Sorry for the wait, this chapter was difficult. Hope you enjoy it.

"Hey Baby. How are you today?"

Seeley Booth walks into the Intensive Care Unit and smiles at his wife. He takes the chair to the left of her bed and gently strokes her arm. Four months ago he'd left the house with an uneasy feeling, most days he'd happily leave the house knowing that the sooner he went to work the sooner he could get home to his family. He wasn't sure what it was about that day maybe it was leaving his four year old daughter and very pregnant wife behind or maybe it was the cold breeze that woke him up that morning. It could have been anything, all he knew was that there was something not right about that day.

Looking back he knows he had no real reason to be worried and that should help him with the guilt but it doesn't because that day a killer who felt Brennan was getting too close to finding him broke into the house and put five bullets in her. By some miracle Chelsea was asleep upstairs. Duncan, the guy who fired the shots didn't realize she was home and the little girl didn't wake up until she was pulled from her bed by a frantic neighbor.

Booth holds his wife's hand and allows his tears to fall.

A neighbor had heard the shots and run to the rescue, earning herself a flesh wound for her heroics. Unfortunately their unborn child had taken most of the bullets.

"Booth." He half grunted into the phone.

"Booth it's Angela." Her voice sounded hysterical.

"Angela what's wrong?"

"It's Brennan, there's been an accident."

"What? What do you mean accident?" His voice was shaking and tears were already falling from his dark eyes.

"She's been shot, they've taken her to the hospital. I'm there now."

"Is this some kind of joke?" He managed to choke out.

"I wish it was Booth, I wish it was."

"Chelsea?"

His eyes were closed tight, praying that his little girl wasn't hurt too. He'd never thought he could love someone this much, he loved his wife with all his heart and soul but he remembered back to Tempe's words when he proposed "a Father's love is unbeatable." and she was right a Father's love is unbeatable.

"She's fine, she slept right through it. She's here with me."

"Can you put her on? I need to hear her voice."

"Booth there isn't time you need to hurry, they don't think she's going to make it."

"Nooooooooo. No! Don't say that."

He'd thrown his cell onto the seat next to him and broken several traffic laws trying to get to the hospital.

He'd sat stroking his wife's hand as the doctors had checked for the baby's heartbeat, they hadn't found one. His heart broke into a million pieces at the thought of losing his wife and his child and despite his little girl crying out for him, he couldn't even look at her.

"Mr Booth?"

Booth looked up with tears in his eyes.

"We need to get your wife into theatre."

"What are you going to do?"

"We'll remove as many bullets as we can and stop the bleeding."

"What about my baby?"

"We'll deliver the baby at the same time. We'll bring them to you if you wish."

Booth had fallen to the floor as they wheeled Bones off to theatre. Angela found him in the fetal position on the floor forty minutes later, they'd sat on the floor crying in each other's arms until a doctor had walked in carrying a little bundle. The doctor had handed him the bundle and taken a step towards the door.

"Doctor?"

"Yes Mr Booth."

"How's my wife?"

"She's still in surgery, we'll know more soon."

"What did we have?"

"A boy."

"Thank you." Booth cried as the doctor left them to grieve.

"Hey, Joshua. I'm so sorry buddy, Daddy failed you, I've failed all of you."

"Booth."

"No Angela, I should have been there to protect them."

His tears fall onto the baby's cold skin.

"You know, we lay in bed last night choosing names for this little one. We'd argued about it for months and we couldn't agree but last night we had a revelation. We finally decided."

Booth smiled through his tears, Angela forced a smile back and stroked his arm.

"We decided on Joshua Jack. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful."

Angela look down at the baby, subconsciously moving her hand to her own baby bump.

"Oh God Ang, I'm sorry, I……I forgot."

"It's ok. I just wish things could have been different. We were so excited to be pregnant at the same time, it was amazing. I never thought she'd have kids let alone be excited about being pregnant but she was."

The silence was deafening as Booth cradled the baby boy in his arms. Even when he thought he'd got no more tears left to cry, even more fell. His heart was breaking a million times over and this was something he never wanted to feel. Suddenly the images of all the people he'd killed in his job as a sniper rushed through his head and he thought of their families crying over their dead bodies.

"This is pay back."

"Seeley don't be silly."

"That's exactly what Tempe said to me this morning when I wanted to stay home. Seeley don't be silly, we'll be ok, we always are and look what happened to her."

"Angela and Jack finally got married yesterday. She looked beautiful, not as beautiful as you did though. No one could beat that. You remember how I cried when I saw you, I was hysterical, granted not as hysterical as I was when Chelsea was born. Do you remember Tempe? Do you remember how happy we were?"

"You're probably fed up of hearing this but I'm sorry for leaving you that day, I knew something wasn't right and still I went to work. I'll never forgive myself for that and it doesn't matter how many people tell me that it wasn't my fault, in my mind it always will be. Please fight this, I know you're holding on, I can't lose you too."

A nurse walks in, giving him a sympathetic smile. She checks Brennan's stats and makes some notes on a clipboard before leaving the room. Booth continues to stroke his wife's arm, hoping for a miracle.

"You know Chelsea said the funniest thing a few weeks ago, well it wasn't funny but…God I'm blabbering like a little child. I'm sorry, I just don't know how to be strong without you. I know that sounds totally stupid because before we got together I got by okay, I lived my life and I was happy. Now I can't even breathe without you and I see you everywhere, you're laying beside me in bed every night but when I go to touch you, you're gone. Can't you stay a little longer? I find myself asking you that every night and I feel like I'm going crazy, like my mind is playing tricks on me or that I'm actually asleep."

He sighs and looks out of the window, the rain is pounding at the cloudy glass threatening to break through and engulf him in the sadness and sorrow that the rain can possess.

"I used to love the rain."

Looking back at Brennan he clasps her hand in his.

"Anyway Chelsea said she wanted to buy me a miracle, it's funny how a four year old picks up on so much. I wish I could protect her from all of this but the simple fact is that I can't. She's got you a present, she's dying to give it to you….I wasn't sure it was such a good idea, I don't want her to remember you like this but she's stubborn just like her mother."

He smiles through his tears.

" So I've given in and well they're both waiting in the car with Angela. The kids miss you like crazy, Chelsea mentions you in every other sentence and she's got this saying, whenever she wants me to do something she says 'But Momma says..' it gets me every time. Parker's been quiet but I know he misses you just as much as Chelsea does, he thinks of you as his Mom. I can see his heart breaking, I had to tell him about Joshua. I mean Chels she's too young to understand but Parker, he's fourteen years old and he knew before I'd even got the words out. I hope we can get through this together…as a family. I guess I should shut up and go bring them in huh?."

He leans over and kisses her forehead.

"I won't be long, I promise. Don't you go anywhere."

--

"Dad why don't you go with Angela and get a coffee or something?"

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."

"We're trying to get rid of you both actually. We want to be alone with Mom for a bit. Please Dad, just for a few minutes. I can't say what I wanna say with an audience."

Booth smiles at his son's maturity and reluctantly follows Angela from the room in search of a very strong coffee. Parker lifts his little sister onto the bed and watches her snuggle into their Mom's side before taking the Chair his Dad had occupied moments before.

"Can we give Mommy her present now Parky?"

"Yeah, do you want to?"

He pushes a small box towards his sister's arms.

"You do it, I'm too little."

"Okay." He opens the box slowly and pulls out a gold bracelet.

"We got you a present. I hope you like it."

" I guess I should help you right?"

Parker gently lifts Brennan's arm and puts the bracelet around her wrist. He does up the clasp and makes sure it is sitting perfectly before placing her hand back down onto the

hospital sheets.

"It's got Mom engraved underneath, I hope that's okay."

"Why isn't Mommy answering?"

"She's sleeping."

"Why?"

"She's just tired Chels, you can still talk to her. She can hear you."

"She must be very very very tired, she's been sleeping a long time."

"It won't be for much longer, I promise."

" Is she dreaming?"

"You bet and do you know what she's dreaming of?"

"No."

"I'll tell you a secret, can you keep a secret?"

"Yep yep yep!!"

"She's dreaming of you, of me, of Dad. She's dreaming of us all together in the park, at the swimming pool, of that time we went on holiday and stayed in that groovy cabin. Do you remember it was so cold that we all snuggled under that big blanket and watched the snow falling outside?"

Chelsea shakes her head.

"You were only little but we had the best time. Mom needs to dream those things to remind her of the reasons to wake up and once she's finished dreaming we can have her back."

"Will she come home? Daddy is sad without Mommy, I want him to be happy like before."

"You bet she'll be coming home."

"Can we have balloons and cake? Can weeeeee?"

"We sure can."

He smiles at his little sister and she smiles back. They sit in silence for several minutes while he tries to decide what he wants to say, Chelsea eventually falls asleep and Parker seizes the moment.

"I know you're not my real Mom but it doesn't matter, I love you like you are. I'm not saying I don't love my real Mom cause I do but just so you know I love you just as much. My friends would be picking on me like mad if they could hear me saying this, it's not the cool thing to say is it?! Please wake up, I don't think Dad is going to survive without you. We miss you and I guess we need you more than we ever realized."

"I think we should go, Dad will be worrying."

He wipes the tears from his eyes and leans over to kiss her cheek before picking up his sister and leaving the room. He stops just short of the coffee shop and looks through the small window. He sees his Dad's and Angela's tears and knows that unless Brennan wakes up, life as they know it is over and never coming back. He holds his sister close, swallows his tears, he doesn't want his Dad to think that he isn't strong enough to fight this and heads towards the table praying for a miracle.

All the precious time

Like the wind, the years go by.

Precious butterfly.

Spread your wings and fly.