The red light now in front of him, Booth sharply turned the SUV to the right, going over the curb and into a park. He opened the driver's side door just as he heard Brennan say his name, then jumped from his seat and landed rolling on the ground as the car crashed into a tree. Dazed and out of breath, Booth sat up and watched as the car he was just in burst into flames. He couldn't hear very well due to the shock-wave of the explosion, but he saw the emergency lights coming down the street. When they reached him he was already standing on his own, beginning to be able to hear better and was putting his phone back together when the EMT came over to him, "Sir, we need to check you out, then you can call whoever you want." she said.
He pulled out his badge "I'm FBI, I need to call my partner to let her know I'm okay."
"Alright sir," she stepped back to give him his space to make his call.
All numbers had been erased from the phone, but he dialed Brennan's number from memory. It went strait to voicemail and he wished he could remember one of the squint's numbers, but his head was too clouded at the moment to come up with even Cam's.
"Bones, I'm okay. I'll be there soon." he recorded on the voicemail then hung up and hurried over to the police who had shown up on the scene.
"I need one of your cars." Booth said to one of the three cops that were standing around.
"Um, okay, agent Booth, but we're going to need it back." replied one of the officers who recognized him from a previous crime scene.
"No problem." he took the keys that the officer offered.
As he got into the police cruiser, his phone rang.
"Booth," he answered.
"I'm impressed that you survived. Annoyed, but impressed." said the raspy voice on the line.
"I'm not the kind to lay down and die." Booth replied with a scoff at the thought of letting himself be killed by an armature serial killer.
"I wonder what your new partner will think of that cocky attitude."
Cursing under his breath, he revved the engine and sped off towards the Jeffersonian, clicking the siren on, "I'm going to find you, Arkay. You won't get a chance to kill her." he growled.
"The package has been delivered, agent Booth." Arkay hung up.
He sped down the highway as fast as the cruiser would go. He dialed Brennan's number in hopes that he wasn't too late. It went to voicemail again and he hung up without leaving another message. He called again, and once more after that, both times with no answer. He was getting anxious now, and he still couldn't remember anyone's number besides Brennan's. The chances of him getting to her in time was low, but that didn't stop him from trying, and it didn't make him give up hope. Erratically driving through the streets of D.C. made his blood pump full of adrenaline. In less than half the time it usually took him, he was at the Institution. Stopping in front of the entrance, he exited the cruiser and ran as fast as he could through the automatic doors.
"Delivery, Doctor Brennan." said the Jeffersonian mail-room guy who's name right now wasn't important enough to Brennan to remember.
She nodded and waved him away, never taking her eyes off the body in front of her. He sat the decent sized, square package down on a table on the platform and walked away. Just a moment afterward, Brennan removed her gloves and angrily threw them into a bin. Full of frustration, she marched to her office, leaving the package behind. Closing the door behind her, cutting all sound from the lab, and leaning against the metal frame, she laid her head back and closed her eyes, tears rolling down her face.
"Bones!" the nickname only used by Booth caught the team's attentions and they were now all coming out of Angela's office where they had been attempting to brainstorm, looks of shock and happiness on their faces when they saw Booth walking through the entrance. Angela sighed in relief, "It's hard being friends with him. Constantly thinking he's dead is exhausting."
He saw the box up on the platform and remembered what Arkay had said. The package had been delivered and it was now sitting in the middle of explosive chemicals. "Evacuate, now! There's a bomb in the building!" he shouted for everyone in the room to hear. Alarms were suddenly sounded and every person in the building was in a mad dash for any exit. As his squint-squad passed him, Booth shouted over the alarms "Where's Bones?"
"In her office!" Angela called over her shoulder as Hodgens pulled her along.
The squints and Sweets had just gotten out and away from the doors when most of the windows in the building and the police cruiser parked outside the main doors, shattered with the explosion, sending glass raining down around the on-lookers. Angela buried her face into the crook of Hodgens neck and he put his arms around her.
"There's no way anyone could survive that." said an intern, making Angela sob into Hodgens' shirt. Hodgens and Cam both smacked the intern on either shoulder at the same time.
Brennan was startled by the alarms that were telling her to leave, but she didn't move for just a moment, the guilt of being the reason for Booth's death making her want to stay. When she turned around, though, her eyes met his and she gasped as if she had seen a ghost when he swung open the glass door.
"Bones, c'mon, we need to get out of here!"
"Booth-" the bomb exploded, sending her flying against the wall, knocking her unconscious, and Booth was pushed against her as the glass wall shattered, sending shards and flames flying at them. They fell to the ground in a heap, Booth on top of her, protecting their faces. Between the smoke, and the pressure of each other on their chests, neither of them could breathe easily. The entire lab, including her office, was covered in flames. "Bones, are you okay?" he quickly got off of her and looked at her lifeless body. He felt her pulse on her neck and instantly scooped her up into his arms. The black smoke that surrounded them made it hard to see and breathe, but he knew that he had to get her out before it was too late. Bravely walking through the flames, the smoke and chemicals of the lab filled their lungs, his faster than hers, causing him to cough deeply as he carried her to the nearest exit.
Outside, fire trucks, ambulances and police were starting to show up. The squints and their colleagues stood in horror as they watched the flames from the institution light up the night. All hope seemed to be burning away, until through the heavy smoke and fire that escaped the main entrance, a figure could be seen stepping through the frame of the now shattered glass door. Two people, one carrying the other in his arms.
"No way." whispered Hodgens, smiling and shaking Angela's shoulder, "Look!"
They all raised their mournfully bowed heads to see Brennan, nearly lifeless in Booth's arms.
"I need some help over here!" Booth shouted, walking out of the smoke so to be seen by the paramedics who rushed over to him with a stretcher. She began to wake now as he lay her on the gurney and the EMTs pulled it away from him before he could take her hand.
Dazed and confused that the last thing she saw before she blacked out was her dead partner, Brennan whispered his name.
"Booth?" she said again as loud as she could which wasn't a high volume, but apparently loud enough.
The team ran up to Booth, but as if they weren't even there, he sped right past them to catch up to Brennan, coughing heavily and feeling his chest tighten. He took one of her hands into both of his and smiled reassuringly, "Yeah, Bones, I'm here."
Her eyes widened at the sight of his smile. He wasn't a dream, he was real. She could feel his hands on hers. "I thought you were a ghost back in my office." she said weakly, squeezing his hands.
When they stopped in front of the back doors of the ambulance, she dizzily sat up and scooted to the edge of the gurney as his cough became heavier and more frequent. The EMTs gave them both an oxygen mask, but before he could put it on, he started coughing now just to be able to breathe.
"Booth, are you all right?" she placed her hand on his back and the EMTs stood alert.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he panted, "My chest just feels kind of tight."
"Booth, you need to lie down." she hopped off the stretcher to make room for him.
He began feeling a strong dizzy come over him as his coughed. He clenched his eyes shut and opened them, hoping that the dizzies would disappear, though they didn't. It was as if he had knocked the wind out of himself. He could take in a breath if he coughed.
Still blinking repetitively to try and stop the dizzy, he was barely able to respond through wheezy pants, "Something's wrong." he coughed into his hands, and Brennan gasped when she saw that his mouth was bloody and a single drop rolled down his chin.
Feeling something wet on his fingers, he looked down at his hands to see blood covering his palms. With wide, fearful eyes he held up his bloody hands for her to see and he dropped to his knees, no longer able to breath, then collapsed to the ground with a slightly blank expression.
"Booth!" she screamed as she knelt beside him and tried to hold him up.
The EMTs crowded around, pushing her aside, shouting medical terms that normally would make sense to her, but as she looked into Booth's eyes, it all sounded like gibberish.
"Stay with me, Booth." she said over the paramedic's shoulder.
They kept eye contact, both of them starting to tear up knowing what may be happening. An oxygen mask was placed over his mouth and nose.
He forced out "Bones..." she knelt back down and took the hand that he was attempting and failing to reach out to her, "...I don't want to -" he coughed in a breath.
"You'll be fine." she cut him off, knowing what he was about to say, but not wanting to hear the word.
"I'm sorry, Bones." he whispered and squeezed her hand as he gasped in one breath, releasing it as his emotional eyes went blank.
Suddenly, her heart stopped as well, "No..." her eyes widened when the EMT said those two, stomach twisting words 'I'm sorry' as he listened for a heartbeat with a stethoscope.
"No! Booth, please! C'mon, Booth!" she shook his shoulder, "C'mon...Booth...please." she whispered.
The paramedic closed Booth's lifeless eyes and removed the mask from his face.
Temperance put her hand on his warm cheek and her tears fell onto his shirt, "...please, not again."
In the group of squints, Angela was sobbing on Hodgens, who was tearing with his arms around his fiance`. Cam had her hand over her eyes to hide the tears that rolled down her face, and Sweets' eye's were more than a little damp as he stood there with his head bowed.