CHAPTER 4: Denial

Disclaimers: See previous chapters

AN: To all my faithful reviews…thank you! Here is the next chapter, Please review!!!

"So, he posed as a Doctor to get into her room and kill her?" Cullen raked his had through his hair in agitation. "How did the hospital let this happen?"

Booth pressed his fingertips just above his eyes. "I don't know, sir. I just went out to the waiting room to make a phone call; I was gone for no more then ten minutes. The bastard must have been watching the room, waiting for his chance."

Recalling how close he came to succeeding, fury swept through him. Ugly. Dangerous. A snarling demon triggering an aggressive response. Booth turned his back, and drew air into his lungs. He didn't need his supervisor seeing his deadly temper where Bones was concerned.

He counted to ten silently before he spoke. "I had the syringe sent to the Jeffersonian, Hodgins told me that it was filled with poison called strychnine, it's probably the most painful way for a person to die. They start convulsing between ten and twenty minutes after exposure. The convulsions get worse and worse, until they eventually die of asphyxiation. The whole thing lasts about two to three hours." The last was said harshly. He curled his fingers into tight fists.

"Son of a bitch!" Cullen spat. "How did Dr. Brennan manage to get out of this one?" He asked, curiosity replacing his anger.

A smile curved Booth's lips. "She stuck a fork into his balls."

He whistled softly. "That woman has a foul temper on her."

"You have no idea. Did I ever tell you about the time she beat the shit out of the leader of that Columbian gang?"

After Booth left Cullen's office, he stopped at the Jeffersonian. His squints were working hard at finding the connection between Roger Stines, the "Doctor" and Bones. The man spent the night in surgery, having his balls reattached, and now he was so doped up on morphine, he couldn't talk if he wanted to.

Entering the lab, he swiped his security access card, and jogged up the stairs to the platform, where Dr. Zack Addy was studying a set of remains.

"Hey Zack, got anything for me?"

The young man looked up from the skeleton, a frown etching his child-like features. "I think I do, actually."

Booth remained silent, waiting for an explanation. Finally, Zack spoke. "Dr. Brennan was working on this set of remains the night she was run off the road, so I went under the assumption that whoever did this to her, was trying to keep her from finding out the truth. As it turns out, she managed to get some DNA from the back molars of our victim." Booth made a face, "she bit him," he explained. "Anyway, I compared the DNA found on the victim, to the blood sample you supplied us with. It was a perfect match."

He grinned. "You're a genius Zack."

The young man watched the Agent sprint away. "I know." He said to no one in particular.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ange." Temperance said for the third time.

"Sweetie, you're in denial. How else would you know that a seemingly friendly doctor was the man who was trying to kill you?"

She shrugged. "Maybe Booth's instincts are rubbing off on me."

"Instincts don't rub off on people, and you know it." Temperance did know it, but she'd be damned if she admit as much to Angela. Her friend had been arguing with her for the last half hour about her so-called "Psychic abilities."

She rubbed her forehead and the sudden headache pounding at her temples. "Please Ange, just give it a rest alright? I'm not psychic, in fact, I doubt anyone is psychic." Even as she said it, she couldn't help but wonder about the voices in her head when she touched other people. She tried to chalk it off to her head injury, but what she heard seemed to be true. First with Booth, then with Stines. She had been pretty out of it on both accounts, so perhaps it was just her imagination.

To prove to herself once and for all that she didn't have any psychic abilities, she grabbed Angela's hand.

Whatever you do, don't think about having sex with Hodgins on the examination table.

Angela's voice filled her head, and she pulled her hand back as if she'd been burnt. After the initial shock wore off, her eye brows shot up. "You had sex with Hodgins on the remains table?"

Angela pointed a finger at her, choosing wisely to avoid her comment. "Hah! Told you, you were psychic." Rubbing her hands together she said, "think of all things you could do with this."

Temperance's mind was still reeling from shock, but Ange definitely had a good point. "You're right," she said, "just by shaking hands with a suspect, I could tell Booth whether or not they were guilty."

"Oh, way better than that," a grin spread across her face, "you'll actually know what guys are thinking."

Temperance laughed good naturedly, maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. Although it tore a gaping hole in many of her beliefs, she liked to think of herself as someone who was adaptable. She didn't believe things with out scientific proof…well, what better proof was there than experiencing something first hand. One thing was for sure, she wouldn't be mocking Booth's gut feelings any more.

"What's so funny?" Booth asked from the doorway.

"Angela's priorities." She answered, still smiling.

Assuming that it was a private joke, he let the matter drop, walking over to Temperance's bed side. "Push over."

Her eye brows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"Well, there is only one chair in here, which Angela's sitting in, and I have been working hard all day trying to figure out who your mystery guy was, and why he wants you dead. And my feet hurt, so push over." She didn't really need to know that he felt fine, and just wanted to be closer to her.

Shaking her head with amusement, she scooted over, to let Booth stretch out beside her. "So, what did you find out?"

As Booth relayed every thing that he knew, Temperance did her best to concentrate on what he was saying, but all she could think about was reaching over and grabbing his hand. She wondered so many times what was going on inside his head, now she could finally find out. But on the other hand, it was an invasion of his privacy, and she didn't want to do that to him.

When he finished talking, he glanced at Temperance to find her eyeing his hand. "Are you listening to a word I've said?" He asked.

Her eyes shot up, and a guilty expression crossed her face. "Sorry, got lost in thought."

Without giving her a warning, he clasped her hand within his own, and suddenly she wasn't in the hospital anymore, she was in Booth's fantasy, his very vivid fantasy.

Pushing her against the wall, he crushed his mouth against hers, dominating her mouth with his tongue. Slipping his hands under her shirt, he grasped her breast, and began kneading the supple mound—

Temperance yanked her hand out of his clutch, breathing heavily. "Booth what the…" Seeing his expression she gaped, "you did that on purpose." It wasn't a question.

Booth just smirked. "Serves you right. Maybe you can pay attention to what I'm trying to tell you now, instead of debating whether or not you should try to read my mind."

She shot daggers at him with her eyes. After seeing, feeling what it would be like to have Booth man-handling her, she couldn't seem to get her heart rate back to it's normal rhythm. Oh, he would pay for that.

She smiled with false innocence. "I could really use a shower, the sponge bath from the nurses leave much to be desired." She looked at Angela. "Hey Ange, do you think you could help me? The Doctor told me that I wasn't allowed to take a shower unless there was someone in there with me, in case I got dizzy and fell."

Booth swallowed thickly, his adams apple bobbing as he did. Angela caught the devilish glint in Brennan's eyes and winked. "Sure Sweetie, I'll wash your back."

Doing her best to keep a blank expression, she let Angela help her from her bed and lead her into the bathroom. As Booth pulled a pillow over his lap, she smiled, let's see how he likes it.