enough to specifically ask him to stay.

I just want you.

Her words (and their implicit trust in him) had been touching, but they had also unleashed a fury of questions that he had not been expecting to deal with. The biggest one being: "Why me?"

Because he was her partner?

Because they were friends?

Because she may actually feel something for him?

He shook the thoughts out of his head. He moved to the other side of her bed. There was more than enough room and he laid down over the comforter. He figured resting his eyes wouldn't hurt but the second he closed them, her presence overwhelmed him. The scent of her on the sheets, the body heat radiating off of her skin, her light but steady breathing, it all mixed in the dark and invaded his senses. He couldn't resist turning onto his side and looking at her. It was such a rare opportunity, one that he was certain he would never get again. His gaze trailed down her profile in the dark: the slight curve of her nose, her strong chin that was so often shoved into the air when she spoke, the gentle roll of her pale shoulder sticking out from under the sheets.

She was his Bones.

Even if she felt lost, he would always know who she was. Beautiful, strong, stubborn, Bones. He closed his eyes again, safe in the knowledge that he could help her through this. He would never leave her alone.