Hey guys.

...Yep.

Whoa, mind blank. I don't have anything to say.

Anyone ever made flubber from PVA glue? Good time right there. I added lime green food colouring to mine, then I thought it would be cool if I mixed it with my purple flubber...it went the colour of raw meat. And it's dodgy, you know, playing with something like that. It resembles...things. So now I have to stay away from making certain shapes. Way to kill, huh.

I should really work on my A/N's...

TAG! YOU'RE IT...!

Chapter Ten – Opposing Conditions

The rain lashed at the windows, a thunderous sound as it hit the glass and reverberated through the thick white walls of the hospital; making the room shake and rumble as if displeased. Beyond the window pane, the grieving gray sky shed its tears across the streets of Washington, sending fierce cold winds that made the trees tremble and the leaves tumble down from their heights.

Shivering, cold from the dreary weather outside, Angela rubbed her arms and turned her back on the sight. Moving without noise, she slowly made her way to the seat next to the bed and lowered herself down, careful of the creaks the old chair liked to announce when being sat on, and let out a victorious sigh when it took her with silence.

The room was dim; the passing daylight retreating under the heavy clouds outside, blocking any light that was left of the day. In the corner of the room sat a small lamp, the warm glow of it sending gentle tendrils of shadows to creep up the walls.

The woman lying in the narrow bed mumbled softly, a quiet look of pain etched on her face as she dreamed. She exhaled sharply, making Angela twitch in surprise, but remained still in her fitful sleep.

There was a knock against the door, and Angela glanced at Tempe quickly, watching to see if the sudden noise had stirred her. Satisfied that she was still fast asleep, she stood cautiously, aware of the danger her chair held and made her way to where the doctor stood near the door. This would be the third time Angela had seen Dr Hart since that morning, and she greeted her in a hushed whisper, subtly hinting the need to keep the volume on the d-low. Not that the doctor needed reminding.

"How is she?" The doctor asked, nodding towards Tempe.

Angela shrugged wearily. "She's been sleeping all afternoon."

"Good." She breathed out. "She needs all the rest she can get."

Angela raised her eyebrows. "Isn't that what she's been doing this past month?"

"I suspect she didn't get too much."

Angela looked worried. "So…what now?"

The doctor looked down at the clip board in her hands, consulting as she spoke. "Physically she's healing, doing quite nicely. I'm pleased with her progress. The antibiotic course is nearly over, and we'll really see how her body has recovered from the infection and the surgery. But-"

"Mentally and emotionally she isn't coping. Is that what you're going to say?" Angela cut in wanly.

Dr Hart put a reassuring hand on Angela's shoulder and gently directed her out into the hall, closing the door with a soft puft on their way out. Her patient was not to be disturbed. "I know this is terrifying for you, to see your friend like this-"

"Terrifying doesn't even begin to cover it. You don't know Tempe like I do, she's strong and independent, and…and she has walls for god's sake!" She took a deep breath to recover her unravelling emotions, "This…this is not Temperance. How could this happen? She's…she's-"

Gesturing to the seats pushed against the wall, Dr Hart sat down and Angela flopped down beside her and buried her face into her hands.

"Did you ever think that maybe those walls weren't made of steel and stone?"

"I know I'm being irrational. I'm her best friend; I know she feels more than she lets on. But still…, it's a shock to see someone break so completely and so suddenly. It feels like this past month has been temporarily suspended above my head and now…"

"It's crumbling down around you?"

"Yeah" Angela answered softly, "Like that. I'm not sure how I should feel."

"That's understandable, but his could be good for her, Miss Montenegro."

Angela looked at her wistfully. "I hope so. God, I hope so."

Dr Hart stood immediately upon the beeping of her pager. "If she's as strong minded as you say she is, then don't think she'll give the fight up now." She smiled. "I'll be by in the morning." She said a quick goodbye before disappearing around the corner.

Angela sighed heavily, thoughtful about the conversation she just had with Dr Hart.

Still lost in thought when her cell phone shrilled against her hip, she jumped slightly and glanced down at her watch, then at the cell, knowing the caller without the ID blaring at her on the screen. She took her time unclipping the phone from her belt, not because she's deliberately prolonging the pick up time, but because she knows the caller won't hang up anytime soon and her hands were numb from constantly wringing them with worry.

"Hello?"

"Angela! Why did it take so long to pick up? Is everything okay? Is Bones awake? What happened? Something happen? What did the doctors say?" The questions bombard Angela and she's left momentarily speechless.

"Angela!"

Finding her tongue, she finally speaks. "I'm here. No, she's fine, still sleeping."

He'd been calling every hour on the hour – unfailingly constant. Angela knew he was kicking himself for leaving her and not being there when she 'woke', but she was adamant that he stay at home. It was his turn to have Parker; she had told him that morning, dragging him down here wouldn't be fair. Besides, Tempe would be sleeping most of the day, so it would be as uneventful as watching hair grow.

"Oh," he breathed out with obvious relief, "That's good."

"It's good." Angela agrees.

"Is it?"

"It's good, Booth."

"Right. It's good."

"Great." Angela adds in, just to mix it up a bit.

There's silence following her comment, and an awkward awareness settles between the phone lines. "So…you're going to stay with her tonight?" He asks her, though he already knows she is. He asked her last time he called.

She nodded, though he couldn't see her. "She'll need someone here when she wakes up."

"I'll be there in the morning, after I drop Parker off." Booth reminds Angela…again.

"I'll tell her when she wakes."

"Thanks, Angela." It's quiet again, and for a while all that is exchanged are a few sighs. "You're a good friend, you know. Bones is lucky to have you." She's slightly surprised by his words, seemingly out of nowhere, and a blush rises in her cheeks despite herself, "You too, Booth."

The sound of Parker yelling in the background grew louder, and she tells him she'll see him in the morning. He says his goodbyes, but not before she knows exactly what time he'll be there the following day and Angela is left with a smile tugging at her lips.

Booth sat as reclined as he could on the comfortable beige couch, one arm draped over the back of it, the other stroking his son's hair. Parker lay slumped over his lap, a toy truck hanging loosely in his hand, teetering dangerously close to the ground. In the background the TV flickered in bright colours, sending shadows to simultaneously hit the walls while the screen glowed with phosphorescent delight. Beside him, the phone sat silently. He tried to direct his focus on the movie, but his eyes kept wondering over to the phone, and the urge to call Angela again prickled in his hands. Dragging his eyes away from the phone, he stared at the TV until his eyes watered and he was forced to blink. The last call he had made was twenty minutes ago, and he knew he was bordering on absurdity. Angela must think I'm absolutely mad. He checked his watch, a habit he had recently developed since that morning. He looked at the clock on the wall. Strangely, it read the same time. He rolled his eyes at himself, but this moment of silly thinking felt good. He smiled. He hadn't been able to do that for so long without guilt creeping over his shoulder and hissing in his ear.

Booth gently slid his arms under Parkers sleeping body and lifted him easily. The journey down the hall was short and he soon found himself in his son's room. He leant down and with practised ease tugged at the covers before lowering Parker into bed. He tucked him in and with a kiss on the forehead, said goodnight.

His bed was cold when he slipped his weary body into it. The sheets felt itchy and the blankets too heavy. The air was too cold, and his lungs complained. His eyes were beginning to feel grainy and his temples throbbed. He was desperate to be somewhere else.
Angela entered the darkened room. After the phone call with Booth, she had sauntered down to the Cafeteria, killing time while Tempe slept and night crept slowly over them. The room was large, bland and bright. The ceiling seemed to swarm with fluorescent lighting, hurting her eyes as she sat alone by the fogged up windows. Meant to expel the bleak atmosphere of the floors above, the frugal attempt at cheeriness just made her shoulders slump further. She ate an early dinner of soggy salad with a flat can of Diet Coke and watched the gloom grow outside for over an hour, lost in thought. When the wind yelled against the glass, she shook her head and stood, the cafeteria housing only a few people now.

Closing the door behind her and walking towards Tempe's bed, feeling goose bumps cover her skin, she realised the room felt cooler, crisper than it had when she left it over an hour ago, and she pulled and adjusted the blankets around Tempe, still asleep and curled up on her side. The stars, shrouded by the thick blanket of night and fog were unable to illuminate the sky and darkness loomed in every crease and crevice of the city.

Standing beside Tempe's bed, Angela took a moment to properly look at her friend. She was pale, her skin anaemic without the flush of colouring. The labyrinth of tiny blue veins around her temples and on her eyelids made her look fragile and Angela was disarmed at how those veins could symbolise her current state so precisely. Delicate. A delicate state of mind. A delicate form of body. She let the words roll around in her mind before tossing them away in the imaginary bin her brain had conjured up. Tempe is strong. She repeated in her head. She is.

Angela brushed her hand softly down the side of Tempe's cheek, before she hastily retreated her hand back, convinced she'd bruise the chalky skin of the woman, as if one could be bruised so easily and by a gentle hand of a friend. Her eyes flickered over Temperance's features, taking in the dark shadows beneath her eyes, a stark contrast against the parlour of her skin. Down, down to the concaved slant of her cheekbones, down to the sunken cheeks and the sharp line of her jaw. She stopped, seeing clearly in her mind the bruising on the inside of Tempe's elbow, the exceedingly thin limbs tangled beneath the blankets…

She wanted to stop thinking; didn't want to see her best friend like this.

"Oh, Tempe. Tempe…" Angela murmured, brushing back a lock of hair that had fallen astray over Bren's face. She shifted, the contact confusing her in her sleep, her eyebrows brought together in a crease of thought. She slept on.

Angela bent over and kissed her forehead ever so softly, moving to lie on the bed on the other side of the room. She hated hospitals. Especially their beds. Wiggling and moving her body around to get comfortable, she tried not to think of the anaesthetic smell clinging to the cotton blankets or the way the sheets crackled under her fuss and focused her attention on how hard the damn pillows were and just how blessed they were that Temperance was slowly climbing back up. The stone had chipped and the steel had corroded, and now…Tempe needed her; needed her friends if repairs were to be made. She wondered how Booth was sleeping and what tomorrow morning would bring, and before she knew it she was succumbing to the alluring waves of slumber.

Can you just feel the fluff that's rolling our way?

I've run out of all those fancy stickers, got no pimples to offer, and I am all out of teapots. So I will have to bribe you with rolls of toilet paper, because my mom is buying them like no one else can.

And no, you cannot layby a baby.

What do I look like? A service?

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