So it's baseball season and Fox finds that to be important for their viewership so we get baseball games instead of Bones here mildly depressing. Anyway because of that my brain has been playing with the up coming episodes and the minimal info I got from the 30 second promo that aired at the end of the last episode. So there are minor spoilers in here. Mostly I think that it's my wishful thinking that things might start getting back to normal sometime in the near future.

I don't own Bones

A Rational Conclusion

I lean against the doorjamb to the hospital room looking in at my girlfriend who is sleeping comfortably thanks to the medication they've given her. She looks tiny and fragile wrapped in the hospital gown they've given her, and blankets don't seem like they're nearly enough to keep her warm. But she's fine, at least that's what she keeps telling me, the doctors say her recovery might be slow and she's going to need physical therapy to walk properly again. Bones looked at her x-rays and assures me that the doctors did a good job reconstructing her femur and she will be fine after physical therapy.

I watch the rise and fall of her chest glad that she's going to be ok. I can't believe her luck, she's been embedded with every branch of the military as well as just being a reporter in war zones for years and the worst injury she's ever received was a few scrapes diving for cover in an explosion. Two months in DC and she's been seriously shot. What am I suppose to make of that, she came to DC because of me and it turns out she probably would have been safer if she'd stayed in Afghanistan.

I turn my head looking down the hallway to see Bones sitting in the waiting room casually flipping through one of the extremely old magazines that always seem to populate waiting rooms. Every now and then, she gets a wrinkle in her forehead as something interesting or possibly absurd catches her eye and she pauses to read the article before she continues the causal flipping.

I sigh wondering why she's here, glancing back at the woman sleeping soundly in the hospital bed before pushing off the doorframe and wandering down the hallway to join Bones in the waiting room. Talking a seat beside her waiting for her to close her magazine before asking, "What are you doing here Bones?"

"Offering moral support." She answered simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Do you need me to get you and Hannah some food? Would you like a cup of coffee? I could go get something if you want to stay here. I can get you a book or…"

I put a hand on her knee stopping the list of offers. "I'm fine Bones."

"How is she?" She glanced towards the hallway that held Hannah's room.

"Sleeping. I talked to her a few hours ago she's insisting she's fine and will be ready to go home tomorrow." I sighed scared at the thought of leaving her in my apartment, our apartment I correct myself, by herself when she's barely mobile.

"Booth you should get some sleep too then." She insisted softly.

"No I need to stay here I'm not going to leave her in the hospital by herself." I shook my head.

"I'll stay with her Booth." Bones offered, "She's going to need your help tomorrow, you need your sleep."

I looked at her in disbelief, what had happened to the oddly rational overly logical person that had been masquerading as my partner for the last few months. The woman that had just offered her help was much more similar to the woman that I had left at the airport nine months ago. "Are you sure Bones?"

She nodded her head resolutely, "Yes I brought my laptop so I can work on my next book and a couple of articles. Tomorrow is Saturday so I'm not going into the lab, I'll take it easy."

I looked down the hallway contemplating the chance of sleeping in my own bed for the first time in days as opposed to the lumpy armchair that was in Hannah's room. "Thanks Bones, I owe you."

She shook her head, "A cup of coffee in the morning is all that necessary. It's nothing you wouldn't do for me."

I smiled glad that my partner that had learned, for the most part, how to interact with other humans was back. "You're a saint." I told her standing up to walk with her back to Hannah's room.

She opened her mouth I'm sure to tell me something sassy about Saints not existing I'm sure so I just gave her the look that usually clues her to the fact that what I said was rhetorical. She quickly closed her mouth. Before opening it again, "You're welcome. Go say good-bye to her I'll wait out here." She paused in the doorway.

I ducked into the room collecting my things and brushing a gentle kiss on Hannah's sleeping forehead, before leaving again and pulling Bones into a hug. "You are seriously the best partner an agent could ask for." I told her kissing her forehead too. "I'll be back in the morning with your favorite coffee." I promised.

She just nodded, "Go home and get some sleep. We'll be here in the morning." She shooed me out of the hospital before turning around to settle herself into Hannah's room.

In the morning I found myself carrying three cups of coffee into the hospital, one for me, one made exactly the way Bones likes it in the morning with soy milk and one sugar as oppose to the three she'll put in it at night and a third black coffee for Hannah when I'd realized that I didn't know how she took her coffee so I had a stash of creamers and sugars in the fourth cup holder just in case.

Both women were awake chatting quietly when I entered the room looking pleased at the coffee. Bones smiled and picked up her bag, "Take it easy over the next few days Hannah physical therapy can be extremely taxing." She gratefully took the cup I offered her. "I'll see you at work in a few days Booth."

"Thanks Bones." I smiled at her before she walked out into the hall and disappeared out of sight sipping on her coffee.

The room was silent for a minute as Hannah took a sip of her own coffee; I made a mental note that she apparently drinks it black since she hadn't used any of the extra supplies I'd brought with me. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Morphine gives me a hangover. They're going to give me a prescription for something else." She took another sip of her coffee, "She loves you." She told me quietly, almost quietly enough that I think she was half hoping I didn't hear.

I tried not to let my shock that she'd pick up on it so quickly show through as I sat on the end of the bed. "She's just my partner and best friend."

"Seeley." Hannah continued quietly but at the same time completely assured of herself, "partners and best friends don't stay with the other's girl friend over night in the hospital."

I didn't want to have this fight or even get into the subject, ideally ever. "Well mine does. She knew I was tired and she wanted to make sure I got enough rest so that I could take care of you today. For her it was a rational conclusion." Knowing that that last clause would shut down the conversation, at least for now.

Hannah looked at me skeptically over the top of her coffee cup, and I could tell that she hadn't really been fooled by it but was going to let it go for now at least. "Whatever you say. You know her better than I do."

"Thank you." I clapped my hands together, "So what do you say we get you out of here?" I smiled.

As Hannah went through the discharge papers and the doctor gave us all the instructions they deemed necessary for a full recovery and made sure we knew the location of the physical therapist for her first appointment on Monday I couldn't help wondering how much longer I'd be able to keep this up?

What are your thoughts?

Babyrose