A/N: I wrote a non-angst story in present tense! Wow. Two feats in one. :)

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Prompt: Long Hours, for livejournal community 100(underscore)situations.

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He stands in the doorway of her office, silently watching her work.

The room is dark, the lights shut off hours ago, when the clock had read eight. Her face is lit by the somewhat eerie white emanating from her laptop's screen. Even from this distance he can see the weariness in her eyes, the tiredness in her posture. Her fingers, though, still type with their usual flurry as she struggles to finish her work in time to get home by a reasonable hour. A yawn escapes her lips, and he smirks, knowing her lack of sleep will soon be catching up with her.

This, after all, is the reason he stayed behind.

Moments later, Booth finds he was right all along as his partner walks over to her couch and lies across it, only stopping momentarily to grab her jacket for use as a blanket. From his position at the door, he shakes his head, finally entering the room.

He approaches her and sees she's already fallen asleep, her hair strewn across her face. Slowly he extends a hand and wipes the brown tresses off of her cheek and looks a moment at her sleeping form before reaching down to lift her into his arms.

A tired groan escapes her lips as her eyes flutter open. "Booth?"

"Shh. Just go back to sleep." He knows these long hours will be taking their toll on her, come morning.

She complies, resting her head on his shoulder and quickly falling back into slumber as he skillfully maneuvers her through the building. With the recruitment of one of the security guards, he easily exits through the front doors and places Brennan carefully in the passenger's seat of his car, reaching across her to buckle her seatbelt before shutting the door softly.

He climbs into the driver's seat and starts the car, the sudden noise causing his partner to stir. Booth waits a moment to ensure she's fallen back asleep before pulling the car out of the parking lot and heading home.

With careful planning, he puts his keys in his hand before lifting Brennan out of the car once more. She wakes again, but doesn't open her eyes, her voice heavy with drowsiness. "Where are we?"

"My place."

"Mmm." He isn't quite sure what that means, but brings her inside anyway. Carefully, he makes his way to the bedroom, laying her across his bed. He rummages through the dresser for a few minutes before he comes up with an oversized t-shirt.

Knowing she'll hate him for it in the morning, he gently unbuttons her blouse and replaces it with his shirt. He then carefully slides off her trousers as well, folding them with her top and resting them atop a chair in the corner of the room. Quietly, he retrieves a quilt from the top shelf of his closet and unfolds it, laying it over her.

He stands in a doorway once more as he shuts off the light, leaning against the doorframe as he watches her sleep.

After a few minutes, his shoulder becomes sore, reminding him of his own exhaustion. He reluctantly leaves his post and takes up residence on the sofa, not bothering to change his clothes. Booth pulls the blanket from the back of the couch over himself and smiles as he drifts off to sleep.

That evening, his dreams are inhabited by the woman sleeping merely a few rooms away.

And she dreams of him, too.

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End