The lecture hall was enormous. It was enormous, and filled with people. Academic, civilians, government, military. At first glance, it appeared that everyone in Paris was interested in learning of the findings during the Maluku expedition on the Indonesian islands. It appeared that everyone was excited, the energy was contagious, and from the look of the keynote speaker, it may not be the only thing that was contagious.

The room was warm and toasty, and to the observer, it appeared that it would only be due to the extraneous body heat that would increase the temperature a degree or two. The lights were dimmed in the audience, enough for everyone to find a seat, and the stage was dark but for the focus point of the podium.

Brennan stood back stage, shifting from foot to foot as she stared at her notes. She felt absolutely awful, her head was pounding relentlessly, and her fever had gone back up since she had woken that morning, and the chilling sweats she was experiencing were making her more and more agitated and uncomfortable. The rash on her legs had spread a little more in some places and faded in others, and her muscles were aching so horribly that she barely made it out of the apartment without Angela noticing. She had insisted that Angela didn't have to take her to the lecture, having hired a town car to get her to the University, and limiting her interaction with her overbearing friend.

She stood with her eyes on the note cards in her hands, but her focus was on the throbbing in her head, and she couldn't seem to focus on the cards completely. There were people buzzing around, hovering, and she could tell that they wanted to ask her questions or approach her, but were too nervous to do so. She thought seriously about giving the speech in French, but she knew that the number of American students, it was easier for her to speak English, and allow the translators to take care of the rest with the screens situated above the stage. Her speech had been translated already, and all she needed to do was follow the note cards, if she could see them. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes again, knowing that she could potentially be smudging her eye makeup, for she had to put extra on in order to mask the pale, pasty look to her skin. She coughed a little, clearing her throat and sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Doctor Brennan, are you alright?" One of the organizers said as she nodded her head, giving a weak smile that was meant to be encouraging, but barely made it to her lips, let alone her eyes.

"I'm fine… still recovering from jet lag, I suppose." She replied, dryly.

"Do you need a glass of water or something?"

"At the podium, please. That would be fine."

"Okay." The woman nodded, and turned as a man walked up to her and watched as her eyes lifted to meet his.

"Doctor Brennan, are you not feeling well?" Professor Durham said as he tipped his head and really scrutinized her appearance. She looked pale and small, she was quiet and not quite as demanding as she had been the last time she had done a lecture for the university. There was just something about the way she was holding herself, that just screamed that she was not doing well.

"I'm fine, Professor Durham." She nodded. "I'm just suffering from a headache, perhaps the change of climate, I'm unsure. I'll be fine." She whispered.

"Well, if you need anything, please let us know."

"I will." She nodded.

"We're about to start your introduction."

"Thank you." She nodded, watching the professor turn as everyone left her to her notes. She was having difficulty standing all of a sudden, a sharp pain in her stomach sent her toward a chair, and her muscles screamed angrily against her as she sat down, resting her head in her hands as she listened to the roar of the applause as she was introduced, she tried to control her pain by breathing slow deep breaths through her nose, and out through her mouth, focusing on the floor.

She felt as if she had only been sitting there for a moment, when someone tapped her shoulder. She had apparently fallen asleep sitting hunched over in her chair, and the moment they poked her, she jumped. She stared blankly into the eyes of Professor Durham, and he looked alarmed.

"Doctor Brennan, they're waiting."

"Oh! Oh… oh…" She said, feeling the strain on her muscles as she stood there, she touched his shoulder for a moment of support, and he looked at her awkwardly. "I'm sorry." She whispered, swallowing hard, she straightened and took a deep breath, as she stepped out in front of the lecture hall full of expecting people, and walked to the podium amidst a round of applause that caused her head to pound harder, the pain unforgiving as she trembled from both chills, and the pain. The lights were so very bright, and the pain behind her eyes was becoming unbearable as she touched the microphone with her hand, sending a shot of feedback that made her visibly shudder.

"Good Afternoon everyone." She said, as the applause began again, and she took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she tried to find her place to start.

It was obvious that she wasn't feeling well as she stood at the podium. Her voice was slurred, her eyes were not bright, and she was obviously wearing much more makeup than any other time. She looked thin, frail and her skin was pale as she spoke.

Her words came out slowly, and it was obvious that she was in some kind of pain, a pain that was obvious enough for some in the audience to notice, and whether or not they were there to see her speak on the Maluku Island expedition, or to just speak in general, she was not herself up there, and as hard as she tried, she could not make it convincing.

She stepped from the podium for a moment, her focus on the screen behind her as she held up a laser pointer to the screen, speaking as she clicked through the various slides, slowly. Occasionally she'd stop and cough, taking a sip of water from the glass set at the podium, and she appeared to be hitting her stride, until she stepped back up to the podium again and touched the microphone, sending a shot of feedback loudly through the auditorium, it was then that she stumbled backwards a bit, seemingly losing her balance, she took a slow deep breath and turned around, apologizing.

It was that moment that he stood up, a man in the back of the lecture hall, who seemed to cause a bit of a stirring among some students, he stood and walked to the aisle, stepping slowly down as if he were watching carefully, or as if he were approaching Doctor Brennan herself. His steps were confident and sure, though slow, and not distracting, for she already seemed distracted from her speech, though she was trying her best to remain in charge of her body and the lecture.

He made it to the fourth row of seats, when Doctor Brennan's eyes flashed to the movement of the person, looking intent to ask them to sit down, when her speech was stopped cold, and she gasped slightly, and was obviously affected by something, perhaps it was the man.

She was doing just fine until she stumbled a bit, her lecture wasn't exactly going how she thought it would, but she was trying to focus, feeling a bit shaky from the feedback, and tried to focus on the audience for a minute, catching movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head and her mind focused in on an unbelievable sight. Two warm brown eyes, staring back at her as he settled into the fourth row of seats, she was sure that she was seeing things, for her dreams had been so vivid, she wasn't sure that this was not a dream. She then turned her attention from the man, knowing that with the pain in her head, her mind was playing tricks, and faced front, continuing the lecture.

She looked down at her notes and continued speaking, changing the slides as she went. She looked up, and thought for a second that she was getting strange looks from the audience. She was beginning to feel a little dizzy, so she didn't think much of it, until she looked down at her notes again, hearing the sound of something dripping onto the cardboard, she looked down and gasped.

Blood.

She lifted her hand to her nose, and could feel the warm liquid dropping from her nose, and she was suddenly feeling even more dizzy than a moment before. There was the sound of scrambling feet as she turned to excuse herself for a moment, when in the hastiness of her exit, she caught her foot on the cord from the microphone and nearly tumbled to the floor, when she felt the weight of a body against her, she breathed in and whimpered at the familiar scent of the body holding her up, she tried to find the strength to look up at the eyes of her savior. She found no strength, only safety in the arms of the person that she wished was the man she loved, and as her head pounded and twisted in sickening dizziness, she heard his voice.

"Bones, don't fade on me… stay with me, Bones…"

Her eyes opened and there he was, and she hoped with all she had that she was dreaming, because if she wasn't, the only other option in her mind, was that she was dying. Her eyes stared blankly into his, and with a painful wish, she closed her eyes tightly, let out a pitiful whimper, as she gave into the darkness that was calling to her.