Dear all, thank you again for your wonderful and kind reviews. I loved them all!

Here comes chapter 10. Hope you enjoy it.

As usual, not mine. Unfortunately.

Grev

Chapter 9

December 3rd Kabul

A loud noise of a metallic object falling on the floor and hitting the tiles in the corridor woke her up. It was quite distant, not too close to her, but it was enough to drag her out of her unconsciousness and bring her senses back to reality. Brennan felt numb and aching at the same time, and gave herself a few minutes to adjust to the perception of the surrounding world before she opened her eyes.

A dim light from the dusk outside indicated that it was late afternoon, she was still in ICU where she remembered she had woken up last.

Booth.

Did she dream of him? She had felt his caresses and his kisses. There was no-one in the room now, only the other two patients, still asleep and still attached to their tubes and machines. Like her.

She was absolutely convinced that she had dreamt of her partner. This room, this hospital was still Afghanistan, and Booth was in D.C. And she had been dreaming about him so much during the last six weeks, that she didn't doubt once that what she had felt, what she had heard, was a dream.

Her body was sore, due to the attack but also by the immobility of the last two days, when she had been lying still without movements.

She tried to shift her legs, and before she had successfully moved them a few inches, a jolt of pain hit her abdomen.

Then it all came to her: the wound at her uterus, the words of the doctor, the deep sorrow at the idea of mutilating her body. Did they do it in the end? She growled in frustration for the pain and the total loss of control that she was having on events.

She searched with her eyes for the button to call someone and when she lifted her arm to reach it she saw something glittering on her finger.

Her focus zoomed. It was her ring. Brennan remained confused only for a fraction of second before she immediately realized that her ring, on her finger, meant one thing only: Booth had been there.

Her eyes closed, she tried then to recall exactly what he had said, had done.

No precise memory came back to her, just a non defined but strong feeling that he had shown her love, care, concern. Booth I need you, I am so glad you came. For me. Where are you now? Brennan really needed him, in that moment, like when she was crying lying on the floor of her cell, missing him and wanting him close, wanting him so badly.

She became absolutely determined to take herself out of that misery.

What day was it? How long had she been lying in that bed? Where was Booth now?

She pushed the button hard. No sound was heard, and she just waited. A man came only after a couple of minutes, which to Brennan seemed like an eternity. And she was already getting anxious.

"You are awake Doctor Brennan" said the man almost whispering. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty broken. But alive" she tried a weak smile. And then she dared asking "Did I have any visitor today?"

"Yes, Doctor Brennan, Mr Booth has arrived from the airport and has visited you. He must be somewhere with the doctor now. I will go and call them both and tell them you are awake."

She nodded, grateful that she didn't have to ask herself.

She impatiently wanted to see Booth and look him in the eyes after such a long time since she had his face in front of her, and now that she knew he was somewhere close to her, she could not wait any longer.

And she finally felt lucid enough to want to have a serious chat with the doctor and understand what her prognosis was and the status of her situation.

The man left her room and then she had just to wait. To see him. There. Helpless.

What was she going to tell him? She still could not define or identify exactly what she was feeling for him, she just knew that whatever bond they had was strong and sustained her not only in the last six weeks on this mission, but in the last four years they have been working together.

And what had been surprising to her was the fact that distance had not diminished it, if not made it stronger.

During her captivity she had promised to herself that whether as a friend or as something more, Booth was the most important person of her life and he was going to come before her job, her science and her comfort zone full of logic.

But what was he feeling for her? Booth was so much smarter when it came to relationships and feelings. Could he give a name to what they had? Was he happy about it? And more contingently, why did he come to Afghanistan? No other injured military was having visitors or family coming to Kabul to visit them in that hospital. Why did they call Booth?

Or was his stubborn partner, the man of action, that once he had known she was injured and lying in the hospital, had moved mountains and pulled all the strings necessary to get to her?

She heard the steps of one person approaching in the corridor. The machine attached to her body increased the frequency of the beeping, shouting to the world how nervous and anxious she was.

That made her feel even more self conscious and nervous. It was so embarrassing, still she counted the steps and closed her eyes, the waiting seeming far too long for her.

The steps stopped in front of her room and the door opened, the nasty machine increasing its beeping and noise.

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Booth had been arranging everything with the doctor and Sergeant Wilcox. Papers were ready to be signed, Jack was in D.C. waiting for his telephone call but Booth was unwilling to put the final word before he could talk to her and let her decide about what to do next.

Brennan was still in critical conditions and moving her to take a long trip now could prove extremely risky. On the other hand, the staff and the equipment available in the military hospital in Kabul have proven to be insufficient for her needs.

And he had already made a plan of action to give her the possibility to make a choice about her condition. Brennan had trusted him so much to designate him as the person responsible of her health and her life in case of incapacity on her side. And he had sworn he was not going to let her down. He was here to help her, and honestly, that even made him feel good. Horrible was it when he knew she was in danger o lonely, and he could not do anything. But action, that was his specialty. Even if it meant stepping on toes and barking people around leaving a line of haters behind him.

He would do anything for her and her well being.

While they were still discussing minor details, a man stepped into the doctor's office and informed all of them that Doctor Brennan was awake and her vitals were fine.

"She would like to talk to you Mr Booth and to you doctor".

"You can go ahead Agent Booth" said the doctor, "and start to talk to her about her options. I will come in a few minutes to check on her and see if she had already made up her mind".

Booth smiled and hurried out of the room, remembering exactly the way back to her.

Every step he made his heart beat got accelerated, until he stopped in front of her room, and while he opened the door he felt as if his heart was jumping out of his chest.

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And there she was, awake. Her machine was showing a flat line and beep, as if she had just gone into cardiac arrest. And she was wearing a guilty smile. Booth also was trying to contain his smile, while he approached her bed. He leaned down to her, his hand back again on her ruffled dirty hair.

"You detached the machine.." he told her never leaving eye contact.

"Yes" she replied, and her smile grew wider reaching her eyes.

He didn't wait for any other word, and just closed the distance and gave her a soft kiss on her temple.

And then keeping his face just a few inches apart, he asked "how are you feeling now?"

Brennan was really feeling bad, but somehow his presence and his unexpected sweet kiss had already taken a lot of her frustration and pain away. As always.

"Weak and in pain. Booth.." she replied, hesitating. How could she ask him if he knew what had happened to her? Still she needed to face the subject with him.

"Do you know if they did a hysterectomy to me?"

"Bones.. no, they did not. But your wound is still at risk and they are still insisting to do it. Listen, I have already requested a second opinion on your medical file at the Bethesda Medical Center in D.C. They can help you with a surgery that they cannot perform here.." Booth explained her that Cam in fact had passed her detailed medical records to the chief of Gynecology at the Bethesda Medical Center in Washington and they had confirmed her that with the latest laser microsurgery techniques they were positive to have good chances to save her uterus and its functionality. "But that means that I have to take you back to Washington, today, tomorrow latest. But in your conditions such a trip is highly risky, and I… Bones you have to decide what you want to do" .

Brennan didn't even hesitate, just the idea of what Booth was offering her had struck her deep in her heart. He was taking care of her. Could she remember the last time she had the possibility to relinquish control and let someone who loved her take care of everything? Someone who had her full trust? It went back to some childhood memories of her mom lovingly taking care of her when she was sick.

Booth's hand was still stroking her hair, gently. And Brennan let her head relax at his touch and enjoy the soothing comfort it provided.

"Take me home Booth". Her eyes still locked in his.

"Bones, it's gonna be risky. I can arrange the safest transportation for you, but if something happens during the flight, we cannot make a surgery right up there".

"I will hold on Booth. I promise". She tried to reassure him with a smile but he was shivering and could not offer any consolation back.

He took her hand and kissed it, and looked up again to face her. "I missed you Bones, more than you can imagine. I don't want to lose you. But this is your call and I will respect whatever decision you make". His look was absolutely serious.

"Thank you for coming and get me, Booth." Her words came out with a broken voice and full of emotion.

"I will always come and get you, Temperance, even if it means going to the end of the world". His answer came out with a chuckle but his eyes were dead serious.

"I know". Her last words filled him with pride and joy, knowing that she trusted him completely to rely on him. His eyes got wet and he remained still to look at her conveying all the unspoken feelings that were residing in his heart.

The arrival of the doctor interrupted their silent exchange. Booth explained him Brennan's decision and requested all the papers that needed to be signed.

"Are you feeling like signing the dismiss papers, Bones?"

"You can do it for me." She said with a trustful smile. "I'm too weak to do it. I think I will rest now".

He kissed her again on the forehead "Yes, rest. I'll go with the doctor here and arrange everything. You don't worry about a thing. We will probably be able to leave in twelve hours, when I'm done with the organization I'll come back straight here, ok? Then I promise, I'll never leave your side again."

She smiled him back and let her head rest on the pillow before she closed her eyes.

She heard the door closing and she knew he was gone. But for the first time in weeks, she felt happy and positive despite the gnawing feeling of not deserving a man like him.

The hospital was not far from the airport and the transfer to the private jet that Hodgins had made available, including a doctor and a nurse on board to assist in the trip, had gone smoothly.

Brennan was for the most part sedated and she was sleeping when finally the airplane took off and they left the ground of that war torn country.

Jack had made an excellent job: in the small plane it had been arranged a bed, all equipment to monitor the patient vitals, extra equipment to handle issues that might have arisen during the trip, and the doctor and nurse were two competent and professional people.

Booth was extremely tense. The trip was going to be long and he was really scared that his partner was going to die because of his foolishness and cowardliness: he should have maybe just followed the advice of the military doctor and given his consent for the hysterectomy.

On top of that he tortured himself reading the file and report of the rescue operation: he wanted to understand what had happened to her, who had stabbed her.

That part, actually, was still pretty vague to Booth because the report had only registered that she had been found close to a dead woman with a knife in her low abdomen. And that was it. What really had happened, even if Booth could guess, was still locked in Brennan's sleepy mind.

He heard her moan so he changed seat and sat close to her holding her hand.

Mid trip she started to wake up, and he just stayed there while she was half awake, rubbing her hand, softly talking to her. Nothing about Afghanistan, or war, or what she had to endure.

He talked to her of the beautiful home she had back in America, told her about Angela and Jack, who were both waiting for her, her dad and brother, with whom he had just talked before they left Kabul. He told her about Parker, and his last baseball game. About the coming Christmas and the gifts he had in mind to buy. He wanted to let her know that she had to hold on, so many people loved her and were anxiously waiting to see her again.

"I'm gonna get you a Christmas tree again this year. You can't say no, Parker is already making the decorations." He told her laughing.

Brennan was smiling, eyes closed. She was really enjoying his touch, the low vibration of his voice. And all of a sudden she interrupted him chuckling "What if I don't want to celebrate Christmas?"

"Ah, you think you can escape from all the men of your life who DO want to celebrate Christmas with you? Your dad, Russ me and Parker?

Booth, the man of her life. That was what hit her of Booths' words changing her mood and the train of her thoughts.

"I missed you Booth, missed you every day, every second. Still I felt you close, as if you were there with me, like now. Logically impossible."

He didn't have a scientific answer for her, so he just squeezed her hand gently.

"You gave me back my ring, I have to give you your medal back. Can you believe me if I say that indeed it did help me?" Brennan continued.

"I believe you Bones. And you will give me my medal back when you are doing fine and out of danger, ok"

"Ok, Booth". And she weakly squeezed his hand back.

The moment the airplane landed and they moved to an ambulance, Booth sighed a breath of relief. That toughest part of the ordeal was over. Very soon he could hand her over to the capable hands of the best surgeons of the country and their arrival was already expected at the hospital.

When they got there, they immediately rushed Brennan to prepare her for the surgery, and Booth stopped her bed one minute to get close and softly talk to her.

"I will be waiting here until I can see you after the surgery." She nodded and he kissed her on the lips.

He hadn't thought it over, it had just been spontaneous, surprising him as well. And when he looked at her again he was afraid that she could be angry for that soft lip touch. But she wasn't.

She just replied "I heard you Booth, I heard what you said in Kabul."

He hesitated only one second before he dove in.

"I love you Temperance, more than you can imagine"

Her face remained serious and struck for a few seconds. She had heard him saying those words while she was half conscious, and remembered them. But this was the first time that Booth spoke them looking at her in the eyes, telling her how much he loved her. And she knew that, right there, she was getting everything that she needed in life: his love, his heart. Him.

She bit her lower lip and with tears wetting her eyes she answered him: "I'm the luckiest woman on earth, Booth, you are the best man a woman can love". It took him a couple of seconds before he could actually realize the importance of what she was telling him.

And exactly then a nurse approached them again and apologized but surgery room was ready and they really needed to take her away.

He kissed her again softly on the lips, and this time he felt her kissing him back too, the sweetest and most precious kiss he had ever got in his life. Just a brush of lips, but that meant the world to him.

"I'll see you later" she said before she disappeared behind the doors where he had no access to.

Walking back towards the waiting room, he recalled the time, a few weeks before, when he saw her disappear into the airplane that took her to Kabul. Then he had felt an enormous sense of loss and disorientation. His world without her had lost his balance and like a drunk man had found it difficult to feel the ground stable under his feet.

Now she had just disappeared to get better, to have a chance to save her life and to limit the damage that war had inflicted her. She deserved this chance. He marveled once again at how brave and determined this fantastic woman was, and he felt so proud that he loved her, and that she told him, in her own way, that she loved him too.

Despite the exhaustion of two days without sleeping, he was sure he had never felt better and happier in his whole life.

They were together, they were not afraid of their feelings anymore. After missing each other and getting so close to lose each other, giving voice and act on those feelings didn't scare anymore.

Entering the waiting room, he found Hodgins, Cam and Angela waiting for him.

"She will make it Booth" Angela reassured him with a hug.

"I know, she has not given up till now, for sure she will get through this as well" answered Booth, half smiling but betraying full mirth in his eyes "that's my girl".

Soooo.. you see? Love leads the way.. ;-)

I'm dying to see, in the actual show, this two showing some. In the meanwhile, I will just write it myself.

Liked it? Yes, no? As usual drop me a few lines, they really help me to understand where I can improve.

Have a nice weekend wherever you are in the world.

Ciao

Grev