A/N:Thankyouforyourpatiencewithmyslowupdatingofthisstory.Asalways,thanksforreadingandreviewing!

B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B

When Bones and Angela exited the elevator, Brennan made a beeline for the entrance to the ICU.

"Sweetheart! How are you feeling?" her father asked her, blocking her entrance to the intensive care unit.

"I'm fine, Dad. The baby's fine. I need to be with Booth."

Brennan's tone left no room for argument. She was about to continue towards the door to the ICU when she noted that everyone was present in the waiting room.

"No one is with Booth! Why isn't anyone with Booth?" she asked at increasing volume.

"Th-th-they would only let family members back," Sweets sputtered.

"Family members? Family members! Booth would not have allowed some arbitrary regulation to prevent him for supporting any of you!"

Before any of them could defend themselves, Brennan stormed through the double doors.

"I am here to see Seeley Booth," Brennan commanded.

"Are you family?" a portly nurse asked with her hands on her hips.

"Yes," Brennan replied curtly and placed both hands on her abdomen, "This is his daughter."

The nurse seemed to take in Brennan's pregnant form before nodding, "He is in room 523, second to last on the left."

Once given direction, Brennan walked briskly down the hallway. She paused before entering Booth's room and took a deep breath. Quietly, she crossed the threshold of the small room. The curtain was drawn around the bed Booth lie in. She pulled back the curtain slightly, enough to reveal the chair beside his bed. Slowly, Brennan lower herself into the chair then reached for Booth's hand.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here," she said softly, "but I'm here now. I will be here when you wake up and when you go home."

Home. Brennan wasn't quite sure where that was these days. She had unofficially taken up residence in Booth's apartment. Although hers was larger, his apartment felt – Boothy. They hadn't discussed where they'd live when their daughter was born. Booth's apartment was too small to accommodate both a baby and Parker.

Brennan's train of thought was interrupted by a groan.

"Booth?" Brennan said rising from her seat, "Booth, can you hear me?"

Silence.

Brennan ran her hands over the scruff of her beard.

"Booth, please wake up," Brennan said pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"You have to wake up," she said with a sob. "I can't do this without you. I don't want to do this without you."

Brennan fell back into her seat, buried her head in her hands, and sobbed. Her mind was continuously returning to her horrible dream.

"Excuse me," said a woman who appeared to be around Brennan's age, "I'm sorry to interrupt."

Brennan shook her head and furiously wiped away tears.

"My name is Amanda. I will Seeley's nurse until seven AM," she said with a smile.

"I'm D – I'm Temperance. He was groaning. Is he in pain? Could you speak with the doctor about increasing morphine?" Brennan asked.

"The groaning could be unrelated to pain, but I'll put a call in to the resident. You can hit the call button if it happens again."

Brennan nodded.

"How far along are you?" Amanda asked softly.

"I'll be thirty-two weeks on Friday," Brennan said, lovingly stroking her swollen abdomen

"Is this your first?" Amanda asked.

"Yes….well, our first together. He has a ten year old son from a previous relationship," Brennan amended.

Amanda smiled, "The first is so exciting…not that the second isn't, but with the first pregnancy, everything's new."

Brennan nodded. For the last thirty-one weeks, she'd been in awe of the many transformations her body had undergone. She was also in awe of how incredible it felt to be sharing this with Booth, as a couple. Brennan sometimes found herself chiding herself for being fearful of intimacy with Booth for so long. Yet, here she was, nearly thirty two weeks pregnant and fearing for Booth's life.

"Yes, we are very excited," Brennan reiterated.

Amanda smiled sadly, "Well, hopefully, we will get your husband out of here and back to his old self in time for your little one's arrival."

"We, uh…I hope so," Brennan replied.

Amanda looked at her curiously before asking, "Can I get you anything? A pillow? I know those seats aren't very comfortable."

"No, thank you. I'm fine," then Brennan added, "Our friends were told that only family was allowed to visit -."

"Let me guess, Barbara told you that," Amanda said with a huff.

"I don't know her name. She appeared to be in her late forties, approximately 165 centimeters tall, overweight."

Amanda chuckled, "Yeah, that's Barbara. She's a stickler for the rules. Write down your friend's names, and I will make sure there aren't any further problems. Only two people are allowed during visiting hours."

"When are visiting hours?" Brennan asked.

"8 – 11 AM, 2-4 PM, and 6-8 PM. We make exceptions for spouses, of course."

Brennan nodded. There was no harm in letting people think she was Booth's wife if it enabled her to stay by his side.

"Thank you," Brennan replied.

Amanda smiled in return before leaving. Brennan checked her watch. It was almost nine o'clock, so none of theer friends would be able to see Booth tonight. She knew that she should give them all an update but was loath to leave his side. Brennan stood and took Booth's hand in hers.

"I have to step out for a moment, but I will be right back. I promise."

Brennan moved Booth's hand to her abdomen, "She's kicking. She's been kicking a lot today."

Brennan held Booth's hand there for a moment longer, as tears ran down her cheeks, then she gave him a soft kiss on the forehead and rejoined her friends.

The squint squad plus Sweets and Max were sitting silently in the waiting room. It had been over a half an hour since Brennan had yelled at them for their refusal to side step the rules. Five anxious sets of eyes greeted Brennan when she walked into the waiting room. If Sweets had any doubt of her emotional reaction to Booth's shooting, it was quite clear now. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her mascara smeared.

"He's still unconscious, but otherwise stable," Brennan began, "I've spoken to the nurse. He is permitted to have visitors from eight to eleven AM, two to four PM, and six to eight PM."

"So, you – you, can't stay?" asked Angela.

Brennan nodded, "The nurse said they would make an exception, since I'm, um, family. Like family."

Angela smiled at her best friend, "There's more than one kind of family, Bren. You're carrying his baby; you practically live together. You and Booth are family."

Brennan smiled slightly. Booth had told her the same thing once – there's more than one kind of family.

"Sweetheart, don't you think Booth would rather you sleep in your own bed? You're seven months pregnant and passed out a few hours ago," Max suggested, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Brennan recoiled, "I am well aware that I am seven months pregnant and of events that occurred earlier today. I will not be leaving this hospital until Booth is awake."

Having made her intentions clear, Brennan wished the rest of the group good night and promised to call if there was any change in Booth's status before heading back into Booth's room.

Brennan returned to her seat beside Booth's bed and took his hand in hers again. She turned his hand over in hers, running her thumb over the lines of his hand.

"I love you," she uttered, "I know I don't say it enough, but I do. Sometimes, it still scares me – loving you, having a baby with you, tethering my life to yours forever. But I know that the prospect of not being able to doing those things, living a life not shared with you, scares me much, much more."

Brennan leaned her forehead against Booth's temple and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered.

As Brennan pulled away, she heard her cell phone ring. Picking it up, she noted it was an unfamiliar number.

"410. Baltimore," she said to herself.

Thinking it may be Jared calling about his brother, she answered.

"Hello."

"Temperance, it's -."

"I know who it is," Brennan said softly, immediately recognizing the distantly familiar voice.

"I took a position in Baltimore. I saw on the news ticker that Seeley had been shot. Is he – is he okay?"

"He's stable," was Brennan's short reply.

"I – I thought he might need someone to -."

Brennan quickly cut the woman on the other end of the line off, "He has someone. Me."

Before she could utter a single syllable in response, Brennan hung up.