A/N: You'll probably think I'm crazy but as I was writing this chapter, I made Booth call Brennan by her nickame and I realized something (you will all think I'm a bit slow after reading this). I'm so used to hearing him call her Bones that I sometimes forget that it isn't her real name and that it is only a nickname. It kind of just hit me. See... told you I was slow!

Anyway, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: Just because I haven't done one in a while. I own nothin', I just looooooooove torturing them.

The room was dark and calm. The curtains were drawn and the only sound in the room eminated from Booth's hear monitor. Everything felt surreal to Temperance as she quietly stepped inside the hospital room and silently closed the door behind her. The second the door closed behind her she found herself being engulfed by total darkness. She waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust before taking a few steps forward. Booth was still sleeping and she didn't want to wake him by bumping into something. Though he was doing slightly better, he still needed as much rest as he could get.

She sat on the bed beside him, on the side that wasn't clustered with IVs and tubes. She turned on the bedside lamp. Even in the dim light she could tell he was pale.

She had been on the verge of finally falling asleep when the loud thump had startled her. She had had the fright of her life at the thought of Booth being hurt and all her tears had stopped falling suddenly. In her moment of panic (because she now admitted to having panicked), she had instantly forgiven him for everything he had done. But now, as she sat staring at him, she couldn't help the small twinge of anger she felt when she looked at him.

She couldn't understand why he had been the one to catch the illness. After all, she had spent much more time with Riley than he had and she was okay. The doctor had conducted some tests on her but everything had turned out fine. They had discovered nothing special leaving all of them perplexed as to the reason. Febril spread quickly so why hadn't the mother caught her daughter's illness? And why had her father?

Temperance had asked the doctor and the man had simply replied that Booth's immune system had already been weakened by his mild depression and the stress he had been under lately. She had frowned at that. Booth was suffering from mild depression? She certainly hadn't known that. Did he even know? Probably, she had concluced. It was his kind of thing not to tell her when she was sick.

She softly ran her hand over his face and felt him stir under her touch. She immediately withdrew her hand.

Seconds later, Booth was slowly opening his eyes.

"Are you here to yell at me some more?" He asked in a hoarse voice as his eyes settled on her.

She felt the urge to slap him in the face for his comment but against it. It wasn't the time nor the place for that.

"No. I came to see if you were okay."

She faked a smile that almost looked real but Booth saw right through it. He knew instantly that she was still mad and that, if it hadn't been for him passing out in his kitchen, she still wouldn't have been talking to him.

"Don't worry about me, Bones. I'll be fine."

He coughed a bit. Temperance frowned.

"Febril doesn't involve coughing until the last phase of the illness." Temperance said, matter-of-factly.

"Who told you that?"

"Rye's doctor."

Booth nodded. Shifting slightly, he tried sitting up and winced in pain. All his limbs felt sore and he couldn't understand why.

"Is Riley coughing?" He asked, worried about his daughter's state.

"No."

"Good."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each other lost in their own thoughts. Booth was the first one to speak again.

"This is a rough situation, huh?"

Temperance nodded, her eyes never leaving her hands.

"Would would have thought, seven years ago, that we would have let it come to this?"

"Not me." Booth replied as he tried to get comfortable in his new sitting position. This pillow is so not comfortable. "But in our defense, we didn't ask to get sick. It just happened."

Temperance slapped him playfully on the arm.

"That's not what I meant."

Booth chuckled.

"I know."

Their eyes met and Booth smiled weakly at her. She smiled back.

"I'm sorry... for everything I did."

"I know."

She didn't feel like talking about this. She hated these kind of conversations, she felt uncomfortable in them.

"Do you... I mean, do you think you'll ever be able to forgive me?"

She felt her heart ache at his question but she didn't know what to answer him. She felt torn between the want to forgive him and the one to simply kick his ass out onto the street. He had hurt her, betrayed her trust in him after he had promised never to do such a thing. Could she trust him again after that? Would she always have to check out their finances to make sure he wasn't gambling anymore? She didn't like the fact she'd have to practically spy on her husband. She wanted to trust him again. She wanted things to go back to the way they were at the beginning of their relationship, when they were happily in love and into one another. Today, she just didn't know anymore. What had made sense then didn't make any now. Was it really the beginning of the end for them?

"Eventually, perhaps, I'll forgive you. I just don't know when."

"When I die?"

Temperance felt tears shot straight to her eyes and she let out a small whimper.

"Please don't say that." She begged, the tears dangerously threatning to fall.

Booth immediately felt guilty. He hadn't expected his question to have this effect on her. He reached over for her hand and grabbed it. He gave it a small squeeze.

"I'm sorry, Tempe. It wasn't cool of me to say that. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Temperance replied as she wiped a tear falling from her eyes.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. Booth still held her hand in his and she felt her skin burn at the contact of his skin. She had missed this feeling. She ran her thumb in the inside of his hand.

She looked down, seconds later, to find that Booth had closed his eyes. She sighed.

"Booth?"

"Yeah?"

"The doctor said that Febril was spreading faster in you because your immune system is weakened by recent stress factors and mild depression."

Booth opened one eye and looked at his wife. He could tell she was worried about him. He opened the other one and sighed loudly.

"I didn't want to tell you."

"So it's true?"

Booth nodded.

"Yes. My therapist diagnosed it about two or three months ago. He said that with the stress of my job and our marriage plus the gambling problem, everything was getting to me and it was normal that my mind reacted in some way."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry about me. I thought I could handle it on my own. I thought I had the situation under control."

Temperance shook her head, the anger rising up again inside of her.

"Obviously it isn't under control. Why are you so intent on lying and hiding stuff from me?"

Booth coughed some more.

"I don't know. All I know is that ever since you came into my life, all I have been doing is screwing up. I try to be perfect and to be the man that you deserve but I just can't live up to my own expectations."

"Is this another lie to get out of this mess or the truth?"

"Oh trust me. It's the truth."

Temperance nodded and immediately felt guilty for snapping at him a few seconds earlier.

"How is Riley doing?" Booth asked, diverting the conversation to safer grounds.

"She's out of her bed. The doctor let her walk in the hallway this morning."

"Does that mean she's doing better?" Booth asked, hopeful.

Temperance felt herself choking up once more.

"I don't know."

Booth nodded.

"I better go check up on her." Temperance said as she got up.

More tears threatened to fall but she didn't want to cry. She had done enough crying in the past days, she now needed to get a grip on herself. She kissed her husband on the forehead.

"I'll be back later." She assured him.

She was about to step outside the room when Booth called her name. She spun around immediately.

"Yes Booth?"

"As soon as I'm better and that Riley and I are out of this hospital, I promise I'll straightened out my life and be the husband you deserve."

"If you and Riley get out of the hospital." She corrected him.

Booth shook his head.

"When we get out of the hospital."

Temperance felt a smile tugging at her lips. She nodded before turning around and leaving the room.

Booth laid back down in his bed and closed his eyes.

A couple of hours later, Booth was being transferred in his daughter's room.

Okay peoples :-) Only a few chapters left (four to be exact). All I have to say is hang in there and keep reading and reviewing! I love hearing from all of you, especially my regulars (you know who you are) and I'd like to remind the anonymous readers of my stories (the ones who don't have an account here), you can still review and tell me what you think of the story since I accept anonymous reviews. :-)