A/N: Sorry this took so long, I was out of town in a place that didn't have internet.

Booth was the first to find his voice. "We though he was you!"

"Well," she said, leaning heavily on Zack. "He's not. I'm sorry I wasn't in here. I wanted a can of pop, and they're a little swamped tonight, so I went to get it myself. Sorry I worried you. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"They called me," said Zack. "They found my number in your pocket and called me…Why were they looking for someone? Weren't you awake?" He suddenly remembered the million questions he had for her. "What happened? What did the doctor say? What's wrong with your arm?"

She motioned them around to the second bed and sat down, pulling Zack down with her by the hand she was still holding. Angela and Brennan sat down in the two chairs, and Booth and Hodgins stood at the end of the bed. "I was on the third floor when the floor fell in. I was falling, then I woke up here. I've only been up about ten minutes. Actually, they'll be pissed if they find out I wondered off. I guess they called you to come and get me. They're not going to let me drive with a broken shoulder. Or the grade two concussion, for that matter."

"So your arm is broken?" asked Dr. Brennan.

Casey nodded. "Fracture of the proximal humerus. Somehow managed to break the bone longways, so I won't need a cast. Gotta keep it like this for a while. Am I going to lose my job?"

Dr. Brennan looked at her strangely. "Why would you lose your job?"

"Because I don't have both hands now. It's going to be hard."

"Well, are you giving up?"

"Not a chance in Hell!" Casey exclaimed, smiling. Zack pulled her even closer, not caring about the details just then. All that mattered was that she was his. She laid her head over on his shoulder, and there was nothing else in the universe at that moment.

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It was nearly two hours before the doctor got around to releasing her. With all her allergies, it was difficult to find a painkiller that she could take, and by the time the adrenaline wore off, she would definitely need it. She had literally split the top bone in her arm at the end where it joined her body. And it was going to hurt like Hell.

Finally, Angela caught Casey's eye, and got what she needed. "Okay, everybody who isn't Casey or Zack, out!"

A few murmurs of protest, and then they were gone, leaving the two of them alone with their feelings, and the body of a dead firefighter. Only the curtain separated them, but given what they did, it was not too much of a concern. Casey looked at Zack, her expression unreadable. "So, did you mean it? Or even better, did you really do that and say that, or is it just the head injury putting me through a fantasy I hadn't allowed myself to imagine?"

"I did. Say it, I mean. And do it. It's not the head injury, or a dream. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you."

"Why?"

Now, there were a lot of questions that Zack anticipated, and had rehearsed answers for the million times he had thought about how this would go, and this had never been one of them. "I-What?"

"Why? Why would you love me? I mean, I love you too, and I'm…well…happy and grateful don't even scratch the surface, but I don't understand why a person would love me. It just doesn't compute." The look on Zack's face was getting more and more confused by the minute, so she tried very quickly to cover. "I mean, you're sweet and funny and absolutely adorable, it seems like you could do so much better than me. How come you don't have someone twice as smart that looks like Angela?"

"I've never been very good with women. That's why I never said anything to you before. I was afraid you wouldn't want me. Hodgins says it's because I'm not very good in bed." He winced. "That part wasn't supposed to come out."

She giggled. "I love you too, Zack. And I bet you're great in bed." He blushed about two shades past purple.

"Okay," said Hodgins, popping back in. "You two decent? Good." He hadn't waited for an answer, just walked around the curtain. "Doc says you're ready to go." He handed her a pill bottle. "And he said that you should be able to take these. One every four hours as needed."

She allowed herself to be led out of the room, pausing only a second to salute her fallen comrade, and walked out to the front door before a male nurse caught up with her. "Take those pills, kid. Don't try to be tough. That's gonna hurt like a bitch."

"I will, Terry," she said, starting to feel the first twinges of what would hit her full-force soon. "Don't worry."

He grinned conspiratorily, and nodded to Zack, who had his arm around her waist. "That him?"

"Yeah," she said. "That's him."

"Congratulations, then." He looked over to Zack. "Take care of her, man."

Zack looked confused. "Don't worry. I will." He smiled. "With everything I have."

He pulled her closer as they walked outside. "So," he asked her casually. "Who was that?"

"Terry Malloy. I volunteer here sometimes as an EMT. Terry and I talk a lot."

"So, you talk about me?"

She laughed. "He asked me out once. I turned him down, told him I was interested in someone else, but that I didn't know if they were interested in me or not. And now I do."

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Booth and Brennan bid their goodnights and went to their cars as the two couples got into Angela's car. "So, you're staying with me tonight, right?" asked Zack, then realized how it sounded. "Not that I'm suggesting that we…you know, what we were talking about earlier, just that you hit your head, and your arm's going to hurt and you shouldn't be alone."

She smirked. "Yeah, I look like I'm up for a night of gold-medal winning gymnastics!"

Hodgins laughed. "You may be overestimating Zack." The younger man felt the blood rush to his face.

Casey replied quickly. "You may be underestimating me." Hodgins damn near crashed the car, and Zack felt his blood rush somewhere other than his face. Angela was laughing so hard at the look on her boyfriend's face that she almost couldn't breathe.

"Nice to know," Hodgins muttered, and Angela elbowed him in the ribs. "Why don't you guys come up to the main house for a little while? I could use a drink, Casey I know you don't drink, but Zack looks like he could, too."

"I could," he replied. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked Casey. Hodgins rolled his eyes. Asking permission already. The boy had it bad!

"Sure," said Casey. "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep anyway. My arm's starting to really hurt." Zack produced her pills out of his shirt pocket, and Angela handed her a bottle of water. She took two of them, but nobody said anything about it.

Something suddenly occurred to Angela. "Wait a second! We leave you alone to talk about your feelings and you talk about sex?!"

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They sat once again in Hodgins' living room, beers for the men, a Cosmopolitan for Angela, and a plain cranberry juice for Casey, they all settled in. Angela had arranged herself and Hodgins on the big couch, so Zack and Casey either had to sit separately on the chairs, or very close together on the smaller couch, and was pleased to see that once they were settled, they were close enough to leave room for almost another person beside them. If they were any closer, Casey would have been in his lap. "So," said Angela, "Casey, will you come help me with refills?"

Casey looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Uh…broken arm?"

Angela sighed. These two were a match made in heaven. Never had she met two people that clueless! "Okay, then, let's go into the kitchen and talk about the boy. Just like high school."

"Oh," said Casey. "Okay." She started trying to get up, but Hodgins stopped her.

"That's okay, kid. Me and Zack will go, you two just stay here and talk. Does anybody need any real refills?"

"I could use one," said Angela.

Casey shook her head. "No, I'm okay. My stomach fells a little weird." Zack squeezed her hand and got up, following his friend into the kitchen.

"So," said Casey.

"So," said Angela.

"I kinda sucked at the girl talk thing even in high school. Is this where I'm supposed to ask questions about sex, and stuff like that? 'Cause I already know most of that stuff." Angela almost spilled her drink. Even after all this time with first Zack and now Casey, she was sure she would never be able to predict what was going to come out of one of their mouths next.

"Ok…well, is there anything you want to talk about?" she said, recovering.

Casey, however, hadn't realized that she had nearly caused her friend to choke. "So, what's the deal with Booth and Dr. Brennan? Are they a couple or what? I mean, you can tell how they feel for each other, it's not like they're subtle about it or anything."

Angela laughed. "Well, you and Zack weren't much better. We all knew it long before either of you did." She didn't include that they had mistaken Zack's early feelings for jealousy. "They're not really a couple. They're in that limbo you and Zack were in for the last few weeks. They both know, we all know, but they don't talk about it."

"Why not?"

Angela shrugged. "Brennan came from a really rough background. You see, her parents disappeared when she was 15, and then we found her mother's body, and we know her father is still alive, but we're not sure if he's a good guy or a bad guy. So she's a little slow to form strong bonds."

Casey nodded. "That'll do it. What about Booth? Does he just keep his feelings quiet out of respect for her, or is he messed up too?"

"Well, Booth has this Superman thing going on. And he's afraid that if the bad guys find out about Lois Lane…"

The girl finished for her. "Then Lois might get hurt." She nodded. "I can understand that, too. Sucks for them, though. Now that Zack knows how I feel, it's like a weight lifted from my shoulders, and maybe I can believe that everything's going to be okay."

Angela wasn't sure what to say to that, so she went the easy way. "How's the arm?"

"Hurts like a bitch," said Casey without changing her tone. "But I've had worse."

Angela shook her head. "Girl, you have been through Hell in the last few months. You nearly suffocated that day in the lab, there was that fight, then you fell in the water tower yesterday, now this! I know your arm hurts, and your head, and probably everything else, too after the fall you took. How are you still so…"

"Stoic? Upbeat, even?"

Angela nodded. "I mean, I know there's you and Zack, but come on! How are you even holding it together?"

Casey smiled enigmatically. "There's worse things in the world than pain."

"Don't hear that very often. Like what?"

Now Casey was no longer able to meet her eyes. "Like fear."

"Okay," said Angela. "I'll give you that one. But I still don't understand."

"Hopefully you never will." Casey sat up a little straighter. "So, how long have you and Hodgins been together?"

"Nice try," said Angela. "You don't get to make deep, philosophical statements like that and not elaborate. We haven't asked many questions about your past, but that doesn't mean we're not all dying of curiosity!"

Casey looked very uncomfortable. "Angela," she said, after a long pause to collect her thoughts. "I feel so at home with you guys. I've never felt that before. And I wish I could answer your questions. But I can't."

Angela softened. "I know what it's like to come from a screwed up family. I'm sure you've heard by now who my father is." Casey nodded. "Well, that doesn't necessarily make for a normal childhood either. You can talk to me. It may hurt, but maybe you should talk about it."

"I…just can't!" said Casey, wishing she had a way to explain what she knew she couldn't. "If I told you, it could bring it all back, and I've tried so hard to get away!"

Angela nodded. "I know. You think you can just bury it, but someday, it'll come up anyway, and you'll need to deal with it. When that happens, I'm here to talk." She reached over and patted Casey on the good shoulder. "Anytime the past gets a little too close.

Casey nodded. It was safer to allow Angela to think she meant the memories. What she didn't know was that when the past came a little too close, it would be too late to talk. For any of them.

Her stomach rolled alarmingly, and she tried to believe it was just the repressed memories physical manifestations. Then it happened again, and it was obvious that it was purely physical. She struggled to her feet. "Bathroom," she croaked to Angela.

Running the mansion's layout through her head, she tried to remember the closest bathroom. "This way," she said, leading the sick girl. They made it to the bathroom just in time, as Casey started vomiting.

"Oh, Christ! Is that blood?" Hodgins came up behind Angela, just as she was turning away.

"Casey!" exclaimed Zack, rushing to her.

"It's the concussion, right?" asked Angela. "That makes you sick, doesn't it?"

"Guys?" Hodgins repeated. "Is that blood?"

Finally, Casey got enough of a break to catch her breath. "Not blood," she said weakly. "Cranberry juice." Another pause to breathe. And I don't think it's from th-" She cut off again as another bout of retching seized her. It was a few more moments before she could continue. "Not the concussion. Only puke like this-" Again with the retching. "Allergic. Ultram."

"Shit!" exclaimed Angela, remembering the first time they had encountered her allergies. "We have to get her to the hospital!"

Casey held up a finger, and shook her head. When she was able to talk again, she tried to explain. "Different kind if allergies. Just gonna puke. Phenergan in my purse."

"But you don't have your purse!" exclaimed Angela.

"It's in my car," she realized. "Then this is going to be a long night."

"Someone will have to go get it," said Zack.

"But who?" asked Hodgins. "We've all been drinking. Except for Casey, who's been taking pain meds." They looked at each other. This wasn't good. "Call Brennan!"

"I'll be okay, eventually," said Casey. She had momentarily stopped being sick, and was leaning against Zack, her skin an unhealthy grey.

"How long is eventually?" Angela asked.

"About a day," she replied.

"Call Dr. Brennan," said Zack. Casey got sick again, and wasn't able to protest.

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An hour later, after Dr. Brennan had brought her medicine, after she stopped throwing up, after Zack took her back to his apartment, she was tucked into Zack's bed. He covered her up, kissed her on the forehead, and to her surprise, turned to leave. "What?" she asked. "After all this, I still have to sleep alone?"

He looked surprised. "I didn't think you'd feel like sharing space tonight."

She was very drowsy from the phenergan, and looked up at him. "Just the opposite. I don't want to be alone. Just hold me?"

He didn't need an engraved invitation, so he carefully slid under the blankets to her back and carefully arranged his arm over her side, below her injured arm, but high enough that it didn't seem like he was asking for anything. She wanted to be held, that was what she would get. He thought about the last twenty-four hours, it had been one eventful day. Shaking his head, he laughed softly.

"What?" she asked, half asleep.

He kissed the back of her head. "Why does it seem that the girl I fell so hard for seems intent on giving me a heart attack?"