"So Temperance, the babies are doing fine. You need to rest a little more though." The doctor held up a hand as Brennan opened her mouth to argue. He was quite used to this overly confident, slightly bossy woman now. She had frustrated and entertained him immensely over the last seven months. Her refusal to follow instructions, her insistence that her medical "training" made her quite capable of managing her pregnancy without help, her crying over little things that she deemed out of her control. Despite it all, she was definitely one of his favourite patients. "I know that you say feel fine. But I'm telling you to slow down. Just take a breath. All this last minute running around will achieve nothing, other than leaving you exhausted. And I don't care what you say about your first labour. This will not be the same. You have two babies to deliver. We need to monitor number two while number one is passing through the birth canal. Labour with twins is intensive and can be quite draining, emotionally and physically. So just go home and rest. Please." he finished off.
Brennan sat with her arms folded across her stomach. Her face stony. "But we wanted to go visit my husband's grandfather before the babies are born. And there are still things I need to do." The doctor shook his head and huffed "None of which cannot be done after they are born. You will be in hospital for a few days, possibly a week, depending on how you pull up after the labour. Temperance, I know you. You just don't like handing control over to anyone. But I'm not asking you. I'm telling you."
"I'll help look after you Mommy!" Christine offered. "See?" the doctor said smiling and holding out the candy jar to Christine, who took a lollypop happily and sat back down. "You have a willing helper right here" he said to Brennan.
Booth rolled his eyes and waited for Brennan to bite back. But she simply stared at the doctor for a moment, then unfolded her arms and rubbed the lower portion of her immense belly. The babies were due in three weeks and she was already having regular Braxton Hicks contractions. "Fine. Alright." She agreed. Booth let out a loud sigh then quickly coughed to cover it up. Brennan flicked a steely glare at him, not fooled for a moment. She knew that Booth agreed with the doctor and they had had several discussions about her last few weeks before the arrival of their twins.
"Alright then. We'll be seeing you hopefully in three weeks. But as I've indicated to you, the likelihood of you going into early labour is quite possible. The babies are turned, and number one is presenting quite low. As soon as you have any indication that things are moving, I want you to ring me and get to the hospital immediately." The doctor said, holding out a hand to Booth "And good luck" he added as Booth shook it.
They were standing on the street outside the doctor's office waiting for a cab. Booth's car was in for a service, which had caused Brennan to stress. He had explained that he hadn't realised at the time he booked it in that her appointment was going to be on the same day. "Three weeks Bones. Less than 3 weeks!" Booth said grinning widely. Brennan couldn't help but smile back. His smile was nothing short of infectious. Christine was skipping around them clapping and singing something about being a big sister. She stepped towards him and kissed him. "Between you and me, it is going to be sooner Booth. I just have a feeling" she said. Booth stared at her, his mouth hanging open. "Not now?" he said quickly. Brennan laughed, "No. But I'm pretty sure we'll be heading off to the hospital within the week. Don't ask me why I know, I just have this feeling" she said rubbing at the spot low on her stomach again. Booth grabbed Christine's hand. Brennan was checking her handbag for her phone when it happened.
A man ran up to them out of nowhere. He was aggressive and loud. He stepped right up to Brennan and yelled in her face "You bitch! You caused it! It's your fault! Six years of my life!" Brennan stared at the man, shocked. Booth let go of Christine's hand with a curt "don't move" and grabbed the man's shoulder pulling him back from Brennan. The man started to turn, but caught Booth off guard with a fist, connecting with his cheek sending him stumbling backwards. He turned back and shoved Brennan backwards. "You bitch! I hope you lose that kid, just like I lost mine when I went to prison!" he screamed. Brennan's face paled as she fell backwards. Booth grabbed at the man again, throwing him to the ground and kneeling on his back, one hand holding the man's hands together behind his back, the other dialling 911.
Suddenly, Christine started screaming. Booth looked around, confused. He saw Brennan on the ground. The moment started moving in slow motion. Christine's scream became muffled in his ears. The man beneath him was moving slowing, struggling to get up. Booth pushed his knee into the man's back harder as a police car came around the corner, sirens and lights going. He jumped off the man as the police officer ran towards him.
He crawled towards her, her eyes were closed, not moving on the pavement. "Bones. BONES!"
All the while Christine stood over her mother screaming "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"
Booth gathered his daughter into his arms and kneeled beside his wife, gently trying to rouse her.
The ambulance arrived after what seemed like an eternity. Not once had Brennan opened her eyes. Booth's heart felt like it had stopped beating. His skin paled. His mouth dry. His eyes wet. His daughter clasped tightly to him as they sat in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Booth sat holding her hand, answering questions by rote. Her name, age, state of health, due date, how she had fallen, religious inclinations. "Why do you want to know about that?" Booth asked "she doesn't believe in God" he added staring at the woman he loved more than the world. He crossed himself "I have enough faith for both of us" he whispered.
Christine was lifted from his arms by a nurse at the hospital. "We'll take care of her" they assured him. The little girl was strangely silent. "In shock", they told Booth. "she'll be fine" they said. Words hit Booth like cold water. He nodded absently. They left him, sitting in the waiting room while they wheeled Brennan away. He watched her disappear behind those blue doors with the strange porthole windows. He wanted to follow. To hold her hand. To talk to her. To let her know he was there. But no, they said. He felt useless. Helpless. Broken.
Hours passed. Booth opened his eyes. His neck was stiff. He had pins and needles in his left foot and he didn't know where he was. Then, realisation hit.
"Where's my wife!" he yelled out. He stood up and looked around helplessly. "Bones!" he called out, fear straining his voice. "Bones!" he ran to the corridor and yelled again. No response from her.
He was confronted by a nurse wearing pale blue top and pants. A badge with her photograph and the name Sara pinned to her chest.
"Mr Booth. Calm down. Your wife is in good hands. She's been moved to a private room. I'll take you there, but please. You need to stop yelling." she said, her hand pressing firmly on his arm, forcing him to look at her.
Booth swallowed and took what seemed like his first breath in hours. "sorry. Of course. Please, I just want to see her" he said feeling anxious. "and my daughter?" he asked. The nurse patted his arm. Your daughter was picked up by her Aunt Angela and Uncle Jack. They didn't want to disturb you while you were sleeping. Booth looked at the nurse "But. How?" he stammered. The nurse smiled, "Your daughter is very resourceful, she found her Aunts number in her mothers phone and called her." Here." She said handing him a note. Booth stared at the piece of notepaper folded in half. He nodded and opened it up, reading the note.
Dear Booth. Please don't worry about Christine. She's coming home with us. You need to concentrate on Brennan. Please let me know what is happening. I'm so worried, but the nurses wouldn't, or couldn't, tell us anything, except that she had a fall. You were sleeping and they told us that you were in shock and that we should just let you rest for now. Please Booth. Call me as soon as you get this note. Ang.
Booth stared at the words, they were blurry or maybe that was just his eyes. He crumpled the note and shoved it deep into the pocket of his jeans. He fumbled through his pockets looking for his phone. It wasn't there. He found his way to the information desk and asked if there was any news about his wife. The nurse looked at him with what he swore was pity. His stomached flipped. She nodded and asked him to follow her.
He stood at the door, looking through at the woman in the bed. She looked different. Strange. Pale. Her stomach pushing up under the sheet that covered her. Large and round. Filled with life. He looked down at the nurse, "Can I?" he asked, unsure. She nodded and smiled "Of course! She isn't conscious. The doctor will come and speak to you soon. Just be with her" she said kindly.
"The babies?" he asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"They're both doing well. Strong heartbeats and moving regularly. There's nothing to worry about with them Mr Booth." she reassured him. Booth nodded and tried to smile, but his mouth was frozen. He turned back and looked at Brennan. He took a breath and stepped into the room. The faint odour of lemon hit him as he walked towards the bed. He leaned down and kissed her forehead "Baby. I'm here. Wake up Bones. Please wake up" he whispered to her.
Her eyes remained sheathed by her lids, lashes curved over her cheek. Her mouth closed, lips softly touching each other. Her breath was slow and steady and soft. Maybe she's just sleeping he thought to himself, hopefully. He pulled a chair close to the bed and sat on the edge, wanting to be as close to her as he could be without actually lying next to her. He held her hand, lifting it to his mouth, kissing the palm, then resting his cheek against it "Come on Bones. Please baby. I'm here now. Wake up. It'll be fine if you just wake up." he choked the words out as tears filled his eyes.
The doctor came into the room and coughed softly. He didn't want to interrupt the man, sitting with his face pressed against his wife's swollen stomach, but he needed to speak to him. "Mr Booth?" he said.
Booth sat up and turned, wiping his eyes on his sleeve and coughing to clear the lump from his throat. "Doctor? How is she?" he said quickly. Hoping that he would be told she was going to wake up any minute and he would be able to take her home where she belonged.
The doctor indicated for Booth to remain seated and pulled a chair up along side of him.
"I'm Doctor Swain. I've been assigned to your wife alongside her obstetrician. Have you been told anything about her condition yet?" he asked Booth, who shook his head. The doctor nodded, he knew that what he was going to say was going to be difficult for this man to hear.
"Your wife sustained a fairly strong blow to the back of her head when she fell Mr Booth. She's physically fine, as far as the babies are concerned, but" he swallowed as he watched Booth's face pale "She has a fractured skull and she's in what we call an induced coma. There was some bleeding to her brain. We are keeping her this way to allow the pressure to reduce slowly and naturally. We have given her some low doses of a drug to help that won't hurt the babies" he reassured Booth as he watched the panic cross his face.
"coma?" Booth echoed, his face confused.
"Yes. But please don't worry. She's being monitored every minute. And when the swelling has gone, we will slowly wake her up. We have to be mindful of the babies. Which is why we need to ask you. We could treat her quicker if she wasn't pregnant. And with the advanced state of her pregnancy, we need your permission." Booth shook his head, frowning. "What do you mean if she wasn't pregnant?" he asked.
The doctor nodded, understand his confusion. "We could treat your wife quicker if we had permission to deliver the babies now." he said, wanting Booth to understand fully what he was asking.
Booth's face screwed up "Deliver them? But she's not awake?" he asked, confused. The doctor nodded. "We know, we would deliver them via caesarean section, under anaesthetic. You could be at the delivery, of course." he said. Booth's face was still screwed up as he processed what the doctor was saying.
"So she won't be awake when her babies are born?" he asked, just to be sure he understood. The doctor nodded. "that's correct. But we would be able to treat her much quicker if we didn't have the welfare of the twins to worry about." the doctor said. Booth sat back in his chair, and stared at the doctor, then looked at Brennan, her face so still. He reached out and placed his hand on her stomach. Immediately he felt the sluggish movement of his sons. He looked at the doctor "And this is the safest way? For all of them?" he asked. The doctor nodded "It is" he answered.
Booth looked at Brennan again, then stood up. "I just have to make a phone call first." he said to the doctor who stood with him "Of course" Booth patted his pockets again. "I've lost my phone. Probably at the scene. Is there a phone I can use?" he asked. The doctor pointed to the corridor, "just go to the desk and tell the nurses I said you can use the phone there." Booth nodded and ran out of the room and down to the desk.
"Ang. Thank god. I'm at the hospital still. She's in." Booth swallowed hard, his mouth was so dry "she's in a coma. She's had bleeding on the brain. They want to deliver the twins so that they can treat her quicker. Ang. They're asking me to decide right now. What do I say?"
Angela sat down hard. She stared at Jack with wide eyes. She didn't need to say anything. He knew it was bad. He quickly told Michael and Christine to go see if they could find some caterpillars for him in the yard. As soon as the door closed, "Brennan's in a coma Hodgins. Booth has to decide if they can deliver the babies via c-section so they can treat her. He's asking what to do." Hodgins took the phone from Angela whom he knew was too close to Brennan. "Booth?" he said into the phone. "Dude, she's your wife. The mother of your children. You love her right? Then do whatever they tell you to do that is best for her. The babies will be fine. They're due soon anyway. They've told you everything right? The risks? Then do it man, just get your wife to wake up." he said firmly, staring at Angela, knowing that he would do the very same thing.
Booth hung up the phone without saying anything else. He walked back to Brennan's room and approached the doctor "Let's bring my children into the world and wake up their mother" he said, still not sure if he was doing the right thing, but having to have faith in the man in front of him and the team of doctors and nurses that would look after his wife and children.
Booth adjusted the medical mask over his nose and stared around, his eyes wide. Brennan was lying on a high hospital operating bed. A sheet covered her, except for her stomach which looked even bigger rising up out of the pale green sheets. She had an oxygen mask over her face and a tube in her arm. The anaesthetist was sitting beside her, calmly watching the dials in front of him. Brennan's obstetrician came into the room and walked over to Booth. "They'll all be fine Seeley" he said firmly nodding.
He indicated to Booth to come over and stand next to Brennan. "You can watch if you want. But be warned. If you faint, you will stay where you fall. We don't have time to worry about you. Understand?" he said to Booth frankly. Booth nodded, his face blanching "Watch?" he murmured vaguely.
It had not occurred to him that he would actually watch his babies being delivered surgically. He had delivered Christine himself. And to be honest, he couldn't really remember much about it. It had happened quite quickly and he was so excited and relieved that she arrived safely, he hadn't really any recollections of the actual physicality of her birth. This however was extremely real and in his face. He wasn't even sure he wanted to watch.
Before he knew what was happening, the doctor had scrubbed up and was standing over his wife's stomach. He had a scalpel in his hand and was talking to the nurse who was assisting him. The anaesthetist nodded his readiness and then it all started happening. All the while, Brennan lay there, breathing steadily into the mask, her eyes closed, not responding in any way to what was happening to her.
Booth however, responded to everything. His heart was racing. He was perspiring heavily and his breathing was laboured. He tried to just concentrate on her face, but his attention kept being drawn down to the blood that was dripping onto the floor. He felt his stomach lurch and he forced himself to keep from vomiting. He watched the doctor pass the scalpel back to the nurse and then he was confronted with a pair of tiny feet, then legs, a tiny torso and finally two arms and a rather large head being pulled from his wife's body with a sickening slurping sound. More blood and something else hitting the floor with a splatter.
He backed away from the table and turned, unable to quell the vomit that had risen in his throat. He emptied his stomach onto the floor. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and turned, ashamed to face the faces of the doctors and nurses in the room all smiling at him clearly through their masks. The anaesthetist winked at him "not the first, won't be the last" he said almost laughing. Booth wiped his forehead on the sleeve that he had not wiped his mouth on. He saw that his firstborn son had been taken away and was strangely silent.
He wanted to call out, ask why he wasn't crying, but he also needed to stay and watch his other son come into the world. He was torn, worried and nervous. He didn't have to wait long. The doctor had his hands deep inside his wife's womb and was frowning. "come on little man" he muttered as he guided a large head out of the incision in Brennan's body. Two arms next, which were already jerking around and a slippery little body and shuddering legs and feet, the tiny toes turned upwards. A shrill mewling, already coming from his little mouth. Booth let go of the breath he had been holding. He was relieved but then overcome with fear. The first baby was still silent. The nurses were still working on him. He made his feet move and got as close as they would allow him.
"What's going on? Why isn't he crying or moving?" he asked, his voice choking.
"just a moment Mr Booth, please" a voice came to him, without anyone turning around to look at him.
His heart was in his throat. He turned back to watch the surgeon working on his wife, closing the wounds, stemming the blood that she had lost. The puddle under the table had gotten bigger, turning his stomach. He had seen far worse than this, but this was his wife, his partner, his lover, his everything. He felt himself getting light headed with the stress of it all. He sat down on the floor suddenly, lowering his head between his knees. It was all too much.
Suddenly a tiny, weak cry. A little voice, shuddering, as if he were cold. Booth got to his feet, wobbled slightly as his head spun, but he forced himself to focus. A nurse turned around, her face rosy, she held out a tiny bundle to him, wrapped in a simple white cloth. He held out his arms as she placed his son in them. "He's fine?" Booth asked. The nurse nodded "He is now. He had a bit of fluid in his throat and nose. It's cleared and he just needed a bit of encouragement to get breathing. But rest assured, he is perfect." Booth looked down at the tiny scrunched up red, munchkin face looking up at him, eyes swollen shut and little mouth open wide as a wavering cry came from him. "As is your first born, another nurse said holding out a second bundle to him.
He looked around and was guided to a lounge chair in the corner of the room where he sat down and his other son was placed in his other arm. He sat in wonderment, staring down into two fairly unattractive faces. Red, blotchy, puffy eyes, with thick black thatches on top of large heads.
"they're beautiful" he murmured as he stared with wonderment at his two tiny sons. He looked up and watched the doctor step away from Brennan and walk towards him. "All done. She'll be kept in the coma for about twenty four hours, and then they'll start to wake her up. She'll be monitored at all times, don't worry Seeley." he said. "They're pretty wonderful" he added looking down at the two bundles in Booth's arms. Booth's eyes were wet and his throat closed up with so much emotion, he couldn't respond apart from rapid blinking and nodding and a wobbly smile.
He was reluctantly relieved of his precious parcels as the nurses took his sons from him. They were going to be taken to the nursery, given a thorough bath and dressed in warm clothing and put into their cribs that were waiting for them. Booth was advised that they would be being bottle fed until Brennan was able to feed them herself. And he was also told that they would be kept in the nursery where he could visit them and begin to care for them himself if he wished. Most of it went over his head as he stared at Brennan.
She looked so peaceful and he walked over to her and bent down, kissing her face and whispering "We have two beautiful boys Bones. They're beautiful and healthy. You'll be able to wake up now and hold them. We're all waiting for you baby."