Chapter Seventeen:

Booth sat once again outside the office of Doctor Callaway. His appointment would determine if he was finally ready to return to work after a six week absence while recovering from his multiple brain surgeries and the subsequent memory loss.

Bones couldn't be there with him, she had her own appointment with an obstetrician. She would get to hear the baby's heartbeat today, and see the pictures of the first ultrasound. He was just a little disappointed that he wouldn't be there for the big moment. His appointment had been scheduled for days and he was desperately bored and wanted to get back to his job of solving murders that no one else could.

He sat in the waiting room, his outward appearance was one of calmness and peacefulness, but his innards were churning. If the Doctor said 'no', then there would be no more FBI for him. He had dutifully attended the physio appointments and he had passed his physical with flying colors. There was one small thing that he had kept secret from everybody. He still had occasional numbness in his right hand. He had been out to the firing range almost daily and his accuracy was still beyond the highest levels required by the FBI, but only he knew that he was still a little off. He wanted so desperately to return to work that he was willing to ignore the slight disability.

It was the neurological part of the physical that worried him now. Doctor Callaway and a team of specialists still had no explanation for his temporary amnesia. He had no further episodes of memory loss, but the Doctors couldn't guarantee him that it wouldn't happen again. They feverently hoped not, but they could make him no promises. That is what held up his return to work. The FBI needed solid word that his memory wouldn't cut out half way through a major case, leaving them in the lurch.

Finally a nurse waved him into the inner office. She smiled at him as he got up to follow her. He knew the way, but she walked with him anyway.

"How are you today Agent Booth? Where's Doctor Brennan?" The nurse loved watching the interaction between the two. They were so obviously meant for each other, it was rare to see. The man smiled at her. Her heart flipped a little when he did, she thought just how lucky Doctor Brennan was.

"No...She had a previous engagement today. You're stuck with just me." His charming smile shone through and his eyes sparkled at her. When he saw the nurse blush, he laughed to himself, he still had it. There was only one woman who would truly be the recipient of his charm, and she was at this moment seeing the first images of their child. He was jealous, but understood that there would be more opportunities to see an ultrasound. They still had six months of pregnancy to deal with.

As he sat in Doctor Callaway's office, his mind wandered to the future. He wondered who the baby would look like the most. He hoped it would be a little girl who looked just like her mother, but he would be just as thrilled with a boy who looked just like his mother. Either way, he was thrilled with the situation. He couldn't wait to meet that little bundle that would complete his every wish. The door to the office opened and the Doctor walked in, carrying the thick file that was Booth's medical file of the recent months.

He sat down in the chair behind his desk and set the file down on the desk with a thunk. Booth smiled at the man when they made eye contact.

"So, Doc, what's the word. Am I clear?"

""Well, Agent Booth, your last series of scans all came back negative for any anomalies. That is very good news. The only thing that we are still worried about is the memory loss you suffered after the last surgery. We still can find no physical explanation for it, and thusly, we cannot prove that it might not happen again."

The Doctor saw the shoulders of the man slump.

"So what can we do?" His dark brown eyes looked at the doctor with near pleading.

"Okay... there is something; we have spoken to the FBI about it, and they are willing to sign off on your return if you are willing to undergo a series of meetings with a psychologist, just to make sure that your temporary memory loss was not caused by something psychological. Would you be willing to do this?"

"Can I meet with Doctor Wyatt? That would be okay."

"No, your file has been forwarded to one..." He paused while he flipped through a few pages of the file, "...Doctor Lance Sweets."

Booth groaned out loud, and the Doctor Callaway looked at him with surprise.

"Do you know this man? He's very young, but he's very well qualified..."

"I know who he is. My partner and I work with him regularly on cases, he's been...well... helpful to say the least." Booth chose his adjective very carefully.

If meeting with Sweets meant he could return to work, then he was willing to make that sacrifice. He could handle the young Doctor.

It was agreed then that Booth would return to work with the FBI, under close supervision during a probationary period, just to make sure he was back to his old self. The man's smile couldn't be curbed by anything at that moment.

Doctor Callaway shook his hand, handed him the signed form stating that he was able to return to duty and said he would see him for another appointment in two months, unless something happened before then that was unforeseen. The Doctor hoped that the man's issues would be resolved and his life could return to normal. He had a beautiful woman waiting for him, and a child on the way. The FBI Agent deserved some normalcy after everything that had happened.

Agent Booth thought the very same thing as he walked out of the office. As he got into his vehicle he tried to call Bones, but she wasn't answering her phone. He assumed she was still in her appointment. He started to drive to the Jeffersonian with a refreshed state of mind. He was back. Or would be very shortly. He could stop by the Hoover building later and pick up his gun and his badge, and set up the first appointment with Sweets. He was not exactly looking forward to that, but all things considered, he could sacrifice the time if it meant he could go back into the field. He might be able to start as early as tomorrow. He flexed the numbness out of his hand as he drove.

He arrived at the lab in a better mood than he had the last few times. He almost strutted as he walked through the entrance, excited to tell the squints of his news. He would be there as a fully functional Agent again.

He looked around the lab, but there was not a familiar face around. The platform was empty, and he wondered where everyone was. He went to Bones' office and sat down behind her desk. He picked up the small plastic pig that sat on the corner and turned it over in his hand with a smile. He was amazed she had kept it all this time. He set it back down and looked towards her door to see her coming across the floor of the lab. His heart leapt at the sight of her, as it always did. She smiled when she saw him sitting there.

In a completely unexpected move, she strode across her office and sat on his lap and put her arms around his neck. She kissed him ever so gently on the lips and he accepted it with a smile.

"So... how was your appointment?"

They both spoke the words to each other at exactly the same time, and then they both laughed. He went first,

"I'm clear. I just have to check in with the Hoover people to get my gun and my badge back. I can probably do that this afternoon, and then, we are officially partners again." They still smiled at each other. "How's the baby?"

"Everything is progressing normally. Development of the fetus is within the range of expected parameters. The Doctor is only concerned that I'm not gaining enough weight." He looked at her and set his hand on her firming abdomen.

"Is she worried that your morning sickness is so severe? Is that normal?" His brown eyes expressed his concern about both her and the baby.

"She says it's normal. It should lessen as I enter the second trimester, and I just have to make sure I'm eating enough."

They kissed tenderly, with the good news from both of their appointments. They were interrupted by someone clearing their voice from the doorway to her office. They both turned their heads to see Agent Perotta standing there, with Cam slightly behind her. They were both smiling, and trying to avert their eyes, but they couldn't.

"You guys were much less awkward to be around when you were both in denial about your feelings." Agent Perotta spoke first.

"No...They really weren't. It was always awkward!" Cam added her opinion and the two ladies standing in the doorway smiled as Doctor Brennan stood up from Booth's lap and leaned on the edge of her desk. She smiled at her partner, and was pleased that he did not seem fazed by their interrupted moment of affection.

"Get used to it you guys. I have officially been cleared to return to duty, so you're going to be seeing a lot more of me around." Booth's smile went to everyone in the room, and they all smiled back at him.

"Congratulations Agent Booth, you left a tough act to follow. It will be good to work with you again." Perotta walked over to shake his hand, to officially welcome him back to active duty. She turned back to Doctor Brennan, "If you are available tomorrow, we have some new leads about a couple of suspects in that case we've been working."

"Absolutely. Perhaps the three of us can work together on this one." Her eyes went from her partner to Agent Perotta, and they both nodded agreement. Tomorrow.

Cam spoke up again,

"Doctor Brennan, we could use your input on a body that is coming in right away. It was found early this morning, just outside of DC and no identification has been made yet. Can you come?"

Bones nodded, and leaned over to give her partner a quick kiss on the cheek before she left with Cam to meet the body that was being wheeled in to the lab.

Perotta watched Booth as his eyes followed her until she was out of their range of sight. A few months ago she would have been jealous, but she had come to terms with her feelings for the tall FBI Agent, and realized that his heart belonged to his partner. And now they both knew it. Everyone knew it. They had both been through so much, and the blonde Agent was happy for them.

"You guys seem really happy. It's good to see." Perotta smiled to Booth and he grinned back.

"We've earned it. That's for sure."

He got up from behind the desk and told her he would meet her tomorrow to help work the case. He had to go to the Hoover building to ensure that everything was in order for his return.

He left the office and she followed him as far as the platform, she went up the steps and he continued to the door. Bones waved to him as he walked past where she was examining the body, and he winked and smiled at her.

The squints who were watching the interaction smiled at the two. Everything was falling back into place. Again.

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Booth and Brennan spent the evening together admiring the first ultrasound pictures of their baby. His badge and gun sat on the coffee table, as a subtle reminder that he was back officially with the FBI. His first appointment with Sweets had been booked in a few days. She teased him about what the psychologist and he would talk about, but he cut off the conversation with a tender kiss that escalated quickly. It was morning before they both knew it.

They prepared for work together and left her apartment at the same time with the understanding that they would meet in her office as soon as possible, and they, with Agent Perotta, would head down to the small corner store where one of the suspects was supposed to be working that morning.

They were both eagerly anticipating the day ahead of them.

The two FBI Agents and Doctor Brennan met according to plan, went over the preliminary details of what information that they hoped to obtain, and were soon on the way to the store to question the suspect.

Agent Perotta sat in the backseat on the way there and laughed to herself as the two in the front seats argued over whether or not to find out the sex of their baby before it was born. She wanted to know, he did not. They had not come to an agreement when he pulled up about a block away from the store and parked the SUV.

He went first in the front door, with the warning for the ladies to keep their eyes open, to be alert. He walked up to the counter and spoke to the man standing there, flashing him his badge.

Perotta took a quick walk around the small store, just checking the situation, making sure there was nothing suspicious. She saw movement in the back room and kept her eye on it, while trying to hear everything that Booth was asking the man. The conversation was becoming heated while Booth was pressing the man to find out why the body of the murdered man in question had been found behind the store in a dumpster. Brennan stood close to Booth, but glanced occasionally back to Perotta.

It happened so fast that no one even saw it coming.

A man came flying out of the back room with a gun drawn, and he yelled at everyone to get the hell out of his business.

The man behind the counter, reached down and had a gun pulled out before Booth or Brennan could react. He leapt over the counter and grabbed Bones with one arm around her neck and his other hand held a pistol to her head. She was shocked as the man dragged her towards the door.

Booth had his gun aimed at the man's head with as fast a draw as he had ever done. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Perotta aim her firearm at the man who had stormed out of the back room.

"Perotta! If you've got a shot take it!" He yelled at the female Agent, hoping to distract the man who had Bones in his grasp.

Three shots rang out almost simultaneously.

The man running from the back dropped instantly with the shot from Perotta finding its mark, but not before he had fired off his gun in the direction of Brennan and her captor.

The man holding Bones also dropped to the floor as Booth fired his gun at the man's head. Booth noticed that his trigger finger paused, his reaction was delayed. Only briefly, but still...

Brennan fell with the gravely injured man and it took Booth only a second to see the red stain start to form on her left shoulder. The third bullet had hit her. Whether it was from his gun or the man storming from the back, he didn't yet know.

He rushed to her side, and kicked the gun away from the man who, only seconds before, had been behind the counter.

He immediately applied pressure to the wound and she just looked at him, the pain already forming in her eyes.

"Wow, Booth, welcome back." Her voice was scratchy and the red stain beneath his hand grew.

He turned back to Perotta who was making sure the other man was definitely out of commission, and yelled,

"Call an ambulance will you! She's hit!"

Perotta already had her phone in her hand...

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