Soft beams of sunlight lit the room as Booth awoke; he yawned and rubbed his neck as he turned towards his partner's bed.
"Bones?" he said, while rubbing her hand. She didn't stir, there was no change from the night before. Booth shook his head as he stood up and went in search of the doctor.
Dr. Monroe was headed towards the room as the determined FBI agent met her in the hall.
"She's not awake yet, you said she'd wake up when the anaesthetic wore off. Why isn't she awake?" Booth demanded.
"Agent Booth I said she might wake up when the anaesthetic wore off, I didn't promise you anything. Dr. Brennan has experienced a significant amount of trauma that her body is still in shock from. She needs time to rest. She may not be ready to wake up yet, her body may still need time to recover on its own. All we can do is give her time now, all we can do is wait and see if she ever wakes up."
Booth's eyebrows shot up, "Ever wakes up?" he repeated.
"I asked you to be realistic about your partner's odds. I told you before that it was a miracle she made it through the first surgery and twice the miracle that she made it through the second. She is still not in the clear yet, not until she wakes can we be sure about anything."
Booth searched the doctor's eyes with his own. When he spoke his voice was low, "Do you think she'll come around? Be honest, please."
Dr. Monroe sighed, "I've seen several patients with injuries as extensive as your partner's, but only two of them ever survived. They were fighters Agent Booth, your partner is one too. I can't guarantee you anything but I think there is still hope that she'll wake up. Her brain activity has increased and she's back to breathing on her own. If she continues like this then her chances are good. It will be a long, hard road of recovery for her but with you by her side, I think she'll be just fine."
"Thank you," he replied, shaking the doctor's hand.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Another day and a half passed as Brennan stayed in her slumber. Angela likened her to Sleeping Beauty and Booth wished that a kiss could wake her. Max and Russ kept Booth company, taking turns watching over her. The squints came to talk to their friend, telling her how they hated the temporary lab they were given and giving details about their labs re-construction. The bomb had been linked to the case they had previously been working on, the culprit was apprehended shortly after. Booth left the hospital briefly to visit the culprit. In the interrogation room he turned off the cameras long enough to break the guy's nose and threaten him within an inch of his life. The rest of the agents turned a blind eye, knowing the loyalty Booth had to his partner.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Visiting hours were over; Booth knew this because he could feel the nurse's presence in the doorway.
She cleared her throat but he maintained his position in the chair, feigning sleep.
"Agent Booth, it's time to go," she said gently.
It was the elderly nurse tonight; she usually let him stay as long as possible.
"You can come see her again tomorrow. How you managed to stay the other night is beyond me. Must of been the new girl on duty, did you sweet talk her?"
Booth grinned, he was glad that his back was facing the nurse. He had charmed his way into staying the night; the new girl had been easy to win over.
"Come on now, time to go. I know you want to stay with Dr. Brennan but you know the hospital rules."
He sighed, "Do the rules still apply to an FBI agent?" he relented, turning to face her.
"Sorry, they apply to everyone. You're lucky I let you stay as long as I do. Now say good night and go home and get some rest."
Booth caressed Brennan's cheek and then leaned down, kissing her softly on the forehead, "Good night Bones. I'll be back soon," he whispered.
He grabbed his rumpled coat and turned to leave. As he reached the doorway he froze.
He closed his eyes. It couldn't be. He listened carefully sure that he had imagined it. Then he heard it again, a soft moan coming from behind him.
He bolted back to the bed.
"Bones? Bones?"
She was groaning faintly and then she began to move her head. He grabbed her hand, rubbing it with his own.
"Bones? Wake up, come on, you can do it. Open your eyes Bones, I'm right here, please," he begged her.
Her eyelids began to flutter and he stroked her cheek, "Please," he pleaded.
She blinked and then her blue eyes met his brown ones. Her eyes flickered across his as if trying to focus.
"Bones? Say something, anything."
"Owww..." she moaned faintly.
Brennan moved her head towards Booth and a look of pain flashed across her face. He glanced towards where the nurse had been standing but she'd already left to find the doctor.
"Bones? What's wrong? Talk to me."
He watched her try to move her arms, only to have them drop weakly at her sides, then he saw her attempt to move her legs, both in casts.
Booth took her hand in his, "Look at me, Bones, try not to move," he told her.
Her grip tightened on his hand as she looked wildly around the room.
"Shh, it's alright," he tried to sooth her. He stroked her cheek again, "Bones, look at me. You're in the hospital."
She took a deep breath, "Booth..." she exhaled, "What...what happened to me?" she whispered.
The joy he had felt when she awoke was replaced by fear. He could see the panic in her eyes. He took the cup of water from the bedside table and offered her the straw. She gladly drank the liquid and cleared her throat.
Her eyes searched his, "Booth, what happened?"
"What's the last thing you remember?"
Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to recall her last memories, "The case, we were working a case...Ivy Jones, she was the victim. We thought her boyfriend did it but it was her friend, umm...Blair or Blake...that's it, Blake Andrews, we were going to go get him. That's the last thing I remember."
The look of fear that was spreading across Booth's face did not go un-noticed by his partner.
"Booth? What's wrong? That was earlier today right? Did something happen on the way to arrest Andrews?"
Her breathing was becoming more rapid and the blips on the heart monitor grew louder. She noticed that too and when she attempted to move another spasm of pain hit her. Brennan gave a weak cry.
"Booth, what happened to me?" It was her turn to plead with him.
Suddenly Dr. Monroe burst through the door way, immediately rushing to Brennan's bedside.
"Dr. Brennan, I need you to calm down, just lie back please."
That didn't sooth the patient at all. She only grew more agitated, her eyes flying between Booth's and the doctor's.
"When did she wake up?" Dr. Monroe asked Booth.
"Just a few minutes ago."
"What's going on?" Brennan asked as she began to cough.
The nurse placed an oxygen mask over Brennan's face.
"If you calm down we'll tell you, just take a few deep breaths," said Dr. Monroe.
The patient was too weak to argue, she fell limply back against her pillow. The doctor took out her flashlight and had Brennan follow the light with her eyes, then listened to her breathing.
"Rate the pain for me, scale of one to ten please," Dr. Monroe requested.
"Six or seven," she replied over the oxygen mask.
"Alright, we'll give you a little morphine, which will help. I'm going to ask you a few questions, okay?"
Brennan nodded.
"What's your name?"
"Dr. Temperance Brennan."
"What year is it Dr. Brennan?"
"It's 2008."
"Where do you work?"
"At the Jeffersonian, I'm a forensic anthropologist."
"Good. Can you tell me who that man is?" she pointed to Booth.
"My partner, Agent Booth. Now will you tell me what happened? Why am I here?"
"What's the last thing you remember Dr. Brennan?"
"I just told Booth, we were going to arrest a suspect in the case we're working," she answered getting rather annoyed.
"What day was that?"
Brennan let out a frustrated sigh, "It's Tuesday night," she looked between the doctor and Booth as if to have them agree with her. Neither did and Booth appeared upset.
"Booth? It's Tuesday, isn't it? Clearly I was in an accident of some sort so you need to tell me what happened now because this is getting irritating."
Dr. Monroe began to speak but Brennan cut her off, "No. I want Booth to tell me," she glared at him.
Booth sat back down on the chair by the bed, "Bones," he started and then stopped. His eyes fell to his hands.
"What is it? Just tell me," she whispered, taking his hand.
"It's not Tuesday and you weren't in an accident."
She could tell he was struggling with his words, with what he had to tell her, "What day is it Booth? Just tell me the truth."
His voice was low when he spoke, "When we went to go arrest Andrews, that was nearly a week ago Bones. We went to the diner that night and the next morning..."he trailed off at the horror of the memory.
She squeezed his hand, urging him to continue.
He took a deep breath, "The next morning there was an explosion at the Jeffersonian. You were hurt really badly, you've been unconscious ever since," his voice broke and his eyes dropped from hers again.
"An explosion?" she repeated slowly, "Is everyone alright? How did it happen? How bad was it?"
"Everyone is alright. Zack was released from here a few days ago, Angela and Cam were far enough away in their offices that they were okay, and Hodgins was able to shelter himself. It was a bomb Bones, Andrews's brother delivered it. It went off on the stairs of the platform."
Her eyes were wide, "What about the lab?"
He slowly shook his head, "It was destroyed."
She took a short, quick breath and her eyes filled with unshed tears, "But everyone is alright," she asked again.
"Yes, but we were all worried about you."
Brennan turned towards the Dr. Monroe, "How bad are my injuries?"
The doctor seemed to think about how to answer the question but Brennan cut her off.
"Don't lie to me, don't dumb it down or I'll read my chart myself."
Dr. Monroe was taken aback and she gaped.
"She will," Booth added.
"Dr. Brennan, when you arrived you went into emergency surgery where we re-inflated your lung, removed your appendix, part of your liver and one kidney, all lost to you being crushed under debris. You broke both legs, several ribs and damaged your hip. You barely made it through the first surgery and were on life support for several days in a drug induced coma. When you were able to breathe on your own you went through another surgery to repair your legs and hip."
"What are your concerns now?" Brennan asked in a manner of fact tone.
"When you arrived here there was some swelling around your brain which probably caused the memory loss. Only time will tell if you'll gain back the memories of what happened before the explosion. My other concern was the swelling around your spine due to you being crushed."
"Will that affect my ability to walk?"
"The swelling has been reduced significantly but we won't know anything definitive until the casts come off and you start your rehabilitation."
"So we wait," said Brennan.
"We wait."
Dr. Monroe excused herself and left the room, leaving Booth and Brennan alone in silence. She stared straight ahead, the conversation weighing on her.
"Hey," Booth said quietly, rubbing her hand. Her sad blue eyes fell on his, "You made it this far, you're alive. You will walk again."
A tear rolled down her cheek, he wiped it away, "You don't know that for sure Booth."
"But I believe it."
To be continued...
Happy New Year Everyone!!!!
