A Boy from Philly

Part XXXVIII

Beneath the water's surface, Booth saw the legs and the air bubbles from people thrashing about. The dulled cacophony of screams and shouts reached his ears. It was a bedlam. He dragged himself again to the surface and blew water from his airway. "Bones!" Using his arms and legs, he turned in a circle and scanned the crowd of bodies. A few were burned, but only slightly. Most were turned toward the River Patrol boats and were shouting or waving.

"Temperance!" None of the faces turned toward him. Panic set in. For the first time, he was truly afraid. "Temperance! Bones! Oh, G-d, Bones! TEMPERANCE!"

He ducked beneath the water once again and opened his eyes in the murky water, praying for a glimpse of a limp body, an arm, a face, a hand, a leg--anything.

He burst out of the water, "Bones!" He began to swim through the crowd of bodies, scanning faces, checking for a familiar face.

"Over there!" A River Patrolman shouted to his colleague, pointing into the water. Booth followed the direction in which the man pointed. In the river, he saw a body floating face down several hundred feet off.

With all of his might, he swam toward the body. With every stroke, he felt the energy drain from his body. Swimming that distance took a hundred years. when he reached the body, he turned the woman over. Steely blue eyes, glazed over and full of death stared back at him. Her face was lifeless and pale. The strange duality of relief and frustration washed over him. It wasn't her. But it was somebody's Bones. Somebody's wife, girlfriend, mother, lover, friend...

A patrolman threw a rope in. Booth wrapped it around the woman's torso and she was pulled from the water. A hand was offered and Booth pulled himself into the boat. "FBI," Booth said to the man. "My badge is somewhere... in there," he nodded at the river.

A helicopter fwop-fwop-fwopped overhead and another patrol boat came up and began to help people out of the water.

"This is a goddamn disaster," a man with white hair and an orange life vest said.

Booth walked to the edge and began to look out over the people. So many faces, and not one of them was familiar to him. His heart sank. And he felt like a fool for waiting five years to tell Brennan how he felt about her.

A hundred heads, wet and matted bobbed in the river. Orange vests and floats were being tossed to survivors.

Another patrol boat with lights flashing overhead drove to the edge of the group and began to throw life vests into the river. Two of the patrolmen on the deck began to pull people out of the water.

Booth watched and studied each face as they were dragged from the icy waters. Was it her? Where was she? Was she gone? How did he lose her so quickly? It was his fault no matter how he spelled it. He blinked away tears and watched as one by one people were pulled from the river.

A hand.

A firm hold.

And it was her.

A young patrolman grabbed onto Brennan's hand and pulled her from the water. She was hoisted into the boat and Booth felt his heart begin to beat again.

"Bones! Temperance!!!" In a swift motion, Booth removed his shoes and shirt, then dove into the river head-first.

Brennan stood on the deck, dumb-founded and shocked at what she had just seen. It didn't take a genius to see that it wasn't a very logical thing to jump into the Delaware in March. On any day, for that matter, considering the issues with pollution.

"Booth!" Brennan shrugged off a life vest that was put over her shoulders.

Half way across the stretch, Booth slowed to a painful gate and began to dip beneath the surface. "Booth!" Brennan grabbed the life vest and put it on, then grabbed another and jumped feet-first into the river before the patrolman could stop her.

When she reached him, he was barely treading water. "Put this on," she told him, her mouth dipping beneath the water as waves splashed against them.

"Bones... why'd you...?"

"Why did you jump into the river? That wasn't very logical, Booth." The water lapped at their faces.

Booth slung his arm over the orange vest. "Love isn't logical, Bones..."

"You could have killed yourself. Then what? I can't exactly go find myself another Booth--believe me, I've tried." She laughed, but exhaustion was beginning to set in and she gasped for air between phrases.

"I thought I lost you, Bones." His teeth began to chatter.

"I... love you," her teeth chattered, too.

"I did lose something, though--"

"I'm fine, Booth."

"No... I was going to take you dancing today--"

"Guess we got our exercise."

"Bones... I lost your engagement ring," Booth said.

Brennan only looked at him and shivered. Then, she whispered, "What?"

"I had it in my pocket and now it's at the bottom of the Delaware." Water splashed against his face. "I love you, Bones. And when I thought I lost you, I can't even begin to explain how scared I was or how much it hurt to know that you were-- Bones, I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"What?"

"It was nice, Bones. Five little diamonds--one for each year. I just wish I could put it on your finger."

"What?" She said, even weaker than before.

"I want you to be my wife--I want to be your husband. Because we're meant for each other. And I can't imagine living this life without you in it. Air isn't worth breathing if you're not sharing it with me. Please say yes, Bones. I can't bear to lose you twice in one day."

Brennan was quiet for what seemed like forever. They were the last two in the river and a patrol boat rumbled up to them. An officer threw a life ring in the water. "Grab the ring!" The officer shouted. "Take the ring!"

Brennan didn't know whether she was shaking from adrenaline, coldness, or from what Booth said. "I--don't know, Booth." She took the ring and put it over her head. The patrolman pulled her out of the water and wrapped a wool blanket around her shoulders. The ring was then tossed out to Booth. He hesitated in taking it. He looked up and saw Brennan with her arms wrapped around her torso, holding the blanket tight around herself, and avoiding his gaze.

The lyrics to Bon Jovi's Diamond Ring began to play through Booth's head. And he remembered putting that song on Brennan's phone. What did she truly want? Did she want to take the ring? Should he respect that or move on?

Brennan walked to the edge of the boat and looked down at Booth. "Take the ring, Booth."

Booth put it over his head and he was pulled to the deck.

What do you think? Give me some looooooooooooove.