First of all, THANK YOU so much to everyone who has reviewed and alerted this story! You guys are amazing and it's really touching that you love this story so much! Thanks! Sorry again for the huge delays between chapters, I am finishing my final semester at teachers college and am bogged down with assignments. As for the questions as to whether or not Brennan will regain her memories, just wait and see, all will be answered, eventually (to paraphrase Booth).
Enjoy!
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A skeleton was laid out on the metal table in front of her. It was the murder victim from the latest case her and Booth were working. She picked up a bone from the arm and looked closely at it. There was an odd bump on the upper part and she called Zack over to her.
"Zack, take a closer look at this abnormality…" she began.
Yet as the clock struck ten she was cut off by a deafening explosion that rocked the ground beneath her.
She screamed.
Booth rushed into his partner's hospital room at the sound of her cries. He found her flailing in her bed, the best she could in her casts, and her face was contorted in terror.
He was at her side in a moment and attempted to soothe her.
"Bones, wake up Bones," he said as he ran his thumbs across her cheeks, "Open your eyes."
She whimpered in fear again but then her eyes fluttered open. Her blue eyes were rimmed with tears and they locked with his.
"I'm right here Bones, it's alright."
He caressed her cheeks and he felt her hands on his. He waited as she took deep breaths to calm her breathing and erratic heart beat. When she finally seemed calm he sat down, but she didn't let go of his hand.
"What happened?" he asked her.
When he had arrived earlier that morning she was still asleep. He had wandered to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee and wait for her to wake up, but he hadn't expected what he had found.
"I was on the platform, talking to Zack and there was an explosion. Booth, I had this feeling of impending doom and terror. Something was wrong; something was going to go terribly wrong…" she squeezed his hand, "Was that what happened?"
He nodded slowly, "You were on the platform when it…," he couldn't bring himself to say it, "Yes."
"Do you think I'll ever remember any more?"
"I don't know," Booth answered, he knew he didn't want to remember any more than she did.
The dream that morning was not her last. As she slept each night more memories seemed to seep into her mind.
She dreamt she was lying alone in the rubble going in and out of consciousness, watching the smoke filter through the broken ceiling of her lab.
She dreamt she was floating above her body in an ambulance as she watched the paramedics try to revive her.
Her dreams were always accompanied by the impending sense of doom, something she couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried. She would wake up in a cold sweat, sometimes screaming, sometimes gasping for air. The nightmares began to get so bad that the doctors prescribed sleeping medication so she could rest.
It was on the fourth morning after waking in the night that Sweets stopped by her room.
"Good morning Dr. Brennan," Sweets greeted her from the doorway, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," she half lied, "Where's Booth?"
"He went home to shower and grab some clean clothes. I'm here instead, is that okay?" he seemed to joke.
"That's fine."
"How have you been sleeping?" Sweets asked as casually as possible.
She studied him like a bone on her table, "Who told you?"
The young psychologist looked taken aback, "Told me what?"
Brennan rolled her eyes at him, "About my nightmares, someone told you or you wouldn't be asking how I'm sleeping."
"Well I'm concerned about you. Dreams can say a lot about how someone is feeling."
"I don't want to talk about it."
He sighed, "Alright, Booth asked me to talk to you, he's worried," he confessed.
"The dreams I'm having are simply my memories, however unpleasant they are, coming back to me. I'll be fine."
"I think you should be concerned about post-traumatic stress, these dreams could be an early sign. You did almost die Dr. Brennan."
"But I'm alive now. That is the truth, the dreams are simply just something I need to cope with."
"You've been put on sleep medication; don't you think you should at least talk about it? All that might do is help, isn't it worth a try?"
"Psychology is a weak science; you know I don't believe in it."
"Humor me then, or at least do it for Booth. He only wants to help you."
She stared down the younger man. She'd do it for Booth, only Booth, "Fine."
Sweets suppressed a smile at his victory. He cleared his throat and sat down next to Brennan.
"Okay, could you please describe your dreams to me? Take as much time as you need, I know they're probably disturbing."
She briefly told him about the recent nightmares, about the terror she felt in them. She tried to keep it as clinical and compartmentalized as possible but just thinking about them made her uncomfortable.
Sweets was taking notes, nodding his head as she talked. When she finished he looked up from his note pad, "Is Booth ever in them?"
Brennan raised her eyebrow at him, "No."
"So you haven't dreamt of him finding you then?"
"No, should I?"
Sweets' eyes darted back and forth as he thought about this. Finally he said, "I think what you're beginning to experience is post-traumatic stress. As the memories return you're being forced to confront what happened that day. Being that you don't want to verbalize your feelings when you're awake your mind is trying to deal with it on a subconscious level. I think that when you have the next nightmare that you should try to control it, try to remember that Booth found you, see if you can stir up that memory."
"You're saying I need to try and control my dreams, how do I do that?"
It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her, "Did you never do that as a kid? Never try to take charge in your dream if it was going bad? You know, imagine the monster as something funny and it isn't so bad."
She scoffed at him, "No. Besides, I've never had dreams this vivid before, usually I don't remember what I dream about."
"It's entirely possible to control your dreams, or at least try. Before you go to sleep tonight, think about what you want to dream about, about what you want to remember."
From the look on her face Sweets knew she didn't believe what he was saying.
"I'm not entirely sure that will work but I'll try anyways."
Her comment surprised him, "Really?" he said.
"I'll consider it a scientific experiment."
Sweets smiled at her, "Well good luck then."
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The air smelled like smoke, the scent filled her nose and she tried to breathe. As she took a breath a stabbing pain tore across her lungs, forcing her to cough and throwing her into an even greater searing pain that ripped throughout her whole body. The smell of smoke now mingled with a distinct smell she knew all to well, blood.
Something lay on top of her, something heavy that was not helping her breathing and restricting her movement. Beneath she felt glass and metal.
Her muddled mind searched in vain for an explanation of what had happened. Whatever did happen was hazy at best. She remembered being on the platform and a loud noise, after that it was darkness.
Her eyes flickered as she tried to open them, but the effort only brought on a new wave of hurt, throbbing away in all parts of body. She was too tired, there was so much pain. The pain was overwhelming and she was cold, so cold.
She was dying.
And suddenly she remembered the feelings of terror and doom.
Her time was up.
A muffled noise stirred her and it echoed again through the smoke, she knew it was a man calling out. Did she know the man, she couldn't remember. He cried out again and this time she recognized her own name coming from his lips.
Booth's lips.
As the darkness threatened to take her away again she struggled against it. She fought against the urge to give up, against the hands of death she could almost feel encroaching on her.
He was getting closer; she could hear his voice clearly this time. She wanted to move, to make a noise but she couldn't. It was taking every last ounce of her strength to not pass out completely again.
She silently begged for him to find her, urged him to come just a little closer, to see her blue lab coat. She silently battled the intense pain that was overtaking her.
The darkness urged
her back to it, it crushed down upon her. There was no way she could
hang on any longer, it was too much. As she tried to take one last
ragged breath it happened:
The crushing darkness subsided and a
warm hand was stroking her cheek, calling her name. She opened her
eyes.
"Oh thank God, Bones? Talk to me, please," Booth said to her.
She took a shuddered breath and as she exhaled whispered, "Booth…"
"I'm here, right here."
"You're going to be okay Bones."
"It…it hurts so..."she struggled to take a breath to finish her sentence but began to cough.
The excruciating pain returned and she could taste blood as she coughed. He was calling for help but it was too late.
"You've got to hang on Bones, please," he said as he took her hand.
She took another ragged breath, it was a struggle, "Booth, I…" she began.
The pain was mind numbing, he couldn't save her this time.
"No. Don't talk, just stay with me, just breathe."
"I…I'm not going to…" she could barely form the words.
Tears filled his eyes, "Yes you are. You are going to make it!"
She found the strength to squeeze his hand, "Booth, listen to me."
"You're not going anywhere."
There was so much she wanted to tell him but she couldn't even think. So she told him what her mind screamed was the most important thing.
"I…I…love you."
She knew she should have told him before, she should never have waited, but now it was too late and it was the only thing that mattered. The darkness was overtaking her, she couldn't stay even though she wanted to, and she was just too broken.
Temperance Brennan turned towards the darkness ready to give up.
And then she stopped.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't her time.
A voice, very much like her own was telling her to go back, that everything was going to be alright.
"Go back Temperance," her mother's voice whispered to her.
It was the darkness' turn to give in. The feeling of terror disappeared as she opened her eyes.
The morning light illuminated his sleeping figure in a soft glow. She wondered how long he had been by her side.
She knew the answer though, he had always been at her side, whenever she needed him and he was never going to leave.
In what she thought was her final hour, he had saved her from the impossible and proved just how strong the bond was between them. Not even death could tear them apart.
She did love him; she knew that, she always had. The thought had always been buried under denial but it was there.
She smiled as she gazed at him.
He stirred then, his brown eyes fluttering open to meet her blue ones.
"Hey, how'd you sleep?" he asked as he yawned.
"Well," she replied.
"No nightmares?"
She shook her head gently, "I dreamt of you."
He raised an eyebrow at her, "Me?"
"I was dying Booth, I should have died but you saved me. You were there, you brought me back."
"You remember?"
"Yes."
He took her hand, "I think there must have been divine intervention involved when I found you. The fact that you survived, to me, is a miracle."
The words stirred something in her mind, "Divine intervention…" she repeated.
"You must have a great guardian angel," he smiled at her.
She knew it then, "No, I have you. You're my guardian angel Booth."
Brennan reached out and stroked her partner's cheek; he leaned into her caress, starring at her.
"I meant what I said Booth, I love you," she whispered.
He closed the space between them and captured her lips in a soft kiss. As he pulled away she saw the unshed tears in his eyes.
"I love you too."
They could both feel it, that unspoken bond between them, their souls intertwined to the point where you could not tell one from the other, could not survive without the other. They both understood it in that moment, nothing and everything would change, but come what may, they would face it together.
The End…(?)
Stay tuned…
