A/N: Thanks for the awesome feedback and sorry for the delay. Whoever said spring break was supposed to be relaxing was very wrong! Again, this chapter is based on my mom's most recent experience getting chemotherapy. There is very little dialogue in this chapter and I am curious what you guys think of it. Let me know and please leave a review!

Chapter 4: The Infusion Room

Booth and Brennan sat in the waiting room, Booth bouncing his leg up and down repetitively. Normally, Brennan would stick her hand out to stop this action but today she let it go, knowing that Booth needed to expel some nervous energy before going into the infusion room. They had checked in with the secretary about 10 minutes ago and were just waiting for the go ahead to proceed into the room to begin the two hour process of getting his chemotherapy. She looked over at her partner, best friend, and starting about twelve hours ago, her lover. He was dressed comfortably in a pair of sweats, a T-shirt with one of the quirky sayings he loved, and a light jacket. He had some of his most ostentatious socks on underneath his running shoes and Brennan didn't say anything about that either, knowing that they gave him a small measure of comfort on what was sure to be a traumatic day. On top of his head sat the Phillies hat that Parker had given him, his baldhead hiding underneath. To be honest, she was feeling anxious as well. While she knew that chemotherapy was the only treatment that had been successful at fighting cancer, she also knew that it was going to be very hard for him as he fought the terrible side effects. Rationally, Brennan knew that chemotherapy was aimed at fighting rapid growing and dividing cells in the body, effectively killing all of the cancerous cells. The problem, though, was that cancer was not the only rapidly dividing cell in the body and the chemotherapy was not sensitive enough to target cancer cells alone. The cells of the digestive tract and the intestines were also very dividing rapidly, leading to the nausea and vomiting as the medicine also attacked these cells. Hair loss was another side effect and during the five to six months of Booth's treatment, they would have to carefully monitor his blood count to make sure he was still producing enough white blood cells, which are the cells that fight against any infections inside the body. Brennan took a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly as she steeled herself against the rational part of her brain that wanted to compartmentalize and for once, tried to put her brain in park and her heart in overdrive, wanting to do everything possible to be the emotional support that Booth would need.

Booth sat next to Brennan on the bench in the waiting area, very grateful that she decided to take off work so she could be here with him today. Even though he knew that it was going to be boring and he had weakly insisted that she didn't have to come sit with him, he was very glad that she saw though his alpha-maleness and told him in no uncertain terms that she was coming with him. He knew that the bouncing of his foot probably annoyed her to no end but he couldn't help it. He kept restraining himself from running his hands through his hair, one of his other favorite anxiety reducers, remembering just before the motion that he didn't have any hair to run his fingers through. So, the leg bounced on. What was taking so long, he wondered? He knew that realistically they had probably only been in the waiting room for ten minutes or so but he was anxious to get this started. The way he saw it, the sooner he started this process, the sooner he could finish it and get on with his life. As he sat there with Brennan right next to him, he couldn't help but think about last night and how absolutely perfect it was. Not only was the lovemaking absolutely perfect but the devotion he saw in her eyes when he woke up this morning made him feel at peace for the first time in a long time, as if he had finally found exactly where he was supposed to be. It was a feeling he was trying to recapture right now, doing anything to calm his frayed nerves. She must have been sensing his thoughts because just then, she reached out and wrapped her hand around his without a second of hesitation. He instantly felt the soothing quality of her touch run through his body, making his muscles loosen up slightly. Without looking at her, he laced his fingers through hers, stabilizing his hold on her.

They both turned and looked up when they heard the sound of the door opening. A nurse poked her head out.

"Mr. Booth?" she asked. Upon seeing his head nod, she continued. "We are ready for you now."

Taking a deep breath, he stood on suddenly shaky legs and expected Brennan to release his hand. Surprisingly, she effortlessly picked up her bag with her other hand and kept a firm grasp on him. Locking their gazes once more, he drank in the strength and love he saw blatantly in her eyes and followed the nurse though the door.

Booth had been in this room before after the education about his treatments but for Brennan, it was her first time. Her low-heeled boots clicked against the wooden floor of the open room that had little stations set up around the perimeter for the patients. By Brennan's count, there were currently four other patients receiving treatment. One had drawn the curtain around their area but the other three were sitting in the comfortable chairs provided. One had a young person, maybe seventeen at the oldest, head bobbing to her headphones, one hand drawing, the other extended with the IV, a multicolored beanie covering her head. Another contained an older man, sitting and watching the television attached to the chair, seemingly with the weight of the world on his shoulders. And in the final open space sat a couple, the women resting with a blanket throw over her body, the only part exposed was her arm that was currently being used for the vein, and her other hand securely held by the hand of the partner as they both watched a movie on a portable DVD player. The sight of them took Brennan aback. She had seen people living in horrible conditions, having to fight genocide and live in squalor and poverty. But when she looked at the other patients in the room, all looking pale and skinny and sickly, she saw her partner staring back at her and the reality of what the next five months held for them came crashing around her. She looked at her strong partner and wondered if he would waste away before her eyes while she cared for him and tried to nurse him back to health. But whereas that thought before might have made her run in the opposite direction and add more mortar and brick to the wall around her heart, she found that now she was consciously walking closer to him as if trying to shield him from the harmful effects that the medication would have on his body. She assumed that this feeling came with loving him and giving herself to him as she did last night; the feeling of wanting to take the other person's pain away even if it meant enduring it yourself.

Booth on the other hand tried not to look around the room, focusing solely on the chair that the nurse was leading him to. He couldn't look at the other patients in the room and know that he was looking at his future. With the reality of his situation all around him, he again tried to recapture the feelings of warmth and contentment he felt last night and this morning, when the beautiful woman walking beside him made him feel protected and safe and loved. He clung onto the last feeling with all of his strength as the nurse motioned for him to sit down.

"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, Mr. Booth. I will be back in a minute to start your IV and to hang the first medication," she told him, giving him a kind and tolerant smile. After giving Brennan a quick nod as well, she disappeared behind the desk that took up the opposite wall and starting gathering her supplies.

Booth looked down at the chair, which looked like a combination of a Lazy Boy recliner and one of the chairs at the dentist's office. To the side there was a small chair set up for Brennan, who squeezed his hand gently before releasing it and sitting down in the chair next to him. She waited patiently for Booth to take a seat, which he did after about a minute of staring it down. She could see that he was mentally preparing himself for a fight and briefly wondered if that same look of brave determination crossed his face when he was in the military, fighting an enemy then as well. Once he sat down, Brennan helped him remove his jacket and took his right hand, leaving his left arm for the nurse to start the IV to begin his treatment. Since they had resected the cervical lymph nodes on his right side, his treatments would have to be done on his left so there was no risk of swelling from fluid overload. Seeing the anxiety plainly written on his face, she looked to see if the nurse was coming back. Seeing that she still had about a minute, she got off the chair and climbed into his lap, placing both of her hands on the sides of his face. She used her thumbs to softly rub against his prominent zygomatic arches and smiled at him softly when she felt his hands wrap around her as she sat sideways in his lap. She leaned forward and tipped the bill of his hat back slightly before giving him a soft, loving kiss on his lips. Pulling back, she kept her hands in place and said plainly but with absolute conviction, "I love you."

She felt some of the tension drain from him as his hands tighten their hold on her. "I love you," he said back, stealing another kiss before they heard the nurses' footsteps behind them.

From that point, Booth didn't hear a lot, his swirling thoughts drowning out the noise around him. He reached for Brennan's hand after she resumed her spot in the chair at his side and was glad when she gave it freely. Never a big fan of needles, Booth turned and looked into his partner's eyes when he distantly heard the nurse say she was going to start the IV. Her crystal blue depths comforted him, like he was staring out into a vast blue ocean that held all of his hopes and dreams. He felt the needle pierce his skin and winced slightly when he felt the nurse moving it around beneath his skin, manipulating it so it could get into his vein. The pressure on his hand increased during this time and he squeezed back, silently letting her know that he was okay. After a moment, the twisting stopped and he felt cool liquid flowing into his vein as the nurse verified the IVs placement. He turned his head to watch as she hung the clear medication to the IV pole and heard the beeping to the machine as she inputted the rate at which the chemotherapy was to flow into his body. Apparently done to her satisfaction, the nurse stepped back and asked if they wanted the curtain pulled. Booth shook his head in the negative and the nurse told them she would be back in an hour to change the bag and went back to the nurses' station. Booth could feel the coolness of the medication sliding into his veins and his mouth tasted of something metallic, all of his senses seemingly in tune with the chemotherapy and producing their own reactions. He finally looked out into the room now, seeing the other patients, his fellow cancer patients. Brennan, never letting go of his hand, pulled out his iPod, handed it to him and then pulled out an anthropology journal for herself, instinctively knowing that he wouldn't want to talk right now, just silently offering her support through the holding of his hand.

Feeling pretty proud of himself after successfully putting his earphones in one handed, he continued his silent observation of the room. The older man and the teen were off in their own worlds but when his gaze rested on the woman, he was surprised to find her looking back at him, not at the screen that her husband was currently engaged in. Their eyes connected for a moment and she gave him a tight smile and a nod, as if trying to reassure him from across the room. Booth also had the feeling that the woman was also welcoming him into the club they now both belonged and instead of feeling angry or mad, he felt reassured that at least someone else knew what he was going through. He gave her a nod back of thanks and she turned and leaned back into her husband to watch the movie. Booth leaned his head back against the chair and as "Hot Blooded" flooded his ears, he increased his grip on Brennan's hand as he fell into a dreamless sleep.