Part one
The bullet lodged in her chest. Before she lost consciousness she wondered what caliber the bullet was. Her ribs might have been able to protect her organs.
Booth watched in horror as she fell to the ground five feet from him. He quickly came back to reality as a bullet barely missed him. He returned fire hitting the shooter in the chest as he ran for Bones.
Temperance lay on the ground. Actually that is not true. Her body lay on the ground. Temperance felt separated from that body some how. She was vaguely aware of her body being lifted by Booth. He was crying. She hated to see him cry. Her body was being loaded into an ambulance.
The EMTs were working to bring her back. She didn't know why; she liked it here. She felt free. Then she saw the most beautiful light. Her scientists mind wondered why it didn't hurt her eyes. She decided it didn't matter as she saw someone walking toward her. It was her mother.
"Temperance." Her mother smiled hugging her close.
"Mom." Temperance wanted to cry. "Am I dead?" she asked, figuring she already knew the answer. She just wanted the facts confirmed for her.
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Booth was running alongside the gurney. They had tried to make him stay behind, but one look at his face and they knew it was useless. He had called Angela on the way and so was not surprised when he heard someone yelling from the waiting room a few minutes after walking into the ER. He knew he should go get them to let her in, but he couldn't leave Bones. He needed to be there if…No… when she woke up.
It seemed Angela didn't need his help as she and Hodgins appeared before him. She was still mumbling about the stupid heifer that wouldn't let them in. Hodgins was mumbling because he had just been forced to donate a hundred thousand dollars to the hospital. They got into the ER though.
"How is she?" Angela asked, terrified of the answer she would get.
Booth just pointed to the doctor on a ventilator.
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"No, sweetie. Not yet." Her mother smiled at her. "You have done great things with your life, but you have not truly lived." Temperance was surprised to hear these things coming from her own mother.
"Tempe, dear. You are to be given a choice." Suddenly they were standing in an ER. She could see the whole team crying as they stood next to her body. "You can leave this life and be here with me or you can go back and try to make a real life for yourself."
"I don't want to lose you again, mom." Temperance was trying not to cry. "My life has been so hard. I have been alone so long. Why should I go back? I could just stay with you forever. I haven't seen you in so long, mom." She walked over to Booth. She could see the grief consuming him already. She thought of him sitting in his apartment all alone, in the dark, drinking right out of the bottle. She did not want him to go through that. She looked at her mom who smiled at her. "He is my partner, mom."
"I know sweetie."
"I choose him. I want to stay."
"You should tell him how you really feel about him, Tempe." With that she kissed her daughter on the forehead and disappeared.
"I will." Temperance promised.
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Temperance immediately began chocking on the tube down her throat.
"Nurse!" Booth yelled as he rushed to her side. Everyone woke with a start. Realizing the reason for him screaming identical smiles where seen on everyone's face.
The nurse ran in and removed the tube from her throat and Temperance started coughing.
Then everyone was hugging. Rapping her arms around Booth he thought he heard her say. 'I chose you.'
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Later everyone had left, promising to return first thing in the morning.
Booth attempted to make himself more comfortable in the chair by her bed. He had no intentions of leaving her side. A movement at the bed caught his attention. She was patting it for him to sit next to her.
"We can both fit here, Booth. You don't need to sleep in that chair." He was surprised by her offer, but he quickly joined her on the bed, careful not to jostle her much. She curled up next to him with her arm lying on his chest. They lay there like that for a while.
"Hey Booth," she said breaking the silence.
He smiled down at her. "I thought you were asleep. Do you need anything?"
Brennan thought about her answer for a moment before answering, "Yes."
"What do you need?" He asked, quickly moved to get up.
She stopped him with a slight pressure on her arm. He looked down at her in curiosity.
"You." She stated simply.
"What?" He wasn't sure he understood her.
"I need you." Then she did something he never thought she would. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips.
The kiss was enough to bring Booth back to his senses. He immediately began kissing her back. Then he heard three words he had been longing for.
"I love you, Booth."