Chapter 19
Tuesday Morning at 1 a.m.
FBI Special Agent Booth sat in the waiting room on the third floor of the hospital. He looked at his hands, which were still red from Temperance's dried blood. For some reason, he hadn't washed them off.
"Sir. Sir." A nurse was talking to him.
"Sir, is that your blood?" Booth looked up at her.
"No." Came his one word response.
"You need to wash it off. The risk of infection is not something you should take lightly. Whose blood is it?" She asked.
"My partner's." Booth's sentences had managed to gain a word. At this, the nurse remained silent. The nurse made a tight smile and led him from his chair to the nearest restroom where he could clean himself up.
Washing his hands in the sink suddenly brought him back to reality. Booth clenched his fists, almost hard enough to dig his nails into his palms. Quickly, he finished washing his hands and headed for a room just down the hall.
Two policemen stood guard outside the door. Both nodded at the FBI Agent and let him enter the room. Bernard Mantelli was asleep, despite being chained to his bed. His knee bandaged. Booth stood over him and put his hand on the psycho's bad knee. Immediately, Mantelli awoke.
"You…" Was the only word Bernard got out before Booth squeezed his kneecap. Mantelli grabbed the sheet on the bed and clenched his teeth.
"I swear to everything holy that if my partner dies, you'll wish you were never born. Do you understand me?" Booth squeezed Bernard's kneecap harder and the man almost let out a cry of pain but Booth's other hand on his throat prevented it.
"Don't even think about it." The FBI Agent growled and let go of the man. Quickly, he left the room and headed down to the nurses' station.
WWWWWWWWWW
The phone rang out in the living room but Angela refused to get out of bed. Rolling over, she noticed that her clock read one-thirty in the morning. She had been waiting for Brennan to call but this was ridiculous. That's when she heard the message machine kick in.
"Hey you've reached Angela. I'm out on a date with a very hunky man right now so leave a message." There was a beep followed by a familiar voice.
"Angela, pick up its Booth. Angela, are you there?" In a flash, the artist was in the living room of her apartment with the phone in her hands.
"Booth, what's going on?"
"I'm sending a police officer to your place." He said.
"What happened? Is Brennan ok?" Angela asked.
"She's in surgery right now. Please just go with the officer and I'll explain when you get here." Booth told her.
"Ok." Was the only word that came out before the phone line went dead.
WWWWWWWWWWWW
Booth paced the floor waiting for the doctor to come out. It seemed like he'd been waiting an eternity and he checked his watch again. Only two minutes had passed, since he'd checked the last time.
"Booth!" He turned around to find Angela coming down the hall. The FBI Agent met her, seeing the look of concern on her face.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Temperance has been shot. She's in surgery right now but the nurses won't tell me anything because I'm not her next of kin or her responsible party." Booth told her. There was a silence between the two as his words started to sink into Angela's mind. Quickly, she headed to the nurses' station. Booth followed and they got the attention of the nurse there.
"My name is Angela Montenegro and this is FBI Special Agent Booth. We want to know about Temperance Brennan." The nurse gave her a look. Angela was about to reach over the desk and strangle the woman when a doctor walked up to the desk and spoke.
"Ma'am, she can't give you that information unless, you are her next of kin."
"Temperance doesn't have any next of kin. I'm her best friend and responsible for her. Agent Booth is her partner." Angela pointed out, her anger rising. The doctor nodded.
"My name is Dr. Williams. Right now, Miss Brennan is being prepared to move to a room. She received a gunshot wound to the stomach." He explained.
"I know; I was there. How bad is it?" Booth asked, starting to get angry himself.
"Sir, you need to calm down." Dr. Williams said.
"Calm down? My partner's been shot, she's been in surgery for over an hour, and no one will give me a straight answer! I'm not calming down! Tell me how she is!" Booth shouted at the smaller man.
"The bullet was pierced her stomach, nicked the small intestine, and barely missed her spine as it exited her body. She lost a lot of blood and right now she's in a touch and go phase." The doctor immediately complied. Booth realized that he hadn't even checked Brennan's back for an exit wound. He was too focused on the gaping one in the front of her.
"She's in room 325." Dr. Williams told them. Quickly, Booth and Angela headed down the hall towards Dr. Brennan.