A/N: okay! OMIGOD 62 REVIEWS! I'M SO HAPPY! ahem.

chapter...dear sweet baby pandas, CHAPTER TEN! :O

hopefully this lives up to your expectations. :] enjoy!

She and Caleb were sitting at the kitchen table of their parents' house. The kitchen was the same as she remembered; grotesque green walls that reminded her of pea soup, a high ceiling that could, on occasion, been seen completely filled with smoke from whatever food her brother, the designated cook, had burned, and the faded smell of her mom's chamomile tea. Her father was hardly home for dinner and her mother...Let's just say Caleb was the only one who could really be trusted with cooking implements or sharp kitchen utensils. She rubbed the small crescent scar on the back of her hand as she remembered the time her mother had tried to carve the Thanksgiving turkey. She pushed that memory aside and focused on her brother.

Caleb was at the opposite end of the table as her, smiling, like always.

"I remember when you were five," he said, "and I convinced you to play baseball in the living room." He began to laugh softly.

Lily joined in. "Yeah, and Mom's favorite lamp got smashed. She blamed me even though it was your hit that broke the lamp." She had to pause to breathe. Her sides ached slightly. She wasn't sure when this particular moment of her childhood had crossed the line of hilariousness. "The vein in Dad's neck stuck out for a week."

He winced and said, "That happened a lot, didn't it?"

"The vein thing? No, I think that was a rare occurrence."

"Not that, you smart ass." Caleb gave her a look. "The yelling. The you-getting-blamed-instead-of-me."

"You were the favorite," she replied simply. She shrugged to show how little it now affected her.

"You tried, though." His eyes probed hers. He crossed his arms on the table, a position he used when he was thinking about something. "You tried to be the favorite. You tried to be like me."

"Yeah." Lily laced her fingers together and stared at them with a small smile. "I tried to be you. For a while."

"You gave up. When I left for college, you just…stopped trying."

"What did you expect me to do?" asked Lily, opening her hands, palm up, on the table. "You were the perfect sibling, everything our parents wanted; great grades, sports awards, full scholarship to Harvard to become a lawyer like Dad, impressive girlfriend. I was the leftovers. I struggled to keep my low A average. I liked the wrong kind of music. I wrote 'creepy' stories and didn't go out much. I was uncoordinated in sports, I didn't have a boyfriend. I went to Sarah Lawrence instead of Princeton, like Mom wanted. I figured it was a lost cause."

He was looking at her in sympathy. "So you stopped trying to please them."

"And then I sank into a world of despair," she said jokingly, desperate to lighten the mood.

"Pretty close. Your stories got creepier, to the point where our parents wanted to put you in therapy."

Lily snorted. "They never read my stories."

"You stole. You have a police record, don't you?"

"I'm surprised Booth hasn't mentioned that," she said to herself. She chuckled. "Surely he must know."

"You did drugs. Marijuana? Really, Lily?"

Lily shrugged and said, "When you're sixteen with a part time job at Starbucks, the best you can afford is marijuana. I would have switched to heroin if I had gotten just a little bit more money…"

"Not funny, Lil."

"I know, I know."

He looked at her with a grim smile. "Didn't you blow something up once?"

Laughing, near the point of hysterics, she said, "That one wasn't my fault!"

"Uh huh, 'course it wasn't."

"It wasn't." She grinned. "The therapist said it was to be expected after the kidnapping."

"Obviously, knowing you, you behaved like an absolute angel for a while just to prove him wrong."

"You know me too well."

Caleb's smile widened slightly and he chuckled. Time hadn't touched him at all; he looked the same as always. He was still the warm, loving brother she'd grown up with. Nothing had changed, except—

The smile slid from her face. "You're dead, Caleb."

"Yeah," he said softly. "I am. But that's not important right now, Lil." He leaned over the table towards her. "You need to wake up."

Lily gaped. "What?"

"Wake up." His voice was firm. "There are people who need you to open your eyes. Now, sis. Adeline needs you. Zack needs you."

"Whoa, wait, Zack?" asked Lily. "How do you know about Zack?"

Her brother only smiled and replied, "You tell me everything, remember?"

"What do you know about Zack?"

"I know how you feel about him."

Lily just blinked. "Um, would you mind informing me of how I feel about him? Because I'm not entirely sure myself."

"Stop it, Lily. You need to wake up."

"I don't understand—"

"Wake up."

"If I wake up, I won't ever see you again—"

"Lily."

"I want to stay here with you—"

"You aren't six anymore, Lil. Open your eyes. Wake up."

Lily squinted against the harsh fluorescent lights. The beeping of the heart monitor filled her ears. Her brain registered it immediately: hospital.

"Hey, sweetie," said a voice. A blurred person smoothed hair back from her forehead.

Lily opened her mouth. "Angela?" The woman snapped into focus. "What hap…" She froze. "Zack." Zack was shot. "Where's Zack?"

Angela put a restraining hand on her shoulder, anticipating her move to sit up. "He's right here, Lily."

Lily turned her head. Sure enough, there was Zack Addy; he was sitting in a chair which he had pulled close to the bed, and he was asleep, his head resting on the mattress. His hand loosely held hers.

"Now, before you go thinking how romantic it is," said Angela, "hear me when I say that he had an hour-long argument with Hodgins because he didn't understand the point of staying with an unconscious person. He agreed to stay eventually, partly because Hodge refused to drive him home, and partly because he said he'd seen it in a movie once."

Lily smiled. That sounded like something Zack would say. Her brow creased in sudden confusion.

"Wait, he got shot," she said.

"No, you got shot." Angela's gaze drifted to Lily's side. Lily placed her hand there, felt the thick bandages through the hospital gown. "The bullet only grazed Zack." She gestured at Zack's arm, where there was a slight bulge under his long-sleeve button-down shirt. Lily assumed it was gauze. Anger flared in her. This was Hecklend's fault. All of this. Hecklend's damn fault.

Angela kissed Lily's forehead. "I'm going to call the others and tell them you're awake. Booth and Brennan are with the FBI right now. Try not to move too much, sweetie."

Angela left the hospital room, pulling out her cell phone. Lily looked down at Zack. He must be a heavy sleeper, she thought with a smile. I wonder how long he's been here…She felt her cheeks go pink. I can't ignore it. I'm going to have to tell him that I—

"Lily!"

She glanced up sharply as Hodgins came in. She shot him a look and then gestured with her eyes at the sleeping form of Zack. Hodgins grinned, slapped his friend's back and said loudly, "Look Zack, Sleeping Beauty just woke up!"

Startled, Zack jumped awake.

"Hodgins?" he asked drowsily, frowning. "When did you get here?"

"I've been here, Z-man. You didn't think I'd leave you stranded at the hospital, did you? No, I did the smart thing; I went in search for caffeine." He handed Zack a styrofoam cup of coffee. "How are you feeling, kid?"

Lily groaned.

"What?" Hodgins looked concerned.

"If getting shot doesn't strip the nickname 'kid', I don't know what will," she grumbled.

Hodgins laughed. Zack looked at her, concern lacing his features.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. He looked down at their joined hands and let go in abrupt embarrassment.

Lily sighed. "Fine. How many painkillers am I on right now? Shouldn't I be in pain after a gunshot wound?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" asked Zack. His frown deepened. Hodgins chuckled again.

"Zack," said Lily with a soft smile, "sometimes I love you."

When Hodgins raised his eyebrows, Lily's face burned.

"I-I mean…" She looked towards the door. "Hey, look, Angela's back," she said hastily.

Angela replaced her cell phone in her purse. "Booth and Brennan say hi."

"Where are they?" Lily pursed her lips, her memories coming slowly. Was it the painkillers or the shock of getting a bullet drilled into her side? "Where's Cam?"

"Cam is at the Jeffersonian." Angela exhaled slowly and added, "Brennan and Booth are interrogating Drew Hecklend."

Short-term memory burst back and Lily jerked herself upright.

"What?! They caught him?! Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?!" She moved to get up, but Angela held her back.

"You can't leave the hospital yet—" she protested in worry.

"Oh, screw that!" Lily said. "I'm fine! I need to be there for this, damn it, Booth should have known better—"

Zack wordlessly put Lily's arm around his shoulders. She looked at him in surprise.

"I'll help you. We'll get you a pair of crutches on the way out." He glanced at her. "Don't worry, I'm deceptively strong."

Angela stepped towards them. "She hasn't been discharged—"

"Hodge?" Zack looked imploringly at the other man, who nodded with a grin.

"What about the I.V.—" Angela sputtered.

"I'll lead the way," said Hodgins. "You coming, baby?"

The question was, obviously, directed at Angela. She stared at them like they were insane, hands on her hips. Then her arms dropped.

"Fine," she sighed. "But only to make sure you two don't end up accidentally killing her during transportation."

"Does Hodgins have some kind of magical power?" asked an astonished Lily from the backseat of the car. She rubbed the spot in the crook of her arm where Zack had carefully removed her I.V. She was starting to miss the painkillers. "Those nurses parted like the Red Sea."

"It's logistically impossible for anyone to part the Red Sea," said Zack next to her, "and magic is unscientific—"

"Short version please," Lily interrupted. Hodgins and Angela shared smiles in the front.

"Hodgins is…" Zack paused. "I believe the term is 'loaded'."

When Sweets suddenly called Booth from the interrogation room, the FBI agent became agitated. Brennan remained in the room with Hecklend, who was handcuffed and smirking.

"What, Sweets?" Booth snapped, slamming the door with slightly more force than necessary.

Lily stood in front of him, Angela, Hodgins, and Zack near her. She was trying to look fierce, but the effort was wasted; her appearance was oddly comical. She was wearing a green button-down shirt that looked like a man's, and was teetering haphazardly on a pair of crutches.

"Okay," said Booth, pointing at her and looking around. Zack and Sweets stood beside her. He focused his gaze on Hodgins and Angela. Angela's the responsible one. "Who let her out of the hospital?"

Hodge shrugged, Angela gave him a guilty wince, and Lily demanded, "How could you interrogate him without me?"

She stepped towards him, her expression fiercely angry, and nearly toppled over. Sweets grabbed her arm to steady her at the same time as Zack. They exchanged glances over her head briefly.

Booth ignored her question and asked, "Is that…Zack's shirt?"

Lily colored vibrantly, momentarily sidetracked. Zack looked slightly uncomfortable. It had taken a moment for Booth to notice, but now it was obvious; the green button-down that Zack had been wearing when Hodgins and the rest had visited an unconscious Lily was gone, leaving only the white cotton T-shirt that had been under it.

"My shirt was bloody," Lily said in embarrassment. "I didn't want to take the time of going all the way home to change…"

Zack looked from Booth to Lily. "It was Hodgins' idea," he added.

"That's not the point!" said Lily quickly.

"Why Zack's shirt, thought?" asked Booth. He wanted to disperse Lily's anger; he didn't want to spend precious time arguing with the kid.

"Lily loves Zack." Hodgins grinned evilly. "She said so herself."

Lily's face now resembled a cherry tomato. "I wasn't being—I mean—I didn't—"

"Having some trouble finishing your sentences?" Angela asked playfully.

"You guys need to stop taking me so literally!" she burst out. "That's not the point!" She turned to Booth. "The point is, you didn't tell me that you were interrogating Hecklend! That bastard abducted me twice, but obviously that means nothing to you—"

"You were unconscious, kid," Booth argued.

"So? Would it have killed you to wait?"

"I didn't know when you were going to wake up."

"You were there, you know for a fact he kidnapped me. He shot at you, there's gotta be something illegal about that. What do you even need to interrogate him for, he's guilty—"

"I'm investigating your brother's murder!" Booth shouted. Lily froze. "That's why I'm interrogating him! And I didn't think dragging you into this after you'd just had a bullet surgically removed was a good idea!"

Lily blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah 'oh'!"

Emotion filled her eyes and she suddenly threw herself at him, hugging him as hard as she could. He muttered an undignified 'oof' and patted her back as she buried her head in his chest. Dimly, she wondered why Booth seemed more like a dad than her own father.

"Next time, just shoot him," she said. "Don't wait for him to shoot at you first. That scared the shit out of me."

Inspired, she turned. "Zack, get your ass over here."

He didn't comment, simply doing as she said. He, too, she hugged, mindful of the gauze on his upper arm where Hecklend's first bullet had grazed him.

"And if you ever almost-get-shot again, I'll cry."

Zack turned faintly pink. Brennan came in, looked around.

"What's going on?" She stared at the blonde girl. "Lily? Why are you out of the hospital?"

Lily got a set look on her face suddenly, and Booth became immediately suspicious.

"I don't like that look, kid, what are you thinking?"

She abandoned the crutches and used all her energy to sprint past Brennan.

"Hey—" Booth began.

She shut the door as fast as she could, running full speed to the interrogation room door, flinging it open. She heard Booth come into the hall and yell, "Lily, you had better not—" and then she shut the interrogation room door. Ignoring the leering figure of Hecklend, she took the chair opposite him and placed it under the handle of the door, locking it. Once she was satisfied no one was getting in unless the door was broken down—a possibility she didn't want to consider; if Booth was mad enough to break down the door, she was in trouble—, she leaned on the table, breathing heavily, her side burning in pain as the drugs wore off. She made eye contact with the filthy man in handcuffs and said, "Surprised to see me?"

He grinned. "Not really. I never thought a bullet could kill you, cutie-pie. You're too tough for that."

He was mocking her, that goddamned little—She pushed on the table with all her might. It slammed against Hecklend's leg, where she herself had shot him, and he winced. She leaned farther over the table, got right in his disgusting face.

"Don't," she snarled, "call me 'cutie-pie'."

Behind her, a thump on the door could be heard. Booth was probably trying to open it.

"Okay." Hecklend went on grinning, like she was still his prisoner. It was, in fact, the other way around, and that thought gave her confidence.

"You're going to rot, Hecklend." She smiled as just the slightest bit of fear invaded his eyes. He covered it quickly, but knowing it was there encouraged her even more. "They've got you for two accounts of kidnapping, running from the law, shooting at a federal agent…"

He chuckled. "What are you doing here, Lily? You're no FBI agent. And you can't tell me that your little bullet wound is all healed up." Hecklend's gaze dropped to her right side.

"You said a few seconds ago that I was too tough; and what about your own bullet wound? Do they have nice doctors in prison?" she countered angrily. "Besides, you didn't let me finish." She paused for dramatic effect like she'd seen in cop shows and then added, "You aren't just going on trial for all of that, oh no. They're going to try you for murder."

Hecklend didn't flinch like she had expected he would. He stared back at her evenly, saying, "You have no proof."

"All the proof we need is in that shack you kept me in. Dr. Brennan from the Jeffersonian will be very interested to see that body you nailed to the wall. Something tells me it'll end up being Caleb."

Finally! Hecklend paled considerably at the mention of Brennan's name.

"You know of Brennan, I see."

"What do you want from me?" he asked her.

"Simple. I want to see you die. Execution-style."

"What the hell is she doing?" murmured Sweets, watching her. "She doesn't even know what she's saying."

Angela and Hodgins stood near him. Angela was trying not to wince on Lily's behalf. It was true the young woman was completely winging it, which was surprising considering the content of her books; 'execution-style' referred to a killing at close range, usually with a knife, gun, or blunt instrument. It had nothing to do with the lethal injection Hecklend would receive if convicted. Brennan and Zack, meanwhile, were watching Booth try to open the interrogation room door. Neither were offering to help.

Booth pounded on it again fruitlessly. "Open this door, kid!"

"She can't hear you," said Zack, insufferably logical as always. "The room is sound proof."

Booth turned to him in exasperation. "I know that!"

"Then why are you yelling at a door?"

The agent put his head in his hand and rubbed his temples. This is hopeless.

Sweets watched as Lily and Hecklend stared at each other for a solid two minutes, each daring the other to look away first. Finally, Lily stepped back; Sweets had been sure that Lily was going to hit him for a moment there.

"See you in court," Hecklend said cheerfully. She paused, and now Sweets was positive that Hecklend was going to get hit, but she simply ignored him.

Lily removed the chair from under the doorknob and calmly opened it. Immediately, Booth barged in. He grabbed her wrist, shot a dirty look at Hecklend, and promptly shoved her out of the room.

"What was that?" he hissed at her when the door was closed. "We needed a confession! You didn't get anything out of him—"

"I wasn't trying to!" she said loudly back.

"Then what was the point of that?" Booth asked. "Huh?"

She opened her mouth to speak when Zack suddenly chimed in with, "You're bleeding."

She looked down at her side and swore.

A/N: just to make sure everyone understood: Lily was hallucinating while in a coma.

just making sure that's clear, hahah. okey dokey. you know what time it is now, kids?

review time. ^_^