D is for Dreams

Jazlover37 and Jenniedvm both suggested 'dreams', thank you!

Some other 'D' words: Discombobulate, Drugs, Dumb, Delight, Draw, Done, Door, Double, Dung, Dunce, Dork, Dab, Drink, Drag, Dead, Dream, Dark, Dance, Draw, Dry, Drain, Devotion, Drama, Drought, Doubt, Delusion, Danger, Duh, Distracted, Denial, Detail, Defense, Dragon, Dog, Duct tape...

I own nothing.

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"Good morning, Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth." Dr. Sweets said cheerily, watching as the pair slumped into the room and plopped down on the couch beside one another, both rubbing their eyes sleepily. "Sleep well?"

Booth snorted as Brennan rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a no." Sweets said, making a note on his clipboard.

"So Bones, what time did you actually go home last night?" Booth asked with a yawn.

"Umm..." She started, avoiding his eyes.

"Bones! I told you to go home at ten! Please tell me it wasn't much later than that."

"Well... I went home at eleven, but didn't get to sleep until about two..." Sighing, Brennan looked up at him meaningfully before saying quietly. "You know what today is. It took me an hour to convince myself to cross the parking garage." Booth's eyes widened.

"Oh god." He said, turning so that he was facing her completely, "I'm sorry, Bones, I didn't realize-"

"I assume that you are referring to the incident that occurred two years ago, with a serial killer called..." Sweets consulted his notes and then looked up at them, "The Gravedigger"

Both Booth and Brennan glanced quickly at each other.

"Yes. Booth replied, sitting up straiter, his stance protective.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sweets asked.

"No. The dreams are enough." Brennan muttered, staring at her hands.

"You still have nightmares of this event, years later?" Sweets questioned, glancing back and forth between the partners. When they both kept their eyes averted and their mouths shut, sweets added incredulously, "Both of you? But why, Agent Booth? You weren't in that car."

"Exactly." He growled. "I was out here and there was nothing I could do. We were almost too late." The pain was clear on his face.

"How often do you have these dreams?"

"This one specifically?" Brennan asked, looking at Sweets.

"There are different ones? More than this?" They both nodded, and Brennan started listing.

"Kenton, Gravedigger, Icepick and Gallagher, Lappin," She gulped, and Booth shifted closer to her, lending his support. "My mother's case, my father and brother, the widow's son and Gormagon, El Salvador, Guatemala..." She looked up at Booth. "And for you, the case with the man in the SUV..." She trailed off. Sweets had his mouth hanging open.

"How many cases have you two worked together?" He asked, scribbling furiously.

"Fifty-six." The partners answered immediately.

"And how many have you solved."

"Fifty-four. The gravedigger and Gorgonzola are still out there." Booth responded.

"Gormagon." Brennan said, punching him in the arm.

"Hmm. I'd like to do a sleep study on the two of you. It's not healthy to have these memories haunting you all the time. Hopefully with the sleep study, we can find something that will help to stop these dreams."

"What does a sleep study involve?" Booth asked nervously.

"You wear leads to monitor heart rate and breathing." Brennan explained.

"How about tonight? Great. I'll go get it arranged." With that he walked out of the room, leaving the partners to stare at each other.

"Did we just agree to that?" Booth asked. Brennan shrugged in response.

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"We could just not show up." Booth suggested. They were sitting on the couch in her office, eating takeout.

"I don't think that will work. They know where to find us." Brennan replied, reaching over and nabbing one of his fries.

"Hey! Get your own!" He slapped at her hand teasingly. "I could tell Sweets that we have a case. He can't take us off an official investigation." Booth suggested.

"That might work."

"I'll call him right now and tell him. It's-" He leaned over Brennan to glance at the clock on her desk. "8:00. There's no way that he can come up with an excuse to get us in there now." Pulling out his phone, he dialed a number.

"Sweets"

"Hey, it's Booth. Listen, Bones and I can't make it to the sleep thing tonight, we have a case."

"Oh, alright Agent Booth. We'll just have to reschedule then. Goodnight." He hung up as Booth punched the air triumphantly, grinning madly.

"It worked, Bones!" Booth exclaimed, pulling her off the couch and into an excited hug. "Ha! The kid never knew what hit him!" She chuckled against his neck.

But there excitement was short lived. The hug and moment were shattered when Booth's phone rang. He picked it up, and Brennan listened to his half of the conversation.

"Booth. Yes, sir. I will. Yes she is. Alright, bye." He hung up, all happiness gone. "That was Cullen. He wants to see us immediately."

"Uh oh." Brennan muttered, grabbing her coat and following Booth out the door.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Ten minutes later, Cullen's office

When they walked in, Cullen was sitting behind his desk with a stern expression on his face. Sweets was leaning against the wall, a smile on his face that could only e described as 'victorious'.

"Sit." Cullen ordered. They obeyed, each taking one of the uncomfortable chairs in front of the desk. Somehow it felt like they were in deep, deep trouble.

"What is this new case you are working on?" Cullen asked.

"Case? Ohhhh, THAT case." Booth laughed nervously, glancing at Brennan. "Well, I was just helping Bones with something, and-" He stopped at the amused look on Cullen's face.

"You were always a horrible liar, Booth. What's the problem with a sleep monitor?"

"It's not going to prove anything!" Brennan said angrily. "Why do we even have to continue seeing a shrink? We're fine. We still solve cases and-

"It is mandatory, Dr. Brennan. There will be no more arguments on the subject. Please go downstairs with Dr. Sweets, both of you. If I hear ONE complaint from ANYONE, you will answer to me personally. Capash?"

They nodded and stood up to leave, hands shoved in their pockets as they trudged after Sweets.

"You know, Agent Booth, you don't have to make such a big deal out of this. All I'm asking you to do is sleep." Sweets said as they arrived downstairs and stood in front of two doors. "Dr. Brennan, the left please, Agent Booth, right. Someone will be in shortly to explain everything." Sweets left somewhat abruptly, leaving them standing there.

"Well, goodnight Bones." Booth leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips, something they had just recently started as a joke. After their 'episode' with the mistletoe at Christmas, Booth had taken to kissing her at unexpected times. She murmured a goodnight as he went into his room. It had a TV, queen bed, nightstand and a couple of movies. He noticed the door leading to Bones' room, and walked over to open it. Just as his hand reached the doorknob, the main door to his room opened and someone in a lab coat walked in. Booth jumped away from the door, and started at the new comer.

Great, another squint... he thought.

"Agent Booth?" The young man asked. "I'm Dr. Calvin."

"What can I do for you?" Booth asked, crossing his arms.

"Take off your shirt so that I can attach the leads." Watching the Doc closely, Booth tugged his shirt over his head and pulled off his wife beater. Dr. Calvin came up to him with a complicated looking device with lots of wires.

"I'm supposed to sleep with THAT on?" He asked incredulously.

"It's not bad. You won't even notice it." Booth huffed while the Doctor placed the leads on his chest. He yelped as the first one hit his skin.

"That's cold!"

"It'll warm up. All set."

"You gonna do the same thing to Bones too?" Booth asked, a protective glint in his eye.

"It's already taken care of. Good night, Agent." He left, leaving a shivering Booth standing in the middle of the room. Pulling his shirt back on, careful of the wires, Booth sat back on the bed with a sigh. After a few moments of bordom, he went over and tried the door to his partner's room. It was locked. Now what?

He lay down on the bed and flung an arm over his eyes, sighing again.

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In the next room, Brennan also had leads put on her and was sitting, back against the headboard and her knees drawn to her chest. Her eyes darted around the room as she shivered slightly. TV, lamp, small bed. A few books and movies. Then she spotted the camera in the corner of the ceiling. She froze. They were watching her! Outraged, she grabbed her pillow case and fitted it over the camera. Satisfied with her work, she went back to the bed, lay down and tried to sleep.

Only to wake up ten minutes later, a muffled scream on her lips and drenched in sweat. Panting from the nightmare, she ran over to the door, attempting to go into Booth's room. The door was locked. Pulling a paper clip out of her pocket, she softly picked the lock. Hearing the lock click as the door swung open, she let out a yelp of triumph.

"Bones?" Squinting through the dark, she tied to locate her partner.

"Where are you?" She asked, stumbling forward, arms out stretched. Her hands were grabbed by his as he lead her over to the bed. Booth lay on his back, and Brennan crawled under the covers next to him and curled into his side, shivering.

"You alright, Bones?" Booth asked soothingly, rubbing her back soothingly. His motions were hindered by the leads on her back, and he just resisted the urge to pull them off her. He restrained because he knew they would have to do this again if it wasn't done properly.

"I was back in the warehouse. You didn't show up this time." She whimpered.

"Shhh... Come here." He pulled her fully into his arms, draping a leg over her to tug her closer to his body. "I'm here, it's all over."

They fell asleep in each other's arms, for one rid of the nightmares.

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In a small room, Dr. Sweets, Dr. Calvin and Cullen monitored the partners.

"It's amazing. As soon as she was in his arms, her heart rate slowed right down, and their breathing synchronized. You could tell before when she was having a nightmare, her breathing would spike. Now, they are both sleeping normally. Dr. Sweets, how can you explain this?" Dr. Calvin asked, amazed.

"They complete each other. There will be no more need for the sessions, Mr. Cullen. I have faith that there will be no more nightmares for these two, as long as they sleep together."

"You are telling me to FORCE my best Agent to sleep with his partner?!" Cullen asked. At the Doc's approving nod, he ran a hand over his face. "What has happened to the world?"