Booth waited impatiently while Bones underwent her x-rays. He called Angela, letting her know everything that happened. He answered her battery of questions and assured her that she didn't need to come down right away, just to tell the others—he wasn't sure Bones could handle company at this point. She shakily promised and demanded that he call her the second anything changed. He assured her that he would and they said their goodbyes.
Booth hung his head after the call, his tightly bottled emotions threatening to uncork. He stayed in this position, trying to block out the more dismal options of Bones' condition until he heard the squeak of wheels over the linoleum. He watched the nurses wheel Brennan into the room then followed them out to the hall.
"When can we expect the results?" he asked the older woman in front of him.
"Radiology is a little backed up," she said, cutting him off as he started to protest, "but your girlfriend has been moved to the top of the pile. Give it an hour or two. We'll let you know as soon as we do."
"She's my partner," he corrected almost automatically, "but I want to make sure that she is getting the finest treatment this hospital has to offer, you got it?"
"Of course," she replied, smirking at the naive man in front of her, "we'll make sure your, um, partner gets the best."
"Okay," he breathed out, giving her a weak smile. He glanced at Bones, lying quietly in her bed, and made a quick decision.
"I'm going down to the gift shop for one second, would you," he said, trailing off as he motioned to his partner.
"Go ahead," he nurse said with a smile, watching as he jogged down the hallway to the elevators. She shook her head and walked into the hospital room.
"Ms. Brennan," she questioned the woman staring at the ceiling.
"It's Doctor," the woman replied quietly.
"Well then Doctor Brennan," the nurse amended quickly, "my name is Shirley and I'm going to be taking care of you."
"Where's Booth," Dr. Brennan asked, her gaze never leaving the plaster above her.
"Your partner left for a quick sec, but he'll be back," Shirley replied with her light southern accent, settling into the chair next to the bed.
The minutes passed in silence, Shirley sensing that the woman wouldn't be talking any time soon. Brennan gave up staring at the ceiling and had closed her eyes, lost in the turmoil of her thoughts. The nurse watched her charge, the woman's depression almost palpable. A single tear floated from beneath Dr. Brennan's lashes and she took a shuddering breath to control her emotions. Shirley bit her lip, holding back on helping the woman—she could tell it wouldn't be well received. She looked up to find a sheepish looking Agent Booth in the doorway and rose from her chair. She left the room, watching the agent take her position by the bed—the same position he had religiously kept for the two days Dr. Brennan was in the coma—as well as the woman's hand. Shirley softly smiled at the sight and walked down the hall to check on her other patients.
Booth gave Bones a slight smile when she turned her head to look at him. He was surprised to see the glistening of tears in her blue eyes as she regarded him, her face void of expression.
"Hey," he said softly.
"Don't," she interrupted, her voice giving a slight break, "just, don't." He nodded, pulling something out of the bag on the floor.
"Let's watch a movie," he said. She shrugged her shoulders noncommittally and he put the movie in.
"That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying "As you wish", what he meant was, "I love you." And even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back."
Bones turned to look at Booth, "What movie is this again?"
"The Princess Bride, Bones," he said from his spot leaning his arm on her bed, "I still can't believe you hadn't seen it."
"Well, regardless, the movie is wrong," she stated, sounding more like herself.
"How can it be wrong?" he asked incredulously, pausing the movie in preparation of their debate.
"If Westley is saying 'As you wish', he can't be saying 'I love you'," she replied, crossing her arms definitively.
"People don't always say exactly what they mean, Bones," Booth said quietly, trying to do just that.
She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing in consideration, "Okay," she said with a slight nod before turning back to look at the screen.
"Okay," Booth repeated with a small smile, pressing play.
He alternately watched her and the screen for the next few minutes, studying her as she took in the distraction he bought from a display case in the gift shop. He felt slightly heartened by their bickering, a moment where she was back to herself. He looked at the clock, waiting for the hours to crawl by and they could get the results.
"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."
He heard her sharp intake at the line.
"Do you believe that?" she asked quietly, still watching Buttercup and the man in black squabble on screen.
"Do I believe what?" He asked.
"Life is pain," she clarified, "because I do. Right now, I really do."
Booth saw the vulnerability on her face and his resolve to be logical broke with the tears welling in her eyes.
"Oh Bones," he started, coming up onto the bed to wrap his arms around her. Before he could finish, the nurse he had talked to earlier walked in, the doctor behind her.
"Dr. Norbury," Bones said, sitting up and wiping her eyes. Booth sat at attention as well, battling the hope rising in his chest once again.
"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth, I have the results," he said as Shirley placed the x-rays on the portable light she'd wheeled next to the bed.
"As you can see here," the doctor said, pointing to a spot on the x-ray of her lower abdomen, "the knife entered Dr. Brennan's right side, lodging into the spinal column between L1 and L2. The damage, while not as extensive as we feared, is still serious."
"How serious are we talking?" Booth asked as he watched Bones study the x-rays in front of her, the scientist in her making its first appearance.
"We still don't know if the paralysis is permanent or temporary," Dr. Norbury explained and Booth felt Bones grip the hand lying next to hers, "but, there have been cases where the legs responded after physical therapy. It's my opinion that starting therapy as soon as your other wounds have healed would be our best course of action."
Brennan reached for the x-rays but her hand recoiled and she winced at the pain in her side.
"You have time Dr. Brennan," the doctor said gently as she went back to observing the slides rather than touching.
"Is there any other way we can discover the extent of the damage," she asked in her smooth, detached tone.
"I did mention a lumbar puncture, but I believe that it is unnecessary pain to learn a limited amount," he said, watching her narrow her eyes and frown at the news.
"May I see you outside Dr. Norbury," Booth requested as he slid off of the bed and walked to the door. Bones protested, spouting off bits of her "Alpha-male" lecture, but finally settled for glowering at the men through the window with her arms crossed.
"She's a pistol," the doctor remarked with a small laugh once they were in the hall.
"You have no idea," Booth replied with his own smirk and an eye roll. He gave a small sigh and became serious.
"What are her chances, really, of walking again?"
The doctor sobered quickly, "Like I said before, there have been cases where patient's legs responded to therapy after a couple of months. The lack of feeling worries us, but there really isn't much that we can learn without more intensive, unnecessary stress on her body. With regular stimulation, the feeling could return as well as her ability to move them. Feeling could return within days, weeks or the more likely, months, we just don't know."
Booth nodded, looking through the window at their topic. When he caught her eye, she huffed in irritation, but then lifted an eyebrow in question.
"If you can keep her motivated with that thought, keep her going, it could mean the difference between being confined to a wheelchair for life and walking again."
"Thank you doctor," he said, shaking the man's hand and giving him a rueful smile.
"I'll check in on you both tomorrow," the doctor said before motioning to Shirley and walking away.
Booth went back into the room, hesitating before taking a seat back on the bed next to his petulant partner. Her arms were still folded and one sculpted eyebrow was raised in both question and irritation. He thought it was good when she didn't immediately shove him off of the cot, but her hard stare continued.
"Well," she demanded after he said nothing. He relayed most of the conversation to her (with her interjecting stubbornly) before she finally let her arms drop back to her sides and her forehead smooth, though traces of her irritation remained.
She looked back up at the forgotten movie, frozen at the argument of the princess and pirate. Settling back on the pillows, Booth grabbed the remote and pressed play before doing the same.
As the final credit rolled across the screen, Booth looked over at his sleeping partner. The worry she had tried to hide earlier was evident on her face, but she seemed somehow peaceful at the same time. He checked his watch—two a.m.—and decided coffee was in order. Booth carefully extracted his arm from where it had been wedged underneath Bones and got up slowly, trying not to wake her. Making his way to the door, he heard his partner stir and paused at the door. He watched her eyes flutter open and smiled softly.
"Booth," she said quietly, her voice weaker than he'd ever heard, "please don't leave."
She awkwardly shifted to the other side of her small bed and he resumed his post by her side, kissing her on her forehead as she drifted off again.
"As you wish, Bones. As you wish."
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I apologize if any of this seemed out of character—I figured that she would probably not be quite herself if she got news that she could be paralyzed for life.
Obviously I love The Princess Bride and I couldn't resist adding it in somewhere! Sorry if it made too sappy of an ending! lol The line just works perfectly for non-couples! :-)
As always, let me know what you think! I love hearing your thoughts or when someone finds the obscure references (good catch dawnsfire!).
I'll update much sooner this time, so be on the lookout for chapter 13!
