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Olivia watched as Peter left out the front door after Broyles and it was like her heart was walking out that door as well. He glanced back once and gave her a weak smile and soulful eyes as if he was trying to give her a voiceless message. Olivia bit her lip and stared down at him from the stairs with a look that probably spoke volumes as to how sad she was to see him go so soon, but Broyles had promised that they would see each other again soon enough. When the door was shut, Olivia couldn't stop herself from running back up the stairs and parting the curtains to watch him get in the car and then drive off. She fought back the feeling of utter despair and straightened her shoulders. She turned back toward the bedroom door only to discover that Booth stood in it giving her one of his patented concerned looks. Olivia rolled her eyes and moved to walk around him, but he shot a hand out to gently stop her.

"Did you tell him?" He asked.

"Tell him what?" She asked keeping her voice from shaking and considering how emotional she was at the moment, she thought she deserved a medal of honor.

"Umm, maybe that you love him?" Booth said with eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, we had all of ten minutes, maybe, and I'm supposed to dump that burden on him?" Olivia said with a scowl. "I'm not telling him, probably not ever."

"Really? Because the look on his face said he suffered thinking you were dead." Booth said, turning toward her.

"We're partners and friends. He was there when I was shot and tried to save me." Olivia said pointing out the logical points running through her mind.

"No, the look on his face was that of a man in love, torn between happiness to see you alive and sorrow at seeing you so changed." Booth said softly, trying to get her to believe.

Olivia wanted to believe him, but she couldn't afford to if he was wrong. Their partnership was on the line and she wasn't about to ruin that. Booth let her arm go, perhaps admitting temporary defeat, and she finished the last few steps to leave the room and go downstairs.

O/B/O/B

Brennan felt like a bird in a cage as she sat in the backseat of the undercover vehicle transporting her to her partner. Her hands, normally poised and calm, were ringing knots in the hem of her blouse. She still wasn't sure how to react when she saw him. He had promised her he'd never leave her and yet now they were apart; him with a beautiful agent and her with the most sarcastic man in the world and his insane father. They were making significant progress in getting along though. Peter was slowly prying her mind open to the irregularities of the field him and his father worked in. Having experienced firsthand some of the oddities it was getting harder to ignore that her normal concept of reality wasn't what she believed it to be.

The car finally pulled up to a rickety two story house with a very small looking footprint. The place looked as if it should have been declared a hazard and left for demolition but there was no doubt this was the house she was meant to enter as Broyles lead the way up stone path to the front door. He opened the door and stepped in and Brennan was quick to follow. Her eyes searched the run down looking place for her partner but came up with nothing until he turned a corner with a steaming mug in hand and they caught sight of each other.

"Bones…" His voice was deep and soft as if he didn't quite believe she was there before him. She gave him a timid wry smile as he set down his mug and made three long steps to and pulled her into his embrace.

"Hi Booth," She said softly, completely unsure of what to say to him. His deep chuckle reverberated through her body making deeper feelings erupt to life but she was quick to squash them back down. He pulled away and looked her over, searching for signs of what, she didn't know.

"You're okay." It was more of a sigh of relief than anything else.

"Shouldn't I be saying that?" She asked quizzically.

"How upset are you with me? I need to know." Booth said softly, searching her eyes for any sign of emotion.

"What do you think?" Brennan asked, taking a step back and crossing her arms across her torso.

"Bones…" Booth groaned, letting her feel how sad he was at having to leave her again.

"No. You broke a promise Booth – the most important one. Do you know why I'm still working this case?" Brennan asked, feeling the emotional duress creep into her voice. "Because I made a promise to your grave that I would continue your self prescribed duty to put away as many murderers than people you have killed during your time in the rangers. But you're not dead, you just left me behind again-"

Booth interrupted her by pulling her back into a hug and this time she didn't try to stop the tears that fell. He murmured into her hair assurances that made her body shake with both relief and sadness. How many times had she dreamt of just one more hug from him? She wasn't going to let this one go to waste and she squeezed him like he was her life jacket and she was thrown out to see.

A creaking floor board made them pull apart as Booth looked over her shoulder and she watched him smile through his sadness. Brennan turned to see a woman slightly shorter than herself standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking as if she was trying to be quiet but guilty at having been caught. Brennan eyed her suspiciously. She was as beautiful as Brennan had feared, with an athletic body and pleasant curves, that anthropologically speaking, were what men found ideal in a woman.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just needed to use the bathroom." She said already starting to walk around them before Booth stopped her.

"Liv, this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan. Bones, this is agent Olivia Dunham." Booth said all charming smiles and shining eyes.

Olivia stuck out her hand to shake hers. "It's nice to finally meet the famous Bones that Seeley talks so much about."

Booth palmed Olivia's head and steered her back toward the bathroom. "Don't you have something else to do Dunham?" Olivia swatted at his hand playfully before walking to a closed door she assumed must be the bathroom.

"Anyways, it was nice meeting you. Tell Peter 'Hey' for me." She gave Booth a teasing smile and then disappeared behind the door.

Brennan couldn't help the raised eyebrow she gave Booth.

"What…?" He asked, confused at the face she must have been giving him.

"Nothing." She said, her voice empty of emotion.

"Dr. Brennan, we have to get going." Broyles said from the doorway that he must've just reentered. Brennan turned and nodded at him, but turned back to Booth.

"Booth, I can't promise that if you do this again I'll still be around. I – I'm not strong enough to do this again." Brennan whispered so only he could here.

Booth nodded and she watched as his eyes brimmed with tears. "I wouldn't blame you, Bones."

Brennan nodded and turned away from Booth, unable to watch his saddened face any longer. She was halfway down the path leading to the car when she spotted another car driving down the same road and the windows rolled down. Flashbacks to past drive by shootings made her freeze and turn to watch the car. And when she saw guns come into view and pull out the window she began the movement to crouch down and head back up the stairs and into the house. Gunfire rang through the air and Brennan looked up as she got a few steps closer to the door only to see Booth preparing to tackle her to the ground. She only had a moment to brace herself as his body pressed hers into the ground and he kept his weight above her to protect her. A few more shots sounded and then there were the screeches of tires picking up speed faster than they should and then only the sound of her heart beat and Booth's thudding through her ears and chest. He started to lift his weight up off her when he froze for a moment and then hauled her to her feet before dragging her toward the road at high speed. At the moment she looked back the house was engulfed with flames and then delayed boom echoed through her head as the force rushed at them and pushed them into the parked car. Darkness threatened to engulf her vision but Brennan fought it as Booth leaned over her, checking her eyes and calling her name. She blinked rapidly but her brain felt to numb to answer. When he realized that she was going to live he turned back to the house and ran up as close as he could get without burning himself on the flames.

"DUNHAM!" He shouted hoarsely. "DUNHAM?"

Brennan watched, dazed, as he ran to the side of the house and came back carrying a limp and filthy figure that must've been none other than agent Dunham. As he got closer she could see that the female agent was alive, if the steady rise and fall of her chest was any sign, but clearly unconscious. Booth set her down by Brennan and started searching through Brennan's jacket pocket.

"Wha?" She asked, half proud that she could say anything at the moment since her brain felt so fuzzy, but her question was soon answered when he pulled out her cell phone and began dialing. Trusting that Booth would take care of her, the darkness she'd been fighting off came back and this time she let it win.

The first time Brennan became aware of anything at all it was to discover that she was in a hospital bed. One glance to the left and she saw Booth asleep in a chair with his head resting on the edge of her bed. A glance to the right and she saw agent Dunham sitting mostly up in her bed staring back at Brennan with a knowing smirk; or was that part of her imagination? Then the darkness took her again. The next time she woke up to Booth arguing with Cullen and their voices were getting louder and louder. When Booth noticed that she was awake he immediately stepped to her side.

"Hey Bones, how are you feeling?" He asked, taking her hand in his.

"My brain is running a little slow, but it's getting better as we speak." She said cautiously as if mentally working out a fix as she spoke.

"That makes sense. You had a mild concussion from when your head hit the car. Just don't push yourself too fast." Booth said soothingly.

Brennan bit her lip and nodded slowly. "How's..." She pointed her thumb toward Olivia's bed.

"Dunham? Oh – she also had a concussion with a couple minor burns and she needed to get a gash in her forehead glued, but no stitches so she's happy." Booth said conversationally.

"What's going to happen now?" Brennan asked.

Booth glanced up at Cullen with a rather hard glare before answering. "We're getting a new safe house, except you, Peter, Dr. Bishop, and Astrid will be joining us. Whoever is behind all this knows you and the others are still working the case." Booth said, trying to avoid Cullen's stare before the superior sighed and pulled out his phone and left the room. "Everything is going to be okay now that I can keep an eye on you."

"Is that what you think?" Brennan scowled. "I don't need you to protect me, Booth."

"I know, I know, but it certainly doesn't hurt." Booth said, grinning at her seemingly childish outbreak. Cullen came back into the room at that point, snapping his cell phone shut.

"We're moving all of you out tonight during the hospital shift change. We'll move you two and agent Dunham in one car at eleven tonight, the Bishops at three tomorrow morning, and agent Farnsworth at five in the morning. It's important that we stagger the drop offs so as not draw attention to the location. You'll also be wearing disguises until you get to the location. Another agent will be by to drop off clothing items for your departure. Until then, none of you leave this room." Cullen said the last sentence sternly, eyeing up her and Booth for any sign of rebellion and looked almost surprised when none came. "Good. We'll be in touch."

He left the room leaving Brennan and Booth alone with a sleeping blonde agent.

"You should really get some sleep," Booth said. "We leave in five hours and I have a feeling it's going to be a long night."

Brennan narrowed her eyes at him, but then gave in when she could see how sincere he was being. "Alright, but you should too." Booth nodded and rested his head on the edge of her bed. Soon they were both asleep, with Brennan's hand resting in Booth's.