Chapter 5

Friday May 22 – Booth's Car – 1:48 pm

Brennan felt no pain as the car skidded out of control, flipped, and then came to a crashing halt as another car hit her side square on. In fact, she hardly even noticed what was happening; that is, until Booth let out an agonizing groan. Brennan felt her stomach drop. Booth could feel pain.

It hit her hard. Useless. Helpless. Alone.

She couldn't seem to grasp the fact that Booth was nearly unconscious, and she could hardly comprehend that she couldn't do anything to stop the blood flowing from Booth's forehead. She was useless! Utterly alone and helpless. It was like she had been placed in some twisted horror movie, watching the world go on without her. Watching Booth die. This was all her fault.

All her fault.

If she hadn't been kidnapped. If she only remembered where she was. If she could only begin to explain this perplexing situation. If only…

So many questions and there wasn't one she could answer. Nothing she could do, but watch. A raspy sound escaped from the back of her throat, a sound so uncommon for her, and yet it wasn't until she felt the dampness on her cheeks was she aware of the tears flowing freely down her face.

"Bones?"

Brennan choked back another sob. Here Booth was, calling for her, and she couldn't do anything to help him. It hurt her to no end that she meant so much to him, and she hadn't even considered that until now. How could she be so blind?

"Why are you crying?"

Everything seemed to freeze. The clock, the people outside watching, the beating of his heart. Everything. It was like time froze, so she could take a moment to think. Taking a deep breath, she slowly forced herself to look at him.

She sighed in relief. He was alive. Very Alive.

His eyes were wide with shock, his knuckles were turning white from gripping the steering wheel to hard, and he only had one scratch on the side of his head. She stared at him, confused. Had she just imagined the gash on the side of his forehead? Had she just imagined him being nearly unconscious?

To her astonishment, she realized she had imagined it. Booth was fine. She had simply assumed the worst, and she cursed herself for doing so. Never assume. Her anger suddenly overtook her bliss, once she realized that he was ok. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" she asked him harshly, well aware that she was still invisible, but to her shock Booth looked directly at her. "Booth?"

"Bones?" he asked unsure.

She just blinked.

"Bones… is that you?" He stared at her intently, probably trying to figure out if she was real or not. She knew she should say something, but for the first time in her life, she found herself she was speechless. Instead, she simply stared back.

Booth forcefully removed his eyes from her, and finally took in the scene around him. He seemed confused, dazed, and not himself.

"Sir… are you alright?"

Booth looked up at the newcomer's voice. A young man was standing outside his window, eyeing him with a worried expression on his face. "I…I'm fine. Just help her first." He nodded towards the passenger seat of the car, slowly closing his eyes. God, he had the hugest headache. How hard did he hit his head?

"I…I'm sorry, sir. Who?"

"Help Bones. Help her first!" he snapped at the man.

"Booth…?" Brennan asked, but she had asked so softly he hadn't even heard.

"…Sir… an ambulance is on its way. You're going to be ok."

Booth wanted to shout out the man. Why wasn't he helping Bones? The man wasn't deaf or blind, so why wasn't he helping her?! Couldn't the man see that he was fine and that he had to help his partner and not him? He wanted to shout. He wanted to jump from the car and save Bones himself, but his headache was so strong. A power he couldn't fight. Sighing, he gave into it, and let the darkness overtake him.

--

Friday May 22 – Hospital – 2:51 pm

Booth lazily opened his eyes. He had a mind-boggling headache and everything around him seemed to be disoriented. Where was he? All he could see was a blur of white and some irritating machine kept beeping. He groaned inwardly. It felt like he had been hit by a truck.

He blinked several times in an attempt to clear his sight, and slowly the room became clearer. Booth's breath caught at the all too familiar setting. A hospital room. He was in the hospital, but he couldn't remember why or how. Grunting, he forced himself up into a sitting position, but immediately regretted it.

A painful jolt of memories came rushing back to him. Brennan's apartment. Blood. Sweets. Parker. The accident.

He cursed loudly. Now how was he going to save Bones when he was stuck at the hospital? And then suddenly his headache disappeared, he could think clearly, and somehow his body didn't register the stabs of pain shooting throughout his body. He needed to get out of here and save Brennan. She was the only thing that mattered to him, she was the only person on his mind, and she was the only person (besides parker) he couldn't live without. And then his mind seemed to register the fact that he wasn't alone.

Slowly, he examined the woman in the chair sitting beside him. Her head was in her hands, so he couldn't see her face, but he knew who it was. His breath caught. There was no mistaken her auburn hair, her slim body, or her pale skin. Now he was confused. How long had he been out? Did they find her without him knowing, or was this another cruel trick his mind was playing on him?

It was true. Every time Brennan went missing he would see her everywhere. So it was no surprise to him now that she was sitting next to him. It comforted him somewhat, but he wanted the real Brennan with him and not the imaginary one. The imaginary one didn't talk and didn't stay long. She would just disappear in a few seconds, but to his surprise she started to talk to herself.

"Booth, I'm so sorry." Her voice was raspy, agitated. "This is my fault. If I have never –"

Booth cut her off. "It's not your fault, Bones." He smiled a full hearted smile. He couldn't hide his joy. This wasn't the imaginary Brennan. She was alive and they had found her. How long had he been unconscious for?

Her head shot up and Booth could clearly see the anxiety play across her face. He frowned. He could see the look of fear and disbelief in her eyes. "Bones… you ok. Looks like you seen a ghost."

She stared at him for the longest time before she finally found her voice. "Booth… you can… see me?"

He wasn't expecting her to say that. "Why couldn't I?"

He watched her comprehend this for a moment, and then a smile lit up her beautiful face.

"Booth! I don't… Oh… You don't have…" she trailed off not knowing where to begin.

He laughed. "Take it easy, Bones. I'm happy to see you too. Now could you please tell me what the hell happened?"

"You were in a car accident," she told him bluntly.

Booth frowned. "I know that! Tell me where you were. I've been worried…"

Brennan dropped her eyes. She could hear the pain in his voice, the disappointment. From his point of view it must have looked like she left him. "I don't know, Booth."

"You don't know?" he was angry. "Bones, I've been worried. I thought something bad happened."

"Booth, I honestly don't know. I'm still trying to figure it out, but now that you can see me…" Brennan trailed off, seeing the petrified look appear on Booth's face. It hadn't occurred to her that Booth didn't know the situation yet. It was obvious that he didn't know people couldn't see her. But where or how to begin?

"Bones…." he asked sort of hesitantly, panic sneaking into his voice. "Maybe you should get some sleep. You don't look to well."

"No… Booth. You have to listen –" she was cut off by the sound of the door opening.

It was a nurse, and a smile lit up her face. "Oh, good. You're up," she told Booth cheerfully.

Booth had the sudden urge to smack the smile of the nurse's face. Couldn't she see that he was in the middle of a conversation? "When will I be able to get out of here?"

Brennan couldn't help but smile. Maybe she wouldn't have to explain it to Booth. Maybe he would see for himself.

"I'm not sure," the nurse answered. "The earliest would be tonight, but that won't be likely. There is a visitor here to see you. Would you like to see her? "

Booth sighed; apparently he would just have to wait to talk to Bones. "That's fine. Bring her in."

Brennan watched the nurse nod, and then disappear out the door. As soon as she was gone, she turned to Booth quickly. "Booth, you should know –" but the door opened again, and Brennan never had time to finish her sentence. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair. Yes, she would just let Booth figure it out for himself.

"Hey, Angela," Booth greeted cheerfully.

She smiled weakly at him. "Hey."

He frowned. "Angela, you ok?" her face was red and puffy from crying, the dark circles under her eyes stood out, and anxiety played across her features. To him it looked like he had aged five years in one day.

"I'm so worried," she sobbed.

"It's ok, Angela. I'm fine." He was surprised. He knew Angela cared about him, but he didn't know she cared that much.

She forced out a laugh, clearly thinking that Booth had just made a joke. "It's everything, Booth. I'm worried about Brennan, and then when you got into the car crash…" she trailed off, sobbing.

"Hey," he told her sternly. "Everything is ok. I'm fine. Bones is fine…"

Angela glared at him. "She's not fine, Booth. She's missing."

Booth stared at her confused. Couldn't she see Brennan? "Ang, what are you talking about? Bones is right there." He nodded towards the seat on the other side of him.

"She can't see me, Booth." He vaguely heard his partner say.

"What?" Angela asked, her voice raspy. She eyed the vacant chair suspiciously and then back at Booth. "Sweetie, what are you talking about?"

"Bones is fine," he repeated. "She's right there."

Brennan frowned. Booth was going to end up in a mental institution if he continue with the conversation. "Booth, I told you. She can't see or hear me. For some odd reason… only you and Parker can."

Booth felt his stomach drop as he remembered his lunch with his son. "Can't you see her Daddy?" His son had asked him. It had only been hours ago, and yet it seemed so far away. Parker's voice had been pleading, begging for him to understand. Was it even possible? Now, Booth felt sick. What if his son had been telling the truth? What if Brennan had really been there? No. That was impossible.

"Booth, maybe I should get a doctor…" Angela told him, panic sneaking into her voice.

"No!" He shouted, making her jump. "I mean… no. I'm fine. I just… miss her too…"

Angela nodded. "I know, Sweetie. But we will find her."

Brennan smiled. "Booth, you believe me?"

He nodded, answering both of the girls questions. "Yes."

"I'm worried…" Angela sobbed, breaking the silence. "What if we can't find her…"

Booth took a nervous glance at Brennan. He wanted to believe, but yet he still found the entire situation absurd. How could he see her when Angela couldn't? It didn't make sense. It was like he was placed in that movie… the Six Sense. He could hear the little boy's voice inside his head. I see dead people. Booth groaned. No. Bones is not dead!

"Angela, we are going to find Brennan." His voice quivered slightly, even he wasn't so sure. Not this time.

"How…?"

"Because," he stated. "We always do."