So basically just a different ending to the latest Bones episode, The Secret in the Siege (is that the season finale?) I'd been freaking out that Sweets actually would die (and thank the lord and the good souls of the writers of Bones that he didn't) and decided to write a fic of what would happen if he did. Very short, but I hope you like it. I tried really hard to capture the filial relationship between Booth and Sweets - it's a deeper connection than either of them like to admit, and it truly is a father-son relationship for both of them.
I don't own Bones. Please don't forget to review!
"Sweets!" Booth called over the traffic jam. More protests sprung up when he jumped to a yellow taxi. He glanced to the sidewalk again. The girl had a huge lead. Crap...come on...let me have this one...Booth prayed. He pulled out his gun as a precaution. He didn't have to want to shoot anyone, but he may have to in order to save his friend. Booth saw the girl pull out her gun and everything went in slow motion.
She took aim at Sweets' car window first, walking towards it in order to kill him the way she killed all the others. He pulled out his gun to shoot at her to cripple her, but suddenly felt pressure on his ankle. A man had gotten out of his car and put his hand around Booth's ankle. He tried desperately to pull his foot out of the offender's grip and gesture to him that he needed to go, but it was too late. The man pulled him down, Booth's face smacking into the side of the car before hitting the pavement.
"Sweets!" he called out for the last time in desperation. His friend didn't hear him.
A shot was fired. Blood splattered against the pavement and the car. Booth heard Bones call out to him, "Booth!"
He heard heavy footsteps coming towards him and a boot kicked him in the head.
"Too late, Agent Booth," he heard the killer taunt. The kick sent his vision swirling and he was seeing double. She laughed and ran away, integrating herself back into the crowd. Booth grunted with effort as he tried to pull himself up, the man who had pulled him down just staring at him in horror. When he recovered, he held his head before shoving the man against the expensive car he had been so keen to save from Booth's feet.
"You may have just caused the death of a good man," he snarled in his face, "Let's hope for your sake he's not dead. Don't go anywhere." The man put his hands up and backed away. "Stay in the car and don't move!" Booth demanded, yelling as he walked backwards towards Sweets, "I will find you if you run!" Then he turned back around and focused his whole self on finding Sweets...hopefully alive.
As he approached the car, the scene that greeted him was not a positive one. The car door was flung open, the window broken, and Sweets was lying on the ground sideways next to it. His head wasn't blown out like the other victims of the tragic case, but he had been shot. His hand was outstretched by his side, his gun lying in his open hand, with blood on the end of it. So he had fought back. He was still alive, but barely. He'd been shot right in the heart and breathing too quickly. His eyelids were fluttering and he didn't seem to be in control of his body.
Booth swore loudly before feeling a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Bones there.
"Bones, get some help, now!" She shook her head. He looked at her in desperation. "Bones?"
"Booth, he's not going to make it, not with that much blood." She had tears in her eyes, "She must have hit his heart or a major artery." She put a hand over her face and Booth scrunched his face in concentration, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"No!" he hissed, "Can't you get someone? Help me!" He had his hands over his friend's wound, trying to staunch the blood, but as usual, Bones was right. It was too much. He knew that much before he even asked her, but he didn't want to believe it. She bit her lip to hold back a sob and nodded, running the other way.
"Stay with me, Sweets, come on, we're gonna pull through this. You can do this," Booth encouraged, trying desperately to ignore the blood leaking through his fingers and the faintness of his breathing.
"Booth, it's too late," Sweets said faintly in between gasps, "You can't save me. I know you'll try, but you can't."
"You're gonna be fine. Sweets, Bones is getting you some help now. Just stay awake." Sweets swallowed and glanced down at his wound. He shook his head at Booth.
"She was right, I'm not going to make this. I'm sorry, Booth."
"No! This is nothing. Just a scratch, just a little thing. I've had worse."
Sweets let out a raspy laugh. "Right." He put a hand on Booth's, trying feebly to remove it. He looked up at him seriously. "Let me go, Booth."
Booth shook his head. "We're not letting you go." Sweets grew more serious, but his hand dropped to his side as his breathing got too shallow for Booth's liking. His body was going limp, his head falling back to the pavement.
"Sweets! Stay with me!" Booth shouted, "We're getting you help, just hold on for a couple more minutes!"
Sweets looked at him, a mixture of solemnity and sorrow.
"Let. Me. Go." His eyes glazed over and he let out a heavy sigh. He was gone. Booth's hands were shaking when he took his hands slowly off of his chest. He knew full well he was gone. He had seen it too many times before.
"Dammit!" he cursed loudly, punching the car with his bloody fists, making his knuckles bleed. His whole body was shaking with fury. He stood up slowly before looking around for Bones or anyone else he knew. They all looked like strangers to him. He didn't see her or anyone else anywhere.