Booth's feet pounded down onto the stairs as he made his way as far from Brennan's room as he could. He was sore from sitting in the hospital chair, and tired from the rest that he wasn't getting, and his body was sure to let him know these facts. He went as far as he could, slamming his arm into the bar on the door, he found himself in main lobby of the hospital. It was slightly darkened and empty, and the only sound was the distant hum of a janitor's vacuum cleaner. He stared at the front doors; the possibility of freedom from the hospital was something that he would welcome at this moment. He could feel his breath in his throat, his heart pounding in his chest, and he could hear Brennan's voice in his mind.
He stepped warily to the side, ignoring the beckoning of the doors for a moment; he knew that he wouldn't be able to leave the hospital now. He couldn't leave the hospital when Brennan knew for sure that he was angry with her, not before they had a chance to talk. His shoulders slumped and he walked to one of the chairs, and sat heavily into it. He let out a heavy sigh, and a slight groan of exhaustion before tipping his head back and rubbing his face with his bandaged hands. It was only then that he realized that he wasn't alone in the lobby. On the stretch of seats behind him, he heard movement, and Booth glanced behind him. A man sat up in the seat and grunted slightly, yawning.
"I'm sorry if I woke you up." Booth said, sincerely, he caught the older man's eye and gave an apologetic nod.
"Nah, it's okay." He yawned. "I can't sleep well here anyway. I am pretty sure they do a survey on the most uncomfortable chairs ever, make them worse and then hospitals buy them up and put them in the waiting room."
Booth laughed, it was sincere, but sounded a bit stressed, but the smile on his face was sincere. "I know exactly what you mean." Booth nodded.
"Patient?" The other man asked, nodding toward Booth's hands, he looked up into the younger man's eyes for a moment.
"Me? No… no, I'm here for a friend. These are incidental." He said, watching the other man nod. "Someone you know admitted?" Booth asked.
"My daughter was." The man said, though his voice took on a distant tone, and his eyes flickered from Booth's. "There was an explosion at a night club, she was there."
"She was injured?" Booth asked, swallowing the guilt in his chest, he could see the man's eyes lower again.
"They said she was just feet from the blast." He said, sighing, his eye contact now with the floor. His voice was lowered and the sadness seemed to emanate from his soul, his eyes spoke volumes with a simple glance. "She held on for a day or two…but…" His voice cracked.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Booth whispered softly.
"Thank you." He said, trying to remain strong. "Her fiancé was with her at the time. He's in ICU, he's in bad shape, and they've kept him under a drug induced coma since he got here." He cleared his throat. "I want to be able to tell him…tell him, about Katie." He whispered.
"I understand." Booth said, nodding his head. "I'm Seeley Booth." He said, holding out his bandaged hand, he shrugged. "Excuse the bandage."
The man smiled slightly at Booth and held his hand out, lightly shaking his hand. "Bill Enders." He replied.
"My friend was also in the explosion." Booth admitted, noting the other man's attention pique immediately. "She was in the restroom, blocked by one of the stalls." He said, swallowing his admission tightly.
"I'm sorry." Bill replied. "How is she?"
"She has some severe burns… broken bones, smoke inhalation, and scratches and cuts. She's a very stubborn woman though."
"A very lucky woman." Bill whispered. "The police think that Katie was blocking her fiancé, she was in front of him when the explosion happened." He whispered. "They won't release her body." He said softly.
"Who won't release her body?" Booth asked, trying to remain a bit distanced, he could see that this man was hurting, he could see that he was angry.
"The government." Bill replied. "Apparently the club was under investigation for something at the time of the explosion, and they're not saying anything. They asked that her body be released as part of the investigation." He cleared his throat. "What was I supposed to say, you know? 'No, you can't have my daughter's body in order to find out who killed her'? She's all that I had, Mr. Booth." Bill sighed.
"I understand." Booth replied. He could feel the awkwardness of the conversation weighing on him a little more, and the intensity in the other man's eyes was dark and deep.
"I'm sorry." Bill said softly, shaking his head. "I really shouldn't be bothering a stranger with this. I'm sorry."
"No." Booth said, touching the other man's shoulder. "No, its fine, it's more than fine." He replied.
"Mister Booth?" A voice echoed through the empty lobby as a nurse walked toward the two men. Booth turned to her and nodded. "The cot is arranged in Ms. Brennan's room. She's asking for you."
"Thank you." Booth nodded. "I'll be right up." He said, turning to the other man. "I should probably…"
"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Booth." Bill said softly.
"Again, I'm sorry for your loss." Booth replied, shaking his hand. He then pulled out his wallet, and pulled a card from within it. "If you need anything, please give me a call." He replied, handing over the card to the other man. Bill looked to the card and back to Booth. "I'll see what I can do about getting your daughter back to you as soon as possible. If I find anything, I'll be sure to let you know."
"Thank you." Bill said, watching the younger man's sincerity in his eyes. He watched Booth stand up and excuse himself solemnly, his shoulders still slumped as he walked with the nurse toward the elevator, an air of surrender surrounding him as he turned the corner and out of sight.
The nurse walked with Booth to the room, and left him just outside the door, and disappeared around the corner toward the nurses' station. Booth stood outside the door for a moment and tried to decide if he had cooled off enough to go inside. She had requested him to return, and here he was, but the stubborn side of him was unsure if he should give her the satisfaction of having him by her side simply because she called for him.
He paced for several minutes, feeling the weight of his own body pulling him down, and he knew that he needed some semblance of rest or sleep. His pacing was slow, and when he looked to his watch, he noted that it was nearly four in the morning, and that gave him the small push he needed to get himself into the room. He had been pacing for nearly an hour, and he now knew it was time to face his anger head on, because regardless of his personal feelings, Brennan symbolized more than just a friend and partner. He loved her with all of his heart, and since when would anger be something to get between the two of them?
He opened the door slowly and looked in on the woman in the bed. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was rising and falling in a slow, rhythmic pattern that he had familiarized himself with. He sighed with relief when he realized that she had fallen asleep waiting for him, not that he wanted to admit to being a coward, but he did know that he needed more time, and probably more space. He glanced to the cot on the other side of the room, situated with a thin blanket and a pillow for his comfort, and he glanced back again to his sleeping partner.
He figured that she had pushed the button for her pain medication, and it had helped her to slip back into the calm sleep she seemed to be in, and was happy that she wasn't afraid to self medicate herself. He could only imagine the pain she felt was excruciating, and it made him feel more at ease seeing that she was sleeping. He stepped to her bed and touched her hand, wondering if the monitors would pick up, indicating that she was awake. There were no indications that she was stirring, and he slowly sucked in a breath.
"Bones." He whispered under his breath. "You're all that I've got. You're all that I need." He said, before squeezing her hand slightly. "Sleep well." He said, leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers. He stood up straight and watched her sleep for a moment, before shuffling his way to the cot. With a slight groan coming from his aching muscles, and a grunt from his lips, he lay on the uncomfortable cot and rolled to his side, covering himself with the blanket.
Across the room, Brennan's eyes opened, her head turned toward the figure of a man lying on his side. His back was to her, and for that she was grateful. His words had given her a chill, the pain in his voice was evident, and it took all of her strength not to open her eyes as he stood above her. She watched him for several moments, wishing to call out to him, but knew that he needed his sleep. He had returned, and not because she had asked, but because he wanted to return. He was there because he needed her, that was what he had said. She could feel the scratchy and dry feeling in her throat, and a tear in her eye, as she closed them tightly for a moment. She then reached for her morphine button, and slipped her finger onto it, finally administering the relief that she felt that she had earned.