Authors Note – T rating for this chapter.

The song is another Dido one, Take My Hand.

Thanks to Moonlight Gardenias who helped avoid a nasty continuity error. and everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter.

Disclaimer – Not mine.

Enjoy

Arriving at her front door, she noticed that it was ajar.

There was somebody inside her apartment. What she would give for a gun right now.

She would have to make do with the umbrella she left just inside the door. Slowly, Temperance crept forwards pushing the door just enough for her slender frame to slide into the apartment. Her hand grazed across the wall, silently searching for the makeshift weapon. The room was dark save the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. She could barely make out the figure sat on the sofa but she knew who it was straight away. Gently she closed the door, the latch catching fully now.

"Booth?"

"No," he growled.

Temperance realized her mistake as soon as his name slipped from her lips. Walking over to him she mentally chastised herself for making such a foolish error.

"I missed you at lunch."

No reply. As she moved closer she could see he had his head buried in his hands. Something was very wrong. The room was still dark. Temperance was suddenly scared to turn the light on.

"I saved you some pie. Like I said I would. It's cherry. I brought it home with me." she spoke nervously.

Home. This was home. A sanctuary.

She reached across to touch his shoulder. He jumped up away from her reach and paced across the room.

"So... cherry pie huh? Sounds great. You want a drink? Something to eat?" He bounded across to the refrigerator, the nervous energy bouncing off him in waves.

Touch my skin and tell me what you're thinking

She stood, confused, her head tipped at an angle as she contemplated his behavior. "Can I turn on the light?" She moved towards the switch. He was quick. As she reached out her hand was met by his. His skin felt cold and clammy against the warmth of her.

"Would you mind if we left it off? I have a bit of a headache. Besides it's better for the environment. You're always harking on about being more energy efficient." He clasped his hand around hers and led her back over to the couch. "Sit down. You've been on your feet all day. Been busy?"

"Please, just tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong. You want a foot rub?" He pulled her shoes off and lifted her legs across his lap. Sat at this angle he had ensured she wouldn't be able to reach out to him again. Booth proceeded to massage her feet.

"Wow. That feels so nice." It did. But so had every other time he'd touched her-be it accidentally or purposely.

Or accidentally on purpose. She smiled to herself, comforted by the thought.

"That's the idea."

"Tell me about your day." she asked again.

"Shh," he whispered. "Just relax. We can talk later."

She lay back comfortably, basking in his touch. Something important had happened today but she wouldn't push. She was certain his reasons for holding back were valid. He would explain later.

His hands began to move up her calves, manipulating the aching flesh. The sensation was decidedly un-relaxing to Temperance, only serving to increase the desire for him that was pooling inside her. Her heart rate began to increase and a flush spread across her chest, masked by the darkness that filled the room around them.

"Make love to me," she whimpered, though labored breath.

"What?"

Temperance didn't understand his confusion. After last night she had expected they would join together as often as the opportunity would present itself. "But I thought..."

"Sometimes a massage is just a massage." He paused. "Actually I was going to sleep back at my place tonight. I have to be up pretty early the morning."

Was he playing games with her? She knew she should be able to change his mind. Feigning offense she pulled her legs away and sat upright. "Oh! Are you sure? I expect it will be cold at your place."

"I...I just..."

In a flash her lips were on his, giving her all to persuade him to stay. He instinctively matched the pace and brought his hand up to caress her hair.

Without warning she recoiled in horror.

"Why..." Her voice tightened. "Why do I taste blood?"

He heaved a sigh. " I maybe didn't have too great a day"

She flew over to the wall and flicked the light on. He looked up at her with sad eyes, pleading her not to make this any harder.

Seeing him sat there, bloody and beaten and vulnerable, Temperance wanted to cry for him, for his suffering. She walked over and held out her hands to him. Following her lead he took her hands in his own as she guided him through to the bedroom.

Take my hand and show me where we're going

He sat on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped, gaze fixed on the carpet. He heard her run the water from the bathroom into a bowl. Setting it down at his feet she knelt before him and began to unbutton the shirt, slowly peeling it away from the tender flesh. She examined his body thoroughly, running her fingers lightly across his injuries. Confirmation in her own mind of his pain.

"You have broken your ribs here, and here. Judging by the swelling its probable that you have chipped bones here on your clavicle, and your radius, but you will need x-rays to confirm that."

"No hospitals, Bones."

Temperance snapped at him in frustration. "I thought we needed to be conscious about how we address each other so our cover isn't compromised." She immediately regretted her harsh tone and considered the extent of his injuries. "Is our cover compromised, Booth?"

Shaking his head Booth laughed weakly, causing him to flinch in pain. "Look who's talking. That's the second time you've called me Booth since you came home."

There's that word again she thought. Home. Exactly what is home? Another question to add to my list. She took some cotton wool and dipped it in the warm water, to clean his wounds. Slowly she worked her way down his body.

"Do you want me to run you a bath?"

He shook his head. "Maybe in the morning. I just want to lie down here for now."

"Have you taken anything for the pain? There must be a lot of pain."

He nodded. "An hour ago."

"Stand up." she instructed, unfastening his jeans and sliding them down his legs. "OK, sit back down." She pulled them over his ankles before folding them up and placing them on a chair.

"Your legs are badly bruised but I can't see any evidence of internal injuries. How are your feet?"

"They're fine. They didn't touch them."

"What happened, Booth?"

He looked away from her gaze. He wasn't ready to tell her yet.

Lie down next to me, look into my eyes

and tell me, oh tell me what you're seeing

He shifted himself up and lay down on his back. Temperance pulled the covers over him and lent down, kissing him tenderly on the forehead. He felt the dampness as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye and ran down her cheek.

"You should sleep. I'll take the couch so I don't disturb you."

"Don't leave." he pleaded. "I'd rather you stayed here, next to me."

Temperance smiled sadly. "Just give me two minutes" She pulled a pair of pajamas from her drawer and disappeared into the bathroom. As good as her word she reappeared after a few minutes and climbed into bed next to him.

"Tell me when you need more painkillers, won't you?"

"I love you so much but... I really don't deserve you."

See my eyes, they carry your reflection

"You're being ridiculous. That indicates you probably have concussion." She leaned in towards him and stroked his face, turning it to face her. "Will you tell me how this happened?"

He took a deep breath, composing his thoughts.

"It would appear that this is Jase's idea of a test. I need to prove myself. Usually when you infiltrate any kind of gang you spend time your spend time building up their confidence in you. I'm guessing something big is going to go down soon and they need me involved."

Booth said nothing more, just stared up at the ceiling.

"That still doesn't explain two broken ribs." She reached out gingerly to touch his sternum. Her broken Booth. How she desperately wanted to fix him.

"I've explained why this happened. The rest isn't important. Just let it go."

"I can't just let this go." His evasiveness was frustrating to her, and it showed in her voice.

Angry, more at himself for his cowardice at not being able to be honest, he sneered "What do you want? A blow by blow account of how I sustained every single mark?"

"I'm a big girl, you don't need to protect me. I can handle whatever it is. Don't melt me out!"

"Freeze, Bones! Freeze you out. And I'm not." His tone had softened.

"You are too." she pouted.

"Big girl? You sound like a child." He paused. "You sound like Parker."

"Well you're never honest with him either," she huffed. He could almost hear her thinking. "To... protect him. Ha! You are treating me like a child. The evidence is irrefutable."

He smiled at the self satisfaction in her voice. "You're beautiful when your mad."

She rolled her eyes. "You drive me insane." she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air, causing the bed to jerk.

"In a good way though, right?" Booth raised his eyebrows and flashed her his trademark charm smile, before wincing in pain at the motion of the mattress.

The obvious pain did not go unnoticed by Temperance, and guilt washed over her. "Sorry," she whispered and wrapped her hand in his.

Watch my lips and hear the words I'm telling you

Both lay flat on their back, still, silent, and contemplating. Booth turned his head on the pillow to face her. Feeling his eyes bear into her, she twisted to face him. "Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" he quizzed.

"Stupid question." Her tone was nonchalant. "You... us... this... here... I don't really know anymore."

Give your trust to me and look into my heart

and show me, show me what you're doing

"Do you regret coming here?"

"What? No!" She was visibly upset by his suggestion. "If anything I'm glad I am. The state you're in right now. What if you were alone?"

"Thats irrelevant."

"No. It isn't!"

"Sure it is. You're stating a hypothetical situation. The fact of the matter is that you are here."

Dumbstruck, Temperance pondered his argument, silently conceding defeat. "You definitely have concussion," she sighed. "It's not in your nature to think rationally."

So sit on top of the world and tell me how you're feeling
what you feel is what I feel for you
Take my hand and if I'm lying to you
I'll always be alone if I'm lying to you

He smiled smugly at her, knowing full well he had won this time. "I've been injured worse than this before. We could probably still manage to – you know."

"And risk puncturing one of your lungs! I really don't think so." She smiled back, hiding her disappointment. "You're just going to have to wait until you've healed."

Walking home, she had reached a decision. After deliberating all day Temperance had finally concluded that, while her conscious mind couldn't tell him that she loved him, if her lips wanted to throw those words out when they made love she would not hold back next time. Despite her reservations about the validity of declarations made while in an enhanced state it was the only way for her head to get past this.

And now it was likely that they wouldn't make love again for weeks.

"You should sleep," she commanded.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Night, love you."

Damn. She needed to respond.

"I...I feel the same." she blurted out, little more than a whisper. When he didn't respond she wondered if she had even managed the whisper. "Booth?"

"I know." He squeezed her hand. His lips curled into a smile.

Take your time, if I'm lying to you
I know you'll find that you believe me
you believe me

"No. You don't. How could you possibly..."

"Know that you can't say something that you don't believe in? I do know, because it's you. And you should know that I don't expect you to say it back. I don't want you to lie to me Temperance because you think it's what I want to hear. Because you think..."

"Go on." she begged.

"Because you think it will make me happy. I'm already happy. I'm here, lying next to you. It's never about what we say. It's what we do that matters."

She smiled at him, losing herself in his dark eyes. "You're right."

Take your time

Small steps, he thought to himself. Small steps. After all;

Everything happens eventually.

Authors Note – I know this doesn't answer all the questions posed in the last chapter but i have to give you reason to keep reading - right? Reviews are welcomed as much as brand new episodes.