"Bones, I told the doctor you weren't staying alone, you don't want me lying to the good doctor, do you?" Booth said as he walked into Brennan's apartment. She rolled her eyes as she watched him drop his massive duffle bag.

"You brought at least a week's worth of clothes. How long do you think you'll be staying with me?" Brennan attempted to cross her arms, but ended up wincing. The bullet wound and fractured ribs were on the mend, but still painful and her medication had worn off. She hoped Booth didn't notice her pain, however, the look in his eyes told her he had seen it all.

"I'm staying for as long as it takes, plus, you have a second bedroom with an adult sized bed. My place has a Parker sized bed." He laughed. He knew that this is not what Bones wanted when she was released from the hospital. He wouldn't admit it, but he needed to be there, just to make sure she was okay.

He had messaged Cullen that he would be taking leave to help Brennan heal, and Cullen told him to take all the time. Booth liked to think it was Cullen's way of apologizing. Brennan had stayed in the hospital for a full week recovering and she made Booth go home every night. Booth hated it.

"Booth, what happened? Why are you calling?" Bones answered the phone with a slight shrill to her voice. Booth kicked himself for scaring her.

"No, Bones, everything is fine, I just wanted to check in." He mumbled feeling foolish after causing such a scare.

"Booth, we saw each other 30 minutes ago. Nothing has changed. The nurses redressed my wounds and the doctor told me that I still need to stay for a few more days. They are still nervous about infections, but hospitals are petri dishes for infections, so really I think I would be safer at home. Maybe I should call Dr. Tamin back to explain that to him."

"No, I don't think you should do that." Booth chuckled. He had gotten home from spending the day at the hospital, watching television on the dinky screen and stealing glances at Bones as she read another book from Zack's pile. He hated leaving her there, but he knew that it would be ammunition when she inevitably fought him about staying with her when she was released from the hospital. He just liked being able to talk to her after those three horrible days thinking he'd never hear her voice again.

"Oh could I ask you a favor?" Brennan asked, Booth could picture her biting her lower lip and looking at him with those doe eyes that made his heart swoon.

"Anything, Bones."

"Could you stop at the lab and-"

"Nope." Booth said with a resounding 'p' sound.

"Booth!" Bones protested and Booth shook his head.

"No work for a while, you heard the nice doctor man." Booth responded. He could hear a buzzing sound coming from Brennan's side of the line.

"Dr. Brennan, is everything okay?" Dr. Tamin's voice was muffled as Booth strained to hear.

"Bones! Do not yell at the doctor that saved your life!" He shouted into the phone.

"My partner is taking your advice about work too literally. You do not wish for me to go into the field, correct?" Brennan's voice was pointed at the doctor, but Booth knew the glare she was giving him. Booth had been on the receiving end of that glare many times.

"Uh, correct. No field work until you are completely healed, that means fractures and the wound site."

"But you have nothing against me reading files and looking over photographs and x-rays of skeletal remains, correct?" Now Bones was acting like a cop interrogating the witness.

"I guess that's alright, just so long as you are seated or able to lean on something if you get tired." The doctor sounded a bit scared.

"Alright, Bones, I get it." Booth bristled.

"Also, do you understand that the likelihood of an infection in a hospital is much greater than in the confines of one's home? Given that infectious people come in and out of the hospital at a higher rate than someone's home."

"BONES!" Booth was now frustrated as he continued to listen for 15 minutes as Brennan debated with Dr. Tamin about her continued stay in the hospital. By the end of the call, he hung up and sighed. She was still a firecracker.

Every night, Booth continued his ritual of calling Brennan when he got home. But now walking into her apartment, he enjoyed having her nearby whenever. He wouldn't tell her about the nightmares he was currently suffering from as a result of the shooting. He knew that she would feel guilty and likely ask him to go home to qualm the guilt. Having her so close reminded him that she was breathing.

A knock at the door stopped both of them. He saw a sheen of sweat appear on Bones' forehead as she looked at him. He hadn't thought about Bones' mental state after such a traumatic event. She was terrified.

"I'm not expecting anyone, Booth." She mumbled and began walking to the door, but Booth stopped her and went to the peak hole. Angela and Hodgins stood on the other side with some takeout containers. Booth released a breath.

"Hey, guys." Booth said as he opened the door. Turning around, he saw that Bones was still a little pale and Angela noticed immediately.

"Honey, is everything okay?" She walked briskly over to her best friend and placed the back of her palm against Brennan's forehead. "Oh, sweetie, you're all clammy, are you getting sick? Should we take you to the hospital?" She asked and Brennan shook her head vehemently.

"I just need to shower and get into some comfortable clothes." She was in hospital issued scrubs since her clothes had been taken into evidence. Angela nodded and helped her to her room before coming back out.

"Sorry for coming by unannounced, but Hodgins and I just wanted to make sure she was settled." Angela said sheepishly, but Booth was still shaken by Brennan's reaction.

"Guys, you should've seen her face when you knocked and she didn't know who was at the door. Like she saw a ghost. I'm wondering if she should talk to someone." Booth spoke in a low tone to stay out of Brennan's earshot. Angela looked down at her hands and then at Hodgins.

"Ange, you gotta tell him." Hodgins goaded and Booth brought his attention to Angela.

"What's going on?" He could hear the interrogation voice coming in, the terse tone and clipped speech.

"It's just … Bren called me a few nights ago, or at least she butt dialed me." Angela began, playing with the cuticles on her fingers and not making eye contact with anyone. "At first she was just whimpering, and I thought maybe she was in pain, but she wouldn't answer me when I called her name, then she started crying and I was screaming into the phone because I didn't know if she was awake or having some nightmare. Finally I had Hodgins call the hospital and they had someone come in." Angela finally looked up and saw the distraught look on Booth's face. "Booth, they had to restrain her because she was thrashing around so much and I just felt horrible. She sounded so scared and she kept asking where everyone went and I have never heard her so … terrified."

Booth felt that churning in his stomach. No one at the hospital told him about this. He felt so helpless learning this after the fact.

"You already were doing so much for Bren that Hodgins and I decided we would handle it. So we started taking turns staying with her at night. She would tell us when you went home and we would come by after an hour or two to be there when she went to sleep." Booth's jaw nearly hit the floor. He would get there incredibly early, so he was unsure when they would leave, but Bones was hiding her nightmares from him.

"Every night was the same, she would get into a deep sleep and then the whimpering would start, followed by crying and thrashing. We would wake her up every night and the look in her eyes-" Hodgins rambled.

"She's having flashbacks, she's reliving the shooting, what you were seeing was her pure terror." Booth uttered. He could feel his anger. "I've seen it with a ton of army buddies. She's reliving the scariest moment of her life and she can't get out." He finally looked at Hodgins and then Angela. "Thank you for telling me. I wish you would've told me, I would've stayed-"

"You were already coming every day and Bren was super worried about you." Angela responded, her tone soft.

"Well she's my partner, of course I'm going to be there." He replied.

"And she's our friend and colleague, so of course we wanted to help." Hodgins retorted and Booth nodded.

The water had stopped and Brennan's bedroom door creaked open, she was towel drying her hair as she padded toward the kitchen in an oversized t-shirt, leggings, and a pair of fluffy socks. Booth felt his cheeks blush, he had spent many nights with Brennan, but there was something about her loungewear that felt so comforting. Like they were coming home to each other after a long day, she was vulnerable and open. There was no lab coat or business slacks to guard her persona, it was just Bones.

"Ah, sweetie, let me help you with the dishes, remember Dr. Tamin said no lifting above your head until week two." Angela rushed to the kitchen and Hodgins chuckled as he started taking the takeout out of its bags.

Booth grabbed some beers out of the fridge and some glasses of water. It was nice having a quiet evening. He felt like it was domestic, like he and Brennan had invited Hodgins and Angela over for a double date. He shook his head, but couldn't shake the thought. Bones being alive had shown him that he never wanted to be away from her again.

-BB-

Cam sat at her desk. The lab was quiet as she finished up payroll for the last couple weeks. Angela and Hodgins had left a couple hours ago, while Zack had tinkered with some tissue markers in limbo. The FBI hadn't called them in on a case since Brennan's shooting and Cam could only sigh in relief.

She still felt horrible for going along with the FBI's operation. She also hadn't been able to stop the nightmares. Brennan falling over from the blast, Booth shooting Pam, the screaming. She had seen a lot of horrible things while working in New York, but watching two friends suffer the loss of a lifetime was at the top of her list. She couldn't stop the racing of her heart when she watched the doctors perform surgery on Brennan. She thought she understood Brennan to a certain extent. She knew that Brennan compartmentalized, that she lacked social cues, but it wasn't until she saw the look on Brennan's face the next day after the surgery that she realized Brennan's fears of abandonment.

The guards standing next to Brennan's hospital room seemed jarring to Cam as she walked down the hallways. It was 6 a.m., well before visitors were allowed in the hospital, but she had been told by the surgeons that Brennan had woken up in the middle of the night and that she was asking for her friends, for Booth.

The door creaked open, and Cam peaked her head in. She had told Michelle to tell her team that she was at the hospital working on paperwork if they called or stopped by, but she hoped that they would all be attempting to sleep after the events of the night before. Brennan jumped from her spot on the bed, her head whipping toward the door. There was pure fear in her eyes, as she watched Cam walk in.

"Dr. Brennan, how are you doing?" Cam tried to keep her voice calm as she spoke, but seeing Temperance alive almost sent her over the edge.

"I'm a bit confused." She murmured back. In the past couple years, Cam had never seen the anthropologist so scared, so lost. The confidence she usually exuded was gone. It was like a little girl replaced her. A 14 year old girl, whose parents had just gone missing, sat in the bed in front of her. Cam walked over to the edge of the bed and pulled up a chair.

"I'm sorry, I should've called when I found out you were awake." She replied, watching as Brennan kept her eyes on the door. Probably hoping that the others would follow. The ones that she was closest to should be standing beside her in this moment, and instead she was confused why no one was there.

"Well the last thing I remember was pain and everything going dark, then I woke up in the hospital and the doctor mentioned a covert operation, but I couldn't seem to get my breathing under control. They were required to give me a sedative and attempted to explain something about a fake death scenario." Brennan rambled, her eyes never leaving the door. Finally, Cam reached out, placing a hand over Brennan's. Brennan jumped slightly before calming into the touch and finally looking at Cam. Her eyes were glassy, emotions storming in front of Cam.

"I should've called to explain." Cam said again. She watched as the emotions hardened under Brennan's gaze, like watching the walls being constructed. "Director Cullen wishes to apprehend a perpetrator who had wanted to see Booth suffer, he said that he would come to your funeral just to watch Booth break down."

"Philip Zarakowski, he murdered a 14 year old, we didn't have enough evidence when he made that statement. Booth scared him. We couldn't find him by the time I was able to obtain particulates from the remains." Brennan replied. Cam shouldn't have been surprised in that moment, Brennan had always been the type of remember every case she ever had, but it didn't stop Cam from being shocked at how quickly Brennan sifted through all of her cases and found the correct guy.

"That's right. They want to hold a fake funeral for you to see if Zarakowski will show." Cam said quietly, she could feel her eyes well with tears. She was telling a colleague who became a friend, that the government was killing her off to her friends and family. Brennan took a deep breath.

"I see." The cogs in her mind had begun turning. Cam saw the walls closing in. "Well it's a good opportunity and if apprehension of this man can save another life, then it is wise to take any opportunity given to the FBI." Her tone was cold and Cam knew this was hurting Brennan more than she would allow her to see.

"Yes, but Dr. Brennan, I wish they would've let you make that decision. It's wrong to be expected to wake up alone from such a traumatic event."

"When I was 14, I didn't know I was living through a traumatic event until well after my parents had left. I had fought with my mom that morning about some boy. Now, now I wish that I had just hugged her." Brennan murmured. Cam didn't see the connection to now, but she listened, wanting to allow Brennan to think out loud. "Living through a traumatic event like that, I realize I can't take control of the situation. I can't make all of the decisions, I can't expect people to be here when I wake up." Brennan was dejected. Cam cursed everything good and holy.

"Yes, but - Dr. Brennan, they all want to be here, but they aren't allowed to know you're alive." Cam squeezed Brennan's hand, but Brennan looked back at the door.

"I woke up completely alone, and in a way, I expected to be alone." She whispered and Cam's heart shattered.

"No, someone should have been here. We all should've been here." Cam said indignantly, but she couldn't help the guilt that swallowed her. She had been a key player in allowing this covert operation move forward. She hadn't thought of Brennan and how she might feel sitting alone. She assumed that Brennan would compartmentalize like she always did.

A knock at her office door took her out of her trance. Zack stood in front of Cam, asking a question regarding the remains of a couple limbo files. Cam watched the young genius and a certain level of normalcy came over her. If Zack could be normal, so could she.

-BB-

Angela and Hodgins left the apartment and Booth decided it was time to shower and get ready for bed. He didn't like leaving Bones alone in the living room, but felt he was smothering her.

The water turned on and Brennan finally breathed. She grabbed her phone and dialed Russ' number. They didn't talk often, but she wanted him to know she was home.

"But, Tempe, are you going to be okay?" Russ' voice seemed lace with worry and concern and Brennan stopped herself from sighing in exasperation. It was difficult to listen to everyone worry about her. "How have the nightmares been?" Russ asked and Brennan held her breath.

"How do you know about those?" She asked and she could hear a sigh.

"Tempe, you called dad in the middle of the night screaming. He heard your friend, Angela, shouting. He called me ready to burn the world down." Russ muttered. He had already gone back to North Carolina, and didn't want the girls to be traumatized but what happened to their aunt.

"I had no idea." She replied, quickly glancing at the bathroom door. The water was still running and she knew that Booth would likely take his time after so many days being stuck in a hospital room. "It's fine, it was just a post-traumatic response. Just tell dad to leave it. It's perfectly normal to go through these responses after a shooting."

"Tempe, you sound like you're talking about a stranger. You went through something scary." Russ pleaded. He wanted his sister to see that it was okay to let her guard down. Since they had rekindled, it felt like he was still prying her out of her shell.

Booth jumped out of the shower and began drying off. He could hear the muttering through the door and leaned up to listen.

"Russ, I understand what I went through was scary, but I am a grown woman." Bones said into the phone. She called her brother? He wondered as he continued to strain his hearing. She was pacing, her feet thumping lightly on the floor as she walked back and forth. Booth started to get dressed into his sweatpants and Flyers t-shirt. "I'm not - Russ - I understand, that must have been scary for dad to hear, and I'm sorry for causing him any pain." What did Max have to do with this? Booth continued to wonder as he threw on a pair of socks.

"Russ, I have to go." Brennan muttered as she heard the bathroom door open. She turned to see her partner in his post-shower glory.

"Heyya, Bones." He smiled and looked at the phone, still up against her ear, even though Russ had hung up. "Who ya talking to?"

"Russ, just letting him know I got home." She replied, still staring at him. The memories of her dreams came flooding in. Now is not the time to have urges, Temperance. She thought to herself. Booth's signature scent of sandalwood and soap filled her apartment. "I'm going to go lay down." She quickly turned on her heels.

Getting to her bedroom, her mind was racing. Thinking back on the events, her being hospitalized, her dreams, her nightmares, her sitting and spending time with Booth, now living in close quarters. It all became clear. This is what Booth described when he talked about love … I'm in love with Booth.

Author's Note: I'm loving writing this story. I always love protective Booth and also him taking care of Bones, also writing banter between the two of them is just so much fun for me. I feel like we need to talk about how all the other squints are dealing with their friend being hurt. So far this has been a lot of fun for me. Thank you to those who are liking it!