In her sleep, Booth could hear Temperance calling his name as if she could see him in trouble. Instead of exiting the room, Booth grabbed the chair next to her bed. He did not want her to wake up and hurt herself. Ten minutes after he heard her words, Bones sat up in a sweat and visibly frightened by something that seemed very real.
"Shh, I am okay and you are too. Go back to sleep. I will be sitting her all night if that is what you want me to do." Booth whispered in his efforts to calm her back to sleep. Her icy blue eyes slowly shut again until she was fast asleep.
She slept fitfully the rest of the night. It pained him to see her dream of such painful things.
"Booth, Booth, Please don't leave. He's right behind you. No Booth, don't die on me. How am I supposed to keep living if you aren't around to protect me? No, please no." Temperance said in her sleep.
Booth opened one eye when he heard that. He had always heard that the deepest confessions come in your sleep. In her sleep she continued to mumble. While standing his vigilant watch, he noticed her crying in her sleep. Quietly h remained by the bed.
"Booth, don't die on me Booth. I love you too much to lose you now." She sobbed audibly.
In one quick motion, she acted like she was picking up a gun. She pointed her fingers at the wall like she was pointing a gun.
"You won't be killing anyone else you murderous SOB. I am going to make sure of that right now. You killed the one man who loved me more than I deserved to be loved. Enjoy hell." She seemed say forcefully in her sleep.
Booth was in shock after hearing her confession. The nightmare had forced words out of her mouth that she could never say while she was awake. The inner celebration was broken by a blood curdling she let out before she woke up in a cold sweat. Booth got up from the chair and sat on the bed next to her.
"Bones, May I?" he asked as held his arms out wide.
Bones fell into his arms so comforting and warm. She seemed to calm down so much that she fell asleep in his arms. As much as he wanted to continue holding her, he let go and found his place back in the couch.
"Temperance Brennan, I would give my life to keep you safe. I love you still." He whispered before he got up to return to the couch.
Bones surprised him when she seemed to reply back.
"Booth, please don't go. I love you too. I don't know why sometimes but I just know. I know that you would give your life for me. You have already damn near done that three years ago. Thank you for being here by the way. I know that I can act like I am tough, but you know when I am afraid. I would actually feel better if you stayed right where you were sitting two minutes ago. We will talk about this later of course. For now, I just need you next to me." she said drowsily.
Like a little girl seeking comfort during a bad storm, she curled up in his arms. She allowed him the one thing that he had wanted to do for some time. Once she was peacefully asleep, he dozed off with her in his arms. The alarm woke them up about 6. Bones woke up startled at first but smiled once she was awake. She wasn't sure if she dreamed her words from the early morning hours. Her voice had confessed to loving him and also asking him to hold her on the bed. It was very clear that she had not dreamed it at all. She woke him with a kiss on the cheek to thank him for being there when he was needed.
"Your welcome and good morning." Booth said in acknowledgement.
"I am so sorry for keeping you awake most of the night. It was such an intense and very real nightmare. All that I can remember about it is that the person I shot had Heather Taffet's facial structure at first. The attacker seemed to morph into Heather Taffet as he bled to death. I am not quite sure but I think the King of Spades killed you. I picked up your service weapon and killed him myself." She said as she enjoyed the warmth of his body against her.
"You have no need to apologize. I enjoyed just holding you like this. I was more than happy to do that. Like I said early this morning, I would never let anything happen to you. I love you more than I love my own life. If I had to die to protect you, then I would do it without a moment's thought. I won't let this psycho hurt you. You already know to what lengths I go to for the people I love most."He replied reassuringly.
Somehow the tender moment seemed to extend itself when she looked into his eyes. The magnetism was there so strong that they could not resist the pull. Their lips touched gently at first then more passionately. The moment was broken when Booth's cell phone rang.
"Saved by the ring once again. If it had not rang, you and I would have never made it back to work today. But I am sure I can rain check it though." He said with a seductive smile on his face.
"This is Cam. The King of Spades left a note on the door step this morning. Same demand as before but this time he left a scarier reminder of what is at stake. You two need to get back in pronto." Cam said over the phone urgently.
"On our way." Booth answered in autopilot.
"Booth, I wanted to say something before we left here. I am afraid that I won't be able to say it later. I can't explain it. I love you and you need to know that. Love is not logic and I can't understand it entirely. This whole evening will be our little secret. I don't want to lose working with you. I have heard that love is the greater concern is not for one's self but the other person." Bones said feeling the courage so strongly at that moment.
"I love you too, Temperance Brennan. You have had my heart for a long time and I give you my word. I will protect you." Booth replied to her admission with conviction.
"I will be out in a second okay. Then we can get to the Jeffersonian." She said switching back to a professional tone.
Booth stole one more kiss before stepping out of the door for work. As soon as the world was before them, it was all professional. If the FBI ever knew anything about a dating relationship, they would never work together again. In the parking garage, he wanted to hold her hand and hold her one last time, but it was not the time or place.
"Seeley, here is the note that was left behind and the photo that was left behind. Sweets is still very alive in that photo, but I am not so sure he will be alive at the end of the next 24 hours. We have to figure out a way to get Sweets back without Heather Taffet being released into society." Cam whispered as she handed over the evidence.
"Hold on a second Cam, this photo has a clue as to who the King of Spades is. I think I can see his identity in the glass behind Sweets." Booth said pointing at a reflection.
"Take this to Angela to see if she can sharpen the image. If I can see who this psycho is, then I can get a name. Once I find a name, I can track him down." Booth ordered.
Back in Angela's office, Bones and Angela were looking at the picture closely. Angela finally had hit the right magnification to see who that could be. The look on her face was one of shock and concern. The face that stared back at her was the face of the woman that was supposed to be in jail for the little boy's murder. The body was definitely male. The build was muscular, the body very stout and solid, and the eyes were icy blue. The face that Bones had worried Angela.
"Sweetie, you look as if you have seen your worst nightmare come true." Angela said sounding concerned for her best friend.
"That would be very accurate. I saw this man in my nightmare last night before Booth came in to check on me. Only I shot him in my dream. After I shot him, he turned into Heather." Bones answered visibly shaken by the memory of the dream.
"Hold on a second. Booth stayed with you last night?" Ange asked very curious.
"When Booth says he is going to do something, he is very reliable. He told me yesterday that he was not going have completely alone until we catch this killer. He is very good to his word." Bones answered as professionally as possible.
"Did anything happen outside of Booth sitting by your bed?" Ange asked digging for juicier details in the most obvious way.
"Did we have sex? No we did not. He was a perfect gentleman who did not leave me unguarded." Bones answered trying to hide the slight lie.
Technically it almost happened, Bones thought to herself. Being that is was a secret; she kept that little detail to herself. She could have told Ange about how he simply held her until she was asleep or that she admitted to him what had taken forever to admit to herself. It was their little secret to keep. Angela only looked at her with an expression that told her that her best friend was withholding information.
"If you can do the drawing for me, I can take it to Booth to see if there is anyone that looks like the King of Spades in the FBI database. There might be some leads there. I have never believed in psychic abilities, but if the man I saw in my dreams is him will most likely change my mind." She said trying desperately to change the subject before Angela could read too much into it.
Five minutes later, the man in her nightmares was staring her in the face. The eyes were icy, cold blue and the face was so close to Heather's that she could have sworn it was her. A terrifying thought crossed her mind, could Heather Taffet actually have a twin that no one ever thought about. The thought terrified her….