Brennan blinked her eyes open. She was in a pristine white room and the light was harsh. When she tried to sit up, tubes pulled from all directions.
She was in the hospital.
It was then that the memories came flooding back. The explosion at the bar.
"Brennan?"
She tried to turn her head to the sound, but the sedative hadn't worn off all the way.
"Hi, sweetie," Angela Montenegro came up to the side of the bed and took her hand. "How are you feeling?"
"Ange, what are you doing here?" Brennan rasped in a voice so unlike her own.
"Here drink this," Angela said, producing a cup of water. Brennan took it and drank greedily.
"I'm here because my best friend could have died last night," Angela said, referring to her previous question.
"Thanks Angela, it means a lot," Brennan said, grateful that she wasn't here alone. Then her mind switched gears. "How's Booth? Did he…?" she couldn't bring herself to say the words.
"Oh, God no sweetie. He had worse injuries than you and more smoke inhalation. He's fine, but pretty banged up."
Brennan nodded, relief flooding her body. "Is anyone with him?"
"Well, you'll be pleased to hear that Hodgins and Zack are already at the lab, trying to figure out what caused the explosion. So that leaves…"
They looked at each other. "Cam," they stated simultaneously.
They laughed.
Brennan lapsed into silence, thinking about Booth and the explosion. She wanted to make sure Booth was okay with her own eyes. And she needed to go back to the lab and examine all the evidence.
Angela pulled her seat next to the hospital bed and sat down.
"When can I get out of here?" Brennan demanded
"Brennan, you just got blown up. You need to take it easy," Angela said firmly. She knew that Brennan would go to the lab as soon as she could, but it wasn't what she needed. But when Temperance set her mind to something, you could rarely change it.
"Angela, can you go get me a doctor?" Brennan asked, ignoring her. Angela made no effort to move. "Please?" she begged.
Angela huffed but got up and walked to the doorway. Thinking back, she gave her one sad look and went to summon a doctor.
Brennan sunk back onto her pillows and sighed.
Nobody got it. When something happened to her, she needed details. She needed details. She needed to know exactly what happened. She couldn't sit back and relax. Angela tried to understand, but she was just too kind hearted.
Only Booth got it. He would want answers as much as she did.
It didn't take long for Brennan to convince the doctor to let her go. When she wanted to be, she could be pretty persuasive.
Angela was in the car, waiting to take her to the lab.
She was going to go straight to the lab, but she couldn't make herself leave the hospital without seeing Booth first.
She roamed the halls, finally finding the right room. It wasn't far from hers.
The door was ajar, and she silently pushed it all the way open.
Cam was sitting on a chair, flipping through a magazine, but she didn't seem to be really concentrating on it. She looked up when Brennan entered.
"Hi Dr. Brennan, how are you feeling?" Cam smiled warmly. "They already let you out?"
"I felt fine, so I felt no need to stay longer than necessary," Brennan said logically.
"Of course," Cam said, understanding how Brennan was. She stood up and stretched, joints popping. "Man, my ass is asleep. I'm going to go get some coffee," Cam added, knowing that Brennan probably wanted some time alone with Booth.
After Cam strode out of the room, Brennan willed herself to look at Booth.
He was lying, still and pale on the hospital bed. His eyes were closed gently and he looked peaceful, minus all the cuts and bruises and the oxygen hose sprouting out of his nose.
She wished he was awake; she wasn't good at talking to people who weren't really there. That was why she rarely visited her mother's grave. It felt too strange.
She paced around the room, not sure what to do.
She pulled up a seat by the bed, looking at him. When she looked at him, a bunch of images flew through her mind: the dancing, him diving over her when the place exploded, and the moment where they almost kissed.
Her face flooded with heat just thinking about it and she quickly looked away from him even though she knew he couldn't see her.
She was beginning to think this was a bad idea.
She stood up, nearly whacking her knee on the edge of the bed and flew to the door.
Just as she was about to close it behind her, she heard a rustling and then a hoarse, "Bones? Is that you?"
She stood there, contemplating what to do. Cam would be back soon and she could pretend like she wasn't even there. But, looking back at Booth, she knew she couldn't do that.
"Yeah, Booth it's me," she said softly, coming back into the room and taking her seat again.
His warm brown eyes were gazing at her, becoming more focused as the medicine wore off. He tried to smile but he came out more of a grimace.
He shifted around, but it caused him more pain and his breathing became more struggled.
"Booth, stop. Don't move!" she cried out, not wanting him to hurt himself even more because of her.
He stopped moving immediately and she stood up to help him back in to a more comfortable position.
"Ugh, what happened?" Booth groaned, finding the breath to speak. He gazed up at the white ceiling.
"You don't remember?" Brennan asked, sitting back in the chair and crossing her legs primly.
He strained his brain and a few images came back. "The explosion," he sighed. "Are people always trying to kill us?"
The sarcasm was lost on Brennan. "There isn't really any proof that we were the targets," she pointed out.
Booth ignored her comment and remained silent as the rest of the nights events came back.
"So, you're okay?" he asked finally. "The doctors checked you out and you're good?"
"Yes Booth. I'm not a child, I can get checked out by the doctor on my own," she quipped. For some reason, she really enjoyed their banter. It was comforting in a way.
Booth smirked, thinking the same thing. He coughed violently, and Brennan leaned forward, yelling his name to make sure he was okay.
"Bones, I'm fine. I'm fine," he said uncertainly. He glanced at her hand resting on his arm and she reddened and pulled away. He sighed.
She stood back, her arms crossed over her chest defensively. "Well, I was just going to go to the lab, see what they've got on the explosion," she said, inching towards the door.
"Too bad I won't be able to offer up my awesome detective skills," he teased.
She doubled back to the side of his bed. She leaned over him and gave him a hug, being very careful not to cause him any more pain. "You saved my life Booth. Thank you so much," she whispered in his ear, a tear running down her face and then touching his.
At first, he stood rigid, caught by surprise. Then he relaxed, pretended not to notice the tear. Her voice sent shivers down his spine and he smiled to himself. "It's no big deal Bones. I would never let anything happen to you," he said honestly, wrapping his arms around her too.
He hated when she pulled away.
"So, I guess I should get going," she said, somewhat hesitant.
Booth nodded, not bothering to try and talk her out of it. He knew how she was; she wanted answers. But he needed to get one thing off his chest.
"Wait," he called quietly. He caught her arm before she could go too far.
She gave him an incredulous look and he tore his arm away.
"Sit," he said. When she didn't move, he raised his eyebrows. "Please? It would be bad for my health if you didn't."
She rolled her eyes, at his weak attempted humor, but sat down all the same. His eyes melted her.
For a few minutes, all he did was stare at her. It was hard to believe she was really okay. He noticed the stitches above her left eyebrow, and some cuts on her cheek. Even though he had saved her, he felt guilty.
"What?" she asked, smirking. "What?"
"Nothing, just thinking about what happened that's all," he replied.
"Well, you shouldn't dwell on the explosion. It can't be healthy-,"
"I'm not talking about the explosion, Bones. Before that," he said, interrupting her gently.
He watched as her eyebrows knit in confusion, but then she understood. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she looked away from him. "What about it?" she asked, feigning nonchalance, but he could see through her charade.
"C'mon Bones, what happened before that explosion wasn't nothing. You can't pretend that it didn't happen," he claimed. He grabbed her hand, tangling his fingers with hers just like they did when they were dancing.
He saw her face soften and he could tell they were both thinking of the same memory.
She leaned forward and their foreheads were touching. Booth's monitors went crazy as his breathing quickened. She slipped her hand around his neck, leaving her other hand glued to his. Her breath was hot on his face and he could feel her shaking as she cried.
He pressed his lips to her cheek, by her ear. He heard her gasp and then there was only empty space as she flew back.
"No, no we can't do this," she said, pacing, flustered.
Booth had never seen her this stressed and he hated to be the one to cause it. But he needed her. Why did she have to be so stubborn?
"Why not? Why not Temperance?" he pleaded, wishing she would come closer again.
Tears were flowing down her face freely now, some tinting red at the open cuts. She brushed at them furiously.
She refused to look at him as she gathered up her purse and jacket. "I'm sorry," she said, pushing out the door, nearly knocking Cam's coffee out of her hand.
"What was that all about?" Cam asked. "Was she crying?"
Booth flopped back on his pillows. The pain from the explosion was nothing compared to this. "Nothing," he glowered as Cam sipped her coffee.
If Brennan didn't want to pursue this, then he wasn't going to force her. All he knew was that he felt empty when she wasn't there. He knew that she felt something too. She couldn't hide it forever.