Title: Deja Vu

Disclaimer: Language, violence

Chapter Nine: By My Side

Brennan closed her eyes; she'd been in the waiting room for about an hour. The night was getting late and she didn't think there'd be enough sleeping hours before work tomorrow morning. Angela would tell her to take the day off but she couldn't do that. Not with a body waiting for some justice. She couldn't even remember the last time she took a day off, that's how rare an event it was. Her job had become her life, and for the first time she had tried to have a life outside work. Go figure, it ended in a hospital. She had torn her dress when trying to lift Booth back into the SUV after finding him out cold in the grass. She had been about to give up when a police cruiser pulled up behind her. The officer probably thought she was trying to ditch a dead body or something. Quickly searching Booth's pockets she smiled inwardly when her fingers brushed against his FBI badge. After showing it to the officer they got him back in the car and she was given a police escort to the hospital. Where she continued to wait.

She looked down at the tear in her dress. Angela would never forgive her for this, and that's the one reason Brennan hated fancy clothes; they tore too easily. They just weren't functional, not in her life. Feeling exhausted and in need of some support she pulled her cell phone from her little black purse. Would it be too late to call Angela? There wasn't anyone else she could phone. Zack and Hodgins wouldn't be sympathetic to her problem. At times, they were a bit childish and immature, like most men. She dialed the number. It rang three times before Angela picked up.

"Hello?" her voice sounded foggy with sleep.

Brennan instantly regretted calling her. After all, Angela had to work tomorrow too. "I'm sorry that I woke you," she apologized, unsure of what else to say.

"Temperance?" recognition filling Angela's voice. Brennan heard the rustling of fabric as Angela sat up in bed. "What's going on? You sound upset. Did something bad happen at dinner?"

"You could say that," sighed Brennan, relaxing against the back of the chair she sat in. "I'm at the hospital. Booth got really sick and passed out. I've been waiting here for nearly two hours and they still haven't said anything to me. I just wanted someone to talk to."

"Oh, sweetie, everything's going to be okay," assured Angela. "He probably just ate something that he had an allergic reaction to."

Brennan shook her head and then remembered that Angela couldn't see her. "No, this wasn't an allergic reaction. I don't really want to put it out there but I think he was poisoned. The way he was sweating and shaking. He looked terrible."

"But why would anyone want to poison Booth?" Angela asked in a voice full of curiosity.

"He is an FBI agent, Angela. I'm sure that he has pissed off a lot of people in his line of work. A lot of people who wouldn't mind getting even," Brennan said. "I bet it was that cake," she mused after a moment. "Someone bought us a piece of this odd looking cake and Booth took a bite of it. He said it had an interesting taste. I didn't touch it and I'm healthy. Someone sent use poisoned cake."

Angela chewed her bottom lip. "That means they could have been targeting you. Or maybe it was both of you. Do you have any enemies?"

"Everyone has enemies, Angela, it's part of life," Brennan replied. She looked up and saw a doctor in a white coat glancing at a sheet. He looked in her direction. "Listen, Ang, I have to go. The doctor is finally here. Sorry again that I woke you up."

"You can't just hang up on me," protested Angela. "I have to know what happens to Booth. Call me back, okay?"

"I'll fill you in when I see you at work tomorrow," she didn't wait for an answer before hanging up the phone.

Seeing that she had finished her conversation, the doctor walked over to her. He flipped through some paperwork on a clipboard before looking at her again. "Ms. Brennan?"

"Yes? Please tell me he's okay."

The doctor smiled at her, giving her hope that Booth would indeed be okay. "Your quick thinking could have very much saved his life," the doctor said, not making it clear whether or not Booth was okay. "We pumped his stomach after finding traces of poison in a rushed blood sample. We were not able to identify the substance as it was only starting to enter his bloodstream. The trace we had was too small. However, we may be able to get something from his stomach contents."

Brennan didn't want to hear anymore medical mumbo jumbo. She wasn't at work and she was worried about her friend. "But he's okay now, right?"

The doctor gave a little nod with his head. "He's resting at the moment. We gave him some intravenous floods to help. I would like to keep him here for the rest of the night, if that's okay. If all seems fine in the morning he can go home. But I would request that he take a day or two off; his system had a bit of a shock."

The news filled her with relief. Had she just taken him home like she'd originally planned he'd be dead by the morning. Shaking that thought from her mind she asked, "May I see him now?"

The doctor dropped the clipboard to his side. "Sure you can, he might even like that. Just follow me."

She followed the doctor passed nurses and rooms that other patients occupied. Finally they reached a room where the door was closed. The doctor gave her a go ahead nod and told her to stay as long as she liked, but not to make too much noise, as other people were trying to sleep. She thanked him before opening the door and stepping inside the room. The soft light kept the white walls from being too harsh. Why did hospitals always have to be white? Booth lay in the bed, under the cover of a light blue blanket, his breathing was regular and he looked to be asleep. An IV drip was connected to his left arm and they had him hooked to a heart monitor; just incase.

Pulling up a chair she sat down beside the bed. Booth didn't make any movement, no signs that he was going to wake up soon. Brennan took his warm hand in hers and a gave a little squeeze. Though his muscles responded by curling around her hand he still didn't wake up. She decided to let him sleep and sat there, watching his chest rise and fall. He didn't look so big and powerful now and that scared her a bit. She didn't want to lose him. She wished that he would wake up and smile at her. Until now she never realized how much she loved that smile.