Hello again! I got a question asking why she was bleeding through her back so suddenly, and well, you'll find out in this chapter! :)

Chapter 4

Booth paced in the waiting room of the hospital for what felt like hours. He had finally been able to get Brennan here, without her resistance. But once they had walked into the emergency wing, she had been carted off to god knows where. He hadn't seen her since the doctors had taken her, and now he was just waiting helplessly like some baby bird.

He was dressed in his work clothes still, but his white shirt was dotted here and there with drops of blood from Brennan. The nurse had asked him if he was hurt, but he replied no. He ran his hand across his jawline, and felt the scratchy stubble he hadn't shaved off this morning. He sat down in one of the stiff chairs, and put his head in his hands, sighing. Why didn't she tell him what had happened? It wasn't like her to keep secrets like that...

When a nurse walked through the door, he stood up immediately.

"Is anyone here for Dr. Temperance, Brennan?" She asked, flipping through papers on a clip board.

"I am," Booth said, stepping towards her.

"Are you family, sir?" She said, looking at him through her small, circular, glasses.

"I'm her partner," He said, thinking that would suffice.

"Okay, right this way sir."

Booth followed the nurse through several small hallways, in some rooms he swore he could hear people screaming, but he was more focused on Brennan that anyone else right now. When the nurse opened the door to her room, he stood beside her, wondering how he could have not seen her in so much pain.

Brennan was lying on a bed, in a hospital gown. Without her scarf on, he could see bruises, shaped like hands, circling her neck. She had bandages on her hands, on her shoulders, and hopefully on her back. She was asleep. How could she sleep, when in so much pain?

"Sir," The nurse said, pulling him out of the room.

"What? I'm not allowed to stay there with her?" He asked, getting angry at how long he had been waiting.

"No, you can stay. I just wanted to tell you about her injuries," She said, flipping to another piece of paper on her clip board.

"Oh, okay," Booth said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"She had two deep wounds on both of her palms, that needed stitches, as did the cuts along her shoulder, and along her back. Now it seems that the wounds on her back had started to heal, but she must have accidentally reopened the scab somehow," She said, holding her hands together. "And she requested a rape kit, there are definitely signs of forced sexual intercourse."

Booth stood there, shocked. He looked at Brennan, how could he let this happen to her? He walked into the room, ignoring what ever else the nurse had to say, and stood by her bed. She looked so... broken.

He let his hand travel to her arm, stroking it gently while she slept peacefully.

"Sir, will I need to bring a cot in here for you to spend the night with her? We are required to keep her on pain killers for at least 24 more hours, so she'll be sleeping here," The nurse said, whilst looking at him worriedly.

"Yeah, that would be great, thanks," he said quietly, looking over his shoulder.

The nurse nodded her head, and eventually stepped out of the room. Booth sat down in a small chair next to Brennan's bed, and put his head in his hands.

Why wasn't I there to protect her?

Booth looked up at the sleeping Brennan. Her eyes had large bags underneath them, and were very dark. She must have gotten no sleep last night, who could blame her? He cast his thoughts back to yesterday when they went for drinks at the founding fathers, everything had been normal then, she hadn't acted strange at all...

Booth took another sip of his beer, they had been here for and hour and a half, and he was getting pretty tired. He glanced at his watch while Brennan went on about the case. 12:44. It was time to head out.

"Come on Bones, we need to get going," He said, standing up and pulling some money from his pocket, and slapping it down on the counter.

"But Booth, we've just started! Come on..." She said, slightly buzzed.

"Bones, your getting drunk, and that's saying something," He said, pulling her up out of her seat.

"Okay," She said happily, resting her head on his shoulder as he lead her out of the bar.

"Can I drive? I'm an excellent driver," She said, as they approached his car.

"I know your a great driver Bones, but your drunk, I'm not, so I think I deserve to take this one, he said opening the passenger door for her, "I didn't have nearly as much to drink as you did," he laughed.

"I solved a murder! I think that calls for a few shots..." She said, climbing reluctantly into his car.

Booth shut the door, and went around the hood towards the driver's side. He opened the door, and hopped inside, putting the keys in the ignition.

"Where are we going now Booth?" Brennan asked, excitedly.

"Home," He laughed at her enthusiasm.

"No Booooooth," She sighed, drawing out his name.

"Yes Boooones," He said.

"Can't I come back to your house?" She asked, "Mine's not very exciting."

"No, it's bed time," he said, slightly taken aback by her suggestion.

"But bed time's boring..." She said, poking his shoulder.

"I'll drop you off at your apartment okay?"

"Bossy," She moaned as she leaned against the car door.

He had dropped her off in front of her building, and then driven off. He should have listened to her, he should have brought her back to his place for the night. Her being so drunk would explain why she wasn't able to fight her attacker off like she usually would. Booth sighed. He felt a tremendous amount of guilt creep up through his heart. He ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it until he heard a sound from beside him.

"Booth?"

He turned to look at Brennan, her eyes were tired and gray. She looked so hurt.

"Bones, I am so sorry," He said kneeling down beside her bed. "I am so, SO sorry..." he grabbed her bandaged hand, and held it tight within his own hands.

"I can't believe I let this happen," he said, feeling his eyes water. Don't cry Booth, come on, be a man for Bones here.

"Booth, its not your fault," She said, he saw her eyes fill with tears as well.

"I shouldn't have let you go by yourself," He said resting his forehead on the edge of the bed.

"There was no way for you to tell what would happen..." She said, sympathetic.

"It's all my fault," He said, looking into her eyes, "But I promise Bones, promise, we will find who did this to you."

Booth noticed that Brennan was crying now, he reached up to her face to wipe away the tears.

"It's so scary Booth," She said, keeping her voice steady.

"I'm right here Bones, I'll always be here."

Hope you liked that one!

Next chapter: How does the rest of the team react to Brennan's news?