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Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 5

November 7th Washington DC

It was still late afternoon but it had been dark already for hours. If ever that tuesday had some day light at all. Gloomy and grey, a day with only shadows.

Booth was driving to his hockey match and was thinking of the pretty horrible weekend he had, at least horrible for his standards. After keeping himself busy for the whole previous week, and working alone on an easy case where he only had needed Angela's assistance, he had faced the lonely weekend with some fear.

Case easily solved, on Friday night he was just wrapping up some details with the artist by the angelator when Hodgins had asked him to go out and drink something, all together.

Pretty soon he was walking out with them, and he just threw a glance at Brennan's office. He knew the others noticed his face and his gesture, but he couldn't help it. He had wanted to step into her office, switch the lights on, sit at her desk for a moment or on her couch, even better. Wrap himself up in her blanket and just close his eyes to be able to feel her. God he missed her so much he was feeling his heart being torn.

But he continued to walk, being immediately joined by Cam who informed all of them that Sweets was waiting for them at the bar.

Booth had been surprised to see that, in the absence of Bones, he was receiving calls from the squints almost every day. Mainly for a simple chat because they had no work related issues at the moment. Angela was probably the most insistent. They had always been friendly to each other, but now she was really showing a need to talk to him. And she talked exclusively about Brennan.

He didn't know if he loved or hated these conversations, because he was just trying not to think about his partner. But he could not deny that being able to share his constant thoughts about her was also a great relief. Angela was surely missing her as much as he did, and she was calling him probably for the same reason, to feel Brennan close.

Just before entering the bar, Angela had stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Booth, I need to ask you a favour." He looked at her suspiciously. His guts were just telling him that what she was going to ask what not actually a favour to her.

"I have just been at Brennan's, to water her plants and collect the mail. But next week I am going away for the weekend". He waited for her to continue though he started to sense where she was going to hit.

"I know you have keys to her place. Can you do that, next time? Going to water her plants, I mean?"

He decided to hide his discomfort at the idea. "Sure Angela, no problem. Hope I'll remember that. If I let Bones' plants die she is gonna literally kill me" He said chuckling.

"Thanks Booth, I'm sure she appreciates your thoughtfulness". And she sped into the bar.

He followed her with a slow pace, just busy realising that now he was obliged to go to her place, touch her things, smell the remnants of her scent around her house, and water her plants.

The evening had been pleasant, full of laughter and jokes. Only once Sweets had tried to trick him with his fake innocent question "I wonder where Doctor Brennan is today, and what she is doing". He had said that looking Booth straight in the eyes, with his clinical evaluating look. Sweets was trying him, to study his reaction, he knew. Rage started to boil inside him when Angela saved him right there, shutting up Sweets and turning the mood around again.

"What do you think she is doing Sweets in a mass grave? Doing the work she loves so fast and so well that the marines there are all probably already enamoured of her. But she is not even noticing it, because when she has her bones, we know that she in her 'bone' world and living creatures are not allowed". Cam and Hodgins chuckled and made some other funny remark, and then lead the conversation on other topics.

His squints, they could be so delicate sometimes. He felt blessed to have their friendship.

"Guys, next Tuesday there is a tough match at the rink. Why don't you join this time?" Booth asked to Angela and Hodgins.

"I come only if you promise me I'll see blood and primitive fight" Hodgins said enthusiastically.

"I come only if you promise you'll not break your hand against someone's jaw, Booth" said a disgusted Angela.

"Ok, I promise I'll play my usual rough way but I'll not kick too many ass". Laughter had continued until the end of the evening.

And then he was alone again. It looked like a curse: as much fun he was having during the day, when he was going home he always felt a cold emptiness gnawing at his heart.

On Saturday morning he had gone to get some food, but after that he had gone straight to the office. By Sunday afternoon his desk was clean of all papers, there was not one single admin backlog left. He sombrely thought that it was really time for him to get a new case. And get Bones back. That was it, two weeks without her seemed to be the maximum he could bear.

But Bones was not going to be back soon.

What he hated the most was actually not knowing where she was, how she was doing. Not knowing if she was safe or not.

A brilliant thought struck him like an epiphany: why not asking some favours to people he knew? He didn't need to know the details of the operation, locations, targets and agenda. Just if everything was all right in her unit, if everybody was safe and if progress was on schedule.

To keep his anxiety under control and to feel he was in touch with her, somehow.

Having her just momentarily erased from the world, from his world, was now unbearable.

He made several calls and one hour later he felt more reassured: he had been told that to that moment there were no significant news about her mission, meaning that everything was moving on as planned, and in any case he was going to get some more information in a couple of days.

He quickly put his jacket on and left the Hoover building. He spent the remainder of the Sunday wearing his impatience off at the gym.

And now it was Tuesday, he was parking the car by the ice skating rink for his big match. He was happy the squints were going to be there and cheer for him.

But again, the only person he really wanted there, the only voice he wanted to hear while playing, was missing. When the radio started to spread Cindy Laupers' tune of the girls who just wanna have fun, he turned the knob angrily letting silence falling in the car.

"You have to stop being pissed because she is not around, man. Just be patient, she will. And you'll enjoy having her around even more." Booth tried to comfort himself.

He dag his hands in his shirt and took out her ring, still attached to the chain around his neck. He brought the warm object to his lips and closed his eyes, fighting back the moisture attacking his eyelids. He heard her laughs, and her sighs. He saw her smiles and her tears. He felt her so close as if she was in his arms. He had the certainty that wherever she was, so far away, Bones was thinking of him, was missing him and longing to be with him again. His guts were telling him that, and his gust never lied.

"Now I know it Bones. You are my life and my happiness, you are the one making this miracle. And I'm feeling dead inside without you. You are the love of my life Bones".

November 7th Afghanistan

A week had passed and she had been working so hard that now she could finally estimate when all the identification was going to be complete.

The good news was that out of the 80 plus skeletons of the mass grave, only 15 were recognised as non Afghan. More detailed analysis were in progress to give a precise identity to the dead marines, and then possibly give a face and name to the ones that resulted missing in action. In theory, without finding additional remains, it was possible that 10 of the marines assaulted the month before were still alive. In another 5 days she was positive her task was going to be accomplished.

Communication had already been sent to the base in Kabul and she knew that a new mission to find the missing soldiers was already being planned.

In that scenario, her expertise was not going to be required anymore, and she wondered if in the plans they were also considering escorting her back to Kabul and let her return to America.

"I cannot positively give you an answer Doctor Brennan" Sergeant Wilcox told her when she had asked him "It's very probable that we might take you back, having identified all the remains. But we have to consider if we need all our men here right now, and every trip around this country is putting our men in danger. On top of that, we might need you again, if we find our missing soldiers. We have to consider the possibility that what we are going to find are just human remains".

Her face didn't hide her disappointment. "I'm sorry Doctor Brennan". The man left her and she stayed still, trying to control her emotions.

"When am I ever going back home?" She sighed and went back to work.

It was a Tuesday afternoon when she checked her watch. Funny enough, she had not bothered to adjust it to the local time. She didn't need to know what time it was there. She wanted instead to know what time it was in DC. She wanted to imagine what her friends were doing at the Jeffersonian, what Booth was doing, guessing if he was still in the office or already on his way home.

A smile on her lips revealed she had remembered something. "It's Tuesday, later Booth will go to the rink and play his hockey match. Let's hope he's not hurting himself or someone else this time."

Was she feeling sorry about the fact that she was missing the fun with her friends? Since when did her life turn around so much that being away and giving her best as an anthropologist made her miss the fun at home? She laughed. Whenever it happened didn't change the fact that her life was now enriched by a family, friends, enjoyable social outings and plenty of emotional support. She was not alone anymore, and she felt a surge of gratitude for all the things she had. Booth especially. Because she was smart enough to understand that all the positive changes have taken place since this wonderful man had started to show her the world always holding her hand.

"Oh Booth.."

Her thoughts and longings dissolved when she heard men shout, frantic movements and a gun shot outside her tent.

She rushed to get her gun and she peeked outside. Her marines had circled two thin men, not older than 30, who were keeping their arms up and looked scared. One was yelling but no one seemed to understand his dialect. The other afghan used a very tentative English, but she was just too far to hear what he was saying.

After a couple of minutes of talking with the help of the translator, the marines looked at her, and the catholic guy, Tony, turned and came towards her.

"Doctor Brennan, these two men heard that you are a doctor. Apparently in the village there is a woman in labour, apparently a difficult delivery, and they are pleading you to help her."

"Tony.. I'm not a medical doctor, tell them! I'm an anthropologist, I cannot possibly help a woman deliver a baby".

"I told them, I'm not sure they understand the difference though. This is a village of poor shepherds. They trust you because you are a woman, so you are allowed to touch her."

"What do you intend to do Doctor Brennan?" Sergeant Wilcox asked her joining Tony. "If we deny our help we might have to face much more hostility around here."

She had a panicked look on her face "Seriously, I know nothing about pregnancy, babies and labour. Never even had a kid myself! I'm good with bones, not suffering humans!!"

Tony tried to calm her. "Doctor Brennan, we can at least request they carry the woman here, to our camp, where at least we have medications and some equipment. In the worst scenario we can alleviate her pain, if we cannot save her or the baby. Whatever help we can offer will be more appreciated by the village than denying it at all".

God, it made so much sense. In a fraction of a second Brennan had accepted his logic and started to bark orders "Let the men take the woman here. One can stay, the other must go back home. You two, prepare a bed in my lab tent, take out disinfectant and the standard equipment to handle wounds."

She sighed. "I'm gonna prepare myself and sterilise my hands". And she disappeared under the tent.

After more than a day in labour, the poor woman had hardly any strength left, and was only moaning in pain.

Brennan tried to retrieve all her courage and lifted her clothes.

She first checked the baby heart beat with a stethoscope. She had no idea if it was ok or not, but at least the baby was still alive. She smiled to the woman, saying "baby, alive". The woman smiled back. Somehow she understood that Brennan's smile was a positive sign.

Her hands moved on the belly, touching and feeling. Damn, the baby was not in position, she could feel its head just under the ribcage, and only one foot on the right side.

Brennan patted the woman's hand, and went out one second, where all the marines and the father of the baby were waiting impatiently.

"The baby is in the wrong position, and the labour has been going on for too long. The only possibility I see is a caesarean section, but I'm totally unqualified to perform it".

They all looked at each other, trying to see if they could find a solution.

"Doctor Brennan, I have assisted c-sections before" said one of the marines with medical background, who had also been assisting her in the identification of the remains.

"But based on their beliefs, I cannot touch the woman because I am a man. But if you are willing to do it, I can assist and guide you."

She looked around. Tony, Wilcox, all the other men were looking at her expectantly. The father was terrified, not understanding what was going on and being terribly scared for his wife.

Brennan pressed her lips. She was scared, she could kill the woman. She was not a flesh doctor, for god's sake. She had an excellent knowledge of anatomy but touching corpses was very different than cutting through live bodies.

"You can do it, Bones, you are the one who can make this miracle". She heard Booth voice inside her head.

She left the guys one moment and took out the medal, bringing it to her lips, closing her eyes. "Booth, I wish you were here to give me strength. If I miss you every day, I'm totally lost without you in these situations. You would know what to do, you would find a way to give me the strength and the courage I need. Don't leave me, Booth".

"Ok, let's do it." Brennan decided. "But I need the consent of the husband, now. I want him to be absolutely aware of the risks".

All the guys were smiling and chatting animatedly. Sergeant Wilcox had rushed with the translator to the husband to get his consent. Tony just had moist eyes. "You are a very good person, Doctor Brennan. God bless you."

"Prey your god, Tony, because this time I really need all the help I can get".

She smiled and she went inside with her assistant.

After getting the consent, they sedated the woman and prepared for the surgery.

There was so much blood. She was not used to cut flesh, and for sure not used to dealing with this pouring red everywhere.

"Cut there, yes, another centimetre. Can you feel the hip of the baby?" The young assistant was giving her good directions, he really seemed to know well what needed to be done. She just obeyed and executed his orders, because she was totally relying on him.

She touched the baby with her hands, and felt the hip.

"I got the hips" She yelled excited. "Pull, doctor Brennan, gently but firmly" Ordered her assistant.

And she pulled. Harder than she thought she had to. After holding the baby back with one hand, she inserted her other hand in the womb to sustain the head. And she pulled again.

And the baby came out, wrinkled, dirty and blue.

"It's a boy" She exclaimed.

The assistant immediately took the baby and wrapped him in a blanket and took him away to force his breathing: he was still not crying.

Brennan started immediately to tend to the mother, who was still bleeding, suturing her while throwing glances to the back of her assistant, who was still busy with the baby. After one minute had passed, she said "let me see the baby, you look at the mother".

He immediately switched, forgetting about the fact that he could not touch the woman: he was not going to let her bleed to death.

Brennan took a tiny tube and inserted it in the baby throat. She sucked up the liquid from his throat and the baby started to finally make noises and then cry.

Had she ever loved the sound of a crying baby more than in that moment?

The mother was all set and sutured, still unconscious but with good vitals when Brennan came back with the half cleaned baby in her arms.

"We did it! Thank you" She said crying to her assistant. The young man gave a look at the boy and said "let's go out and give the good news to the father".

"Wait, I want the mother to see her baby first". Brennan caressed the woman to consciousness and showed her the baby. She smiled and drifted again into unconsciousness. She was so sedated that she was going to sleep for a while now. She really needed to rest.

Brennan came out the tent with the baby, beautiful and healthy. The father started to cry and bow towards her, in sign of respect and gratitude to her.

Brennan asked the translator to tell the man his wife needed to stay, with the baby, at their camp, for at least 3 days before she could go home. But he could come and visit.

He was so happy. He approached her, and still bowing he told her something. The translator helped her. "He wants you to name the boy, doctor Brennan".

She felt moved. She had a tiny life in her arms, a life that was going to grow because of her, because she dared. And she had to decide his name.

She did not have to think long, actually not even a second. "Booth. His name is going to be Booth". She smiled at the father. "Booth" repeated the man smiling.

The marines offered him some tea, took pictures of the baby and Brennan, telling that she was going to be the hero of the mission. And when the man left, all the marines went back to their tents, tired and exhausted as if all of them had become fathers that night.

Brennan was sitting close to the mother, still holding the baby in her arms and rocking him gently. She felt strange. Exhausted, drained, but as happy as she never had before.

All her life has been spent studying people, human interactions, civilizations. As if she did not belong to the same people, history and fate as anybody else, but she was only an external observer.

But right there, she had been part of it. And she realised that what this woman had done, giving birth to a child, was not a statistic on her charts or an anthropological inevitability for the survival of the specie. It was someone's life. A woman had risked to die to give life, a father had risked to lose all his loved ones, powerless, and had bee so grateful to her to allow her, a woman and a foreigner, to name his child.

And she felt somehow sad, for the first time in her life, that she had never experienced anything like that. She lingered thinking how it would be if she had her own child, if she was the one to lose blood and give birth to her own new life, a child coming from her and from… Booth. The desire that was growing inside her was not simply to become a mother, but to create a life together with Booth.

Brennan cried, silently. She cried because the bone lady she has always been wanted to be something more now. She had come to Afghanistan to deal with death and she had dealt with the power of life instead.

She put the baby down, close to his sleeping mother, and she stretched herself in the nearby table.

"You know Booth, I really could use one of your hugs right now. I know you would be proud of me. Thank you for showing me that I can still believe in miracles. That baby is alive also thanks to you, of what you have thought me. You are the light of my life, Booth."

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As usual, let me have your comments. I can't believe that after Princess and the pear we have to wait 3 loooong weeks. Let's try to hold on.

Yes, you can feel the position of babies in the womb with your hands. :-) I loved that part during my pregnancies.

Grev