When they cleared the foliage they found Nikki sitting cradling Steven's head in her lap. The front of his shirt stained red with his blood. She looked up at Booth, "The idiot would never wear a vest. In all the years I knew him he would not put on a vest." Brennan touched Booths back, both of them keenly aware Booth was not wearing a vest. "Why did he have to….I am wearing a vest," she slammed her hand into the vest. "I could have taken the shot…I could have taken the shot." She stroked his hair and pulled him close to her. "I love you, always have and always will, you stubborn idiot."
Brennan had tears streaming down her face as she watched Nikki's pain; she watched her go from anger to sorrow to disbelief in fleeting seconds. "Booth she keeps saying she loves him, what about her husband?"
"Bones, you can love a lot of people in your life, but there is only one you love the most. Remember me telling you that?"
"She loved him the most?"
"Yeah Bones, she loved him the most."
"Then why is she married to someone else, if he is who she wanted?"
"Maybe like us, when you rejected me and I had to move on. Maybe she had to move on and when he was ready it was too late, she had settled."
Brennan watched Nikki and realized how easily it could be her in those shoes. "Booth, I am sorry I rejected you."
"That is history Bones, we found our way." She nodded
Booth moved to Nikki and gently but firmly pulled her away from Steven. "Come on, we need to go radio this in."
"I can't leave him." she shook her head as fresh tears erupted from her eyes.
Booth got her to look at him. "Yes you can, he deserves to be moved off this mountain and you are the only one that can do that. I can't tell them how to get here, only you can do that."
Her whole body was trembling and she nodded slightly at Booth. She retrieved her gun, gently kissed Steven's face and turned to follow Booth back down the path him and Brennan had come up. When she got back to the canyon floor and looked at his SUV fresh tears started to flow, she then looked down at herself she was covered in his blood. She stood still for a minute and forcing herself to breath she climbed in her Yukon and headed up out of the canyon to call it in.
Sheriff had her stay at the top of the canyon and wait for a debriefing team. He sent a helicopter with additional officers into the canyon. FBI was contacted and also headed in. She could hear the helicopters fly over, but their sound was like from a dream. Nikki looked up and could see Steven walking towards her smiling "Hey don't cry Thomas, never could stand to see a woman cry."
"Don't leave me."
"I will never leave you, I will always be right here." His hand was resting on her chest.
"Dispatch, KC 340 with KC 324, we need an ambulance and probably a medi-vac helicopter to meet us, she is unconscious, weak pulse, and shallow breathing. Get someone to notify her husband, I think he is working today."
"Dispatch from KC 340"
"KC 340, go ahead."
"If you haven't already activate medi-vac to the grade school, tell ground ambulance she has a gunshot wound to her lower left side, appears it went right under her vest. She is covered in blood, can't really determine how much is hers. What is the ETA of the ground ambulance?"
"KC 340, ground ambulance ETA to you is 5 to 10."
"Thank you dispatch we'll be standing by."
Agent Bill Rhode arrived on scene and contacted Booth. Booth led the teams to the suspect and to Agent Wright's body and filled them in on what happened.
"How is the deputy holding up?" Booth asked Rhodes.
"You haven't heard?"
Booth looked at him concerned, "Heard what?"
"They found her in her rig on top unconscious, she apparently got hit."
"What?"
"Probably the adrenaline that kept her going, good thing the sheriff told her to stay up there; she might have driven off a cliff if she would have tried to drive back down here."
"Do you have anymore questions for me or Dr. Brennan?"
"Not right now, why?"
"I am taking Agent Wrights SUV and heading up to check on the deputy. You know where we are staying if you have any further. Preserve that crime scene for Dr. Brennan, please."
Agent Rhodes just nodded as Booth headed over to collect Bones and head for the hospital.
Booth and Brennan arrived at the hospital, Booth flashed his credentials and soon nurse came and led them to a quiet waiting room full of officers and Nikki's husband. Rick noticed Booth as soon as he came through the door and got up and went over to him.
"Agent Booth, I presume."
"Yes and my partner Dr Temperance Brennan. How is she?"
"They have her in surgery, doesn't look like the bullet hit anything vital, something slowed the bullet down before it hit her."
"The other FBI agent on scene, it might have hit him first."
"Steven." Rick said more of a statement than a question.
"Yes, he shielded her."
"No matter what their history or how much they argued, he loved her and I knew he would always protect her." Booth stood there feeling rather awkward at the moment, feeling like he had just intruded on something personal.
"We just wanted to check on her, if you don't mind I would like to get Bones..Dr. Brennan back to the hotel and let her get cleaned up."
Rick nodded, "I can call when we know more."
"Thank you."