Author's Note: Say thank you little goslings for those who reviewed for this swift update! Enjoy!

Chapter 15: Much Ado About Something

"Brennan!" Elliot shouted as soon as he had seen the gun. He threw himself in front of her just as the gun fired. The door slammed shut, "Run the car's waiting!" Brennan had fallen to the ground so Elliot pulled her to her feet and set her after Parker. All of their com's had fallen out. The three of them reached the jail at the same time and before the guards were able to get the door opened (Parker had jimmied the door open for them to get back through, upon shutting it locked from both sides). "Parker, you drive," Elliot tossed her the keys before falling into the back seat himself. Brennan got in on the other side as Parker threw it into drive and sped off before they had any tails.

"Are you girls alright?" Elliot breathed.

"Yes, we are fine, but I believe that you are shot," Brennan was trying to look at Elliot's back.

He grinned painfully, "What gives you that idea?"

Brennan frowned, "Well because you are bleeding."

"That was sarcasm B." He reminded her of Booth there.

"You just saved my life, let me see your wound," Brennan eased Elliot forward and saw that the bullet had hit him in the back of the shoulder, around the scapula area. "You should see a doctor."

"'Fraid that's not possible B," Parker said from the driver's seat as Elliot laid back. She had slowed down now so as not to draw undue attention to their getaway and was making it back to the hotel, hoping that the others would meet them there. "Elliot's kinda wanted in a bad way," she said somberly, "we all are . . ."

They soon reached the hotel and somehow managed to sneak Elliot up to the room, he hadn't lost enough blood to make him unable to travel under his own power.

Just as they had hopped everyone was waiting for them, worried looks on their faces. "We're alright," Elliot said upon entering the room, "just a little scrape."

"Elliot was shot," Brennan was a tattle-tale. "But he can't go to a hospital."

Hardison pulled out a chair from the small desk and put it in front of Elliot who sat backwards in it.

"Let me see it now," Brennan began pulling the hitter's shirt off of his shoulder and ordering for clean towels and alcohol if it could be found.

Between Elliot's attempt at lighthearted banter about how Bones wasn't a real doctor and her hot retorts, Booth had sunk down on one of the beds. He had thought that she was dead, and now, as Brennan told the story while working on the hitter, Elliot had saved her life by taking a bullet for her. He had never done that, had he?

"Sophie, do you have tweezers? Large ones please," Brennan was saying.

Elliot hissed in pain.

"Sorry, the bullet is lodged in your scapula, actually a bit of good luck." A few minutes later Brennan had the bullet out but Elliot was getting dizzy from blood loss. Finding a darning kit in the dresser drawer, and hating herself for not having an actual medical kit on her person, Brennan sewed up the wound and wrapped gauze from the meager kit the hotel room had in the bathroom. She then employed Nate and Hardison to help Elliot to the bed. "He just needs to rest, he should be fine but if anyone has ibuprofen it could help, give him three."

Booth waited outside for Bones. When she joined him, he wrapped his arms around her.

"You were wrong about him." It wasn't at all accusing, but Booth still hated hearing it from her. Except for the fact that she had actually said it which meant she was still alive.

"I know Bones," he let her go, "I'm just glad that he was there."

"Let us go back inside," the concern that had etched the doctor's face during the impromptu surgery was replaced by a grin; "I think that they are speaking about what Parker and I stole."

Booth couldn't help but smile, "Okay Bones, but don't make this a regular thing. This was an extenuating circumstance."

Inside everyone was indeed convening on what Parker had lifted from the drives. The team was assembled around Elliot's bed so that the hitter could see the computer screen without sitting up. Brennan went to the couch, sitting between Sophie and Parker. Booth hung by the door. Hardison was explaining what was on the disk and what it did or didn't prove.

Booth immediately felt foolish, here he was, Mr. Popular, Mr. Everyone Has Always Liked Me and he had ostracized himself from a group of people because they were sometimes (okay mostly) on opposite sides of the law. Even socially awkward and supper smart Bones and (well he was just him) Sweets had been accepted into their party. He wasn't trying to feel sorry for himself, he wasn't pouting but he knew that he had many apologies to pass out.

"Hey, Agent Booth," it was Hardison calling him, "get your rear up here so I can begin class."

From the bed Elliot waved a hand motioning him over to join the group. With a sigh he complied, sitting on the arm of the sofa closest to Parker and between where Sweets was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What this shows us is that McGill does absolutely nothing through his fancy offices," Hardison concluded, "There is nothing wrong with any of these files and Lance over here didn't find anything wrong either. The long and short of it? The mission was a bust. We're gonna have to hope that Kelly Harding can get us some Intel."

Sophie nodded, "She's got him hooked, shouldn't be long now." ("Referring to a character in the third person," Sweets jotted down in his now half-full note book.)

"Okay," Nate clapped his hands, his stomach growling, "Elliot, are you cool here on your own while we all go eat?"

A grunt was his reply, Elliot was already half asleep.

"Well then, let's go." Everyone got up to leave, patting Elliot on the shoulder or saying something (Sophie kissed his cheek in that British way) before leaving. When only Booth was left, he pulled up a chair to the bedside. "Hey, are you still awake?" Elliot's eyes were closed but Booth gave it a shot.

"Yeah, what's up?"

Booth sighed, "Brennan told me how . . . well I heard you call her name . . . you took that bullet for her, didn't you? You saved her life."

Elliot grinned, eyes half closed, "You woulda done the same thing."

"But I didn't, because I wasn't there. I've been unfair to you, to all of you. I'm sorry Elliot." Booth hated being wrong.

"'ey, don worry 'bou eh," drowsiness had set in and Elliot's words were hardly understandable as he put his hand in Booth's in a lazy hand shake.

"Yeah," Booth sat the man's hand back on the bedspread: he was out. "Just don't go and do anything that will make me eat my words." He slid the chair back to where he got it from and jogged out the door and down the hall. Everyone was already piled into the elevator and Nate held it open.

"Run, agent guy!" Hardison teased.

This could be fun.

Author's Note: Sorry about the kinda short chapter, it just worked out that way. I know, Booth probably got a little OOC there in the end but he and Elliot had to kiss and make up. I'm trying not to let this story spin out of control, I'm good at that so if you think I need to reel something in or if I forget something just let me know. Oh, and it was okay for them to leave Elliot in the hotel room alone because . . . well he's Elliot and I love him so we all know that they're not going to come back to a dead hitter on the bed. Hopped you liked this chapter. Questions? Comments? Concerns? PLEASE drop me a line in that REVIEW box.