(The Blackout in the Blizzard)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I really don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

"Crimeo-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever. Shit!" Booth was furious. "Rescue innocent victims from a murderous pimp and this is my reward." He couldn't believe that he hadn't gotten out of the way when Brennan hit Tariq in the back with a board, but to be fair he was standing in shin deep snow and you can't just jump out of the way when you're surrounded by a lot of snow.

While he waited to see if he was infected with a fatal disease or not, the hospital had him in isolation to protect the other patients in the hospital. He wasn't sure where his partner had wandered off to, but he wished she had stayed with him. The room didn't have a television and he was bored.

Literally twiddling his thumbs, he heard the door to his room open and he looked up. Spying his partner dressed in a green smock and a face mask, Booth was a little creeped out. "Am I contagious?"

Brennan closed the door behind her and moved closer to the bed where Booth lay. "I don't know yet. I asked if I could stay with you and they insisted I take precautions." She thought he looked upset, but she wasn't sure. "I told them that I rode in the car over here with you, but that didn't seem to impress them . . . They have to do some blood tests, but they'll know for certain in an hour or so."

Glumly, Booth nodded his head and spied a bag in Brennan's left hand. Curious, he pointed at the bag. "What's that? I hope it's food, I'm hungry."

"No, it's not food." She wished she had thought to buy her partner something to eat, but her mind had been on other things. "I can go to the cafeteria and get you something."

Booth held up his hand and shook his head. "Nah, don't bother. I can wait until I get out of here." He pointed at the bag once more. "So, if you don't have anything to eat then what's in the bag?"

Amused, Brennan always found Booth to be like a child when it came to presents or what he hoped was presents. He loved the mystery of the unknown when he was given something in a bag or a wrapped box and she found that to be charming. "I have a present for you." She handed him the bag and sat down on the chair next to the bed.

"Why did you buy me a present? It's not like I'm staying or anything. I'm not even sick." Booth loved presents, but now he was worried about his partner's motives. "Am I? Sick I mean?"

"Booth I told you I don't know yet." She saw the worry on his face and now regretted giving him the present. "Hannah told me that whenever you visit someone in the hospital you are required to bring that person a present. She said it is a social obligation."

Not sure why Hannah would tell his partner something like that, Booth shook his head. "That's not really true. I mean sure, it's nice to bring a patient a present, but nothing says you have to do it. It's nice when you visit someone in the hospital and the patient is usually grateful for the company, well unless they're unconscious or a jerk, but no one expects presents."

Puzzled, Brennan pursed her lips and tried to determine what Hannah's motive had been to tell her something that Booth considered untrue. "When she was shot and I went to visit her after her surgery, I didn't have a present for her and she told me it was obligatory . . . I gave her my sunglasses."

Feeling his temper rise, Booth exhaled deeply trying to rein it in. After all, Brennan was the victim here not him. "I don't know what she was up to, but you didn't have to give her your sunglasses. She conned them out of you . . . I hope they weren't expensive."

"They were expensive." Brennan felt foolish and she didn't like the feeling. "It would appear she did con me . . . well, that's in the past and since I don't know where Hannah is I can't get my sunglasses back."

Booth was embarrassed that Hannah had pulled such a mean trick on Brennan, but there was nothing he could do about it now. "I'm sorry, Bones." He stared at the bag and slowly offered the bag back. "Maybe you should just return this. You're not obligated to buy me anything."

"No, Booth. I want you to have the present." She may not be obligated to give her partner a present, but she didn't care. He was in the hospital and she wanted to cheer him up. "I insist you keep it."

"Well, if you're sure." Booth placed the bag on his stomach and gave his partner a smile. "I wonder what's in here?"

Unable to prevent it, Brennan rolled her eyes. "If you will open the bag, you will find out."

"Don't be a spoil sport, Bones, guessing is part of the fun." Booth chuckled. "The anticipation is just as important as the gift." He loved gifts and he didn't really care what the gift was. It was the thought that counted. "Hm, it's too small to be a basketball or a hockey stick . . . It's the right size to be a baseball, but it's not heavy enough . . . Could be a hockey puck . . . nah, I don't think the hospital gift shop sells hockey pucks . . ."

"Booth, for goodness sake, you don't have to guess. You can just open the bag and look inside." Even though she knew what was in the bag, his prolonging the gift giving was starting to annoy her.

Amused, Booth smiled as he opened the bag and glanced at his partner. "Anticipation, Bones. It's the anticipation." Once the bag was opened, he looked inside and was surprised at what he found. "Hey, I've always wanted a teddy bear." It was small, a mere four inches, but it was wearing a red, white and blue scarf around its neck and there was a little red heart on its chest. "Thanks Bones."

She was surprised that he actually liked it, but she had loved it when she had seen it in the Gift Shop and she had wanted to buy it for her partner. "I've never owned a teddy bear either . . . Do you really like it? I know it's a toy, but . . . "

"You kidding me? Of course I like it." He knew it was silly and he was a grown man, but he remembered how he had wanted one as a child, but never got one. "I asked my Mom for a teddy bear for Christmas when I was a kid, but my Dad said that dolls were for sissies . . . I got a back hand across the mouth and I never asked for one again." He wasn't sure why he'd told his partner that story, but she was his friend and sometimes his memories were just too much to hold in. He knew he could count on her not to tell anyone else. "I really like the bear, Bones. I do and I appreciate it. Thank you."

His story made her flinch, but she knew that he was just being honest with her. That honesty was what she valued in her friend. "You're welcome . . . it's still snowing outside, but not as badly as earlier today . . . I hope no one takes your stadium seats. It would be a shame if someone stole them."

Booth snorted. "Ha! When I put that note on the seats I signed it FBI Special Agent Booth. No one is going to take my seats, believe me." He was confident that his neighbors would not want to screw with him. "When we get out of here, let's go pick up some food, go back to my place and get my seats into my apartment."

It sounded like a good idea to Brennan. "Of course and perhaps I can give you another massage. Falling under Tariq may have aggravated your back again."

The memory of Brennan's hands on his thighs earlier that day in the elevator made Booth feel tingly and just a little warm. "I think I'm okay. I think the first massage did the trick, but thanks." He wasn't sure letting her feel him up was the best thing he could let her do to him. It might make him react in a way that might embarrass them both. He was still shocked his boys hadn't responded earlier in the elevator. Thank God. "Hey, I think I still have ice cream in the freezer. Once we eat we can make sundaes."

"Sundaes? Booth we were just in a blizzard. The city is covered in snow." Sometimes Booth's ideas were impulsive and very strange.

"So? What does that have to do with ice cream?" His partner had strange quirks, but that was okay. He did too. "You can eat ice cream anytime. It's the perfect dessert, well maybe not perfect, but damn close."

It was an old argument that neither of them ever seemed to win. "What flavor is the ice cream?"

"Butter pecan." Booth smiled. He knew she loved butter pecan ice cream. "I also have some chocolate."

"Well, in that case, your plan sounds perfect." She liked to spend evenings with her partner. They were such good friends and she valued that so much. She hoped that it turned in to more someday, but for now it was enough.

They were interrupted by a physician holding a clip board in his hand. "Mr. Booth, good news you are not contagious, but on the other hand we need you to take a prescription of Ribavirin. It's an antiviral medication. You need to make sure you take all of the pills in the prescription."

"So, I can go?" Booth slid off the bed and looked around for his shoes. "Bones, where's my shoes and coat?"

Brennan opened the closet door and pulled out the items Booth was looking for. Once Booth slipped on his shoes, he took the prescription from the doctor and placed it in his shirt pocket. "Thanks Doc." While pulling on his coat, he stuffed his teddy bear in his coat pocket and waited for Brennan to remove the green smock that covered her clothes and the mask over her mouth. Ready to go, he grabbed her hand and pulled her from the room. "Okay what do you want to eat? I want some hot dogs. I know you don't eat meat, but we can find something for you. Hot dogs with chili, cheese and onions. Got to have onions."

Appalled at his food choices, all Brennan could do was shake her head. "That sandwich shop near your apartment sells a good vegetable soup. We can stop there."

As he hurried from the hospital, Booth smiled at the sight of the snow still blanketing the city. "It's pretty Bones . . . I hope it melts fast though. No one around here can drive in snow . . . Popcorn. Maybe we can eat popcorn instead of ice cream. Oh yeah, with lots of butter."

"We have to get your prescription first." Brennan followed her partner to his SUV listening to him talk about popcorn and beer and how they went well together. She loved her partner even if she couldn't say it out loud. He was fun to be with most of the time and she admired how he was able to bounce back when he was hurt or sick most of the time. "The prescription, Booth."

"I know Bones." Booth unlocked his SUV and hopped in waiting for his partner. "Okay, let's get this show on the road. Prescription, food, beer, my seats. Lots to do, but we can do it."

She slid into the SUV and closed the door. "Yes, we can. We can do anything we want to do."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.