AN: You guys! Seriously, all those reviews and alerts? You're all my new best friends! My usual brand of silly & fluff doesn't normally generate that kind of reaction so I'm trying not to say 'aw, shucks' but honestly? Aw, shucks. And, thank you! I'm glad you're reading. :-)

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Booth burst through the doors of the emergency room in an explosion of urgency. Behind him, Hannah raced to keep up with his pace. Only when he caught a glimpse of Cam pacing in a small waiting room just off to the left of the hallway did his frantic dash come to a halt.

"Where is she?" he demanded immediately. His fear, barely held in check, was a palpable, vibrating presence in the room. One half of the collar of his black leather jacket was tucked under the neckline of his t-shirt . . . his hair bore the marks of fingers that raked through the damp mass repeatedly . . . his jaw tight, his posture brittle, he looked dangerously on edge.

Everyone who had been seated stood up at his entrance.

"She's still in surgery." Cam looked up at the plain clock on the wall and then rechecked the time on her watch. "I don't know what's taking so long -"

"What the hell happened?" Booth's scorching glare touched every occupant of the room as if he blamed them individually for the accident. There was a beat of silence as they exchanged hesitant, uncertain glances and then five voices spoke at once.

" . . . we don't know exactly . . ."

" . . . hit and run . . ."

" . . . Paul was called in to meet a patient, he recognized . . ."

" . . . in the middle of the street . . ."

" . . . spoke to Russ, he's going to contact Max . . ."

" . . . in Woodland . . ."

" . . . cab driver called 911 . . ."

"Woodland?" One word stood out amid the jumble. His anger blazed hot and fast. "What was she doing in Woodland in the middle of the night?" He rounded furiously on Sweets. "I told you to talk to her!" he accused as he jabbed his index finger in the younger man's chest.

"I did!" Sweets threw up his hands immediately. "I tried - you know how she -"

"Temperance Brennan?"

The softly accented words sucked the air from the room. As one, they turned toward the door.

The surgeon stood waiting for an acknowledgment of his question. He wore faded medical scrubs and mesh booties over his shoes, his face tired and drawn above the white mask that hung loosely beneath his chin.

Cam finally stepped forward. "Yes?"

"Dr. Brennan came through surgery as well as could be expected," he announced somewhat vaguely. "We'll know more if . . . when she regains consciousness." He considered his next words carefully. "Does anyone know if she has a living will or if there is someone who has the authority to make medical decisions on her behalf?"

"Oh, no." Daisy's whisper floated in the air as she sank down on one of the uncomfortable sofas.

A dread-filled moment of silence enveloped the room.

"A member of your family should have this responsibility, Booth," Brennan argued. "Jared or -"

"You're my partner, Bones. If something goes wrong . . ." His words faded away. "I trust you to make the right decision."

"Well, then," she answered, "I would like to ask you to do the same for me. After all," she added, "if I am injured to that extent, there is a great probability it will happen in the course of one of our investigations so -"

"That's because you never listen," he shot back. "What do I always say? Gun first, right? Gun first! If you'd just remember that once in a while . . ."

"I . . . I do," Booth barely heard his own voice over the roaring in his ears. He felt every eye in the room focus on him. He looked at Cam. "I . . . she . . . I . . . I have . . . I have hers we exchanged . . . when I had the brain tumor . . ."

His explanation was a disjointed rush of words that made sense only because everyone else in the room knew his history and connection with Brennan.

Except one. "You had a brain tumor?" Hannah stared at him in surprise.

Booth didn't ignore her question – in truth, he never heard it. "Why?" he addressed the doctor.

Again, there was a moment of silence. "With a head injury like the one Dr. Brennan has suffered, we won't know if there is long-term or permanent damage until she regains consciousness. It's best to be prepared in case she doesn't -"

The physician stood three steps away. Booth crossed the space in one giant leap as rage swept through him in a tidal wave, electrified by a spear of agony that pierced through to his very soul. With his hands fisted in the thin material of the olive scrubs, he lifted the diminutive physician to the tips of his toes and shook him. "You will not let her die," he ordered through bared teeth, his voice a low, menacing growl. "Do you hear me?"

"Seeley!"

Hannah's shocked gasp was lost in a loud, broken sob that burst from Angela before she buried her face in Hodgins' shoulder.

"Booth." Cam stepped up beside him and rested a gentle hand across the hard knots of his fingers. "They are doing everything they can for her. Dr. Kao is one of the best surgeons in the District." She kept her voice soft and even and deliberately calm as she spoke to him. "Seeley."

His eyes met hers and the pain and terror she saw there filled her own with tears.

"You're in love with Dr. Brennan." The memory flashed between them in an instant.

"Cam . . ." His voice was barely audible and thick with the tears he'd so far managed not to shed.

"I know." She swallowed over the obstruction in her throat and struggled for her own composure. "I know." Slowly, carefully, she peeled his fingers away from the doctor's scrubs.

On his feet again, the doctor skittered back immediately and turned to leave. Booth was at his heels.

Dr. Kao stopped. "I'm sorry," he shook his head. "I can only allow family -"

Booth loomed threateningly over the much smaller man. "I am her family," he bit out harshly.

"He . . . he . . . he is." Angela's raw, broken voice came from behind them. Eyes swollen, her face ravaged by tears and grief, she clutched at Hodgins. "He is," she repeated. "He's . . . he's . . ." She swallowed and lifted her chin stubbornly. "He's her husband. He is. He is. He is." She nodded repeatedly and pressed closer to her own spouse. "You have to let him go with her," she insisted as she began crying anew. "You have to let him go with her."

Booth's jaw clenched hard enough to fracture teeth but he didn't challenge her words.

Nor did anyone else.

With one swift glance around the room, Dr. Kao read the lie for what it was. One hesitant look directly at Booth, and he let it stand.

"This way." As the two men left, he began a rambling description of the long list of Brennan's injuries. Gradually, his voice faded away.

The waiting room fell silent.

"I'm sorry." Her voice barely above a whisper, Angela looked toward Hannah without meeting her eyes. "I'm sorry," she sniffed, "but she . . . she shouldn't be alone." Hodgins pulled her close and murmured in her ear, his hands stroking up and down her arms. "She shouldn't be alone if . . ." Her shoulders hunched as if she'd taken a punch. "Someone should be with her if she . . ." Unable to continue, Angela covered her face with her hands and wept loud, noisy tears.

Hodgins gathered her more fully into his arms and sat down with her pulled across his lap.

"Yes, of course." Hannah nodded quickly. "Of course, you're right - they're so close, it . . . he was very worried about her." She cleared her throat and nodded again. "She should have someone with her - until her real family can get here."

Angela lifted her head then, and stared at Hannah with something close to hate. The moment was gone almost instantly, however; with a weary sigh, she burrowed closer to Hodgins.

"Well," Cam's voice broke into the silence that followed. "I think I'll try to hunt up some coffee. Would anyone else care for some?"

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I know I probably just broke about a hundred HIPAA laws there, so if you guys could just do that fanfiction hand/wave thing? That would be great.

And hey, it's after midnight on the East Coast so it's officially Bones-day! Who's ready for a ghost story? :-)

Thanks for reading!