As Booth walked into the hospital room, he saw Angela talking to Bones. At first, a surge of hope rushed through him, but then he realized Bones was still in the coma. He loosened his tie and took his jacket off, draping it on the foot of Bones' bed. Angela turned to look at him and wearily shook her head: no change.

"Did you find anything out?"

Booth was still looking at Bones. "Yeah, enough to know that I need to speak to the sheriff again." Here, he finally turned to face Angela. "There may actually be a reason for the FBI to be involved."

"Cam called a little while ago," Angela mentioned. "They ran the dentals through the system and think they have a match already."

Booth raised an eyebrow. "Criminal?"

Angela nodded. "Looks like Peter Radcliffe. He has a rap sheet about a mile long and was finally released from prison back in November of last year. His most recent stint was three years for trying to sell a fake Rembrandt. He got three years because he'd been involved in a few art forgery cases before."

Booth was intrigued. "Did they find cause of death?"

"So far it looks like someone smashed his skull in. Zach is re-constructing the skull to check whether that was done pre or post mortem. There weren't any other obvious signs so he's checking that. You know him; once he gets it back together, he should be able to tell what kind of weapon was used."

"Have you heard from Hodgins?"

Angela nodded. "He called about ten minutes ago. He's identified some kind of particulate as being from a rare type of orchid. Figures it was someone's house plant. It's not much to go on, but it's something."

Booth nodded and then went over to the bed. Angela watched him and again was surprised at the wall he had so firmly in place. The only hint of emotion came from the muscle tightening in his jaw.

"Booth, it's okay to show it. You don't have to stay behind the armor," Angela said gently.

He turned so that his body was facing her, but he kept his eyes averted. "Angela---" The sudden, furious beeping from one of the machines interrupted him.

"What is it? What's wrong?!" He asked worriedly.

"I don't know!" Angela cried, jumping up in alarm.

A nurse came flying in to check a monitor and then hit a button on the wall. "I need a med team to ICU 3, STAT!"

"What's happening?!" Booth nearly yelled.

"She's going into cardiac arrest," the nurse replied, hurriedly adjusting an IV.

The team she requested rushed in, followed by the doctor. Angela was close to hyperventilating. "What's going on?!"

The doctor grabbed Booth and pulled him to the side. "You can't help us save her life, but you could help us lose it! Please, both of you---leave!"

Booth was torn. He didn't want to leave Bones but he didn't want to get in the way. He nodded once to the doctor and took Angela's hand, pulling her gently to towards the door. The last sound either heard as they left was the ominous sound of a single, long beep. Before he could turn back around, the doctor had shut the door and two nurses in the hallway were coaxing them away from the door and towards the waiting room.

"We'll let you know any news as soon as we have it," the one nurse murmured quietly, bringing a box of tissues to Angela.

Booth nodded mutely, feeling like his grasp on reality was slipping. Angela turned to him and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight---feeling like he was trying to gain as much support from her as she was from him. Eventually they sat down, still clutching each other. Angela was quietly sobbing and Booth felt as though someone or something had a strangle hold on his throat. He couldn't swallow past the enormous knot and he fought desperately against the overwhelming sense of despair he felt rising within him. "God, no. Please---not Bones," he whispered.

It felt like hours but was probably only a matter of 45 minutes or so when the doctor came walking into the waiting room. Jack had arrived a few minutes prior, taking over Angela who started crying again upon seeing him. Booth was up and pacing, clenching and unclenching his fists. When he turned in his pacing and saw the doctor, he felt his stomach tighten.

"We almost lost her. She put up a hell of a fight, though. We have her stabilized now but we're going to have to take her in for CAT scans. I want to make sure the hairline fracture in her skull is set to mend---check for any swelling of her brain and such. For now, though, she's back to square one again: stabilized, but still critical."

Booth wasn't sure how he felt. At first he was relieved but then hearing the last part of what the doctor had to say made him feel weak and drained.

"Mr. Booth, your fiancé obviously knows she has a lot to fight for. Don't give up on her; she hasn't," the doctor said kindly, placing a hand on Booth' shoulder.

Booth swallowed and nodded. "Can I see her now?"

"Yes, but I think it best if it's kept to one person at a time."

Angela motioned for Booth to go as she sat back down with Jack. For a brief moment his and Booth's eyes met and there was a silent connection made, indicating Jack's support. Booth nodded once and made his way to Bones' room.

She looked paler but otherwise no different from her brush with death. Booth sat on the chair after pulling it close to the bed and picked up her hand. It was cold and looked so frail in his larger one. It would almost have been funny if it wasn't so frightening. Bones was anything but frail, that was for sure! The doctor had said she had a reason to live: that she knew it and was fighting hard. Then again, the doctor thought he was her fiancé.

"Bones, you have Angela all freaked out and upset. You have to get it together and soon. She can't take much more of this and it's not fair to Hodgins, either." Then in a quieter voice he added, "And it's not fair to me." He took the item he had pocketed from her nightstand and set it on the small table near her bed.

"Booth, the sheriff's here. Says he needs to speak to you," Jack said quietly from the doorway.

Booth nodded and stood up. He looked at Bones, leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead, and went to ask the sheriff some of his own questions.