Here's the next chapter, as promised! Thanks again for your wonderful reviews! Love them all, and love you all!
Brennan heard the woman whispering to the boy, and she turned to her. "What's your name?"
The woman looked at her. She was pale, shaking. "Karen" she whispered. "This is Jeremy. He's only 5." Her voice broke.
"Don't worry. It's going to be okay." Brennan reached over to her.
The phone on the counter rang, startling everyone. The gunman looked at it for a moment, then walked over to them. "What are you doing? Just stick to your boyfriend, lady!"
Brennan stared at him. "You need to answer the phone."
"I don't 'need' to do anything! And don't tell me what to do. I'm in charge here." He raised the gun to her head.
"NO!" Booth tried to sit up. "Leave her...alone." He groaned in pain.
"Booth, stay still! I'm fine." Don't do anything stupid, Booth
The man let his arm drop. "You better keep him quiet, or I will."
"Look, they're just going to keep calling until you answer, or they decide to come in shooting."
"What are you, a cop or something? Shut up and leave me alone!"
"I'm..." Booth squeezed her hand. "Don't" he whispered.
The man suddenly grabbed her arm, and pulled her to him. Brennan fought the urge to strike out at him, to try to overpower him. She couldn't risk it yet. She had Booth to worry about, and Karen and Jeremy. She had to wait.
He pushed her towards the counter. "You like to talk so much, you answer it." He walked over to Karen and pointed the gun at her. "And don't try anything stupid, or she and the boy are dead."
Brennan reached for the phone, her eyes never leaving the gun pointed at Karen and Jeremy. "Hello?"
"This is Assistant Director Cullen of the FBI. Who am I speaking to?" He was confused. Usually the hostage taker answered the phone himself, but this was definately not the man who had robbed the bank 30 minutes ago.
"Cullen?"
There was something about that voice. "Dr. Brennan?!" Cullen felt confusion, followed by a sense of relief. Wherever Dr. Brennan was, usually Booth was also. Booth would be able to handle the situation inside, while HRT did their thing outside. "What's going on in there? How many hostages are there?"
"Four, including me. I think.. the employees must have run out the back when..." she paused. "When the shooting started."
There was something in her voice. "Is Agent Booth with you?"
Brennan's eyes flashed to the floor where Booth was lying. "He's...injured."
Cullen's stomach tightened. "How bad?"
Tears came to her eyes. "He's...it's pretty bad."
Cullen closed his eyes. Where was HRT?! They were the ones that were supposed to handle this! He took a deep breath. He couldn't help them this way. "Okay, Dr. Brennan, listen to me. I need you to try and get the gunman to talk to me."
Brennan looked at him. He was still standing there, staring at her, holding the gun on Karen and Jeremy. "He needs to talk to you. They can't help you if they don't know what you want."
"What I want?! That's pretty funny!" He grabbed the phone from her, and shoved her across the room. She stumbled and fell to the floor. He put the phone on the counter, reached over and grabbed Jeremy, pulling him back with him.
"NO!" Karen screamed, and lunged toward him. He put his arm around Jeremy's throat, and pointed the gun at his head. Karen froze. He pushed the boy down on the floor, continuing to point the gun at him.
"Make no mistake, if anyone tries anything, I will pull the trigger." He grabbed the phone. "What?!"
Booth had watched everything. He felt the rage build inside him as he pushed Bones, and grabbed the little boy. He was staring at his mother, but didn't really see her. It seemed he was looking right through her. Booth struggled to move. He needed to get his gun, needed to do something. Pain shot through his body, and his vision blurred. He could barely move. He felt the panic start to overwhelm him. Temperance. He had to save her, save them all. He couldn't leave them. He had to fight this. He needed... He felt as if he were floating. "Temperance." He had to tell her, before it was too late.
Brennan heard his whisper. She made her way to him. His eyes were unfocused. "Booth, please..."
"Temperance" He reached up to touch her face. "I need to to tell you...in case..."
"No!" She wasn't going to let him do this, she wasn't going to let him give up. "Don't talk, okay? I'm going to get us out of here."
"Temperance."
She grabbed his hand. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare give up on me, Booth." Her voice broke. "I won't let you go. Parker needs you!" The tears fell from her eyes. "I need you. Please hang on, Booth, please, please..."
He tried again to tell her, but she wouldn't let him. If he didn't say the words, he would hold on until he could. It wasn't rational, she knew it, but she believed it. She had to. She couldn't lose him. Not now, just when she had found something to believe in.