A/N

This is the 40th and final chapter of the story proper, 4800 words of 'thank you' for my loyal and ever patient readers. One more chapter, 41, will contain the Epilogue.

If I've never heard from you, or it's been a long time, PLEASE review!

Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Thursday Evening

Her kiss was tentative at first, then increasingly insistent once Booth overcame his initial shock and began to respond properly.

He was such a pushover.

His eyes closed in reflexive pleasure, but he opened them again when he tasted salt. Her tears were freely flowing now, but not all of the wetness on his cheeks was from her. He would have sworn he was tapped out from earlier but he was wrong. He caressed her face and neck as she caressed his. When he stopped for a moment, just to look at her, she opened her eyes too.

For a long moment nothing needed to be said.

He cupped her cheek and smiled.

As if that were some kind of signal she began kissing him again feverishly, first on the forehead, then his eyes, then his cheeks before working her way back to his lips, about taking his head off.

Just when he was about to have to pull away again for some air, she stopped first. She stared into his eyes once more then broke down completely. She clung to his neck, her shoulders quaking as she held on for dear life while she wept. The power of her release pulled him in again as it so thoroughly echoed his own earlier. He was simultaneously deliriously happy and scared to death at how close he'd come to losing her. Twice. One instant he was comforting her, murmuring wordlessly through his renewed tears, then somehow the tables turned and she was comforting him, then back and forth again. Who was giving and who was receiving became a blur. The distinction became meaningless.

Which, he supposed, was how it should be.

Finally, Booth seemed to recover a little more quickly. It had been a near thing for both of them in so many ways. He hugged her as tightly as he could.

He stroked her hair, "Shhh… it's ok, I'm here, I've got you."

He felt her nodding against his wet shoulder as she gasped for breath, and he continued caressing her hair and her shoulders until her tears began to ebb.

"I'm ok," she mouthed against his neck, and she pulled up slightly off him to smile into his face. A thick strand of her loose hair, which had formed a curtain around them earlier, was stuck across her moist cheek. He used a finger to capture it and push it back around her ear where it belonged.

Her eyes and nose were red and runny, but she looked as beautiful to him as ever.

"I don't know about you, but I think I could use a Kleenex or six about now," he said with a smile as he wiped at his own face.

She sniffed then nodded with a laugh that sounded like it was still at least half sob, but it was an improvement. He caught her hand where it lay on his shoulder in one of his and gestured with his other toward the box of tissues on the tray table behind her.

"Over there."

She nodded again, and as she straightened up to extend a hand for the box he cautiously scooted over to make a little more room on the edge of the mattress. She turned back to him in concern at the grunt he failed to keep from escaping.

"Booth?"

"I'm ok," he said through gritted teeth at first, then the pain subsided and he could breathe again. "Here, have a seat." He patted the bed beside him, cursing its narrowness. He hadn't been in such a small one since the Army.

She nodded and sat on the edge of the mattress facing him. Her right foot still had to touch the floor for balance, but at least her weight was off her injured left leg as he'd intended.

She shared the tissues with him, and as they both wiped and blew he couldn't resist it, hoping she'd remember.

"Aren't we a pair." He took her free hand again.

She chuckled but her smile still didn't quite reach her eyes, which, heaven forbid, were starting to tear up all over again. She looked down at their joined hands.

He stroked her hand with both of his. "It's ok. I'm here. We're both here. That's all that matters, right?"

She nodded.

"Look at me."

She nodded again then looked up at him, but the floodgates were on the verge of opening once more.

Her voice shook as she tried to blink back new tears. "I'm so sorry I hurt you just now. I… I was so scared." She sniffed again and dabbed at her nose with the already wet crumpled tissue still in her other hand. "You were leaving me…" She screwed her eyes up tight, and her voice trailed off. Her lower lip actually quivered. She couldn't finish.

But she didn't have to. He knew her. She'd thought she had to leave him first.

He'd dropped that bombshell of a kiss on her from out of the blue then promptly run out on her and got his ass shot off. So much for the delicate approach he'd been trying to take with her. Almost dying on her blew it out of the water, that was for damned sure.

He let go of her hand with his right and waved it around to get some slack in the IV line before reaching up to smooth her hair behind her ear again.

"I'm not going anywhere."

She nodded, eager for his reassurance.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I was so scared when I found out you were inside… and just so you know, I'm very proud of you too."

She nodded again, but she was still on the verge of more tears. He found the control for the bed and raised the head a bit more. Getting more upright put some more strain on his stitches, but he had higher priorities at the moment.

He tugged her hand, and she leaned forward for another long hug. He rubbed her back until she finally ended it with another kiss.

She looked down at their hands again. She was still just barely holding it in check.

"Back before you went to training, when I said I knew you'd make the hard choices I… I didn't really think that would include getting yourself shot."

He simply squeezed her hand. She looked up again, looking directly in his eyes with her blue-green ones. He could get lost in them even watery and reddened as they were…

"On Monday those women and children needed you…" she sniffed again. "But I need you…" She started losing it again, and he pulled her to him.

For some reason he didn't say the obvious thing as she clutched his neck.

"Baby, I'm all yours now."

She nodded, sniffing and blinking back tears as she sat up again. Knowing how hard this had been for her he realized there was one more gift he could give her.

"Seriously," he added.

"I know," she whispered tearfully, but her eyes were again drawn down to their hands.

"Look at me, Bones."

He took her chin and raised it up so he could look in her eyes. She tried to give him a brave smile. He let go and wiped at her tears as best he could with the IV-entangled hand.

"It's back to just you and me, for real, solving cases like before." He could tell she didn't understand. "If you'll bring your laptop tomorrow so you can help me write a letter… I'm quitting HRT."

Her eyes widened in equal parts surprise and doubt, "But…"

"'But' nothing. I'm done, Temperance. Just me and you… "

She searched his face for a moment as if convincing herself he was really telling the truth then she leaned over again to kiss him soundly. Then she hugged him tightly for another long while.

He brushed her hair, not letting on that some of her weight on him was hurting a little.

He'd tell her the rest of the details later, but he meant every word. The brass could sit on his letter of resignation as long as they wanted, but as far as he was concerned, he was through. He'd play nice in public, but they could take their PR timetable and shove it up their asses if they didn't like it. He was just Special Agent Seeley Booth of Criminal Investigations again. Somehow getting backstabbed by Gregory didn't hurt so much anymore. It proved to have been worth it in another wholly unexpected way, a blessing in fact. Maybe God really does work in mysterious ways.

He lost track of time in the happy glow of their embrace, and it took him a few seconds to recognize the sound of a throat being cleared somewhat insistently.

He opened his eyes to see the redheaded nurse in the doorway. "Excuse me," she said. Bones pulled back slightly and turned toward the door as well.

The nurse had the grace to look abashed. "I hate to interrupt, but, Miss, I'm afraid you'll have to pack up and come back tomorrow. The doctor left explicit orders that Agent Booth get some rest before we get him up later. I came by earlier and saw you were busy so I left you alone a little longer, but my supervisor is going to be all over me if you're not cleared out."

Crap.

"Nurse…?" He didn't get her name earlier. She was about the same age as Bones.

"Waters. But you can call me Tina."

"Well, Tina, I'd really appreciate it if you could give us just a few more minutes." He plastered on his 'charm' smile. "Please?"

After a moment she nodded only reluctantly, but nod she did. That was good enough.

"Thanks, Tina."

Bones gave him a small, cryptic poke, but he took a guess...

"Oh, by the way, it's not 'Miss'. This is Doctor Temperance Brennan, and I think…" he stopped to glance at her and she smiled back, "I think she's going to be around a lot the next few days." She squeezed his hand before turning to nod at the nurse's "Pleased to meet you."

Thankfully, Tina didn't lose any time disappearing again.

Bones watched the cute nurse leave then turned back to him with a smirk on her face.

"You already had your sponge bath today, right? With Sam?"

"Squeaky clean." He shuddered, all too fully conscious now.

"Well, you let me know when you're feeling dirty next." She said it with a small, enigmatic smile.

His stomach did a little flip-flop at an image that evoked.

He grinned back at her. "Is that supposed to be a veiled threat to behave myself with the nurses… or some kind of offer?"

She didn't answer. Instead, the corners of her smile quirked up ever so slightly, and her eyes just drew him in.

The warm glow was replaced by an electric tingle. For the first time, today that is, his thoughts turned to the prospect of sex with her. He'd had his suspicions, but now he knew with utter certainty that with his usually reserved lady scientist it would be pure heaven or a heart attack.

He couldn't wait.

But he would have to wait, dammit, until he was reasonably well. There'd be a whole lifetime ahead of them for fast and furious quickies, whereas there would only be one first time. He wanted to be sure he was firing on all cylinders before then. He vowed then and there to take it so achingly slow when the time came that she had the heart attack.

He knew he was just sitting there with a silly grin on his face as he held her hand, but he couldn't help it. Of course, with her it wouldn't just be screwing but truly making love. Speaking of which… he was wasting their remaining precious time together.

He tried to shake off the hormonal haze. There was one more thing that needed taking care of before she left. He cleared his throat self-consciously.

"Temperance…"

She smiled more broadly at his use of her given name.

"There's something I really need to tell you before you go. I…"

He paused, suddenly a little nervous now that the big moment had arrived. "I…"

But she interrupted him. She stopped him with a finger to his lips, which he kissed without thinking.

"You don't have to say anything," she teased with a grin. He swore her eyes sparkled.

He could tell she loved throwing his own words back at him. God, he loved her. He took her hand and lowered it as he opened his mouth again to speak.

"I…"

This time she stopped him with a serious kiss that made his head spin. Hell, she put some English on it as well as French. His face tingled, his ears buzzed, and it curled his toes. If he hadn't been so damned beat up it would have straightened out something else for sure. She was full of surprises. Briefly he wondered how she'd learned to do that or if it was raw talent, but then he brushed the thought aside, just grateful to be the beneficiary of her skill. He shook his head and tried to get back on track

"Would you please let me finish?" He was actually getting a little annoyed even though he couldn't help but keep smiling at her foolishly. This was important. He wasn't sure if he'd told her he loved her or not while under the influence of the pain meds back in ICU. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I really need to tell you something…"

Damned but if she didn't pull her hand free and put the finger on his lips again…

"Shhh. Please, let's talk tomorrow when we have more time." Her expression suddenly became shy, which he found absolutely adorable. "Plus I think I have something I want to tell you too."

He nodded at her wisdom, and his heart began pounding in anticipation. But he could still think straight, more or less. At least enough to get her back…

He captured the finger on his lips and nibbled on it before he sucked on the tip. She let out a small gasp, but he broke it off just as her eyes half-closed in pleasure at the intimate sensation. Call it a down payment he couldn't wait to follow through on. He couldn't wait to put that expression back on her face for real.

It was her turn to have to shake it off, and he chuckled at her expense. She pursed her lips in mock irritation, before opening her mouth for some comeback, but he beat her to it.

"Say… this isn't just all about that elevated serotonin nonsense is it?"

She just closed her mouth in a sheepish grin and shook her head.

Tap, tap.

The nurse was back, just outside the doorway with a loaded cart. Booth sighed. Time's up.

"Let me drop this off back at my station, and I'll come right back and give you a push, Dr. Brennan."

She turned to go, but Bones stopped her. "Tina, what are visiting hours tomorrow?"

"Eleven hundred to twenty-one hundred. Today was different for him just because he got out of ICU and with everything else going on."

"Thank you." The nurse pushed her cart from view.

He translated. "Bones, that's 11AM to --"

She cut him off, "11AM to 9PM." At his look of surprise she chuckled. "Since you've actually learned a little about bones, the least I can do is decipher military time."

He could only smile. She had him there.

"So you'll be here first thing, with your laptop?" He stroked her hand in his. Already, he could hardly wait for what the next day would bring.

She gave him a dazzling smile. "You can count on it. It's a date."

"No, it's not," he said.

He enjoyed her puzzled expression before clarifying, "No, a real date is what I'm going to take you on as soon as I'm all in one piece again."

"But we've already had a date…"

"Believe me, I'll never forget it, but I want to take you on one without having to pretend that it's not one. Plus, I'm not interested in putting on another show for Tommy."

She smiled at the memory he triggered. "Eleven o'clock it is, with a raincheck for a 'real' date." She punctuated their agreement with a quick kiss.

That settled, he relaxed and grinned at her again. "You know, I think I could get used to a little TLC."

But instead of smiling back her brow furrowed …

"I don't know what that means."

In spite of himself, his face fell. He recovered quickly but she'd already seen it. He consoled himself, It's not important, just a dumb abbreviation.

Suddenly, she laughed in his face, shaking her head as she reached out to stroke his cheek. "I'm just kidding. Of course I know what that means."

He had to smile back, laughing at himself for his sense of relief. It was such a small thing anyway.

"I don't know, I think you're going to have to prove it to me tomorrow, all day as a matter of fact," he challenged. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I suppose I can manage that," she smirked, "but just remember, I can be annoying. You may get more than you bargained for with me underfoot."

"I know." He chuckled at her look of open-mouthed surprise. "See what it feels like? That's where I was supposed to politely disagree, wasn't it?"

She rolled her eyes but nodded with a patiently suffering grin.

He continued, "Yes, you can be annoying, but I'll gladly take my chances."

For another long moment he just looked into her eyes, both of them grinning like idiots. Bullet holes or no, he felt like he was sixteen again.

"Are you ready?" Nurse Tina called from the doorway.

Bones started to twist to get up to return to her wheelchair.

"Wait." He reached out and caught her wrist just before she got out of reach.

"How about that 'not saying anything' bit, one more time?"

This time he swore the lights dimmed and the room spun.

By the time he recovered she had already moved away.

"Call me later?" she asked.

"Definitely."

She carefully backed down into her chair, unlocked the wheels, and awkwardly rolled herself around the bed toward the door, her eyes on him the whole time. He laughed out loud as she bumped into the door frame, and the nurse practically had to jump out of the way. Bones looked annoyed then returned his grin before moving again.

He suddenly remembered something from when the squints were visiting.

"Hey!"

She stopped and turned the chair fully around. "Yes?"

"Where's my belt buckle?"

She started. He was surprised by how shocked she seemed by the question. "You still have it, don't you?"

She nodded, and her expression made the strangest transformation from guilt, to embarrassment, to finally end in a sheepish grin. She let go of the wheel rims and raised her hands to her neck.

His heart raced, and he was flooded with warmth as she reached under her collar and pulled out the brass buckle on a thick string. Somehow he hadn't really noticed it during their embraces.

She started to lift the loop of the improvised necklace over her head, but he stopped her.

"You keep it. I won't be wearing real pants for a while longer anyway."

She gave him what had to be the sunniest smile he'd ever seen from her. After a moment she looked down at the buckle then picked it up to drop it back inside her blouse.

"No. Please, leave it out." She looked at him questioningly. "I like the way it looks on you."

Her smile was restored to its full glory, and she dropped the buckle so it hung right down between her breasts. So that was why… He grinned to himself. Tomorrow he'd just have to do a much more thorough job of searching her.

He raised his eyes again and didn't take them off her face until the nurse had finished backing her chair out into the hallway and she was gone. He kept staring at the empty doorway, lost in thought until his heart rate settled back to normal.

Damn. He still had no idea if he'd told her he loved her or not when he was drugged to the eyeballs the other day.

Booth's spirits soared as a silly grin threatened to split his face. Together, maybe, just maybe, they'd both be ok.

He took the control for the bed and lowered the head further, wincing slightly as his unbending middle pulled slightly against the sutures. Gingerly, he scooted his butt further toward the foot of the bed so he could recline more comfortably. He settled happily into the mattress, feeling his muscles finally relax for the first time all day. He raised his arms, careful of the lines, and clasped his hands together behind his head against the pillow. Finally… He relaxed with an audible sigh.

Down.

Yep, he thought, he preferred her hair down.

He let out another contented sigh and closed his eyes, a half-smile still upon his lips as he drifted off.

Life is good.

This time, he was right.

- - -

"I'll push the chair for you. Moving your own weight in one of these is a lot harder than most people think, particularly if you're not used to it," the nurse said.

Brennan looked back over her left shoulder at her. "Thank you." She flexed her left arm gingerly – the one deep cut in the triceps was still not fully healed and was stinging from the brief exertion. As they passed the nurses' station they stopped moving, and Tina came around in front of her to the counter where another nurse, a middle-aged frosted blonde woman was doing some data entry.

"Hand me some of those wet wipes?" Tina asked her.

"Sure." The other nurse passed over a zip-lock bag, and resumed her task.

Tina saw her questioning look. "Your mascara is running, hon. If you don't mind, I'll get that for you." Without waiting for a response, the nurse wiped her face off and was done before Brennan could object. Then she held up the black-stained wipes as evidence for her inspection. "That's just like a man for you, to let you leave without looking your best. God love 'em, but most of them don't know anything about clothes or makeup."

By the look of the wipes she really had been a mess. "Thank you."

"No problem. Us girls have to stick together."

Tina attempted more small talk for a moment as she resumed pushing the wheel chair toward the far elevator bank. Fortunately, she caught on that Brennan wasn't exactly in a chatty mood, and the rest of the short trip passed in silence, giving her a little time to reflect…

Tomorrow they could start figuring out how to deal with the potential obstacles to their relationship, but tonight none of that had mattered. Only the essentials did. She looked down at the belt buckle which she'd left exposed outside of her blouse.

She shook her head at her own foolishness. She now realized she had thrown herself so wholly into helping the FBI on Wednesday in order to keep away from the hospital, and him, but her inability to put down the belt buckle should have been the giveaway that her plan to cut herself off from him was futile.

When she'd entered his room she'd thought she had known what she was going to do, but now she realized she'd been delusional to think that she could have turned her back on the best thing to ever happen to her. Even out of fear.

She simply wasn't that strong.

But she was beginning to realize that, with him, maybe she wouldn't have to be.

Together they would be strong enough to help each other heal from the traumas of Monday. There was no one she trusted more to help her deal with the nightmares she'd had, or the troubling suspicion that the murdered grandfather would still be alive if he had not listened to her. As to that, whatever doubts, regrets or nightmares he still suffered from, she vowed to never, ever let him down again.

She realized that in spite of her previous relationships she probably did not know what being a "couple" truly meant, at least not in the way Booth probably understood the term. It might be a source of friction, but she was eager to find out, to explore this new territory with him. She smiled to herself. Hmm, partners-with-benefits…

She remembered his jibe about serotonin levels. She no longer thought that that was all there was to these feelings. Serotonin might be their expression, but this, this aliveness, was definitely more than mere brain chemistry. Somehow the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. Her stance as a strict material reductionist might require some reexamination.

That said, once he was well enough she had every intention of optimizing both their levels, with a vengeance. Touching so much of his warm, bare skin had already boosted hers some. She decided she'd been putting off shopping for a bigger bed long enough. She smiled to herself at the thought of breaking it in as they neared the elevators.

She watched Angela notice their approach and stand up. Apparently both of the guys were down with the car. Her friend smiled, but she concealed her concern poorly.

"I've got her," Angela said as Tina slowed the chair to a stop.

Brennan turned to the nurse. "Thank you for the push."

"No problem." The redhead waved it off. "You take care of that leg now, and don't you worry a thing about us. We're going to take good care of him. You've got yourself a good man there."

Angela became anxious, clearly fearing the worst based on their last conversation before their visit.

Brennan smiled at her friend then turned to the nurse. Some old habits didn't die so hard after all.

"Yes… yes, I do don't I?"

Angela beamed.

Tina pushed the call button then left them at the elevator. Angela apparently sensed her introspective mood because she held her tongue instead of quizzing her to death while they waited. She was such a good friend.

Besides, Angela would get all of the details out of her later anyway, whether it took Häagen-Dazs or hot tongs.

A chime sounded with the arrival of the elevator, and the outer doors opened. As Angela wheeled her inside the car and turned her around, Brennan touched the brass belt buckle where it hung between her breasts, still slightly warm from its earlier contact with her bare skin.

While waiting for the doors to close, she idly wondered if this was what it felt like when some of the girls in high school were given their boyfriend's class ring to wear on a necklace. Back then she'd had no one to want to do that for her.

The cynical anthropologist in her jumped all over that stray thought with both feet. The voice, avatar of her defense mechanisms, sounded positively disgusted as the inner doors closed…

"What? You've got be kidding! The football players and cheerleaders? They despised you as much as you resented them. Anyway, the rings were just the tokens by which a man marked a young woman as chattel, his property, in order warn off other potential suitors. It's an embarrassing atavism, and you shouldn't be complicit in your own subjugation. It's degrading."

She wouldn't let anything spoil her euphoria. She smiled at her reflection, just discernible in the brushed stainless steel of the elevator doors.

Oh, shut up!

- -

A/N

Remember, I love reviews with specifics about the story!! If at all possible, I'd like to hear your reaction to this chapter specifically, as well as to the story as a whole.

On another note, I'm not big on mixing songs with fic – it usually feels far too sappy -- but this one really fit this part of the story and the emotion it evokes contributed to the writing process at various points.

Until You Break

By Matthew Sweet

Album: Blue Sky on Mars

Trust me, the lyric isn't quite perfect but the music really is. You should listen to it if you can – it's beautiful.

One more chapter to go, the Epilogue!!!

P.S. For my international readers, with regard to the "English" reference, it is the term from pool where the player strikes the cue ball off center to impart a spin for all sorts of weird effects.

P.P.S. As of Dec 8 I've gone back and tweaked Brennan's characterization in ch1 to 8 where it had been a bit too soft. I also made a couple of changes of moderate substance to ch11 and 13. If FF complains you have already reviewed it, you can review again anonymously, just sign in the body of the review.