The...ghost...hallucination...dream...straightened and looked at Brennan. Booth had mentioned that he'd never really been able to interact with the ghost and Brennan wasn't sure what it meant that she appeared to be doing so now.

Closing her eyes hard, Brennan counted to ten before opening them again. The scene in front of her hadn't changed. Accepting it took a moment longer.

Never one to scare easily, Brennan squared her shoulders and stared at the ghost. In the back of her mind, she considered the idea that she'd fallen asleep at her desk and was dreaming the whole thing.

Dream. Hallucination. Haunting. In the end, she supposed it didn't matter how you described it. What mattered was that it was apparently going to be up to her to make sure it ended.

Because it was going to end. Here. Now. Booth wasn't going to be forced to deal with this another second. Brennan was done watching her husband struggle with things he shouldn't be worrying about. He'd done his best, given this victim everything he had to give and then some. If Michelle didn't understand that, Brennan was going to make sure she did now.

The idea that she'd accepted that this was a ghost and not some sort of dream didn't slow her down. This was for Booth. It always came back to Booth.

What should Brennan say? That it was time to move on? That was what Booth's religion said. And what Avalon had said on the few occasions she'd been allowed to visit the Lab. Or refused to leave even after being told to.

She considered and discarded ideas almost as fast as she thought of them. Eventually Booth would wake up. She only had a limited amount of time to end this.

"You have to go," Brennan finally said hesitantly. Between them on the couch, Booth stirred but didn't wake. Not remembering the last time she been so desperate for Booth's guidance, Brennan didn't know what to do. If she woke Booth, would Michelle disappear. And how would they know she was really gone?

"Todd killed you," Brennan said. She shivered slightly when Michelle appeared to nod. "But he's dead too. We can't do anything else for you here." At least, they thought he was. They'd find out for sure. But Brennan didn't want Michelle around bothering Booth until they did.

Considering her options, Brennan decided on the tactic she needed to take. Put Booth first, just as she had the entire case, and her own beliefs aside. Protect him and the rest would fall into place.

The loose hands at her sides curled into fists, prepared to physically fight an entity that was no more substantial than fog. But if that's what it took to save Booth from whatever this was, she was prepared to do it.

"You have to leave him alone," Brennan said, tilting her head towards Booth. He remained peacefully sleeping on the couch, just as she had in the SUV when Michelle had first appeared to Booth. Brennan could barely roll over in bed without him waking up. What happened to the laws of physics when Michelle appeared? "We've solved your crime and this is over. You can go home now. And your mom will know the truth. We'll make sure of it," she promised.

The air around her felt heavy. As if something was expanding in the room and pushing against her skin. But Brennan, not afraid of a spectral image, stood her ground.

She'd faced down serial killers and a whole lot of other things during the time she'd worked with Booth. A ghost she didn't even believe in was nothing.

"You will leave," Brennan said, no longer making it a request. "Your remains are going back to your mother. There is nothing left for you to do. The mystery has been solved and you are going to rest in peace. Now leave us in peace as well. You can't do this to him anymore. I won't let you."

It was an empty threat. Brennan had no idea how to fight something like this. But her voice made it clear she would find a way.

The pressure inside the room expanded until it disappeared with a pop. Behind Booth, Michelle nodded. With a smile Brennan thought seemed grateful and a small wave Michelle disappeared as well, the light on Brennan's desk going out as she left.

The room plunged into darkness, Brennan stepped carefully around obstacles until she safely made it to the wall switch. Flipping on the overhead lights, she turned to see Booth sitting up and blinking in confusion.

The air felt different, clean somehow and he wondered what had happened while he slept. He'd had strange dreams that he couldn't quite remember. But he'd been sure Bones had been there. Her voice, the words unclear, echoed in his mind. Eyes moving around the room, he couldn't see Brennan and thought she'd actually broken her promise. It wasn't until he turned that he found her standing near the light switch behind him.

The look on her face had him rising quickly. "What's wrong, Bones?"

She shook her head, unsure of what to say to him. There was no doubt that she'd tell him all of it, but needed time to organize it in her own mind. "Just give me a second," she said. "But I'm fine," she added quickly reading the concern in his eyes.

"You're...something," Booth said not believing her. "And no one who ever says the word fine is actually fine." There was something in her eyes he didn't recognize. "Just tell me." His words were harsh, but the voice that said them the opposite.

When she took a deep breath, Booth thought she was going to ignore him. Until she started to talk. And the story she told wasn't anything he'd been prepared to hear. She told him all of it. In all scientific tones with no emotion, she described what she'd seen and said.

"Maybe I fell asleep at my desk," Brennan said at the end. At some point during the story, Booth had approached her and pulled her back to the couch. Now they sat, facing each other and holding hands.

He hummed and Brennan knew he disagreed, but didn't want to say the words. "I suppose what's more important is that she's gone. Since that first moment in the woods, I've felt like I was carrying something. And that feeling is gone. She's gone," he breathed out. Relief had a smile breaking out on his face.

His smile made her do so. Reaching out, she brushed at his hair. "She was going to try and touch you," Brennan said. "I wasn't going to let that happen. She wasn't touching you. Not anymore."

Trapping her hand in his, he brought it to his lips and kissed her palm. "Willing to fight a ghost for me, Bones?" he teased. But his eyes were serious.

"For you, Booth," she answered, her eyes matching his, "I'll apparently fight both the real and the impossible."

Brennan knew she'd never be able to explain what happened, at least not so she was satisfied. It would forever remain a mystery, at least in her own mind.

But for Booth the whole thing was perfectly clear. As far as he was concerned, in order to protect him, she'd fought a ghost and won.

Reaching toward her, he brushed his knuckles down her cheek. "For a few minutes, no a few days," he corrected, "you've put aside everything you believe in to stand at my side. I don't have the words to tell you what that has meant to me. Thank you."

When his hand moved to cup her face, she leaned into it. "I told you that's where I'd always stand, and I meant it." She turned her face to kiss his palm and when she turned back, there was a different look in her eyes. "How do you feel after your nap?"

"Good," he said slowly. Booth was sure he recognized the look in her eyes, but was equally as sure that he must be wrong.

Standing, she went back to the switch and dimmed the lights in the office. Turning back to him, she slowly unbuttoned her shirt, letting it fall from her shoulders. "At least I won't have to worry about something spying on us."

He swallowed hard. "What are you doing, Bones?" he asked. It was clear what she was doing. He just couldn't believe she was doing it.

"The shades are down. And the door is locked," she said, performing the action as she said the words. "And I've been wanting to make love to you in this office since it reopened. The only people left are security and the cleaning crew. And they won't come in until I reopen the shades." Unzipping her pants, she shimmied out of them and dropped them next to her shirt. "I think you're overdressed."

Groaning at the sight of her black bra and panty set, Booth knew she was right. "I'm sure Hodgins and Angela are around here somewhere," he pointed out. But he was reaching for the buckle of his belt.

By the time she crossed the room back to him, his shirt was off as well. "They won't come in," Brennan reassured him. Fingers dancing across his naked skin, she smiled up at him. "I think I know how you can thank me."

"Oh yeah?" he said, voice deepening. "I think that sounds better than flowers."

As his head descended toward hers, Brennan acknowledged to herself that she would believe in just about anything for Booth.

And she was okay with that.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed our Halloween adventure. Thank you to everyone who took the time to review, follow or favorite. It's nice to know there are still a few people reading out there. Writing actual cases into my stories is something I usually avoid, but I hope I answered the big questions and did it justice.

Writing this was a lot of fun and I'm pleased with how it turned out. I hope all the readers out there feel the same.

Until next time...