Disclaimer: -screams to the world- I DON'T OWN BONES!!! Phew. Good to get that off my chest…

AN: Ok, so this name idea has been bouncing around in my head for a few months. I thought of it before I had heard of this website so I stored it in my special Bones file in my mind, and it's just now resurfacing. Anyway, here it is.

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Title: Names

Booth entered the lab and looked around. "BONES?" he shouted into the air. It was 10 o'clock at night, so he was pretty sure she was still here, Brennan being herself and all.

Angela was sitting up on the platform, sketching. "She's in her office, Booth." She answered, not even looking up from her drawing.

He nodded and entered Brennan's office. As he was about to call out her name again, he saw her lying on the couch, her chest rising and falling rhythmically.

Booth couldn't help but smile. He was so transfixed by his partner that he didn't even realize that Angela came over to stand next to him.

"You love her, don't you?" she whispered, startling him.

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

Angela rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that, Booth. I know you love her, and she loves you."

"Do you really…? Wait. Angela, stop it. We're partners, ok? That all. Just…partners." He answered, sighing.

She eyed him. "But there's something about her, isn't there?"

"I just…" he sighed again. "When I'm with her, it's like…she brings me peace. I mean, that's her name, right? Temperance…it means peace. And her real name…Joy. She brings me joy, too. It's just that…gosh, I don't know, Ange, I'm still trying to figure it out."

Angela laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You better act up before you lose her. You almost did with Sully. Be careful, ok?" And with that she walked away.

Booth was left alone in the doorway, staring at Brennan's sleeping form. As quietly as he could, he walked over to the couch and sat down next to her.

He laid his hand on hers and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth. After a couple minutes, she woke and looked up at him.

"Booth?" she muttered sleepily, sitting up.

"Hey. How you doing?" he asked her softly.

Brennan rubbed her eyes. "Tired…"

"You should be at home, you know."

She looked down at the floor. "I…I can't. I have lots of work to do, and I need to get it done…"

"Well you sure are accomplishing a lot, aren't you?" Booth teased.

Laughing, she looked up at him, and caught a glimpse of a small twinkle in his eyes. "Why are you here, Booth?"

"I just came to make sure you were ok after what just happened."

The case that they had just worked on was that of a woman who had been stabbed by a mob boss Brennan had dealt with a couple years before. After killing the woman, the boss had dumped her body in front of Brennan's apartment building with a note attached:

Dr. Brennan: Better watch your back. I'm coming for you.

Booth, of course, went into high-stage protective mode over his partner, and stayed with her every waking moment, even as two more victims were found with the same note attached, but set in front of the diner and the Jeffersonian.

They had caught the man in her apartment the night before as he was setting up a bomb. Booth had immediately arrested him and called the bomb squad, who deactivated the bomb and searched the apartment for any other explosives.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Brennan answered, faking a smile. But the truth was, she was scared. Scared of the fact that the squad could have missed something, and that she would die in her sleep.

Booth, of course, could see right through her smile, and cupped her cheek with his hand.

"It's ok, Temperance. You don't have to mask your feelings with me."

At the sound of her first name coming from his lips, she felt safe. All she wanted was his strong arms to wrap around her in a loving embrace. To feel the warmth from his body. To know that everything was going to be just fine.

All of those were accomplished as he pulled her close to him and hugged her. She returned the hug and let her head rest on his shoulder. Booth kissed the top of her head and rested his chin on her hair.

"As long as you're with me, I won't let anything happen to you." He assured her, holding her tighter.

Slowly, she relaxed, and he soon realized that her breathing had once again become slow and rhythmic. He smiled, and lay down, still holding her in an embrace. It wasn't long until he, too, fell asleep.

Angela entered Brennan's office to check on her friend and found her and Booth curled up on the couch together, sound asleep. A soft smile formed on her lips as she lingered in the doorway. When she was leaving the lab, she thought she heard some small kissing sounds coming from the office…

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I really hate the ending. It sucks. But, it's very late at night, so my brain has automatically turned off. I'll probably change it later after I upload it. Also, it's kind of like I merged two different stories by adding that mob boss aspect. Once again, I'll probably change it later. If you have any suggestions, please message me. I'd really appreciate it!

Reviews Ice Cream + Happy Songbird