(After The Brother in the Basement)

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His breathing even, Brennan watched her husband while he slept. It had been such a close thing and if he hadn't thought to use the silver nitrate to cauterize the wound he would have bled out before she had found him. The fact that Booth was smarter than he liked those around him to believe made everyone under estimate him, everyone except her. She had known he would find a way to save himself at least long enough to be found. She had counted on that and his survival had justified her faith in him.

Still, as she sat there watching him sleep, she was reminded of another time and another place in their history together.

The brain tumor, or more precisely the cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma had changed everything in their lives and yet it had changed nothing. That had been a complicated time for everyone, but especially for Booth and it was all her doing.

Booth talked about his dream sometimes and she listened attentively as he talked about the club they owned, the flashy clothes they wore and how it still seemed so real to him, or at least the parts he still remembered. Everyone that has heard about the dream had commented about how intricate the dream had been and yet no one ever questioned why he had that particular dream. No one seemed to realize that that dream had been her doing. That was her secret and she wanted it to remain that way too. Not even Booth knew that his dream had been created by her.

She had sat next to him, in the hospital room and had written a story just for Booth. That story had been a source of comfort to her and as she wrote it she spoke the words out loud for her partner to hear. She had wanted to anchor him to this world and she had used her words to do it. The thought of him never waking up had almost been more than she could bear. She had hoped that her voice would lead him back to her.

She had never written a story like that before, but that was because this story was personal. She pictured a life with Booth as her husband and she had told that story. In that dream, they had been club owners and neither of them had anything to do with death and murder. They had been suspects in a murder investigation that's true, but the important part of that story was that they weren't the investigators. Booth and she were living a happy life filled with music and a life filled with love.

Their club was successful and Booth was loved by everyone. That was important. In real life, Booth had few friends and almost no family and Brennan wanted to create a world where her friend had those things and more. His employees were his friends and they were loyal to him. In that fictitious place, she loved him and was going to have a baby with him. Booth had a very happy life in her story because that is what she wanted him to have.

Brennan had also added things that made her happy too. She had envisioned a world where she was strong and not impervious. She was brave and not afraid to commit herself to her best friend. Surprisingly, she was able to see herself as married and happy in that role. Her yearning for a baby was added into the story. Instead of using his semen to create a baby she had, to use the words Angela had used, let Booth make a direct deposit.

That phrase amused her now, but when Angela had first mentioned it so long ago it had made her very uncomfortable. Not because she thought that having sex with Booth would be disastrous, far from it. She always assumed that they would be compatible and that was what had prevented her from having sex with her friend at the time. She couldn't commit herself to him and he would have taken her consent to have sex as commitment.

Now she just shook her head when she thought of that time in her life. She had everything now and she knew that her fears had kept her from seeing just how much Booth was meant to be in her life.

That story that she had written in the hospital, that deleted novel had been her attempt to give Booth what he needed at the time, a reason to live and to come back to her.

Now, once more sitting in another hospital room, watching her husband struggle to live, she didn't need the comfort of a fictitious world and neither did Booth. They were married and they had two children created by making love.

Their lives were twinned together and there was no way she could imagine that they could ever be separated. They had a happy life and they truly loved each other. Their friendship was stronger than ever and it was the glue that kept them together. No matter what hardships they suffered, their loyalty to each other kept them together and willing to do anything to make sure that their center held.

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Groggy, his vision blurry and in a lot of pain, Booth opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling above him. Curious, he stared at it for a few minutes and decided that he really did hate hospitals. "Bones?" His voice weak, he struggled to turn his head. Hands touched the sides of his face and he knew he wasn't alone. "I had the weirdest dream, Bones."

Grateful that he was awake, Brennan kissed him softly on the lips. "What kind of dream?"

His vision a little clearer, Booth stared into her beautiful crystal blue eyes. "I . . . I was back at the club . . . you know from my coma dream and . . . and it was nice, but I didn't want to stay, Bones. I wanted to leave because somehow I knew it was a dream and . . . I wanted you, the real you."

Sobbing, Brennan closed her eyes and placed her forehead against his forehead, her hands still on the sides of his face. "I was so worried, Booth . . . you lost so much blood and . . ." Her words trailing off, she opened her eyes and kissed him once more. "I knew you would find a way to survive until I found you."

Weary, Booth closed his eyes. "I had to come back to you, Bones. I promised I'd never leave you and I never will. I love you."

Tears sliding down her cheeks, Brennan watched his eyelids flutter close and his breathing even out. Asleep, he looked like he was in less pain. The lines on his forehead were gone and that made him look younger. She knew he would be fine and that time would take care of everything. This time he hadn't needed a story to bring him back to her. His love for her and the fact that she was waiting for him was all he needed to return.

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