CHAPTER. Chapter 1. Promises and Confessions

DISCLAIMER. There are many things I own, but Bones is not one of them. All characters belongs to Kathy Reichs, Hart Hanson and FOX.

DEDICATION for the chapter. To Ash2112, you practically read all my stories, and well, this is the least I can do. D I hope you like the chapter!

Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.

-- Carl Sandburg

She unlocked it and turned the knob, pulling the door open. Her breath suddenly caught and her face turned pale.

"Hello, Bones."

She didn't move. She just stared at the figure in front of her. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide open. Her lips had formed into a large circle and her body started to tremble. She didn't know if she was supposed to be angry or happy to see that her partner was back from 'the dead' once again.

Booth's heart broke when he saw her. He noticed that she had been crying. The strong, confident woman he knew for almost four years, had finally broken down. She looked so vulnerable; so innocent. He had hurt her unintentionally; he had broken down her walls too far. He had to make it all better--build her back up until she was standing up strong on both two feet.

"This is not happening...this is not happening," she whispered, her voice shaky. "You can't be here...you're...you're dead." Her eyes welled up.

He placed his hand gently on her left arm. "No, Temperance. I'm not dead," he said in almost a whisper.

"No!" She slapped him hard on the cheek. "My mind is playing tricks on me!" She started to cry, unaware that she had slapped him. "You are just a figment of my imagination! Booth is...dead!" She cried out.

She just stood there, as she continued to sob, no, started hyperventilating. She covered her face with her hands and finally dropped down on her knees. Her hyperventilating had become worse. Droplets fell from her eyes and onto her blue jeans, making dark spots.

He kneeled down in front of her and wrapped his arms around her protectively. She didn't resist. Instead she grasped his shirt and cried into it. He gently caressed her back, trying to lower her breathing tempo. Her breathing slowed with each stroke, but picked up again when she started pounding his chest with her fists.

"You promised you would never leave me! You promised!" She cried out. "But, you did it again!"

"I know and I'm sorry, Temperance. I didn't wake up until two weeks after they told you I was dead. I was in rehab for another two weeks, before they sent me to Vancouver for an undercover operation," he said.

She stopped pounding him, as her intense anger diminished, but she didn't look at him. "Why didn't you call me or send me a message? Or something!?" Her voice became louder with each word.

"You didn't think I tried that?" He tried his best to hold back his tears. "I tried calling you everyday to tell you that I was alive because I knew you'd want to know, but you never picked up once. I left messages for you, but I guess you never listened to a single one have you? I didn't want to repeat the same thing, as the last time I got shot and supposedly died." A single tear slipped down his cheek. "And do you want to know the other reason why I tried to call you every single goddamn day?"

She sniffled. "Why?" She whispered.

"Because I wanted to tell you that I was in love with you." She looked up and stared into his chocolaty brown eyes.

She swallowed. "You...you love me?"

"Yes. God yes, I'm in love with you," he said. "When I see you, my heart skips a beat and I feel my legs turn to jelly. When I knock on your door, at midnight with take-out, it's just an excuse for me to see you and hear your voice." He paused, then continued. "Also knowing that you probably never ate yet."

She let out a little giggle, as her gaze went to the floor, and he could see a smile tugging on her lips. He smiled.

Using his index finger, he lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes with lost puppy-dog eyes. "And, when I fell to the floor from the bullet, the last time, I knew that I did the right thing because I knew that I would do anything for you."

He descended his head down to hers, hesitantly. He paused and looked into her eyes, before closing the gap between them. She faltered for a moment before allowing herself to give in. Temperance was surprise at how gentle and slow the kiss was, and how much she was enjoying the feeling of it. She had never been kissed that way before. All her experiences in the past were all rough and hungry, with no passion behind them at all. This, this was different. One, because it was sweet and passionate, and two, it was with Booth--the one she had been secretly in love for quite some time now. Her arms slowly slid from his chest and wounded their way up around his neck, grabbing on to the back of his shirt. His arms, in turn, found their way around her slim waist, holding her to him.

His tongue gently caressed her lower lip, asking for entrance, which she gladly allowed. Once their tongues started caressing each other, in surrender to sheer bliss, Temperance felt her knees turn into jelly, and grasped his shirt tighter. When he hesitantly broke the kiss, she was confident that she saw stars circling her head over and over again, as they both desperately searched for air. She gave him a smile, and kissed him quickly, on the lips, one more time, before laying her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too." Her eyes slowly fluttered closed. "I never felt like this before with anyone else. Please don't ever leave me. I love you too much to have you disappear again..."

He pressed a gentle kiss on her temple. "I promise I will never leave you, unless you want me to. And even if you do, I'll always come back for you. Don't doubt it for a second." He gently caressed her back.

They stood like that for a while, neither of them wanting the feeling to go away.

"Would you stay with me tonight. I don't want to feel lonely, like I've been for the past few months."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Of course. And don't worry, you won't ever feel lonely. I'll always be there."

My free gift to you?: Half a dozen hugs, and a dozen kisses.
Reviews?: Will help me peel off another layer.