A/N: Thank everyone for the reviews. I wanted to address some of the things that were brought up by my amazing reviewers. First of all, the financial impact that a serious illness can have on the patient and their loved ones will be addressed later in the story. We have an imperfect system here in the United States so it is an issue that definitely needs to looked into. Secondly, while chemotherapy and radiation can be used as a treatment for cancer, it is not a cure. To compare it, antibiotics can help you recover from a cold but it does not cure your cold, meaning that you will never get a cold ever again. Once chemotherapy is over, most patients are put on anti-tumor drugs for at least a couple of years after their treatment to try and stop the cancer from coming back. Some patients respond really well and are able to live a full life; others do not respond as well and their outcomes are worse. Unfortunately, once you have the alteration in your DNA that can cause the cancer to grow in the first place, it is always there and your cells can start growing abnormally again. I hope this clears it up a little. Cancer is a very complex disease and I hope that I am explaining it appropriately. Let me know what you think (as these wonderful reviewers did) and leave a review! This chapter was hard to write and I am still not completely happy with the final result so your thoughts are much appreciated. Thanks.

Chapter 3: The Anxiety and Physics

It had been three weeks since Booth was discharged from the hospital after his brain surgery and two and a half weeks since Brennan had moved into his apartment. He tried to tell her that he would be fine and he wouldn't really any help until he started the chemotherapy but she had none of that, insisting that his balance could have been affected by his surgery and he may need her help. Booth knew better than to argue and watched from his couch as she settled into his extra room, which was Parker's room. They had fallen into a pretty easy routine; Brennan would go to work at the lab everyday and because Booth was still on medical leave, she was temporarily off the rotation. Her days consisted of the reason she got into forensic anthropology in the first place, identifying skeletons that were centuries old. And while she never regretted the partnership between the FBI and the Jeffersonian (after all, she would not have met Booth), she found herself really enjoying her time now. Booth would spend the day finishing up any paperwork he had before he went on extended leave for his chemotherapy and working out, trying to get his healing body as strong as possible before his treatment. He had told Hacker about a week ago that he would need to go on medical leave for his cancer and while his government health insurance would cover the expenses related to his illness, he was worried that only having part of his salary for six months or longer. How was he going to pay his bills? They didn't decrease just because he had cancer. He had some savings and was hopeful it would get him through this time and if not, he would have to burn that bridge when he came to it. They hadn't told the squints yet, all of them assuming Booth wasn't in the lab because of his brain surgery. Booth and Brennan decided to go into the lab early next week to let them know, wanting to go to the education class first so they would be better able to answer the questions the squints would undoubtedly have for him.

The only time this arrangement was interrupted was when Parker came over for the weekend. He had only had his son one weekend since he had been home, a weekend in which Brennan spent on the couch. Booth was afraid that Brennan's presence was going to confuse Parker and bring up some embarrassing questions from the 11 year old. Brennan offered to go back to her place for the weekend but even though she had only been with him for a week, Booth couldn't bear the thought of waking up and not having her there. Everything turned out great with Parker, much to Booth's relief. Parker only asked once if Brennan was his girlfriend and he seemed satisfied after Booth stumbled out a 'no.' But Booth had a sneaking suspicion that his son saw right through that answer. They had gone to the park where he and his son played a game of tackle football while Brennan sat at the apartment working on her book. When the boys had returned, they were able to utilize Brennan's superior engineering knowledge and skill to build the best pillow/blanket fort they had ever seen. The weekend was great, until Booth knew that he had to tell his son that he was sick.

It had been a lot harder to tell Parker about the cancer than he ever thought. How do you tell an 11 year old that there was something inside his body that was killing him? Before he had come over for the weekend, Booth called Rebecca and let her know about his condition but asked her to not tell Parker, just to be ready if their son had any questions about it after their weekend was over. The conversation was harder than he thought it would be but Brennan was there with him, holding his hand and providing the pillar of support that he needed so desperately. But what was worse was seeing the pity in Rebecca's eyes when she dropped their son off. That was the last thing he wanted to see, from anyone. He was going to fight this until his last breath and he needed strength, not pity. After Booth told Parker that he was sick, he reaction was what Booth expected. He was confused at first but when it became clear to him that his dad could die, he was angry and then started crying. Booth just held him and told him that he loved him no matter what. That night, Parker wouldn't leave him alone, constantly touching him and Parker ended up in Booth's bed, leaving Brennan free to move back to his room. The next morning, Booth woke up to an empty bed and the smell of pancakes. He quietly went down the hallway, seeing his son mixing what he assumed was pancake batter while Brennan was flipping pancakes and subtly watching his young son. He was about to make his presence known when he heard Parker ask a question.

"Bones, is my daddy going to die?"

Brennan froze; suddenly wishing she could go wake Booth up so he could answer this question. She didn't know how to talk to fifth graders, especially about topics as sensitive as his father's cancer. But he wasn't here and she knew he needed his rest if he was going to recover as much as possible from his recent surgery. Booth was about to intervene when he saw Brennan take a deep breath, turn down the stove and lift his son so he sat on the kitchen counter, facing her.

"Parker, what do you think is happening to your dad right now?" Brennan asked, determined to figure out what he thought before telling him anything.

Parker paused for a moment, looking into Brennan's eyes. "Daddy said that he was really sick with cancer and that he was going to get sicker," Parker stated, his voice starting to wobble. The next part came out so softly that Booth barely heard it from his position in the hallway. "I'm really scared, Bones. I don't want Jesus to take my daddy yet."

Brennan had to keep from crying herself at the child's simplistic yet accurate view of the situation. "Parker, you know that your daddy is brave right?"

Parker nodded enthusiastically, adding, "And he is really strong too!"

Brennan chuckled at his answer and Booth felt his heart start beating again at his son's response after it had temporarily stopped when he heard his son's tearful confession. "That is very true, Parker. Now, your daddy is going to have to undergo some treatment to fight his illness that will make him weak and it will hurt him a lot," Brennan started, trying to figure out how explain chemotherapy to him in terms he could understand while she was talking to him.

"Like a shot?" Parker asked, trying to think of the worst medicine he ever had.

"Kind of," Brennan continued. "While it looks like the medicine will make him really sick, it is actually helping him get better in the long run. But for the rest of the year, your daddy is going to need your help because when he gets really weak and tired, you are going to take all the strength and bravery that your daddy has given to you and give it back to him, okay? Can you do that for me, Parker?" she asked, hoping that she was making sense to him.

Booth couldn't see his son's face from where he was in the hallway but he saw him straighten his shoulders and nod at Brennan. "I can do it, Bones."

Brennan leaned forward and gave him a hug while lifting him off the counter. "Thanks, Parker. Now we better get back to making the pancakes so there is enough for you and your dad."

"We eat a lot of pancakes!" Parker said. Having sufficiently composed himself to join his family, he walked into the kitchen.

"Who eats a lot of pancakes?" he asked, knowing the answer but wanting to goad his son.

"We do, dad!" Parker shouted, giving him the classic Booth smile and continuing to mix the pancakes. Booth went over to his son and kissed him on the forehead, which accompanied a groan, and made eye contact with Brennan, sharing in that simple look that he heard everything she said and was grateful for what she did. She gave him a smile and they continued to enjoy their morning, his cancer forgotten about for a brief moment.

*******

Booth was overwhelmed as Brennan drove him from the chemotherapy education class they just attended to the lab where they were going to tell the squints about his cancer and answer any questions they had about his treatment. Since his diagnosis, he had researched the type of chemotherapy Dr. Liao told him about on the Internet so he knew the principles behind the treatment but the education class had ended with a firm date for his appointment; the day after tomorrow, in what was to be the first of six three-week cycles of the chemotherapy. He rubbed his hand over his head that now had light fuzz over it, his dark brown hair growing back from when it was shaved for his surgery. He appreciated the feel of the hair between his fingers, knowing that he would be asking Brennan to shave it off tomorrow night per the nurses' recommendation. His treatment would make his hair fall out and instead of having to clean up his fallen hair; he decided to just shave it off. Parker had gotten him a brand new Phillies hat that he could wear when he had to go outside, protecting his head from the summer sun.

The car ride was silent as they headed to the lab. Brennan was watching Booth out of the corner of her eye, silently keeping tabs on her best friend. He was leaning his head against the window, running his hand over his head, his eyes closed, as he seemed to be deep in thought. She wasn't surprised that he was quiet, there was a lot of information given at the class today and even though the nurse educator was excellent, the appointment that he was given at the end of the class threw both of them for a loop. She certainly didn't think that his treatment would be so soon but going over the last month in her head, she realized that the appropriate amount of time had passed since Booth's surgery to begin the treatment. While Booth had been taken to view the infusion room, Brennan had pulled the nurse aside and asked some more specific questions about the symptoms Booth would experience. The nurse told her expect the nausea and vomiting but that Booth would be prescribed some anti-nausea medication. Brennan knew this already, having gone to pick up his medication a couple of days ago. She had not told Booth however because one of his medications for the nausea had cost over $300 and knowing that Booth could not afford this, she paid for it, along with some alcohol-free mouthwash that he would need to use four times a day to ensure that he wouldn't get sores in his mouth that could increase his discomfort. After talking to the nurse, Brennan was hopeful she would be able to help Booth with his treatment.

Feeling the car stop, Booth opened his eyes to see that they were in the Jeffersonian's parking structure. He looked over a Brennan and saw that she was giving him a reassuring smile. Sighing, he got out of the car and started walking toward the elevator. He was not looking forward to this. He just wanted to go home and spend the next day and a half in his apartment with Brennan, watching TV and listening to the comforting sounds of the keystrokes she made while typing her next novel. She watched Booth walk a couple of steps ahead of her toward the elevator and saw the slump in his shoulders. She was bad at reading people, but she could read Booth like she could read a skeleton and she knew that he was feeling nervous about facing the squints, as he lovingly referred to them. So she did something that even surprised herself, she walked up to him and grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers through his and continued to walk as if nothing had happened. If Booth was startled, he didn't show it, simply squaring his shoulders, giving her a small smile, and continuing to walk to the lab.

As they entered the Medico-Legal Lab, still hand-in-hand, the squints were nowhere to be found, probably off in their individual offices since there was not an active case. Angela's office was right by the door, so she was the first to see them. Having not seen Booth up and around since before his surgery, she happily ran out of her office, not missing the hand holding between her friends before wrapping Booth up in a big bear hug.

"It's good to see you too, Ange," Booth said, letting the humor project through his voice, hugging her back. He looked at Brennan over Angela's head and she smile and said, "Booth, I'll get everyone else and we can meet in my office."

"It's so good to see you, Booth. The lab was definitely not the same without our favorite Knight in FBI Standard Issue Body Armor," Angela told him as she released him. She looped his arm through his and steered them toward Brennan's office, reading in her friends that something was wrong but too excited to see them together to question what it was right now. She was hoping the news they were sharing was that they gave up that ridiculous "just partners" thing and were together but she knew there was something else there. Booth was grateful for Angela's lack of questions even though he was positive that she had a ton of them.

Entering Brennan's office, he saw that Hodgins and Cam were there, talking with Brennan about an identification they recently made. At their entrance, the room turned silent and Booth walked over to the chair that was open next to Brennan as the other three settled on the couch. Noticing their questioning looks, he began.

"As you all know, I recently had surgery to remove a brain tumor. While the surgery went well, the tumor was malignant and it unfortunately spread before they had the chance to remove it," Booth paused. "I have cancer."

Booth went on to describe the treatment and what he knew so far, trying to answer all the squints questions before they could ask him. When he was finished, he looked in the three stunned faces of his colleagues. In the silence of the office, he started to fidget until Brennan put a hand on his leg to cease the motion. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a minute or two, Hodgins stood up, walked over to him, and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"If there is anything you need Booth, you let us know okay? I don't care what it is," he told Booth, his voice tight and a slight tremor in his stance. "And I'm pretty sure that when you are on the chemo I will be strong enough to kick your ass and if I find out that you need something you are not asking for, I will do it," he finished. Booth couldn't help but laugh out loud at the comment, grateful for the humor. The tension in the room broken, the team gathered together and went to the diner for a meal together, continuing their question and answer session with pie.

*********

It was the night before his treatment and he was sitting on a bar stool they had moved to the bathroom, looking in the mirror at his newly shaved head. Brennan had just finished and was putting away the razor. Booth was scared. As far as he was concerned, the shaved head made him already look like a cancer patient. Brennan caught his look in the mirror when she came back in the bathroom and decided to proceed with what she was thinking about all day in regards to their relationship. Holding his hand today had cemented her feelings; it had felt so good to be here with him over the last month that she wanted to be with him in every sense of the word. And while she realized that the night before his treatment was probably not the best timing, she wanted him to know how she felt.

She walked up behind him and put her arms around his neck with her elbows resting on his shoulders. He brought his hand up and put them on her forearms, gently squeezing her arms and running his fingers softly over them. Their eyes connected in the mirror and she smiled at him, gently moving her cheek over the side of his newly shaved head. The love they had for each other shined out of their eyes and she knew this was the right decision.

"Booth?" she asked, her voice soft as to not break the moment.

"Yeah, Bones?" he responded.

"Take me to bed," she whispered in his ear, not losing the eye contact in the mirror with him. She saw the brief surprise cross his face before feeling him turn around to face her. His heads rested at her waist as she continued to have her arms on his shoulders.

"Are you sure, Bones? I mean, really sure? Because if we do this, it is for life, however much of it I have left. I won't give you up," he told her, staring into her beautiful blue eyes.

She leaned down and softly kissed his lips, intentionally keeping the kiss tame. She grabbed his hand the pulled him to his bedroom.

"Come on, Booth. Let's go break the laws of physics."