Chapter 19

Friday

9:26 PM

Booth stood up from the hard, plastic chair. With his coffee in his hand, he started walking. He first walked in a circle around the set of six chairs that were in the middle of the room where Cam and Sweets were sitting and then he moved on to pace along the walls. He had completed the same routine every fifteen minutes since they had all made their way into the waiting room. After his tenth round, Sweets had begun to explain what was causing him to walk around like he was, but with one glare from Booth, Sweets shut him up. On his way around the room, Booth threw his empty cup into the garbage can by the door. It made a hollow sound as it fell to the bottom of the basket.

"Maybe you should take a walk outside," Cam suggested.

"I don't understand what's taking so long," Booth replied. He didn't need to go outside. He needed to know what was going on.

"It's surgery, Agent Booth," Sweets stated. "With the extent of her injuries, she is most likely undergoing multiple surgeries, which takes a considerable amount of…"

"I know," Booth snapped.

Hodgins and Angela walked through the door, carrying a tray with five hot coffees on it. Booth noticed immediately how casually Hodgins' arm was draped over Angela's shoulders. It was a simple gesture. One that he normally wouldn't have even noticed, but he did take notice. He noticed because he wasn't sure if he'd ever have the chance to stand like that with Brennan again.

"No news?" Angela asked. Cam shook her head. "What is taking so long? It's been over five hours."

"Surgery takes time," Sweets answered.

Booth stopped pacing. He put his hands on his hips and looked at Sweets. "Sweets, if you say that one more time, I swear I'll take out my gun and shoot you."

"Agent Booth," Sweets said. "You're willingness to resort to violence suggests that you…"

Booth seriously thought about reaching for his gun when Hodgins stepped between him and Sweets.

"They should have given us an update by now," Hodgins said, hoping to diffuse the situation. He knew Sweets was only trying to help, but Booth was not in the mood for psychological counseling. Hodgins handed out the coffees. Booth took his cup gratefully and turned away from Sweets. It was his fifth coffee of the night and he knew it wouldn't be his last. The caffeine was the only thing keeping him from crashing. Unable to sit, he stood, leaning against the wall.

"Sometimes no update is a good thing," Cam said, trying to make everyone feel better.

"And sometimes it's not," Booth added. He couldn't help but think negatively. All of his worst fears were being recognized.

"Brennan is strong, Booth," Angela said. "You know that better than anybody. And if anyone can pull through this, she can. She wouldn't…she wouldn't want us all sitting here sulking. She'd want us to…I don't know…go back to the lab and solve a crime or something."

"I'm not leaving," Booth declared.

Angela sighed. "Neither am I. I just…I hate just sitting here."

"You never told us what happened to Collin Brown," Cam said.

"I shot him."

"Was he in the basement with Dr. Brennan?" Cam asked.

Booth shook his head. "He was standing outside in the crowd."

Sweets looked at him in disbelief. "And you shot him?"

"He deserved to die," Booth stated, leaving no room for argument.

"But you shot him? In a crowd?" Sweets questioned. "With other people around?"

"He deserved to die," Booth repeated.

"No one is denying that, Booth, but…" Cam began to say.

"He did the right thing," Angela interrupted. She walked over to where Booth stood. "No matter what happened or how it happened, you did the right thing. He didn't deserve to live."

Angela wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. At first Booth did nothing. He didn't reciprocate the hug. He just stood there limply while Angela held him tightly. Booth found the gesture to be momentarily awkward. He and Angela had never been close. Angela had always been Brennan's friend, not Booth's. Of course Booth enjoyed working with her, especially since she was the least like a squint, and respected her for her expertise, but he had never felt particularly close to her. As she held him, though, he felt different. After a moment, his arms raised and he hugged her back. It was a deep hug; the type of hug that Booth rarely shared with another person, but it felt good to feel so connected to someone.

"Agent Booth," a voice said.

Angela let Booth go. He looked to where the voice had come from. Casey was standing in the doorway.

"Casey," Booth replied, as if confused as to why she was there.

"Can I talk to you outside?" She asked.

Booth nodded. She disappeared out the door. Booth gave a reassuring look to everyone in the waiting room before following Casey to the front of the hospital.

"How is Dr. Brennan?" Casey asked.

"She's still in surgery. We don't know anything."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to say that. It's nobody's fault. Nobody but Collin Brown…and me." His voice trailed off.

"This is not your fault."

Booth looked down at the ground. "If I had found her sooner…"

"We, Agent Booth. If we had found her sooner…but there is nothing we could have done better. We found her. That's what's important."

"I'd kill him again," Booth said.

"I know."

Booth paused, choosing his next words carefully. He knew he was going to have to suffer the consequences of his actions and he was willing to accept them.

"I don't care what happens to me, but I need to be here for her if she wakes up."

"When she wakes up," Casey corrected.

Booth snorted. "You remind me of me."

"What do you mean?"

"Usually Bones is the negative one. She's the one who doesn't believe in hope or faith. She's the one who would be standing here saying 'if' instead of 'when.' Usually I'm the one in your shoes. Usually I'm the one who has to convince her that there's more to life than science and statistics."

"You're scared for her. You're allowed to be scared for you, too."

"What's going to happen to me?"

"I talked to the director. I've already handed him my preliminary report."

"I accept responsibility for what I've done."

"According to the FBI, you didn't do anything."

"What do you mean?"

"All you did was save a crowd of people from a serial killer."

Booth leaned in, whispering. "I shot him with a crowd of people around. I didn't think about other human life. I just reacted. I reacted because I was angry…I was so angry at what he had done to her…to the woman I love. That's certainly not sanctioned by the FBI."

"As my report states, Collin Brown had a weapon. You saw it, assessed the risks, and decided that shooting him was the only way to save those innocent people. With your experience as a sniper and your excellent shooting skills, you knew you could make the shot without endangering other's lives. It wasn't an ideal situation, Agent Booth, but you saved all of those people."

Booth stared at her in disbelief. What she was describing was not what happened.

"But Collin Brown didn't have a weapon. I shot him because he deserved to die. I shot him because he nearly killed my partner. She is up there fighting for her life because of that…that bastard!"

"I know," she said, her voice lowered. "When we removed his body, we found a 22 caliber gun. He was armed. You saw that gun, Agent Booth. That's why you shot him. You saw the gun and you shot him to save innocent lives."

"You're twisting the facts," he said quietly. Although there was no one around them, Booth wasn't going to risk exposing their conversation.

"No, I'm making it so that you get to see your partner when she wakes up." She leaned in closer to him. "If the FBI got wind of what really happened, your ass would be in a jail cell right now instead of in this hospital."

"I don't…I don't lie. I don't stretch the truth. Our jobs are to protect. Our jobs are to tell the truth. I told you, I will take responsibility for my actions."

"And what will that do? I understand you want to do the right thing. That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I'm not lying in my report, Agent Booth. Collin Brown had a weapon on him. If you didn't kill him, he could have taken out innocent bystanders."

"He's a serial killer with a very specific MO. He wouldn't have started shooting people."

"A very specific MO? He broke that MO when he took your partner. And if he got away, he would have found another woman. You know that he would have gotten somebody else and we'd be doing this all over again."

Booth paused, trying to process everything that was being said.

"You're putting your neck on the line for me."

"I'm putting my neck on the line for something I believe in. I believe in you, Agent Booth. I believe you did the right thing. Maybe it was driven by anger, but you did the right thing. And I believe that your partner needs you."

"So, that's it? I'm off the hook."

"So to speak."

"I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you."

"Tell her. When she wakes up, when you get through all this, tell her how you feel. That will be thanks enough for me."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you so interested in Bones and I?"

"Because by the time I went to tell my partner I was in love, it was too late. Don't make the same mistake I did."

"I'm sorry, I didn't…I didn't know."

"Go, Agent Booth. Go be with your friends. Go be with your partner. Don't waste another minute."

"Thank you," Booth said, shaking her hand.

"Let me know how she is when you find out."

"I will."

"She's going to be ok, Agent Booth."

"Booth."

"What?"

"It's just Booth. No Agent. Just Booth."

She nodded and smiled. "Ok, Booth." Casey squeezed his hand. "I'll see you later."

"Thank you, Casey. For everything."

"Don't forget how you can thank me."

He smiled. "I won't."

Casey walked away and Booth was left alone. For the first time, he didn't feel scared. For the first time, he felt faith. He felt what everyone had been saying to him. She was going to be ok. He just knew it.

Booth walked back to the waiting room. Everyone was where he had left them. It was comforting to know all of his friends were there. They didn't have to talk. They could just be there for each other. Booth sat down in the seat next to Cam. She patted his hand lightly, reassuring him.

"Mr. Booth?"

Booth looked to the door and saw Dr. London. Everyone immediately stood up and gathered in front of the door.

"Is she ok?" Angela asked.

"Is she alive?" Hodgins questioned.

"When can I see her?" Booth wondered.

Their questions all came out at the same time. Dr. London put his hands up, silencing them.

"I really should only be speaking to Mr. Booth. He is her emergency contact."

"He's only going to tell us exactly what you said," Angela replied.

"Except with less medical terminology," Hodgins added.

"So you mine as well tell all of us," Sweets said.

"Fine. Dr. Brennan suffered some very severe injuries," Dr. London explained. "She has three broken ribs, one of which punctured her lung. We were able to repair the lung as well as some internal bleeding. Both wrists were broken in several places, but her left wrist seemed to sustain the most injuries. We set the bones in her right wrist and had to put a metal rod in her left wrist. There was also some nerve damage in the left wrist. I don't know if she will ever have one hundred percent function in that wrist again. She has a number of lacerations and a severe concussion. It's amazing she's still alive."

"Will she be ok?" Angela repeated.

"Right now she'll be going into the ICU. The next forty-eight hours will be critical. Her body has a lot of healing to do. It is possible that there are just too many severe injuries for her body to take. Her heart stopped once in the ambulance and again in surgery." Booth winced, thinking about her body being shocked by those paddles again and again. "There's no telling how long oxygen was deprived from her brain. That, coupled with the concussion…"

"Are you saying she could be brain dead?" Cam asked.

"We won't anything for sure for some time. We're running some tests now. We'll be keeping a close on her. Monitoring her for infection and more internal bleeding…"

"Will she live?" Booth asked. It was the most important question and he had to know.

Dr. London sighed. "I don't know. As I said, the next forty-eight hours will be critical."

"Can I see her?" Booth asked.

"We only allow family members in the ICU."

"Right now we're the only family she has," Angela said.

"I can see that you all are very close," Dr. London said.

"I'm her partner," Booth said, pleading with him.

"Her professional partner, yes, but…"

"We are her family!" Sweets shouted. Everyone looked at him, surprised at his outburst. Up until then, he had been quiet. "And Agent Booth is a close to Dr. Brennan as any two people can be."

"Thanks, Sweets," Booth said in earnest.

"You people don't take no for an answer, do you?" Dr. London replied.

"Not when it comes to a member of our family," Angela stated.

"Alright, I'll allow you to see her. But it can only be one at a time. She needs to rest. I'll have a nurse come get you when Dr. Brennan is in the ICU."

"Thank you," Cam said.

"She's a strong woman," Dr. London stated.

"You have no idea," Booth replied.

Author's Note: Well, I loved writing about the supportive squints so much that I had to write more about them. I hope you liked it!