Booth met Angela in the ICU waiting area about a half hour later. "Good news, Metro is giving the case to the Bureau. There are already a dozen agents working every angle of what we know."
"That is comforting to know at least. Do you think we should call everyone yet?"

"They have the right to be here to help her so maybe you should get on the phone. We know that she is going to pull through but I don't think we need to disclose the extinct of her injuries. I think that is for her to tell." Booth looked haggard because the day was starting to take its toll on him. He was trying to be strong and supportive of Angela but it was becoming increasingly difficult to focus on the positive aspect of the situation. Bones was still alive.

Booth listened in to the conversations that she had with the rest of the squints. The calls did not take long because they all said that they were headed to the hospital and that they were upset that they were not notified sooner. "They said that would be here in a half hour. They also don't sound too happy about being left in the dark."

Booth noticed that another nurse was coming in their direction. He immediately stood and greeted her with trepidation. "Hi."

"You must be Mr. Booth?" The young nurse smiled at him fondly.

"Yeah Seeley Booth and this is Angela Montenegro. Have they brought Bones up to ICU?"

"They are just getting her settled. I thought I would let you know that you would be able to see her in about fifteen minutes. I should warn you that she won't be awake because of the medication she is being given. Under the circumstances it is most likely for the best. We need to let her body begin to heal before we can start working with her mind."

"How long will she have to stay like that?" Angela asked.

"I can't say for sure. Dr. Rainier should be able to answer that for you."

"We need her to be able to talk to us. We need to know if she can give us any kind of description of the man that did this to her. It is hard to know where to start when we don't know any of the specifics of what happened. Where, when, or what time. We have to try and get this information from her. The faster we can the more chance we have of finding the perpetrator." Angela could tell that Booth was getting angry just thinking about the unknown suspect.

"You are going to have to speak with Dr. Rainier about this. His orders are to leave her sedated for the near future."

"Where can I talk to him? This is a criminal investigation."

"If you will wait here I will let the doctor know that you want to speak to him again." With that the nurse turned and left them standing there. Almost twenty minutes later the good doctor made his appearance.

"Mr. Booth, what can I do for you?'

"It's Special Agent Booth doctor. I need to talk to you about the protocol that you have for Dr. Brennan. We need to talk to her to get a description of the perpetrator. Without knowing where and when this happened we have nothing to go on. The Bureau has been given this case and I have a dozen agents waiting to jump and investigate the first clue we get but we can' get anything unless Dr. Brennan remembers something."

"I can understand your frustration Agent Booth but I feel that the trauma that Dr. Brennan has suffered will be augmented by your attempts to catch a criminal."

"You're not suggesting that we sit on the case. You don't seem to understand the importance of getting to the evidence quickly." Booth took a menacing step toward the doctor and saw that he stepped back as a reaction.

"I do understand but her health and mental state are my top priority."

"Whatever you have to do to get her back to us…we need to speak with her doctor. Bones is a very strong woman. She is probably the strongest woman I've ever known and I know in my heart that she would want us searching for the man who did this to her. She would want justice. She has the support of me and Angela, as well as the rest of our team. We will be able to help her through all of this." Booth was trying to give a convincing argument but it boiled down to the fact that he intended to kill the man that had put his Bones in a hospital bed.

"Alright Agent Booth you win. I will agree to stop the medication for a short period of time but I must inform you that if I see that she is being affected negatively I will put her back under…without or without your description."

"I want what is best for her…don't doubt that for a second. She is my partner and my best friend and there is nothing that I would ever do to hurt her."

"If you would like to step back into the ICU you can see her while we prepare to stop the IV drip that is keeping her under. She will be groggy and most likely be in a lot of pain. Prepare yourself for the fact that she very well might not remember anything about the incident. Many times when we suffer severe injuries or traumas, our bodies choose to block out the source of the trauma."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Agent Booth, if it was the woman I loved lying in that bed I would want to do whatever I could to catch the bastard."

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Booth pulled a chair over to sit beside Brennan's bed. Dr. Rainier had assured him that she should begin waking up from the medication gradually and that he would have to be patient while questioning her. Booth sat and waited. He expected groggy and confusion but he had not prepared himself for the sheer terror he saw in her eyes when she saw him beside her.

Booth began talking to her in soothing tones but she seemed to be becoming more and more agitated. "Bones, its Booth. Shh…" She began thrashing her head back and forth making guttural sounds in her throat.

"Bones calm down its Booth." His voice was pleading but she was not listening to him. He put his arms on her shoulders and tried to hold her stationary. "Stop, you're going to hurt yourself Bones." She said nothing but continued to struggle against him.

"Temperance, do you know what happened to you?" Dr. Rainier chose that time to make his appearance.

"This is not working Agent Booth. She is simply not ready. Dr. Brennan can you hear me?" She turned to the strange voice. He could see that she was dazed and not fully awake. "Agent Booth you need to leave the room please." Booth hesitated. "Agent leave now or I'll have you removed."

Booth began backing out of the room. His eyes full of tears. His heart was aching seeing his broken partner lying in the bed looked so frightened of him. His heart was breaking at the thought that she couldn't stand to look at him. He closed the door behind him. "It didn't go well?" Angela asked of him.

"She freaked out when she saw me Angela. She just made these terrible sounds. I've never seen anything like it before."

"The doctor was probably right Booth. As bad as we hate to admit it we are going to have to wait until she is ready to tell us about what happened."

"It doesn't seem like we are going to have a choice." Just then Dr. Rainier exited the room.

"She is asleep. I had to sedate her again. I wasn't expecting her reaction to be as violent as it was but it is clear that questioning her is not going to be an option for now. I would also suggest that Agent Booth not come in to see her next time." Booth stepped towards the doctor with an angry look on his face.

"She is my partner. Why would you not let me see her?'

"You are also a man Agent Booth." Booth understood what he was being told. It was likely that Bones would be afraid of most men at this point.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she gets better but I need to know what is going on with her. I NEED to know."

"I'll keep you as fully informed as I possibly can and once she is awake we'll see how things go."

Booth stormed down the hallway away from the doctor and Angela. All of a sudden he was being treated like he was the guy that had done the crime. Rationally he knew that Bones was going to have problems dealing with the act but he never allowed himself to think she would have problems with him.

"Booth! Wait up!." He heard Angela running up behin him. "Where are you going?"

"I guess I'm gonna try to find the guy that did this to her. There is obviously nothing I am going to be able to do here."

"You understand why he doesn't want you going back in there don't you?"

"I'm not stupid Angela. I don't have to like the fact that I can't see her until she "says" she wants to see me. I don't know how to deal with that." Angela could tell that he was on the verge of breaking down. There was never any doubt that Booth cared for Brennan but she had always thought he loved her and what she was seeing now confirmed her belief.

"I'll call you later Angela. Please let her know I am thinking of her." He hugged her quickly and left.

Any suggestions on where to take this???? I thought I had it planned but it is leaving me.