Hey guys! This is my first fic, but please leave comments, questions, or critiques, and I'll do my best to fix anything you might see.

Obviously, I don't own Bones, so no credit for characters or plot-lines can go to me.

Hope you guys like it :D

"I can't sleep, Angela."

"I thought they gave you something for that."

"No, I mean... I'm afraid that... if I close my eyes... when I open them... I'm gonna be back in that car... buried... running out of air…"

"Okay. Then you should come home with me."

"What?"

"When you open your eyes, I'll be there."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You know I'm good for that crutch money."

Angela leaned over his shoulder, taking the papers from his hands as she turned her head towards his, her lips tantalizingly close to his. She smiled, and set the stack off to the side, before taking his hand, and pulling him to his feet. Hodgins leaned forwards, momentum pushing him towards Angela, who chuckled quietly and latched onto his arm, acting as his temporary crutch. She placed one hand on the small of his back, before reaching for the crutches. "Come on, Hodgins."

He followed her from the lab, grateful that she was walking more slowly than she normally did. "Where are we going?" He asked, when she led him out the front entrance, instead of down into the parking garage, where she usually kept her car.

She looked over at him, and told him quietly, "I thought we could take the subway. You know... Instead of taking a car."

He stopped dead, and a few steps later, she realized he wasn't following, and turned back to look at him. She took a few tentative steps towards him, a quizzical look on her face. "Hodgins?"

"Thank you, Ang." He nodded slightly at her, and kept walking past her. She jogged to catch up, and placed her hand on his arm, a tiny, sad smile on her face.

"You're welcome," she murmured, slipping an arm around his waist. They walked down the block to the subway station, Angela's arm around Hodgins' waist. Hodgins hesitated at the top of the steps that descended down into the darkened tunnel. Angela stopped with him, looking at him with a concerned expression. "You okay to go down there?"

He paused for a minute, but eventually nodded, letting Angela place one hand on his arm to help him balance as he hobbled down the steps on his crutches. The pair shuffled slowly through the lines and ticket gates, and managed to make it to the platform just as their train was loading.

A nurse, who looked as though she was making her way to work for the graveyard shift, stood up when she saw Hodgins, offering him her chair. He politely tried to decline, but after a scolding look from Angela, reluctantly gave in, sitting down in the blue plastic seat with a wince. When he looked the other way, Angela shot the nurse a grateful look and mouthed, "Thank you."

Taking the empty seat next to him, Angela gently placed a hand over his, rubbing her thumb in small circles over the back of his hand. Hodgins was grateful for the reassuring gesture, clinging to the sensation like a lifeline as the subway screeched to a halt, making his muscles tense with panic. He relaxed only when they had made it up the stairs, emerging into the fresh air and the breeze.

Angela's apartment was only half a block away from the subway station, which came as a relief to Hodgins, as the painkillers were beginning to wear off, and his leg was aching. Angela fumbled with the keys and pushed open the door, flipping on the hall lights before helping Hodgins up the steps. She led him to the small living room to the right of the kitchen, and helped him sit down on the couch.

"Do you want some water? Tea?" She asked him quietly, moving towards the kitchen.

"Just some water, thanks. And a couple of aspirin, if you've got any," he requested, leaning back into the couch cushions and closing his eyes. She returned a minute later with a cold glass of water and two white pills, which she deposited into his palm after he had sat up. She sat down next to him, lacing her fingers with his as she stared at the paintings that decorated the wall opposite them.

Minutes passed in silence as they sat on the couch, before Angela asked, "Are you alright?"

Hodgins took in a shaky breath, and whispered, "I... I don't know."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Angela muttered, her tentative tone making it clear that he was free to decline.

He shut his eyes tightly, but didn't refuse. Instead, he reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a dirt-stained, wrinkled and folded piece of paper. He held it in his hands for a moment, gazing down at it. After a moment's deliberation, his mouth set in a worried line, he silently handed the paper to Angela.

She took it from him slowly and hesitatingly, tracing her fingers over the printed letters on the page - the title of Brennan's book. She brushed away some of the dust that covered it, knowing as soon as she did where the paper was from. It was the same dust that, earlier that day, had coated her skin and her throat, feeling like it was going to suffocate her as it mixed with the tears on her cheeks.

She looked over at Hodgins, her heart pounding in her chest as she gingerly opened the letter. She turned her attention to the words on the page, scrawled in Hodgins' familiar, slanting penmanship and blotted with what Angela assumed to be tears that had fallen onto the paper. Her throat choked up - a sure sign that she was about to cry. Setting the letter on her lap, she turned to Hodgins with red eyes and a slightly strangled sounding voice.

"Jack..." she whispered, reaching up to rest a hand on his cheek.

He turned his face away slightly, but before he could pull away further, she turned his head back so that he was facing her.

"I almost lost you today, Jack," she breathed out. "And I had no idea until now, that I loved you so much. I don't want to lose you again." She unlaced their fingers, pulling his hand up so that it rested over her heart. "Jack Hodgins," she breathed his name, savoring the way the words felt as they passed through her lips.

Hodgins leaned into her slightly, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Angela smiled in response, and rested her hand on the back of his neck, gently pulling his lips toward hers. Their lips parted slightly as Hodgins entangled one hand in Angela's hair, his other sliding down to the small of her back.

He was also the one to pull away, slowly retreating, and pulling Angela into a tight hug. As she rested her head on his shoulder, he whispered into her hair, "I love you, Angie."

He could feel the vibrations as she hummed in response, and clung tighter to him. He sank back into the couch cushions again, resting his mind and body as she traced absent-minded patterns lightly over his neck.