Chapter Six - Suppress this Waiting Game

Booth sat waiting. He glanced down at his watch for the twentieth time that night, his legs restlessly twitching on the ground. His phone sat securely in the depth of his pocket, the last call on the screen saying he had spoken to Angela only ten minutes earlier.

He sighed and rested his elbows on his knees, his palms cupping his tired head.

They had closed the door. He couldn't see in, couldn't hear a single whisper of noise drifting through the cracks in the wall.

Dr. Hart had ordered the nurses to escort him out once he had proven to be too hysterical to be in the same room as Temperance.

He didn't mean to panic like he did.

He was sure it was the shock.

They had wheeled her out shortly after that. Not one word to him about why she was being pushed down the hall, just a quick look of sympathy from a brown haired, middle aged nurse running along side Temperance's gurney. He found he had stood upon seeing the door open, his feet heavy and solid on the cold tiles.

He had been waiting for awhile now, the time on his watch no longer providing him with anything significant other than stagnant numbers on a round background. It didn't matter anyway, he could see how much time passed by the ever changing colors of the night sky outside, a deep purple with pink swirls, a fire in the sky, daybreak approaching stealthily.

Eventually his aching muscles and assiduous mind became too much for him to withstand in the lonely dead of the night, and he felt his heavy lids slowly slip down, shutting away the day's events in the sanctuary of dreamless sleep.

-

Booth sat up abruptly when he felt the tap on his shoulder. How long was I out for? He wondered to himself as he sat up from his hunched position.

Dr. Hart was sitting beside him, her face strained and serious, "Agent Booth, I'm sorry we've kept you waiting."

Booth felt his body tense at her tone, "What's wrong?" he asked, despising his voice for sounding so desperately destitute.

She cleared her throat before speaking, "Temperance's condition has deteriorated considerably since last night. Originally, she was scheduled to have the heart valve replacement next week, depending on her reaction to the antibiotic treatment. As you've noticed, things didn't pan out as we had hoped."

"And?"

"...And we had to perform the surgery last night," She gave him a thin smile.

A moment of weighted silence followed her words, until she realised he was waiting for her to speak, to say something more.

"It went smoothly." she added hastily, watching the expression on his face unmistakably relax.

Booth let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, "Is she awake?"

"She won't be awake for awhile, at least until the meds wear off. I'll be happy to show you to her room."

He nodded, "Please."

-

It was a different room but it felt just the same. Cold, empty, desolate. He was seated in an identical chair as the one on the ward below this one, hard, uncomfortable, and worn.

Her chest was heavily bandaged, a result of open heart surgery. Jesus, Bones...

Without thinking, he took her hand in his, his eyes scanning over her, the porcelain coloring of her skin, the light flutter of her eye lids, the occasional word she soundlessly made, her lips moving ever so slightly.

A knock on the door shook him from his contemplative mood. Angela hovered by the door before Booth waved her in, soon followed by Hodgins and Zack. She sucked in a breath when her eyes darted over her best friend, "Oh my god, Bren..." she said in a whisper, taking in the lifeless woman on the bed.

Booth acknowledged the other two with a nod of his head. The room was shrinking, the size decreasing with each breath he took. He needed to get out. Now.

"I'll be outside." he murmured to no-one in particular, reluctantly letting go of his partner's hand.

"Booth?" Angela called out before he closed the door. He stopped, but remained with his back to the others, "Don't be long, ok?"

He dropped his head, "I won't."

The door closed with a thud.

-

She said his name before she had even opened her eyes. Their heads snapped up, surprised by the noise mixing with the still of the air. Angela was at her side in an instant, softly encouraging Temperance from her foggy sleep to regain consciousness. "Hey Bren" she said, her eyes tearing involuntarily, mentally kicking herself for not holding herself together, Keep it together, you don't want to alarm her, do you?

"Booth?" she wheezed, pain shooting through her chest immediately. She squeezed her closed eyes tighter, "Booth?"

"It's me, Tempe, Ange."

"Ange?" she asked, still disorientated. She opened her eyes but found the action too much for her to sustain, and the dark tendrils of sleep pulled once again at her.

-

Angela sought after Booth once she was sure Tempe was asleep and not just drifting to and from her slumber. She found him outside, sitting on a wooden bench, his dazed eyes diverted to the cloudy sky above them.

"She woke up, Booth"

He turned his head to look at her, the dark shadows lurking behind his eyes dimming somewhat, "Is she okay?"

Angela shook her head and sat, "She asked for you"

"She did?"

She allowed a moment to pass before speaking, as if she was searching for the right words to say, the right words to convey the message she so desperately needed Booth to understand. "She's always going on about what an ignorant ass you are...that you frustrate and annoy her to no ends," the quiet laughter in her voice and the gentle smile on her face told him she was only teasing, "Yet...you were the only one she called out for."

His lips twitched into a smile, "She said that, huh?"

She laughed, "Yeah, she did," she knitted her eyebrows together, "You know, she doesn't really think of you like that.."

He swallowed, "I know."

Oooooo. I've never made it past chapter six before, so I'm starting to freak slightly!