Author's Note: I'm basing what happens in this chapter on something that Emily Deschanel once said about Brennan--that she takes her time before she makes up her mind, but once she finally does she jumps in with both feet. This is my interpretation of Bones doing that. Please review and let me know what you think of it.

Brennan was beginning to feel dizzy and, remembering Angela's advice, she lowered her head to her knees. After a minute or two, she began to feel like she could think again. Her feeling of panic was slowly subsiding. Her mind seemed to be full of random thoughts, but it was definitely functional again. She automatically began to put the facts into order so that they made sense. It had been irrational to think the worst. Booth hadn't been pronounced dead at the scene, or they would have said so. The news report had said that his condition was "Unknown," not "Critical." And statistically speaking, Booth had a pretty low probability of having received a fatal wound, especially given the speed with which he had been taken to the hospital.

That thought triggered a sudden memory of Booth, laughing as he quoted statistics back at her to prove her wrong. He'd called it "turning your opponent's own weapons against her." They had been at the shooting range, where Booth had put two shots into every part of the target with pinpoint accuracy—not showing off, just going through his usual routine. And that in turn reminded her of the time he had pretended he wasn't a very good shot in order to give her a feeling of superiority, so that she would . . . what? She had never quite figured out why he had done that. She would have to remember to ask him.

She had to get to the hospital to do that. She tested her legs. They felt like they would be able to support her now. She got up and poured a glass of water from the bottle on her desk and drank it. Good. Now her mouth didn't feel so dry. Dehydration could result in erratic thinking. She felt much better. Calm. Rational. Where was Angela? Brennan was ready to leave--in fact, she should already be at the hospital. Booth would probably laugh at her and say, 'What took you so long?' Booth. He was her anchor--the one man she relied on who had never let her down. What would she do if he . . . No! That was emotion taking over again. She refused to allow it. Booth would be fine if she could just get to the hospital. The irrationality of that thought didn't even occur to her as she grabbed her bag and started toward Angela's office.

Meanwhile, Angela had reached her office and grabbed her purse. She was hunting frantically through her desk looking for Jack's flask of brandy, which he had jokingly hidden in her office because "they would never think of looking for it there." She finally found it in the cabinet behind her desk and had turned to rush back to Brennan when she saw Jack hurrying toward her.

"Zack just told me some garbled story about Booth being at a bank robbery and getting shot. What the hell happened? Is he OK?"

"I have no idea, Jack. We won't know until we get to GWU. That's where they took him. Did Zack give you the car keys? Good. I have to go back to Brennan's office and get her. She was feeling a little faint, so I'm taking the brandy. We'll meet you down by the elevators on the lower level."

"What if Brennan can't walk. Maybe I should come with you," Jack offered.

"Just go get the car, Jack. You know Zack can't drive," Angela replied hastily. "We'll be fine. I'll wheel her down in her office chair, if necessary."

By the time Angela started back to Brennan's office, she saw Brennan coming to meet her. Angela grabbed her by the shoulders and said, "Sweetie, are you sure you're OK? I brought Jack's flask if you want some brandy," Brennan didn't hesitate.

"No, I'm OK, Ange," she said quietly. "I think it was just the unexpected shock, or something. I'm fine now. Really."

They hurried over to the elevator and pushed the button for the lower level. As usual, the garage elevator seemed to take forever. When they got to the lower level, Jack and Zack were waiting for them in Angela's car. As they got into the back seat of the car, Angela thought of something and said urgently,

"Jack, it's almost five o'clock, which means it's been nearly three hours since it happened. We need to call the hospital to see what's going on."

"But it's only a few blocks. By the time we get anyone on the phone we'll be there," he protested. Then he saw the glare Angela was giving him in the rear view mirror and said placatingly, "OK, OK, I'll call."

Traffic at that hour was in its' usual snarl, so it seemed to Brennan to be taking hours to drive the few blocks from the Jeffersonian to the hospital.

"I can't get through," Jack muttered in exasperation, pulling out his ear piece. "They just keep putting me on hold."

Brennan jumped when he honked the horn at some jerk who ran the red light and almost hit them. She felt like getting out of the car and walking the rest of the way. When they finally arrived at the Emergency Room entrance she had the door open and was out of the car almost before it stopped rolling..

"You guys go park the car. I'll go in with Bren," Angela ordered tersely. She didn't think Brennan would want them to see her break down if the news was bad. She slammed the car door shut behind her and hurried after Brennan. Inside, a guard directed them to the triage area.

Without looking up, the nurse at the desk said "May I help you?"

"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan. My partner, Seeley Booth, was brought here a short while ago, and I want to see him, if possible, or at least get an update on his status."

"Oh I didn't see you there, Dr. Brennan. Of course you're here to see Agent Booth. He's the one you dedicated your book to. Oh, it's such a pleasure meeting you. I've read all your books. They're wonderful," she gushed.

"Thank you," Brennan said automatically. She felt like screaming at the woman's irrelevant reply. She tried again, sounding much more patient than she felt.

"What is Agent Booth's status? Has he had surgery yet?"

"Oh, Agent Booth is still down here. They've decided to wait and see about surgery, so now we're just waiting for a bed to open up. He's in room 3. It's down the hall past the waiting area, the third door on your right. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you . . ." the nurse continued, but she was talking to thin air as Brennan was already walking quickly down the hall toward the room.

Brennan was feeling light-headed again, but this time it was with relief. Booth was going to be all right! The elation she felt made her want to do something physical, like jump for joy, but instead she walked faster. Angela had to hurry to catch up with her. As they got closer to room 3, they could hear a male voice speaking. It sounded weak and was very difficult to hear, so they couldn't understand what he was saying. Then another voice came to them loud and clear. They stopped automatically to listen.

"I don't care what they did when you were wounded in combat, Agent Booth. From the CT scan it appears that the bullet didn't do any major organ or tissue damage, but it's possible that an exploratory laparotomy will still be necessary later on if the situation warrants it. You're stable for now, but that could change at any time. The pain medication we just gave you should help you get some rest. I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here so that we can monitor the situation until we're certain there is no danger of complications. And that's exactly what I'm going to tell Deputy Director Cullen when I talk to him. He's already called twice for an update on you, by the way."

Then came the other voice again, still weak but unmistakable—Seeley Booth's voice.

"OK, doc, you win. Thanks." He sounded exhausted.

That conversation told Brennan all she needed to know about Booth's condition. She started walking again as soon as she heard Booth's voice through the partially opened door. She didn't pause as she entered and saw Booth's startled but welcoming look. She didn't even stop to look at the doctor standing on the other side of the room. Instead, she walked over to the man in the bed, bent down until her face was within inches of his, and looked into his eyes.

"Don't ever do that again," she told Booth in a trembling, husky voice.

Then she lowered her head and kissed him on the mouth. She had placed her hands carefully on the pillows on either side of Booth's head to keep her balance, and didn't straighten up until several more than five steamboats had passed. From the doorway, Angela noted that fact with great satisfaction.

When Brennan finally raised her head, Booth's face had a rather stunned expression, but he looked pretty happy for a man who had just been shot.

"Don't ever do what again? My job?" he asked, looking slightly shell-shocked. "How did you find out where I was so quick?"

"Zack saw it on the news. They said you'd been shot. We came as soon as we heard about it. You were lucky you were only a couple of blocks from the hospital."

Behind Brennan, the doctor cleared his throat.

"Well, Agent Booth, since your partner is here to see you I'll leave you with your visitors. But only until we find a room for you. Then they'll need to let you get some rest. Dr. Brennan, I'm sure I can rely on you to help convince him to remain here until it's safe for him to be at home on his own. It's a pleasure to meet you, by the way. My wife and I love your books. Agent Booth, I'll see you when I make my rounds later this evening."

He nodded at both of them and then turned and left the room.

"Thank you, doctor," Brennan murmured, and leaned down to kiss Booth again.

Angela was pretty sure that neither one of them would ever worry that these kisses "meant nothing." Brennan was acting totally unselfconscious--like she'd been kissing Booth for years. She had obviously decided the rewards of a closer relationship with Booth far outweighed the risks, and was making her decision clear in her usual forthright manner. Booth looked totally bemused, but happier than Angela had ever seen him. Angela managed to catch Booth's eye over Brennan's shoulder when the kiss ended. She gave him a wink and turned around and walked out, quietly closing the door behind her.

Booth stared as Angela winked and disappeared from the room, leaving him alone with Bones. The first kiss from Bones had boggled his mind, but the second kiss made him wonder if he was losing it. He had to be hallucinating as a result of the drugs he had been given, because Bones had kissed him twice in the space of five minutes with no mistletoe in sight. And they hadn't been "partner-like" kisses either. The only problem was, although he felt slightly light-headed and "woozy," he didn't really feel that out of it. They must be trying out some new pain meds that caused hallucinations but no other side effects. It was weird, though. Everything had seemed totally normal until she walked into the room. He still felt some pain from his wound, so the meds hadn't kicked in completely. He looked back at Brennan. She was dragging the visitor's chair over so that she could sit down.

"How are you feeling, Booth?" she asked, taking his left hand in both of hers and holding it tightly. "We were so worried when we first heard it on the news. They just said you'd been taken to the hospital. They didn't know what your condition was."

Booth stared at her and wondered if she was really there. It sure felt like she was holding his hand. He decided to answer her question, just in case.

"I'm OK, Bones. Don't worry, I can take care of myself. They shouldn't let them put that kind of half-assed report on TV. I'm sorry you were so worried." To his surprise, tears appeared in her eyes.

"You always do that—try to downplay how badly you're hurt. When are you going to learn that you're not indestructible?" she chided as the tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

Booth didn't know what to say, so he just squeezed her hand tightly with his. She returned the pressure, started to say something, and then stopped. After another hesitation, she took a deep breath and continued.

"When I heard the news, I . . .I was afraid that you were dead," she said in a low voice, looking down at their linked hands. "It was like it was when my parents disappeared—not knowing. When I realized that I might never see you again, I . . . I couldn't stand it. Not again."

"Bones . . ."

"No, let me finish," she interrupted him. "I realized that what I've been doing is a mistake, and I don't want to do it any more. I want to stop playing games and . . . what is it you always say? 'Lay all my cards on the table.'"

Suddenly she looked up into his eyes, and Booth felt a pain that had nothing to do with his injuries. God, she was so beautiful, with her bluer-than-blue eyes. But it was her expression that really got to him—her expression was naked, vulnerable. For once, all of her walls were down. She was hurting and he wanted to hold her and try to make everything all right for her, the way he always did.

"Temperance . . ." Booth automatically tried to reach over with his other hand to touch her, but the sharp pain in his right side made him gasp and fall back on the pillows.

"What are you . . .? Would you please remember that you have a bullet wound in your side and you're not supposed to be trying to move? Do you want to have to have surgery?" Bones scolded him.

"Sorry. Forgot." Booth gasped. He was still breathless from the pain, so his reply was short and to the point.

"Please just let me finish what I was going to say, Booth. It's important," Brennan said, staring down at their hands again. She wanted to tell him what she really felt, but expressing her emotions wasn't her strong point. Her thoughts about her feelings never seemed to coalesce into coherent sentences the way her thoughts about hard facts did. Here she was trying to formulate the most important speech of her life, and her mind was blank. Instead of saying what she felt, she could only sit here hanging onto Booth's hand like he was her lifeline. Which, of course, he was. There was a knock on the door and it opened, but she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even look up.