Much to my surprise, I do not own Bones.

Sorry for the gap in updates and the possibly discombobulated nature of the story in the last week. The medical situation (not me personally) made for a challenging week and just getting back to "normal" routine now.

14.

Sweets and Kareat face off while the others watch helplessly in the booth as Sweets' health continues to deteriorate before them. Brennan goes to find Booth to intervene when she finds Harris dead, Booth knocked out cold and discovers that Riley is in cahoots with Kareat. Unable to stand it any longer, Cam leaves the booth to stop Sweets in the studio when she encounters Lilian who proves to be proud of her son, though continues her absence in his life.

Booth's head was pounding as he heard voices, but they weren't regular voices – they were grunting and arguing. He rubbing his aching and bleeding temple only to see Brennan struggling with a long bar that Riley was pressing down against her despite her reluctance to allow it. Booth didn't know what had happened but he knew that anyone did that to his wife was going to get it.

Booth was on his wobbly feet and charged at Riley and within one swift kick and a punch to the face Riley was seeing stars. Booth cuffed him and with Brennan's explanation soon figured out what he had yet to spot any of their "undercover" backups in the audience that night – Riley had never actually called any.

Booth was calling it in when Brennan brought her other concern to his attention.

"Booth, we should get to the stage." She said, her beautiful eyes sparked with worry.

"Did we get Kareat?" He asked.

"No, Sweets is trying, but something is wrong with Sweets."

Brennan didn't need to say more, Booth was leading the way.

Booth was at the opposite end of the stage when he and Brennan locked glances with Cam who was on the opposite side, Sweets and Kareat between them. Booth immediately saw what Brennan meant in the young psychologist who was pale, sweaty and swaying on his feet despite his solid attempts to appear otherwise. Whatever Kareat had said quietly to Sweets had obviously bothered him but he was countering back with something just as softly. Both sets of spectators were about to step forward when they paused at Kareat's words.

"Give up Lance." Kareat said seething venom. He could tell Sweets was near collapse but for reasons unknown to Kareat he wasn't giving in. "What are you still standing here for, no one has hope in you. You're only a burden to your coworkers always having to come and save you."

Booth was ready to deck Kareat when Sweets' dark eyes narrowed in on his nemesis.

Sweets attempted to clear his throat. "That's what friends are for, to save each other."

His friends smiled at the fact that Sweets finally accepted them as friends without strings.

Sweets straightened his stature, now taller than Kareat as he made his last stand. "And I may be alone, but I'm never lonely, a space is a space, no matter where it is." Sweets no longer cared of being shoved in cramped spaces, he wanted a kill as he stepped towards Kareat, near nose to nose. "I have what you can never have - happiness despite difficulty. It may not be the sparkling kind of picture perfect happiness, but it is fulfilling to be part of a team, and that is something you will never have - because you have robbed yourself of it."

Kareat boiled as the men stood inches from each other, Kareat aware of the fact Sweets was now looking down at him.

"I bet you cried like a baby to Booth after Jon locked you in that trunk."

Sweets smiled. "Who's Jon and what trunk?"

Kareat's smiled faded as Booth was pulling his hands behind his back slapping the cuffs on. Booth leaned in to speak in Kareat's ear. "Sweets was nothing but brave on the phone, you however, will be crying quite a bit in prison."

The audience sat stunned and confused if this was part of the show or something more serious. Sweets watched Kareat leave in handcuffs with Booth but he failed to smile. While Kareat was not a care in the world to him now he didn't like seeing people's lives wrecked by their own designs, potential wasted.

The stairs in Sweets vision moved to the left and to the right and he felt a chill though his shirts were stuck to him under his suit in a pool of sweat.

"Dr. Sweets," Cam said approaching, "that was remarkable, I don't know how you got him to say it."

"Yes, I wasn't sure if it was going to be forthcoming or not." Brennan said and Sweets tried to smile, it felt like there was a compliment buried in there somewhere.

Their appreciation of his skills and surprise of finally incriminating Kareat was giving way as fast as Sweets was paling.

"Dr. Sweets?" Cam asked. Sweets turned at a pace that proved to be too quick and the room spun violently. He reached an arm out automatically to steady himself hoping to grab a chair put Brennan's tight grip caught it first steadying him.

"I'm fine." He said trying to shake it off and eyed a door. "Just need some fresh air."

As Cam stepped forward she could feel the head radiating off him. She put a hand to his face and pulled it back, looking at Brennan.

"He's burning up." Cam said and looked back at Sweets discerningly. "I thought you said your temperature was declining."

"Um, yeah." Sweets said not hearing all of the question. "Sorry about that." He said as the room got darker and the audience gasped.

"Goo-Goo!" Sweets said with a big smile on his face. Baby Anna smiled back up at him. "She likes me." Sweets confirmed proudly to Booth and Brennan who stood back smiling at him.

"Well good luck little one." Sweets said handing the baby back to the child services woman, Mrs. Vance. He tried to reach back for his chair quick enough for no one to notice but few things go past Booth as he pulled Sweets rolling office chair close but didn't add comment to the fact he did. Sweets silently glad as well.

"While it's not standard routine to do this, I was glad to do so based on the circumstances." Mrs. Vance said holding the baby. "Without you, Anna may have lost her life - twice."

"And she's being placed in a good home?" Brennan asked for the third time.

"Yes, Agent Booth has run an extremely extensive background search on the couple who have adopted her." Mrs. Vance assured them. "We should be going, her new life awaits."

"Thank you, for bringing her by." Brennan said pausing her as she left. "I think it meant a lot to Dr. Sweets."

Sweets looked up at Brennan with a smile and a nod. Mrs. Vance left and the trio were left.

"Now Dr. Sweets," Booth mocked while sitting on the couch with Brennan. "Shall we discuss your series of ill decisions?"

Sweets rolled his eyes which gave him only a minor headache this time.

"Yes, it was a very poor decision to keep how you were really feeling from us." Brennan said clinically. "The means may have justified the ends - this time - but it could have been at too great of a risk."

"She's right Sweets, you should have told us you were still sick." Booth joined in on the guilt trip.

"Guys I…" Sweets said and found himself lost on the words to say.

Brennan tried to fill them in for him, "Well next time…"

"Next time?" Booth interrupted her. "Let's not have a next time, I don't know if my ticker can take a next time."

Sweets didn't like causing his friends grief but something inside him was glad that they cared so much that it did.

"Well sounds like I'm glued to my desk the next few weeks anyway." Sweets said looking at his chair.

"Yeah I'm not too crazy about you returning to work, but the plus side is at least I can keep an eye on you here." Booth said.

"Based on Dr. Sweets behaviors of the recent past we know he would just ignore proper medical advice anyway." Brennan said and Sweets wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or observational.

"Well I'm not so sure that the quick check they did on him that night was enough." Booth said thinking back to when he walked back in the studio after putting Kareat in a recently arrived police vehicle. He had walked back on to find a near unconscious Sweets leaning against the seat and for the second time in 48 hours thought he had lost his friend.

"Well the doctors assured us with proper hydration and rest he would recover." Brennan said, also thinking back to that night when Sweets was eventually discharged and sent home.

Sweets recalled that evening of insisting on going home and while he was in his own apartment is seemed like forever until anyone would go home, lingering until he was asleep and yet when he got up out of bed he found Cam sitting and reading on his couch. While the truth was he was bored and home and married to his work he retuned perhaps sooner than he should but he found greater comfort around his friends that his apartment. He wondered idly if that was why he was really married to his work, that's where his friends were, though he seemed to see them in the hours after work in recent days as well.

"Alright," Booth said seeing Sweets eyes drift off so he nudged Brennan to get up. "Well if you get tired, you'd better lie down right?" Booth said in a stern reminder and pointed to the couch.

Sweets nodded and smiled that he would oblige as necessary but something sprung to his mind. "Hey, how did the arraignment go?"

Booth knew Sweets was referring to Kareat whose arraignment was that morning. "With what Caroline's got on him he pled guilty hoping for a lighter sentence. That's determined later. He thought he might wiggle out of it but when Angela found all the texts and correspondence with Jon Smith cementing his implication with Kareat he changed his plea to guilty."

Upon seeing his expression Brennan was confused. "That's good news Dr. Sweets." She explained.

He nodded. "Yeah, I just… I don't know." Sweets yawned and Booth pulled Brennan towards the door.

"We'll be back later Sweets, we'll go to lunch." Booth promised. "You can buy this time."

Sweets nodded yes whether he knew what he was agreeing to or not.

Out in the hall Brennan turned a confused face towards Booth.

"I don't understand, why wasn't Sweets happy about Kareat going to jail?" She asked.

Booth wondered for two people so similar as she and Sweets how they sometimes did not see clearly on other things. "Because Sweets isn't about revenge." Booth explained to his intelligent wife who lacked certain skills about interpersonal relationships and the human psyche. "Sweets believes that everyone is worth saving. By Kareat ruining his own life and rotting in jail makes Sweets feels like he's failed."

"But Sweets had no real hand in Kareat's demise, if anything he is the victim and should not feel responsible." Brennan said still not understanding.

Booth tried to explain again, "Sweets doesn't think in terms of himself, he thinks about the big picture and the overall good. It's why he would sacrifice his own health to catch the bad guy."

Brennan considered this. "Then we will need to keep an eye on Dr. Sweets to be sure that he takes care of himself."

Booth smiled at his wife who didn't realize that her concerns during the ordeals was exactly what she had been doing.

"Yes. Just like he watches out for us." Booth added and this time, Brennan understood.

Hope you enjoyed. As always please let me know what you think, like, didn't like etc it helps give me an idea of what is enjoyable. I've got another story in mind I can write if there is interest. I'll keep writing as long as people enjoy reading. :)