Disclaimer: They still belong to FOX, but I thought it was OK to borrow them for a little fic.

Hi and welcome back everybody! This is the 9th chapter already. I never would have thought I'd make it that far, but writing this is still a lot of fun, and your reviews are really motivating me to continue! Thanks, everybody!

Angela had been impatiently waiting for a call from Sully for three days, but to her dismay, she didn't hear anything from him.

She was very frustrated. There had not been much to do at the lab. They had been trying to I.D. some bodies which had been stored in the limbo, but neither Zach nor Jack or Angela could really concentrate on anything else than the case that had put Booth in the hospital.

Brennan had not stopped by at the Jeffersonian since the incident, which was completely against her nature. Usually she didn't even go on vacation unless she was forced to do so. But right now, she spent her time at Booth's bedside, only interrupted from short trips to her apartment to catch some sleep.

She had taken her laptop to the hospital, so she could work on her newest book while Booth slept – which he still did a lot, due to his concussion and the strong painkillers he was still on. It seemed her life revolved around him right now.

Angela didn't make an attempt to make Brennan leave Booth's bedside. For one thing, Booth's parents' company really did her well – she could talk to them for hours, like they had always known each other, and Angela felt that she was really opening up. For another thing – she always knew that Brennan and Booth were meant for each other, so if the whole thing was going to bring them closer together, then be it. She had been waiting for month to see it happen. Even when Bren and Sully where still dating it never quite slipped her mind.

Jack watched his girlfriend, who was obviously lost in her thoughts. The two of them were sitting next to each other on one of the examination tables in the lab, their legs dangling in the air.

"A penny for your thoughts." Jack offered.

Angela was startled.
"Oh, I was just... you know, I was thinking about Booth and Brennan. Heck, have I ever thought about anyone else in the last couple of days? It's like, we all kind of knew that they should be together, right? And now he almost got himself killed, without them ever admitting their feelings for each other."

Jack moved closer to her.
"Doesn't that remind you of someone? I mean, you weren't exactly racing into this relationship with me either, were you, baby? But eventually, it worked out, and it will also work out for them, believe me."
He tenderly kissed her cheek.

She smiled, leaning over to him and putting her head into his lap.
"I hope you are right. I feel kind of sorry for Sully. But I guess even he knows that it's just meant to be."

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Agent Tim Sullivan sat at his desk, staring at some papers lying in front of him. There had to be something he missed. A clue of some sort. Three people couldn't just vanish like that. He wished he had anything to tell Angela, but what was the use calling her when there really wasn't any news?

He sighed, thinking of Brennan and Booth. He was sad that he hadn't been able to pay Booth a visit yet, but he still thought it would be better not to meet Brennan right now. Maybe the "love"-thing was over, but he still liked her way to much to risk hurting her feelings by showing up at the hospital.

Suddenly his phone rang.

"Sullivan. ... Yes, Sir. ... What? ... And you think it has to do with our case? ... Oh, I see. OK, I'll get there as soon as I can. ... Yes. Bye, Sir."

As soon as he had put down the phone, he grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the door.

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Later that afternoon, Angela, Zach and Jack entered Booth's hospital room.

Booth had been moved from the ICU to a normal room, and most of the machines and tubes had been removed removed. He looked a lot better than the last time she had seen him. His bedside table spotted several get well cards as well as a bunch of flowers.

His parents and Brennan were sitting right next to his bed.

Angela leaned over him to give him a careful hug.
"Hi Booth. How's my favorite FBI Agent?"

Booth raised one eyebrow.
"Hi, Ange. Well, last time I checked, he was doing pretty good. He would rather not be trapped in here, though." he said.

Jack and Zach said Hi to Bones and Booth's parents.

Laura Booth got up from her chair, offering it to Angela.
"Why don't you sit down, dear. I'll take my husband for a cup of coffee in the cafeteria." She looked at Booth's father. "Come on, Michael. Let's give him and his friend's some space."
Michael Booth nodded. Laura squeezed Booth's hand once more, before leaving the room.

Zach looked at the door.
"They seem really nice. They remind me of my own parents."

Booth nodded. "Yeah, they are great people." He tried to sit up a little bit more in his bed.
Brennan helped him by adjusting his pillow.

Booth pointed to the free chairs on the side.
"Take a seat. Man, it's so good to see you guys. Even you, Zach," he joked.

Zach smiled shyly. "It's good to see you, too, Agent Booth. You look better today."

"Yes, and I feel better, too."

Brennan leaned over to Angela and whispered in her ear. "Good enough to complain about the food in here." Angela chuckled.

Booth pretended to be hurt. "Hey, don't you make fun of me. I'm still sick."

They both laughed.

Angela looked at the flowers and cards on his bedside table. "Looks like a lot of people wish you well."

Booth smiled. "Everybody has been very nice." He looked over to the flowers. "Even Rebecca came. She didn't bring Parker, because she wasn't sure if I was up to a playful four year old, but he made me a card, see?" He pointed over to one of the cards. "He might come and visit me tomorrow."

Angela picked up the colorful card which said "Get well, Daddy!" in an adult writing and "Love, Parker" in big, childish letters.

"It's beautiful. He's quite an artist, I'd say."
She carefully put the card back in its place.

Booth looked proud. "Yeah, he really is. I love my little guy. I can't stand the thought that I almost...you know..." His smile suddenly faded, as the thoughts of Parker came back to his head. He almost wouldn't have seen his son grow up. It was still haunting him.

Brennan kind of knew what came to his mind and quickly changed the subject. "So, anything new at the lab? I feel a little out of touch with the Jeffersonian right now."

Angela turned her head to Zach and Jack, who both quickly looked down on the floor as if having spotted something really interesting down there.

It wasn't hard for Booth to understand that their hesitation had something to do with him.

"Come on guys. If this is about the case, then speak up. I haven't talked to Cullen today, so I don't know the newest facts – but don't you think you should tell me what you know? After all, this is about the guy who tried to kill me."

Angela sighed. "I wasn't gonna bring it up. I don't want to upset you by reminding you of the incident."

"Don't worry. Believe me, being here constantly reminds me of what happened, and I want that guy to be found. Please, Angela."

Finally Jack spoke up. "OK, Booth. This morning, we got a call from S..." He felt Angela stepping on his toes. "...from this FBI-Agent, I forgot his name. They found another body, pretty close to the building where you got hurt. It has been identified as Jose Dias."

Booth was shocked. "The accountant from that trading company? Somebody killed him? So he probably wasn't the one who shot me, was he."

Brennan shook her head in disbelief. "Probably not - there must be somebody else."

Zach nodded. "Isabel is still missing, and so is her husband, who, after all, is Jose's brother. You think he could have something to do with his death? It appears logical to me. Though I can't imagine that someone would ever hurt his own brother."

Brennan scratched her head. "What if Jose wanted to help Isabel – you know, by using his job to bring her old boyfriend over from El Salvador?"

Jack frowned. "But it didn't work out – the guy ended up dead in a box, and the FBI started to ask some questions, so Jose thought he'd be better off hiding..."

Angela continued. "...and when Julio comes looking for him, he is surprised by Booth and Brennan, who came to search the house, and then..."

She was interrupted by Booth. "Whoa, hold on guys. You're making my head hurt again. You think this Julio guy was so mad that he first shot me, and then killed his own brother?"

Four pairs of eyes stared at him. Brennan was the first to speak.

"What Booth? You think we are wrong?"

Booth shook his head. "No, absolutely not. I think you might have a point."

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Isabel squat in a corner. She was scared to death.

Julio had been away for two days, locking her into the dirty room that had been there refuge of some kind for the last days. When he returned, he had this frantic look in his eyes. And Then she had spotted the blood stains on his shirt, and she knew right away that something terrible had happened.

He drank a lot after he returned, and finally fell asleep right on the floor.

She sank to her knees, praying. Praying that god would help her to get out of this place.

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Back in Jack's car, the squints where on their way back home.

"I think he really looked a lot better today." Zach said for the third time.

"Yes honey, he did. As I already said." Angela stated. She shot a furious glance at Jack, who was trying to concentrate on the traffic. "I can't believe you almost told them about Sully. Why is it that you guys always talk before you think?"

Jack didn't take his eyes from the street. "Look, I already said, I'm sorry. Nobody noticed, so please stop it, will you? We were still right to involve Sully in this."

Angela leaned back in her seat. "Yes. OK. I admit it."

"You do?"

"Yes. And I hope he finds this guy fast. Because this whole thing is slowly driving me insane. I don't wanna lie to Bren anymore."

In the back of the car, Zach cleared his throat. "But still, Booth really did look better today."

"Yes, Zach. Shut up, Zach."

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Back at the hospital, Brennan and Booth were alone in the room. Booth's parents had left about an hour ago, relieved that their son was obviously recovering well.

Booth had asked Brennan if she wanted to leave as well, knowing she had to be totally exhausted.

"Do you want me to leave? Are you tired?" she asked back.

He shook his head. "No, of course I don't want you to. I enjoy your company. In fact, I don't feel like being alone at all. Makes me think too much. But if you are exhausted, I'd understand. You've been here for me all this time, it must be wearing you out by now."

"Don't worry. I don't need much sleep. I'm fine." She grabbed the remote control. "Hey, wanna watch some TV? Or does it still give you a headache?"

"Let's give it a try." he suggested.

They switched channels for a while, finally finding some old black and white movie. They quietly watched for a while.

"They could easily make a movie about us by now, don't you think?" Booth finally interrupted.

Brennan seemed surprised. "You mean, like some crime thriller, about our cases? Neat idea. I like it." She chuckled.

Booth smiled at her. "Yeah, maybe. And we'd be this odd couple who always finds the killer, but we would never... oh, well, never mind."

Brennan didn't say anything. 'We would never...get together, would we.' she thought.

They watched the movie again for a while.

A couple of minutes later, Booth was the one to speak up again.

"Bones?"

"Yes, Booth?"

"I need to tell you something."

Brennan looked up. This sounded pretty deep.

He continued. "You know what I said about Parker today, right? That it was hard for me to think that I almost couldn't have been there for him anymore?"

"Of course. But you shouldn't think about that so much. You're gonna be OK, and you will be able to be there for him whenever he needs you."

"But you know what, Bones? I wasn't only thinking about Parker when I said that. I also thought about...about..." He paused.

She understood. She knew what he was going to say. She looked down on their hands, who had mysteriously found a way to hold each other while they were talking.

"You thought about...me." she whispered. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Yes. I thought about how I'd never hear you say 'I don't know what that means' again, and how I would never be able to tell you...how much I enjoy you being around me." he admitted.

A single tear made its way down her cheek. Booth softly pulled her over to the bed as much as he could, and she put her head next to his on the pillow. He could feel her hair tickling his shoulder. It felt so good, he never ever wanted to let go of her.

"Booth?" she whispered. "I don't want to be the odd couple who never gets together. I want to make it right."

Her body was slightly shaking. None of them said a single word for a long time.

Well guys – you wanted fluff, you got fluff. I hope you like it! If you do, please review, if you don't – well, you should review as well, and give me some constructive criticism. Thanks a lot!!!