Chapter 24

Monday

8:45 PM

"She liked you," Brennan said.

"She did not," Booth replied.

"She was openly flirting with you and you were flirting back."

"Was not," he retorted.

"Most likely she's ovulating."

Booth nearly choked on the coffee he was drinking. "What? How can you know that?"

"Because when a woman ovulates she lets off copulins, which is a scent that attracts men. As a result, the man's testosterone level rises and they are inevitably attracted to each other. It all stems from our desire to procreate."

"You sure know how to take the fun out of flirting," Booth responded.

"So you admit it. You were flirting."

"I was not."

The woman in question was a nurse who had come to draw blood from Brennan. As soon as she had found out Booth was an FBI agent, she had casually brought up how much she loved watching cop dramas on TV. She had smiled and tossed her long, blonde hair and had done all the things that grabbed men's attention. Booth barely noticed. His focus remained on Brennan who was sitting up in bed. She looked better than she had the day before. Her cheeks held more color and her eyes were more vibrant. The bruise on her cheek had turned an ugly purple color, but it was a sign that she was healing.

"You were," Brennan insisted.

"I was being polite."

"She was most likely trying to get you to ask her out."

"And I didn't, did I?"

"Why didn't you?"

He didn't quite know how to answer that question. Of course he knew why he hadn't asked her out. The only person he wanted to ask out was lying right in front of him, but he couldn't tell her that…yet.

"Because I didn't want to."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Brennan flipped through a science magazine she had begged Booth to get her. She claimed she couldn't stand it another minute if she didn't have something intellectual to read. Booth picked out the sports section of the newspaper that was on his lap and began to read the front page. He didn't really care about the score of the basketball game, but he needed to look busy. Otherwise he would just sit there and stare at her and she would begin to ask him questions.

"Booth..." Brennan said after a few moments of silence. He looked up at her. She had a serious look on her face. Her magazine was folded neatly on the tray next to her bed.

"Yeah?"

"We never finished."

"Finished what?"

"Talking about what happened."

She was right. They hadn't finished talking about what had happened to Brennan. Booth had never answered her question about whether or not he had seen the video. He had to admit that he had purposely avoided bringing up the topic again. He was relieved that she hadn't asked about it. And it wasn't because they didn't have time to talk about it. In actuality, they had had plenty of time to talk about it. He had barely left her side. After Dr. London had left, Booth called everyone at the lab to tell them the good news. Brennan was brought to have her CT and when she returned, Cam, Hodgins, Angela, and Sweets were all gathered in her room. Despite the protests of the nurses, they all stayed until she fell asleep. Booth left with them, but only to get some more coffee. Even though he had told Brennan he would see in her in the morning, he had never left the hospital. After getting his coffee, he had snuck back into her room when she was asleep and spent the night on the sleeper chair. His back wasn't thrilled about it, but Booth wouldn't have had it any other way. He wasn't about to leave her. When she woke up in the morning, she just assumed that he had gotten there early and Booth was fine with that. She didn't need to know that he was doting over her like a child.

"I know you saw the tape," she said quietly. "Is that how you found me?"

He nodded, putting his newspaper down on the floor. "Hodgins and Angela noticed the Morse code. Casey decoded it."

"So they all saw it?"

He nodded again. "Bones...I...I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

He was taken aback by her question. How could she not know what he was sorry about?

"For...everything."

"It's not your fault, Booth."

She said it so simply, so purely that it made him stop. Everyone had told him that it wasn't his fault. Everyone had told him that there was nothing he could have done. He hadn't believed any of them. But, hearing those words come from her, he wondered if maybe she was right.

He looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I should have gotten to you sooner. I should have stopped him from getting to you at all."

"You couldn't have stopped that. You saved me. That's all that matters."

"But not soon enough."

"Booth..." She reached out her hand towards him and he linked his fingers through hers. He had learned quickly what movements caused her pain and what didn't. As long as he stayed away from her wrist, he could hold her hand and it didn't hurt her. "What happened to Collin Brown?"

Booth winced at the mention of the name. "He's gone."

"Gone? As in..."

"Dead. He'll never bother you or us ever again."

"How?"

"How what?"

"How did he die?"

Booth knew eventually he was going to have to face that question. Eventually he was going to have to admit to her what he did.

"I once told you that I had killed people, but that I never murdered anyone. I can't say that anymore. I murdered him, Bones. I shot him," he answered. He couldn't look at her. He was afraid he'd see disappointment in her eyes. He knew she hated killing as much as he did.

"Thank you."

He looked up at her, confused. "Thank you?"

"Yes, thank you for shooting him. I know you don't like to take lives, Booth. I know it's difficult for you, but thank you. You're not a murderer."

"I shot him in a crowd of people, Bones. I murdered him."

"You did what you had to do."

He reached up and pushed a piece of her hair away from her face. She smiled at him as a tear fell from her eye.

"Thank you. For saying that. Thank you."

He leaned in and kissed the tear away. It was a light kiss. His lips barely made contact with her skin, but it was enough. To his surprise, she didn't pull away. She didn't make any indication that she was going to run.

"Oh Bones...there are so many things I want to say. So many things I need to say."

He didn't continue. Brennan could see a pained look on his face. She tried to think about what Booth would say if he saw the same look on her face.

"You can tell me anything," she said, thinking it sounded like a Booth-like thing to say.

"No I can't," he replied.

"But we tell each other everything. We're partners. You're the one who always says that partners need to be open with each other to have a successful partnership."

He shook his head. "This is more than just partners," he said quietly.

"Tell me. Please." He knew he couldn't resist the please.

Booth opened his mouth to speak when he heard the sound of heels on the floor getting louder as they got closer. Angela appeared around the corner of the curtain.

"Hey sweetie," she said with a big smile on her face. She looked at Brennan and then at Booth and her smile faded. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Booth said, moving his body slightly away from Brennan's.

"Because I could come back if you two were having a moment or something."

"It's fine, Angela," Brennan assured her even though she couldn't help but be disappointed. She wanted to know what Booth was going to say. Even though they had spent almost every moment since she had woken up together, it seemed as if they were constantly being interrupted.

Booth stood up, thereby letting go of Brennan's hand. "Well, I'll let you two have your girl time. I'm going to grab a coffee. Do either of you want anything?"

"I'll take a coffee," Brennan said.

"The doctor said no caffeine," Booth reminded her.

"I was hoping you had forgotten."

"No chance," he said, leaning over to kiss her forehead. Angela wanted to squeal out loud, but she kept it to herself. "Have fun," Booth said before walking out of the room.

"Ok, spill," Angela said, sitting down on the chair that Booth had occupied.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan replied.

"It means tell me what was going on in this room before I walked in. You two were practically having sex with your eyes."

"I don't know what that means, either."

"Brennan, what's going on?"

"Nothing," she answered.

"No, that's not going to cut it this time. Something is changing between you and Booth. Even you have to realize that."

"He's being very...supportive. That's all."

"I don't believe you. Sweetie, he hasn't left this room."

"He isn't here now. And he left last night. And he leaves when he has to use the bathroom or..."

"That's not what I meant. From the moment he found out you were missing, he went crazy. He never stopped looking for you. He didn't sleep. He didn't eat."

"Booth didn't eat? I find that very hard to believe."

"The point is, sweetie, that he was a wreck without you. And then when they found you, he wouldn't leave your side. He nearly lost it when he had to wait in the waiting room when you were in surgery. I think if they let him, he would have been standing in the operating room assisting."

"Well that's just not plausible. No hospital would have allowed that."

Angela shook her head and thought about her next words very carefully. She knew she didn't have the right to tell Brennan how Booth really felt. That was his prerogative, but she sure as hell was going to drop a few hints.

"Brennan, the man has feelings for you."

"Of course he does. We're partners. We work together every day. It would be difficult to spend that much time with a person and not develop some sort of feelings for that person."

Angela took a deep breath. Talking to Brennan was harder than she imagine. "Just think about this...actually don't think. Just answer."

"Angela, it's entirely impossible for me to not think. We're all thinking all the time. Even when we're asleep, there is a part of our brain that..."

"Just go with me, Brennan. Please?"

"Ok. Fine."

"Alright. Answer me this...who was the first person you wanted to see when you woke up?"

"Booth," she answered quickly. She blinked rapidly in disbelief at how quickly she answered Angela's question. She hadn't stopped to think about it. She hadn't stopped to rationalize her answer.

"And who do you want to call when something good happens?"

"Booth."

"Who do you want to call when something bad happens?"

"Bad things don't usually…"

"Just answer. Who do you want to call when something bad happens?"

"Booth."

"And who would you rather have sitting right here instead of me?"

"Booth." Brennan realized her answer and suddenly felt ashamed. "I'm sorry, Angela. It's not that I don't like your company. I..."

"You don't have to explain. Trust me, I get it."

"I don't."

"Look, sweetie, I don't want to tell you how you feel, but you're in love with the man."

"What?" Brennan felt completely stunned. She could feel heat rising in her cheeks. "No. Love is nothing more than elevated levels of endorphins and..."

"Love is love. No matter how you break it down, love is when you find someone that you can't stand to be without. When you find someone you want to share all your good days as well as your bad days with. Whether you want to admit it or not, you and Booth have been in love for a very long time. You've just been missing one very important part."

"What's that?"

"Sex."

"Sex is just a biological need to procreate."

"That may be true, but it also feels damn good. And trust me, you and Booth would have mind blowing sex."

"How do you know?"

"Because you've had years of pent up sexual tension built up."

"Angela, I...I…"

"No. No more arguing. No more denying."

"But…"

"No more arguing."

"What if he doesn't feel the same way?" Brennan blurted out before she even knew what she was saying.

Angela smiled. "Listen to me, Booth hasn't left your side for two days. I don't think you need to worry about how he feels."

"But I don't believe in love and monogamy and all of those things that Booth does. I mean, what if we give it a shot and it doesn't work out? What if we lose what we have? I don't want to lose that."

"Sweetie, some things are worth the risk. It was worth it for Hodgins and I."

"I don't know."

"Just think about it. There's more to life than looking at dead people, Brennan."

Author's Note: I apologize for not updating sooner. It's been a busy couple of days. I hope you liked the girl talk! Don't forget to review!