Well, I managed to do what I promised. I got another chapter out before my computer gets fixed. I hope you guys enjoy, as it might take me a few weeks to get the next one written and out. Just make sure you go back and read the other chapters if you're not caught up.
Booth's Pov
I stood there pacing in the waiting room, not knowing what else I was supposed to do right now. When I'd arrived at the hospital with Michael, Angela had run over and hugged him, glad that he was okay, while I went straight over to Bones. That is when I found out that our daughter was currently undergoing surgery on her brain thanks to the accident, but that's all that Bones knew and it terrified her because brain injuries were very dangerous, unpredictable and could cause severe damage.
I'd gotten a call from my friend at the police station and told that Sofia was denying all involvement in this, however they had enough evidence to hold her because her bracelet was with Christine and the cameras recorded her in the school around the time of the attempted murder of my daughter. Sofia's parents had turned up at the police station too and were claiming this wasn't like their daughter, but I didn't personally care. I wished I could be there, but there was no way I was leaving this hospital until I knew what was happening with my daughter. I knew Sweets was intending to talk to Sofia, because he felt guilty that he hadn't told me what Christine told him and he felt like if he had done more, this could have been avoided.
We'd already been here for well over two hours and it was dark out. I'd been trying to do anything to keep busy and my mind off what had happened. I'd called Parker and told him what happened, as well as Max who said he'd be here soon enough. I'd told Michael that I'd call Kate if he wanted me to, but he said that he would once we knew what was happening. He figured that if I called her, I'd scare her to death after what happened with Darius and I figured he was right. Plus, he mentioned that she was pregnant and stress wasn't good.
"What's taking the doctors so long?" I complained because we had been here for ages and still had no idea what was happening with our daughter.
"Booth, pacing isn't going to help us right now." Bones said from where she was sitting with Angela and Cam. I knew she was just as scared for our daughter as I was. "That's the neurosurgeon."
I turned as Bones got up, and I saw the surgeon walk into the room. Bones came to my side as I stood there waiting.
"Mr. and Mrs. Booth?" He asked and I nodded, not bothering to correct him.
"How is she?" Bones asked and the surgeon sighed.
"We were able to stop the bleeding on your daughter's brain and we have stabilized her condition." He said and I shook my head.
"It took that long to do that?" I asked and he shook his head.
"No, unfortunately we had a few complications through the surgery – her pulse dropped suddenly and at one point her heart stopped, but we managed to stabilize her quickly. Her bleeding was rather severe, and we also had to deal with the bleeding on the exterior of her skull." He explained and I swear my heart nearly stopped. My daughter's heart had stopped.
"Does she have any other injuries?" Bones asked and the doctor nodded.
"We did do a complete C.T scan and M.R.I and found that she has a slight fracture to her left scapula, which will heal – other than that there is nothing wrong with her spine or the rest of her body, other than a lot of severe bruising over the entirety of her back, legs, shoulders and skull. In that aspect, she was incredibly lucky considering her situation. It's a miracle she didn't suffer any spine damage with how far she fell." The surgeon explained.
"But she's going to be fine now, isn't she?" Angela asked from my other side, where she had her hand on Michael's shoulder, who looked incredibly pale.
"Your daughter suffered a severe injury to her head, and while we were able to stop the bleeding, she has some swelling and bruising." He explained.
"Okay, what are you saying?" I demanded.
"Your daughter is in a coma." He said.
"You mean a medically induced coma until the swelling goes down?" Bones asked and the doctor looked remorseful.
"Yes, we have made sure that she remains unconscious so her brain has time to heal." He explained calmly. "However, there are some uncertainties. Your daughter was unconscious when she was found and brought in, and never regained consciousness at any point before she was rushed to surgery."
"When will she wake up?" Michael asked and I could see that the doctor didn't want to answer that.
"Right now, we're making sure she stays unconscious so her brain has a chance to heal, meaning we cannot bring her out until the swelling goes down. And even when we do take her out of her medically induced coma, I cannot guarantee she'll wake up immediately." He explained and I looked at him for a moment.
"Are you saying our daughter might never wake up?" I asked him.
"I'm saying that I honestly can't say anything for certain at this moment in time, because I just don't know. Damage to the brain is tricky, and we just can't know the affects it'll have on her until she wakes… if she wakes." He explained and I wanted this to just be a horrible nightmare. "You two can go and see her now, but only you two. I don't want more than two people in that room at a time."
"Please, follow me." The nurse said.
I looked down at Bones and the two of us followed the nurse while the others waited. I had to see my daughter, no matter how bad she looked.
"She's in here." The nurse said, motioning to the room. "Now you should be prepared. She does have a machine helping her breathe right now."
"We know." Bones said, before opening the door and walking into the room, with me following close behind her.
I stopped right after I went in though when I saw my daughter. I had tried my whole life to protect her and now she was lying in a hospital bed, with no promise that she would wake up. She looked pale and a bandage was wrapped around her head, and there was tube in her mouth to help her breath.
I watched as Bones sat down beside Christine's bed, reaching over and taking our daughters hand. I walked over to Bones and saw that she had tears in her eyes.
"Temperance." I said and she bowed her head.
"She shouldn't be like this Booth. She shouldn't be in this bed." She said.
"I know." I said, because this was the last thing I wanted.
"I don't like not knowing if we're going to get her back." She said as she squeezed Christine's hand. "I love her so much and she has been through so many things, but this is different Booth. We have no idea what this is going to do to her."
"Hey, hey, hey." I said as I pulled her out of her chair, pulling her into my arms. "We have raised a strong daughter who has managed to pull through even though life has thrown a lot of curve balls at her. She is going to pull through this."
"You don't know that. No one can know that." She said.
"No, but I have to have faith that she will, because I can't think of the alternative." I admitted.
"I'm going to go and ask the doctor for Christine's scans. I need to see just how bad it is, because I don't believe like you do." She said and I nodded.
"Alright, I'll be here." I said and I watched as she left, before I went over and sat in the chair that Bones had just been sitting in, taking Christine's hand in mine.
The only noise in the room was coming from the machines that was connected to my daughters' body. Everything else was silent and Christine was very still.
"Hey sweetheart, it's Dad." I said, hoping she could hear me right now. "When I was unconscious after my brain tumor, I could hear your mom talking to me, telling me a story, so I'm hoping that you can hear me right now. I need you to pull through this alright, I need you to be strong, because I can't lose my little girl."
I said and I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I had only been this scared in this way a handful of times in my life, and but in the last year I'd been scared out of my mind four times and all those times involved the life of my daughter.
"I'm so sorry that I haven't protected you well enough this last year. I promised to protect you before you were born, but in the last year I've failed four times. I knew that there would be a day that I couldn't protect you and your mother before you were even born, but I never thought I'd fail so many times." I said, before I moved and lightly touched her cheek. "I need you to be okay sweetheart, because I don't know what I'm going to do if you're not. Your mother and I, we couldn't handle losing you, so I need you to fight."
"Seeley." Cam said as she came into the room, placing her hands on my shoulders. "This is not your fault."
"I know that." I said, because I did. "But I can't lose her Camille. And I'm worried that I will. After everything that has happened – the poisoning, the abduction, her facing off against Darius' killer and now this – it's hard not to feel like I failed as her father lately."
"She'll pull through this Seeley, because she is your daughter and she is Brennan's, and you two have been through your fair share of pain and things like this and have pulled through. You're both also very stubborn in certain situations." She said confidently.
"I know, and I want to believe that and have to, but I just wish things were different. I wonder often what our lives would be like if things had been different. There's been so many times when someone should have died, but lived, and the other way around. I even sometimes wonder if Bones and I should have had more children. This is just making me wonder even more if I could have done something to stop the things that have hurt her in the last year."
"Thinking like that won't help." She said. "Just believe she'll wake up. Having faith and praying to god is your thing, so do that. Do anything other than blame yourself for what's happened to Christine."
I knew Cam was right and I knew that I had to believe and have faith that Christine would pull through this.
Kate's Pov
I sat on the couch, my hands resting on my very large stomach as I watched the T.V. We'd just finished dinner and I was resting, well, trying to rest. My daughter had other ideas – she was kicking the crap out of my stomach.
Suddenly my I-phone started ringing and I leant forward, grabbing it off the table. I knew who it was as my phone had announced that it was Michael who was calling me.
"Hey Michael, what are you doing calling me at this time? Aren't you supposed to be looking after Katherine?" I asked him, but there was only silence on the other end. "Michael?"
"Are Amanda and Simon there with you Kate?" He asked me, but his voice sounded odd.
"Yes, of course they are." I answered, weirded out now.
"Can you put me on speaker phone?" He asked and I did what he said, and after a moment, he spoke. "Amanda, can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can? What is it Michael?" She asked as she sat beside me on the couch.
"Are you beside Kate?" He asked and now I was beginning to worry.
"Yes." Amanda said.
"Good, I need you to keep her calm." He said and now I was really beginning to worry. "Kate, I need you to remember that your pregnant and you can't freak out, because you need to take care of your child."
Now I was terrified something had happened and I was terrified that it had happened to Christine. "Michael, please tell me this has nothing to do with Christine." I begged.
"I wish I could." He said and I saw Amanda pale beside me. "Kate, I… I don't want to tell you this."
"Just tell me." I demanded, because Christine was my best friend and if Sofia hurt her…
"She's in the hospital Kate." He told me and I knew I paled as I suddenly started to feel sick. "She was shoved down the stairs at school by Sofia and suffered a severe head injury. She had to have brain surgery and while they managed to fix the damage, she's in a medically induced coma."
"When is she going to wake up?" I asked after a minute, once I took in what he had just told me. I was doing my best not to freak for the sake of my daughter. I had to remember that I had to take care of her. Michael didn't answer. "Michael?"
"They can't take her out until her brain heals, but…" He started, but he cut off for a moment. "Kate, brain injuries are unpredictable and she never woke up before surgery. Even when they bring her out of her induced coma, it doesn't mean she'll wake up straight away."
I realized what he was saying. "Are you saying she might not wake up?"
"I'm saying I don't know Kate, but I have to believe she will." Michael explained.
"I'm coming in there." I said, as I had to see this for myself.
"Kate, it'd be better if you waited till morning." Michael said and I scoffed.
"Not for me it wouldn't be, so I'll be in there soon." I said, before hanging up on him. My best friend was in the hospital, I was not staying home.
"I'll drive you to the hospital." Simon said and I nodded, getting off the couch so I could get a jacket and bag.
I was terrified right now that there was a strong chance, I could lose my best friend and I wouldn't be able to stand that. I'd already lost the guy I loved and the father of my unborn child, I could not lose the person who gave me the strength to get through that. I couldn't understand why all this bad kept happening.
Michael's Pov
I sat there looking down at my phone, since Kate had just hung up on me. I hadn't wanted to tell her what had happened, both because she was pregnant and I honestly didn't want to believe that this was happening myself. My girlfriend was in a hospital bed because of the girl she tried to warn me about. I had been so blind and, like an idiot, I'd thought she was just being jealous. I hadn't seen what she'd seen and now she might not wake up.
"Here honey, I brought you something to eat." Mom said as she sat beside me, holding out a sandwich.
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry." I said, because I really wasn't. I honestly felt sick.
"You really should eat." She said.
"Mom, I honestly don't have an appetite right now." I said and she sighed, but she placed down the food.
"Alright, but can you at least talk to me. I don't want you to think you have to go through this alone." She said and I looked at her, trying to keep my tears at bay.
"I thought she was just being jealous." I admitted, shaking my head. "I've known Christine since we were born and I was so stupid that I just figured she was jealous of Sofia spending time with me. I should have known that that wasn't what it was; I should have believed her."
Mom placed a hand on my shoulder. "Michael, you couldn't have known what Sofia was going to do." She was trying to reassure me, but it wasn't working.
"If I'd gone to school today, or even if I'd believed Christine, this might not have happened to her. Christine might not be lying in that bed." I said and I knew now that there was no stopping the tears. "She might never wake up Mom."
Mom's response to that was to hug me. I knew she was scared too, because she'd seen Christine grow up with me, Christine was the child of her best friend, she was Christine's godmother and she loved her. I just hated the thought of Christine never waking up. I'd lost my best friend when Darius had been killed, I couldn't stand losing the girl I loved and the person who knew me best in this world.
"Angela?" I heard Sweets ask and I looked up to see him standing there. "How is Christine?"
"She's out of surgery, but the doctors say she has a long way to go and that, even when they bring her out of her induced coma, she might not wake up straight away because she didn't wake up before surgery." Mom said.
"Oh god." Sweets said, before looking around. "Are Booth and Brennan with her now?"
"They went in a while ago, but Brennan went to speak to the doctors. Neither of them is handling this well, which I can't blame them for. Everyone is worried about her right now." Mom said.
"Sweets, I thought you were with Sofia." Booth said as he came out of Christine's hospital room.
"I was Booth, but I wanted to see how Christine was, and honestly, I was getting nowhere with Sofia." Sweets admitted.
"What happened?" Booth asked.
"Well, she's still claiming she's done nothing wrong for one, but the police have enough to hold her." Sweets said.
"How can she claim she's innocent when so much says she's guilty?" I asked. I knew no one admitted they tried to kill someone, but still.
"I didn't say she was claiming she was innocent, I said that she keeps claiming she did nothing wrong." Sweets pointed out.
"What's the difference Sweets?" Booth asked.
"Sofia is delusional; in her mind, Michael is in love with her. He's her world right now. In her mind, Christine was the object that was standing in-between her and Michael. Following that logic, I honestly believe that she doesn't believe what she has done is wrong." Sweets explained and I hated that I had been so blind to it. "Through all my questions, Sofia only referred to Christine as "She" and "Her", never by her actual name. She showed no remorse, no guilt and even show no empathy when told Christine was in hospital. The only thing she wanted to know was where Michael was and when could she see him."
"She's that obsessed with me?" I asked, as I wanted clarification, because if I was right, I had an idea of how to get her to admit what she'd done.
Sweets looked at me then. "Yes. She's obsessed to a rather frightening level. You're a god in her eyes Michael, she wants you to acknowledge her and praise her. In her eyes, you can do no wrong and love her unconditionally, meaning she can do no wrong. In simple terms, she's nuts. She even told her parents that you were her boyfriend."
"Meaning I might be the key to getting her to admit the truth." I said and all three of them looked at me. "Put me in a room with her."
"Okay, no, I don't want you anywhere near her. She tried to kill Christine because of her obsession with you." Mom said, sounding very strict.
"I know that, but I'll be in a crowded police station, or we can even do it at the F.B.I if that's safer. If she's that obsessed with me, I might be able to convince her that I won't be mad if she tells me the truth. If I play along with it, I might be able to get her a confession from her." I said, because I was thinking about this logically. The evidence that the police had wasn't a lot and didn't mean she'd be imprisoned or sent to a psych facility for what she's done.
"It's wrong, but right now it might be the only thing that gets a guaranteed conviction." Sweets said, while I looked at Mom.
"Mom, right now there's not enough to make sure she doesn't get away with what she did Christine. I want to make sure she can't get away with it." I said.
"Michael." Booth said, causing me to look at him. "Are you sure that you're okay with doing this?"
"She put Christine in that bed, and because of what she did there's a chance Christine might not wake up for a while or possibly not at all, and even if she does make it through this, she might not be the same. I'm hoping she'll be fine more than anything, I don't want Sofia getting away with trying to kill her." I said, because I wasn't cruel, but I did believe in justice.
"You can go speak with her in the morning, since it's too late now." Booth said. "For now, you should go visit Christine. I knew she'd love to hear your voice."
I didn't really want to see Christine that way, but I also didn't want to leave her alone. "Kate's on her way here, so can you wait for her Mom?"
"Of course." Mom said.
"Kate's coming here now? That can't be good for her or the baby." Booth said.
"Yeah, well she wouldn't take no for an answer and I can't blame her. She's already lost Darius; she can't not be here for this." I said, because even though I'd told her to remain home, I didn't blame her for coming.
"Well I need to go home. Daisy called and, to be honest, I really just want to see Seeley and Lily." Sweets said, and I could get why (A/N alright, before anyone reminds me that that's not what I named Sweets and Daisy's kids, I'm aware. However, since I'm watching Bones again, I've decided I really do want to change his sons name to Seeley and change his daughters name too. I will be going back and editing that in the previous chapters soon enough, meaning when I can be bothered, and obviously I won't be changing Sweets sons age to what it would be if it was in the show, but I might make the kids a bit older. I can't change it too much or else I'm in for a major headache, also I might miss some areas where I have to edit as I can't remember every time I mentioned them.)
"I get it Sweets, go home and see your kids." Booth said.
"Call me if you need anything." Sweets said before walking off, while I turned to go to Christine's room.
I stood outside the door for a moment, taking in all that I was seeing. Christine was lying in the bed with a tube helping her to breathe. I couldn't see her hair as her head was bandaged up. She was so pale and as I walked over to her and sat down, I wished I was dreaming.
"Hey." I said, taking her hand. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm sorry. I know this isn't my fault, but I keep thinking that if things had been different, you wouldn't be here. I know you won't hate me, but I wish I'd believed you more when you told me about Sofia and not been such an idiot."
It felt weird not hearing her speak back, but I could almost hear her say "well you've always kinda been an idiot, so no surprise there" which made me smile.
"You better not sleep too long Christine, because I fully intend to come every day and annoy you till you wake up, because a world without you won't be too bright, so you better fight and wake up okay." I said, because I would come and annoy her because I'd rather do that then believe she wouldn't wake up. "You've got to be strong and pull through this okay. You can sleep, but please don't sleep forever because you have people out here that need you. Please don't let Sofia take you away from us. I'll deal with her so you don't have to once you wake up."
I just held her hand for a while after that, knowing that there wasn't much more I could do. Right now, she wouldn't wake up no matter what I said as she was meant to be asleep. The doctors had to keep her that way so her brain had time to heal.
"Michael?" I heard Kate asked and I turned my head to see her standing in the doorway, a hand near her mouth.
"I know she looks bad." I said, hoping she didn't get too stressed out as I didn't want her to considering she was pregnant. "But don't worry, I'm going to make sure Sofia doesn't get away with this and I know Christine will wake up."
"How can you be sure?" Kate asked as she came over to me.
"Because after everything we've been through in the last year, I know she's a fighter. She's Booth's daughter, who's been through so much and is still alive, so I've gotta believe that she'll wake up because she doesn't want to put us through the pain." I said, because I knew my girl was a fighter and I had to hope that she'd fight hard to stay alive.
"She better, because my little girl already has to grow up without a father. I don't want her growing up without her godmother and aunt." Kate said, a hand resting on her stomach. "But are how you going to make sure Sofia doesn't get away with it?"
"Don't worry about it." I said and suddenly I was slapped across the back of the head, causing me to flinch forward before I turned my head to look at Kate. "What the heck was that for?"
"The last person who said that to me is currently lying in a hospital bed, so for the love of god, stop treating me like a delicate flower and tell me what's going on." She said in frustration and I sighed.
"I'm going to go see Sofia and trick her into admitting what she did. According to Sweets, she's obsessed with me, completely, so I'm the best person to get her to fess up." I admitted.
"That's very crafty." Kate said.
"I know, but after what she's done, I don't care. Besides, she's dangerous; we can't let her go back out onto the street right now." I said.
"I'm not disagree with your plan; I just wish things were different. I wish Darius was still alive and I wish Christine wasn't in this bed." Kate admitted.
"You're not the only one who wishes Darius was alive, and I can't help but think that if I hadn't gotten with Christine, she wouldn't be in this bed." I admitted, because as much as I loved Christine, she was in this bed because she was dating me. Sofia attacked her because Sofia became obsessed with me, which she wouldn't have done if we weren't dating.
She placed her hands on my shoulders. "Hey, you and Christine love each other, so don't think you shouldn't be together. Besides, you and Christine had a bond long before you started dating, you've always been close. Don't let Sofia ruin what you two have." Kate said, before she squeezed my shoulders. "Besides, if you break up with Christine over this once she wakes up, I will kick your ass so bad you won't be able to sit for a year."
I chuckled at that, because I knew she would. "I know you would, but I'm afraid you'd be too late. If I break up with Christine over this, my mother will kill me, if Booth doesn't do it first." I said, thought I was certain my mother would get to me first.
"You're probably right about that one." Kate said, before sighing and I looked to see that she was staring straight at Christine. "She's looks so peaceful. I wonder if she's just sleeping or if she can dream."
"According to my mom, when Booth was in his coma after his brain surgery, he dreamed about a story Brennan was telling him, so I hope she's dreaming about something good." I told her.
If Christine had to be asleep, I hoped it was peaceful, but I also hoped that if she was dreaming, that she was having a beautiful dream.
