The time between Booth saving Brennan at the medical clinic (in Harbingers) before reappearing in his office always seemed like a big blank space to me. I decided to fill in the gap.

Filling in the Gap

"I'm going."

"Booth."

Booth saw the corners of the EMT's mouth quirk into a hint of a smile, but he choose to ignore it. He kind of understood the EMT's amusement, Bones was quite possibly the only woman in the world who could sound irritated when there was a giant hole in her arm and blood was pouring from the wound.

Most of the time, his partner's irritation and ability to think rationally during even the most unlikely situation amused Booth, but this was not most times. This was one of the few times when he'd ever seen her scared. It was one of only a handful of times when she'd admitted, however unconsciously, that she couldn't handle things on her own. Until today Booth had never admitted, not even to himself, how much he hated the moments when she needed to lean on him for support. It wasn't that he minded supporting her, but he hated seeing her broken, no matter how temporarily.

This time scared him more than any of those other times. If he'd been just a second or two later, things might have been very different. If he'd doubted Harmonia for just a nanosecond longer, he might not be arguing with her while a grinning EMT wrapped her arm in a generous layer of cotton and gauze.

Brennan attention was on her arm, watching to make sure the EMTs were doing an adequate job with the bandage. "I'm fine," she said, "Nothing important was struck."

Booth ground his teeth together. "You have a hole in your arm." He was also willing to bet that she had several bruises he couldn't see and that she probably wouldn't tell him about. Bones might be vocal about her opinions, but she usually kept her pain to herself.

"The muscle was all that got damaged, none of the tendons or arteries got hit. I don't think there is even going to be any nerve damage." Brennan glanced at the dead doctor's body. Even though she knew exactly how he died, it was still a crime scene and she was, at heart, and investigator. Every single instinct screamed at her to secure the body until it could be taken to the Jeffersonian. Her gaze flitted from the body to Booth and back to the body. "Aren't you going to do something with him?"

Booth spared a glance over his shoulder. Sooner or later he was going to have to do something about the man, but not right now. Right now he just didn't care. "Nope."

Brennan opened her mouth and Booth decided that he didn't want to hear her whatever argument her lighting quick brain had come up with for him to secure the body. Crossing his arms over his chest he shook his head. "No, he isn't my problem. Right now the only thing I'm worried about is getting you to the hospital."

The EMT picked up a roll of surgical tape. "As soon as the bandage is secure, we can get her loaded up."

Brennan's eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth dipped into a frown. "I don't need to go all the way to the hospital. The bandage is more than sufficient."

"Bones," Booth started.

The older of the two EMTs, her name tag said Henrietta, sensed that there was about to be a full scale argument between the two partners. She interrupted before Booth had a chance to continue. "Dr. Brennan," she said in a soothing monotone. "I agree that nothing vital seems to have been injured during the attack."

Booth blew out a sigh as Bones looked at him with her best 'I was right' expression. He didn't care what had been hit, she was going to hospital whether she liked it or not.

" ... but," Henrietta continued, "the wound is very deep. It needs to be stitched up. Not only will it heal faster with stitches, but you will be able to use your arm more than you would if we just left it packed."

Brennan wanted to argue, it was written all over her face, but Henrietta's argument was logical. "I don't see why I should go in an ambulance," she finally said. "you must have something better to do."

Henrietta shook her head. "It's a slow night, we haven't gotten any calls. If we take you to the hospital, not only will you get there a lot quicker than if your partner drives you, but a doctor will probably get to you quicker, they tend to place patients who arrive in ambulances higher on the triage than the ones who are driven by friends."

Booth offered a silent prayer for EMTs that were logical as well as efficient. He didn't know if he could have persuaded Bones to go to the hospital as easily as Henrietta had managed to. He flashed the dark haired first responder a grateful smile. "Great, all of that sounds really great. Let's get you loaded up so we can get out of here and get to the hospital."

Brennan shook her head. "There is absolutely no reason for you to come to the hospital with me." Once again she looked at the dead doctor's carcass. "You'll do more good here."

Booth blew out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. He loved Bones and appreciated her ability to think clearly in nearly every situation, but there were times, like now, when he wanted to throttle her.

"Bones," he forced himself to adapt the same monotone Henrietta had used. "There is an FBI forensics team on the way, they'll secure the scene. Since I shot the guy, I'm not allowed to handle any potential evidence anyway." He was the first to reach the clinic doors. He held it open while Henrietta and her partner, a young man who barely looked old enough to drink, guided Bones through the doorway.

"I'm aware that you can't be involved in the investigation," Brennan's sounded strained, like she was barely maintaining control over her temper. Booth wondered if maybe the events of the evening were starting to take a toll on her. Or maybe it was sheer exhaustion, she'd literally gotten off a plane from Guatemala and been thrown directly into a mass murder investigation. She probably hadn't gotten more than a couple hours of sleep since setting foot on American soil.

" ... but you and I both know that you will have to fill out a great deal of paperwork, meet with Caroline, and probably have some sort of consultation with Sweets." Brennan's gaze flicked to Henrietta's face before returning to Booth's. "You know how hospitals are. Even with arriving in an ambulance speeding up the process, it will probably be several hours before I'll be able to leave. If you don't go with me, you can get all of your stuff done tonight, and still have plenty of time to get some sleep before tomorrow morning. If you go with me, you'll either be waiting around and get bored, or you'll be in the way. It's better if you don't go with me."

I'm suppose to be writing something else but my muse doesn't want to cooperate. Since I set aside a block of time to be used solely for writing, I'm determined to do just that, whether she wants to help or not. Apparently when my muse decides to take a holiday, I start writing fan fiction. I did jot down a quick outline and know that this should be about three or four parts long. I'm going to keep working on it, until my muse reappears.