Chapter Thirteen:

Booth woke up to an empty bed. He reached his hand over to her side, it was still warm, but she was gone. He listened for any sounds of her, and his hearing centered on the bathroom and the unmistakable sounds of retching coming from behind the closed door.

He couldn't help but feel just a little responsible for her situation. He crept slowly to the bathroom door, he felt very stiff and sore this morning, and knocked gently.

"Bones? Are you okay in there?" He waited as he heard the toilet flush, and then slowly opened the door.

She was still leaned over the bowl, but she turned her head slightly towards him and tried to smile. She was so pale, and her eyes were red and swollen from the effort. His heart went out to her. He sat on the edge of the tub and rubbed her back while she struggled with another round of the morning sickness.

When the worst seemed to be over, he helped her up and he went to the kitchen to brew her some tea, while she brushed her teeth. She met him in the kitchen as the water boiled and she leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.

"How are you feeling now?"

She sighed deeply.

"Terrible. Of all the books I've read so far, not one of them accurately portray the misery that is morning sickness. I don't know how women do this time and time again."

"Well, you can't believe everything you read. Those books tend to generalize basic symptoms but I think it's different for every woman. Rebecca had almost no morning sickness with Parker at all. Just remember, that the second you hold that little baby for the first time, every minute of suffering will be forgotten. It's worth it Bones. You'll see. It's all worth it." He hugged her and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I hope so Booth." They both watched the kettle boil and when it started to squeal, he pulled it off the stove and tried to move it to the counter, but his hand went numb and it slipped from his fingers. Boiling water splashed all over the kitchen, some of it spilling on her bare feet.

He took the brunt of the splash but immediately asked her if she was alright. She looked down at her feet and saw the small blisters start to form on the top of her left foot, but her eyes went to his leg where the water had got him.

"I'm fine Booth, look at your leg... can't you feel that?" He sat down on a chair at the table and took a close look at the blistering wound. He couldn't feel it and it started to worry him. He looked up at her trying to keep his expression from revealing his concern, but her face showed enough for the both of them.

"Booth...are you okay? That looks really bad. Stay there; I'll go get the first aid kit."

She left the kitchen to head back to the bedroom and he leaned over to touch the scalding on his leg. He really couldn't feel the wound. He was concerned, but unsure of how to let her know that he was concerned. He was used to dealing with things by himself. It's what he did. He was the lone wolf. He took care of others, not the other way around.

She came back into the kitchen with a package of gauze and some ointment and knelt by his injured leg. She poked it gently, the blister was already formed, but she got no reaction from him at all. She squeezed the tube of burn ointment and applied it tenderly to the leg, but still no reaction. She looked up at him, her blue eyes showing her worry.

"Booth...you really can't feel that?"

He stared at the leg as she wrapped gauze around it and eventually met her gaze. He shook his head. He decided then, that if this relationship was going to work, he better be honest. Small secrets were one thing, but this was something more than that. He knew it wasn't good.

"No. I can't feel anything, and that should hurt like hell."

She finished with the bandage, and he leaned down and pressed the area around the burn. Nothing.

"We should go see Doctor Callaway." She sat on the chair next to him and applied a little of the ointment to her own mildly burned foot. Hers was nowhere near as bad as his, and she felt the stinging relief of the pain killing cream.

"I'll book an appointment for later today." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you Doctor Brennan." His attempt to downplay the incident to her failed and she continued to look at him with concern, and love.

"Do you promise? I can book the day off work and come with you if you want."

"I promise, Temperance. I'll go later this afternoon, and do whatever the Doctor says."

She stared at him for awhile, looking for any sign of deceit, but as usual, there was none. She stood up to return the first aid items to their proper place, but he grabbed her hand and held her there. She looked at him, waiting for him to make another move. He decided to go with the honesty route again.

"Temperance, my hand went numb for a second back there. That's why I dropped the kettle." He tried to squeeze her hand, and she felt how weak his grip was. Not the grip of a former sniper that he usually had.

"Seeley, maybe we should go now?" She continued to hold his hand, and he gripped it as tightly as he could. It seemed a little better than it had, but was still weaker than he could.

"No, I'm sure it's nothing serious. I'll go later today. I promise."

She continued to look at him, he attempted a charm smile, but she was having none of it.

"Fine, but if you feel strange, we're going to emergency right now. I'm watching you closely and if there's anything you're not telling me...I'll know." She realized her words were sharp, but she trusted his judgement of his condition, and she kissed him on the forehead in a surprisingly intimate gesture.

He smiled a little half smile at her and let go of her hand. As she walked towards the bedroom, he flexed his fingers, trying to get rid of the tingling sensation. He stood up to reach for the phone to book an appointment. He still felt no pain in his leg.

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He watched as she readied herself for the day at the Jeffersonian. She wasn't sick again, but he thought that she still looked pale. He wondered how long their secret would last. He suspected Angela would know instantly...if she didn't already. Angela would be discreet, of that he was sure, but once anyone else found out, everyone at both the Jeffersonian as well as the FBI would know. Then things would get interesting.

She left for the lab, but not before giving him a passionate good-bye kiss. He still wondered briefly if he was hallucinating all of this. Her warm lips convinced him otherwise. Her soft hair convinced him further when he ran his hand through it. When she finally pulled herself away from him, she made him promise that he would call her with whatever Doctor Callaway told him. If there was anything she should worry about. He made the promise.

Later in the afternoon, he decided to take a cab to the Doctor's office. He didn't trust his driving yet. He hadn't been cleared to drive or return to work by his doctor. The FBI had given him an extended leave of absence. They promised him his job was there for him whenever he was able to return. It had been a while since he had taken a vacation or any time off where he wasn't going anywhere, or involved in some way of protecting her on one of her adventures. Her adventures usually turned into a case they had to solve.

His thoughts strayed back to New Orleans, the trip to London and how could he forget their flight to China. That time they hadn't even made it off the plane before they had a case to solve. Good times.

He waited for the cab, and prayed that everything was all right with his brain. He didn't know how they would deal if there were any problems. He liked how he thought 'we' when he thought of what they would do. He was in this thing. He had waited too long for her to let anything like brain damage get in the way.

Before long he was waiting patiently in the Doctor's office. He didn't wait long. He was considered a high priority case. The receptionist guided him into one of the examination rooms and gave him a gown to change into. He did so without argument and waited no more than a few minutes for Doctor Callaway to make his appearance. The man walked in with Booth's file in his hand.

"Good afternoon Seeley. How are we feeling?"

Booth explained to him what had happened that morning with the boiling water. He showed the Doctor the burn on his leg and described how he hadn't felt any pain from the wound, which was now looking angry and red. There was still no sensation of pain, or any discomfort whatsoever. The Doctor seemed interested by this, and more so when Booth went on to tell about the numbness in the hand that he had tried to move the kettle with.

Doctor Callaway sent him immediately for another CAT scan. When the FBI Agent left the room to head upstairs for the scan, he called ahead to the technicians and asked them to expedite the results to him, making this everyone's priority. He severely hoped that what he suspected might be wrong was not the case. He had seen the new relationship between him and Doctor Brennan forming before his eyes during the man's incapacitation and immediately after. He knew how hard the man had fought to live after the bleed in his brain the first time, and hoped he wouldn't have to watch him go through that again.

Booth waited again in the examination room, but this time he remained in his street clothes. He figured that nothing was wrong, and it was just a precaution that he was sent so quickly for the scan. He was probably just suffering some side-effects of the invasive brain surgery that he had endured. He flexed his fingers a few times. They felt fine now. His leg, on the other hand, he knew he should be feeling some pain from the burn, and that did concern him, perhaps more than he would admit to even himself.

The Doctor came into the room carrying his laptop. He set it up on the examination table and pulled up a chair to sit next to Booth. He pulled up a screen that showed the results of Booth's most recent brain scan. He zoomed in on a small section and Booth saw fairly clearly, two white, grainy patches. He and the Doctor looked at each other. Booth's brown, expressive eyes were watery.

"Now, Seeley, this is something we were concerned about after your surgery. So far you had shown no signs of any symptoms, but it would seem things have changed. These two white patches show evidence of scar tissue from where the scope nicked a minor vessel when we did the initial surgery. We repaired the damage instantly, but there is always a chance of the scar tissue pressing on major receptors in the brain, making them ineffective." He paused to see if the man followed him. He seemed to, but his eyes showed his nervousness.

"What can we do about it?" Booth asked him, his voice cracking just a little bit.

"Well, here are the options...We can go in and operate and try to remove the scar tissue, but another surgery so close to your last one increases the chances of complications dramatically. We would want to wait until you are just a little stronger to go ahead with that option, and we also have to make sure that burn on your leg doesn't get infected. That could definitely complicate things."

"What's my other option?"

"We do nothing and this is as good as you ever get in terms of your recovery. You know this would mean that you could never return to field work. You could never be cleared to return to work with the FBI." Doctor Callaway watched the man's face drop as he realized his limited options meant one extreme or another.

"What are the chances of success with the surgery?" Booth fidgeted his hands in his lap.

"I would put it at around eighty percent success, but you should know, the complications that could occur are severe. If something goes wrong, it could really go wrong. You could have a stroke and end up paralyzed or in a vegetative state."

"Wow. That is extreme." He paused for awhile, considering his options. "How long do I have to decide?"

"I'll write you a prescription for some antibiotics to make sure your leg is okay, and we'll give it about a week to make sure there is no infection. We can proceed then, it that is your wish."

Seeley waited while the man wrote him a prescription and handed it to him. The Doctor accompanied the man as far as the reception desk to book another appointment for one week's time. Callaway patted the man on the back and suggested he go home and discuss his options with Doctor Brennan. She would help him with his decision.

Booth sat quietly in the back of the cab on his way back to her place. He had no idea how to decide what to do. He could go ahead with the surgery and risk brain damage, or worse; or he could do nothing and not be able to return to his job. The only thing he knew how to do. How else could his talents help the world?

He let himself into her apartment and sat on the couch, still in his coat. He felt a little tired, but decided against a nap. He had thinking to do. While he still could. His phone rang from his pocket. He glanced quickly at the caller ID and saw her name flashing.

"Hi Temperance. How are you?" He answered, buying himself another minute to decide what to tell her.

She answered him with as few words as possible to describe her day so far. Uneventful. Their secret was safe so far. She was more interested in his day.

"Can you come home? There's something we need to discuss..."

She said she was on her way.

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TBC...soon(ish)! ;)