So... as you all know, I had planned to have this up by Christmas. That... didn't happen. I'm so sorry for the lateness, really! I had some... fiascos with the text editor here on the site (i.e. timing out or accidentally hitting the shortcut keys for going back a page) that caused me to lose all of my work, several times. Then, after lots more writing, I rewrote & rewrote things until I had three different versions of the chapter & no idea which to use. When I finally settled on one, I finally got going with it, but NOW I've got a crick in my neck that's been bothering me for a few days and makes it hard to write the way I usually like to. So now, on the third day of not writing anything because of this darn crick, I've decided to give you guys what I do have written. I had originally intended to take it a little further, but I think it works to stop it where I have. It's still quite a bit longer than last chapter, don't worry! I hope you can all forgive me for the delay in posting. Here we go!

Sorry, one more note: to all who read, put on alert, favorited, and/or reviewed, THANK YOU!

She took a step back, her eyes unbelieving. She couldn't let herself be sure of what he was saying, and she said what she always said when he left her confused and lost: "I don't know what that means."

He didn't buy it for a second. "You know exactly what it means, Bones! Were you or were you not out there doing the same damn thing that got our victim killed?"

He saw the confusion cloud her eyes, and tried to explain his meaning. "Bones, Lauren is dead. Can't you see how it scares me, why it scares me, when you say that you're her? It terrifies me, Bones, that you might be doing the things that got her killed, because if you keep going, you're going to... you're going to meet the same fate. I- I really don't want that, Bones."

She turned her eyes from him, but not before he caught recognition in them. She knew what he was talking about, he knew she did. She wasn't as oblivious as she would like him to think.

"I realize now that I'm not her, Booth. That there are differences between us. I- don't worry about me, Booth. I'm not her. She's not me. I- I see that now," she said. Her voice was sure, assuring him that she really meant it, but her eyes were glossy and pain-filled. "My world turned upside down for three days, but it's over. I'm okay now. I made a mistake, and now I have to live with it. But I'm okay."

He took a step back as if trying to step away from the range of intense feelings flying between them. Running a hand over his face, he sighed in relief. Maybe she was right. Maybe they were okay now.

She seemed to misread his actions as a look of guilt passed over her face. "Booth, I'm sorry, you shouldn't be out here with me at this hour. I- I'm taking you away from Hannah. You should get back to her. Don't worry about me, I'll grab a cab."

He almost laughed at her sudden attempt to get herself out of his hair. "God, Bones, a cab, out here? Just get in the car, Hannah can wait twenty more minutes."

"I- Okay."

-B&B-

They rode in silence for a good part of the trip. The run-down buildings and dark alleyways of the Woodlands gave way to the empty but glowing streets of central DC, and he said something that had been running through his mind. "Bones, why didn't you just ask me?"

"Ask you what?"

"To go out there! You could have called me. I would have taken you out there, we could have investigated together. Why didn't you?"

"Booth, it's late, and it's raining. You would much rather be at home than out in the slums in some attempt to keep me safe from whatever danger might befall me." She didn't acknowledge that, in the end, that was exactly what he'd done, just without her call.

"That's- Bones, that's ridiculous! Just because it's late and wet out doesn't mean I won't come when you ask me to! You know by now that I'd do anything to keep you safe!"

"That's completely illogical, Booth! You can't just come running at my every beck and call anymore, you've got other, more important things to attend to!"

He scoffed. "Like what?"

"Like Hannah! You can't expect to maintain a relationship as serious as yours if you're constantly running off to protect another woman, such as myself!"

Her choice of words wasn't lost on him. He looked away. He couldn't believe she'd said that. His tone was scolding, the one he used when she crossed the wrong line. "Bones... You can't say stuff like that, okay? You just... you can't."

"I was only stating the truth, Booth. Your responsibilities to Hannah make coming to my rescue every time I run into a situation that might turn dangerous rather impractical, and I won't be the cause of any strain on your relationship. I was perfectly capable of caring for myself before you came into my life, and I'm just as capable now! Just because you have a hero complex and I'm a woman doesn't mean you always have to save me!"

He almost slammed on the brakes at that. "Yes, Bones, I DO! Okay? I do have to. Saving you when you need it is not optional, it's not like deciding if I'm going to wear a tie today, it's essential, it's paramount. Because when I don't, and the next Epps or the next Gravedigger gets to you for the final time because I was too busy being in a relationship, I- it would kill me, Bones. Okay? It would kill me."

She looked away from the intensity of his gaze and his words. Facing the window, she said quietly: "No one's going to get me, Booth. With or without your shielding."

Frustrated, he watched the road and spoke through his teeth. "If you say so."

-B&B-

He dropped her off at her apartment, and headed for his own. Hannah would be waiting, and he would have to explain where he'd been. And why he was soaking wet.

He sat in the car for awhile. He didn't want to face her questions just yet. He wasn't ready to.

Brennan's words kept haunting him, the meaning behind them tearing at his chest.

She thought that because he had Hannah now, she wasn't worth his protection anymore. That now that he had someone else to give his affections to, she wasn't needed anymore. What really tore at him was that she was okay with it. She should hate him. Hit him, yell at him, call him names. But she just sat there, logically providing him with a perfectly excusable reason for leaving her as everyone before him had.

He was afraid that she'd gone back to the place she'd gone when her parents had disappeared - thrown into a ruthless world where if she didn't care for herself then no one would. Where if she disappeared overnight there would be no one to come after her, no one to feel their world fall off of its axis without her in it and search every corner of the world until she was found and the axis righted. Had he done that to her? Had he become the latest in the line of people to show her that nothing ever lasted and she was always on her own?

He vowed that he would fix things. He would show her that she was still important and still worth saving, and that he was still there and still her partner. There, that was all he had to do. Everything wasn't lost. Everything would be just fine.

And so he went in to Hannah with a smile on his face, not knowing what awaited them in the days to come.

I hope it lives up to expectations. Leave a review letting me know either way, it's much appreciated! If you think you know what's coming, feel free to speculate ;). And this time, I am making NO promises on updates... all I can say is that I'll do my best and that this is by no means on any sort of hold and I'm actively working on it. Thanks for reading!
~Jess