15.1

Setting: One hour later. Jack, Angela, and
Zack enter the room. Each tries to hide their
grimace as they look at the once flawless Booth.
Jack tries to stop himself from making a Smurf
joke considering Booth's almost blue everywhere.

-

"How are the nurses treating you?" Hodgins asked.

"Are you kidding me? Looking like me, I've got them coming in here every three minutes trying to satisfy all my wishes."

"Ha. You are lucky man. You've been knocked out with drugs for almost two days and the Booth charm still lives."

"What can I say? When you got it, you got it."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Angela said as she sat in the chair beside the bed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't going to cry."

"Hey, Ange, it's okay. I'm fine. Brennan's fine. We're okay."

"I know, I know. It's just…it was so close."

Jack put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up into his face.

Zack fidgeted and put his hands in his pockets. He looked to Angela and she nodded her head slowly.

"What?" Booth asked slowly, looking from Angela to Jack and resting on Zack.

"Booth…you know they still haven't found any of the men. And someone came forward and confessed that he was the one who said that you and Dr. Brennan were on a classified assignment."

"Who was it?"

Again, Zack looked to Angela and Jack picked up where he left off.

"It was an agent, Booth. Carlson. He said that he pulled you on a case for the CIA and then called Dr. Saroyan to explain Brennan's sudden departure. Apparently, he's one with the right amount of clout to pull that off."

Booth could only look at his hands and he shook his head. "What else?"

"He turned himself in approximately at the same time you were admitted here. Carlson was apparently another victim of Murphy. Blackmail and hate, pretty much. FBI is still trying to find out where the four men went, but you know that already too."

"How's…Bones?" he asked, even though he'd been told by Cullen that she was under maximum security.

"I'm sorry, Booth."

He looked to Angela.

"Why?"

"I should've known something was wrong when-."

"Hey, it's not your fault. Don't ever think that, okay? It wasn't anyone's fault. Things like this happen. You couldn't stop it. You couldn't know."

She smiled sadly and grasped his hand. "That's what Brennan said, too."

16.1

Setting: Two hours later.

-

She hesitates before she walks into the room. Everyone has told her that it's alright. They have told her that it's alright to be weak. It's alright to be afraid. Instead of taking a forward step, she takes a faulty step back and leans on the cane she was issued.

She wants to see him, but part of her thinks that he'll be lying on the bed, cold and gray. Part of her thinks he'll be covered in blood and gasping for air. Part of her thinks he won't be there at all. Part of her thinks Murphy will be there. And so, she turns around and limps away to the elevator.

As the doors close, she leans back and sighs while closing her eyes.

16.2

Setting: One day later. She hesitates again
before she walks into the room. Taking a deep
breath, she knows that she needs to see him.
She wants to see him.

-

His eyes turned from the t.v. screen to where she stood cautiously in the doorway. They stared at each other, each noticing the other's bruises and cuts and bandages. Noticing each other's pain. She fiddled with the cane absently.

He felt relief the instant he saw her. She was safe. Hurt, but she was alive.

She felt relief the moment she looked at him. He was safe. Hurt, but he was alive.

"Nice cane," he said softly.

Brennan took a step forward and leaned forward on the cane for the next one.

"I feel like an old grandmother."

For the first time since he woke, he smiled as best his mouth would allow.

"Come sit by me, please."

16.3

"Nice night light," she said as she sat down in the bedside chair.

Booth nodded his head and pointed at the soccer ball mount.

"Parker. He didn't want me to be in the dark."

She went silent at the memory of the darkness. To be honest, she had slept with every light on in her apartment even though she knew she was being guarded.

"That's really nice of him," was all she could think of to say.

As he looked at her, he found that this was fine. If they never said a word to each other ever again, and they could sit here forever, it would be fine. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Are you tired? I can come back."

"No, no, Bones. I'm just resting my head. It's kind of beat up as you can see."

She tried to smile and shook her head. Even through all of this, he managed to keep everything light.

"You know what?" he asked still with eyes closed.

"What?"

"I don't remember it all. At the end, I mean. I remember hearing your voice. And I could feel you, trying to wake me up. And then…you kissed me." He opened his eyes and found her looking down into her lap. "It hurt, but it was good. It meant I was alive…and that you were too."

Booth waited for her to say something, anything. He could tell she was just a touch embarrassed because of the way her face reddened.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Bones. I mean, we have seen each other practically naked."

Her head popped up and at his semi-smiling face, and she couldn't help but smile in return.

"See?" he teased, "I always knew you loved my body, Bones. This just gave you a reason to taste me."

"Shut up, Booth."

Brennan couldn't resist her first laugh and it felt good when he joined her, even though she knew it hurt him.

He held out his left hand on the bed and looked at her. For a few seconds, she battled within herself whether or not to take it. Finally, she reached forward. Their hands gripped each other's slowly. It was like an action they had never before done. As their bravery grew, their hold became stronger until each felt the other's hand become their own. He looked at her. She looked at him. This was right.

"Um, am I…I can come back."

They broke their gaze, at the same time letting each other's hand go. She looked down and he looked at the doorway to where Cam stood.

16.4

"No," Brennan looked up. She glanced back to Booth and smiled at Cam.

"I need to go run some errands anyways."

Standing, she limped her way to the door and turned back at his voice.

"You'll come back later?"

She paused and halfway turned around. There was worry and fear in his voice. "If you want me to."

He nodded his head shortly, and then she left.