Well thank you everyone for all the lovely feedback! It's really great to be writing again!
Just for clarification (if you needed it), Brennan is semi-aware of her less-than-reality state, while Booth (usually the second half of the chapter) is firmly rooted in reality. You might note the change in tense between the two portions. I also added an additional tag to the beginning of each section just to make things extra clear.
By the way, I'm trying to stay away from the Bones "coma trope" cliché; Bones' coma is just a way to explore an interesting subconscious sort of thing.
Hope you enjoy this installment!
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In the woods…
"Am I supposed to feel hopelessly confused?" Brennan asked, kicking some of the powdery snow up into the air.
"If it makes you feel any better, I feel the same way," Booth shrugged.
She no longer had any sense of how long they had wandered through the woods, watching the snow land on the ground. But despite the high rate of snowfall, only four or five inches seemed to accumulate. The woods seemed completely homogeneous; no distinguishing landmarks, just neat rows of naked deciduous trees. Quite queer really, but something in the back of her mind told her not to question it.
It reminded her of a foster home, and how much she dreaded the snow. The frozen precipitation would clog the roads forcing school cancellation, leaving her not only with a day stuck with her abusive foster parents, but void of a day's worth of learning.
But suddenly, a new shadow appeared on the horizon; it was an apple tree, smack in the middle of the furrow that they had paced for God-knows how long. Perhaps the oddest thing about the perennial was that it was…well…unlike all the others. Somehow, it had managed to retain its leaves, still verdant and healthy despite the winter. The foliage was remarkable; it looked as if it had been uprooted from a spring scene, and dropped into this winter hell-land only moments before.
Hanging from its branches were ripe apples, with a golden skin finely mottled with red. They were Gala apples; her favorite to pick up at the local organic marketplace.
Somehow, the couple came to stand beneath its outstretched branches.
"Well, it's a nice change from rows of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree," Booth leaned up against the trunk, stirring it ever so slightly with his applied weight.
"I don't know what that means."
"Oh of course you do," he took his weight off the tree; it's branches rustling as if annoyed at the loss of contact. "Remember, last Christmas. I insisted that Parker watch part of a 'Charlie Brown Christmas' with me? You were there."
Without, warning, the ground gave a great shake. Snow displaced from the tree tops rained to the ground in a large frosty pulse. She took a few frightened steps back, her eyes trained fearfully forward.
Booth chuckled.
"Always on the move aren't we?" The voice seemed to come from nowhere; it was most certainly not Booth speaking as his lips didn't even move.
As suddenly as it had started, the ground stilled with one final shudder. Brennan could see the force radiate up the apple tree in a wave, shaking the apples two and fro. One apple seemed to take the offensive motion particularly hard, as it swung almost freely from side to side. Hanging by only particles, the apple reluctantly let go, landing with an audible thump on Booth's head.
"At least we know that gravity is working…" he watched the apple fall through the snow.
But when she looked down to the crater left by the plunging fruit, there was nothing there. In fact, the apple seemed to have fallen through the ground itself. To where, well, she need not speculate.
Effortlessly, he plucked a fresh apple from the branch, taking a leisurely taste. "Want a bite?"
Brennan had not realized how she had jumped back during the earthquake of sorts. Temptation seemed to get the best of her, as she few steps forward. Of course, Murphy's Law governed that "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong"; an unseen patch of ice sent her sprawling on to his chest, knocking him down in the process. She watched as the apple was flung from his hand, rolling to a slow stop floating comfortably on a pillow of snow.
Only now, did she feel the chill. It overwhelmed and overtook her; she couldn't even feel the warmth that usually radiated between them when they would have a "guy hug." They did do so anymore though, certainly because it would cross some sort of social conduct line. They couldn't get any closer than this.
"Bones, either kiss me or get up," he said calmly.
"W-What?" Brennan stuttered.
"We've been going around in circles for years. I finally broke the stalemate. Either make a move, or step back."
To say the least, she was stunned. Except for that ephemeral night where they kissed outside Sweet's office building, the partners had never had a remotely straight talk about the status of their…"relationship," if you will. So, how they felt was bottled up, and released like one cautiously twists the top off a shaken soft-drink bottle. Of course, now, those lids were once again firmly tightened.
Brennan got back to her feet, brushing the snow off her. But instead of stepping all the way back, she offered a hand, and helped to pull him to his feet.
"It's okay," it was Booth's turn to wipe the snow off his clothing. "You aren't as ready as you thought you were…right?"
She dropped her gaze to the snow, her head downcast like a scolded child. "I told myself that when I returned from Maluku and you from Afghanistan that I would be ready to give us a shot…" she paused. "..Part of me kept repeating that I regretted turning you down, but my other half affirmed that I would never be right for the kind of relationship you wanted. Though in referring to 'halves' of myself, I assure you that I do not have a split personality disorder, right?"
"Bones, I most definitely know that you are right up here," he tapped his own head.
By some mutual agreement, they resumed their previous past through the wood. For the first time, she looked up at the sky; it was an indigo, with random lighter areas. It seemed like a cloudy, winter evening, just before duck and the sky turned to a forever deep black.
But up ahead, another ominous shadow loomed. It was not a tree at all; instead, a door, in fact, two doors paired together. It was auspicious enough; it looked like the sort of door one would expect in a school building, or in a set of fire-escape stairs. It seemed to be steel, with fluorescent light pouring from underneath.
Decidedly curious, the anthropologist pressed her ear to the shockingly tepid door. From the other side (well if it had a physical "other side" as it was free standing) she could hear the echo of voices. But too many were talking at once; she could barely distinguish one work from then next.
"Please tell me she'll be okay…"
Who was that she that person referring to? Could it possibly her? She was conscious briefly after whatever happened to her in her car before…well, whatever was currently occurring.
Cautiously, Brennan placed a hand along the brushed steel of the opening mechanism, cautiously depressing it. For a split second, she was blinded by the light coming through.
He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Bones, we're not going that way, not just yet."
"Why not?"
"We still have miles to go before you can sleep."
"I'm not feeling hypnagogic in the slightest," she stepped back from the door.
"I have no doubt that you will feel tired in no time," he pointed to a staircase leading down into the snow. "That's where we're going."
"It looks dark…"
"Only because it is so light up here," Booth led the way down the cast iron, spiral staircase.
Single file, they descended through the snow. The lower they got, the lighter and fluffier the show appeared until they floated in the air like stratocumulus clouds. The companionway led all the way to another ground, covered in snow. In fact, the level they were on looked just like the one above. With the exception of the sky, which was a deep indigo, much darker than the one above.
The apple, which had fallen down to here not much earlier, sat poised on a fluff of snow.
"Ready to take a bite?"
Brennan swallowed uncomfortably, "Not just yet."
- - - - - - - - - -B&B- - - - - - - - - -
Out of the woods…
With the ease of routine, the two man paramedic team deftly loaded the stretcher into the ambulance's bay.
Booth had ridden in ambulances before. He'd been injured in the field more than he cared to remember and had to suffer the ride and hospital. Not to mention that he'd ridden with Bones after she got shot despite how vehemently she refused needed him.
But currently, she was unable to bicker or argue about his riding position.
He slid into the uncomfortable seat as he buckled up (just to be sure that he couldn't injure her in any way), and wrapped his hand around the edge of her stretcher. She looked so weak, so helpless there. He reached down, and slid his hand into hers. It was comforting to him; he could only hope it did the same for her.
"You'll be okay Bones…God you'll be okay."
Closing his eyes, he couldn't help but pray to God that he didn't lose her, especially in a manner as sudden as this.
"Sir, I need her hand," the paramedic said apologetically.
Booth nodded, reluctantly relinquishing his grip.
"You can hold this though," the EMT held up some sort of fluid bag.
Eager to help in any way, he held the bag up, and let the expert do his business, inserting an IV on her left arm.
Suddenly, the ambulance made an unexpected turn. The FBI agent scrambled to say in his place as centripetal force whipped him around.
"Always on the move, aren't we?" the EMT remarked over his shoulder to the driver.
The driver shrugged, "You know how insane people drive. Just add in some flashing lights and a siren and people practically freeze up."
All Booth wanted to do was bury his head in his hands and pray to God that this wasn't really happening. But he couldn't, for her sake. He just watched her, sneaking a glance out of the rear window to see how far they had come. It was just about six PM; the height of the greater Washington D.C. rush hour. He remembered reading an article that proclaimed the Capitol Beltway as the third worst commute in the nation. Tonight, traffic seemed relatively light; of course, that could be due to the fact that the ambulance had a free "go directly to go" pass on the roads.
It seemed like it took hours for the ambulance to back in to the emergency room dock.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as they unloaded his one and only partner, and swiftly inside. The EMTs briefed the hospital personnel before peeling off to do whatever they had to.
"Are you her boyfriend?" a woman in scrubs asked.
"Does it matter?" he growled, easily keeping pace with the speeding stretcher.
"Hospital policy. Family only."
"Yes, I'm her partner."
It wasn't a blatant lie, but he had no problem doing what he had to do to stay by Bones' side.
The doctors lead them through countless sharp turns, deeper and into the labyrinth that was Washington Hospital Center.
"We're going to take her in to prepare for surgery immediately."
"Sir, you'll have to stop here," a nurse cut him off. "Waiting room is down the hall," she pointed.
Booth took one last lingering look at her wan form. Her eyes were squeezed shut, as if in immense pain. For a brief moment, he swore he saw her eyes crack open; he could only imagine the harsh fluorescent glare that met her pupils. But of course, he could have easily imagined it as her eyes closed once again, and the motion-sensor doors closed behind her.
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WOW! I'd like to thank everyone for the great feedback from the last chapter! I felt so loved! Please drop a review again! You have no idea how much your words meant to me!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I think we all need a bit of a dream to hide from this season of Bones. ;) Review!