A/N: Here it is, the sequel to Scarred Hearts Never Break. I hope you all enjoy!
From the moment she tentatively eased herself into the car, things became awkward. He fiddled with the keys and waited while she shifted her position several times, trying to get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as she could be with two gunshot wounds in her abdomen.
"So…" Booth trailed off, tapping the steering wheel with his fingers. Brennan felt his gaze on her and as usual, it was pretty intense. She bit her lip to keep from sighing audibly. Why did he always have to act like he could see right through her? Or worse yet, why did he actually have to DO it?
"You remember where my apartment is, don't you?" She asked with a slight smile, attempting to dispel the tension that was filling the car. It had not been a good morning. Her discharge took forever, she had trouble dressing herself, they made her sit in a wheelchair until she left the premises and Booth had been acting strange. To say he was on edge would be an understatement of appalling proportions.
She looked down at the plastic medical bracelet on her arm, another reminder of the events that had unfolded in the past weeks. She had been having trouble sleeping and had continually woken up in a cold sweat from nightmares. The doctor's first suggestion was to see a psychologist, which she pointedly refused. So instead he gave her some painkillers that made her drowsy and able to sleep a bit more.
But the pills couldn't take away the images she saw in her head when she shut her eyes. Booth shouting, Parker crying, her blood all over the floor. The images replayed themselves over and over, never giving her reprieve from the horror she wanted so desperately to forget.
And then there was Booth. Their relationship had irrevocably changed. It was only a few weeks ago that he was kissing her, making love to her at all times of the day and night. Now he was treating her like glass. He hadn't kissed her in the hospital, not once.
She watched as he nodded in response and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. The car ride was silent, a rarity in their relationship. They drove along the streets of DC, both lost in their thoughts.
"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" He asked, after some time.
"Yes, why?" She glanced at him curiously. There was a look in his eye that she couldn't decipher, almost as if he was hiding something.
"Well if you wanted me to stay with you for a while…."
"Booth I'm fine." She said exasperatingly. The words she spoke were in fact far from the truth. Every little movement made had caused pain to course through her body. She could barely do up the buttons on her shirt because of the throbbing. That and the fact that she was on several heavy painkillers meant that she wouldn't be doing much at home. And obviously going to work was out of the question. THAT annoyed her to no end.
Part of her wanted to accept the offer and let him take care of her, make her eat when she was supposed to and all of the other things that would come having him at her beck and call. But she wanted to at least try and live on her own. She wasn't an invalid, she certainly didn't intend to be treated like one.
Booth pulled up in front of her building and a wave of exhaustion fell over Brennan as she thought about the efforts she would have to make to even just get inside her apartment. She put on her best fake smile and gingerly got out of the car, trying not to wince in pain as she did so.
Booth came around to her side and looked at her worriedly. "Can I help?" He asked.
She just shook her head, unable to form words because of the pain she was feeling. He opened the trunk and grabbed her things and they slowly headed upstairs to her apartment.
Finally making it inside, he deposited her bag on her bed and grabbed the bottle of painkillers, making his way over to the couch in the living room, where she had set herself down.
"Do you need one?" He asked.
"Yes please." She replied. He went back to the kitchen for some water and she leaned back and shut her eyes. She just wanted to be healed and go back to work, then maybe she and Booth could go back to normal.
Booth returned with the glass of water and she took it from him, downing the pill with a large gulp. He sat beside her on the couch and the awkward silence returned. She was unsure of what to say, every time she opened her mouth to apologize or tell him it wasn't his fault, she couldn't find the right words.
"You should go." She blurted out. Seeing the look on his face, she hastily continued, "I mean I'm going to go take a nap and you should too, so…"
"Right." He replied, cutting her off. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"
She nodded and as he edged himself closer, her eyes widened at the thought of him finally kissing her. Instead he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and moved away suddenly.
"Okay, then." Booth said, getting up and heading towards the door. "I'll call you later Temperance."
"Bye." Brennan replied softly, watching him walk out the door.
She shut her eyes and sighed deeply. She wanted to shout and get him back She had been wrong, she did need him. Her body ached, not only from the pain, but from the want of his arms around her.
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He walked into the hotel and headed for the front desk, where a perky blonde woman was typing something on a computer.
"Can I help you?" She asked, in a tone that was already grating on his nerves.
"Yes. My name is Seeley Booth and I would like to get a room."
