Well, it's not the Poseidon Adventure, but there is a morning after for the Bones folks. Curious? Keep on reading...

By 9:00 AM the next morning, Brennan made her way back to Booth's hospital room. She hesitated in the doorway as she realized he already had a visitor.

"Of course, there'll be an investigation, just like there always is when deadly force is used by an agent, but right now it appears that Agent Aubrey's actions were justified." Deputy Director Stark smoothed his tie nervously as he spoke in his usual condescending tone. "It doesn't look good for the Bureau's reputation, though...two persons of interest killed within hours of each other by federal agents, and at the same place of business, too. I feel sure there'll be some sort of shit from the Hill about our excessive use of force."

Booth groaned softly as he turned to glare at Stark. "Listen, Agent Shaw saved Hunter Geren's life, and Aubrey saved mine. It's not our fault that both of the guys we wanted to interview went off half cocked just because we were gonna ask them some hard questions, okay? We were just doing our job, and someone tried to kill us for it."

Stark held up his hands in surrender as he attempted to pacify the angry agent. "Don't get yourself worked up, Booth. I know...I know what you're saying is true and I agree 100 percent. I'm just saying that you might want to be prepared to answer a lot of questions from the Senate subcommittee about how we run the show. Senator Winters seems to have it in for the Bureau, but she might be willing to wait until you're able to walk to a hearing by yourself...oh, good morning, Dr. Brennan…"

"Good morning." She smiled at her husband as she walked into the room. "How's our patient today?"

"I'll be fine as soon as I get out of this goddamn hospital." Booth tried to sit up in his bed, but it was obvious he was still in a great deal of pain. "I need to go home and get cleaned up so I can go to back to work and figure out why Sipoletti went off the deep end."

Stark shook his head as he moved toward the door. "Absolutely not, Booth. I don't want to see you at the office for at least a week." The director nodded at Brennan. "Good to see you again, Dr. Brennan. I wish the circumstances were different…"

"As do I." Her expression made it plain that she wanted the visitor to leave. "I'll make sure Booth follows the doctor's orders."

"Thank you." Stark turned to Booth with a small smile. "You can't come to the office, but, of course, I can't control what you do at home. Goodbye."

"Yeah, right. Thanks." Booth reached up to take his wife's hand so he wouldn't be tempted to give the man the one fingered salute. "Jesus, I thought he'd never leave. Can you believe he had the nerve to question whether or not Aubrey should've shot Sipoletti? Son of a bitch…"

"Booth…please calm down. I'm sure that the Deputy Director realizes that Aubrey did the right thing, but he also has to think of protocol as well. That's part of his job." Brennan leaned over to give him a kiss. "Things will work out…"

"I know they will. I'm just cranky from being stuck in this bed." He winked at her as he continued. "I guess you found something to eat, right?" Seeing her nod in the affirmative, he tried once again to get comfortable in his bed. "Hey, did you bring me anything for breakfast? Jesus, I'm starving. How's Aubrey? Where are Christine and Hank? Dammit...I promised Christine I'd be careful! Did you manage to get any sleep last night? You must be exhausted..."

"I'm fine, Booth." Brennan smiled indulgently as she listened to Booth's random string of questions. "Well, I can tell you're feeling better. I didn't bring you any breakfast because I haven't spoken to your doctor yet about whether or not you have any dietary restrictions with the medications you'll be prescribed for pain."

Booth interrupted. "Let me guess...you're gonna make sure I'm restricted to no bacon, right?"

"You know I'd never do that to you.", Brennan said, laughing as she sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"Have you heard anything about Aubrey? How's he doing?", Booth asked anxiously.

"I haven't checked on Aubrey this morning, but I know his surgery went well last night. The repair to the artery was extensive, but the doctor is confident that the arterial graft will be successful. After he was moved to a room, Ms. Warren stayed the night with him. After I was satisfied that you were sleeping well, I went home to check on the children. Mrs. Applegate had picked both of them up after school and fed them dinner. Of course they were very concerned about you, but I explained that your wounds were not as bad as the last time you were injured. As you can imagine, they were quite relieved. I had intended to take them home, but then Mrs. Applegate volunteered to keep them overnight so I could come back to the hospital to stay the night in your room with you. She'll take Christine to school this morning, and will pick her up this afternoon. Angela will drop Hank off at daycare, and I'll take him home after I check in at the lab later today."

"Okay. It sounds like you have everything under control. Listen, I gotta get out of here. I've got work to do…", Booth growled, thrashing around on his hospital bed. "You've got to get the doctor to let me go home, Bones."

Stroking Booth's arm, she shook her head. "I'm not sure the doctor will want to release you today, but we'll see…"

He sighed heavily. "I know. Wishful thinking on my part, I guess." Leaning back in the bed, Booth closed his eyes. "Jesus, Bones...I was so fucking scared yesterday. I just knew I'd lost Aubrey…"

"But you didn't lose him. Your quick thinking saved his life." She clasped his hand in hers as she continued softly. "Do you want to talk about it? About what happened?"

"I guess...I mean, that's what I was telling Stark. It all happened so damn fast. Earlier that day I'd gone to see Vincent Sipoletti while Aubrey was taking Genny back to the Hoover. However, he wasn't there, so I gave my card to his secretary and to a few other people in the office and went back to work. Then one of the traders called and tipped us off that the guy was back at his office, so I grabbed Aubrey and we hauled ass back to Histavark. As luck would have it, though, when we got there, his secretary said he'd just left again. When we got to our vehicle, we saw his car was still there, so we waited for him to show up. I stood there, keeping an eye on the vehicle while Aubrey tried to call Jessica. I guess they'd had a fight and he was trying to make up with her or something."

"I know, Booth. She spent Tuesday night at our house and told me about her fight with Aubrey."

Booth looked at his wife with confusion. "Why did your squint spend the night, Bones? That's kinda weird..."

"I'm assuming with everything that happened yesterday Genny never had time to tell you what happened at the lab, but I'll explain that later.", Brennan replied, squeezing her husband's hand. Seeing his worried expression, she shook her head. "It's nothing to be concerned about. Agent Shaw has things under control. Go ahead, Booth."

"Anyway, Aubrey quickly hung up and we hurried over to the car and identified ourselves, of course...I think Aubrey even flashed his badge. We said we wanted to ask him some questions about Phillip Aubrey, and Vinnie just went white, you know? Like he'd seen a ghost or something...almost weak in the knees. He shook us off, telling us that he had nothing to say…" Booth bit his lip as he thought about what happened next. "I should've seen it coming…"

"Booth, what happened was not your fault." Brennan patted his hand, smiling sympathetically. "Nobody blames you…"

"It is my fault. I'm an experienced agent. I should've read the guy's body language. Thinking back on what happened, it's pretty obvious now that Sipoletti was in a state of panic." He heaved a shuddering sigh. "Anyway, he reached for the door handle of the car with his left hand, and he reached into his suit jacket with his right hand. We told him to stop what he was doing...to keep his hands where we could see them...and then he pulled out a pistol from underneath his jacket and started firing. I guess he hit me first because I was closer, and I fell over, hitting my shoulder hard on the pavement. He was gonna shoot me again, but by then, Aubrey had pulled out his gun. He told Vinnie to drop his weapon, but instead, Vinnie shot Aubrey twice before I could do anything about it."

"And then Aubrey shot Vinnie…"

"Yeah. He saved my life, Bones...Aubrey saved my life. I was laying there stunned, and in a lot of pain as I tried to get to my gun, and Vinnie was aiming at me again, but Aubrey hit the guy square in the chest..." Booth put his hand over the left side of his own chest. "Right about here. It was weird...it was like in slow motion, I guess. Vinnie just stood there for a second or two, staring at us...and then he got in his car and tried to drive off, but I guess he died a few seconds later. His car ended up hitting a light pole…"

Brennan held her husband's hand as he paused, struggling to control his emotions before he could tell her the rest.

"Then when I looked back at Aubrey, he was just crumpled up there in the parking lot with his head all cockeyed on the corner of the concrete parking barrier, white as a sheet." Booth hesitated before finally giving into his tears. "I called 911 and then I crawled over to where Aubrey was laying on the ground to see how he was. Christ...there was so much blood...so much fucking blood, Bones. It seemed like it was everywhere...all over his clothes...on the parking block he was laying on...on the pavement...it was in puddles, you know? All I could think about was what had happened to Sweets, and how I couldn't let that happen to Aubrey…I wasn't gonna lose another friend that way..."

"Booth…", Brennan said softly as she tried to calm her husband. "You didn't let anything happen to Aubrey. He's going to make a full recovery. The tourniquet you applied saved his life."

"I guess maybe all that FBI first aid training finally served its purpose." Booth sniffled slightly, trying to smile as he looked over at his wife. "I know he's gonna be okay, but I shouldn't have put him in that situation to begin with."

"James Aubrey is a trained FBI Special Agent, just like you are, Booth. He has received extensive training in how to handle dangerous situations such as these. He knows what he's doing, as evidenced by the fact that he responded in such a way as to save your life." Brennan smiled as she gently wiped a tear from her husband's cheek. "You have nothing to feel guilty about, Booth, and I imagine Aubrey will agree with me as soon as he's able to talk to you about what happened."

Their conversation was interrupted by a soft knock at the door, before Booth's surgeon walked in. "Good morning. How are you feeling, Agent Booth."

"Mornin', Doc. I feel great." Booth wore an artificial smile as he tried without success to contain the moan that escaped when he attempted to move his shoulder. "I'm ready to go home."

"Not so fast, Agent Booth.", the doctor said sternly. "We had to do a repair on your dislocated shoulder and we removed a bullet from the same area that damaged two of your ligaments. Take it easy for the rest of the day, and you can go home tomorrow morning."

Booth tried to sweet talk the petite, no nonsense African American woman, throwing in a weak charm smile for good measure.. "Aw, c'mon, Doc, my case…"

"I know, Agent...the case comes first.", the surgeon said, rolling her eyes at him as she stood with her hands on her hips. "However, this isn't my first rodeo with the FBI agents I've operated on. If you behave today and then rest during the weekend, I may give you modified restrictions, including at least three weeks of PT, so you can go back to work next week. However, until then, you're not leaving this hospital or going to work until I'm satisfied that you're ready. Got it?"

"Shit…", Booth growled. "I can't hang out here. I got stuff to do…"

"What my husband means is that he'll be very cooperative, right, Booth?" Brennan glared at him until he meekly nodded in agreement. "He doesn't want to re-injure his shoulder by doing too much too soon…"

"Right." Sighing heavily, Booth lay back in his bed. "Fine, I'll cooperate. Can I have some bacon now?"

Aubrey was lying in bed when he woke up feeling groggy. As he slowly regained consciousness, he felt a wave of nausea hit him hard. Glancing at the IV line inside of his hand, he realized that he was in the hospital and they were giving him morphine or some other narcotic.

He hated pain meds. In his fog, he recalled feeling this crappy after the pipe bomb last year…and it sucked. 'What am I doing here?'

It was then he remembered what had happened.

It was late in the day...Sipoletti was gone but his vehicle was still there…walking out to their SUV…calling Jessica...the gunshots…the searing pain in his leg…

He could hazily recall Booth yelling at him as he pressed all his weight on his upper leg before the older man whipped off his tie and squeezed the shit out of his thigh. There was an ambulance…he vaguely recalled thinking of Jessica before blacking out.

He looked around until he saw her across from him sleeping on the couch. Jessica looked so small as she slept in the fetal position, her boots next to the furniture. He must have given her one hell of a scare yesterday.

If she even cared after what he'd done to her Monday. She never answered his texts and all of his phone calls went to voicemail. Maybe she was just waiting for him to wake up so she could tell him off before walking out the door. He certainly deserved it.

But she was here…last night. He couldn't have dreamed it…he woke up and she was holding his hand. She still loved him…but would she after they talked?

Looking around the room, he saw the bright sunlight and realized it was morning. Turning to the wall, he found a clock and noted the time was 9:32.

'9:32…Dr. B's class!' Aubrey's thoughts made his eyes widen as the implication hit him. "Jess…Jessica wake up…"

The redhead groaned in her sleep. "Curly, I need more Petri dishes…"

"You're really late for Dr. B's class…", Aubrey said in a louder voice. When she continued to sleep, the agent moved up to try getting her attention again, but it didn't take much to jostle himself and he groaned loudly. "Owwww, fucker…"

Startled awake, Jessica opened her eyes and saw her boyfriend grabbing his thigh and stomach. "Superman! You're awake…"

Rushing up, her socks caused her to slip on the hospital floor before getting up and trotting over to her boyfriend. "Aubrey…oh my God…you're awake…"

Aubrey continued to wince as he waited for the pain to subside. "Yeah…I'm awake, but you're late. Dr. B is going to have your head for missing class…"

Jessica snickered before her amusement passed. "Dr. B isn't having class today. She canceled it because of what happened with you and Booth and emailed the class an alternate assignment for today's planned lecture. I'm going to still have my SI session Friday afternoon to answer questions and she's making next week a study session for the final exam on December 15th."

Aubrey's fog lessened a bit. "How's Booth?"

"Sleeping, last time I checked. Dr. B's with him one floor below us. She left long enough to see Christine and Hank and get them around for the day before coming back here." Jessica said as she combed the silvery tips at his temple. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts, my side hurts, and my thigh hurts...everything hurts…these pain meds are making me loopy though…",. the agent said softly with a smirk. "How about you?"

"Besides exhausted…relief…happy…", Jessica said soberly. "And I'm still mad at you, Aubrey."

Aubrey nodded slightly. "I know…we have to talk…I'm so sorry…"

"Not now…", Jessica said, holding back tears. "Right now…I just want to look at you…and be grateful that you're here, alright?"

Aubrey nodded. "Booth's okay, though?"

Jessica nodded in turn. "Yeah, he took one in the shoulder and they had to fix it in surgery since he dislocated it when he fell backwards…and he's probably going to have to do some physical therapy."

"Ah…he's going to be pissed…"

"Well, I think he'll forgive you, Superman.", the redhead said quietly. "You saved his life."

"What about Sipoletti?", Aubrey asked. "Did they get that bastard? Son of a bitch shot at us and I had no choice but to shoot back."

"He's dead, Aubrey."

"Damn it.", Aubrey said hazily. "We wanted him alive. I needed answers from him…why didn't the son of a bitch just talk to us?"

Jessica saw her boyfriend's frustration. "Deputy Director Stark came by about 8:00 this morning and told me that when the FBI techs searched his office, they found a note in his desk confessing to killing Vacchio. According to the note, Vacchio found out he was cheating investors as well as about his side job as a hit man. It also stated that that the guilt of killing his sister's husband was eating at him and he couldn't take it anymore, so he was going to commit suicide so he wouldn't have to face her anymore. Obviously, Sipoletti didn't have the balls to do it himself because he shot at you guys first."

"Suicide by cop? Shit…", Aubrey made a face. "For a guy who was ashamed for what he did to his brother-in-law, that seems extreme, especially in that it will put his sister in the spotlight again."

"Since he had a gun, maybe he had another plan but when you two went to talk to him, he changed his mind."

"Maybe…", Aubrey trailed off. "Did they find anything else?"

"I don't know, Superman.", Jessica said. It was quiet for a moment before she continued. "Director Stark also said that Genny's hearing is today at 10:00."

"This quick?"

"I guess with…what happened to you and Booth…Stark got it moved up. He seemed confident it would be called a clean shoot."

"Of course it will be. She had no choice. I've got to be there…", Aubrey said as he moved to get up but didn't get far as his side pain hit him hard. "Awwwww…son of a bitch..."

"Superman, stay still!", Jessica yelled. "You bruised your spleen. You're on bed rest."

"But Genny needs me—"

"I need you too!", Jessica said. "James Robert Aubrey, look at yourself! You are hooked up to IV fluids and are still getting blood transfusions because you lost 39% of your blood volume yesterday. You have stitches in your abdomen from where you were shot. You barely escaped bleeding to death from a bullet that hit the lateral femoral circumflex artery in your left thigh. If you don't stay in bed, your spleen could rupture, and you're no good to Genny if you have to have another surgery and be off for weeks because you're being a dumbass."

"Jess…my ASAC is facing a hearing that could determine if she's out of the Bureau…"

"I know…but both the evidence and Hunter's account support her story. Besides, you've been through hell, Aubrey. You almost died, and you had to shoot someone."

Aubrey pushed aside his feelings of helplessness for the time being. "But I can't be on bed rest. Booth and I have to figure out how the hell all this shit happened. Two guys start two separate fire fights with three FBI agents and an SEC forensic accountant six hours apart from each other...in the same damn building and one leaves a suicide note. Something is not right, Jess. There has to be some sort of connection we aren't seeing...Owww….goddammit..."

"I agree, Aubrey, but they're dead. Right now, you need to take care of yourself."

"But...what if I have to piss? What if I have to…you know…"

"I know you're trying to change the subject." The redhead rolled her eyes. "But in answer to your questions, you'll handle it the same way as you dealt with it after doctors pulled shrapnel out of your back almost a year ago. Don't worry, Aubrey. The nurses will take good care of you."

Aubrey remembered the nurses helping him to the bathroom the first several hours after he woke up and made a face. "Ugh…"

Jessica felt a buzz on her phone. Looking at it, her eyes bulged out. "Shit! I forgot."

"What?"

"Stephan is picking me up because I have a couple of errands to run. He'll be here in a few minutes."

"Stephan, your brother?"

"No, Stephen Hawking.", Jessica retorted with a smile. "Yes, my brother."

"Cute…", Aubrey muttered sarcastically. "Damn it...we were supposed to go out this weekend…they're going to think I'm an asshole..."

"No, Stephan and Gail won't think you're an asshole, and we will just reschedule. He has to pick up a couple things for the shop today, then I'm taking him back to Alexandria and borrowing his SUV until I get my Jeep back." Jessica moaned as she ran to look through her purse. Finding a hairbrush, she started brushing her hair. "God, I must look like shit…I don't have a toothbrush…I don't have any makeup on...I probably smell bad from nervous sweat..."

"You never look like shit, Jess.", Aubrey said before remembering her slashed tires. "Have you found out who messed up your tires yet?"

Jessica hesitated for a moment. Her Superman needed to concentrate on recovering, not worrying about her. "No, not yet."

The groggy agent thought of something. "What's your brother going to drive?"

"Aubrey, between him and Gail, they own two SUVs, a sedan, and two motorcycles. They're covered. All my brothers have either called or sent texts checking up on you. Stephan told Dad last night, and he sends his love, too."

Surprised, the agent looked away in embarrassment. "Wow…didn't expect that, Jess."

"Yeah, they're worried about you. You're the man I love and they like you…not just because you're my boyfriend, but you. Don't act so surprised, all right? Now, do you need anything?"

"I feel like shit, but I think my body just needs fuel. Can I get something to eat soon? Maybe a couple chili dogs, some onion rings, and a chocolate milkshake?", Aubrey pleaded, deciding his nausea was from food deprivation. "You know how I get when my blood sugar drops."

Jessica saw the expectation in his hazy eyes, but she had to be the bearer of bad news. "Unfortunately, you're on a liquid diet today, Superman. Tolerate that, then they may move you past Jell-O tomorrow."

"Man…" Aubrey's eyes closed as he realized something else. "Shit…Skinner…"

"I didn't sleep very well after we got to your room right before 1:00, so I got Dr. B's key this morning about 6:30 and ran home to feed him.", Jessica stammered nervously. "I hope that's all right."

Aubrey felt a little weird in return. "Yeah…that's cool. Thanks, Jess."

"No problem." There was an awkward tension in the room. "Here, I'll give your your key back-"

"No...it's fine. Do you mind feeding Skinner the next few days?", Aubrey muttered. "You know how picky he is about his food."

"Sure, Superman.", Jessica replied with a smile. "Do you want me to get you anything from your house while I'm out today?"

"My IPad would be nice…my laptop if they'll let me have it.", Aubrey mumbled. "What about the lab? Don't you have to work with Hodgins today?"

"Hodgins gave me the day off. I'm going to work all day tomorrow in Limbo except when I go to AmU in the afternoon for my Friday SI session."

"Why can't you work cases?", Aubrey asked, confused. "You usually only work in Limbo on Wednesdays."

Jessica didn't want to tell Aubrey that Hodgins was focusing his time on her case…just yet. "When I sent a text to Hodgins, he said that Dr. Boyd was finishing up her autopsy and he was examining Sipoletti's effects from his car and office. Caroline said it would be best if I didn't report today to avoid jeopardizing the case since I'm your girlfriend."

"Sounds stupid.", he grumbled.

"It's fine with me. I could use a quiet end to my week after all that has happened." The redhead smiled and kissed her boyfriend. "Now, I'll be back later."

"Cool.", Aubrey mumble before yawning widely. "I promise not to go anywhere…"

"Get some sleep, Superman.", Jessica said before grabbing her purse. "You're tired."

The agent was getting groggier, but he noticed a tear in her bag before his eyes began to droop. "Not tired, Jess…"

"Okay…", the redhead said before kissing her boyfriend again, this time on his forehead. "I love you and I'll be by later."

"Love you, too…", the lanky man mumbled before going back to sleep.

Jessica quietly left the room and headed down the hallway, feeling out of sorts from her crappy sleep at the hospital. Andie had offered to let her bunk at her and Wendell's apartment nearby but she didn't want to leave her Superman. After her errands she needed to pick up her new keys for her apartment. Plus she needed to find a new purse...preferably one without a slash in it.

Steve Bower walked out of the interrogation room, whistling a tune as he celebrated his defeat of another criminal. 'I'm the fucking shit...I'm the fucking shit…'

Stopping in the break room for a cup of coffee, he walked into the bullpen and saw that his ASAC's office was empty. Waving down Agent Juarez, he pointed. "Where's Agent Shaw?"

"She's in front of the review board about yesterday."

Letting the younger agent walk away, he got a smirk on his face. 'There's only one thing to do then…'

Walking up to the assignment board, he erased both Aubrey and Shaw's names and put his in their places for SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE and ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE.

"Bower, what the hell are you doing?"

The man turned around to see Agents Jill Haggarty and Jerry Thompson, who were obviously not impressed. Shrugging, Steve shuffled some papers and stacked some files nearby. "Well, someone has to be in charge."

"Um, that would be Agent Shaw since Agent Aubrey is in the hospital. You know the protocol, Bower.", Thompson growled.

"Um, Shaw is in front of a review panel right now, and I'm the one with the most seniority in Major Crimes, so I'm in charge until further notice."

"Steve, you're an idiot…and so not in charge.", Haggarty chimed in before the two agents went to their desks. "Trust me...we're not that desperate….and even if we were, we'd call Hacker before we'd let you run the show."

"Yeah, well…get to work, agents.", Bower yelled back.

He walked to his desk, but as he sat down, he changed his mind and walked into Aubrey's office. He turned and saw the shocked looks of his fellow agents before turning back and twisting the door knob.

"He really thinks he's in charge?", Haggarty said as she watched the middle-aged agent open the door marked JAMES AUBREY, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE.

"Yeah, what a dumb shit.", Agent Satterly contributed from two desks down. "Also, rumor has it he's hooking up with that new CSI that worked his case last week. That may be another reason he's doing the happy dance."

"He's cheating on Karen Delfs?", Haggarty asked, holding in a snicker. "I know I've only been here about five weeks, but I get the impression she is a bit...nuts...and not someone you want to screw with."

Thompson laughed out loud. "Oh, he wants to screw with her all the time, but you're right. She's off her rocker, and if he's cheating on her, shit's gonna hit the fan."

Oblivious to the gossip in the bullpen, Bower set his stuff down and turned on the computer. When he saw Aubrey had it locked, he simply hit Switch User and logged in under himself. He sat back in the new office chair that his boss got about six weeks ago. Looking around, he smiled as he pictured how things would be when he when he got his promotion and moved into this office.

Turning around, he saw the picture of his boss with whom he assumed was his mother. "Not a bad looking woman...I'd do her."

Bower then looked to the next picture, which was in a frame with puzzle pieces on it and had an image of Aubrey and that hot piece of ass Jessica.

He felt bad for Aubrey. It had to suck being shot, especially when he had that cute little redheaded college student waiting at home for him. As his subordinate, Bower knew he should do all he could for that scrawny little nerd until the guy could return to full duty, including offering himself to his young girlfriend who would be lonely, and probably sexually frustrated, for a while. That Jessica needed a real man, one that could make her squeal. That…was something he was good at.

Bower bent his right fingers but winced part way. That redhead had a mighty grip, but she was still cute.

Karen Delfs was great…no, better than great...make that fantastic…in bed, but she was clingy as fuck and always jealous. When a man can't take a shit in peace because she always had to be with him or admire another woman without getting that death stare through those big black glasses, it wasn't fun anymore.

Karen had pissed him off yesterday by making that huge scene at the hospital. From what Juarez had told him before his interrogation this morning, after he left, she'd practically threatened to strangle his boss's girlfriend if the guy died. The fact that the profiler also seemed to have the hots for his boss irritated him, too. What the hell did that skinny putz have that had women drooling over him?

If he had known a month earlier what he knew now, he may have debated further before going home with her after work that Monday when they ran into each other outside the conference room.

But then, he would have missed out on the sex. The things that woman could do with her hands…whew. She was definitely talented in that department.

Bower shook his head to clear his thoughts. Yeah, the sex was amazing, but he had to break up with her soon, especially when Candy, that new CSI he'd met while working the Andrews case crime scene ten days ago, was readily available. The two of them were finally able to get together last night when she called him as he was leaving the OR waiting room and he'd gone over to her apartment, ignoring Karen's many calls.

When he caught up with the profiler later, he told her he'd left his phone in the car as he ran errands, and thank God, she believed him. He only had a few weeks until his fiancee moved to DC, and he was determined to have as much fun as he could until he married her. He had to shape up for her. Mitzi was his high school sweetheart, and the one woman worth being faithful to, and it didn't hurt that she made good money as a psychiatric nurse. She also wasn't one to fuck with either…and he secretly loved it.

He had another date with Candi tonight and he needed to come up with a good excuse to avoid Karen finding out. If she got all bat shit on Jessica, he could only imagine what she would do with him. After Mitzi moved here, she would be history, though. His boss could deal with her.

He continued to debate his love life with himself when he heard a scary voice.

"What the hell are you doing in Agent Aubrey's office?"

Bower almost fell back in Aubrey's chair. Recovering, he turned to see Agent Shaw standing there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. However, it was the other presence that had him running scared.

"Deputy Director Stark."

The African American man stormed through the doorway, wearing an angry glare. "Agent Bower, what exactly are you doing setting up shop in your SAC's office?"

"Um…well…with Aubrey in the hospital and Shaw off duty—"

"She was at a hearing regarding a shooting yesterday, not off duty." Stark glowered as he pinned Bower in place with a steely glare. "I'm also curious to know why your name is listed on the assignment board as Special Agent in Charge, because last time I checked, you're still a Senior Special Agent."

"Well, I figured that someone should pitch in with both of our heads gone—"

"Special Agent Shaw wasn't gone….or relieved of duty. Also, as of seven minutes ago, she's back on full duty according to the disciplinary board. I've returned her badge and service weapon to her. With Special Agent Aubrey in the hospital, Special Agent Shaw is now Acting Special Agent in Charge of Major Crimes. So, you can return to your desk in the bullpen."

"Sure, of course Deputy Director.", Bower stammered as he got his stuff together. "Good to see you back, Shaw."

"Don't forget to sign out of the computer, Bower…and put the correct SAC and ASAC names on the board before sitting down."

"Of course.", Steve said, turning back around to sign out of Aubrey's computer before scurrying back to his desk.

Stark and Shaw observed the agent's head down and held back their smirks. The Deputy Director then held his hand out to Shaw. "Glad you're back, Special Agent Shaw."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Now, tell me what we have on this Vincent Sipoletti…"

Booth grinned to himself slightly as he came up with his little plan. He was gonna go check on his buddy Aubrey, no matter what that stupid doctor said about taking it easy. She clearly doesn't know who she's dealing with here. Nobody's gonna stop me if I make up my mind about something. Anyway, there was no way he could rest easy unless he saw for himself that Aubrey was okay. So by that logic, he was merely following his doctor's orders by going to see that his friend was doing better, which would enable him to relax and finally get some sleep.

All he had to do was to convince the nurse that he could go for a short ride in a wheelchair. That was all there was to it. Then he'd take a little excursion to see his friend and be back before anyone missed him.

He waited until shift change, thinking that the nurse in charge of his care might not have had time to read all of the doctor's notes in his chart. Ginger soon came bustling in to check his vitals and his pain level.

"How are you feeling this afternoon, Mr. Booth?"

He gave her a bit of a pout and some sad puppy eyes. "I'm okay, I guess...but I'd feel a lot better if I could go check on my buddy. He's upstairs in the ICU wing. He was shot, and I wanna make sure he's okay."

"I don't think so. According to your chart, you're not supposed to be ambulatory." She reached down to check his pulse as she gave him a no nonsense look. "You need to stay in bed."

"I know I'm supposed to stay in bed, Ginger, but he got hurt bad, you know, and he's my partner. I wanna check on him, okay? I just want to go see him for a few minutes. It's not like I'm gonna go dancing around the hospital or running up and down the halls. Just call an orderly or a candy striper or someone like that to take me up there in a wheelchair for a few minutes, and then I promise I'll be good for the rest of the night. Please?" As desperate times called for desperate measures, he deployed a charm smile to get what he wanted.

Dammit! Look at that smile and those dimples. The nurse shook her head in mock disgust as she glared at her patient. "I can tell you're used to using your charm to get what you want, Mr. Booth…"

"Yeah." He grinned happily. "Did it work?"

"I'll have an aide take you upstairs shortly, but you can only stay a few minutes, and you can't tell anybody I said it was okay, understand? And you have to stay in the wheelchair."

"That's great! Thanks, Ginger. I'll be good. I promise."

"No problem." Leaving his room, she rolled her eyes as she chuckled to herself, wondering how that man's wife could ever turn him down if he wanted something.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*

The nurse's aide pushed Booth's wheelchair up to the door of Aubrey's room. Opening the door slightly, she peered inside. "Mr. Aubrey? You have a visitor..."

"Hmm?" A drowsy Aubrey turned toward the door. "Who is it? Booth? Is that you?"

"Hey, Buddy. You'd better hurry up and get your ass outta that bed." Booth put on his best game face as the aide pushed the wheelchair in, hoping to hide how worried he was about his friend. "You look like shit…"

"Yeah, thanks." Aubrey gestured for the aide to step outside. "I feel like shit, too...like shit after it's been run over by a semi…"

"That's not surprising. You got shot, and bled like crazy, and then you fell over backward. It looks like you hit the concrete parking barrier with your side by the way you were laying on it, and hit your head on the curb barrier. You've got a concussion to go with everything else."

"Yeah, that's what the doctor said...plus my spleen is bruised so I'm stuck on bed rest for 72 hours while they give me blood transfusions and IV fluids." He hesitated slightly. "So, um...Jessica said you saved my life." Aubrey's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I guess I owe you one, Booth…"

"Nah. Actually, I was paying you back." Booth grimaced as he pointed at his shoulder. "When Sipoletti shot me, it grazed me here, and I fell back, dislocating my shoulder. I was trying to get at my gun, but I couldn't grab it, and he was drawing a bead on me when you dropped him." Swallowing hard, Booth let go a shuddering sigh. "You saved my life first, Aubrey. I was just returning the favor, okay? Listen...I'm so sorry I got you into this mess. I should've known what was going down with that bastard...I should've known a guy like him wouldn't cooperate…"

"It's not your fault, Booth. The guy was wanting us to take him down. We were both lucky that he didn't take us with him, okay?" Aubrey yawned slightly before he continued. "Jesus, I'm still so sleepy. They have me on all sorts of painkillers, I guess. Jessica says I won't be able to go home for a couple of days, and then I'll be housebound for awhile. Oh, no…" Aubrey's expression became panicked. "This is bad…"

"What? What's wrong? Do you want me to call a nurse?" Booth wheeled closer to the bed. "Are you okay?"

"I haven't had time to shop for Jessica's Christmas gift! What am I gonna do? I want this year to be perfect, but I how am I gonna take care of that?"

"Easy there, Aubrey." Relieved that the problem had nothing to do with his friend's injury, Booth chuckled. "You can probably find some nice things online…at least it might be fun to look so you can get some gift ideas, anyway…."

"Yeah, but I wanted something really special, you know? Hey, you know that shop down the street from the diner? The one that sells those sexy underwear sets? I wanted to go there…"

"Okay, I tell you what. After you get out of here, we'll go. Right now, you just gotta take care of yourself." Hearing noises in the corridor, Booth nodded over his shoulder. "I guess I better go back to my room. I just wanted to make sure you were gonna be okay." He paused for a second and turned back to his friend. "Listen, if you need to talk about it...about taking out Sipoletti…"

"I'm gonna be fine. It's just gonna take some time is all."

"Okay...but if you need me, I'll be around." Booth moved toward the door. "Talk to you later."

"Yeah….and Booth?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks a lot."

"Yeah...you, too."

With that he was gone, and Aubrey settled back on his bed, thinking things through. If he had to get shot, Special Agent Booth would be the man he'd want by his side.

Drifting off to sleep again, Aubrey smiled as visions of his redhead in sexy lingerie danced through his head….