!!! WARNING !!! A box of tissues might be needed. You have been warned.
A/N: The ... are put in the text to show where Booth had to pause to catch his breath.
Everything had happened over the night. Riley had fallen once again into a coma during her family's visit, immediately causing a wave of panic throughout the hospital. Febril had claimed over twenty victims in the past two weeks and all were worried that the little girl would soon become part of that statistic.
Then Booth had followed. The doctors blamed his well detoriated condition to the stress of his daughter's coma and the fight he had had with his father the previous day. But whatever the real reason was, the effect it had on Booth was undeniable. He had joined his daughter at death's door. Pale as a ghost, breathing with the help of a respirator and unable to leave his eyes open for more than ten seconds. The bump on his head from his fall throbbed in pain, making the situation even more unbearable than it already was.
And so it is how Parker found his father and sister as he walked in the room on this beautiful October afternoon. Rebecca had agreed to let him miss an afternoon of school to go visit his father. So here he was. And he couldn't feel more uncomfortable.
The door opened slowly to let a tall for his age boy walk inside the room. Booth turned to the sound of the door and couldn't help the smile that spread over his face.
"Hey Par… Park…" He tried to say.
But Parker stopped him.
"It's okay, Dad. You don't have to talk."
Booth sighed but Parker was unable to determine whether it was from frustration or from relief.
An awkward silence fell on the room. Parker knew he was supposed to visit his father to exchange some last words but he found that he couldn't. The words caught in his throat and his head would be begin to spin just at the thought of losing his father. They had always been so close despite the fact they didn't see each other often. His father had given him a new brother and sister whom he loved very much. Temperance and Seeley had become his new family. He loved his stepmother very much even though she made him clean his room every time he left to go back to his mom's. But now, if his father died, and his sister for that matter, all contact would be broken between them.
A sound reached the young boy's ear and he immediately turned back to his father.
"What did you say, Dad?"
Booth took a deep breath.
"Come... here."
His voice was breathy and Parker could hear each painful breath his father took while talking.
Half-scared to death, he walked over to the bed and perched himself on it.
"You're dying." Parker finally found himself able to say.
Booth shook his head.
"I'm... I'm not... dying."
Booth winced in pain. Even talking hurt like hell.
"I'm not going to die."
Parker swallowed.
"How do you know?"
Booth took another deep breath.
"Because I prom... prom..."
Booth sighed, frustratedely.
"I promised Tempe I wouldn't."
Parker nodded, unsure of how promising something to Temperance would change things.
The boy glanced briefly at his little sister.
"She'll be fine too." Booth assured him. "She's a fighter, just like her mother."
"Nobody has survive Febril, Dad. How can you be so confident?"
Booth took a deep breath which resulted in a couple of coughs.
"Sometimes Parker, you... you just have to believe."
Parker felt tears sting at the back of his eyes and, forgetting everything he had learned about not crying, he threw himself in his father's arms.
"I'll miss you, Dad."
Fighting the urge to cry himself, Booth weakly wrapped his arm around his son.
"I'm not... going... anywhere."
Everything felt unreal to him, just like every time he walked in the hospital. The walls seemed so tall, the ceiling so high, the lights so bright and there was this weird smell to this place that he didn't like. The entire building was cold, the walls reminded him of the ones in the bathroom at his school. They were made of stone and were white.
Whenever his mother walked in the building that they called a hospital, she always fell silent. Her eyes would darken and her lips would form a tight line. He didn't like seeing his mother like that. It scared him. It scared him because he wasn't quite sure what was going on. He knew that his father and sister were really sick and that they were probably going to die. He wasn't quite sure what dying meant but he had a feeling it had to do with falling asleep for eternity. But what happened after that, he didn't know.
His running shoes were squeaking on the floor as he followed his mother to his father's room. His mother had told him he needed to talk to his daddy but Lukas didn't understand why. He had a feeling it had something to do about dying. But he didn't need to talk to his sister and that confused him. So maybe dying wasn't the reason.
The hospital room was quiet when they walked in, his mother and him. She immediately picked him up and placed him beside his father on the bed. One look at his father scared him and he became even more frightened when his mother walked out and closed the door behind her. He felt like going after her, to beg her not to make him stay with his father, alone in his room. But he couldn't find any words. They got stuck in his throat.
"Lukas."
The young boy jumped, startled. Even his daddy's voice was different. He really didn't like it.
Lukas slowly turned to his father.
"Yes, Daddy?"
His voice was shaky and he hoped that his father didn't know he was scared.
An arm wrapped itself around him and pulled him down. Frightened, he let his father pull him down beside him.
"Do you... do... do you remember... last summer?" Booth asked, each breath becoming harder and harder to take.
Lukas nodded.
"We went fishing." Lukas replied.
"Yup. Two days with my little buddy."
Lukas smiled.
"Remember the... the... b... big fish we caught?"
"Yeah! It was sooo cool!" Lukas said, getting all excited at the memory of that trip. "It was wiggling a lot and it soaked us."
Booth chuckled and Lukas relaxed in his father's embrace.
"Then we w... went for a hike in the forest."
"And we went swimming." Lukas reminded him.
"And we went swimming." Booth agreed.
He sighed.
"Next summer, we'll go back. Just you and me."
Lukas smiled.
"And we'll catch another big fish." The young boy said as he snuggled against his father.
Booth nodded before lowering his head and giving a quick kiss on his son's head.
"Yeah... next summer." Booth whispered as his eyes slowly closed.
Booth opened his eyes to find his room empty once again. He turned to the window to notice that the sun had already set. He sighed, sadly. He had wanted to watch the sunset tonight. Although he hated to admit it, it might have been his last one.
A soft knock on the door brought him out of his reverie. He slowly turned towards the door and watched as it opened to let his wife in the room. He saw her glancing briefly at their daughter in the other bed before pulling a chair beside his bed and sitting down.
Booth smiled at her.
"Hey..." He said, softly.
He slowly reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with sadness. He felt his heart squeeze at the sight of them. It pained him to know that she was feeling sad, especially since it was because of him.
"I'm glad you came."
Temperance nodded.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."
"Don't... worry... about it. You have a ch... child to take care... of."
"Lukas is really worried about you."
"I know."
"Everyone is."
"Even you?"
He wasn't quite sure why he was asking her this question. After all, it was obvious that she was worried about him.
"Yes."
Her voice was shaky and Booth could see the tears threatning to fall from her eyes. He gently grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze.
They stayed just like this, in complete silence, both of them lost in their thoughts. And they had been like this for a while when Temperance's emotions finally exploded.
"You have to get better, Booth." She said as tears began to fall freely from her eyes.
"I am. I will, Bones."
"I'm not ready to see you go."
"Sssh." Booth replied, rubbing circles over the top of her hand.
"I'm sorry I wasn't supportive of you. I should have been more patient, more loving, more..."
"You've been perfect, Bones." Booth interrupted her. "You've been... everything I... hoped you would be. You're a ter... terrific mother. Riley and... Lukas are lucky to... have you."
More tears trailed down her cheeks. Her head was already beginning to throb and she felt dizzy. This was not how things were supposed to end for them. It wasn't even supposed to end at all. She had never really believed in eternal love but what she had with Booth had partially changed her mind about that. He was no doubt the love of her life, the one who had turned her life upside down by giving her two beautiful children, who had convinced her to get married even though she didn't believe in marriage. Of course, their marriage had been far from not being a bumpy ride but, she had to admit, it's what had made life more fun and never dull for them.
But now, things were changing again. He wasn't saying it but everyone knew he was dying. And so was Riley, her baby girl. Her free hand instinctively went to her stomach. But Riley wasn't there anymore. She couldn't protect her of the evil of this world anymore. She listened to the heart monitor behind her. The constant sound told her Riley's condition was stable. Bad, but stable.
"She'll be okay... too. Don't... worry... about her."
Every word were quickly becoming harder to say. Booth took a deep breath.
"She's your... daughter. She won't... give up on life so... easily."
"It's her second coma."
Booth closed his eyes.
"She'll be... f... fine."
Feeling his grasp on her hand loosened, Temperance immediately panicked.
"Booth?"
But when he didn't respond, she became more frantic.
"Seeley, Honey, please say something."
"I... love... you."
Temperance let out a small yelp.
"No, Booth. Don't close your eyes."
Booth slowly opened them before closing them again.
"I'm tired... Bones. I'll just... sleep for a... while. St... st... stay with me... please?"
Temperance nodded. She watched with a blurred vision as her husband fell into a deep slumber, slowly joining his daughter in the mysterious realm of coma.
Two more chapters! I'm really going to miss this story:-( But I have a surprise for you all.