A/N: This story is set right after Booth's brain surgery in the Critic in the Cabernet and The End in the Beginning never happened. So I have an extended author's note in front of this one but it's for a good reason. This story is dedicated to my mother, who is currently fighting the battle of her life against breast cancer. As a nurse, I have seen and helped many people fight cancer but seeing my mother live through the everyday struggles that accompany chemotherapy has made my realize the true impact that cancer has on not only the patient but on those who care about them as well. Writing this story has been a release for me, a way to sort through my feelings regarding my mother's disease and for that, I am grateful that these characters have given me the opportunity to find that release. What Booth goes through in this story is based off direct observation of my mother and I hope to do her justice. I am posting this story in her honor and thank you for reading.

Trying to Fight an Invisible, Invading Army

Chapter 1

He woke up, his mind fuzzy and his tongue stuck like glue to the roof of his mouth. The smell of antiseptic invaded his senses even through the nasal cannula that he felt resting against his upper lip, delivering much needed oxygen to his body and his healing brain. Though still orienting himself to his present surroundings, he knew very clearly why he was here. The memory of his condition came back to him through the remembrance of the fear in his partner's eyes as she pleaded with him to go to the hospital and trust in her that something was wrong. And it turned out that something was very wrong: a pilocytic cerebellar astrocytoma, or as he understood it, brain tumor. Suddenly, all the headaches and the hallucinations had an organic cause and everything that he had been trying to ignore the past year or so came screeching to the forefront and he had to deal with it quickly and decisively. So quickly, in fact, that he couldn't quite believe what had happened over the last day or so; come to think of it, he didn't know what day it was today, how long he had been out of surgery, recovering. Deciding it was time to figure out what was going on, he opened his eyes and squinted at the light that flooded his vision. The first thing he saw was the white walls of his hospital room, everything around him screamed sterility and cleanliness, just like the Jeffersonian. He looked around and saw his partner sitting in a chair by the window, typing away on her laptop, the crinkle between her eyebrows indicating her focus on her work. He tried to smile at the sight but found that his lips still were not responding to his commands the way he would like them to. Wanting to get the fuzziness out of his mouth, he tried to clear his throat to get his partner's attention, desperate for some ice chips if allowed.

At the clearing of his throat, Brennan looked up at him, surprise briefly crossing her face before concern replaced it. She placed her laptop down on the table as she stood up and walked over to the side of his bed, gently grasping his hand in the same manner as she did when he was wheeled into his surgery. It gave him comfort, gave him a tether, an anchor in the swirling waters of his thoughts. As if reading his mind, although he knew she would find that notion absurd, she reached out of a Styrofoam cup with a plastic spoon inside that was resting on his table, carefully spooning some ice chips into his waiting mouth. The ice chips melting on his tongue was a welcome relief and helped him feel more human. Moving his slightly to the side to see her better, he felt the scratching of the gauze wrapped around his head against the pillow his head rested on. Grimacing at the feeling, he knew that once the bandages came off, his bald head would show the scar of the back of his head where the incision was made to remove the offending tissue. And though had never considered himself to be vain, he knew he would miss his hair, preferring it keep it a little longer than he had to wear it when he was in the Army. Although the buzz cut worked for Jared, it didn't ever do much for him. When turning his head, he felt something on pull on the right side of his neck. Wanting to lift his hand up to check the source of the pulling but not wanting to pull his hands from Brennan's hands, he decided to wait, figuring there was plenty of time for that later. Forcing his wandering mind back to the present, he looked at his partner, who was softly stroking the hand that she held in both of hers. She smiled softly at him but it was not the smile that she normally gave him, tinged with a sadness that worried him.

"Hey, Bones," he said now that his mouth was no longer glued together. She squeezed his hand at his greeting and opened her mouth to speak when the doctor came into the room. She turned her head at the footsteps on the tile room, the nice Italian shoes of the doctors echoing throughout hallways. She was happy to see that Booth had finally woken up; he had been in a medically induced coma for three days, allowing his brain time to heal. The nurses had taken him off of the sedation last night and she had been anxiously waiting for him to wake up ever since. After sitting in his room for three days, she was exhausted. Every time she tried to sleep, her dreams were invaded by images of children with dark brown hair and blue eyes, a perfect combination of the two of them. Children that would have to be put on hold for the time being, on hold until their theoretical father healed from his ailments. And there would be a lot of healing. While Brennan was not a pathologist, she knew how to read a pathology report and she knew that Booth had some hard times ahead of him. During these last three days, she had examined her life and resolved to be right by his side for the upcoming battle of his life, for his life. For she knew that if he were left to fight it alone, the chances of success would be substantially lower and she could never do that to the man she loved.

"Mr. Booth," Dr. Jergen said as he entered the room. "I'm glad to see that you are awake. How do you feel?" He was looking at what Booth assumed was his chart and hadn't looked him in the eyes just yet. Booth liked to think that he was good at reading people and if his instincts were correct, there was something that the doctor was hiding from him. He looked at Brennan worriedly, but she just squeezed his hand again and gave him a nod.

"I feel okay," Booth told him, gripping Brennan's hand as he waited for what the doctor was going to tell him.

"Good, good," Dr. Jergen said. "I am here to tell you Mr. Booth that the surgery went well. We were able to excise the tumor without any complications. Unfortunately, the tumor is not the problem now. The tumor was located next to capillaries that drain into the lymph system and we found a micro-metastasis in your right cervical lymph node. After removing the lymph node and doing a biopsy on it, I am sorry to inform you that the tumor cells were malignant and that those cells are now spreading throughout your body. You have cancer, Mr. Booth."

All the thoughts Booth had swirling around in his brain suddenly came to a stop as the only thought remaining centered around one word: cancer. He looked up to see Dr. Jergen's lips moving but heard none of the words coming out of his mouth. All he was thinking about was what was happening inside his body, how for once he was fighting an enemy that he couldn't see and couldn't kill without killing himself in the process. This enemy was invading his body and it was made up of his own cells and his own DNA. Looking over at Brennan, he was pleading with her silently to tell him it wasn't true, that he was still asleep and all of this was just a horrible dream. But he only saw the truth of his situation in her eyes, the sympathy and the concern for his well being shining through her crystal clear blue eyes. She gave him a sad smile and squeezed his hand once more before turning to the doctor.

"Dr. Jergen, is there any way that we could postpone this discussion to a later time? I think this information is all too overwhelming at this point," she said. She could see the terror plain in Booth's eyes and it scared her. Never in their partnership had she known him to be scared of anything but this wasn't just anything; this was something that he couldn't fight using his superior training and intellect. And it was something that with all of her intelligence, she couldn't rationalize or reason out.

"Of course, Dr. Brennan. I am actually here to inform you that I am now off the case as cancer is not my area of expertise. Dr. Liao, our oncologist, will be taking over your case from here and should be in within the hour to discuss treatment options with you." Right before Dr. Jergen left the room, he turned back around to face the pair in the room who was lost in each other's eyes and the bad news. "Mr. Booth, I wish that the news was better and I am sorry."

Booth nodded once to the doctor and he turned back to Brennan. He heard the shoes scrap across the floor again, indicating that the doctor left the room again. He couldn't think of anything else right now except that he was glad that she was hear with him, that someone whom he loved was with him during this time and hoped she would remain with him. He thought of his son, the other person he loved most in this world and how he was going to tell him that his father was sick. He just hoped that there was some treatment they could give him; he wanted so much to watch his son grow up and to have a chance at a relationship with his partner and that kid that she wanted just a few short days ago, before his world was turned upside down.

"Are you okay, Booth?" Brennan asked him, worried about his silence. She knew that he needed time to process this news. Hell, it took her two days to process and she was not the one with the cancer. But, like in many other situations she had been in in the past, she did not know what to say and was afraid that she would say the wrong thing. And at this point, it looked like the smallest thing could break him right now. He looked so small and vulnerable in the hospital bed, nothing like the Booth she normally knew, the white bandage that was now covering his newly baldhead and surgical scar sticking out in sharp contrast to his pale skin.

"Hey, Bones," he said, a questioning tone in his voice.

"What is it, Booth?"

"You know that deal that we made that if I were ever scared, I would hug you, and then we would be even?" he asked, looking at her with the same expression that he did when he was looking for her before the surgery.

"I remember, Booth. I do have superior intellect, you know," she replied.

He smirked at her answer before becoming serious again. "Well, I'm scared now."

His confession made tears well up in her eyes and her throat tighten up. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly to her, his head falling to her shoulder. His arms came up around her body and gripped her tightly, burying her head in her neck and inhaling deeply, letting her scent comfort him as it washed over him. She ran her hand soothingly over the back of his neck, the part that was not covered by bandages.

"I'm with you, Booth," she whispered in his ear. "Every step of this process, I am with you."

He gripped her tighter at her words, the first stirrings of happiness settling in him since he heard the news of his illness. With her support, maybe, just maybe, he could make it through this.