Temperance and Booth sat together in the ICU waiting room with no words passing between them. It had cleared out for the most part, but for one or two people waiting on their loved ones. They both understood the implications and the fears that were railing through one another's mind, so it wasn't necessary to speak them aloud. Temperance sighed, looking up at the ceiling, and Booth glanced to her. "You're beautiful." He whispered, and the glare that she shot him, was saved by the light upturn of the corner of her mouth.

"Do you think that is an appropriate comment to make under these circumstances?" She needed to call him out on it, if only to bring a level of normal back into the room, to restore the status quo.

"Just calling it like I see it." He sighed. He could feel her eyes on him, but suddenly was distracted by the man who was moving quickly in their direction from down the hall, his feet practically stomping on the linoleum floor as he headed in their direction angrily. "Jesus." Booth muttered, standing up. "What the hell happened to you, Fitzgerald?" He quickly assessed the agent's bloody shirt, swollen face, and quickly bruising eyes, as well as the tender way he was holding his arm, a warmed bag of water, that was once ice resting in the crook of his arm.

"Your daughter happened to me, Sir." He said, trying desperately to not sound bitter. He wanted Agent Booth's respect, but couldn't help sounding every bit as hostile as he had the right to feel. "It was my own fault."

"Antonia did this to you? Is she alright? What happened?" Temperance asked, taking the man's face in her hands as only a mother would. "Where is she?" She asked, ignoring the Aiden's attempt to move from her grasp, he closed his eyes as she gently probed his injuries. "Agent Fitzgerald?" She asked, looking into his eyes as he opened them. She could see the pain in his face as she pulled her hands down and began to look at his wrist, careful not to injure it further.

"She said she doesn't do hospitals." He said, his voice showing his irritation. He reached into his pocket and pulled their phones out of his pocket, handing them over to Booth. "She said to give these to you, and tell you, sir… that you'll know where to find her when you have news." Booth took the phones, giving the younger agent a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah." Booth sighed.

"I'm sorry to hear about your other daughter, Doctor Brennan. Has there been any news?" Aiden asked politely.

"She's out of surgery." Temperance replied, nodding thankfully for his concern. "We're waiting for her to be brought to a room."

Booth sighed, still thinking of Antonia's behavior, and looked to his wife. "Toni really has to get over this whole hospital aversion. Max died two years ago." He shook his head, receiving a quick glance from Temperance. He turned his attention back to Aiden. "Didn't you bring her here?"

"Actually, she brought me here." He sighed, closing his eyes, he put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and winced when he remembered that it was tender. "She brought me here, and left me here, and my car is at your house." He said, rolling his eyes up, he looked to the ceiling.

"Classic Brennan move right there." A voice came from behind Aiden, as a hand rested on his shoulder. Temperance's eyes lit up at the sight of the man standing beside the younger agent, and she quickly moved toward Ace for a hug, happy to see a familiar face. "Hey… hey, Doc…" He said, accepting the hug gratefully, Harding wrapped his arms around her tightly, happy to provide her with some comfort.

"Ace." Booth said, his voice grateful as he reached out for a somber hand shake, the meeting not the typical happy occasion. "Why are you here, I thought Parker was coming?"

Temperance pulled from the hug, and moved to Booth's side, pushing her way into her husband's side, he put his arm around her shoulder.

"He told me what happened, and I told him to get the kids settled with Beck… and to come by when he could. He was really shaken up, so I told him I'd call his mom's phone when I knew something more, because he left his cell at…" He stopped when Booth handed his son's phone to Harding. "Thanks." Ace replied, slipping the phone in his pocket. Harding turned to look at the younger agent, one he had been working with closely as liaison with the Jeffersonian. "What the hell happened to you, Fitz?"

"I don't really want to talk about it." He muttered.

"Antonia." Booth said, watching Harding nod knowingly.

"What the hell did you do, sneak up behind her?" He laughed, watching Fitz look to the floor, his ears and cheeks turning red. "She really got you good." He said, giving the younger agent a pat on the back. "Don't worry, you're not the only one in this room that has had the crap kicked out of you by Antonia Booth." He chuckled, getting a glance from Fitz. "Mind you, when it was my turn, she was a lot shorter, and a lot easier to hide from." He and Booth laughed. Harding then took a deep breath and looked at Brennan and Booth, the reality of the time and place finally pushing its way into the forefront. "How is Squeaker?" Harding asked, noting that if the news was dire, there would be no sitting in the ICU hallway chatting.

"Fighting. We can see her soon." Temperance nodded, looking toward Aiden, she swallowed hard. "Agent Fitzgerald." She said, glancing to Booth for a moment. "I truly apologize for my daughter's behavior today. She reacted poorly, and her decision to abandon you here at the hospital was absolutely uncalled for." She turned and glanced to Booth, who nodded in agreement. "In our haste, we had forgotten about her difficulty with matters in the hospital setting, and if we had the forethought, we wouldn't have sent you in…"

"Unarmed?" Harding dropped in, catching the ire of Brennan's glare.

Temperance glowered, clearing her throat. "We shouldn't have sent you in unaware of her avoidance of certain situations. Thank you for taking time out of your holiday to fetch her, Agent Fitzgerald."

Aiden nodded, his frustration softened to slight amusement. "It's fine, Doctor Brennan. Please don't hesitate in the future to ask for my help." He smiled in assurance.

"I can bring you to your car, Fitz." Ace said, accepting Temperance's grateful nod.

"Thanks." Aiden said. He glanced in the direction of the nurse approaching, as everyone's posture straightened.

"Mr. and Mrs. Booth?" She said softly. "Grace is in recovery. I can take you to her if you like."

"Thank you." Booth said, stepping forward to take Temperance's hand. He paused a moment and glanced to Harding, who nodded in the direction of the ICU.

"I'll be back in a little while." Ace said, accepting his friend's nod of thanks. "Give Gracie girl my love."

"Of course." Booth said, holding his fist to his friend as they bumped knuckles. He and Temperance then followed the nurse into the ICU.

They walked toward the Intensive Care Unit together, their hands grasped tightly as they took each step, preparing themselves for what they were expecting to be one of the most difficult things they had to see. As they rounded another corner and approached a room with a large glass window, Booth spied the bed that held his little girl. He hadn't taken a good look into the room, because it was at this point that he realized that Temperance's grip on his hand had become so tight, that his hand was starting to lose circulation. The nurse nodded toward the room, and Booth thanked her with a hand wave as he turned toward his wife, tugging his hand out of her death grip. He realized that her eyes were closed, her head down, and when he stopped, she nearly ran into him. "Hey… hey," he said, placing his finger on her chin, he lifted her face and watched her close her eyes tighter. "Bones?" he whispered. "Bones?" he said again, watching her eyes open slowly to meet his. "Are you okay?"

A single tear started rolling down her cheek, and it was clear that she was starting to break. She swallowed hard. "Would you be terribly disappointed in me if I told you that I wasn't?" she whispered.

He could immediately feel his emotions start to well up from his chest, his dark eyes becoming darker as he looked into his wife's icy blue, watery eyes. "Absolutely not." He whispered.

Temperance watched her husband's strength, and the fear that appeared to falter within his gaze. For some reason, his fear seemed to help quell her own. "She's alive." She whispered.

"She's alive, and she's in good hands here." Booth replied. He looked up and could see that she wasn't alone in her room. "Looks like she already has company too." He said, nodding toward the room.

Temperance looked around her husband's shoulder, and spied a curly mop of brown hair sticking over the top of one of the chairs beside her bed. She glanced to Booth. "How did he…"

"He must have been here when she came in." Booth replied, watching as her curiosity seemed to have replaced her emotional breakdown. He ran his thumb across her cheek, smearing the stray tear that had rested there, and took her hand. "Let's go in." She only nodded in response, following her husband's lead, they pushed the button to open the sliding door into the room.