Okay so, nobody's updating, what I wanted to happen didn't happen in the epi (being vague for all you spoiler haters out there) and now I'm board so guess what that means??? UPDATE! Anybody seen the Angst train?

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Sleep is easier when you're not afraid to wake up.

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Booth lifted April's limp body and hugged her closer to his chest. She'd fallen asleep not even ten minutes into the Western movie they'd been watching and he decided to put her up in Parker's room for the night.

"Hey Bones, will you turn down the sheets on Parker's bed for me?"

Brennan nodded and went ahead of him to the last room on the right side of the hallway.

With April's small body cradled in his arms, he didn't see the toys Parker had left in the middle of the floor earlier that week and wasn't able to sidestep them the way he had been doing for the past couple of days.

The miniature bulldozer cut sharply into the bottom of his left foot and Booth stumbled forward, clutching April tighter as he tried to keep from falling. When he regained his balance he became aware of a soft whimpering escaping the girl in his arms.

Booth looked down, April's dark-angel face was contorted in pain while she slept and he realized he must have put pressure to some of her abundant bruises. Cursing himself silently, he made his way to Parker's room, this time more carefully.

Brennan stood aside and watched from the doorway as Booth carefully lay April in the bed. His large hands were so gentle and cautious of her injuries, she worried that if she even breathed too hard it would throw him off.

She felt her heart warm in places she didn't know were still reachable as Booth tenderly brushed the hair off April's forehead and placed a gentle kiss against it.

"G'night Bug." He whispered, turning out the light and following Brennan out of the room.

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Goodnight Seeley.

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Booth pulled the door shut and both of them let out a breath they weren't aware of holding.

"I think we…what?" Booth stopped when he saw tears brimming in Brennan's eyes.

She hesitated for a moment, glancing at the Parker's bedroom door.

She shook her head, stepped forward and slammed into Booth's chest, unable to keep the tears at bay and unwilling to feel them on her cheeks.

Booth was taken aback, but immediately wrapped his arms around her, attempting to sooth the inexplicable tears.

"Hey hey, what's wrong?" He stroked her hair with one hand and held her close with the other. "Shhh…April's going to be fine Bones. She'll be alright."

Nodding, Brennan pulled her head away from his now damp shirt.

"I know she will, because she has you." She smiled softly and Booth returned it.

"And you. Without you, she might still be in that bathroom and I would have no idea what happened to her."

"You would have figured it out Booth, I have no doubt of that." She dropped her eyes and Booth stooped to bring himself back into her line of vision.

"Maybe. But I…needed you tonight Bones. Thank you for being here. You were amazing."

Brennan felt the tears welling up again and she closed her eyes.

I don't deserve you...

Without another thought she leaned forward, tilting her head up and waited.

Booth watched Brennan shut her blue eyes behind her eyelids and smiled when she turned her face up toward him, one set of enticingly plump lips parted, beckoning.

Their lips met, and their hearts exploded, though not with passion. Passion could wait. This kiss, this meeting of the souls, was meant to convey a deep appreciation, a mutual dependence and vulnerability, the sharing of a strength neither possessed on their own.

"Thank you." She whispered against his lips. Booth smiled and kissed her again softly. He'd found quite often in the past that when words failed, actions spoke louder.

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I haven't slept this good in…wow. It feels like years. Maybe it has been years…

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"She feels responsible for what happened to Jessica." Booth sat on the couch with Brennan between his legs, both having given up on the idea of sleep since they'd have to wake up in less than three hours anyway. He twirled a lock of her hair and stared at a few candles on the coffee table. They flickered and danced in a nonexistent breeze while Brennan sipped a glass of wine.

"That's understandable Booth. Presumably she's spent the last year and a half, maybe more, being told that everything is her fault. That she is to blame for the pain and the beatings. It takes time to get over that. To stop believing." She finished quietly and let her mind wander for a moment, hopefully away from painful memories attempting to resurface.

"Why do you sound like you know what you're talking about?"

When she didn't answer right away Booth stopped twirling her hair and looked down where he could just barely see the tip of her nose over the crown of her auburn hair.

"Bones?"

Brennan sighed. "Because I do."

Booth frowned and gritted his teeth, but didn't get a chance to ask before Brennan continued.

"About a year and a half after my parents disappeared I was placed with a couple named the Warrens. Mr. Warren was a heavy drinker and he…" Booth heard the tears thicken her voice and reached down to lace his fingers with hers.

"He would beat us, my foster brothers and I, constantly. Sometimes we couldn't even go to school. Mrs. Warren would get it worse than us if she tried to stop him…so there was no one. There was no one." She took a deep breath, attempting to regain control of her heartbeat.

"Do you know where he is?" The hostility in his voice under no guise and Brennan sipped her wine to prevent smiling.

There's my protective alpha male.

"Yeah Booth. Six feet under." She could feel the puzzled look the top of her head was getting so she continued. "Mr. Warren was involved in a drunk driving accident after I'd been with them for about four months. He died and we were distributed back into the system."

Booth leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Why God? What did she do to deserve all of what's happened to her? Booth was sure asking this of God was showing a definite lack of faith, but he couldn't help it. His Bones had been hurt back then and he hadn't been there to save her. It wasn't fair.

Sensing his distress Brennan squeezed his hand and turned to lay her face against his chest and Booth let his fingers trace circles on her back.

"I'm fine now Booth. Now I have you, and better yet, April has you. That's more than I ever had in her position."

Booth smiled and smoothed the hair on top of her head before kissing it. "I try to always there for my girls when they need me."

A knock on the door woke both Booth and Brennan the next morning at 8am.

Quite comfortable in her place in Booth's arms, where they'd fallen asleep on the couch, Brennan chose to ignore the sound and snuggle deeper into Booth's chest.

While the agent was enjoying having Brennan near, probably more than he'd ever enjoyed anything before, he knew he had to get the door.

Nudging Bones, he attempted to move out from under her.

"Bones it's Parker."

Upon hearing that Brennan reluctantly sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Placing a quick kiss on her lips, he got up and went to the door to greet his son.

"Hey Parker!" Booth opened the door with more enthusiasm than he actually had.

Parker hugged his dad and pointed excitedly to the red plastic helmet on his head.

"I'm a fireman! I'm a fireman!" He chanted, searching the room for any sign of other firefighters and his father turned to bid farewell to Rebecca.

Shutting the door Booth joined Brennan and Parker in the living room.

"…and they get to rescue people from buildings that's um…on fire and they, and they get lots of water and they put out the fire!" Parker stood between Brennan and the coffee table talking a mile a minute about firefighters and what they do, as if Brennan had never even heard of the term. Of course, Brennan didn't really look that coherent, staring with forced concentration at the boy. Knowing his Bones wasn't much of a morning person, Booth headed to the kitchen to start some coffee brewing.

"Did you already eat breakfast bud?" Booth called from the kitchen. Little feet pounded the floor as Parker ran from the living room to the kitchen.

"What Dad?" He scooted up onto the barstool at the counter and Brennan slowly followed.

"I asked if you had breakfast already." The coffee maker gurgled in anticipation and Booth quickly rinsed the pot and replaced it under the spout.

"Yeah Mommy bought me some McDonalds and you know what else?"

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That kid is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen. Seeley's pictures , of which he has plenty, just don't do him justice.

Good lord…I could wallpaper a house with all the pictures Seeley's got of Parker.

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Booth shook his head and smiled when he felt Brennan's arms slide around his waist. Turning to face her hekissed her lips and smiled down at her. Looking at Brennan, but speaking to Parker, "No bud, what else?"

Parker didn't answer right away, instead Booth and Brennan were pushed apart as a small body worked it's way between them.

"Dad?"

"What is it Parker?"

"Who is that?" Parker turned, his finger pointed toward the opening where two dark green eyes were illuminated in the darkness of the hallway.

Booth smiled warmly.

"C'mon April, we don't bite."

April took a deep breath and looked at Brennan, who was smiling at her with the same encouraging expression Seeley wore. To tell the truth she'd just been enjoying watching the small family interact. She didn't care what anyone said, those people were a family.

"Hi Parker." April stepped forward, rubbing her left arm subconsciously. She tried to muster a sweet smile for the boy, who was now peering out from behind his father's legs. Upon being addressed by April, Parker pressed his face into Booth's left leg and she looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry." April turned to go, a little surprised at how easily it was to walk away.

She felt a tap on her uninjured shoulder and glanced back.

Brennan had Parker perched on her left hip. The boy looked at her from where his head was bowed on Brennan's shoulder.

"Parker," She said in a gentle, almost motherly tone, "this is my friend April. Can you say 'hi'?"

Parker turned his head away and shook it from side to side. Brennan frowned and looked at April, who stared blankly back at her.

"Say something." Brennan whispered urgently.

"Like what?" April whispered back, ignoring Booth who was trying not to crack up as he fixed two cups of coffee.

"Anything."

"I can't." April looked pained and gestured to Parker, "I'm horrible with kids."

Brennan raised an eyebrow and turned to address the boy again.

"Parker, did you know your daddy has known April since she was a baby even smaller than you?"

Parker's head snapped up and Brennan let him slide off her hip as Booth handed her a cup of coffee made just the way she liked it.

"Is that true Dad?" He asked with wide eyes.

Booth grinned over the rim of his mug. "Mmm-hmm. I've known April since she was born."

Parker turned to scrutinize the girl for a moment, then apparently deciding there was nothing hostile about her, he grabbed her hand and drug her back down the hall.

"Come see my room! I got a fire truck."

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A fire truck? What's so great about that?

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April hurried after Parker with an apprehensive look on her face. Throwing one last glance over her shoulder to the adults at the end of the hall, she raised her eyebrows.

"I'll take some coffee too please Uncle Seeley." April grinned, knowing what was coming next as she disappeared inside Parker's room.

"Dream on kiddo. You and the squirt are getting OJ and you're gonna like it."

Rolling her eyes April mumbled a response before allowing Parker to pull her back into the childish innocence she'd so long ago forgotten.

"Wow! I haven't seen this many Legos since the last time I was in New York at that toy store."

"Uh-huh. Daddy buys 'em for me. He used to live in New York, didja know that? What do ya wanna build?"

"Can we build a castle?"

"Sure! You can be the princess and I can be the knight in shinin' Armor and I'll rescue you from the bad guy …"

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Cute kid. I wish he could stay like this forever. All legos and fire trucks and princesses. I wish it could always be this way. Yeah, I know it's silly and stupid but...I don't know. I guess I figure if I wish hard enough and long enough, one day it won't sound so crazy.

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Hmmm...I guess the angst train got delayed. It should be coming around the bend any moment...