(A/N): Ohmigawd, ohmigawd, that finale! I can't believe it! I won't say more in ways of spoilers in case readers haven't watched that episode yet. I really don't want to spoil anything for them, but hey, if you want to send me your own thoughts on it, then please, do! Also, would anyone want to read a story set after the finale if I chose to write one?
Alright, so, I was going to post this a couple days ago, but I was in the middle of something, and I hadn't the time, so, yeah, you've got it now, especially now that I've come out of shock from that last ep! Yep, I'm completely obsessed with it haha. But anyway, onto Review Time!
LoveShipper: Yep, and here I thought it'd be simple but no, my mind likes complications haha
Loverofbones: Hmm, that's a good theory… All I will say is that Ruth is definitely who she says she is, and that her motives aren't anything other than what I've stated, so… yeah, make of that what you want hehe
Pauchacottle: I know, many apologies. And thanks
5546Laura: I know, sorry, my mind wrote it before I could stop it.
Allthingstvshows: I know, terrible of me. I sleep just fine, thanks for asking, but here's a chapter to make up for the last nasty cliffhanger. Just so you know, this review made me laugh so thanks. I'm glad you like my story so much that cliffhangers are that bad.
Guest: I think that was sarcasm, but it's hard to tell in writing. Thanks.
MeganLucy26: Are you okay? I'm sorry if I shocked you…
Jsboneslover: Hmm, that's for me to know, and you to discover in time… And thank you
Aww, thank you to all my little Bones Butterflies! (Yes, that is going to be my nickname for you all now, it's a little childish, but I'm sticking with it!) Again, I'm writing up the next chapter as you read, so hopefully we won't have a long wait before you see yet another chapter of this. Oh yeah, for those waiting for a sequel to After The Storm Blows Through, I am almost done with the first chapter and will post it once I'm halfway through writing the second chapter. Okay? Yeah, so, as always, send me your thoughts and feelings and all that. See you whenever guys. I love you all.
Heaven Can Wait
Chapter 11
Bullets ricocheted through the window, shattering the glass and embedding themselves into the walls and door at a remarkable speed, raining down glass shards and pieces of plaster onto Max, Brennan and Ruth heavily, covering them with a fine layer of both. Max pulled them both closer to him, making sure his daughter's head rested beneath his chest, trying to protect his daughter from the worst of the flying debris. His first instinct would always be to protect his little girl above everything else, no matter how old said little girl was. His heart rate was pumping twice as fast as it normally was, and whilst his adrenaline rush was screaming at him to get up immediately and rush after the shooter behind the attack, his protective instincts were telling him to stay put, at least for the time being.
After a few minutes more, the gunfire ceased, leaving the air surrounding the hotel room tense with the unspoken questions and worries of its occupants. Ever so slowly, Max slid back off the two women and slithered over the floor to the broken window, ensuring that he didn't move above the frame and back into a potential line of fire. He hadn't gotten as far in life as he had by being stupid or reckless. The only time he'd come close was when he'd gone to shoot Heather Taffet and Booth had stopped him. They both knew that that had been a stupid thing to attempt, especially at a time when Brennan's trust in Max had been so fragile, but he'd never made that same mistake again, and didn't intend to either.
Peeking cautiously above the splintered frame, Max's keen eyes sought out any potential sniper hiding spots. Finding them all empty, he motioned for Brennan and Ruth to join him sat below the window frame. They still had to be careful, even though the shooter was most likely in the wind already. Slowly, they made their way to rest either side of him, both looking terrified, though he noted that his daughter seemed more familiar at least with such situations than Ruth did. "Has anybody got a cell phone?" He asked, silently cursing himself as he recalled that he'd left his own on his bedside table to charge. Ruth shook her head as she pointed to the bedside table across the room. There was no way they'd get to it without potentially returning to the line of fire. Brennan however nodded her head, fishing in the pocket of her pyjama pants.
"Yes. Booth insisted I take it with me." Brennan finally located it and pulled it out of her pocket, checking to make sure that her impromptu fall to the floor hadn't damaged it too much. Other than a couple of scratches, it was fine. "Do I call 911, Booth, or both?"
"FBI's probably a better bet than local cops, honey, but I would call Booth too. He'll hit the roof if you don't." Max chuckled slightly as he recognised his daughter's 'I don't know what that means' look.
"I don't know what that means." She spoke aloud, furrowing her brow slightly and ignoring her dad's knowing grin, as she always did whenever an idiom or expression was mentioned that she didn't understand straight away.
"He'll be mad and worried if you don't call him." Max elaborated softly, his arm moving to encircle her shoulders for the second time that morning as she nodded her understanding and dialled the FBI main switchboard. After a moment of deliberation, she asked to be put through to Cullen, who was working his occasional overnight paperwork shift that he did every couple of weeks, though only a few people knew that he did that. It wasn't common knowledge, at any rate.
"Sam, it's Temperance. We… we've just been shot at, in room 321 at the Fairmont. Myself, my father and… my mother." She stated the last part mutinously, pouting slightly despite the fact that Cullen couldn't see her, and Max silently marvelled about how much Christine resembled Brennan sometimes with the expressions they both had.
"Oh Jesus, Temperance. Are you okay?"
"Fine, Sam, or so I believe. Perhaps some minor scratches. I think we are in need of assistance though, as the shooter appeared to be a professional."
"Of course, I will have agents out there in ten minutes. I'll send Charlie and Shaw with them so you know that it's all genuine and all that. Do you need me to call Booth?"
"No, I can do that myself. But… Should we potentially need a babysitter…"
"Just give me another call if you need someone to watch the kids, Temperance. Either Amy or I will happily do so, alright?"
"Thank you Sam." Brennan hung up and dialled Booth with slightly shaky fingers as the adrenaline coursed through her body, a delayed reaction to the action of moments before. "Booth."
"Baby, what time is it?"
"I don't know. Booth, listen to me. I need you to stay calm." Brennan warned futilely, knowing that there was no way he'd remain calm with the news she had to share, but she knew she had to try all the same.
"What? Why? Bones, what's going on?"
"There's been a shooting. In Ruth's hotel room."
"Oh my god, are you okay? What happened? I'm on my way."
"Booth, calm down. We're all okay. My dad pushed us down before the shooting started. We don't know what happened. I called the FBI and was put through to Deputy Director Cullen. Sam's sending the FBI for us. You need to stay with Parker and Christine, or at least wake Russ and Amy to let them know what's going on, so they can look after the kids." Brennan reasoned out, missing out the part about the minor cuts and scratches they'd gotten from the debris. He'd only freak out more than was necessary over them.
"Bones, there's no way in hell you're stopping me from coming over. But you're right; I won't leave the kids alone, so I'll wake Russ and Amy."
"And I will call Cullen back and ask him to make his way over too." Brennan added calmly.
"Why?"
"Booth, someone shot at us. I will not take the chance that the shooter will then try and track down Christine or Parker, or even Emma or Haley. They need to be protected." She reasoned out, waiting patiently at the silence emanating from the other end of the line.
"… Damnit, fine, I'll stay here, but you better get back to me as soon as you physically can, Temperance. I need to know you're okay."
"I'm alright, Seeley, I promise. I'll be home as soon as I can."
"I'll hold you to that. I love you."
"I love you too." Brennan hung up and sent a shaky smile to Max. "Booth will stay home with the kids but he wants us to hurry back."
"He worries about you. He's your husband; it's a good thing." Max replied with a grin as he held her tightly and all three awaited the FBI's arrival. They waited barely ten minutes until Charlie and Shaw burst into the room, guns drawn. Once they'd cleared the room, Charlie approached them with an affable grin.
"Why do you always end up in the thick of it, doc?"
"I have no idea, Charlie." Brennan accepted his offered hand to stand up, brushing off her pyjamas. "Can we make this quick? I need to get home."
"To Booth." Charlie finished with a nod, though the grin didn't leave his face. His grin had been in place since he'd seen with his own eyes that the anthropologist was alright. "That's fine. We'll hurry this through and then you can rush off back to your husband."
…
"Temperance." Booth engulfed his wife in a tight embrace the moment she stepped through the front door, pressing her tightly against him. He'd never been more terrified than when she'd told him she'd been shot at over the phone, and whilst it had rankled him a little that she'd insisted that he stay at home, he'd seen the reason behind it and agreed with it. It wasn't her usual rationalising that wound him up and made him want to yell at her stubbornness, but rather that of a momma bear that would do anything to protect her cubs, a sentiment he agreed with wholeheartedly. He'd spent the two hours since her phone call sat in Christine's room, where he'd moved a heavily sleeping Parker to, so that the children were all in the same room and so he had only one room to stand guard over. Ten minutes earlier, he'd relinquished his position and service firearm to Amy, who had come in to take over the next shift until the kids woke up, when they'd take them all to the Jeffersonian, which was the safest place for them all until they could figure everything out. He would have been more wary of handing a gun over to a civilian but he knew that Amy and Brennan went on hunting trips together and that Amy was more than qualified to fire a weapon. If his wife trusted the blonde woman with a firearm then Booth could too, especially with the motherly protectiveness practically oozing from Amy's every look and movement. Russ was busy packing suitcases and bags for all of them and making a feast of a breakfast, not being able to sleep once Booth had woken the couple to tell them what had happened in panicked, shaky sentences.
"I'm fine, Booth, really." Brennan whispered into his ear, hugging him back with all her might, secretly relived herself to be safely in her husband's embrace. Charlie and Shaw were nothing but kind to her, Max and Ruth but truth be told, she had just wanted Booth. She had refused to be selfish though, knowing deep down that Booth was needed more by the children than herself, so she hadn't called him again, knowing herself well enough that she would have cracked and asked him to come to her. "Are the children alright?" She asked, needing that answer before anything else.
"They're fine. Amy's with them right now. Where's your dad?"
"With Ruth. They've gone straight to the Jeffersonian. Max requested that we pack his things along with our own."
"It's a good job that the museum actually caters for events like this."
"Booth, they cater for emergency lockdowns in which the occupants will need beds and food for weeks due to biological contaminations or explosions, not shootings at unrelated hotel rooms."
"Well, I'm just happier that they installed bulletproof glass in the roof after the incident with Vincent."
"I know. You wouldn't have suggested the lab unless it was the safest place you could think of."
"I'd never put our kids in harm's way."
"I already know that Booth."
"Good. Now, are you sure you're okay?" Booth asked, but was cut off asking anything else by his wife pressing her lips insistently to his, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer to her. She pulled back, slightly breathless.
"Does that answer your question?" Booth nodded, pulling her back in for another kiss that left them both panting in the other's arms. "We had better go help pack up everyone's things. We're going to have a lot of luggage."
"I know. But it'll be worth it as long as we all get out of this safe."
"Yes. It will."
To Be Continued
