Special Agent Seeley Booth opened his eyes.

"What the hell was that?" He thought. "A fake funeral? To catch who? Bones barging into my bathroom? Zack is the gormogon's apprentice?"

"No way am I telling Sweets about that dream." Booth thought. "I'd never get my gun back."

"Now, where the hell am I?"

He tried to look around, but found he was too weak. It seemed as though he had to concentrate on performing the movement to the exclusion of everything else. He was surprised that he had to concentrate so much just to perform the slightest movement. It felt like he was moving through cobwebs. He gave up after a few attempts.

"Well, I've seen this place before." He thought. Or at least someplace like it. A darkened room…pale fluorescent light reflecting off the ceiling from behind…a television hanging off the wall…the antiseptic smell…an arrangement of Daffodils and Daisies sitting on a tray table…I'm in a hospital."

He heard a "tack, tack, tack…" from his left. "Somebody's typing on a laptop," he guessed. He still couldn't turn his head. He shifted his eyes to the left to see if he could get a glimpse of his bunkmate. "Couldn't the FBI have sprung for a private room?"

His heart sank at what he saw. "Bones" he thought miserably. He made the connection, "Daffodils and Daisies…slightly wilted…she must have been in here for a couple of days…they don't last long. " There in the dim light of the fluorescents and the laptop screen he could see her. There wasn't an inch of her he didn't recognize on sight. From behind, he could see her hunched over the keyboard, her hair tied back in a ponytail to keep it from falling in her face. The clacking stopped for a moment, "She's collecting her thoughts. Wants to get the words 'just right.'"

The clicking of the keys started again. "I couldn't save her from Pam. Once I was down, there was nothing stopping her from hitting Bones. What a fool I was." He scolded himself. "I let my guard down. I didn't think she was a threat."

"And Bones paid the price," he thought morosely. "She's in the hospital stuck next to me."

Miserable and exhausted, he closed his eyes…and slept.

Temperance looked up from her laptop. Her shoulders were tired and her arms ached. She looked around the darkened room. The fluorescent lights above the head of the hospital bed she sat on reflected from the ceiling, giving everything a pallid look.

She turned and looked at Booth. She couldn't discern any changes since they had moved him from intensive care to this room three days ago. Or rather, no changes from the linen changes and sponge baths the nurses had performed. This room was much more comfortable, for her at least. She had slept that second night on a rollaway bed the nurses had provided. With only Booth in this room, she had taken this bed as hers.

Temperance stood and stretched. With the exception of running some errands, she had spent almost every moment with Booth since the shooting. She thought that she might have to go into work soon. There was only so much she could do by remote access. She needed to be able to see and handle the bones she was being asked to evaluate. And it wasn't fair to Zack to cover for her. Even though he said that he didn't mind the opportunity, Temperance was feeling guilty.

It would be a different matter if Booth was awake, and she could keep him company. "But he doesn't even know I'm here." Temperance thought. She looked at the flowers he had sent. They were starting to wilt a bit. "Probably because I spilled all of the flower food the florist supplied." Temperance made the decision. She shook her head, "No…I need to be here when he wakes up."

She was tired. Looking around, she made another decision. Her heart beating faster, this one might affect the rest of her life.

Temperance sat next to Booth. Making sure she didn't disturb the IV lines, she lay down next to him. Her head nestled on his uninjured shoulder; she extended her left arm to drape across his lower chest. Her hand stroked his arm. She sighed softly and kissed his bare shoulder. "I just need to close my eyes for a little while," she said softly. "I'll be here when you wake," and laid her head back down.

She didn't see the tear escape from the corner of Booth's eye and trace its way below his ear to fall upon the pillow.