A/N: RIP the know-it-all Brit…VNM. 3 Lily/Wendell angst.

She did what she did best. She ran. Two blocks from Booth's building she screamed at Booth and Brennan to stop the car. Both turned around at her tear stained face and she bolted from the car as Booth pulled to the curb. She sprinted the whole length to the apartment. She heard the siren of Booth's SUV blaring behind her. Within minutes she was in the apartment throwing everything in sight and sobbing hysterically. She curled up in the bathtub and yanked the shower curtain closed around her. She heard the door to the apartment slam open and the frantic scrambling of Booth calling Wendell and Brennan scrambling through the rooms of the apartment. She heard the door open and closed her eyes even tighter.

"Booth…" Brennan whispered. The heavy footsteps of her father approached the bathroom door.

"Yeah Bones?" Booth replied.

"I found her…"

"Okay, well Wendell is on his way over already."

"What do we do?"

"Just let her be for now, come on let's go to the kitchen. She needs to grieve." Lily heard their footsteps fade away and soon heard only the mumble of their voices. After what seemed to be hours the front door was open and the location of her whereabouts were given to Wendell.

The bathroom door clicked shut as Wendell shut it. There was the sound of the shower curtain rings scraping along the metal rod as she was exposed to him. Her eyes sought out his and she found tears falling down his cheeks. Her arms reached upward towards him. He scooped her up into his arms and made his way out of the bathroom. Wendell's eyes sought out Booth's and an unspoken agreement was made between them. He stepped ahead of Wendell and opened Lily's bedroom door for Wendell. Booth shut the door halfway once the two were inside.

Wendell sat Lily down on the edge of her bed and knelt in front of her. Gently, he grabbed her foot and began to untie her Converse. He pulled each one off and then her crazy socks. Her bag was next to her bed and he grabbed her iPod from it. Walking over to her speakers, he scrolled through her playlists and settled on one they both knew well. The only source of light was from the strands of white Christmas lights strung around her room and then there was the sound of rain coming down in the background. Again he knelt in front of her and searched her face and eyes.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hi…" she whispered hoarsely. "W-Wendell…"

He sat next to her and pulled her against him. Her long hair splayed over his chest and his t-shirt soon became soaked with tears. Her sobs soon became hiccups and then she became entirely too still. He let her go and she sprinted out of the room with him right on her heels. He held her hair back as she retched and more tears came streaming down her face.

"Shhh…" he whispered in her ear and rubbed circles on her back. He looked up and found two pairs of concerned eyes looking at him. "Do you have any Gingerale and crackers?"

"No…" Brennan stated.

"But we'll go get some. C'mon Bones," Booth replied and tugged her away from the bathroom door. They hated seeing Lily like this. Wendell ran the water from the sink cold and got Lily a small cup of it.

"Slowly drink it so you don't throw up again," Wendell said holding the cup up to her mouth. Lily finished the cup of water shortly and took a deep breath.

"I hate crying and throwing up in front of you…" she moaned.

"You cried to hard and it just happened, nothing to be ashamed of," he replied.

"I showed weakness and that's something I didn't want to do in frontof you…"

Footsteps approached the bathroom once again. Booth and Brennan sat down on the floor. The can of Gingerale popped as Brennan opened it. She handed it to Lily while Booth struggled to open a roll of crackers.

Lily took a few sips of the soda and gave Booth a half smile as he handed her a few crackers. Soon she began to nod off against Wendell's shoulders. He gave the partner's an amused look.

"I'm not leaving her side am I?" he said.

"Hell no…" Booth said. "I'm gonna get Bones set up for the night if you could…"

"I've got you man," Wendell said and picked Lily up for the second time that night. He carried her down the hall and laid her in her bed.

The green letters on the clock read 4:47 AM as she jolted up in bed at hearing the sound of Booth's gun being cocked from the other room. "Wendell…" she whispered frantically searching around her for him.

"Lily, Lily…shhh I'm right here. Its okay Brennan just startled Booth," he whispered. She reached out for him and he gave her a hug. When she pulled him down to her side he started to protest.

"Would you just stop with your age nonsense and just hold me?" He wrapped his arms around her small frame and their legs wound together. They both searched each other's eyes as they heard the conversation between Booth and Brennan. There was an unspoken promise made as she buried her face in his chest and he rested his head on hers. She pulled herself closer to him as she felt his own tears drop onto her face.

"Wendell Bray, I love you," she murmured.

"Lily Booth, I love you too," he murmured back. They lay still and listened to the sound of late night DC traffic and the sounds of people who didn't just lose an intern…better yet a friend.