AN: I'm sorry I haven't replied to any of your reviews yet—even though I spent my whole work day scuttling into corners to read them on my phone. I only have a little free time tonight and I thought you'd all rather have me post a new chapter. So, a collective and heartfelt thanks to all you for the feedback until I get the time to thank you each specially, as you deserve. : )
The afternoon seemed to slip away quickly. The sun was dropping towards the horizon, smearing the sky with sorbet colors, when she lifted her head from the lounge chair to check on Booth. He was staring absently, a dreamy expression fixed on his face, dangling a bottle of beer lightly from his fingertips.
"Booth," she interrupted his reverie.
"Yeah, Bones?"
"The sun's setting," she said distractedly, a slight frown line puckering her forehead. "Where did the afternoon go?"
He sighed, patting his belly lightly. "I think I drank it away."
She smiled at him indulgently. "You're going to get a beer belly if you keep that up."
He scowled at his stomach, pinching the skin above his waistband. "You think I should be worried?"
"I think you know far too well how handsome you are," she chided gently.
"Boooooooooones," he laughed. "You think I'm handsome? I'm blushing!"
"Are you?" she asked, peering more closely at his face. "I don't see any blushing, but then it is getting…. dark…" she concluded, looking nervously at the lengthening shadows stretching across the patio. The ocean had turned a sooty shade of deep navy, meeting the deep purple stain of the sky. The light seemed to be fading so quickly, she thought. Nighttime was encroaching faster than she expected. She felt a surge of anxiety as she turned again to face her partner.
"What's wrong?" he asked, cocking his head curiously.
She struggled to find the words to answer him. She couldn't name the fear that had seized her, the uneasiness. Something felt incorrect; she couldn't seem to think clearly. She had the sudden urge to crawl right onto Booth's chair and curl up against him and cling to him. "I…I think I'm afraid of the darkness. I don't know why…" she whispered.
"Then don't look at it. Close your eyes."
"No!" she said too forcefully. "I can't." Her voice was ragged. "Where's everyone else?"
He looked back at her, confused. "Who?"
She couldn't remember who; she felt like she was losing her mind. A sudden, niggling doubt surfaced, and she turned towards the sunset. "Booth," she rasped, "why can't I hear the ocean anymore?"
He didn't answer. "Booth?" she asked. Dread constricted her breathing as she turned again to face him, an unnatural sense of foreboding filling her.
"Booth!"
He was gone. The light was gone. The darkness had returned… and with a jolt that choked the air from her lungs, she found herself alone again, curled on the cold floor, her heartbeat racing in her throat. "No!" she gasped, her own voice startling her in the emptiness. A strangled sob broke from her body as she wrapped her arms around herself, rocking ever so slightly. She surrendered to her misery, crying openly because there was no one to see, no one to tell her to stop. Salty tears coursed across her face to fall to the ground, the faint splat of each drop oddly audible. She was confused, couldn't organize her thoughts. She was suddenly furious at her partner, heart-brokenly mad at him, but couldn't remember why. But then that thought made her nearly dizzy with the need to see him, the desperate wish that he could be there to lift her off the hard ground and take her home.
She couldn't remember where she was, or how she had gotten here. The last thing she remembered, the last thing she knew, was that she had been at a house on a beach somewhere. Booth was there with her—he was wearing a white shirt. But that was all she could fathom. She lifted her hand to swipe the tears from her face, surprised to feel a painfully swollen contusion near her temple. Gasping, she traced her limbs, startled to find a deep wound in her leg among other injuries. How had she been injured? How long had she been here? She levered herself to an upright position, fighting against the tilting in her head. She felt dehydrated, her mouth so dry that she struggled not to gag. She needed to find a way out—there must be a way out. She struggled to her knees, supporting herself on shaking arms. But the darkness was so disorienting, she couldn't tell if she was crawling in a straight line or not.
She paused to catch her breath. Somehow, she had gotten frighteningly weak. And she couldn't recall… she couldn't remember…
She collapsed back onto the hard ground, feeling the chill invading her skin. She had been at a beach house, she thought dimly. But she couldn't picture it—couldn't retrieve it from memory. She was so confused… Booth had been there, though—she knew that. She tried to picture when she had last seen her partner. She wasn't able to remember the surroundings, or if anyone else had been there. But she could see him clearly. She could see him, she realized with a shaky smile. She concentrated on the details and felt suddenly reassured as he smiled back at her, confident as always.
