Yay! Finally I'm back! I so missed writing this story. Stupid school is nasty, taking me away from my Bones fanfic.

Anyway, new chapter, that I am rather proud of, since there is quite a bit of introspection and fluff. :) Hope you enjoy it, but don't forget to review and let me know what you think.

Chains

Brennan awoke to find someone pressing their lips gently against hers. She smiled, kissed back.

"Morning, Bones."

"Morning, Booth."

She opened her eyes to meet the gaze of her partner. She laughed at the expression in his eyes. "It's only - " she lifted her head to look at the alarm clock beside her bed, " – 7:00, Booth."

"Doesn't matter what the time is, Bones."

She laughed as he pounced on her, pinning her arms to the bed. As he proceeded to kiss her senseless, she surrendered to him, and stopped thinking.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

An hour later, she sighed happily.

If someone had told her a few months ago that she would be in a relationship this intense, she would have laughed. Temperance Brennan, Queen of 'The Fling.' If you had told any of her previous boyfriends the same thing, they would have laughed too.

Many a relationship had ended with a broken heart. Not hers. She didn't put herself in that position. She refused to get hurt. She refused to put herself at risk of being abandoned, of being vulnerable.

And yet here she was, in Booth's bed on a Saturday morning. Allowing Booth to make her breakfast. Allowing Booth into her heart.

All at once, it struck her. She was in high danger of being hurt. Booth would never mean to hurt her, but neither had her parents and Russ.

She had loved them as much as she now loved Booth. And they had broken her heart. The logical side of her mind told her that it was likely for the same thing to happen again. She always got left behind.

With a flash of clarity, she realised she was trapped. And with every kiss she shared with Booth, the chains wrapped a little tighter.

Sure, she pretended that she could always escape from their relationship, and she probably could. But it would hurt her more than anything else ever had. It would hurt Booth. Unless she got out now, distanced herself from him. It was better to slow things down now, than to shatter his world later, when they were much deeper.

Eyes filling with tears, she threw back the sheets and hurried out of the bed. Haphazardly pulling her clothes on, the tears broke free and flowed down her cheeks.

Booth stopped dead as he entered the room. "Bones? What's the matter?" He set the breakfast tray down on the bed and rushed to her side. "Bones? Tell me what's wrong."

Brennan let out a choking sob. "I – I can't do this, Booth."

"Can't do what, Sweetheart?"

At his words, she collapsed into fresh sobs. "Us."

Booth's heart sank. "Come sit down and we'll talk about this." He guided her gently to the bed, sat down beside her. "Now, why can't we do this?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm crazy, Booth. My conclusion is perfectly logical."

"What is it? Your conclusion, I mean?"

"I can't stay here. We can't be going this fast. It's just going to hurt more when - " her voice broke and she couldn't finish the sentence.

"When what? When we break up, you mean?"

She nodded wordlessly.

"Are you planning to break up with me?"

She shook her head.

"Well, I'm definitely not breaking up with you, Bones. So who's going to break us up?"

"You'll leave. They always do." Another tear coursed down her cheek. "And the longer I stay here, the more it will hurt. I can't get hurt again, Booth."

"Hey, hey, hey," he said softly, putting his arm around her shoulders. "I'm not going to hurt you, Bones. I love you."

"I love you too, but that's never made a difference in the past…"

"Bones, your parents left because they had to. I do not have to, and I never will. I need you to survive. If I left, I'd take you with me."

"But I'm scared, Booth. I – I've never felt like this."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm stuck here. Like I can't leave. Not without a lot of pain, anyway."

"Bones, that's what love is. It's not a bad thing to be in love."

"But I'm chained to you."

"I want you to be chained to me, Bones. I want to be chained to you."

"Really?" She lifted her eyes to meet his.

He nodded. "I'm as much at your mercy as you are mine. We can be scared together."

She smiled slightly. "I'd like that. To not be alone."

He laughed. "Believe me, Bones, you're not gonna be alone for a long time."

"Okay."

Her simple acceptance stunned him. "What happened to hating being chained?"

"I didn't hate being chained. I hated being left alone again. The chains being cut and me being vulnerable."

"Well, I'll confiscate all chain-cutters I come across, I swear." He stroked her chin with his thumb. "No one can tear us apart, Bones. You're stuck with me, I'm afraid."

She smiled, a genuine grin that made Booth's heart soar and filled his stomach with butterflies. He leant down to kiss her softly on the lips.

She smiled into his lips, her fate sealed. There was no escaping now. And it didn't feel so horrible any more.

TBC

Please tell me what you think. I'm rather insecure about this chapter. Give me feedback, pretty please? - Jess