Hi everyone! Thank you so much for keeping reading, and for all your very kind reviews and story alerts! I'm really thrilled that you're enjoying it so far, and very thankful for your patience with the mistakes and everything! Here's the next bit for you all, hope it's OK :)
Booth was nothing if not frustrated. He had tried desperately to find Brennan all week, but whenever he came to the lab she was mysteriously absent. He had never realised before what a skill she had for disappearing. Looking at Angela a few times, he realised that she was just as baffled as she was. She had even tried to stall Brennan for him at one point, but she had realised and made her escape just before Booth had arrived.
So now he was doing the last thing that he could think of, which is why he was standing outside her office at eight o clock in the evening, when everyone else had already left. For some reason he felt nervous, although he couldn't think why he should be.
Deciding not to knock in case he gave her an excuse to find a way to hide from him, he pushed open the door, not seeing her initially. His heart broke when his eyes became used to the dull lighting in her office, and he saw her bending over her bin in a corner, being sick. He started forwards instantly, concern written all over his face.
She hadn't heard him come in, that was certain. But he still hadn't expected her to flinch when he put a supportive hand on her back, as if she were afraid of him. Rubbing her back supportively, he waited until she had finished, incredibly worried about his partner. Eventually, she stood in exhaustion, Booth nodding to the couch for her to sit down.
"What are you doing here, Booth?" she asked softly, genuinely surprised to see him.
"Well you've been avoiding me during the day so I had to resort to desperate measures!" he joked, seeing her look away and avoid his gaze.
"I haven't been avoiding you, we've been busy."
"Yes you have. And what I want to know is why," he said softly, turning her head slightly so that she had no choice but to look at him. Realising that she looked like a deer caught in headlights, he stopped rubbing her cheek, letting her break the gaze. "I wanted to know if you could help me with a case I have."
"Case?" she asked, still slightly breathless from his gentle touch and the intensity of that look. It had been a long time since she had felt like that from someone's touch, not allowing anyone near at the moment.
"Yes, I got my hands on an interesting murder case this morning. I tried to find you, but you'd vanished."
He waited patiently, Brennan thinking over her options. On the one hand, she would love to get back to working with Booth like they used to, but it led to so many uncomfortable questions that she couldn't answer, and it hurt so much realising what she had been missing by avoiding him.
"OK," she replied with a sigh, seeing Booth grin and rub his hands together.
"Brilliant! The A-team reunited," he told her, leaning against her gently as she smiled slightly despite herself.
"I don't know what that means," she replied, seeing Booth roll his eyes. His enthusiasm was infective. She couldn't remember feeling this happy for a while.
"I'll explain tomorrow. Pick you up at 8?" he asked, seeing her nod and offer him a small smile as Booth left her in peace.
His smile faded as soon as he stepped out of the office, walking down the corridor in sad contemplation. Brennan had never looked that sick before, the weight seeming to have dropped off her since he last spoke to her, and dark circles running under her eyes. Apart from that, she just looked plain miserable, and was obviously finding it difficult to concentrate on anything. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he reminded himself happily that at least he had her back for the next case, and that should give him time to get to the bottom of this mystery, and to hopefully get his best friend and partner back.
Booth watched his partner sadly, knowing that he had to act normally around her. But it was difficult not to comment when she was walking slower than normal, each step seeming to give her pain. It was all he could do not to scoop her up in his arms and carry her.
Slowing slightly, he waited for her to catch up. She smiled at him, basking in the happiness of being around her friend, and not having to worry anymore.
"Good to have the A-team back, eh, Bones?" he joked cuffing her around the shoulder.
His face fell when she doubled over, grabbing where he had just hit and biting her lip. His hands dropped to her shoulders instantly, bending to see her face.
"Bones? What is it? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," he told her, seeing her finally brave opening her eyes to see his worried face.
"You bully! That wasn't just a small hit, Booth!" she replied, glaring at him as her heart raced a thousand beats a minute, willing him to believe her.
He looked doubtful, but nodded, and pulled her into a hug, practically carrying her along without Brennan realising it as he rubbed her shoulder soothingly.
"I'm sorry, Bones, I guess I don't know my own strength sometimes," he told her, kissing the top of her head affectionately as he tried to hide his worried face from her. She relaxed against him.
"Booth, where are we going? The car's that way," she said after a moment, feeling Booth chuckle against her.
"Well, after a hard day's work I thought the least I could do would be to treat my partner to a proper lunch," he said, waggling his eyebrows as he suddenly turned and pulled the door to a diner they had reached open for her. She looked up at him in surprise, before smiling and heading in before him.
The lunch was lovely, both of them enjoying each other's company so much after such a long separation. Booth was pleased to see Bones relax, laughing along with him, an almost permanent smile etched on her face. She seemed so much more like her old self that he almost forgot what he was worried about to start with. Until her face took on a horrible grey colour and she dropped her fork instantly.
"Bones, what's wrong?" he asked, seeing her go to answer before changing her mind and dashing off from the table.
Booth followed, hearing the unmistakable sounds of her being sick from outside the ladies bathroom. He groaned, dropping his face to his hands as he desperately tried to think of a way to solve this problem for her. Thinking back, she had hardly touched any of the food on her plate, so he was really struggling to understand what had happened to make her feel so bad that she couldn't really eat anymore.
Brennan nearly ran straight into Booth when she came out of the toilet and found he was standing there. He grabbed her shoulders, looking her straight into the eyes as she tried to compose herself.
"Are you OK?" he asked seriously, waiting for her to meet his eyes. She smiled at him, reaching to touch his cheek softly, her hands like ice, as a sad and longing look passed fleetingly over her features.
"I'm fine, Booth. I think I picked up a bug or something."
Nodding, Booth decided to let it drop, despite not believing a word of what she was saying. Draping his arm supportively around her shoulders, he led her back to the table, grabbing their things when he realised she wouldn't want to stay around the smell of food if she was feeling sick.
He held the door open for her, his hand automatically dropping to her side again. They were silent, Brennan willing Booth to forget the whole incident, and Booth not sure how to bring up what he wanted to talk about. Once they reached the car, Brennan was surprised when Booth pulled her into a bear hug before she could get in. She relaxed against him, smelling the comforting scent that could only come from Booth, and that always made her feel safe and loved. She had to force back the tears that threatened to fall as she thought about how things could have been, if Steve had not come along. Booth's hand moved gently up and down her back, soothing her, letting her know that he was still there for her, even if he didn't understand.
She pulled back a moment later, smiling at him, the thanks radiating from her face. He grinned back, before uncomfortably realising that he had something sticky on his hand. Looking down, his face paled as he saw that his hand that had been on Brennan's back was covered in dark red blood.
"Bones?" he asked, holding up his hand for her to see, worry all over his face as he waited for her to explain.
Her mouth fell open as she saw what he had discovered, a blush spreading steadily up her face followed by a pale colour as she realised the implications of his discovery. Tears started, but she was powerless to stop them. She couldn't think, her brain refusing to co-operate and come up with a plausible story for where that blood came from.
"Oh, Temperance, what's going on?" he asked, stepping closer to her with a gentle expression, sadness filling his eyes.
Knowing that she had to leave before she doomed him to death, she turned and ran, not looking back, praying that he didn't follow on his stronger and faster legs. Booth sank into the seat of his car, not wanting to scare her by following, dropping his head to his hands. His worse fear had been confirmed, someone was hurting the woman he loved. Now he just had to figure out who, and why, and how badly she was hurt so he could come up with some way to make sure no-one ever laid a finger on her again.
Walking down the so familiar corridors, Booth somehow just knew that he was in the right place. Turning the corner, he found Brennan's door open, and the sight before him felt like someone had ripped out his heart and stamped on it. Brennan was sitting on her couch, her head in her hands and sobs wracking through her body.
Without giving it a second thought, Booth strode forwards, sitting gently next to her and pulling her against him. She gasped in surprise at first until she saw Booth's face, looking almost as broken as she was, and she relaxed against him, glad of the comfort that only he seemed able to give her.
He held her as she buried her face in his shoulder, rocking her gently and kissing her head, telling her that everything was going to be fine, and that he was there. Truth be told, he had absolutely no idea how to help, but at that moment he would do or say anything that could take away some of the hurt she was feeling. He just felt grateful that she trusted him enough to allow him to stay.
Eventually she calmed, sitting up slightly but still staying close to him, his arm holding her carefully to his side.
"Do you want to talk?" he asked gently, watching as she shook her head, looking down at her hands with a sniff.
"Can you just hold me? Please?" she asked, so child-like, that his heart broke for her all over again.
He kissed her head softly, feeling her head relax back against his shoulder again. Lifting her gently, Booth sat her in his lap, feeling her head go straight against his shoulder, her hands wrapping around his waist as he shushed her, and held her to him gently. Ironically, he realised that in any other situation, this would be heaven for him to have her in his arms.
Looking down moments later, Booth realised that Bones had fallen asleep against his shoulder. Sighing sadly, he brushed some hair from her face, wondering why this happened to the person who deserved it so little.
Picking her up gently so as not to wake her, Booth almost gasped out loud when he realised how little she weighed. She must have lost at least a stone in weight, and she couldn't afford to be losing that much weight. Brushing it off, he carried her easily to his car, settling her in the back seat where she could lie undisturbed.
Booth had no idea how he managed to drive to his apartment, his mind anywhere but on the road. He was grateful when he could finally lift his partner from the back of his car, carrying her as carefully as if she were a china doll upstairs and settling her onto his bed. He considered changing her clothes for her, but dismissed that idea as she may never trust him again if she woke to that. Instead, he tucked the covers carefully around her neck, kissing her forehead tenderly as he left her to sleep, hoping she would feel a little better when she woke.
He paused by the door for a moment, and watched. She seemed so sad, even in sleep, the dark circles more pronounced now her eyes were closed. Rubbing his face wearily, Booth closed the door to his bedroom, grabbing a blanket and pillow from his cupboard as he curled up on his couch, his dreams never far from the woman sleeping next door.
Thats the end of part three! Thank you so very much for reading, and please let me know what you think! Hope you all have an enjoyable rest of your weeks :)