Disclaimer: Not mine. Why do I have to disclaim it? It's not like I don't want it.

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She was resting her head on his shoulder. She knew he cared about her, loved her. She knew that she cared about him. She didn't know if she loved him. She didn't know what love was. She knew he was trying to shoe her what love meant. Everyone that loved her always left. She almost hoped he didn't love her. She didn't want him to leave. He was all she had ever dreamed of. If she was a person that believed in soul mates, which she didn't, she would say that Booth was her soul mate. He was handsome, that was a plus. He respected her. He taught her things. He knew what true love was. She wondered who had made him understand true love. Was it her? She really shouldn't get her hopes up. She was really hoping he'd put his arm around her.

"Are you okay Bones?"

"I liked Zach. He was like a brother."

"He was to all of us. I know I pretended I hated him, but he wasn't that bad."

"We all liked him, Booth."

He didn't say anything, he just put his arm around her and pulled her tightly to his side. She wasn't close enough, because she snuggled into his side and put her head on his chest. Booth knew that she couldn't be comfortable, so he picked her up in his arms and held her. He just held her and didn't want to let her go. That's the only thing he hated about holding her. He always had to let her go. He'd be content with holding her forever.

She didn't want him to let her go. She left her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was so comforting to hear after he'd been gone for two weeks. She loved watching the rise and fall of his chest. He had his arms around her, and it felt right. She put her arms around him, something she usually wouldn't do. She tried to snuggle into him more. He was warm, and the Jeffersonian was always cold. As stupid as it sounded, she just wanted to be held. Men never just held her. She didn't ever want any of those men to hold her, she just wanted Booth. She was almost asleep when she heard Angela.

"Are you okay sweetie?"

"I'm fine, Ange. Are you okay?"

"I can't believe he'd do that."

"I can't believe it either."

"Why are you letting Booth hold you?"

Sheepishly Brennan got out of Booth's arms as quick as she could.

"We both just needed a little comfort."

"Really?" Angela was wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

"Ange, we just needed comfort. Booth had to shoot Gormogon, and I just lost my assistant."

"And you let him hold you? Bren, you would never do that with anyone else. You won't even let me hug you most of the time, and you let Booth hold you like… like…"

"A baby?"

"Yeah, I guess that fits. There's got to be another reason that you are letting him hold you."

"I missed him. Those two weeks bothered me. I wanted him to hug me. I wanted to tell him that I was grateful for him."

"Why would you be grateful for me?"

"You're the best partner anyone could ask for. You care about me. You took a bullet for me."

"Bones, I took that bullet for myself."

"What? That makes no sense."

"I can't live without you. I'd rather take twenty bullets than to see you get shot once. It hurts me Bones. When you're in pain, I want to be the one that can take it away. I love you Bones."

"First of all, it is impossible to not be able to live without someone. Second of all, how can it hurt you when I'm in pain? Third of all, how can you take pain away?"

"I need you Bones. It hurts me because I care about you. When you care about someone like I care about you, you don't like to see them hurt. I could take all your pain away if you'd just let me."

"No you couldn't. You don't know some of the pain I've experienced."

"You can tell me."

"Booth, it would upset you."

"As shallow as this sounds, I would rather deal with your pain than mine."

"I've got to go, guys. I'll let you get back to holding each other."

"Angela!" They shouted at the exact same time.

"Jinx, Bones."

"What?"

"You can't talk until you buy me a soda."

"That's stupid."

"I knew you'd say that. Fine, I just won't hold you."

"Fine, I don't like it when you hold me."

"I bet."

"You'd win that bet."

"You like to be held by me."

"No I don't."

"Why'd you put your head on my chest then, Bones?"

"Don't be mean. That's not fair. You're making me admit it."

"Just admit you like to be held."

"I don't."

"What?"

"I only like to be held by you."

"I'm glad. I don't have to worry about any other man holding you."

"You're glad that no one else will hold me?"

"Bones, I'm very competitive. I like it if I don't have competition."

Brennan didn't say anything, just hugged him. She knew he would hold her like he had been. Sure enough, he did.

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