A/N: Just a piece that's been sitting in my S.S. binder for a while. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I own…..nothing. = [

She was teetering on the edge of disaster. She was hanging in the balance of the world we live in today and the point of no return. A place where there's nowhere to go but down, leaving its occupants discontent with all of humanity including themselves. It was a place where the Lost and Lonely could huddle close but where they would keep to themselves for all eternity. She was teetering on the edge of love and hate, absolute acceptance or total rejection of oneself. She was headed toward despair and hopelessness, a place where so many lives had already been claimed. She didn't believe in faith and she didn't believe in God, but she did believe anywhere was better than where she was standing at the moment. On the edge of the balcony of her apartment, wondering if and when she'd follow the same path as a killer had many months before.

Did it even matter? Would she ever amount to more after she followed the same path as a murderer? Her logic told her no, but another part of her, where Joy Keenan believer in Santa and God lay hidden inside, told her otherwise. In a place in which she once believed in, she'd be the same as Howard Epps.

But those close to her would surely suffer, wouldn't they? Would they miss her dearly or would she end up like all the other foster children she grew up with? A forgotten corpse under an unmarked, lone gravestone.

And that's where Temperance Brennan, world renowned forensic anthropologist and NY Times best selling author stood, teetering on the edge of life and death.

He hadn't known it would get this bad. He hadn't known a sick son of a bitch would abuse her like that, video tape it, and post it up on the World Wide Web. He hadn't known it would end up on the five o'clock news and she'd be there to watch, in horror, as her personal, traumatic story was reinforced over and over again to the general public only days after he dragged her out of that Hellhole. And had he known she'd dart our of the building, with the media's sick idea that it was all for publicity still ringing through her ears as she went home to spiral into a deep abyss of depression, he would have never let her go out on that blind date.

Sure, he thought to himself as he sped down the streets, sirens ablaze, slicing through the seemingly dark, harmless night, they caught the internet dating serial killer. However, it was not before he had done the most damage to the one he cared for the most. He almost had reached her complex when he saw her. People had yet to form crowds under the nine-story balcony, but it was only a matter of time before the media showed up and she really did jump.

Racing up the stairs, so many thoughts ran through his head. She was so frail and vulnerable up there. It was dark, but he could still remember seeing the tear stains down her face and the ratty-ness of her hair, illuminated by the lights of the streets below. She looked scared and confused, almost as if she'd run out of options and now she was having an internal battle with herself. It was probably her logic against her heart.

Shit.

He was always telling her to shut her brain off and turn her heart on overdrive. What if this was the only time she'd listen to him? He'd better get up there fast. He wouldn't know how to live with himself if he was the one that helped bring Temperance Brennan over the edge.

She sensed his presence before she saw him. Of course he'd be here.

"Bones," he said. She could hear the fear in his voice, even though he tried to hide it.

Instead of answering she looked down at her feet, which were slowly contemplating, on their own, whether or not to take her final steps into oblivion. She didn't want to talk to him, look at him even because she knew she would lose it; and deep down inside, she didn't want to lose it. Especially not in front of him.

"Temperance," he said again, this time his voice was a little more demanding. She could hear his footsteps behind her and she began tapping her fingers on the bar behind her, showing him she wasn't afraid to let go.

"Don't take another step, Booth. I'll jump. I mean it." The footsteps immediately stopped. With that one notion both parties knew who had the upper hand. So the question was, what would it take to shift the power so that the more stable party could help the unstable?

"Alright, alright. I'm right here," Booth said, putting his hands up in a surrendering position. "I know things are bad Bones, but-"

"BAD?" she interrupted. "Bad? Booth, things are horrible right now! I don't even think things could get any worse! Her voice was more than an octave higher than normal, and it was leaning towards the side of complete hysteria. With every word flying out of her pretty mouth, they bother became more frantic. One to save the other's life, and one to end it.

"Hey, hey, Bones…Bones…TEMPERANCE." That got her attention. "This is all going to blow over," he promised as he resumed his journey towards her.

"Booth…" she warned meekly. He took this as a sign to continue.

"I know you're hurting, Temperance," he stated in a sympathetic yet matter-of-fact tone, "but you can't deal with your problems like this. Talk them out." He was almost three quarters of the way to her. Now, the rest of the way would be the hard part. He began talking again, comforting her in the best way he could, while using his voice to mask his footsteps.

She knew he was close, closer than she'd ever imagined him getting, but for some reason, the soothing sound of his voice was calming her. It was almost to a point as to where she was rethinking what she was about to do with her life.

"There's more than one way to let things go," he whispered huskily in her ear as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist.

She was almost to a point of breakage, he thought to himself, as he felt the bones of her hips dig into his arms. He knew she didn't eat much of late, or for as long as he'd known her for that matter, but this was teetering on the line of dangerous.

Feeding her would be next on his list.

The wind began to whip as the predicted storm began to make its way to the metropolitan area. Booth held on tighter, thinking she was going to fly away if he didn't, and watched as her hair lifted of her shoulders and took off into the air, blowing into his face. The lights from the cars below illuminated her face and even with tearstains down her cheeks and eyes puffy from crying, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. The wind began to pick up again as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. Her smell intoxicated his senses until he reached a point of Temperance overload; but he didn't care. They stayed that way for a moment, with her looking out to the lights of the buildings plastered onto the canvas of dark rain clouds, while he relished the fact she was in his arms, rethinking the idea of leaving him.

The flash of lighting and the rolls of the thunder became more prominent and as the minutes rolled by, wasted tears began falling from the sky. They slowly began washing away the residents below until the stress were empty and deserted.

"Now's your time, Temperance," Booth half whispered-half yelled into her ear. "I want you to let go."

She turned to face him for the first time that night, a confused look on her face. He simply nodded his head as their eyes connected and in a split second, she knew what to do. It was that magical connection Angela and others had talked about. Where they communicated through facial expressions and the depths of their gazes. A special connection many married couples wished they had. A special moment in time where even the darkest clouds could be evaporated by the light that illuminated from the pair. A special glance, where everything was ok with the world, where everything was ok with them.

Haphazardly, she lifted one hand off the wet rail, and then the next, taking comfort and security in the fact Booth's arms were wrapped around her tight. She trusted him enough that she knew he wouldn't let go. She spread her arms out to the sides of her, like a small bird ready to leave the nest and fly for the first time. As Booth held her tighter she let out a yell. It was a scream that took away all the pent up agony she was feeling and brought it up, up until it was engulfed by the sea of clouds. She closed her eyes and relished the moment of being free and at ease for the first time in a while.

"That's my girl," Booth whispered tenderly in her ear. "Let's get you down."

Slowly but surely did she, with his help, climb back over the edge of the balcony and launch herself into his arms. She buried her face into his shoulder and breathed in his sent. It was a mix of masculinity, the rain, and a scent that was distinctly Booth. She was no longer teetering on the balance anymore. She was home.

Home was a place where she wasn't judged, where she could be herself. Home was the place she could count on for a smile no matter how bad things seemed to be. Home was a constant; finally something she knew would never leave her. Finally a place where she knew the light would be on; a place she hadn't experience in a long time. Home was her rock, a solid object she could lean on no matter how rough the ocean became. Home was her light, guiding her back to sanity no matter how deep in the pit she fell. Home was her heart, when it broke she broke and vise versa. Home was his arms around her, keeping her grounded and sheltered from the world's hardships. Home was his eyes, capturing her breath and reading into her deepest emotions she thought she'd locked away forever. Home had become her mind, body, and soul when she had her back turned for a moment; but strangely, she didn't mind. Home was her best friend, her protector. And as they stood there in the rain, clothes soaked through to the core, holding on to each other for dear life she realized something. Home was Seeley Booth.

A/N: Well, there you have it. My first piece in what seems like forever. So what'd ya think? And on another note, what's everyone thinking about that whole Brennan/Jared thing. Can you say sibling rivalry???