Chapter Eight:

The sun was streaming in through the blinds casting rays of light against the partners' sleeping forms. Booth groaned a little, pulling Brennan closer to him unconsciously. During the night, they had gravitated toward each other, seeking comfort within each other's embrace. Even in sleep, they had proven the need for each other. Booth was the first one to awaken, shifting his hold on her.

"Hey." She greeted, her voice laden with sleep.

"We need another hour of sleep." Booth whispered. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah." She nodded sleepily into his chest. The fact that she hadn't moved or shoved off him surprised him. He just hugged her closer, drawing lazy circles on her back. He listened as her breathing evened out, finally succumbing to sleep again. The drugs had taken a tool on her system, she had gotten up several times, each time with Booth right by her side, holding her hair and holding her. Several times she pleaded with him to just stay in bed, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

He laid like that for several more minutes, wishing that the sun would go back down so he could keep her safe from ever having to set foot back in that "fine establishment." He relished being in that moment for a couple of more moments, until he wriggled free of her. He stood by the bed, pulling on his t-shirt, immediately missing her touch around him. He scribbled a note to her, and picked up his keys.

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Booth walked up a flight of stair to where the rest of the team was meeting for their morning meeting. He walked in grabbing a cup of coffee and settling down in one of the chairs. He definitely wasn't happy about their first night of the mission, and he was going to let them know that. Sully walked in, it looked like the night hadn't bode him any better. He took his seat next to Booth, acknowledging him, "We have to talk a little later on."

"Okay." Booth replied.

"How is Dr. Brennan?" Booth looked up at the sound of Cullen's voice. Booth had been surprised about the amount of attention the case had gotten from his higher ups.

"Recovering." Booth answered taking a sip of his coffee. "A little worse for wear, but it looks like she will survive. Have we heard anything back from the doctor?"

"A new designer date rape drug. If the dose had been any higher, then we might have lost her last night." Cullen replied. "I know we are here to catch a killer, but if we can catch this bastard at the same time, it would be a plus."

Booth sat seething for a moment. It was too close of a call for him. He swore that he would protect her, keep her safe . . . but he felt like he was failing. Booth looked up at the sound of the door opening. Brennan came in grabbing her cup of coffee, sitting on the other side of Booth.

"You should be resting." Booth told her.

"I couldn't rest anymore. We have to catch this bastard." She told her. "Do we have any clue what happened last night? What drug was in my system?"

"It is an expensive designer drug called Dextra. There haven't been very many cases of it, the dose has to be just right to achieve the desired effect. Any higher of a dose then we would have lost you Dr. Brennan." Cullen explained to her. "Do you have any clue what happened?"

"I have no clue, I had a little to drink, but I paced myself. No more than the normal grabbers and pinchers and general filler uppers." She replied, taking a sit of her coffee, "There was no one who would really stand out. No one attempted much of anything." She sighed.

"You did a great job out there Dr. Brennan, but Agent Booth is right, you need to rest. Head back down and Booth will brief you later on today. I think I speak for all of us when I say we are glad that you pulled through." Cullen told her, effectively dismissing her from the meeting.

She stood, getting a little dizzy, she swayed for a moment. Booth was up in an instant steadying her. "I'll be back in a moment."

"Take your time Agent. I'll send Agent Sullivan down to brief you two after lunch."

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Booth unlocked the door to his humble abode, ushering her inside. "You need to get more rest."

"I couldn't. I'm no use resting. These women, these girls, they had lives that were taken from them. They were targeted because of their job. They have no choice at times, other's decide to do it without knowing the full consequence . . ."

"Hey, you don't need to relive that right now. We need to focus on getting you well." Booth replied making her some tea.

She walked over to the couch and curled her feet underneath her. "Lena and Jimmy were my last foster placement. They had an old home in the south side of Chicago. My room was in the finished basement." She paused, she started staring off into space.

"Hey." Booth settled down next to her. "You aren't that foster kid that gets shuffled around anymore. You are one of the brightest minds that ever graced the planet." He told her, trying to break her silence. He didn't want her to get lost in that dark place. Booth knew what the dark places in memories could do to people, and all he wanted to do was save her from her past.

"But I am Booth." Her voice hitched. "Jimmy came down one night, not too long after I had been living with them. He threw some clothes at me and told me to get dressed. I waited for him to leave, but he didn't. I refused to do it. He came at me, slapped me right across the cheek. I was stunned. He got on top of me, telling me to behave." She buried her head into her arms. "When he was done he grabbed me by the arm and told me to get dressed. It was time to go to work."

Booth wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead. "Oh God Temperance. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I saved up as much money as I could, hiding my tips in between the pages of my biology book. The minute I had enough money, I ran. I slept on the streets for a little bit, but for the most part, I had enough saved for a hotel room. The person let me pay in cash and when that finally ran out, I cleaned rooms for my kept there when I got out of school. A couple months later I graduated and started school at Northwestern."

She shifted in his arms, "The girls I had to work with were just trying to make it. We were making ends meet in whatever way we had to. We were forgettable, not meant to be remembered or even cared for."

Booth tightened his hold on her.

"You are anything but forgettable." He whispered, stroking her hair. He pressed his lips to her forehead.

They sat there on the couch, sleep overtook Brennan a little while later. Booth picked her up and led her laid her down in his bed. He watched her sleep for a couple of moments before heading back to the meeting. Unfortunately they still had work they had to do. Booth cringed knowing that they were going to have more bad days then good on this assignment.

AN: I know it has been forever since I have updated this story, it has just been on my backburner while I was getting out some other ideas that were clouding this one. Please review, it rocks my socks!