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Booth allowed the hot water to lap around his body as he sank down into the full tub, letting out a contented noise once the hot water hit the healing scar on his left pectoral muscle, soothing the dull ache from the bullet's ruthless path through his now marred skin. He sank deeper into the water until it rested just below his ears, warming his body and allowing him to listen to the noises of the other agent as she slowly made her way around the house, sporting her own bullet wounds, one on her abdomen and the other on her arm dangerously close to her brachial artery. Not for the first time since meeting her, he thought about the fact that she easily could have died, in fact he was really surprised that she hadn't. His gunshot wound, though serious was nothing like hers yet he could have died and the fact that they were both now pretending to have died made him shudder. And then the thought that never seemed to leave him alone entered his mind. Their families didn't know they were alive. They were literally dead to their families, fading into memories as the days passed. He knew that it wouldn't be for long, but he couldn't stop thinking about what his son was going through, what Rebecca, bones and all of the squints were going through. What would they do when they found out that he was really alive? The first time was hard enough after Pam Nunan shot him which had left his son confused, his ex pissed off and bones. Gosh bones was the worse. She had refused to talk to him for so long and had avoided him to the point of driving him insane and it was all because the stupid, little psychologist had wanted to test them. Because of Sweets, she had been left in the dark when she wasn't supposed to be, leaving her possibly the most damaged from his first faked death that this time around he had literally begged Cullen to tell her that he was alive only for the other man to shoot down his pleads and concerns. He was scared for his partner's mental health and how she would take yet another faked death.
Pushing all that to the back of his mind, he focused on the sounds that Olivia was making down stairs and could hear her struggling with something. One thing he had quickly learned about her was that she didn't take anyone's help easily and was bound and determined to do everything on her own. That everything went from changing her own bandages which he could completely understand, to stretching her body out as far as it would go in order to reach something that he could have easily of gotten for her instead. It hadn't surprised him at all that she had pulled stitches just after a few days of being in the safe house causing him to call one of the doctors that had been assigned to them while they recovered. They had patched her up and then to his protests, she had gone back to doing exactly the same as she was before.
Thinking about all of the possible things she could be doing, he climbed out of the tub and dried off before throwing on a pair of sweet pants and a singlet. He really didn't feel like calling in another doctor or having the job of having to help clean up her wound which had left them both crimson from embarrassment. So making his way down the stairs, he checked out everything that could potentially harm her, making sure that everything was where it had been before his bath, and scanning to see if he could catch a glimpse of her brown hair. Eventually he caught sight of her sitting at the kitchen table scribbling down answers in one of the cross word puzzles that she seemed to thoroughly enjoy. He never had the patience to do those since most of his patience went to dealing with bones. Though he loved her dearly, there were still those moments when he felt like pushing her out of the SUV or locking her in a sound proof room and walking away with the key. And much to his chagrin, he found that Olivia was almost just as grating on his nerves and patience. But he also knew that this was her first experience among the 'dead' and that she was just trying to adjust.
"How long have you been in the FBI?" He asked to break the silence and knowing that that question was more likely to get him a response than if he had asked her, her favorite flavor of ice cream.
"A few years." She said, putting down her puzzle. "I was in the marine corps first as a special investigator."
"I was in the rangers for a while before becoming an FBI agent." Booth explained, going to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of juice.
She wanted to ask him what he had done in the rangers but decided against it when she saw the hurt and haunted look in his eyes when he had mentioned the army. She knew that look and also knew that right now was not the time to keep asking questions about his previous line of work. So instead she picked her puzzle back up and started to fill in the tiny boxes again. It didn't take long for an awkward silence to fall between the two barely acquaintances making both of them feel like either getting far away from each other or breaking the silence.
"What was it like?" Olivia suddenly asked, surprising both Booth and herself.
"What was what like?" He asked temporarily confused.
"What was it like after you 'died' the first time?"
"Hard." He shortly responded. "My son, Parker, he was confused but obviously happy that I was alive. His mother, Becca, was pretty angry at me and then my partner Bones. Bones was the worse I think. She's never had anyone solid in her life really so for me to have faked my death really took a toll on her."
"I don't know how my family will act. I was declared brain dead once after a car accident only to wake up with full brain function. My sister took it pretty hard when she was told of my state and was shocked when she found out I was okay. My niece was too young to understand, Astrid was just pleased I was okay, and then there was Walter and Peter. Walter tried explaining how it could have happened and Peter, he was like my sister, confused but happy… I don't remember much of my shooting…But I can remember Walter trying to talk to me and Peter trying to stop the blood. He tried so hard…"She trailed off, feeling unwanted tears prick her eyes. "I can't really imagine what he's going through."
"Bones tried to stop the bleeding, the first time I was shot." Booth said, rubbing the overlapping scars. "It hurt her, but after a while she recovered. I'm sure once you give Peter some time, he'll recover as well."
"Yeah." She said, standing as fast as her healing body would let her, suddenly feeling exposed. It wasn't like her to open up to an almost complete stranger. "I'm going to call it a night."
"Okay." Booth just barely managed to say since she was already out the door. He knew that her opening up at all must have freaked her out a little but that much? But then again, he had seen the tears building in her eyes and wondered, not for the first time, if Peter meant more to her than just a partner.
