6 hours left
Booth sat in the darkness, the metal of the wall against his back cooling him. The air in the room was getting thick and humid, making it hard to get a clean breath into his lungs. He'd taken his shirt off so all he wore was a white, tank undershirt and his jeans, but he could still feel a thin sheen of perspiration on his skin.
Everything the Gravedigger had left with them still sat in an unseen pile in the center of the room. There was nothing there that would be of any use, nothing that would help them help themselves.
He'd nodded off here and there, trying to occupy his mind in the total darkness during the wakeful times. He worried his poker chip in his hands absently as his mind wandered, all sense of time lost on him. He'd given up fantasizing hours ago about how he could have done things differently, how he could have saved them. He would do anything to protect her and somehow, they were still at the hands of a madman. Now all he wanted to think about was the woman sitting across the room from him and the rhythmic sounds of her breath in the silence of their tomb.
She cared about him. He'd seen it in her eyes, heard it in her words when she'd told him his death had left her broken and alone. He'd wanted to go to her, tell her how he felt the moment that she'd said it, but she'd shut down on him and he'd given her space.
He had to fight the urge to laugh at his own stupidity. Here they were, in a metal gun vault buried under God knows where and he was giving her space? The odds that they had only hours left to live, if that, were very good and he was sitting in the corner by himself with his lucky charm instead of telling her how he felt about her.
Thinking about it was causing a well of frustration to fill up in his belly and he had to look at her, had to see her face again, or it was going to drive him insane. Slowly he got to his hands and knees and crawled in the blackness to the center of the room, stopping when he could feel their scattered belongings. He fumbled around until he found the flashlight and the tape recorder. Taking the batteries out of each item, he began to mix and match the ones from the flashlight with the tape recorder's, hoping that it was only a couple of bad batteries in the flashlight and not all four.
On his third combination the flashlight clicked on, casting the room in warm amber light once more. He set the flashlight back on its end so it illuminated the whole room, then turned to look at the woman who haunted his every thought.
She had curled herself into a ball in the corner, her hand balled up into a light fist under her chin as she dozed. Her expression looked worried, even in sleep, and he felt a pang in his heart. She looked vulnerable and childlike and the morbid thought that this is what she would look like in death sprang unbidden to his mind, making him rip his eyes away from her back to the pile on the floor. He felt sick. She'd once told a victim's family that suffocation was like going to sleep. Had she been telling the truth?
Something caught his eye amidst all of their scattered things and a horrible thought sprang to his head. What if there was still something he could do for her, to protect her from the death that lay in wait for them both?
Reaching slowly out, he picked up his gun.
It felt cold and heavy in his hand as he looked down at it. Ever since becoming a man he had know the feel of a gun in his hand, known the feeling of snuffing out a life in the name of duty and honor and nobility. He'd killed because he'd had to, because he knew in his heart that the act of taking a life was a necessary evil sometimes in order to save a life.
He pulled the slide back, forcing the single round into the chamber.
Brennan opened her eyes at the sound, momentarily disoriented, and then saw what had awakened her. The sight of him looking so lost and so thoughtful all at once as he stared down into the FBI issue firearm in his hands paralyzed her. She watched as he turned the gun around in his hands, looking at it from all angles, before he aimed it straight up at him.
"Booth?"
She'd said it quietly, almost whispered it, but her voice startled him none-the-less and his eyes darted to her. "You're awake."
Slowly, so slowly, she lifted herself to a sitting position, her eyes never leaving the gun in his hands. "What are you doing?"
He looked away from her and back at the weapon he held in his lap, looked into the barrel that was now aimed perfectly up at the center of his forehead. He knew that if he pulled the trigger now it would deliver instant death. "We're running out of air."
His voice sounded far away, sending chills up her spine. Carefully, she crawled to the center of the room until she sat directly in front of him. He didn't look at her.
"The others are going to find us. They did it before and they'll do it again."
He shook his head. "We found you because all of us contributed a piece of the puzzle. Your team is down a man and we can't help from where we are." He looked up at her, his eyes filled with a sadness that broke her heart. "Temperance, there isn't enough time."
He sounded calm and resolute. Her breath started coming in quick gasps as fear gripped her. "Booth, give me the gun."
He looked back down at it, sitting silently for several moments. Brennan's heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she was sure he could hear it.
"I can't sit by and watch you die." He met her eyes. "Not when there's something I can do about it."
She shook her head, tears burning her eyes. If there had ever been a moment to lay it out on the line, it was now. She knew there was no such thing as pride and self-preservation when the man she loved had a gun pointed at his head.
She reached out her hand, a single tear running slowly down her cheek. "You say you can't watch me die? Well, watching you die will kill me. I don't want to survive in a world that you aren't in Seeley."
His eyes stared into hers and he let her take the gun carefully in her hand. She popped the slide back down and removed the clip, never looking away from the eyes that were telling her everything she had ever wanted to know, everything she had been afraid he didn't feel for her.
There were no barriers between them anymore and the love that shone in his eyes was so naked, so raw that she was suddenly humbled by its intensity and an understanding struck her in a way it never had before. "It isn't just about your job. You really would die for me."
He lifted his eyebrows, the corner of his mouth curling up into a soft smile. "You just got that?"
In a heartbeat she was up on her knees, grabbing for him, her tears streaming down her face. He came up on his knees to meet her, crushing her in his arms. She buried her face in his chest, grabbing his undershirt, holding onto him for dear life. "I love you Booth. I can't lose you again, I couldn't take it."
He squeezed his eyes shut at the feeling her words stirred in him. "God, you have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that."
He dipped his head, brushing soft, sweet kisses to her lips. They were warm against his and he couldn't repress the shudder that coursed through his body. He lifted his arms from where they had encircled her, taking her face in his hands, and angled his head so he could deepen the kiss.
She opened her mouth, giving him entrance to its sweetness and moaned low in her throat as his tongue slid sensuously against hers. Her eyes fell closed at the sensation. She'd kissed him under the mistletoe at Christmas time, but this kiss was real and it felt like the first one she'd ever had.
"I'm so in love with you Temperance. I don't care what happens, I can die knowing that you know." His voice was a soft whisper against her lips, making gooseflesh pop up on her arms. "Nothing else matters anymore."
She pulled back from him just enough to look into his eyes and he felt her take the bottom of his shirt in her hands. He let her pull it over his head, let her run her hands up and down his bare chest. She lowered her head to his nipple and his eyes rolled back.
The feeling of her hands on him was indescribable. He'd imagined her touching him so many times that he was sure the real thing wouldn't be able to live up to what he'd already seen in his mind. He had been so wrong.
Running his hands lazily down her back as she licked a wet trail back up his chest, along his neck and to his mouth he took her shirt in his hands and coaxed it up.
When it was off he gazed at what had been exposed, going hard as rock at the sight of her straining against her purple, cotton bra.
She reached behind her and undid the clasp, letting him pull the garment slowly down. His breathing was ragged and she could feel his heart beating wildly beneath her hands as she ran them over his chest again, closing her eyes with pleasure as his hands ran down from her shoulders and settled on her naked breasts.
"Booth…." His name was a whisper on her lips as she let her eyes fall closed, let wave after wave of sensation crash over her as his hands discovered her body. They were large and strong and rough, the hands of a man who had known hard work, a man who knew how to take care of a woman.
As if she needed someone to take care of her. Letting her hands fall to the waistband of his jeans, she undid his belt buckle and the top button, slowly pulling the zipper down as she leaned in to nuzzle his neck, pressing kisses to the curve where it met his shoulder.
He gathered her back into his arms while she pushed his pants and boxers down, taking the back of her head in his hand while he ran his other hand up and down her slender back. He pressed a kiss to her hair, drinking her in. "I've wanted you for so long Temperance. So long."
She pulled away, brushing a kiss to his lips, then going for the buttons on her own jeans. "Then I guess its time we both stopped wanting and took what was ours."
She pushed her jeans down along with her panties, revealing the slim sweep of her hips, the sexy line of her stomach and a soft thatch of curls that made him ache. He longed to bury himself inside her, consummate the love that he had for her in these last moments, to make himself complete.
He gathered her up, his erection pressing into her belly as he laid her back and pressed kisses all over her face. They kicked their pants off and then intertwined their legs, wanting to be as close as they possibly could be.
If these were the last hours they would have, they didn't want to rush them. They let their hands roam at will, pausing here and there when sounds of pleasure told them to dally in this place or that one. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, mixing tender touches of lips with kisses that were deep and all consuming.
Booth had never shared himself this way with any woman before and it was almost frightening how intense it felt. He'd always considered himself a good lover, a generous and thoughtful lover, but tonight he was giving her his heart, making love to her with his very soul.
He lifted his head to look down at her, the beam of the flashlight directed at the ceiling gently lighting her face. Her eyes were half lidded with desire and love as they gazed into his, her lips swollen and full from his kisses. He lifted his hand to her face, gently brushing the hair away and smiled softly down at her. "I love you so much."
She mirrored his action, running her hand gently down his cheek. "Is this really happening? Are you really telling me this?"
His smile broadened a bit, perfect understanding of how she felt in his heart because he felt the same way. "I should have told you a long time ago."
She kissed him tenderly, her hand continuing to stroke his perfect face. "You're telling me now and now is all that matters. There is no past or future, all we have is this moment." She gave him a tender smile, melting his heart. "And in this moment, I love you as much as I did the day I met you."
They gazed into the depths of each other's eyes, everything they never said passing between them now. He wanted to spill the contents of his heart, tell her about every time he'd wanted to tell her he loved her but hadn't been able to get up the nerve. Instead, he used his body to tell her as he pushed past her threshold to make them one.
They didn't speak as he set a slow rhythm, loving the way he felt inside her. She wrapped her legs around his and wrapped her arms around him. He felt so good, so perfect, like his body had been made just for her.
She tipped her head back as his thrusts deepened and he kissed her chin, her jaw, her ear. His breathing was labored, tickling her earlobe as he took it playfully in his teeth, making her dig her nails into his back slightly at the sensation.
He pushed himself up on his hands, his pace never faltering, as he lowered his head to her breast and took a nipple in his teeth as he had the tender flesh of her ear. She groaned in pleasure, feeling the pressure building more quickly inside her with each passing moment.
"You like this?" His voice was gruff and low, filled with passion and need.
"Oh yes.." She answered, her breath coming out in a sob.
He continued his delicious ministrations to her breasts, going from one nipple to the other, taking turns licking torturous circles around them and nipping them with his teeth. She rocked her hips with him, not realizing that she was speeding him up in the heat of her desire.
He lifted his head as he slid his body down until it lay in contact with hers, biting back a groan at the feel of the soft skin of her breasts against his chest. He supported himself with his forearms, his hands threading through her hair so he could hold her head, as he took her mouth with the sweet, soulful way that he was taking her body.
She could feel herself coming to a climax, could feel the pressure inside her getting ready to erupt into perfect bliss and she knew she wanted him to join her in that place where there was no death or pain, just love.
"I'm close Seeley. I want you to come with me."
He'd been holding himself back for her, waiting for her to topple over the edge before he followed. He looked into her eyes, his face inches from hers, and watched as her breathing became more ragged. He felt her clench around him and he let go, spilling himself inside of her as her eyes fluttered closed and she cried out a wordless sound of pleasure.
He dropped his head to her shoulder as he bucked within her, the feeling of the small undulations she was making with her hips drawing his climax out to impossible lengths.
When they'd finished riding the wave together, he lifted his head back up and they stared at each other, their uneven breaths the only sound in the room. He could feel her heart slamming against his chest, feel every inch of her pressed up against him.
He knew they were running out of air, knew that they were most likely going to die here, but if he had to die he could think of no other place that would be better than in this woman's arms.
Now all that was left was to face it together.