A/N: It's been awhile I know. This semester is keeping me busy already, so thank you so much for your continued patience! I have the best readers in the world. Please enjoy!

Chapter 29: keys

After Brennan left, Booth felt his eyes closing. When he opened them again, Olivia was sitting in a chair by his bedside. Noticing he was awake, she bit her lip and blinked, avoiding his gaze. "Hey."

"Hey, how are you?" he asked, noting that she did indeed have her arm in a sling.

"I should be asking you that."

"I asked first."

She took a deep breath and met his eyes. "I'm all right. I've been worried, and no one wants me around, but I had to see you, make sure you were ok."

"I'm fine. Been better, but I'm alive."

"I'm so sorry! This was all my fault; I shouldn't have let myself get distracted." She sounded so guilty and the look on her face so contrite that he reached over, took her hand, and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey, danger comes with the job. It wasn't anyone's fault. These things happen. It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last."

She looked like she wanted to argue with him, but didn't. Instead her eyes focused on their joined hands. "I just kept thinking I was gonna lose you, and it was my fault, and I don't know what I would've done if you'd…" She didn't finish the sentence, leaving the last word hanging in the air between them.

"I've had worse," he shrugged, as though it was no big deal, and got the desired response, a grin touched the corners of her mouth. "I'm hard to kill. It's gonna take more than a few bullets to put me in the ground."

Olivia shook her head. "Don't talk about it like that. You didn't see yourself on the dirty floor of that building, bleeding and struggling to breathe."

That was true; he hadn't. Letting go of her hand, he palmed her cheek, forcing her to meet his eyes again. "I don't want you beating yourself up over this, ok? I don't blame you. It happened, it's over. Understand?"

She nodded and unconsciously leaned into his palm before pulling her face away and steeling herself to make sure the tears that had gathered in her eyes didn't fall. "I'd better go."

"What time is it?"

"Ten in the morning."

Wow. He'd been asleep for awhile then. "Get some rest and relax. It'll help." He shot her a small smile which was returned before she breezed out of the room, leaving the pleasant smell of perfume in her wake.

When the door closed again, he reached for the remote. There was cable, but nothing held his interest for long. Turning, his eyes fell on the table next to the bed, and the coupon Brennan had left there days before. He'd have to give it back to her. Whatever she'd asked for, it didn't count. Leaving the TV on a soap opera for background noise more than anything else, he stared at the door, as if he could bring his Bones through it by sheer will alone. She said she'd come back. Hopefully, she and the baby were all right.

Brennan was frustrated. And that was putting it mildly. She'd woken up and gotten ready as quickly as she could, eager to get to the hospital. She had called Angela, but got no answer. Unable to reach Cam or Hodgins, she had given up on the possibility of a ride and decided to take herself. No big deal. She wasn't helpless, and if Angela got mad about it, well, that was just how it was.

Upon reaching her car, she soon discovered that it didn't share her eagerness to see Booth, choosing instead to not cooperate with her. In an irrational fit of anger, she had flung her keys as hard as she could throw them, shaking her head at the pointless and emotional move. Key throwing wouldn't start her car and only resulted in her attempting to retrieve them from the ground. She couldn't bend forward far enough, and that only served to irritate her more.

Out of desperation she called Zach. At least he could pick up her keys for her. The phone rang and rang. "Please pick up Zach."

"Hello?"

"Zach! It's Brennan."

"Hello Dr. Brennan. How are you?"

"I need help. I dropped my keys, well, I threw them to be accurate, and I can't pick them up. I need to get to the hospital."

She knew how pathetic she must sound, and she hated that, but if Zach thought the same, it didn't come out in his voice. "Why did you throw your keys?" Without waiting for an answer, he plowed on. "I thought Angela was supposed to take you."

"I can't get ahold of her or Cam or Hodgins. I know you don't drive, but I thought you could take a bus or a cab or something." She waited for a reply.

"I'll be at your building as soon as I can."

Letting out a relieved breath, Brennan replied, "Thank you Zach."

"You're welcome. Good bye." They hung up and she waited, staring at the keys. They were so close, but they seemed miles away. She had to step back in order to even see them, thanks to her belly obstructing the view directly below her. She put a hand on the bump.

"I hope you're aware of what you've reduced me to," she told him softly. Asking for assistance for such a trivial matter was something she thought she'd never do. She promised herself that Booth would never hear about the incident. Most likely he'd find it humorous, and then she'd be forced to take drastic measures, like ensuring that he'd never father another child as long as he lived, guaranteeing that she'd never have to go through this again.

She paused as the sudden implication of her thoughts hit her. One: that she'd have another baby with him and two: that she'd be with him…she swallowed before thinking the last word. Forever. She stared at nothing for the longest time, letting those thoughts sink in. It was downright scary. She hadn't even wanted one child until she'd found herself pregnant; even after that it had taken awhile to get used to, and now here she was, thinking about another one before even having the first.

No, no, she wasn't thinking about another one. Nope. That was ridiculous. One would be enough. She was certain of that. The sound of a car pulling up nearby caused her mind to snap back to reality. Zach. He climbed out the cab, looking a little panicked and Brennan guessed that it had been quite a trip. He strode over to her and picked up the keys, placing them in her hand.

"Come with me Dr. Brennan. The cab will take us to the hospital." He gently took her elbow, out of fear of Angela's wrath if she found out he hadn't helped her more than anything else. Brennan allowed herself to be led into the cab. Once Zach was seated and the door closed, he leaned forward to speak to the cabbie.

"Please drive at a reasonable speed and direct all of your attention to the road. Thank you."

The cabbie grunted and took off at a speed that made the tires squeal. Zach paled, eyes growing large inside his head. He leaned over to Brennan and whispered, "I think I may be forced to report him. My request was clear and spoken with an appropriate level of politeness."

"Thank you for coming Zach. I wonder where everyone is," she mused.

"Hodgins is out car shopping. I was supposed to go with him, but opted not to. Last time I went, I had to go with him while he test drove cars. That experience guaranteed that I will never, under any circumstances, learn to drive."

Brennan grinned, imagining what Zach must have gone through. Hodgins behind the wheel of a fast car equaled trouble, exactly the kind that Zach went to lengths to avoid.

When they arrived at the hospital, she spared a glance at the clock. It was early afternoon. She'd wanted to be earlier.

"Hey Bones! You're here! With Zach. Hi, Zach."

"Hello Agent Booth. You look better."

"Thanks. I feel better."

Brennan walked to his side and gave him a kiss before easing into the chair Olivia had vacated hours before. "I meant to be early, but I…was detained."

He raised an eyebrow. "Detained how?"

She was about to make up an excuse that didn't include the key incident, but Zach, observing her hesitation, took the initiative, earning a glare as he did so.

"Dr. Brennan dropped her keys and couldn't reach them. She couldn't reach anyone else and so she called me. I obtained a cab and retrieved the keys for her."

"You couldn't reach your keys?!" The mental picture he had brought laughter to his eyes but, lucky for him, it stopped there. Then he frowned. "You were gonna drive here by yourself? Angela wouldn't be too happy about that."

"I was unable to get ahold of Angela. I had no other option."

"Thanks Zach. For getting her here."

"You're welcome Agent Booth."

"I'm not helpless! I am not some damsel in distress. If not for my keys, I would have been perfectly able to get myself here!" Brennan crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at them both.

"Chill Bones. After what you said happened with the premature labor, I don't wanna take any chances, and I'm sure no one else does either. The less you do, the better."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "We're fine. We will continue to be fine." She laid a hand on her belly as if requesting agreement from the baby within. Then she took a breath, ready to continue her argument, but was stopped by his finger on her lips and a quiet shushing sound.

"Let's not spend your entire visit arguing. Zach, could you maybe give us a minute?" It was voiced as a question, but Zach didn't actually have a choice in the matter. He gave a nod and left for the reception area, closing the door behind him.

They met each other halfway in a long leisurely kiss that, in Brennan's opinion, didn't last long enough. When they parted, she felt his hand go through the softness of her hair as he kissed the tip of her nose.

"I missed you," he said quietly. "I miss being with you."

"You'll come home soon," she replied, caressing his jaw and bringing her lips to his once more. The kiss soon grew in passion, tongues meeting and dueling in a gesture that was so familiar to both, but at the same time, always new. A moment into the kiss, however, the door swung open and they broke apart as though scalded.

"Zach! What the hell?" Booth cried as the young man's eyes widened, catching on to what he'd interrupted.

"I apologize. I gave you a minute; actually a little more."

"A minute as in time, Zach, not literally a minute."

"Oh. Again, I apologize. I'll go."

Booth glanced up at the TV screen, still on soap operas. A hot and heavy make out scene was in progress, and he frowned at the thought that he and Brennan should be doing the same thing. Zach had the worst sense of timing…ever. "Mood's gone," he muttered.

"Speak for yourself", thought Brennan sourly, tossing aside the brief thought she had to throttle Zach. Not that they could gone further than kisses in a hospital room, but still. They hadn't been together in so long, it seemed, intimately or otherwise, and the kisses only fed the fire burning inside her. He'd need time to recover though, even once he was back home. She'd have to be patient, let him set the pace. As for her, she was ready whenever he was.

He reached over to the table and took something which he placed in her hand. It was the coupon she'd placed there, wishing he'd wake up. "I thought I'd give this back to you. You can use it for something else."

She already knew what she wanted to use it for too, but she wouldn't tell him now. She had a feeling if she did, he'd snatch it back and rip it into tiny pieces. She placed it carefully in her purse and turned to Zach. "I suppose I should be getting back." She was reluctant to leave, but she knew, deep down, that she needed to rest, and that he did too.

Suddenly feeling overly aware of Zach's presence, she planted a quick kiss on Booth's cheek, and moved to leave the room, not saying the usual endearment and immediately regretting it, especially when thinking about what had happened last time. So, mind made up, she ushered Zach from the room, shut the door behind him and strode back to the bed, claiming his mouth with all the fire and hunger she was feeling on the inside.

It took him by surprise, but he responded quickly, and when Brennan had to pull away to take a breath, she nearly gasped at the desire she saw in his eyes, knowing full well that he was seeing the same thing in hers. Before she did something rash, she whispered, "I love you," then turned to go for sure this time after his reply reached her ears.

A/N: I'm gonna stop there because I have reading to do. Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!