Thank you for all of the great reviews. I hope you are enjoying my story.

I don't own Bones.

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Sleeping soundly, Booth was awakened when he felt a blow to his arm. Jerking awake, he found his partner in the deep throes of another nightmare. Thrashing around, Brennan was moaning and appeared to be crying, a look of fear on her face. Concerned, Booth reached out with his right arm and tried to grasp her shoulder. Furious that he was unable to hold her because of the pain in his chest, he tried to shake her awake, "Bones . . . Bones you have to wake up. Bones!"

Startled awake, Brennan threw herself away from Booth. Pushing off his side, she propelled herself to the edge of the bed where she quickly rolled off and then stood up. Panting, she focused on Booth and realized that she'd probably hurt him again.

His eyes closed and his right arm held tightly against his chest, Booth was breathing deeply, his face reflecting the pain he was in.

Afraid for him, Brennan ran around the bed and leaned over her partner. "Booth are you alright? I . . . did I hurt you?"

Blowing air slowly though his opened lips, he finally nodded his head. "Yeah . . . No, I 'm alright . . . You . . . you were having a nightmare."

Mortified that she'd hurt him twice, Brennan sat down on the edge of the bed and stared intently at her partner. "Booth, I'm sorry. I . . . I was having a bad dream and . . . . I'm so sorry."

Nodding his head, Booth opened his eyes and stared at her. "Are you alright? Whatever you were dreaming about it must have been a hell of a dream."

Her hands on the sides of her face, she rubbed her cheeks vigorously. "I was dreaming about you. I dreamed about the time the Gravedigger kidnapped you and . . . and almost killed you."

Feeling the pain starting to subside, Booth licked his bottom lip. "Yeah, that was bad, but it was just a dream Bones . . . Everything is fine. I'm right here."

The remnants of the dream still influencing her emotions, Brennan stood up, turned and stared at the closet door. "No, Booth. Things aren't fine . . . You were almost killed then. If Jared hadn't arranged to get that helicopter to take me out to the boat, you'd have died. You would have drowned and that was what I was dreaming about. I dreamt that you were standing behind a bulkhead door and I was on the other side. The room you were in started to fill up with water and you . . . And you cried out to me to save you and I couldn't. You drowned Booth . . . You . . . you died and I couldn't save you."

Taking a deep breath, Booth moved to edge of the bed and sat up. Holding his right arm tightly against his chest, he stood up and walked around Brennan to face her. Placing his left hand on her shoulder, Booth used his finger and gently lifted her face so she would look at him. "It was just a dream, Bones. The trial upset you that's all . . . I'm fine. You did save me. You and Jared saved me."

A feeling of loss still with her, Brennan stared into his soft brown eyes and knew that if she had lost him then, he would have been one too many losses in her life. "But it was a very close thing. Mere minutes to be exact. You could have easily died."

Squeezing her shoulder, Booth smiled, "But it didn't. I'm fine." Realization hitting him, he frowned. "Bones I'm not going to walk away from you. I'm not going to leave you. You're dreaming about me leaving you . . . I'm not going to ever do that to you."

"You could have died. If that had happened then I would have been alone again." Stepping closer, she placed her arms carefully around his chest. Trapping his right arm against his chest. "When Doug Clary shot you a few weeks ago, you could have died then. If I hadn't gone to your apartment that night you would have bled to death. If I hadn't found a way to get you off of the boat you would have drowned. Don't you see, you may not have control over leaving me. Someone may take you from me. If that happens, I'll be alone again. I don't know if I can survive that Booth. I don't know if I'm strong enough to survive that again."

Placing his left arm around her shoulder, Booth tried to soothe her. "We hardly ever get a say in how we leave this world Bones. Most of the time it's out of our hands . . . Whether it's someone taking us out or our bodies just betraying us and giving out, we rarely get a say when that happens . . . We can't live our lives in fear of what might be. If we do that then we might not have a now . . . Bones, everyone dies. What we have to do is make our lives count in some way . . . I love you. I know you love me. We have to live the lives that we have and not worry about what could have happened or what might happen. It's not worth it, Bones. If's are never worth it. Believe me, I know that."

"But if we're in a relationship and someone kills you, if I can't save you then I'll be alone again Booth." Resting her head on his shoulder, she started to weep. "I may not be strong enough Booth. If we have a relationship and it's taken from me, if you are taken from me, it could destroy me. I . . . "

Booth closed his eyes and rested his cheek on her head. "Bones, those are the risks that we all take. Everyone who wants to be with someone always takes risks like that. It's just life . . . You're strong, Bones. You're very strong. You're probably the strongest person I know. God knows you're stronger than I am . . . You just don't see it but I do . . . I could live to be ninety or I might die before I'm forty four. I don't know, but Bones the same thing goes for you . . . You could live to be ninety and you might die tomorrow when Hodgins accidentally blows up the Jeffersonian. It's a risk worth taking . . . It has to be. I don't want to live without you Bones, but even if it was only for a week, or a month or a year I will have loved you and lived with you and I'd have been happy . . . The future has to take care of itself. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you? Leave the ifs alone. It will just destroy what you have now."

Her tears stopped, Brennan pulled away from her partner. "Do you really believe that?"

Staring into her glistening blue eyes, Booth smiled at her. "I really do believe that Bones. I love you and I want to be with you for how ever long we have on this earth."

His words a balm she needed, Brennan wiped the tears from her face. "I love you Booth. I've never loved anyone like I love you. If you want to have a physical relationship with me then I think I'm ready. Once you're well, I think we should take that final step."

Happy that she was willing to risk that big heart of hers, Booth pulled her back towards him. "If I could get my hands on Doug Clary right now, I'd beat the shit out of him. As it is, yeah . . . when I get a little better, I'm ready too. More than ready."

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The next day, Brennan was looking through her email when she found an email from the mission director for the Maluku project. Her gaze moving towards Booth who was reading a magazine and sipping coffee, she decided to let him know about the offer. "I've been invited to head up the Maluku project in Indonesia. If I went I'd be gone for a year."

Clearing his throat, Booth placed his magazine down on the table in front of him. "What are you going to do?"

Smiling, Brennan turned back to face her PC. "I'm going to turn him down. I can hardly leave you for a year if we've just started a relationship now can I?"

Pleased that she wasn't interested in leaving him, Booth reached across the table and placed his hand over her hand. "Thank you, Bones. I'll try to make it up to you."

Nodding her head, Brennan smiled at him. "Of course you will. I'm counting on it."

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