Disclaimer: Don't own them. Would like to. Too bad.

I am so terribly sorry that it took me so long to update. I haven't had a lot of time on my hands lately. I hope you guys forgive me and keep reading!

Thanks so much to all the reviewers. You people are wonderful, really. I am so happy about all the nice things you have written!

Here is the next chapter. Have fun!

Booth felt like being stuck in a tunnel. All was dark around him. He could hear people speak, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. His head was spinning, and he felt an almost unbearable pain in his whole body. Where was he? Booth couldn't think clearly. Slowly, the noises around him started to become clearer. There was this beeping sound right next to him, kind of confusing. He wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids just wouldn't obey. Then there was this voice again, and it sounded so familiar.

"...Please, Seeley. Open your eyes, will you?"

Finally, he pulled his eyes open. His vision was blurry, only slowly clearing up.

Booth slowly realized where the beeping sound came from, and he started to understand where he was. Then he saw the three people standing at his bedside.

Mom. Dad. Bones. All with tears in their eyes.

"Mom... Don't cry...mom..." His voice sounded hoarse. His throat felt so dry.

Laura Booth couldn't help but sob. "Seeley, Darling. I'm so glad you're awake."

Booth tried to look around, but every time he tried to move his head he felt like being hit by a truck. "Bones... are you... alright?" he whispered.

Brennan nodded and wiped a tear from her eye. "Sure. I'm OK." She gently stroke his arm. "You really scared us. How are you feeling?"

"Sore... I feel like... like somebody cut me open...with a chainsaw..." He coughed, which caused him to wince in pain. "And...I'm...thirsty."

Brennan grabbed a plastic cup from the bedside table and carefully helped him drink little sips of water. "Thanks... Bones."

He looked at his parents.

"If they made you guys come here... I'm...I'm probably not doing so well...am I."

His mother squeezed his hand carefully. "You're gonna be OK, Seeley. You just need time to recover." She smiled through her tears.

"You have to rest," his father agreed.

Booth tried to move his arm in an attempt to wipe the tears from his mothers face, but he just couldn't lift it.

Brennan swallowed hard. "Don't move too much. You're in pain, I'm gonna get the doctor to give you something for that."

"I feel like...crap," Booth admitted. His voice sounded so weak. Brennan almost couldn't believe this was the same man she used to have some pretty loud arguments with. Booth could hardly keep his eyes open. "So tired..." he muttered. He closed his eyes, wishing the pain would just go away.

Brennan left the room to get Dr. Fulton. Laura and Michael Booth stayed with Booth, holding his hand and gently talking to him while he fell back asleep.

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Angela Montenegro stared at her sketchpad, then at the skull on the table in front of her. She yawned. It had taken her quite some time to finish her drawing of the victim's face. She really wanted to get it right this time. This was personal, and they needed it to be as accurate as possible.

She took her pencil and corrected another few lines here and there.

She looked up when Jack entered the room.

"Hi Jack. I'm almost done, see?" She turned the sketch around.

Jack looked into the face of a young man with Hispanic features. He had a friendly face and interesting dark eyes.

"You think that's him? He looks like a nice guy. I like the eyes."

Angela shrugged. "You know how it is. I have to imagine which eyes would match his features. A skull tells me a lot about what his face looks like, but it doesn't say anything much about the eyes."

Jack put his arms around her from behind. "You're doing a great job." He smiled at her. "Oh, and buy the way, Brennan called from the hospital. Booth woke up a little while ago. She said he was pretty off, probably from all the medication he's getting, but the doctor's optimistic."

Angela was relieved. "That's good news. How's Bren coping?"

"Oh, you won't believe this. She met Booth's parents, who are also there now. Seems like she loves those people."

Angela chuckled. "Isn't that great. Probably his mom is this sweet little lady, taking care of everything and everyone, including her son's partner. I can almost see it. If you ask me, it's exactly what Brennan needs right now."

She handed the sketchpad over to Jack. "I'm gonna call Sully. Maybe he can meet me downtown tomorrow and we check out the neighbourhood together."

Hodgins frowned. "You wanna go with him? Do you think that's a good idea? I don't want anything to happen to you, baby."

"Jack, I thought about all this, and you were right. Sully can help us to help Bren and Booth. And we'll be careful. I just think, if we find her – you know, Isabel -, maybe she would more likely talk to a woman than a man. And...I'm very convincing sometimes."
She kissed her boyfriend on the forehead. "But then again, you probably knew that already."

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The next morning, Brennan sat at Booth's bed again. She had returned after getting a little bit of sleep and a shower at her apartment, while his parents had stayed with him, and now they had gone to their hotel in order to rest. They all had decided it would be best to take turns, so Booth wouldn't wake up being alone. He hadn't really been awake since the last afternoon, he had more or less dozed the hole time.

Suddenly, she heard a hesitant knocking on the door.

"Yes, come in."

She was pretty surprised to see Jack enter the room. He nervously went through his curls with his fingers, while greeting Brennan and looking at the still sleeping Booth.

"I thought I drop by to see how he...how you both are doing. So, he is still asleep?"

Brennan nodded. "It's the painkillers, they make him drowsy."

Jack took a seat next to her. "And you? How are you?"

She shrugged. "Fine, I guess. You guys need me at the lab? Because, you know, I don't think I can handle work right now. I feel like I should rather be here."

"The lab's not important now, Dr. Brennan. There's no urgent case. Zach will be able to manage things on his own."

"Where is Angela?"

"Oh, she is... she had an appointment. She'll be here later today. Wants me to say Hi."

They sat together, remaining silent for a while, until Hodgins finally spoke up.

"Is there anything we can do for you, Dr. Brennan?"

Brennan shook her head. "You're already doing it. You are there for me. You've all been a tremendous help."

Suddenly, Booth moved in his sleep and after a while, his eyelids were twitching. He slowly opened his eyes.

Brennan took his hand. "Hi Booth."

"Hi, Bones. Hodgins." His voice was still weak.

Jack smiled at him. "Hey, Booth. Good to see you. How are you doing, my man?"

Booth made an attempt to smile back. "Just peachy. Bones is the nicest little nurse. I bet I'll be out of here in no time." Both men chuckled, but suddenly Booth winced in pain.

Brennan looked concerned. "Despite not being your nurse, Booth, I still care about your health. Need me to get Dr. Fulton?"

Booth slightly shook his head. "No, it's OK. Just a little twinge in my chest when I'm laughing." He looked around, his eyes meeting all the wires, tubes and monitors. "All this stuff looks hardcore."

"Well," Brennan said. "Let's just say that this time, it was a pretty close call."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

Suddenly, Jack got up. "You know, guys, I should head back to the lab. I promised Angela I would meet her there." Well, that was true – at least more or less. Not mentioning all the details wasn't quite the same as lying, was it. "Take care, Booth. We all wish you a speedy recovery. Angela and Zach will drop by soon."

"Thanks, Hodgins," Booth answered. "Tell them I said Hi."

Jack nodded. "Will do. Bye, guys."

Brennan smiled. "Bye, Jack." He left, leaving Brennan and Booth side by side, none of each really knowing what to say.

Finally Booth looked over to Brennan and tried to reach for her hand. "Bones."

She looked straight into his brown eyes. "You know how I always told you not to call me that? I think I changed my mind. Right now, I'm really glad to hear you say it."

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Angela had agreed to meet Sully in a downtown coffee shop. When she arrived, he was sitting on the counter, resting his head in his hands, staring into a large cup of coffee.

She shook her head in disbelief.

"What's it with you FBI-guys. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're the lonesome cowboy who is staring into a glass of whisky."

He gave her a puzzled look, but then tried to sit up straight. "Hi, Angela. I'm sorry, I had a rough night. I'm feeling a bit tired. How is Booth doing?"

She sat down on the stool next to him.

"Oh, he's doing better. He woke up last afternoon. Still hurts a lot, I guess, but you know him, he's tough."

Sully nodded. "Yeah, he is. Thank god. I was really worried."

Angela smiled at the waitress, ordering a double latte. Then she turned back to Sully. "I brought you my sketch of the victim. Could have sent it by email, but then again, I thought I give it to you personally. Maybe I can help you."

"What do you mean, help?"

"You know, I just wanna do something to catch the guy who did this to Booth. I thought maybe you would take me with you when you go looking for him?" She gave him the puppy-eyes-look.

"Whoa, Angela. Don't give me that look. No can do, Cullen will kill me when he finds out that I put any of you in danger by taking you with me. No way."

She sighed. "Sully, please. We all feel so helpless. We need to actually do something."

He took another sip of his coffee. "Angela, no. No field work right now, not after what happened to Booth and not as long as the shooter is still out there. But I tell you what – I let you know when I find her, OK? Maybe I can arrange it that you can show her the sketch yourself. I'll tell Cullen we need you to correct the sketch according to what this woman tells you. OK?" He raised is eyebrows.

Angela gave in. She felt defeated. He was right, it could be dangerous, and she knew that neither Jack, nor Brennan or Booth would want that. "OK. But promise me you'll call me if there is any news."

Sully nodded. "I will. It might take a while, though. We still don't know where she could be hiding. Maybe someone is forcing her to keep quiet. But don't worry, we'll find her."

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Meanwhile, in another part of town, a young woman was lying on a mattress, crying. She could feel the tears burning on her cheeks. She didn't know what was going on - Julio had been acting strange for the last couple of days. They had left their home, without any explanation. He had taken her to an abandoned shed, forcing her to stay inside all the time. Every time she had dared to ask him what was going on, he had been violent – the bruises on her body were all too visible by now. She wished Jose was there at least. He could always calm Julio down, but she hadn't seen him since they were hiding in this dirt hole.

Her thoughts were spinning in her mind and she just didn't know what to do.

Marrying him had been a big mistake all along. She shouldn't have believed Jose, who had told her that that arrangement was her only chance to stay. Maybe going back to El Salvador wouldn't have been so bad after all.

OK, we're moving slowly – but still, we're headed in the right direction. I hope you liked this chapter! But how will I ever find out if you don't review? So please, push the little button! Thanks, guys!!!