Previously...
"So... how's my baby?"
Angela's eyes widened, "What baby?"
Tempe's heart dropped. "Angela, where's my baby? Where's Ashley?"
"Sweetie, calm down. Look at me..." Angela sat beside her friend, neither of them noticing Booth creep back inside, Jack and Zack behind him. "What do you remember?"
"Remember? I remember everything, dammit! Jack called Seeley and I at five this morning. You were giving birth. We came to the hospital. I slipped... I slipped..." She sobbed, squeezing her friends' hand, "How is Ashley?"
"There is no Ashley..."
"My baby, Ashley..." Tempe stroked her flat stomach, and Booth winced. "Please, where is she?"
"There isn't a baby, Bones. You were never pregnant..." Booth whispered, Jack squeezing his shoulder.
"How dare you! How dare you say such a thing about our baby?"
Ang stared at her friend. "Tell me everything. Now. I need to hear all of it--anything you remember..."
So she started from the beginning, just after the attack, and told her every detail as the others listened in shock. "And our wedding, you have to remember the wedding!" She whispered, her eyes shining, "Angela, you designed our dresses for Christ's sake... and then two months after our wedding... you called us to tell us you were having your little girl. And that's when all of this happened..." She looked into her friend's blank face before turning to the three men standing against the wall. "I can't believe none of you remember..."
"Temperance..." Booth started, walking to her slowly. "You've been in a coma for two months. The attack happened two months ago, Bones, not over a year ago."
"Stop it, Seeley..." She whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "Stop lying. Where's my baby?"
"I can't... I can't do this!" Booth exclaimed, moving quickly for the door.
"If you leave here without telling me where our daughter is I swear I will divorce you!" She yelled, and he stopped just in front of the door. She started to smile, but then he yanked the door open and left. "I don't understand," she whispered, looking at her best friend. "What's going on?"
"Guys, could you..."
"Yeah, sure..." Jack whispered, ushering Zack outside.
"Sweetie...you know I would never lie to you..." Tempe nodded, so she continued, "You were attacked two months ago by a man named David Summers. He was some looney who became obsessed with you after reading your books. He thought the only way he could have you was to kill you... and for a while there, it looked like he might have succeeded..." A tear rolled down her cheek before she continued. "Booth has been here everyday since then, trying to wake you up."
Tempe shook her head, "I don't believe this..." She whispered, trying to push herself into a sitting position. "It was all so real... We were so happy..." She sobbed as her friend wrapped her arms around her tightly. Tempe grasped onto Angela for dear life, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why couldn't it have been real, Ang?"
Angela stroked her friends short hair, "I wish it were, sweetie. I really do." She pulled back, looking into her friends' eyes, "It sounded really beautiful, the life you had."
Tempe nodded as she herself reached for her hair. "What happened here?"
"They had to reduce your brain pressure after the attack... it involved, among other pretty disturbing things, shaving your head. That there is two months of solid growth. Although, I must tell you, you don't look so bad bald..." She smiled. "I'm going to go get the guys..."
"Wait, don't. I can't face them right now. I've made a fool out of myself." She whispered, leaning into the bed. "Could you... try to explain it?"
Angela nodded and left her friend. She peaked in through the window before she left and saw Brennan's hand resting on her empty womb, and her heart sank for all the things she knew her best friend would be facing.
"Hey, how... how is she?" Booth's eyes were rimmed with red as he stood.
"She's... dealing, I suppose. It's hard to wake up and find out that the life you thought you led never was..." Angela sighed, looking at the concerned men.
"It was a coma-induced hallucination." Zack whispered, staring at his hands, "It happens a lot, surprisingly. Doctors think it's a part of healing, and it is also more or less what you desire in life..." He trailed off, thinking about what she'd told them her life "was".
"So, what you're saying is..." Jack pushed, and Zack took the bait.
Sighing, he continued, "Most people have these subconscious urges that they rarely acknowledge. But, when you're unconcious, that becomes your main focus--your subconscious. So, it would leave one to believe that Dr. Brennan's subconscious had been pushing her to acknowledge her feelings towards Agent Booth before her accident, and once she slipped into a coma, that was what was left for her to dwell on."
"And the babies, and all of that?" Angela whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Yes, that too. Most women have the natural urge to procreate, the desire to further the human race. Dr. Brennan was always so insistent to the contrary, however, that it would also be accurate to assume that too was a part of her subconcious desires." He looked at Booth wearily. "Are you going to see her?"
Booth nodded, but Angela whispered, "I don't know if that's a good idea, Booth..."
"It probably isn't. But I have to see her..." He said before walking down the hall to her room. He looked through the small window to see her sitting there, tears streaming down her cheeks, her hand resting on her stomach. He knocked, watching as she quickly wiped her tears away. "Can I...?"
"I don't know, Booth..."
"Please, Bones, I have to talk to you..."
She nodded, "Okay. Are you... how have you been?"
He forced a smile. "Worried sick about you. Blaming myself for what happened..."
"That's funny..."
Confusion swept over him, "How?"
"Oh..." her face fell, "You uh... you were blaming yourself for my accident... in my dream..." She frowned, fighting off the tears that were building again. Booth felt his heart break, "I'm sorry..."
"Hey, don't be. You've been through a lot--in reality and in your own mind, apparently..." His joke was bad he knew, but he was pleased that she gave him a small smile anyways. "It was nice, that life?"
She nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek. He reached up and brushed it away. She closed her eyes and sighed as he touched her. He felt the electricity that had always sparked between them roll into a full blaze. "Booth..." She whispered, covering her hand with his. "It was more than nice..."
He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, "Bones... I wish that had all really happened. I really do. I wish I could go back to that day two months ago..."
"It would've happened anyways..."
He shook his head, "Maybe not. Maybe, if I would've been there... I could've killed him. I almost did..."
Her eyes flew open, "You what?"
He smiled shyly, cursing himself for mentioning it, "When we tracked him down, he admitted to what he'd done to you. He told us why. I pulled out my weapon in the middle of the interrogation room, and Cullen had to force me out of the room. I was so close to doing it... the thought of him standing over you with a pipe like that..."
She closed her eyes, "I'm sorry I didn't thank you..."
"Excuse me?"
She squeezed his hand, still on her cheek, "I'm sorry that I didn't thank you for the coffee. If I did... you wouldn't have been so mad at me. You would've stayed, and I would've told you how I felt." His eyes grew wide as she pulled his hand to her lips, kissing his palm gently, "How I feel..."
"Bones..."
"Shh... I'm going to sleep, I'm pretty tired. Will I see you later?"
He nodded, leaning forward and kissing her forehead, "The second you wake up, Bones."
She smiled at him, "I love you, Booth..."
He felt his eyes well, and he struggled to maintain composure as he whispered back the words he'd longed to say for months, "I love you too, Bones..."
Her eyes fluttered open, and she felt someone shift beside her. "Booth?"
"Morning, Bones..." He replied groggily, rubbing his eyes. "Want some breakfast?"
"I want to go home..."
He smiled at her, squeezing her hand gently, "They want to keep you for a few more hours, see if you can manage to keep food down and all of that before you start running around DC again, okay?"
She nodded, "So, what are we having?"
"Well, funny you should ask..." He said, waving to the figure behind the door. It was Jack, with Angela trailing behind him. They had large bags in each hand, and she eyed Booth curiously. "We didn't know what you'd want, but hospital food sucks. So, in bag number one, we have pancakes and sausage with some strawberries. In bag number two, we have belgium waffles, also with strawberries, and some bacon. In bag number three, we have a cheese omelette, toast, three kinds of jam and an orange. And finally, bag number four contains french toast and syrup, hash browns, and canteloupe. We also have an array of juices for you to choose from..." He looked back at her, his charm smile firmly in place.
She grinned at him, "Bag four sounds amazing... have any orange juice?"
Booth handed her the bottle, and she held her fingers over his for a second before releasing him. He winked at her, "Okay, that leaves me three bags to choose from..."
"Actually..." Brennan pointed to the corner, where Jack and Angela were sitting, digging through a bag each.
"Hey! what'd you leave me with??"
"Waffuhs..." Jack gasped between bites of syrup-coated pancake. "Hope you don't mind..." he muttered, finally swallowing his food.
"Nah, I'm just glad..." he stopped, looking over his shoulder, "I'm just glad we have you back, Bones..."
"I'm glad to be back..." she smiled at him, before scowling, "Now, eat your food before it gets cold..."
Angela laughed, "You sound like my mother..." she stopped, her eyes growing wide. "Sweetie..."
Tempe frowned, shrugging, but they could see the tears gathering in her eyes. "It's okay. You'll probably have to deal with that for a little while. Until I get used to reality again..." She sighed, shaking her head. She knew it was irrational, but she was still mourning the loss of the life she'd had in her dreams. She missed her pregnancy... she missed the baby she'd never seen. Mostly, though, she missed loving Booth.
"I don't mind..." Jack whispered, watching as his friend tried to piece herself back together. "Although, I must admit, it will be hard not having the old Brennan. You know, the clueless, socially inept Doctor we all knew and loved..."
Tempe laughed, throwing a chunk of canteloupe at him, and then laughing harder when he caught it skillfully in his mouth. "I don't know what that means..." She said, her friends all laughing now as well.
"Excuse me, Dr. Brennan..." A man had suddenly appeared in the doorway. "I've been your neurologist for the past two months. May I?"
"Of course..." She nodded, and he entered, grabbing her chart. "So... are you here to release me?" She asked hopefully.
"As it would happen, yes. But, you must take it easy for the next few months. Your left leg is still broken," he said, motioning to the one remaining cast that ended just below her hip. "And I would reccommend you not live alone. It will be hard enough while healing to do all everyday tasks, and I'm afraid you won't be able to drive for quite some time."
"Thank you, Doctor..." She whispered, looking at her friends. "Stop staring at me and finish eating so we can leave..."
"I brought you some clothes..." Angela replied, smiling. "Sweatpants, because of the cast, and just a tee... so you'll look a little homeless..."
She chuckled, "I don't mind if you don't."
"We don't..."
She looked at the three of them thoughtfully, "So... who am I moving in with?"
AN: Okay, I have to admit, I'm very very sad that the whole thing was a dream. It was so nice, wasn't it? However... I have an epilogue, and from there... I'm thinking about a sequel. You'll have to review to tell me what you think:)
