A/N: Wow, I don't believe it. My computer's actually letting me upload stuff again. Hoorrah! Anyway, sorry for the delay in getting this to you folks but it's all my computer's fault. I pushed through the writer's block but it's still hampering progress so expect your next update by thurs night/ fri morning. Just don't expect it to be good. If I get really frustrated with writing, I might make a new Bones video. Yeah, I really need to get out more...

Sitting in a back-breakingly uncomfortable chair, Booth just stared down at his partner and couldn't help but think that he was spending far too much time in hospitals.

Whether it was him or the people that he cared about, far too many people were getting hurt. And right now, staring down at his morphine-soaked partner, he was the one who was hurting.

She's always tried so hard to be supportive and a good friend, she's always been there for me even if she didn't really know what to say. And this is how I repay her…

He reached out to her, careful not to catch himself on the drip attached to the back of her hand. His eyes followed the criss-crossing lattice of tubes across the bed area, feeling himself turn as pale as the frail woman in front of him.

Bones is probably the strongest person I've ever known, both mentally and physically, so to see her like this…

He swallowed hard, watching every rise and fall of her chest and every bleep of the heart monitors, silently willing her to keep on fighting.

She always tries to hide her vulnerability. But more and more, she's let me in and allowed me to see her heart. But now she's lying here vulnerable and broken and I'm the one that put her here. She trusted me and I let her down.

How can I ever put this right? How could I ever make it up to her?

He leaned closer to her, his ears straining for the gentle sound of her breathing to reassure himself that at least for the moment, she wasn't going anywhere. And right then and there he swore to himself that for the rest of their lives, neither was he.

oo00oo

Deputy Director Cullen didn't often get nervous but standing in front of the door to his own office, he could feel his palms getting clammy by his sides.

Taking a deep breath, he strolled inside to be greeted by Angela Montenegro pacing up and down in front of his desk and casting worried glances in the direction of a bruised and beaten blonde.

"Miss Montenegro, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Her smile was broad and genuine as she shook his hand, despite the worry in her eyes.

She knows what my family's been through. She saw what happened to my little girl. If it wasn't for Angela, I'm not sure she'd have been able to be as brave as she was by the end.

"Oh, it's no problem, I understand how busy you must be around here. But the thing is, I don't mean to be disrespectful in anyway, but I really need to talk to Booth. The other agents told us to wait in here and I can't reach him or Brennan."

Cullen nodded solemnly, attempting to find the words as Angela's face dropped.

"Oh God, no. Something's happened, hasn't it? Booth and Bren, are they ok? God, just tell me they're ok…"

"Angela, I'm so sorry but Nathaniel Rouse somehow managed to get in to the parking lot and, despite Agent Booth's best efforts, I'm afraid Doctor Brennan was shot. Now don't worry, the doctor's say she's going to be fine, and we have Rouse under arrest. Booth's at the hospital with her now, just waiting for her to wake up. She's still under anaesthetic from the surgery but I swear to you, she'll be the same old Doctor Brennan in a couple of days."

Her eyes wide with fear, Angela looked distinctly unconvinced. With a wry smile, Cullen stepped forward and gently patted her arm.

"Really, she's fine. She's already been using this whole thing as grounds for me to give her a gun…"

The artist let out a strangled giggle, the relief obvious as she leant against the desk with one hand over her heart. Shaking her head, she sighed.

"And it was definitely Nate that went after Bren? He shot her?"

Cullen nodded, noticing how tense the blonde girl had become out of the corner of his eye. Turning his attention back to Angela, he watched as she buried her face in her hands, her voice muffled through her fingers.

"Oh my God, this is all my fault… I could have stopped this. I should have stopped this. I got my best friend shot…"

Frowning, Cullen glanced at the mute blonde, tears slowly rolling down her swollen cheeks.

"Angela, none of this is your fault. There's no way you could have known what was going to happen. The guy broke in to the Jeffersonian, left you a few disturbing and cryptic notes and then trashed your office. You're the victim here, Angela, you couldn't have known what Rouse was planning."

Her head snapped up, her eyes ablaze with anger not at Cullen, but with herself.

"But I did know! He told me, he told her! We could have stopped this…"

She jabbed a finger in the young woman's direction before turning away, desperately trying to force back the tears. An eyebrow raised, Cullen switched his attention to the blonde.

"Hey, what's your name?"

She sniffed loudly, dragging the back of her hand across her face to wipe away the tears and only succeeding in smearing her make-up, revealing the angry purple bruises beneath.

"I'm Portia, Portia DeLancey."

Her voice was barely above a whisper so Cullen crouched down beside her, trying to get close enough to hear and offer support without crowding her.

"Well, Portia, how do you know Angela here?"

She blinked rapidly, keeping her eyes trained on her hands wringing in her lap.

"She did an art class thing at my school. I remember her being real nice to us. And she dresses cool, so you know, I liked her."

"And which school is it that you go to, Portia?"

She swallowed hard.

"East Falls High School."

She raised her eyes to him, a brief smile lighting up her face.

"I just got voted Fall Queen."

She quickly flicked her eyes away again, refusing to look up from her hands.

"Well, congratulations. That's quite an achievement."

Except I have no idea what it is…

Getting to his feet, Cullen glanced at Angela as the pieces slowly began to fall in to place.

East Falls High School… That's where…

Staring down at the girl, he offered up a supportive smile.

"So, was it at school that you met Nathaniel Rouse?"

She froze, her shoulders tensing up before she nodded quickly. Leaning against the desk beside Angela, he cast her an inquisitive look. She just nodded in the girl's direction, telling him to keep going.

I've got a really bad feeling about this one…

"Ok, so did you speak to him?"

She raised her head a little, though she was still unable to look the FBI agent in the eye.

"Not really. He spoke to me though. Well, he yelled at me. He's real scary. Now I know where Den got it from."

"Den?"

She gave him an incredulous look, like she couldn't believe that he didn't know who she was talking about.

"Yeah, Denver Harris? East Falls' star quarterback. He was about to get in to any college he wanted on a football scholarship, he had his pick. That was before, you know, before he went… missing."

Cullen frowned, his mind racing. Somewhere from the depths of his memory he could remember the huge furore over the young lad's disappearance but seeing as it all happened at the same time as his daughter's funeral, it wasn't really his priority.

"What do you mean, he went 'missing'? Did Nathaniel Rouse have something to do with this?"

Portia nodded, finally locking eyes with the Deputy Director.

"Yes, it was his fault Denny died. He killed him. And he's going to kill us too."

She looked away, drawing her knees up to her chest as the tears almost entirely choked her voice away.

"He blames us. We didn't stop him. He's going to kill us all."

oo00oo

Temperance Brennan felt like she was floating in a suit of cotton wool. Everything felt slightly fuzzy.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, desperately trying to focus on anything she could. It was all just a sea of blurry beige shapes. Blinking rapidly, she shook her head, groaning with regret at the sudden throbbing that erupted behind her right eye.

A large shape appeared above her, a familiar vibe to it. Narrowing her eyes and squinting, she cocked her head to one side.

"Booth?"

The charm smile was the first thing she truly managed to focus on.

That damn smile always makes me melt…

He was saying something but his voice was so far away, buried behind the mounds of cotton wool that were currently padding her brain. Brennan's eyes fell on the drip in her arm with a heavy sigh.

"Morphine…"

Beside her, Booth nodded with a grin. Slowly, his voice became clearer in her ears.

"…so don't be enjoying it too much, little lady."

"I feel… fuzzy."

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Fuzzy? Is that the technical term, Doctor Brennan?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Shut up."

He grinned and she realised just how tightly he was holding her hand.

It feels nice, really nice… Booth's holding my hand. That's nice. That's too nice…

Her eyes sliding shut as she fought the remnants of the anaesthetic, she felt Booth move beside her. Opening her eyes again, she found him leaning right over her as he laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. She smiled, breathing in deep lungfuls of his clean, crisp scent.

As he pulled away slightly, she found herself drowning in the pools of his eyes.

"I'm glad you're back, Bones."

She felt a slow smile spread across her features.

"Like I'd ever leave you."

The relief in his eyes was clear to see, even with Brennan's drug-addled brain being pulled deeper and deeper in to her partner's eyes.

They're just so… chocolaty. Oh, Booth… Chocolate Booth…

She felt him edging closer, could feel herself leaning in towards him, desperate for the connection she knew she'd find there.

It was only when he froze before her eyes that she realised she'd spoken.

"If I ever left you, you'd only go and get yourself shot or something…"

He stared at her, his eyes glazed with fear.

Uh oh, wrong move Tempe…

"Booth, are you ok?"

Her voice, still thick with sleep, seemed to jerk him back to the real world.

"I need to tell you something."

"Anything. You can tell me anything. That's what partners are for, right?"

He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Shifting to perch beside her on the edge of the bed, he clasped his hands around her own and gently kissed her fingers. Ignoring the shivering sensation down her spine, Brennan waited for whatever it was that he had to tell her.

Eventually, he flicked his eyes back up to hers though he couldn't hold her gaze for long.

"I… When Nate shot you, it was my fault. I'm the reason you're here, Temperance, and I am so, so sorry. God, if I could change what happened I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Brennan frowned, attempting to drag up her memories from the last few hours to examine them but they were lost in the fog of morphine.

"Why are you telling me this, Booth?"

He sighed, shrugging slightly as he paused.

"Because it's the right thing to do, I think. It's my fault that this happened, it's my fault you nearly died, so I need to face up to the consequences."

"The consequences? And what, you think they'll come from me?"

He just stared at her and she could see the pain and guilt in his eyes.

"Booth, you've always tried to protect me, even when I didn't want you to. This time was no different. You were trying to save me. The only consequence you'll get me from me is my thanks, my friendship and my support."

He stared at her, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"But I -"

She cut him off with a wave of her hand and a harsh glare.

"Booth, I swear if you give me one more 'I should have protected you' speech, I'm going to wrap this tube around your neck and choke you to death with it."

He smirked at her as he rolled his eyes.

"You seriously think you can take me? You're high on morphine."

"Yeah, and it feels good... But I'd still kick your ass up and down these halls though, and you know it."

He stared at her incredulously for a moment before finally nodding.

"You know, you're probably right."

Laughing heartily as the morphine slowly faded, Temperance Brennan watched her partner slowly begin to relax. She knew he was always going to feel guilty about what happened and that he was probably going to be ridiculously overprotective for a while, but it didn't matter. She was going to stay beside him and support him, just like he was always there supporting her.

That's what you do for the people you care about. That's what you do for the people you love.

Clutching his hand and feeling him squeeze her fingers reassuringly, Brennan knew they were both going to be just fine.

A/N: Well, I did warn you not to expect anything good... To be honest, I wrote this while watching Jackass which, let's face it, is not an atmosphere really ideal for writing... See you soon folks. I promise it's nearly all over!