The way in which she reacted to him was painful. He was used to the self-assured young woman who had held her ground when he'd refused to believe in her occupation. Just the mention of one thing's name had terrified her so much.
He slid the rest of the way to the ground as she quit fighting him and moved into the hug he offered her. Booth wrapped his arms around her. There were no standard comforting words that were usually automatic responses and as well intentioned as they may be, hollow.
He'd been to war and done and seen things he wished he could forget, that still haunted him to this day. But he could not imagine what she was feeling because she had experienced a side of the world he was unfamiliar with, one that seemed scarier, terrifying.
But there was one thing he could say, that he believed wholly in. It wasn't a lie. "He won't touch you as long as I'm around," Booth promised quietly. "He can huff and he can puff, but they always fall the hardest."