A/N - Thanks again for the great reviews and the alerts. I'm glad you all still like it. I wanted to clarify something again. I hope everything still seems realistic for you all. I have done a lot of research on the different aspects of the story and work hard to keep my two favorite characters in character while still adding some fluff. Hopefully its a good mix.

Disclaimer - I am not associated with the TV show Bones in any way.

Chapter 25

When the alarm sounded at 4:30, Booth rolled over and let out a sigh. He didn't know if he should be happy, concerned, or sad. He really wanted her to start healing, but hated that it had to come through surgery. He was pretty sure she had felt enough vulnerability over the last few days. As he was lost in his thoughts, a smile rose to his face. 'Those poor nurses don't know what they are getting themselves into by putting on their scrubs today' he thought.

The humorous thought was enough to get him going. He got up and got the day started. As quietly as possible, he showered, dressed, and started the coffee pot. He thought about not starting it since she couldn't have any, but decided to anyway. He was working off of about 6 hours of sleep in the last two days.

She didn't budge at the smell of the coffee. At 5:00, he woke decided to wake her. He walked over to her and swept a few displaced hairs out of her eyes. "Bones," he rubbed her shoulder as he spoke. "You need to wake up and get a shower if we are going to make it to the hospital on time."

She slowly rolled off her side and winced slightly as she sat up and moved her leg. He could tell she wasn't in a great mood because she unhooked the cooling unit, grabbed her crutches, and made her way to her bedroom without speaking.

Booth straightened up the living room a little. He put the blankets and pillows back in the hall closet and put her medicine up in the cabinet. He figured she would need to go back to her bed when she came home from the hospital.

He packed her laptop in its case to go with them. He knew she wouldn't be able to make it 24 hours without it even if she was high on painkillers. He smiled as another opportunistic thought rose in his mind. 'Maybe I can convince her to let me read her new book before she sends it to the publisher this time. If she realizes she was high when she wrote it, she'll need an objective eye. Man, I sound like a squint; I've got to go to a gun show or something soon.'

Thirty minutes later, a very plainly dressed Bones came back in the living room. He handed her the sedative and a very small glass of water. She took the pill and walked toward the door. He was a little stunned, she still hadn't spoken, but figured she was processing her thoughts, was in pain, and was still a little out of it.

He grabbed her bag and laptop and held the door open for her. They made their way out to the SUV. He placed her bags into the back seat and watched as she carefully got into the SUV on her own. He hated all of this for her but was proud of her for following the instructions of the doctor, for the most part anyway. He was pretty sure doing dishes wasn't on the doctors list of approved activities.

In the short, 15 minute drive to the hospital, she had already fallen asleep. He was glad. At least in her sleep she wasn't hurting or worrying. When they pulled up, he woke her up and she finally said a few words. "I'm awake. Let's get this over with."

She allowed him to help her out of the SUV. They walked inside and went to the nurses' station on the orthopedic floor just as instructed on Friday. Within 15 minutes, she was in a preoperative room wearing a hospital gown. Getting the gown on was quite an experience, but she managed. That was one thing she would not ask for help in doing.

She half rested, half thought over the next few minutes. Booth couldn't stand the silence any longer and finally spoke. "Your dad is coming a few minutes before seven and I think Angela is coming by around lunch as well. She wanted to be here when you woke up."

Brennan focused on him, realizing that he was probably as nervous as she was and deserved a little attention from her. "I know, but I don't really see the need in it. I'll probably be out of it for the rest of the day anyway." At that statement, he knew she was nervous, so he grabbed her hand.

"Bones, it's just what families do." He didn't feel like he needed to elaborate further. She was obviously feeling a little insecure about everything and he hoped the simple admission would be enough.

As soon as he finished his statement, there was a knock at the door. Jameson and another younger doctor entered. "Temperance, this is Dr. Mark Gentry. He will be your anesthesiologist today. Dr. Gentry this is Temperance Brennan and her" he stumbled a little at the next part, "work partner, Agent Booth." Booth eyed the doctor a little at the introduction, but remained quiet.

The younger doctor shook both of their hands and pulled up a stool right beside Brennan, flipping open her chart. "Alright, let's get started with this." Brennan gave him a nod, she was fighting to stay awake and he could tell.

"So, you already took a sedative this morning, correct?" She nodded again. "Well, that should have you sleeping soundly in a few more minutes. After that, the nurse will come in and start an IV for you. It's only going to be fluids to start. When we get you in the OR, we'll give you an additional IV sedative to keep you 'out' and do a nerve block. I'm going to use Ropivacaine for the block." He briefly explained the procedure and then made a few more notes on her chart and flipped through a couple of the pages.

"I'm going to be upfront with you. Jameson said he told you that they are going to be working with a large portion of you lower leg. I'm going to try to give you an effective block, but due to the size of the region they will be operating on, it may not be sufficient. If you show any signs of pain or sensation during the surgery, I'll convert you to general anesthesia immediately."

Brennan spoke again, "I understand. I've done a little research on the nerve blocks and I'm fairly comfortable with the procedure. It at least will help with pain management afterwards even if I end up needing general."

Dr. Gentry smiled at her intelligent remarks and nodded. "Yes, it will, but we'll go ahead and put you on a morphine drip after the surgery as well. The nerve block will wear off in 12 - 18 hours." It was obvious that Brennan didn't like the idea of the morphine drip, but didn't complain.

He started with a different line of questioning. Asking her about when she had last eaten, if she was feeling well, and his last question shocked both Booth and Brennan. "Have you ever been under general anesthesia before?"

Brennan, who was still fighting sleep, answered very clinically. "I had an emergency appendectomy when I was 15, but I really don't remember my response to the surgery. I can tell you that painkillers and sedatives typically make me nauseous and dizzy."

Booth thought, 'way to completely avoid answering a question Bones,' but it seemed the doctor was satisfied with her answer.

Jameson finally spoke; he had waited patiently through the exchange. "Dr. Gentry will be present throughout the surgery as will my partner, Dr. Jones, and I. Do either of you have any more questions?"

Brennan just shook her head and Booth decided to ask his questions like any good interrogator. "What will happen when you finish?"

The stately doctor nodded and answered. "We'll take her up to recovery for at least an hour or so in order to monitor her heart rate and other vitals. After that, we'll let her go up to a regular room. I'm still planning on keeping her overnight for pain management mostly." Booth just nodded.

Booth asked one other question, "When can I-we see her." He really meant I, but knew that her father would be there as well.

The doctor just smiled and looked over at a now sleeping Brennan. "As soon as we get her to recovery and comfortable, we'll come get you. I honestly don't expect her to have any trouble. She's definitely strong. She'll heal fast. I would say that if it wasn't for the high ankle injury, she wouldn't even need this surgery right now. I just think it is wise to go ahead and fix her lateral ligaments since we are in there anyway. It will save her recovery time and pain in the long run." Booth nodded, he completely understood and it was what Bones wanted. She wanted this drama finished and wanted to be 100 percent not 90 percent.

"Thanks, her family and I will be here in the waiting room." With that approval from Booth, the doctors stood to leave.

In a few minutes, a young nurse came in and started prepping Brennan. "She's out cold?" She commented.

"You should consider yourself lucky. She's pretty feisty when she's coherent." Booth just smiled as he spoke.

She put an IV in her left hand. Booth was thankful for that. He knew she would fuss if it got in her way of writing or working on her laptop. She then took her temperature in her ear, her blood pressure, and listened to her chest.

When the nurse finished, she shot Booth a smile and said, "Everything looks good. Dr. Jameson is the best orthopedic we have. He'll get her patched up. That ankle looks pretty nasty right now." The nurse had removed the blanket covering her to make a few observations. She quickly replaced it.

"Thanks, she's ready to get it fixed." Booth shot the nurse a smile and she left, leaving him to his thoughts.

Around 6:50, Max came in. "Booth, how's she this morning?"

Booth pulled himself from his thoughts and answered. "She's been quiet; the meds have her pretty well out of it. The doctors have already come in and she's ready to go. They should be getting her anytime now." Booth explained a few more details as Max gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

As with most hospitals, they came and got Brennan thirty minutes late. Since she was on the rolling hospital bed, they didn't even wake her. Booth looked at Max and contemplated his next move. He wanted so badly to kiss her, but didn't know how Max would react. He chose to let the cat out of the bag, wiped some of her hair off her face and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Max's eyes grew wide, but he didn't speak. He just gave Booth a nod of approval and a simple 'I won't say anything,' look. He knew if he did, Booth would loose his respect. He understood their partnership well enough to know that if he lost respect of Booth, he would loose that of his daughter as well. He wasn't willing to risk it.

The odd pair of FBI agent and accused felon walked out of the small hospital room and into the waiting area. They shared the same thoughts and concern for the person just wheeled back to surgery. They both wanted her happiness and safety. It was their life long goal.

After a short wait, Max spoke first, "Booth?" He wasn't sure if the FBI man was asleep or just lost in his thoughts. He had his head leaning on the wall behind him and his eyes were shut.

"Yeah Max," Booth responded. Obviously, he was thinking. He couldn't sleep even though his body was tired.

"Did they say how long it would be?" Max asked.

Booth gave him a little more of his attention and turned to face him. "They didn't really say, it could be anywhere from three to four hours. They have a pretty good idea of what they need to do, but they're going to scope out some scar tissue and might need to make a second incision to get the bones in her leg aligned correctly." Booth told Max everything that he knew.

Max made a painful face as Booth explained. "I'm going to go get some breakfast and coffee at the diner across the street. You want anything?"

Booth thought for a minute. He was actually hungry and could use a shot or ten of coffee. "Thanks Max," he started to reach for his wallet as he said, "Just bring me back a very large coffee and something with meat in it."

Max stopped him from getting his wallet and nodded. "I'll be back shortly."

Booth went back to his thoughts. He was concerned with the health of his partner, but knew she was strong in that respect. She'd be fine. He was more focused on figuring out a strategy to use to tell her how he really felt. He wanted more from her. The line was stupid. He put it there to protect her and now he realized that he didn't want a line to protect her. He could take care of that better himself.

He knew that he had to be very careful, but that he had to do it at some point. He didn't know how or when he would tell her, but he would find the right time. It would jump out at him. He'd just use his gut and let her open the door to her heart when she was ready.

He thought back to their first interactions together. She had come a long way since then. She was no longer completely closed off, but could still withdraw if she felt like she needed to. He had to avoid making her withdraw.

He knew one thing for sure, if she felt like a relationship would force them to give up their partnership, she would never take the step. He knew all of the FBI policies about partners in relationships, but Bones wasn't FBI. He didn't know what the rules were, but he knew who to ask. He took out his phone and made a phone call he thought he would never make. He dialed, waited, and then spoke. "Caroline, it's Booth. I need a favor."