I was going to wait until later to post this chapter, but I thought I tortured you guys enough with the ending of the last one ;)
Brennan swallowed as she stood up. She took a tentative step closer to the bed and blinked, staring at him, not trusting what she was seeing or hearing. "Booth?" She began, her voice shaking, and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Booth, open your eyes," she pleaded.
Booth's eyelids twitched, but stayed shut.
"Open your eyes, Booth."
He lifted his hand slightly off the mattress and wigged his fingers slowly. He moaned again, but his eyes remained closed.
She took his hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. She turned her head to look at Ryder, who had stopped crawling and was now just looking on, curiously, his hand on his dad's right shin. "C'mon, Booth." She saw his foot move out of the corner of her eye and heard another moan escape his lips. It finally dawned on her that he may not be able to hear her. "Can you hear me? If yes, squeeze my hand."
There was a moment of stillness and then he squeezed her fingers.
She smiled, letting out a nervous laugh.
He lifted his hand again, but she placed hers on top to stop him.
"You need to conserve your energy." She dropped her hand and glanced at her watch. Realizing what time it was, she turned her focus to Ryder and lifted him off the bed.
Ryder squirmed in her arms and started whimpering. He kicked his legs and rubbed his tear-filled eyes with his fists.
She bounced and swayed back and forth slowly, smoothing her hand over his hair when he rested his head on her shoulder. "Shhh, RJ." She gave him a kiss on the top of his head and grabbed the diaper bag. She took him into the bathroom and changed his diaper. She tickled his stomach to get him smiling again and then carried him back into his dad's room. She set him in the stroller, lowered the seat so he was lying flat on his back, and draped his blanket over his small frame. She popped his pacifier in his mouth and pulled down the visor.
Ryder sucked on his pacifier and his eyes slowly closed. He tugged on the blanket and wiggled around before finally growing still.
She watched the infant sleep for a few seconds and then turned back to Booth. She sat down in the chair and slipped her hand in his. "Booth?"
His mouth twitched into a small half-smile (if one could call it that) and his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed. He gasped and recoiled, his throat burning.
She sprang up from the chair and walked farther up, so she was standing closer to his head. "What's wrong?" Her head snapped to side when she heard the erratic beeping of his heart monitor. She placed a hand on his shoulder and swallowed. "Booth, you need to relax. I'm right here. It's Bones. You're okay."
Christina ran in, ready to address the problem, but when she got there, the monitor was calm again. "What happened?"
Brennan turned her head, her vision blurred by tears. "He's conscious." She paused and added, "He had an episode of tachycardia that lasted for 36 seconds, but he's fine now." She subconsciously rubbed his shoulder, her eyes shifting from the nurse to the monitor, making sure he really was fine now.
Christina turned to leave, but froze and turned back to Brennan, her eyes widening. "Wait, did you just say he's conscious?"
Brennan nodded. "Yes. He has yet to open his eyes, though."
"I'll page Dr. Jurzik." Christina smiled and left the room.
Brennan sighed. "C'mon, Booth, please. Open your eyes." She waited and then saw his lashes flutter. She inhaled and watched his face closely, as if she were examining an anomaly on a bone.
Booth's eyelids slid up to about halfway and he blinked.
She exhaled at the first sight of his dark irises and the tears that had been welling up finally spilled over. "Hi," she said, her voice getting caught in her throat.
He blinked his eyes open again, still only about halfway, and tried to focus on something. His vision was blurry and even though he could hear Brennan, her voice sounded miles away.
There was a faint knock on the door and then Dr. Jurzik entered. He walked over to the bed, standing on the other side opposite Brennan, and placed a hand on Booth's shoulder, looking down at him. "Welcome back, Seeley. I'm just going to do a quick exam," he said, and then proceeded to ask Booth some questions, test his reflexes, strength, and pupillary response, and check his heart and lungs. After scribbling down a few notes, he looked up at the duo. "I'll schedule a follow-up scan for tomorrow morning, but until then, just rest."
Brennan nodded.
Booth parted his lips to speak, but nothing came out. His heart rate sped up again, causing the monitor to let out a string of warning beeps.
Dr. Jurzik watched Booth's heart rate rise dangerously high. "Seeley, you need to relax," he said in attempt to lower Booth's heartbeat without the need for medicine. It didn't work.
Brennan placed her hand back on Booth's other shoulder. "Relax, Booth. Just breathe. You'll be able to speak soon. Your voice will come back," she reassured him, even though she had no way of knowing if that was 100 percent the truth.
Booth's heart returned to a normal rate and the monitor quieted again.
Dr. Jurzik smiled. "Looks like Seeley's in good hands." He paused, setting the chart he was still holding over the foot of the bed. "I have another patient to see, so I'll just leave you two alone." He started to walk towards the door, but Brennan stopped him.
Dr. Jurzik held out his hand for her to shake, but she disregarded the hand and pulled him into a hug instead.
She stepped back after about five seconds and swallowed, looking down. She finally met the doctor's gaze again and smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Jurzik." She didn't give him a chance to respond. She just sat down in the chair and took Booth's hand.
Dr. Jurzik shook his head and walked out of the room, followed shortly by Christina, who was still in there to offer assistance if needed.
Brennan sighed and glanced at the stroller, where Ryder was still sleeping soundly. That little boy could sleep through anything. She smiled at the snoring infant and turned back to Booth, who appeared to have fallen asleep. "I should go." She stood up and without even thinking, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. She heard him intake a breath sharply and felt him twitch under her lips, so she pulled back almost instantly and straightened her back and shoulders, staring at him with slightly wide eyes. "I—I'll be ba—ack tomorr—row," she stammered, heat rising to her cheeks.
It had been a lot different kissing him when he wasn't conscious. Although she had kissed him before, both on the lips and on the cheek while he was awake and fully aware, this time felt different somehow. She then remembered that he was asleep, so odds are he didn't realize what she had just done. She knew she heard and felt him react to the contact, but she shrugged, and rationalized that he most likely thought he was dreaming.
While she was inside her head, Booth just laid there, half-asleep, a small, barely discernible smile gracing his lips.
She slipped on her light jacket and gathered her and Ryder's belongings. As she walked to the door, Angela's voice bombarded her thoughts, telling her to stop thinking and to just let things happen naturally. She stopped and turned back around. "Goodnight, Booth." She dimmed the lights more and left. She had some calls to make.
