A GREAT BIG thank you to each and everyone of you who reviewed and all the positive responses to the first chapter. It's much appreciated. As many of you so aptly pointed out, this is one tricky situation, and so many possible things to consider and things that could work against them. All of which our fave couple would have to encounter in the coming chapters.

Thank you for your patience, waiting for this next chapter.

The necessary paperwork filled out, Booth sat in the ER waiting area, praying that Brennan would be all right. His leg bounced up and down nervously, as he waited anxiously for any word on his wife.

"Seeley."

Booth looked up. It was Cam. She quickly took the seat next to him, pulling him to her for a hug.

"You okay?"

"Yes."

"Arastoo, he's okay too right?"

"Yes, we both got out in time."

"Good. That's good."

"I've brought you and Dr Brennan a change of clothes. From the back of your truck."

"Thanks."

"Any word on Dr Brennan?"

"They've just sent her for a CT scan. To make sure her head's okay."

"I'm sure she will be. Speaking of which, I heard you haven't had someone look at you?"

Booth didn't reply.

"Seeley…"

"Look, I wanna be here. If her attending doctor needs to talk to me…"

"They know you're her husband. They'll know how to find you."

Booth hung his head, clearly upset. "You know she didn't know who Hank and Christine were?"

Cam seemed stunned for a moment. "She's probably had a concussion. Her memories will come back."

"And if they don't?"

"This isn't the time to speculate. You need to make sure you're okay. How else can you take care of Dr Brennan? It'll only take a couple of minutes to have you checked. This wound on your forehead definitely needs stitches. Half your face is covered in dried blood. You look a mess. You don't want her to see you like this do you?"

Booth sighed. "Fine. But promise me Cam, you'll come get me if you know anything."

"I promise Seeley."

…

Booth was getting the last stitch to his forehead in when Cam reappeared next to him.

"They're done examining Dr Brennan."

Booth moved to sit up but Cam kept a firm hand on his shoulder. "Let the nice resident finish up here. Won't take more than another minute or two. You've got a couple of cracked ribs. Not to mention numerous bruises and contusions. You should try to move a little slower. Don't want to aggravate the rib injuries. And get changed into the clothes I brought you. I'll be waiting outside."

Booth sighed exaggeratedly. "Yes Mom."

Minutes later, Booth joined Cam and the doctor who attended to Brennan at the waiting area.

"How's my wife?" Booth asked.

"CT scans are clear. She has no broken bones from the explosion. Her injuries are superficial, some cuts and scrapes which we've cleaned up."

"Her memories?" Booth frowned.

"She's orientated to time and place. Yet she is unable to recall certain details about her life."

"Like?"

"She couldn't recall what she was doing before the explosion went off. She appeared shocked when I informed her that you, her husband, was waiting outside."

"You told her what?!" Booth clenched his fists in anger, unsure as to why he was so upset.

"I had to determine what memories she had retained."

Booth blew out a frustrated breath. "I figured she didn't remember this part of her life while we were in the ambulance. I wanted to be the one to break the news to her."

"She would find out eventually. You'd be taking her back to your house once she's released for home. She would've figured everything out." Cam added.

"Yes her intellect seems unaffected." The doctor added. "She knows she's a forensic anthropologist with the Jeffersonian who works with the FBI."

"So her brain's fine but she still can't remember stuff?"

"She suffered a traumatic blow to her head. Her skull is cracked but fortunately there is no intracranial bleeding."

"She isn't bleeding inside her head." Cam explained.

"I understood that. So these memories she's lost, will she get them back?"

"She may or may not. Once her physical injuries are healed, seeing a psychologist may help if she has not recovered her memories by then. In the next few days to weeks, being around things that are familiar to her may trigger her memories to return. What's important is that we do not rush her."

Booth nodded as if trying to convince himself. "Guys I knew when I served in the Gulf War, those who got blown up, most of them got their memories back. Bones will too."

Booth ran a hand through his hair, wincing. His own head was hurting.

"We can release your wife into your care tonight. I'll give you a list of things to look out for, if anything changes you should bring her back. Unless you're too injured yourself to keep an eye on her, we can keep the both of you here for the night."

"No. I'm fine. I can take care of her."

"It might be wise to stay the night Seeley."

"No, Cam, I'm fine. I can take care of her. I think Bones would prefer to go home anyway, being around stuff that can help her remember." He turned back to the attending doctor, wanting to be sure. "You're absolutely sure she's okay? I mean she still can't remember stuff, but you say her brain's not damaged or something. Shouldn't you be like keeping a close watch on her?"

"Her scans are clear. We have no medical reason to keep her here. I'll schedule an appointment for her to see Dr Crawford in a couple of days. He's one of the best neurologists we have."

"And her life isn't in any danger right? I don't have to keep her awake for twenty-four hours?"

"No. She can sleep if she wants to. She'll need her rest. She's medically stable. Give her some time. Be patient with her Agent Booth."

"I'm always patient with her." Booth glared angrily at the attending doctor.

"I'm sure you are." The doctor replied. "You can go see her now. I'll get a nurse to bring the release papers for you to sign."

"Thank you." Cam nodded to the doctor as he made his way to his other patients. She turned to Booth.

"You okay?"

"I don't know. I just – " Booth drew in a deep breath, the action exacerbating the pain in his chest. He was suddenly scared she would reject him, just like she had so many years ago outside the Hoover when he had first asked her for a chance to be together.

"You love her, that's all she needs right now."

"Yeah. You're right. It'll be okay." In that moment Booth resolved that he would remain optimistic for them. He would do everything in his might to help her regain her memories. And even if she didn't he would take the time to re-build their relationship again. He worried about their children. He remembered that in the past, she didn't want to have any children. He pushed the thought aside. He would worry about one thing at a time.

"Angela and Hodgins are still pretty banged up from the blast. If you could give a hand to Aubrey? He'll keep Hank and Christine with him for tonight. Maybe even tomorrow night. I'll come by, see them tomorrow. And we've still got Kovac to catch."

"Everyone loves your children. They'll be okay. And we're all going to keep working on catching Kovac so he can't hurt anyone else again."

"Thank you."

"You should go to her."

"Yeah." Booth sighed. "If you find anything..."

"You'll be the first to know if anything new comes up."

Booth nodded his thanks and turned, slowly making his way towards Brennan's room. Cam stared at the back of her long-time friend. At that moment, he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

…

Booth took a breath, steadying himself for what lay ahead. He cautiously knocked on the door of Brennan's hospital room before entering.

"Hey." His voice was soft, conveying all his love and concern.

Brennan who was sitting on the bed, looked up at him. The cuts and bruises were still on her face, and her lip had been split open. The sight of her in the hospital gown looking visibly upset, sent an ache to Booth's heart. He wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and comfort her but he held back.

She blinked back tears. "So apparently, you're more than my partner now."

Booth took a tentative step towards her. "Yeah."

"I don't remember…"

Booth sat down cautiously beside her on the bed. "You know what? That's okay. Doc said you'll get your memories back."

"This is all very overwhelming for me right now."

"I know."

Brennan held up her left hand. Her wedding ring was no longer on her finger. "The nurse had me remove all metallic objects on me before the CT scan. I wondered as to that ring."

"Yeah um, they returned all your stuff to me."

"I can't believe we got married. I actually agreed to marry you?"

"I didn't force you to marry me if that's what you're thinking." Booth chuckled.

She still wore a perplexed look on her face.

"You know what? Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and I look at you, and you're still asleep next to me… I can hardly believe it myself." He offered her an encouraging smile. They had come a long way since starting off as partners. She had come a long way since thinking that marriage was an archaic institution.

"When did we get married?"

"October 21st, 2013."

She remained silent. Booth waited for her to process the information.

"That was four years ago."

Booth nodded. "Best day of my life."

She shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry. I can't remember anything about that day."

Booth took her hand, interlinking their fingers. He was relieved that she didn't pull her hand away. "There's nothing to be sorry about. It'll all come back."

"I assume we have intercourse fairly regularly."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Booth let out a small laugh. "Yeah, we do."

There was silence again and he knew the wheels in that brilliant brain of hers were turning.

"Given that fact, it would be safe to assume that we have children. Those names you spoke of in the ambulance, Aubrey, Hank and Christine. We have three children together?"

Booth nodded. "Three yes. Parker, Christine and Hank. Not Aubrey. He's my partner."

"I thought I was your partner?" Brennan looked at him with a look of hurt.

"Look Bones, it's a long story okay? Doc said I shouldn't rush you."

"I do know who Parker is. However, I have no recollection of ever being pregnant, let alone giving birth to two children."

Booth had initially thought of withholding the fact that they had children from her. He had hoped the memories would return soon enough, sparing him the need to explain things to her. He realized he could not when he knew he had to take her home that night. Reminders that they had two young children were all over their house. Just like in the ambulance, he squeezed her hand gently.

"It'll be okay." He wasn't sure if he was reassuring her alone.

She swiped at a tear that fell. "We named our daughter after my mother."

"Yeah."

"What kind of mother forgets her own children?"

"Look Bones, you were in an explosion. These things happen. Let me take you home, maybe after a night's sleep in our bed, it'll all come back to you in the morning. That is, if you wanna come home?"

Booth held his breath. He wondered what he would do if she didn't want to go home to their house.

"It would be safe to assume that I would have no place else to go other than our house. Letting you take me home would be the logical thing to do."

Booth released the breath he was holding, again thankful for what he perceived to be a small victory in their current seemingly bleak situation.

Brennan stared at Booth, snapping herself out of her feelings of helplessness. She had always cared deeply for him that much she felt sure of. She gently touched the bandage that covered his newly stitched forehead. Booth's eyes prickled with tears at her gesture. He had been afraid he had lost her love.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's nothing. A scratch."

"Other than that? Did they check you for an intracranial hemorrhage too? You had brain surgery before."

They simultaneously realized that she had remembered his brain surgery. She smiled and he smiled back.

"You remembered. That's good."

"I did remember that incident, but you didn't answer my question."

"My head's okay. Cam brought you a change of clothes. I'll wait outside while you get dressed. Then we can go home." Booth stood, handing Brennan the bag of clothes Cam had brought.

"Why? I would assume that as my husband you've seen me without any clothes on countless times."

"I have but… I just… I'm not sure… you still think I'm just your partner, right?"

"That is what my brain is telling me, yes."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable. That is, unless you want me to stay?"

"I'm not sure what I want any more Booth."

She looked so sad and lost. Booth knew he shouldn't but he reached for her and held her tightly to him. They shared hugs as partners in the past and he felt confident she wouldn't reject his offer of comfort at this time. She squeezed him tightly, as if drawing much needed encouragement from him. Despite the pain from his cracked ribs, Booth took heart in her actions. They were the centre and they always held.

"I'll be outside." Booth said as they broke the hug, turning to leave the room, giving her the privacy to get dressed.