Brennan didn't bubble up slowly into awareness; she did quite the opposite. Her eyes snapped open to see a roof that looked remarkably similar to the one she had stared at in the Jeffersonian, and at first she thought that she had imagined Booth rescuing her. Her heart began to pound and she sat up in panic, letting out an involuntary cry of pain as she did so. One hand flew to her stomach, the other to the bed to brace her upper body, and the feeling of soft linens under her fingers were what tipped her off.
She was in a hospital. She was safe.
And if that wasn't enough, Angela Montenegro bursting into the room and shouting out joyfully sure was.
'Oh, Sweetie! You're awake! I've been so worried!' she rushed forward, stopping herself just shy of giving Brennan a bone-crushing hug.
Which was good, as Brennan was already feeling fairly crushed. She was suddenly overwhelmed by how weak she was now that the adrenalin leaking out of her system, and she slid back down into the pillows as her supporting arm started to tremble.
Angela gave her a concerned look, 'How are you feeling? You're awfully pale.'
'W-what happened exactly?' she managed to get out, the pain in her stomach beginning to increase.
'You were shot, Bones, that's what happened.'
She looked to the doorway to see an exhausted Booth there, carrying two cups of steaming coffee.
'For me?' she shakily asked.
'Nope,' and he handed one to Angela, who accepted it gratefully, 'I don't think that you get much else than pudding. But trust me, there's no problem with that.'
'Oh,' she choked out, and she was going to say more, but the sharp ache radiating out from her stomach was heading towards being unbearable. She opted to simply lay there, trying to keep her breaths from becoming pants.
'You okay?' Angela frowned at her, brushing sweaty hair back off of her face. Brennan, who had clenched her jaw, nodded in response.
'No she isn't,' Booth said, leaning out into the hallway and calling for a nurse.
An older lady bustled in, giving Brennan a cursory glance before adjusting various drips and machines. She then pulled the covers down and lifted the bottom of Brennan's hospital gown.
She tutted, 'What have you been doing, dearie, dancing? The doctor is going to have to redo some of these stitches!'
Booth shot Brennan a look and Angela supplied the nurse with an answer, 'she was sitting up when I got in; it looked as though she'd just woken up.'
'Start awake?' at Temperance's nod she continued, 'Well, we'll leave it for now but if you keep it up we'll be tying you to that bed!'
Brennan wanted to glare but she couldn't find the strength. The hurt was mercifully fading but her consciousness seemed to be as well.
Booth reached out to stroke her hair and Angela took one of her hands.
'It's alright Bones; we'll be here when you wake up.
--
Once she had fallen asleep the nurse led her bedside partners out of the room.
'Try to keep a familiar face with her as much as possible for now for when she wakes up; we don't want her tearing any more of those stitches. Now that she's woken up once and you two can focus on things a little better I'll send the doctor up to talk with you; he'll have to have a look at her wound anyways.'
They nodded, reentering the hospital room and settling back into chairs by her side while they waited. The doctor, a short and balding man, arrived within the first few minutes of their vigil.
'Hello you two; now just let me have a look at her and then we'll step outside for a quick word.'
He worked efficiently, cleaning and redressing Brennan's stomach with practiced ease, but Booth was glad that she was asleep and sedated; it didn't look like an especially comfortable process. Once the man had finished he led them outside.
'Well, everything is as well as one could expect at this point. She should try to keep as still as possible, though; those abdominal muscles will take quite a while to fully heal, and she'll be sore long after, so the more relaxed she stays here the better it will be. She'll be in physiotherapy once she leaves here as well so that will certainly help. She'll make a full recovery as long as an infection doesn't set in, but she'll always have a scar there. Any questions?'
The two shook their heads and thanked the doctor, heading back into Brennan's room to await her next awakening.
Hope that you all enjoyed this update; another one up soon! Your reviews have been, as always, very kind and are always looked forward to!
More are, of course, very welcome! -Moksgmol