Continued right after the previous chapter… no more time stamps to watch, and a little less angst (at least for now).


Chapter 28—Embrace

"Almost there, Bones," he said, pulling out a pocket knife and carefully cutting the rope from her feet and hands, "Almost there."

Carefully avoiding the raw spots on her wrists and ankles, he pulled the rope loose, dropping it to the floor next to her. Without the restraints holding her in place, she sagged heavily against him, her head on his shoulder with her face buried in his neck.

"I've got you, Bones," he whispered in her ear, placing a soft kiss to her temple. "You're safe now," he said, more to himself than to her. Slipping his arms around her waist, he was surprised to feel her move her arms around his shoulders.

Her breathing was ragged against his skin, her body shaking slightly against his. Holding her tightly, he could feel their hearts beating together, showing them that they were both really there.

She tightened her grip on his shoulders, burying her face in his shirt while she tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She could feel his arms around her pulling her closer, if that was even possible, and she found herself wishing they could stay there forever.

Cullen approached the alcove where the two partners were holding each other, waving off the agents who were standing there staring at the pair. "I want you to search the building and see if you can find anything that will give us an idea where they went," he barked at the agents, waiting for them to scatter before turning his attention back to the pair.

Thank God she's okay, he thought, saying a silent prayer. It would have killed Booth, and I would have lost my best agent and his doctor partner. A knowing smile crossed his face as he leaned against the table, watching the pair.

Inside the alcove, Booth could feel her hot breath against his neck, her breathing slowing and becoming more even as she allowed herself to give into sleep now that she was safe in his arms. He lifted her carefully, one arm wrapped around her back with the other behind her knees, cradling her close to his body.

He stood, turning toward what remained of the glass door and made his way out of the warehouse, Cullen falling into step next to him. Once outside Booth laid her gently on the stretcher before turning to his superior, a question hovering on his face.

"Ride with your partner," Cullen told him, answering his silent question. "I'll take your car to the hospital and call the squints to meet us there."

"Thank you, Sir," Booth said respectfully, once again thankful for Cullen's understanding. He climbed into the ambulance next to Brennan's sleeping form, allowing his fingers to gently stroke her hair while the paramedics checked her vital signs and inserted and IV.

Upon their arrival at the hospital a few minutes later, Brennan was whisked away for tests and Booth was left with a pile of paperwork. Abandoning the forms, he chose to pace the waiting room, anxious to see her.

After a few minutes of restless pacing, he picked up the forms again, filling them out to the best of his ability. Just as he was finishing them, Angela, Hodgins, and Cullen burst through the doors of the waiting room.

Offering Booth a quick hug, Angela sat next to him. "Have you heard anything? How is she?" she asked anxiously, desperate for information about her best friend.

"They're running some tests," Booth explained, fiddling with the pen that was attached to the clipboard. "They don't think there is anything seriously wrong, they just want to make sure the gases didn't have any long-term effects."

With a glance at Hodgins, Booth knew he was running through lists of possible complications due to the gases in his head. "Stop thinking so much, Hodgins," he said, catching the other man's attention, "They didn't have the gas going the whole time she was there, just periodically to keep her from fighting."

The scientist just nodded, twiddling his thumbs and trying to think about something besides his friend suffering from lingering respiratory problems due to the gases. Taking Angela's hand, they comforted each other, knowing Brennan would be alright.

Booth looked from the squints' joined hands to Cullen who had taken a seat on the other side of Hodgins. "Sir," Booth addressed him, "You should go home. You've been at work for almost 48 hours."

Cullen nodded, lifting his gaze from his clasped hands and looking at Booth. "Ok," he said, "I'd love to get some sleep. You should try to get a little as well," he offered, knowing Booth had been working the same length of time.

"I'm going to stick around here until she wakes up, just to make sure everything is alright," Booth responded, his exhaustion finally breaking into his voice.

"She'll be okay, Booth," Cullen reassured the younger agent. "I want you to take the next couple of days off to make sure she's alright, and catch up on some sleep yourself, alright?"

"Yes, Sir," Booth replied, knowing it was no use arguing about working on the case to find the men who had done this.

"Leave finding these bastards to us for now, Booth," Cullen told him, seeing the look of sheer determination in Booth's eyes.

"Yes, Sir," he replied, dropping his gaze to the floor as Cullen stood and left the waiting room.

"We'll get started on the case first thing in the morning," Hodgins told him as soon as the Deputy Director had left the room. "I want to catch the bastard who did this."

Booth nodded at him, glad to have the squints with him while he waited.

"Agent Booth?" a small, blonde nurse asked, looking around the waiting room.

He stood up quickly, almost knocking over the chair he had been sitting in. Hurrying over to the woman, he could feel Angela and Hodgins hot on his heels. "Yes?" he asked, "Is she alright?"

"She's stable and awake right now," the nurse explained. "She started asking for you the moment she came around. I'll take you back to see her, but first I need to get the forms I left you with."

Handing over the papers, he let out a sigh of relief as the three followed the nurse down the hall, stopping at the nurses' station.

"I can only let family in right now," she told them, noticing Angela and Hodgins for the first time.

"This is her sister," Booth jumped in quickly, "and her brother-in-law."

Raising her eyebrows, the nurse sighed in defeat, "Fine, but you can't stay long. She needs her rest."

"Of course," Angela said, smiling at the woman, "We just want to make sure she's doing alright."

Nodding, the woman looked down at paper on her clipboard, finding the room number. "Mrs. Brennan is in room 401," she said, pointing down the hall.

"Doctor Brennan," the three automatically responded, grinning at each other out of sheer happiness and exhaustion.

"Thank you, miss," Hodgins told the nurse as the three turned and hurried down the hall, desperate to see their friend.

Entering the room, they saw she was sleeping once again, and the IV still attached to her hand. In addition, they could see bandages wrapped around her wrists, and knew her covered ankles had the same. Walking over to the bed, Angela and Hodgins smiled down at Brennan, happiness and exhaustion fighting for dominance over their faces.

"Why don't you two go home and get some sleep?" Booth suggested, pulling a chair closer to the bed. "I'll stay here for a while, so she doesn't wake up alone. I'll tell her you came by."

"Okay," Angela told him, glancing at Jack. "Call us if anything changes. Otherwise we'll stop by in the morning on our way to work," she said, resting her tired head on Hodgins' shoulder.

"Good night, guys," Booth said, "Thanks for everything."

"Of course," Hodgins told him. "Anything for Dr. Brennan."

Booth offered them a tired smile in return, turning his attention back to the sleeping body on the bed in front of him. Taking her free hand he gently ran his thumb over the knuckles, as if trying to remind himself that she was there.

As Angela and Hodgins left the room, they glanced back to see Booth laying his head on the bed, almost asleep with her hand still in his.