Author's note: After watching 6x22 The Hole in the Heart, when I was completely in awe of Emily Deschanel's acting (once more), I decided to write this. It's going to be 4 parts (in 2 chapters), each a scene from the episode we did not get to see. One will be after Booth tells Brennan she's staying at his home, and when he takes her home, the second one in their home, the third in bed, the fourth the morning after. I'm taking a leap here and say they did make love. Just because I feel they could have.

You're staying at my place tonight.

'Ok,' she finally agreed. She didn't want to be alone tonight, she knew that. And Booth knew that, too. He hadn't offered her his home, he had insisted. And she knew when a battle wasn't worth fighting. She'd be fighting herself as well and she really didn't feel up for that, not right now. Under any other circumstances she wouldn't have agreed, but now, she had no choice. She wanted to go home with Booth. She needed to.

As they left the conference room together, he turned around. 'You ok with going straight to my place? Anything you need to pick up?'

'No, I'll be fine, I have everything I need with me, I always carry an overnight bag.'

'Oh, ok. Great,' he answered, one side of him surprised at her preparations and another side of him knowing he shouldn't be surprised anymore. She was always prepared for anything. Except for Vincent's death, that had been too unexpected.

'You ok for now Bones?' he asked. She looked at him, her eyes pleading for him not to make her answer. He nodded. 'Yeah, me neither. Let's just.. You know, make sure he gets put somewhere safe and then go home. We really should take it easy.'

'I would like to tell Angela about our arrangement. It will make her feel safer. And I want to make sure she's safe as well,' she said. He nodded. 'Good idea.'

So they separated, Brennan followed Angela to talk to her and Booth went to collect his things and make sure Vincent's body was put in the morgue. He almost couldn't bear to look at the body, even though he knew it wasn't his fault. He should have seen it coming. He knew Broadsky, this shouldn't have happened.

'Hey Ange, can I talk to you for a minute?' Brennan asked her friend. Angela nodded.

'I assume you will be staying with Hodgins tonight?' Brennan asked.

'Yeah, Jack and I are going to stay in his office. He doesn't want to go home. And I don't want to go home alone.'

'No, you shouldn't, Ange. You should stay with Jack.'

'Yeah, it's safer that way, I hope. But you never know, do you.'

Brennan shook her head. 'I can still.. I can still hear him, Ange. Don't make me leave, that's what he said.'

'It's not your fault, sweetie. You did everything you could,' Angela said. 'You aren't going home alone, are you? You should stay here, with us.'

'No, actually I'm going home with Booth. To sleep on the couch. I think it makes him feel better to know where I am.'

'Ok, thank God. That's good, Bren. Go with him, he'll keep you safe.'

She nodded. 'I know. Thanks, Ange. Stay safe and call me if anything happens ok?'

Angela nodded back. 'Ok, deal. See you tomorrow? Try to get some rest, Brennan.'

'You too, Ange. See you tomorrow.'

With that, she left her friend to her thoughts, and went to find Booth. She still wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go home with him but maybe, just maybe, it was what she needed.

'Hey Bones, you ready to go?' Booth asked, and Brennan jumped visibly. 'Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.'

'No, I'm sorry, I'm just a little bit tense. Yes, I'm ready. I'm just.. Not positive that I'll be able to sleep, Booth. Maybe I should stay here and see if I can be of help.'

'No way, you're going home with me, you're taking the bed and you're going to rest. Whether you sleep or not, you're going to be lying down and your body is going to rest. That's important too, Bones.'

'You take the bed, I'll take the couch. It'll be fine, I've slept on worse surfaces, believe me. The beds in Maluku were made of wood, without a real mattress. Or the beds in the rainforests in Brazil, those were made out of clay and forest materials..' He interrupted. 'Ok, you win. I'll take the bed.'

'It's better for you back as well,' Brennan continued.

'Bones, you've won, let it go,' he said, and she nodded. 'Ok.'

An awkward, sad silence followed them as they walked past the place where Vincent was shot. Maintenance crew was working on repairing the broken glass and cleaning up the floor. Brennan looked at Booth and kept her eyes on his, so she didn't have to look at the spot where it went down.

'Come on, let's go,' Booth muttered and put a hand on her shoulder. She tensed and walked on, and Booth followed her.

As they neared the exit, she turned suddenly. 'I need to see him. I need to see he's safe.'

'He is, I moved him to the morgue myself, Bones. He's safe now.'

'No, no, I have to see it, Booth.'

He nodded. 'Ok, yeah, you're right. Let's go.'

They walked to the morgue where Cam was just leaving. 'I.. I just said goodbye, you know,' Cam said. Booth nodded. 'We're going to do the same. You sure you'll be fine tonight?'

'Yeah, Michelle is coming here and we're staying here, thought it was safer that way,' Cam said.

'Yeah, you're probably right. Keep the curtains closed and just don't go near the windows, that's all you can do,' Booth said. Cam nodded.

Brennan had walked past the two ex-lovers to see Vincent. Booth let her go, knowing she would want some time alone with him.

So he just watched from the window, watched how she opened the hatch and pulled out Vincent's body. How she opened the body bag and broke down in tears instantly. His heart ached to go to her, but she looked at him through the window and he knew he shouldn't go in. So he let her have her time and space.

After a few minutes, he witnessed Brennan softly stroking Vincent's cheek before putting him safely back again. She exited the morgue and straight past Booth. 'I'm ready to go home now.'

He nodded, knowing her distance wasn't an attack on him, it was just her protecting herself. 'Ok, let's go.'

As they exited the Jeffersonian, Booth drew his weapon. 'Stay behind me, Bones. I think he's gone but I don't know, if he knew he missed he might still be around.'

'You mean he might try to shoot you? Maybe we should stay here as well, Booth.'

'No, it's fine, we're going to my place. It's safest. If we all stay here he'll know what to target. I know how he thinks, Bones. We're safer at my place. I know it there and he doesn't, so we'll have the advantage.'

She nodded. 'Ok.'

All the way to his car he kept her behind him, telling her to stay close and keep her head down. She obeyed and soon they were in his car.

Goodnight, Bones.

They didn't say a word all the way to his apartment. Once they were inside, he instantly started making it safe. 'Don't answer the door. Don't go near it, in fact.'

She nodded. 'Ok.'

'You can put your bag here, I'll get you something to sleep in. Towels are in the bathroom, you need a toothbrush?'

'No, I've got my own, thanks,' she answered, and he nodded. 'Ok. Want a beer?'

'Got anything stronger?' she asked, her voice weak.

'Look Bones, booze isn't going to make the pain go away. You know that.'

'Yeah, you're right. Coffee?'

'No, you have to be able to sleep. I'll make us tea.'

'Tea, ok,' she repeated, and he recognized the onset of shock. She was slowly going over the event over and over again, and it would continue until she let it all out. He knew she would need a little time to achieve that so he let her be.

He made tea and soon the two of them were on the couch, blinds almost fully closed and no way for any sniper to get a view of them. She felt safe with Booth next to her, his broad figure making her feel foolish and safe. Going home with Booth had been instinctual and she rarely did anything instinctual.

'You.. You know you did everything you could, right?' she asked.

He nodded. 'Yeah.. It's just.. I wasn't fast enough, Bones. And I'm sorry.'

She nodded. 'I never saw it coming. I just saw you throw Vincent on the floor, and I thought.. I thought you were hit. It never occurred to me that Vincent was shot.'

'He was the one holding the phone, Bones. I gave him the phone.'

'Yeah, but you didn't know.. Booth, just let it go. Ok?'

'Sure,' he nodded and finished his tea.

'Keep the blinds closed, and stay away from the windows. Just to be safe,' he reminded her. 'Safe, yes,' she repeated.

'You really should take the bed, I'll take the couch,' he said.

She shook her head. 'No, I'll be fine. I'm smaller, I can fit on the couch. Besides, you need to kill Broadsky. You need your sleep.'

'That's very logical of you, Bones,' he half joked half complimented her. She nodded. 'Thanks. Yes.'

He reached for the pillow she was struggling with. 'Here, let me help..'

'No, Booth, I can make the bed,' she said, pulling it away from him. He got the message and backed off. 'Ok. Goodnight, Bones,' he said, turning in his doorway. She looked at him, her eyes sad but grateful for his presence. 'Goodnight Booth.'

His door closed and she was alone.

She finished making the bed. Would he expect her to shower? She guessed so since he had told her there were towels in the bathroom. But she didn't want to. She just couldn't.

It scared her.

Being alone in her own bathroom still made her uneasy at times, since Howard Epps had broken into her house while she was supposed to be showering. It would not be Broadsky's style to do that but still the idea of standing behind a closed curtain scared her. So she didn't shower, just brushed her teeth, quickly changed into the clothes Booth had given her and looked at herself in the mirror.

She saw her reflection, of course. But it shook her.

The last few days, her eyes had gotten brighter and happier. She had seen it and felt it. They had their sparkle back, not just her eyes but her and her partner as well. It had been a bumpy and long road, but they had stayed on track and they were heading for safer land. Only now nothing was safe, except for this room. So now when she looked at herself she didn't see the confident, happy eyes she had been happy to see. She saw the sad, uncertain look she hated from herself. Her heart reached out to Booth, she wanted to talk to him, be comforted by him. But she'd promised him to try to sleep, or at least rest. So that's what she did. She turned her back on the sad woman in the mirror and tried to leave her behind as she got under the covers.

The couch smelled of Booth and home, and it comforted her. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and tossed until she found a position that would enable her to keep an eye on Booth's bedroom door and still lie comfortably surrounded by his scent. Only she knew sleep wouldn't come. Not tonight.

On the other side of that door, Booth was waging a similar battle. She needed him, he knew it better than she did. And he was there for her, but did she know it? Would she come to him if she really needed to?

He didn't hear her shower and he hadn't really expected her to. He wouldn't, either. The idea of her being alone while he was deafened by the sound of the water crashing down on him scared him. He wouldn't leave her unprotected like that. Even though he knew the house was the safest place for them to be, he kept his gun loaded on his nightstand. Adrenaline was rushing through his system, and an odd sensation filled his body. He needed to protect her. He needed to protect his Bones. She depended on him to keep her safe and never in a million years would he let her down. So he lied back on his pillows, eyes closed but ears and nose working on full capacity. If anything, anything changed around him he would know.

[author's note: End of chapter 1, chapter 2 will be the last and it will be up soon. I hope you enjoyed, please R&R!]