Chapter 18

Friday

4:14 PM

Booth watched as the defibrillator paddles touched Brennan's chest. He heard the medic call out. He saw her body convulse against the powerful shock. He heard the monitor continue to beep one continuous hum. He felt the tears running down his face as he watched her slip away.

"We're losing her," the medic who had shocked her said to the driver.

"She'll never make it to the hospital," the driver replied.

"She'll make it," Booth said calmly. He wanted to yell. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He wanted to fall to his knees and pray and plead for her life. He held her cold hand, rubbing it between his two palms. He was trying to warm her up. He was trying to bring her back to life.

The medic adjusted the defibrillator and placed the paddles against her chest for a second time.

"Clear," he shouted out.

Booth reluctantly let her go. Her body jumped up with the shock of the paddles. Booth closed his eyes, silently praying. He listened for the monitor. The continuous hum turned into single, even beeps. Booth opened his eyes. He didn't bother to look at the monitor. Instead he watched her chest rise and fall slowly but surely.

"We've got her back, but her vitals are still dangerously low," the medic said both to Booth and the driver.

"She'll make it," Booth repeated, holding her hand once again.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital minutes later. As soon as it pulled into the ambulance bay, the back doors opened and four doctors emerged onto the ambulance. They lifted the gurney out of the ambulance and onto the sidewalk. The doctors started shouting to the medics, each trying to shout louder than the next. In return, the medics yelled back at them, giving information through acronyms and numbers. They were talking about Brennan as if she were an object rather than a person.

"Her name is Temperance," Booth stated. "Temperance Brennan." He needed them to see her how he saw her. He needed them to see her as the woman he loved and not just some poor woman who was hanging on for life. "She's a doctor. Dr. Temperance Brennan."

The doctors started wheeling her into the hospital. Booth stayed by her side. The chaos ensued with doctors joining them and information being exchanged. It was like a very well rehearsed dance.

"My God, what happened? She looks like hell," a female doctor said as she joined the rest. "How is she even still alive? She looks like a human punching bag. She'd be a good teaching case. It's not like the interns could kill her. She's practically already dead."

"Get out!" Booth bellowed. Everyone working on Brennan suddenly stopped and stared at Booth. The doctor who had spoken turned red, but didn't move. "I said get out! You don't touch her! You don't lay one finger on her!"

The doctor caught Booth's eye and then glanced over at one of the other doctors. The doctor nodded and the female doctor walked out of the room angrily. Booth was glad she was gone. They didn't need any negative energy in the room. Brennan needed all the positive energy she could get.

"Alright, back to work," one of the other doctors instructed. They wheeled her into one of the emergency rooms and transferred her onto one of the hospital gurneys. The work continued as the doctors assessed her injuries.

"Sir," one the doctors said. "You need to let go."

Booth looked at the doctor and then to his hand, which was still entwined with Brennan's.

"I can't," Booth said.

"If you want us to help her, you need to let go."

Booth squeezed her hand before doing what he was told. He stepped back, letting the doctors work. Booth couldn't concentrate on all that was going on. The doctors shouted out her injuries like they were talking about something as simple as baseball scores. As he listened to them all, he realized that she had more injuries than he had even realized. The thought of how hurt she really was terrified him.

"Sir? Sir?" Booth finally looked up to see the doctor who had asked him to let go of Brennan's hand standing in front of him. "I'm Dr. London."

"Booth," Booth replied. It was all he could manage to say.

"Are you related to…"

"Brennan," Booth interrupted. "Temperance Brennan." He seemed to remember shouting her name. He remembered making sure everyone knew who she was, but the doctor didn't know. Nobody knew who she really was. She was just another patient to them. That made Booth want to scream.

"Are you related to Ms. Brennan?"

"Dr. Brennan," Booth corrected. He shook his head. "We're partners."

"Partners? As in…in a relationship?"

"We're partners," Booth repeated. The doctor eyed him, obviously looking for more information. "Work partners. We work together."

"Does she have any family we can contact?"

Booth nodded. "A father. And a brother."

"I'll have someone call them."

"She needs to get to surgery now!" One of the other doctors shouted.

"You'll need to step aside," Dr. London said to Booth.

"I want to stay with her."

"You're not family…"

"I am her family!" Booth shouted. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. He knew he was being difficult. He knew he should just step aside and let them do their work, but he couldn't. He needed to stay with her.

"You need to let us do our jobs," Dr. London stated.

Booth looked past the doctor, trying to see Brennan. With everyone around her, he could barely see her. All he could see was the wires and the machines and the blood soaked sheets.

"Please," Booth begged. "I need to stay with her."

"If you want us to help her, you need to step outside," Dr. London responded. "We'll let you know as soon as we know anything," "

Booth nodded, knowing the doctor was right.

"Just save her," Booth whispered before leaving the emergency room.

He hated leaving her, but he knew it had to be done. He had to put her life in someone else's hands. Booth walked out of the ER and into the hallway. He looked both ways down the hall, unsure of what to do with himself. He had been so concentrated on finding her and saving her, that he felt useless. He couldn't help her.

Booth started walking down the hall. He needed air. When he reached the doors to the hospital, he saw the ambulance that had brought them in still in the ambulance bay. He walked away from it, not wanting to be anywhere near the place where her heart had temporarily stopped. Booth walked several yards away from the chaos of the hospital. He reached into his pocket for a poker chip, but didn't have one. Not having anything in his hands made him want to scream. He wanted to yell and shout and cry and let everyone know how unfair it was that he had nothing to play with in his hands. Of course he knew that his emotions had nothing to do with the lack of a poker chip. It was all about her. It had always been about her. If she smiled, Booth smiled. If she had a bad day, Booth had a bad day. Now she was hurt and Booth was hurt.

Not knowing what else to do, Booth took out his phone. He knew everyone was just as worried about Brennan as he was. He had to let them know that she was found, even if he didn't know if she would survive or not. Booth dialed the lab and waited.

"Booth?" Cam answered.

"Yeah."

"Did you find her?"

"Yeah."

"Is she…is she alive?"

"For now." He couldn't muster any more words than that.

"Where are you?"

"County hospital. They're taking her to surgery. It's not good, Cam."

"What about Collin Brown? Did you find him?"

"Yeah, we found him."

"What happened?"

"Can you just…tell Angela and Hodgins and…get here, Cam. Please. Just get here."

"We're on our way."

Booth let the phone drop from his hand. It hit the concrete below, but the sound didn't even register. His legs began to fail him and Booth crumpled to the ground.

4:49 PM

Booth felt a hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head up and found himself staring straight into Cam's eyes. She was crouched in front of him, giving him a comforting smile. Booth looked past her and saw Hodgins, Angela, and Sweets standing around him in a circle. It was as if they were forming a protective barrier around him. Cam stood up and offered Booth her hand. He hesitantly placed his hand in hers and she helped pull him to his feet. He refused to look any of them in the eye. He had always remained strong in front of them. Even though as a group they had all shared so much, he still wouldn't let them see him so emotional.

"How is she?" Angela asked quietly.

Booth ran his hand down his face, wiping the tears away. He still couldn't look at Angela or anyone else, but he thought about her question. He didn't know. He looked down at his watch and realized how long he had been sitting on the sidewalk outside the hospital. Time had become his worst enemy. He always seemed to be running out of time.

"Booth…" Cam prompted.

"I don't know," he answered, finally looking Cam in the eye. He turned his gaze to Angela. "I don't know."

"Well, let's find out…together," Cam suggested.

Cam walked towards the hospital with Angela and Hodgins behind her. Booth stood still. He was afraid to go in. He was afraid to find out how she was doing.

"Agent Booth," Sweets said.

Booth hadn't noticed that Sweets had stayed behind with him.

"Please, Sweets, I can't deal with your twelve-year old psychology lesson right now," Booth replied.

"I just…I wanted to say I'm sorry and that I know Dr. Brennan is going to be ok. She's a fighter."

Booth nodded. "Thanks."

They followed Cam, Hodgins, and Angela through the hospital doors. Cam was standing at the front desk, talking to one of the nurses.

"Dr. Brennan. Dr. Temperance Brennan," Cam stated very clearly.

"I thought you were looking for a patient," the nurse replied.

"Dr. Brennan is a patient. She was brought in in an ambulance. We're trying to find out her status."

"Are you family?" The nurse asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you family?"

"No, but…"

"We don't give any information out unless you're family. You'll have to wait in the waiting room. It's just down the hall."

Angela stepped forward, placing her hands on the desk. She wasn't usually a threatening person, but when she wanted something, she wouldn't stop until she got it.

"Look. We are a family. Maybe we're not a traditional family, but we're a family," Angela stated. "And you are going to tell us how our friend is doing."

"The waiting room is down the hall," the nurse repeated, completely ignoring Angela.

"I'm Dr. Sweets," Sweets said, stepping up next to Angela. "I'm Dr. Brennan's psychologist. As her doctor, I should have access to her medical records."

"You're a shrink, not a medical doctor. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do so…"

"What about Booth?" Hodgins asked, taking his turn. Booth, who had been hanging back, looked up. He hadn't said anything mostly because he didn't have any fight left in him. He wanted to know how Brennan was doing more than anything, but he still wasn't sure if he was ready to hear the answer. Part of him wanted to go back to the sidewalk and just stay there until the hurt and the pain went away.

"Alright," the nurse said flippantly. "Let's hear this one."

"Booth is Brennan's emergency contact. Shouldn't he have a right to now what's going on?"

Sighing, the nurse typed some information into the computer in front of her. They all waited as she stared at the screen.

"Your friend is in surgery," she stated.

"That's it?" Angela asked.

"That's all I can tell you. A doctor will come by to speak to you when he or she becomes available. Until then, you need to go to the waiting room and stop bugging me."

"How long will she be in surgery?" Cam asked.

"I don't know, but according to her records, her injuries were quite severe. I'm sorry, but that is all I can tell you."

The nurse walked away before any of them could say a word.

"Well, this sucks," Angela said.

"Come on," Cam said. "Maybe we can find some bad coffee in this place."

They all headed off in the direction of the waiting room, Booth lagging behind the group. His feet felt like lead as he walked. His head was pounding. He couldn't get the image of her hanging in that basement, covered in bruises and blood, out of his head. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to get it out of his head.

Author's Note: So, I know this might sound weird, but I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and having the squints all rally around Booth. I want to thank everyone for your reviews! Reading each and every review really makes my day better! Thanks for reading!