Brennan's resting in her hospital bed, lying on her side, her eyelashes fluttering as she catches a few hours of sleep before she'll be woken up to attempt to nurse again. The first time didn't go so well, but the lactation expert that's provided to her told her not to give up hope, that it may take a few tries for mother and baby to get the hang of things. That reassured her immensely. She lets out a breath and tugs on the sheets, shifting on the mattress and falling back into a deep sleep.

Booth sets his newborn son, Jacob, in the bassinet and steps out of the room when his phone rings. He sits down on a chair by the door and answers it despite not recognizing the Caller I.D. "Booth," he says, his tone professional.

A couple seconds later, a soft-spoken woman's voice echoes through the receiver. "Hello, this is Janet Freedman from University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Am I speaking to Seeley Booth?"

Booth blinks. "Yes, this is Seeley Booth."

"I'm calling on behalf of Jared Booth. You are listed as one of his emergency contacts."

He nods, shifting on the uncomfortable plastic chair. "Yeah, he's my little brother. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Booth, but—."

He cuts her off, leaning forward, and clears his throat. "What happened?"

"It's better to have these conversations face-to-face, Mr. Booth. Are you able to come out here within the next couple days?"

He swallows. "Um, well, yeah, I'm about an hour outside of Baltimore. I can be there tonight." He hangs up after a quick goodbye and stands up.


Booth reenters the room and finds Brennan awake and looking at him, her brows furrowed.

Brennan shifts and notices the glassy appearance to his eyes as he steps closer to the bed. "Is everything all right, Booth? Is something wrong with Jacob?"

He shakes his head and offers her a small smile. "Jacob is perfect, Bones."

The wrinkle in her forehead deepens. "Then is there something wrong with Christine?"

"Bones, relax. Nothing is wrong with the kids."

"But something is wrong, isn't it?"

He sinks down in the chair and takes her hand. "I have to drive out to Baltimore right now."

"You don't have any open cases. Why do you have to drive out to Baltimore tonight? It's late."

"A nurse from University of Maryland Medical Center called me. My brother, something happened to Jared."

She blinks. "Oh. Is he okay?"

He just shakes his head solemnly. "No."

She touches his hand and sighs, her expression changing completely. "Booth, I'm so sorry."

He nods. "I don't want to leave you or Jacob, but—."

She nods in understanding. "It's fine, Booth, go. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Because—."

She holds up her hand to stop him and nods again. "Yes, I'm sure. Jacob and I will be just fine. Call me when you get to the hospital and let me know what's going on."

He stands up and leans over, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I probably have to talk to his lawyer and sign a few papers or whatever, and then I'll be back."

"Don't rush. Like I said, we'll be fine. There are nurses and doctors on-call twenty hours a day and my dad said I could call him if I needed anything." She pauses. "I'm sorry about Jared. I know your relationship with him has been strained the last couple of years, but he was still your brother and you cared about him, whether or not you admitted that or not."

He nods. "Try and rest, okay, Bones?" He gives her another kiss, savoring it. He turns around and takes a couple steps towards the bassinet. He touches his son's cheek with his knuckles and leans down, pressing a kiss to the baby's forehead. "I'll be back, Little Man. Don't give your mom too much trouble, okay?" He pulls his hand back, smiles down at his mini-me, and then looks over at Brennan again. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I can always go with you, Booth."

He rolls his eyes. "Nu-uh, Bones. Trust me. I wish you could come with me, but you just gave birth and—just stay put and take care of yourself."

She nods. "I love you."

He smiles and kisses her hair. "I love you too."

"Did they say what happened?"

He shakes his head. "I asked, but the nurse told me that they rather have these kinds of conversation in person, you know? I get it."

She nods. "Do you think it has to do with him drinking again?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if it did, but it doesn't matter what happened. He may have been a screw-up, but the bottom line is," he swallows, "my little brother's gone and I'm gonna miss him." He wipes away a tear quickly, hoping no one saw it.

She sighs. "I'll see you when you get back."

He squeezes her hand and smiles. "Yep." He grabs his jacket from the arm of the chair and puts it on as he leaves the room and disappears down the hallway.


Booth arrives at University of Maryland Medical Center at close to 8:30 PM. He parks in the visitor parking lot and makes his way towards the emergency room entrance. He takes a deep breath just before he steps through the automatic doors. He walks swiftly over to the first nurses' station he sees and clears his throat. "Excuse me?"

A nurse with shoulder length blonde hair pulled into a ponytail smiles brightly at the FBI Special Agent. "Good evening, Sir, may I help you?"

He nods. "Yeah. I got a call earlier about my brother, Jared Booth. He didn't make it. Um, I think the nurse who called me was Janet Freedman."

The nurse nods and picks up the phone. She pages Janet and hangs up before looking at the man again. "She's on the maternity floor. Just have a seat and I'll direct her towards you when she gets down here." She pauses. "May I have your name for reference?"

He nods. "Seeley Booth."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Booth."

"Thanks." He heads over to a line of chairs and sinks down into the one closest to the door. He leans forward and clasps his hands together, dipping his head and whispering a prayer. When he looks up again, he notices an older woman with dark brown hair with streaks of gray in it approaching him. He stands up and tries to smile, though his lips only manage to purse into a line.

"Mr. Booth, I presume."

He nods. "Yes, Seeley Booth." He shakes her hand and follows her without another word.

Janet leads him through the ER and introduces him to Dr. Steven Reynolds, a trauma surgeon. She backs away, leaving the two men to talk.

Booth shakes the doctor's hand and the two of them go into an unoccupied room. He sits down in a chair across from the doctor and looks at the man.

Dr. Reynolds's clears his throat and adjusts his stethoscope. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Booth."

I'm getting real tired of everybody saying that. Booth nods.

"I'm sure you'd like to know exactly what happened to your brother."

"Yeah, that would be helpful."

"Your brother was in a bar fight earlier this evening. He was taken to the hospital via ambulance and presented with severe internal injuries. The EMTs informed me that his heart stopped once at the scene and again on the way to the hospital. He was able to be revived both times with minimal damage. I did an initial examination and then he was quickly taken to the OR. Unfortunately, his heart stopped on the operating table and I was unable to get it beating again."

Booth stares at the surgeon, trying to wrap his head around the new information. He swallows, and after a couple minutes, he nods.

"I did everything I could, Mr. Booth."

Booth nods again and looks away. Sensing that the doctor isn't finished, he makes eye contact with Dr. Reynolds again.

"Were you aware that your brother's girlfriend was expecting?"

Booth coughs. "What?" He shakes his head. "I wasn't even aware that he had a girlfriend. We, we were sort of, we used to be a lot closer, but we haven't been in a couple years. Tonight was the first time I heard anything about him in close to a year." He pauses. "Wait, why are you telling me this?"

Dr. Reynolds lets out a breath. "My colleague, Dr. Klein, is an obstetrician. She's the one who delivered the baby Monday afternoon. Your niece is doing very well."

Booth blinks. "I have a niece?" He shakes his head. "I still don't understand why you're telling me this."

"Your niece's mother suffered a fatal postpartum hemorrhage. Dr. Klein controlled the bleeding, but the patient's heart stopped during the procedure. My colleague was able to revive her, but her brain had been deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time. The patient, your niece's mother, is currently on life support."

"Listen, Doc, you're really going to have to be more specific here because I've been awake for more than fourteen hours and you're not making any sense. What does any of this have to do with me?"

Dr. Reynolds nods. "I don't have all the information, but your brother's lawyer is waiting for you in a conference room on the third floor. He'll tell you more. I can show you up there if you would like."

Booth's eyes widen in realization. "Oh."


This story idea came to me out of the blue and I felt compelled to write it down.

Review and let me know if you want more.