Chapter 37

Tuesday

7:29 AM

Brennan felt herself cocooned in his arms. She sighed in contentment as she opened her eyes slowly. She glanced down at his arm wrapped around her. His hand was resting lightly on top of hers. As she entwined her fingers with his against her hip, she realized that she had slept peacefully through the whole night. She hadn't been afraid. She hadn't thought about Collin Brown at all. It was the first night since she had gotten home since the nightmares hadn't consumed her. Brennan also realized how very easily she could get used to waking up to him. She glanced over at the clock next to her bed. She knew she should get up and start getting ready for the day, but she didn't want to get up just yet.

Although she didn't want to wake him, she wanted to see him. Brennan turned her body slowly. It was still somewhat painful for her to move, but she learned what movements were more painful than others and she used her knowledge to her advantage. He stirred slightly in his sleep, but didn't wake. Instead, he just tightened his grip on her. Brennan snuggled against him and raised her head enough so she could kiss him lightly on the cheek. She thought she saw a small smile spread on his lips. She tucked her head under his chin, against his shoulder. She breathed in his scent, making her feel dizzy. She had always loved his scent. It was just so overpoweringly masculine. Logically, she knew it had more to do with his pheromones than anything that he did purposely like put on aftershave or cologne, but that just made it all the more enticing. She was attracted to him on an undeniable biological level.

Brennan closed her eyes, taking in everything she was feeling. She had never believed in love. Love to her was nothing more than an emotional response to a biological need. She always accepted that she needed her biological urges filled, but that she did not need to form emotional connections to others. She never believed that she could love someone unconditionally for the rest of her life. But, lying in his arms, she started to believe that she might be able to.

Knowing that she had things that needed to get done before her day could begin, Brennan began to move. She didn't want to leave him, but the rational part of her brain took over. Even though she wanted to, she couldn't stay in his arms forever. Taking one last, lingering moment to feel her body pressed against him, she finally let go of his hand. She began to squirm out from under his arm. Finally out of his grasp, she began to scoot to the edge of the bed. She knew she would have difficulty getting up and moving as she did every morning, but she knew she was going to have to take the painful first steps. She preferred taking them when he wasn't awake to see how much pain she was really in.

It took Brennan close to five minutes to get herself standing. Her breathing was labored, but she took the few steps out of her bedroom and closed the door behind her so that he couldn't hear her. She moved towards the couch and stopped to lean on it. Glancing at the table, she remembered how they had left their food out from the night before. After catching her breath, she made her way over to the table and began to clean up their mess. Neither of them had eaten much for dinner, but she wasn't feeling particularly hungry. Her appetite had lessened significantly since her ordeal. Brennan worked quickly, clearing the mess from the dining room table. She threw their forks into the sink to wash them later and went back for the cans of sprite that she had left behind. As she approached the table, she tripped on a wrinkle in the rug and she hit the edge of the table forcefully. Instinctively, she put her hands out to stop her, but only ended up doing more damage. She cried out as her ribs made contact with the table and her wrists snapped back as she tried to break her fall.

Booth woke up to the sound of a muffle cry. His eyes shot open. He immediately realized that she was no longer in his arms and he panicked. He jumped off the bed, threw her bedroom door open, and saw her standing by the table, clutching her left hand. She was doubled over, her head down.

"Bones."

Booth raced to her side and put his arm around her. He led her over to the couch and helped her lay down. He brushed the hair away from her face and watched a tear fall from her eyes.

"What can I do?"

"Nothing. I'm fine," she said breathlessly threw gritted teeth.

"You're not fine," Booth replied.

He saw the way she was nursing her left wrist. He didn't know exactly what happened, but he knew she was hurting.

"I just…need a minute."

Booth stroked her hair as she closed her eyes and focused on the pain leaving her body. After nearly five minutes, Brennan finally opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry I woke you," she said quietly.

"Oh Bones," Booth said, kissed her on the forehead. Only Brennan would be worried that she woke him while in such tremendous pain. "What were you doing out here?"

"Trying to clean up," she answered. "I tripped."

"I could have cleaned up."

"I know, but I wanted to."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because you were sleeping. You looked...peaceful."

"You were watching me?" He asked, smirking.

"No," she answered quickly. He knew she was lying immediately, but he let it slide. He could see in her face that the pain she was feeling was disappearing. He looked down at her lips and thought about kissing her again, but he wasn't sure what she would do. He had taken a chance the night before. He had kissed her and she hadn't run. She had actually kissed him back. He wondered if she would do the same thing again if he tried it again.

"So..." Booth said. He thought about bringing up the kiss. It was obvious they needed to talk about what had happened. "What do you want to do today?" He knew the question was lame, but it was all he could come up with.

"It's Wednesday, Booth."

"So?"

"So, you need to go to work."

"I can take a day off."

"You've already taken too much time off. I don't need a babysitter."

"I didn't say you did, Bones."

She began to sit up slowly. He put his hand behind her, ready to catch her if she should fall. She sat up and he immediately brought himself up to occupy the space next to her.

"Besides," she said. "I have somewhere I have to be."

He ran his finger down her bare arm, causing her to shiver. "Oh? And where's that?"

"I have an appointment with my physical therapist and then I'm seeing Dr. London."

"Well, I can take you to your appointments and then we can...hang out."

"Hang out?"

"Yeah, you know, kick back, relax, enjoy each other's company." He began to swirl his finger around her arm, drawing patterns on her skin.

"You have a case to solve."

"Casey can handle it for the day." Brennan immediately pulled her arm away from him. She pushed away from him, leaving a gap between them. Booth immediately noticed her coldness and he knew why. "You're jealous of Casey, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're jealous that I'm working with Casey and not you."

"That's absurd."

He leaned in close so he could whisper in her ear. "Would it make you less jealous to know that every moment I work with her, I wish it was with you?"

Brennan turned away from him. She reveled in the feeling of his lips so close to her ear and his warm breath on her skin, but she was not about to fall under his intoxicating spell. It did make her jealous to know that while she was sitting home being forced to work on her book, he was spending long hours in the office with Casey. She knew it was irrational, but it didn't matter.

"I'm not jealous," she stated very matter of factly.

"Yes you are," he teased.

She turned to look at him with fire in her eyes.

"Why would I be jealous of her?"

"Because you think she's trying to take your job as my partner."

He leaned in close to her, ready to kiss her again.
"You're free to work with whoever you want."

"Is that right? Then why are you so jealous?"

Brennan attempted to stand up, wanting to get away from him. As she lifted herself off the couch, she felt her head spin and the air rushed out of her lungs. Booth wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her.

"Woah, Bones. You don't need to be so upset."

"I'm not upset," she said trying wriggle free from his grasp.

"You're going to hurt yourself."

"Then let me go."

Booth reluctantly let her go. He watched her walk into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. He sat down on the couch, wondering how that had gone so horribly wrong. He hadn't meant to upset her. He was just teasing her. Booth rubbed his hand over his face. He was somehow going to have to fix his mistake. Booth sat on the couch, thinking about his options. He could storm into her bedroom, confess his love for her, and hope that she didn't run. Or he could sit and wait for her to emerge and apologize for being so insensitive while his feelings remained masked. After twenty minutes, realizing that he was running out of options, Booth stood up and was about to walk to her door when it opened. Brennan was standing in the doorway with her hair and makeup done, dressed in Jeans and a pink shirt with lace running along the neckline. As always, she looked amazing.

"Listen, Bones..."

"You'll have to drop me off at the hospital before you go to work since I don't have my car," she said.

"Oh...ok."

"I'll find a ride home."

"I can stay and take you home," he offered.

"I'll call Angela." She was leaving no room for argument and Booth wasn't about to start arguing. She was back to being her no-nonsense, business like self. Gone was the woman he had held in his arms. She strode confidently over to the door and picked up her purse. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah."

Brennan opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Booth shook his head and began following her. On his way, he looked down at the duffle bag he had packed. He had packed enough clothes and toiletries to last him a few days. He had secretly been hoping while he packed that he would be staying with her for a few days. He knew that probably wasn't the case anymore, but he left the duffle bag there just in case.

They made their way down to Booth's car in silence. He attempted to open the door for her, but she blocked him and opened it herself. As she settled in her seat and Booth walked around the car and got in on the passenger side, he looked over at her. Her jaw was clenched, her hands wrapped in tight fists. She was fighting through pain. Knowing there was nothing he could do, Booth started driving towards the hospital. They took the trip in silence. Brennan kept her eyes trained on the window. Booth snuck glances at her every once and a while, but he didn't say anything.

As he pulled up in front of the entrance to the hospital, Brennan went to reach for the car door handle, but Booth placed his hand on her arm. She turned to look at him. She didn't look as stern or cold as she had in her apartment. She actually looked hurt, and it wasn't because of her broken ribs or the surgeries she had been through.

"We need to talk," Booth said quietly.

"I'm going to be late," Brennan replied.

"Bones..." There were so many things he wanted to say, but he knew it wasn't the time or place. "Tonight. We can talk tonight."

Brennan looked back towards the window. "I don't think we have anything to talk about."

"How can you say that?" When she didn't respond, he felt his question bared repeating.

"Bones, after last night, how can you say that?"

"I'm going to be late."

"Talk to me." He hooked his finger under her chin and guided her head to turn around to look at him. "Bones..."

"There are things I'm feeling, Booth, that I don't understand and..." She paused. "You're right. We should talk. Tonight. We can talk tonight," she said smiling.

He looked into her eyes and nodded. Somehow he knew everything was going to work out.

"Ok," he said. "Come on, I'll help you out."

When she didn't show any signs of protesting, he got out of the car and walked around to her side. He opened the door and offered her his hand.

"You don't have to come in with me," she said as they began walking into the hospital.

"Yes I do. I told you I'd never leave you. I'm not going to start now."

He linked his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. He was about to let go of her hand when she gripped his hand more tightly. They walked through the hallways of the hospital holding hands. It was a strange experience, but it was a comforting one.

When they reached the physical therapy wing, Brennan checked in at the main desk. A young, male doctor automatically came out. Booth couldn't help but notice he was a good looking guy.

"Dr. Brennan, we're ready for you," he said.

Brennan was about to follow him when Booth leaned down and brushed his lips quickly against hers. He knew he was making a bold move, but he wanted to make a statement. Brennan was his and he wanted everyone, including the young, handsome doctor, to know it. When he pulled away from her, he could see the surprised look on her face. She smiled at him.

"I'll see you tonight, Bones," he said.

"Tonight," she whispered.

Brennan followed the doctor into the next room. Booth stood where he was, temporarily watching her through the glass windows that allowed him to see everything that was going on in the room. There were other patients working on weight machines and other gadgets he had no idea what they were for, but he only had eyes for Brennan. He watched as the doctor had her sit on a high bench. She stuck out both her arms in front of her and the doctor inspected both her wrists. Booth could tell that words were being exchanged as the doctor picked up her right wrist. She turned it slightly to the left and then slightly to the right. Booth focused on her face, seeing her eyes widen as her wrist was stretched. The doctor took her wrist and bent it slowly backwards. Her eyes immediately closed and she bit her bottom lip so hard that she drew blood. Booth had to look away seeing the pain she was in. She didn't cry out. She didn't make a sound, but Booth could see it in her face. It was a face that he never wanted to see again.

Author's Note: I apologize for not updating sooner. It's the end of the school year and things have been quite busy! I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading!