Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

Nertoold: *snicker* Just when you think you know what I"m thinking. There are several people in my head and you can never assume you know who is driving. Heck half the time I don't know who is driving. LOL
Babybones: Lol I'll have to ask you for advise for evilness in upcoming stories ;-).
SouthnLady: Tada! =)
Coterie2: I don't like sitting on the edge of a seat. I have a tendency to fall off. ;-P
EowynGoldberry: ummm define too long =).
Cook2: Not to long since that would be boring. If I kept her in a long time I would have shown a time lapse (eg two months later). The game is over therefore they wouldn't still be too much in the game (if that's what you mean). I'm sorry if Clapper came off as inferior to Cullen. He is in fact the Director of National Intelligence which makes him waaaaaayyyyy above Cullen. As in Clapper's boss is the president. It's not the end of the story so things shouldn't all be cleared yet. And I have a tendency to do that lol. Eventually things get cleared up. Yes, they are protecting her from Hacker who has shown to have a few screws loose.
Chkgun93: I'm still waitng for your story =) I wanna read it!

Thank you everyone for your awesome reviews! Constructive critism is always welcome

Chapter 26

Brennan's mind began to clear of the drugged like sleepiness that kept trying to drag her back down. The pain that shot through her head made her want to cry out. As she tried to open her eyelids, she found they were not immediately responding. As she struggled to open her eyes she noticed that her limbs felt heavy; she could hear the beeping of the heart monitor in the background.

Overlaying that sound was a male voice speaking in a deep rumble. The sound brought her a sense of peace and safety. Since when did Temperance Brennan rely on a man for safety? For that matter, since when did Temperance Brennan have a man? She felt long warm fingers wrap around her hand and she frowned in confusion.

Feeling a slight tugging at his hand, Booth jerked his head around. Brennan's face briefly frowned and he watched emotions crawl across her face. He minimized the screen and maximized the Jeffersonian window. Hitting the whistle in the bottom corner, he waited impatiently for someone to show up. When no one came fast enough to suit his purposes, he hit the whistle repetitively.

"Booth! You don't have to keep hitting it," Wendell chastised him through the blue tooth.

"Bones is waking up and I need Sweets to get his ass here, now," Booth said urgently.

"I'll send him a text," Wendell said happily, not seeing the fear Booth was hiding.

Brennan felt a hand brush along her cheek bone and a soft voice call to her.

"Bones, come on, baby, open your eyes," the low velvety voice crooned to her.

Who the hell was this guy? Why was he calling her Bones? More importantly why was he calling her baby? Scrunching her face, she blinked her eyes open to see a man leaning over her. The face lit up with joy as her gaze met his. Seeing his warm chocolate eyes smiling at her, Brennan felt as if she knew this person, very well.

However, for the life of her she could not remember who he was. The chocolate eyes turned sad as the man realized from her gaze that she did not recognize him. A very well muscled chest leaned over her as he pushed the button for the nurse. Minutes later a nurse came striding into the room with a smile on her face. The nurse leaned over her and began taking her vitals.

"Welcome back, Dr. Brennan. You had us worried," she said softly to Brennan. Brennan looked up at her with confusion on her face. Why were they worried? What had happened?

"I'll go get the doctor," Janet said, looking at Booth with an encouraging smile. Booth sat back on the seat and heard a rustling at the computer. Looking over, he saw Angela sitting at the computer beaming as she took note of Brennan's open eyes.

"Get Sweets. Wendell sent him a text but I haven't seen or heard from him," Booth said in a soft voice, his face awash with anguish. Angela knew that something was up and almost knocked the chair over to get out of the room. Minutes later Sweets appeared on the screen, he glanced at Brennan then at Booth.

"I'm on my way," he said. Standing up, Sweets quickly left the room and Booth turned back to Brennan. Leaning over Booth put a straw up to Brennan's lips and she sipped the drink.

"Do I know you?" Brennan whispered with a frown on her face, wishing that she knew if she did or didn't. Booth's lips tightened in pain and he let out a soft sigh.

"Yeah, Bones, you do know me. But we will leave that for later," Booth said softly his voice full of pain. A doctor Brennan didn't recognize strode into the room with a smile on his face.

"Ahh, Dr. Brennan, so glad to see you're awake," the doctor said as he moved closer to her bed. Booth stood up and walked over to stand next to the door.

"Dr. Brennan, I need to ask you a few questions okay?" Dr. Hollis asked with a gentle smile.

"Okay," Brennan said in a quiet, raspy voice. The sound of her voice cut through Booth like a knife, he was ecstatic that she was awake, yet horrified that she didn't know him.

"Okay, Dr. Brennan. How old are you?" Dr. Hollis asked in a quiet tone. Brennan paused for a moment then answered.

"23," she said in a quiet voice. A shudder ran through Booth and he jammed his fingers through his hair.

"What school did you graduate from?"

"Northwestern," she told him, confident of this answer.

"What was your degree in?" Dr. Hollis asked, going down the list of questions that Booth had answered about her.

"I received a PhD in Forensic Anthropology, Anthropology, and Kinesiology," Brennan stated with absolute clarity.

"Where are you currently employed?"

"I was just hired by The Jeffersonian Institute, in the Medico-Legal Lab department," Brennan told him.

Booth let out a sigh. So she did remember working at the Jeffersonian. Booth fled the room as if the hounds of hell were on his heels. As he approached the elevators, they dinged open and Sweets stepped out. Grabbing Booth's arm, Sweets stopped him from getting on the elevator.

"Booth, what's happened?" Sweets asked, seeing Booth's distress.

"She thinks it's thirteen years ago," Booth said in a gravelly voice.

"Thirteen years, okay we can work with that," Sweets said thoughtfully. Booth stood there clenching and unclenching his hands and grinding his teeth.

"Booth, go to the lab and after I have spoken with her I will meet you and the team there for a meeting," Sweets said, letting go of Booth's arm.

Booth gave an abrupt nod then got on the elevator. Booth left the hospital and walked the one block to the hotel. Climbing the stairs in frantic haste, he made his way to the room. Slamming the door, he collapsed on the bed and let the tears he had been holding back fall. When he felt as if he'd cried all he could cry, Booth stood up packed up everything into his suitcase and went to check out. Quickly making his way back to his truck, he climbed in and drove slowly to the Jeffersonian to wait.

Sweets lightly tapped on the door frame of Brennan's room and stuck his head in the door. Dr. Hollis was explaining to her that she was suffering from some memory loss. As the doctor was explaining that she would be working with a psychologist to get her memory back, Sweets stepped fully into the room. Dr. Hollis looked up and saw Sweets entering the room.

"Dr. Brennan, this is your psychologist, Dr. Lance Sweets," Dr. Hollis introduced. Sweets walked over to the bed and smiled at Brennan.

"I don't believe in psychology, it's-"

"A soft science," Sweets finished for her, having heard this line many times before. Brennan frowned in confusion at his knowledge of her feelings on the subject matter.

"Dr. Brennan, I know you have suffered from memory loss, I am going to help you get your memories back. I have known you for years. You may have questions, but first we need to determine how much and what you can remember. For now though, you need to rest. I will be back tomorrow to see you," Sweets told her in a soft voice. Brennan looked at him, her eyes narrowed causing Sweets to take a step back.

"Fine, if that is what it takes," Brennan said grudgingly. Sweets stepped into the hallway and Dr. Hollis followed him out of the room.

"How bad is the memory loss?" Sweets asked, frowning at the other doctor.

"I'll have copies of the answers she gave for you in a moment but it would seem that she seems to think it's the year 1998 and that she is 23 years old. So, thirteen years worth of memory loss. Given what you have briefly told me about her experiences, you are going to be walking a fine line," Dr. Hollis told Sweets.

"Dr. Hollis, I am a licensed and trained psychologist. I also know Dr. Brennan very well. I know what I am doing," Sweets said through a clenched jaw.

Dr. Hollis nodded then strode to the nurses' station. Sweets followed and waited for the copy of her paperwork. After receiving the paperwork, he left the hospital, climbed into his car and drove to the Jeffersonian.

Booth strode through the doors of the lab and everything fell silent as he stalked across the lab to the stairs that led to the lounge. Angela, Cam, Hodgins, James, and Wendell quickly followed him up to the lounge and gathered with him to wait. Angela sat on one side of Booth and Cam on the other. Angela saw Booth's red rimmed eyes and knew that it was bad.

The group sat in silence waiting for Sweets to arrive. Interns that approached were sent running by the glares they were given. Half an hour passed in complete silence until Sweets strode through the door. Daisy went to say something to him but stopped abruptly at the look on his face. Brushing past her he didn't say a word as he climbed the stairs to the lounge.

Daisy quietly followed and was joined by the others who had begun arriving when they heard Brennan had woken up. Sweets paused as Daisy, Clark, Fischer, and Arastoo walked calmly up the steps and leaned against the railing.

"Are we all here?" Sweets asked looking around at the people in the lounge.

"There will be a few more," Booth said in a raw voice. They continued to sit in silence as they waited. The lab doors swished open and a clamor of voices came with the entry of several people.

"Agent Sullivan, this had better be important," Caroline's voice rang through the lab.

Everyone turned to stare as Max, Russ, Sully, Caroline, and Charlie walked up the steps. Sweets waited while they found a place in the now crowded lounge. Sweets looked around and Booth gave him a slight nod.

"Okay, guys, Dr. Brennan has lost the last thirteen years of her memory. If we try to jog her memory too hard, we can cause a lot of traumatic damage. So, you will introduce yourself and treat her as a general acquaintance. If you try to continue your relationship as it was a week ago, she will get upset. Just try to remember when you first met her and how you interacted with her at that point," Sweets said briefly.

"What about Russ and I," Max asked quietly.

"Max, you and Russ will have to stay away from her until she regains her memory. Otherwise, you may damage the relationship you already have," Sweets said, giving Max and Russ a serious look. Booth groaned and dropped his forehead to his knees. Angela rubbed his back and glanced at Sweets in question.

"Booth, you are going to need to act like her friend and nothing more. Let her know that you know her by showing her you know how to read her but don't push. You know how to do this better than I can tell you, just remember don't push," Sweets advised. The group groaned in unison at the thought of dealing with the old Brennan.

"Guys, we need to stay strong for Bren," Angela said in a firm voice. Booth stood up and quietly left the group sitting there. Cam looked up at everyone in the room.

"We need to be strong. Booth and Brennan are going to need our help," Cam said then waved everyone back to work.

"Cam, he's going to need someone to be there with him tonight," Angela said in a low tone.

Cam gave a short nod then turned and left the lab. Walking to her car, she climbed in and drove home. Booth left the lab and drove to his apartment. Slowly, he walked up the stairs to his door. Opening it, he shuffled into his apartment. Flopping down on his couch, he picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV.

As he leaned back, his pocket crinkled. Reaching his hand into his pocket, he pulled out the envelope. It was the envelope from the safe that Angela had given him at the hospital. He had completely forgotten about it being in his pocket. Sliding his finger underneath the flap, he slowly tore open the envelope. Pulling out the paper, he caught the key that slid out of the paper. Unfolding the paper he began to read;

Dear Booth,

It is my second week in Maluku and I have realized a few things. We have lived our lives in constant danger. There are things that I would like you to know if something should happen to me. First of all you are my best friend, you know me better than I know myself sometimes. You have taught me about love, that it is in fact not an ephemeral thing and that it can last. That night outside the Hoover, I was scared and I chose to come to Maluku out of fear. Now I sit here and wonder if you will ever know how much I care about you. If I never tell you in person, you will find out this way. I know you as well as you know me and because of this I have a gift for you. If something should happen to me that I would not know you or I should die, then I want you to have what is contained in the safe deposit box at the Federal Reserve. I have put the keys to box 22705 in this envelope. Please use these gifts to do something you love with someone you love. You have so much to give and I believe that you and Parker would enjoy doing this together.

Love,

Temperance 'Bones' Brennan

A/N Yep this chapter is short but I felt this was a good place to cut it off =P. Tomorrow well lets see...food, trip to the bank, envelopes, directions, semi-orgasmic cars, the meeting, Hacker looking stupid (I know it wasn't hard to do), someone gets arrested (but who?), amusing miranda rights.

Constructive reviews are welcomed. Supportive reviews are loved and most in between are either understood or questioned. Assinine ones end up getting blocked.