A/N: Again, thank you so much for your support! I am really enjoying writing this story and am delighted that you're enjoying reading it.
Once the procedure was completed, Booth hurried to tell Bones' friends and family the news. He appeared in the waiting area still wearing the sterile garb from the hospital room.
"Everything went okay," Booth said and heard the crowd breathe a collective sigh of relief.
"Her intracranial pressure is high -."
"How high?" asked Cam.
"34, but by the end of the procedure, when they'd drained some fluid, it was down to 31."
The expression on Cam's face raised alarm in the others.
She quickly said, "That's good – that it is going down."
"Yeah, the doctor said that if it keeps dropping, Bones will wake up," Booth said looking sideways at Cam.
"Can we see her?" Max and Angela asked in unison.
"In a few minutes, they are just cleaning up from the procedure now," Booth hesitated, "They had to shave off some of her hair."
Angela nodded cautiously.
"I just didn't want it to be unexpected when you get in there with Bones."
"I understand," Max said, "Thank you for being there with her."
Booth nodded slightly. After Max and Angela went into Bones' room, Booth pulled Cam aside.
"What was that look for?"
"What look?" asked Cam, evasively.
"The look you had when I said what Bones' pressure thing was, Camille."
Cam sighed, "That's pretty high, Seeley. I – I just hope the doctors haven't given you false hope."
Booth scrubbed his hand over his face, "I'll take any hope that is available."
One hour later…
Angela and Max left to give Booth time alone with Bones. Her ICP had continued to drop and was hovering around 28 mmHg.
"No matter what anyone says, you are going to come to me – to us. You have to; there still so much unsaid between us."
Booth ran his palm lightly along her jaw line.
"When I was in a coma, you told me a story. You said it was your book, but I knew you weren't telling the truth. You have a tell, you know? You blink a lot when you are lying. Whatever it was you were reading, it sent me into this amazing dream world. When I woke up, you asked me what had taken me so long. I think I didn't want to leave that dream world behind. In the dream, I got to hold you, kiss you, and make love to you."
Booth took in a sharp, deep breath.
"Now, I'm going to tell you a story, Bones, our story, but you have to wake up to see how it ends."
Before beginning, Booth took her hand firmly in his.
"This story is about a man and woman. This man meets the woman by chance, by fate, although she'd balk at that. He was up for a promotion and was hell bent on getting it, but there was this case that he couldn't seem to crack. A friend of his suggested contacting this scientist – a forensic anthropologist – who specializing in identifying bodies when all that's left of them is bones."
"So, he went to the university, where she was lecturing on defleshing techniques of all things. He'd expected a frumpy old lady, after all, who under the age of fifty was named 'Temperance'? The beautiful young woman with radiant blue eyes was certainly a surprise. The minute he saw her, his heart beat faster. It was like he'd finally found what he'd been looking for, and for one glorious minute, he thought they'd get a chance, a chance at something special. But, he messed it up. She wouldn't speak to him, and for a year, he tried to forget her. Then, there was another case. It was the golden opportunity he had been waiting for, and, they formed a tenuous partnership. And, from that partnership, grew the most incredible friendship."
"It was more than a friendship, though. He was head over heels. The more time he spent with her, the harder he fell. It made no sense; they were complete opposites, but he loved her. She knew him, in a way no one else did, and he liked to think that he knew her like no one else did. He spent five years providing her with the evidence he knew she needed to trust that he wouldn't be like everyone else – he was in it for keeps. He cherished every moment with her – every drink, every lunch, and every 'accidental' touch."
Booth glanced down at Bones then. Instead of her closed eyes, he saw the expression she'd worn on her face when she'd turned him down a year ago and the sad look she'd had when he first told her about Hannah.
"But he got impatient. He tried to rush her, even though he knew she couldn't be rushed. She wasn't ready. He was too hurt to hear what she was really saying; too hurt to tell her what she really needed to hear. Then, she went off to the other side of the world without a word for seven months. He mistook her silence for indifference, and he found solace in the arms of another woman. He didn't let himself see how this woman's presence hurt the woman he truly loved. He kept her at arm's length, and it wasn't until something terrible happened to her that he realized what an ass he'd been."
Booth broke into sobs, "God, Bones, I'm sorry. How could I have been so blind?"
Booth heart skipped a beat when he thought he discerned the slightest movement of Bones' hand.
"Bones, Bones, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand," Booth said.
He waited and felt nothing.
"Come on, Bones, squeeze my hand, baby," Booth said through tears.
Again nothing, and Booth thought the initial perception of movement was a figment of his imagination. He sighed loudly.
Booth was about to let go of her hand momentarily, when he felt her fingers curl weakly around his.
Just over nine hours until the next Bones episode airs on the East Coast!
