Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

A/N: Here it is, finally! The long-awaited hospital scene. Hope it lives up to your expectations!

Thanks to Louise Daniel, GorgeousGummyBear, wldct6, Cheryl, mustanggirlz07, twinkle in my eye, miss jasadin, BabyJ91687, Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie Rabb, Nevaehell, and Joan for the reviews! Also thanks to everyone who's favorited, alerted, or just read. I appreciate all the support!

I really am sorry it took so long to get this up; school has been crazy this week, what with tests in Chemistry and Algebra II, presentations in Spanish II, and more. But, it's over. For now. Anyways, enough of my boring chat... on to the story!

Booth tossed and turned in his sleep, plagued with vivid nightmares of Bones. Every time he closed his eyes, the scene from the warehouse replayed in his mind, with various alternate endings. The sheets on the hospital bed became a tangled mess as he relived the worst moments of his life, watching, frozen to the spot as his partner, his Bones, was riddled with bullets. Or, another time, he watched, mortified, as the bastard gouged out her eyes with his key, and then as her already battered and bloody body was torn apart by the merciless dogs. Her screams and accusations drowned out any voice of reason, blaming him for letting him get her, for not protecting her like he was supposed to. Like he should have been able to. When he finally woke in a sweat, it took several minutes for his heart to slow down and for his breathing to steady.

When he finally felt calm enough, he threw the sheets off, getting up to go see how Bones was doing. He barely got out of the room before an angry nurse tried to stop him, but he ignored her, heading the other way.

It wasn't until he reached the end of the hall that he realized he didn't know where her room was, and was about to turn around to ask someone when he saw Angela, Hodgins, and Zack huddled together while talking to an elderly man in a white lab coat. Zack seemed to be staring off into space, ignoring the emotional display right next to him as if he didn't even know they were there. Angela had tear tracks on her face, and was leaning into Hodgins for support. The sight struck up a primal fear deep in his heart as his mind contemplated the implications of the scene in front of him. What was that doctor telling them? Was she… no, she couldn't be gone. She couldn't be dead. His eyes welled up with tears once again, and it took him a moment to gather the bravery and strength he needed to walk up to them. To find out whether or not his partner had survived the past few hours.

The entire group turned to look at him as he walked towards them, his gait starting out confident but faltering as his strength dissipated. Angela gave him a sympathetic look, letting him know that she was having as much trouble as he was. The doctor, whose name tag revealed him to be Dr. Sanders, gave him a disapproving glance.

"Am I to presume you're Agent Booth?" Upon Booth's confirmation of the fact, the doctor continued, "You shouldn't be out of bed, Agent Booth. You've suffered severe injuries, and your body is still healing."

Booth glared at the man, disliking him already. "I'll live. The question you should be answering is if my partner will live, Dr. Sanders." There was agitation in his voice, but his eyes told a different story, filled with trepidation and anxiety.

"You're speaking of Dr. Brennan?"

"No, my other partner, Einstein. Of course I mean Dr. Brennan. How… how is she?" He started out sarcastic, but ended up tripping on his own words as they rushed from his mouth on the last sentence, his eyes softening.

The doctor glanced at the others before beginning, as if seeking permission. Hodgins nodded, letting the man know that he was allowed to tell Booth of Brennan's condition, and he turned back to Booth. "Well, as you know, Dr. Brennan has sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen. We took her into surgery immediately, and did what we could to repair the damage. The bullet grazed her liver and passed straight through her large intestine to rest just short of the her lumbar vertebrae. Due to its proximity to her spine, we were unable to remove the bullet for fear of paralyzing her. Our hopes are to wait and monitor the progression of the bullet, until it moves far enough from the spine to be safely removed.

We managed to fix the damage to her liver and large intestine, but she's likely to have trouble with digestion for the rest of her life. We can discuss that later though. Right now our main concern is keeping the bullet from moving anywhere we don't want it and causing more damage. We're keeping her in an induced coma for the next 24 hours, and after that we'll draw her out of it slowly before taking her back into surgery." The doctor paused, as if he had something else to add on but was hesitant to do so.

"There's something else, isn't there? What is it?" Booth asked, tensing up as he prepared himself for the worst.

"There is a possibility she may have lasting brain damage from hydrostatic shock."

Booth felt a painful tug on his heart, but chose to ignore it for the time being. He would have time to break down later; right now, he needed to be strong, to be there for her. To do that, he had to have all the facts.

"What kind of brain damage?"

"It's impossible to tell at this point; hydrostatic shock can affect any part of the brain. We won't know more until she wakes up."

"Can we see her?"

"I suppose there's no harm, but only one at a time. She's being transferred to a room in Intensive Care; in fact, she should be there right about now. If you'll follow me, I'll take one of you there."

He knew it would kill him inside, but nevertheless he turned to Angela. "You go, Angela. You're her best friend."

"And you're her partner, Booth. You need to see her, more than I do. No arguing; just go."

He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it quickly. Smiling weakly, he thanked her, moving to follow the doctor. A part of him dreaded seeing her; he didn't know if he could handle it. Another part of him, though, a part that was winning the fight for dominance, longed to hold her hand in his, to be comforted by her very presence. Angela was right; he needed to see her.

"Bones?"

He walked into the room slowly, taking the sight in. The room was white, all white; the walls, the bed, the sheets, the blinds, all white. There was a small white bedside table standing next to the bed, and a couple white chairs on either side of the bed. But these things aren't what he focused on; these things were not what his thoughts had latched onto, and they didn't break his heart to look at. They weren't his Bones.

She was sleeping, of course, and for once he had an opportunity to stare at her without being noticed. He just wished the sleep was a natural one, and her life wasn't hanging in the balance.

She had several wires hooked up to her, and a steady beep from a machine to her right let him know she was still there. Otherwise, he might not have been so sure. Her skin was had an unnatural pallor to it, and her face was gaunt. Never had he seen her looking so unhealthy, nor so vulnerable. All he wanted was to hold her, protect her from any further harm, but he knew doing so would only worsen her condition. And so he settled for sitting by her bed, taking her hand in his as tears flowed freely from his bloodshot eyes.

"Hey, Bones. It's me, Booth. I- I need you to hold on now, okay? I know it's hard, but I'll be here the whole way. I'm so sorry this happened. It's all my fault; I should have seen it, I should have protected you. But it's all over now, and I promise you I'm never leaving; no matter what. 'Cause you and me, we gotta stick together, you know? Partners till the end. So you just get your rest, and when you wake up, I'll be here, waiting. It's all over now."

Resting his forehead on her arm, he allowed his eyes to close, and was able to sleep peacefully for the first time that night. She was going to be alright; he'd make sure of it.

A/N: Hydrostatic shock is a theory(not proven) that gunshot wounds can create 'pressure waves' that can damage soft tissue and cause brain damage.

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