This is a two chappie fic, the first is a songfic set to Easier to Run by Linkin Park, the second...well...it's not here yet so it doesn't matter.
Disclaimer: Do I look like Hart Hanson to you?
Sid threw another worried glance in the direction of his friend. He continued drying glasses behind the counter as if nothing else were going on, but secretly he was watching G-man like a hawk.
Booth walked into Wong Fu's two hours ago and Sid hadn't asked, simply placed the bottle of whiskey in front of him and walked away. Now though, his friend was slumped far over the bar, his head hung low like it weighed a thousand pounds.
"Hey G-man, I think you've had enough." Sid said, walking over from the other end of the bar.
Booth looked up at the sound of Sid's voice and waited for his slightly delayed brain to realize what he was saying.
"Yeah?" Booth shrugged, if Sid said it then it was probably true. "Okay."
Booth got up and was surprised when the ground began to approach him quickly.
Sid dove across the bar and grabbed Booth's collar before he splattered across the floor. He roughly settled him back on the barstool.
"Just hold on there, I'll call someone to get you."
Again, Booth shrugged, handed Sid his cell phone and laid his head down on the sticky counter.
It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone
"Brennen." The scientist answered her phone on the second ring while she continued to stare at the bones laid out before her.
The case she and Booth had just finished was one of the most gruesome she'd seen, even counting the mass graves in Guatamala. She and Booth had both been growing increasingly tense over the weeks of the case, so when they solved it earlier that day, she'd come back to the lab to relax with a few bones from Limbo. Absently though, she wondered how Booth was coping, as tough as it had been for her, she knew it hit him ten times harder. These types of cases always did…
"Sid?" She took her phone away from her ear and checked the caller ID, "Why are you using Booth's phone?...he what?..Oh...no...no, thanks Sid, I'll be there in ten minutes." She flipped closed her phone and peeled off her gloves as she jogged back to her office for her purse.
Something has been taken
.From deep inside of me
A secret I've kept locked away
No one can ever see
Wounds so deep they never show
They never go away
Like moving pictures in my head
For years and years they've played
"Booth?" She sat next to him and touched his back softly, he groaned and opened his eyes.
"Hey Bonesss." He slurred, slowly raising his head and trying to focus on her, but his eyelids felt unbelievably heavy.
"Hey yourself." She said softly, giving him a sympathetic smile, then turning to the man behind the bar, "Thanks Sid, I'll take care of him."
Sid nodded and held out a bottle to her, "For the killer hangover he's going to have tomorrow morning."
Brennen took the bottle and pushed it into her purse, then taking one of Booth's limp arms she pulled his weight onto her and started out the door.
Booth was aware of his sudden change in altitude and jerked his head up, trying to regain his bearings. It didn't work, just made him dizzier.
"Uh, Booth, could you not do that please?" Brennen gritted her teeth and struggled to keep both of them on their feet, he weighed at least twice as much as she did and his sudden movements weren't helping either of them stay upright.
If I could change I would
Take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would
If I could stand up and take the blame I would
If I could take all the shame to the grave
Brennen drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, trying to decide whether to take him to her place or his. She glanced at him in the passenger seat, his head laying heavily against the window as his eyes fluttered with each bump she rolled over in the street.
"Ouch." He grumbled when they hit a speed bump.
"Sorry."
They pulled up in front of his apartment building, Brennen's car having decided for her that this would be the best place for him.
She got out of the car and rushed around to his side as he tried to get out by himself and managed to almost bite the dust.
"H-hey, Bones? I…" He said softly as they crossed into the warmth of the apartment lobby.
"Shhhh, Booth, you're almost home."
Sometimes I remember
The darkness of my past
Bringing back these memories
I wish I didn't have
Sometimes I think of letting go
And never looking back
And never moving forward so
There would never bee a past
She leaned him against the wall and tried each key until she found the one that opened his door and flicked on the light.
Then, grabbing his arm again Brennan led him inside and straight back to his bedroom. Halfway there, though, she felt him suddenly leave her side. She reached out for him in the darkness, but he was nowhere to be found. Then she heard the heaves coming from the bathroom to her left.
She found the lightswitch and flicked it on.
Booth's large frame engulfed in a thin gray jacket was hunched over the toilet, his hands shaking. He groaned and Brennen pursed her lips walking over to him to she could help him to his feet.
She flushed the toilet as he leaned over the sink, splashing his face with cool water. She had been watching him for a few moments her blue eyes flooded with concern before he faced her. His face held an unreadable expression as he grabbed her arm and pushed her from the room.
"Booth!" She tried the doorknob but found that he'd locked it. She heard him throwing up again and sighed heavily.
To busy herself until he was done and keep herself from worrying too much Brennan went to the bedroom and pulled back the sheets. She'd been here a few times and wouldn't normally make herself so at home, but these weren't normal circumstances. The sounds of water and an electric toothbrush made their way through the bathroom door and she sat on the bed to wait for him to emerge.
Just washing it aside
All of the helplessness inside
Pretending I don't feel misplaced
Is so much simpler than change
"Ooomf." Booth banged his shoulder on the door jam as he fought his way out of the bathroom. Then, using the walls for support, he staggered back to his bedroom.
Brennan was waiting and stood to help him across the open space of the room to the bed.
Booth fell onto the bed, exhaustion commanding him to close his eyes and fall asleep. He ignored it though and immediately began struggling as Brennen tried to help him out of his jacket and shoes.
"I'm fine Bones. I can do it by myself." His voice was quiet but demanding.
Brennen chuckled softly, "Yeah, you who can't take two steps on your own without falling."
"Leave me alone!" He said, firmly pushing her arms off him before he laid back down and turned his back to her.
Booth's head was banging, he was sure it was trying to implode on itself and the lightness that had descended on him earlier was gone with the contents of his stomach, replaced with an uncomfortable tightness in his chest.
Brennen studied his silohette. He had no idea how much she really wanted to leave him alone, to distance herself from this relationship that seemed to pull her in like a magnet. She'd never been this close to anyone, and yes, that scared the hell out of her, but this was not the time or place to deal with that.
Booth needed her. For once in their whole time knowing eachother, he was the one pulling away and she was trying desperately to hang on.
"No Booth. I won't leave you alone." She said to his back, shedding her coat and shoes and sitting down next to him on the bed.
"Like it or not, I'm staying with you." She curled up beside him, back to back, and laid her head down on the pillow that smelled like him and she inhaled deeply, unconciously. Booth would not be alone through this, and incidentally, neither would she.
It's easier to run replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone
Booth felt her lay down next to him and pushed his anger aside, she was going to stay. In spite of himself, he was glad.
After a few seconds, Brennen felt the mattress shift beneath her and a strong arm wrapped around her middle, pulling her closer.
Then she felt his soft lips place a kiss on her jaw line just below her ear.
"Thank you." He whispered.
Brennen just smiled and reached up to touch his cheek with one of her hands.
"I'll always be here for you Booth. I won't let you take the easy way out." He squeezed her middle in response and sleep came easy that night.
So there is another chapter to this if anyone is interested...