A.N: Last time I checked, Bones still wasn't mine.
So… I know that everybody is now writing post season finale fictions, and we'll probably get all tired of this subject after a while, specially because some stories inevitably will be much alike. But hey, I want to give it a shot! In my defense, I'm planning this very carefully, and there will be a different approach regarding Booth's memory. I've became familiar with a very nice medical condition that should make us have a little fun…
Plus, I refuse to classify this story as drama, simply because I don't see Bones as a dark show, ever. Even in the sad and dramatic moments, Booth and Bones manage to lighten things somehow, at least that's the way I see in the show. So, yes, sometimes things will be down…but it's Booth and Bones, people! They are not a dark duo. Neither the team, for that matter. So… let's see how this goes!
CHAPTER 1- WAKING UP
"Who are you?"
Panic tried to rise at his words, but she fought it back, staring at his Brown eyes, the ones that she was longing to see open for 4 long days. Booth stared back at her, and Brennan let out a small smile. He was there, he was awake, and she blinked the tears away.
" This is not funny, ok, Booth? You already had given us quite a fright on the past days." She realized that her voice was unsteady, but she couldn't do anything about it. His eyebrows furrowed in pure confusion, and again, the panic menaced to surface. His face was blank as he watched her carefully, and Temperance felt her throat go dry.
" I'm not kidding. Why would I be? Seriously, Who are you?" Booth scrunched his face at the beautiful woman curved at him, uneasiness taking all places of his mind. There was something…odd about her. Almost familiar. Yet, he couldn't place anything. Her name, why she was there… hell, he didn't even know why HE was there. He could feel his hands start to go cold and his heart racing, and soon enough the monitors that were connected to him started to show it. Her first words when he woke up suddenly came to his memory, and Booth gave her a look of pure shock and anguish. " You said that I've been in a coma?"
Temperance looked at his cardiac monitors, quickly realizing that his heart frequency, as long as his blood pressure , were increasing. Not good. She took a deep, long calming breathe. This isn't about you or your fears right now, Temperance. It's all about Booth. He must be much more scared than you for now. She managed to keep her voice even this time, speaking softly as she pressed the nurse calling buttom.
" That is correct. You had a bad reaction to anesthesia, and fell into a coma right after your surgery. Do you remember your surgery, Booth?" His eyes were now wide open as he heard her words, and she could tell just by this that he had no a idea of what she was talking about. She approached him gingerly, taking his hand in hers gently. " You were diagnosed with a brain tumor after you presented some symptoms, hallucinating, to be more accurate. I took you to a doctor, and the MIR that he asked showed a mass. But it's all taken care now."
Booth looked at that delicate hand squeezing his, and once again, despite his lack of any remembrance of her name, there was the sense of familiarity, intimacy even. It soothed him somewhat, but still he was scared beyond belief.
" I have brain cancer?" He practically whispered, afraid of the very sound of his words. Cancer. Brain. But the woman was fast to respond, her hand squeezing his again.
" No, no. No cancer. It was a benign tumor, called epidermal tumor. Once it was removed, you were cured. You just had symptoms because it was big enough to compress parts of your brain." As she spoke, the room's door opened, and a nurse finally appeared, a smile already forming in her lips.
" Oh, good. You are finally awake, Mr. Booth." The nurse nodded to Temperance, and Booth was fast to catch their little interaction. Apparently, they knew each other. The nurse looked at his monitors and a small frown appeared on her forehead. " Now, why this heart of yours is going so fast? And this blood pressure?"
" He's experimenting some king of amnesia. He doesn't seem to remember his surgery. He doesn't know who I am." Brennan was careful not to let her hurt show in her voice. She knew that it was a usual reaction for patients that suffered major surgery, specially a brain one. Plus, he was in a coma. She knew that it was more than normal for him to experience some confusion after all this. But that didn't mean that she wasn't scared to death, even if her rational part kept telling that it was ridiculous. But then again, fear wasn't rational. The nurse shot her an understanding look, at the same time patting Booth's shoulder.
" Well, there's no reason to be fretting about it, Mr. Booth. It's very normal to neurological patients to experience some kind of amnesia and confusion after a procedure. You just try to calm down and give your heart a rest, will you? I'll go find your doctor right away. Dr. Brennan, try to keep him calm." Booth watched the woman holding his hand nod with resolution, while the nurse quickly disappeared through the door.
" Dr. Brennan? Is that you?" He looked like a lost little boy, his chocolate eyes searching for hers, as if asking for reassurance. She felt her heart tighten in her chest at his question, but nodded slowly.
" Yes. Dr. Temperance Brennan. I'm not a MD, though. I'm a forensic anthropologist." But you know all that, she wanted to add.
" A squint?" He asked in some kind of awe, at the same time that something stirred back in his mind. Her voice came muffled somewhere inside him, but he could hear. -Anthropologically speaking…- He suddenly winced in pain. Apparently, his brain wasn't ready to much effort, and complained as he tried to squeeze it. She seemed to realize the exact moment that the pain came, but couldn't help a small smile that crept in her mouth. He called her a squint. He was there ,somewhere, somehow.
" Do not try to push your brain right now, Booth. It will do you no good. And try to relax,ok?" She watched his monitors again, his pressure still increasing dangerously.
" I don't know how to relax. I can't remember anything. I can't remember how I've gotten here in the first place. You tell me that I had a brain tumor. That I was in a coma. And …" He looked at her in pure shame. " I fell like a horrible person,'cause I can't remember you. I mean… you obviously care about me. You were the one here when I woke up, which means that we must be close. The nurse nodded to you, and that indicates that you are here for probably sometime, time enough to know the medical staff. And I don't remember.I'm so sorry." He stared at her in despair, and despite all her self control, Temperance felt her eyes welling up with tears. Despite everything, despite his own condition, he was apologizing to her, as if it was his fault. Even without remembering things, he still tried to take care of her. He still worried about her. And that was when she realized that he was the same. He was Seeley Booth, the caring, protective fair man of always. That alone made her feel suddenly warm. Some things never change.
" Booth. Look at me. Just hear me a little,ok?" She waited until his eyes were locked with hers, and then continued speaking, softly, gently. The exact way that she knew he would talk to her otherwise. " It's ok. Just because you don't remember me now, it doesn't mean that I don't know that you care about me. I've been with you long enough to know better than this. You heard the nurse, and I reiterate. It's perfectly normal to experience some memory loss after what you've been through. It's usually a temporary thing. You just have to be a little patient, and give your self some rest. I'm sure you'll remember things in due time." She was telling the true. It had to be. If that God in what Booth believed so fervently existed, He wouldn't leave anything bad happen to him, right? For the first time in her life, part of her wished she shared his faith in something so intangible as God.
" How can you be so sure?" Once again, he felt the familiarity sensation taking over him. There was something in their current status that made a sudden siren turn on his mind. A flash of himself lying in another hospital bed, and that woman called Temperance was with him, a big curative over her forehead. She was nicely dressed, and she was leaving him. He felt his chest tighten strangely at that vision, feeling the sadness as she started leaving the room. He tried to distract himself by watching TV, flicking through the channels until settling in a old movie. And then, out of nowhere, she was back, a shy smile in her face, and he remembered the happiness that took over him as she seated by his side and told him that she had cancelled her…date? " Wow."
She watched as his face became suddenly alert, while his eyes seemed to go very far away, and then he was looking at her with amazement.
" I know…I know that I know you. You had been with me in the hospital another time, haven't you? I saw it. Right now." This time, he was the one to squeeze her hand, and for a second, Brennan was afraid that she would might loose it. She had been in a controlled state of panic since the day they've discovered his tumor. She kept compartimentalizing. She tried to live one day after the other, because she knew she had to remain strong and well for him. But she was still human. And she missed him so much.
" Yes, I have been with you. You did the same for me in other times. We take care of each other."
" Do you think that this means that I'm going to remember? I saw you, past tense, though I can't say where, or what was going on. But it has to mean something, right?" She didn't have time to answer, for the door opened again and this time, dr. Irving, Booth's neurologist, barged in.
" Well, agent Booth. Finally awake, huh? Welcome back." He smiled at Temperance. " Dr. Brennan. Here, as always." Booth felt a strange happiness by that statement. " So… how are we doing? Nurse Collins said something about you being a little confused?" He also watched his monitors, at the same time writing something at Booth's chart.
" If by confused you mean in a total loss, then yes, you've got it right." He spoke flatly, suddenly angry. What the hell was wrong with him? If he was already cured from the damn tumor, why couldn't he just have his memories back? Dr. Irving looked at his patient and then at Brennan.
" he doesn't remember anything that happened. He doesn't know who I am." An icy fear was starting to form in her mind again. Because now that the doctor was there, it was true time. They would see exactly the extent of Booth's strange amnesia.
" Well, I'm sure that you had explained to Mr. Booth that it's a normal reaction. Sometimes the brain play tricks after being submitted to an aggressive approach. Let's just go slowly and see exactly what is going on here, shall we?" Both Booth and Brennan agreed gingerly, their hands now fiercely entwined. " Ok. I'm just going to ask you a few questions. You just go talking about anything you remember, about your life, about your self. Can you tell me your name?" Booth sighed deeply.
" Seeley Booth."
" Good. Do you have a job, Mr. Booth?" He looked at temperance, and she gave him an encouraging smile.
" Yes. I work for the FBI. At the homicide division?" he half stated,half asked, gaining another smile from the woman.
" Good again. What about your family? What can you tell me about it?"
" I have a younger brother, Jared. Both my parents are alive. And I have… I have a son. His name is Parker." Booth's face literally lit up by the mention of his boy, and Brennan felt herself relaxing a little. It wasn't that bad. Surely, it was just a simple case of post medication short amnesia. In no time, he would be bickering with her as always, calling her by her name and pestering her and the doctor to be discharged. And that was when she suddenly felt her smile freeze as he kept talking. " He's great. Just started to speak everything." He felt her hand tense upon his, and looked up to see her face go strangely pale, and she turned to the doctor giving him an odd look. " What?" Again, his heart started beating like crazy. What did he said wrong?
" Agent Booth…how old is your son now?" The doctor's voice was calm, and the woman called Brennan had now a poker face. Yet, he could feel her tension. He had always been good into reading people, that he still remembered about himself.
" He's about to become two." Temperance couldn't stop the deep insharp of air that her lungs ordered. Now, panic was a real emotion.
" ok, Mr. Booth. Let's move on. What can you tell me about…" he interrupted the doctor, his head starting to pound, his breathing becoming fast.
" No. Wait. I said something wrong. What was it? Right when I was speaking about Parker. About his age." Dear Lord. What's going on here? He could see tears menacing to fall of her blue eyes. " Oh my God. I forgot, didn't I? He's not two, isn't it? He's not two anymore." The machines connected to him started beeping, and dr. Irving immediately called for the nurse.
" We'll stop for now, Mr. Booth. Your blood pressure is getting too high. We can do this later."
"NO! Just… just tell me. How old is Parker? Tell me. Please." The nurse had already entered the room, and seemed to be preparing some meds at the dr. orders. He shot Brennan a pleading, urgent look, and she gazed at dr. Irving, as if asking for permission.
" Go ahead. He'll have to know eventually. But I'm sedating you after this, mr. Booth. You have to relax. It's very dangerous to present this blood pressure in your condition. And please, note that your mind is still very confused, so this error in your memory right now may not mean anything. You migh as well wake up after this sedation remembering every tyni detail of your life." The nurse was already inserting something in his IV, and Booth looked at the woman.
" Please." She pursed her lips and increased the grip in his hand, at the same time caressing his face with her other hand.
" Parker has just turned seven, Booth."
TBC…
So… tell me if I should keep going. Next chapter you'll know better about Booth's condition, and expect a great twist. Just like I've written, the brain can be very tricky… specially when it comes about amnesia. And I'm telling you as the trained MD that I am !
