"Bed rest? You're joking…right?"

"I'm afraid not, Dr. Brennan. You're stressed. And that's understandable. But you need to slow down," Dr. Francis told her, "Or this baby is going to come soon than we'd like."

"Exactly how much bed rest do you mean? Can she, I don't know, get up to eat and use the toilet or what?" Angela asked, knowing keeping her friend in bed was not going to be easy.

"I know it's not easy for anyone, especially as active in work as you, to stay in one place for so long. But I'd say hang out on the couch for the day, catch up paperwork, get a few snacks, watch TV then at night, head up to bed and stay there, doing absolutely nothing unless absolutely possible. But as long as you're still for a majority of the day and getting as much rest as you can, your preterm labor will more than likely subside. Dr. Brennan, I can't even begin to tell you how important it is for your baby to stay where he or she is until ready, but I'm sure you already know all of that."

She nodded and placed a hand on her stomach. She knew she needed to keep her baby safe. She knew working all day and well into the night on a daily basis was not what she needed to do. But it was the only thing she could do to keep her mind off of Booth.

"Thank you, Dr. Francis. When can I go home?"

Her doctor smiled. "Now, as long as your friends promise to keep you off your feet and keep your stress level down," she added, looking to Jack and Angela. They agreed and Brennan knew she wasn't going to escape Angela on this.


"Owww," Booth groaned. As his eyes adjusted to the harsh light, the throbbing pain from the back of his head worsened.

He heard a familiar chuckle. "Alright, Seel, really? You came by yourself to find me? Did you piss off the colonel or something?"

"Teddy? Ow. Where's Radford? Are you okay?"

"Radford came with?"

Booth looked around the room. It was a small room, with only one window where the light was streaming through up near the ceiling. There was a light on in the room. It was a florescent light, giving the room a clinical feel with the cruel beam. Booth went to stretch his arms but found one wrist chained to an exposed pipe on the wall. Booth looked to Teddy, who flashed him his own chained wrist and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah he was with me. We got attacked. They killed Hatting."

"Well," Teddy sighed, "if Radford's not here, he's probably dead too."

"Shit. Damn, this hurts!" Booth cried, holding the back of his head.

"Yeah they got me there too. You gonna be okay?"

Booth nodded slightly. "I will be as soon as I get out of here. You okay?"

"Eh. I'm fine. I'd be better if I had some food. They give me a little bit. They'll probably use us as bargaining tools, huh?"

"I'm having a son," Booth blurted, ignoring Teddy's comment.

"Shit, man! Congrats! That's awesome!"

"Well…yeah, but not if I can't meet him. We gotta get outta here."

Teddy gave a wry laugh. "They took your boots, Seel. You wanna try to escape barefoot?"

Booth glanced to his feet, which were in fact bare. He punched the ground out of frustration. "So what are we gonna do, Park? I can't stay here."

"I know that. I've been counting the days. If they don't find us in a few months, my guess is they gave up. I've been here for only five. Did you know the chain for our ID tags have three hundred and sixty five beads? I've been biting them off but that's 'cause I think my hand is broken. They broke it," Teddy told him, holding up his mangled left hand. His fingers were obviously broken, stuck in ways that made them look like wire toys.

Booth cringed, the thought of a broken hand made his own hands hurt. "Did they take everything you had or is it all with your pack back out on the ridge?"

"They took my pistol. But that's about it." Teddy reached into his breast pocket and took out a folded picture. "I still have my picture," he told him, looking at the photograph of his girlfriend.

Booth did the same, pulling out his two favorite pictures from the most recent package he had received, the ultrasound picture and a picture of a very pregnant Bren. He smiled and showed them to Teddy.

"Wow! She's gorgeous. I mean, I know I told you that before but being knocked up really suits her."

Booth rolled his eyes at his friend's comment, but he knew it was true. She was beautiful, and he was missing out.

"So how are we getting out of here?" Teddy asked.

"Give me a minute to think. You've been here longer. Haven't you come up with any ideas?"

He nodded and held up his broken hand. "I tried, and they did this. I'm guessing there are at least five of them."

"I counted five when Radford and I got attacked. There might be more though."

"When was the last time you talked to base camp?"

Booth thought it over in his head, which was still throbbing from the bump they gave him. "Probably…three days ago. First, our batteries wouldn't recharge and then we lost range. We were arguing over whether or not to turn back when we found your pack. Honestly, I'm surprised they left it. I would've assumed they would've used whatever supplies you had. How did you try leaving last time?"

"They used some sort of rope. I stretched it out enough to wiggle my hand out and ran out the door. It wasn't really thought out all that well but I didn't really know what else to do. I figured that window was too small for me to get out of. Plus, that pipe doesn't look sturdy enough to boost myself up. If it burst, it probably would've given me away."

Booth nodded, agreeing with his friend. "Assuming we can get out of these chains and assuming we outnumber whoever comes in once we do get out of the chains, we can disarm them and use their weapons to fight our way out. But…you know what they say when you assume…"

Teddy looked confused. "No. What do they say?"

Booth let out a hearty laugh and Teddy gave him a dirty look. "Sorry, man. You sounded like my wife. She'd probably say the exact same thing you just did. They say when you assume, you make an ass out you and me. Which, in this case, is true. We can't just pretend like this is going to go well. Most likely, we're not getting out of here soon," Booth said, his mood instantly changing. "We need to plan this out a bit more. God, my girl's gonna kill me when she finds out what's going on."


"Bren, you were up all night. Maybe you should go take a nap before spending the whole day on the couch," Angela suggested, helping Brennan through the front door.

"That…might be a good idea. Angela, I can get up the stairs by myself. Just because I have gone into preterm labor and have been prescribed bed rest does not mean I can no longer do things for myself."

Angela sighed and released her grip on her friend's arm. "Fine. Will you at least let me make you something to eat when you wake up?"

"Brennan smiled at her. "Sure. Thanks, Ange."

"Of course, sweetie. Don't worry about what time you wake up. You need to sleep."

"I know, Ange."

Jack and Angela watched their friend slowly make her way up to her bedroom.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Angela asked her boyfriend, "I mean, this can't be easy on her."

Hodgins shrugged. "She'll be fine. You just gotta give her some time, Ange. In a few months, when the baby comes, she'll be a lot better. And when Booth comes back, everything will go back to normal."

"But she's really worried about him, Jack. She hasn't heard from him in a long time. She's sent so many letters but she hasn't gotten anything. I have to get the mail before she does so she doesn't rip Frank a new one. Every day, she waits for a letter, and when Frank shows up practically empty handed, she makes him check his bag again."

"I know, baby. I wish we could do something about it but Booth's okay. Until we hear otherwise, he's okay," Jack said.

She nodded and gave him a lingering kiss. "I'm gonna go make her a big breakfast now because I know she won't sleep long. What do you think: pancakes, eggs, bacon, and potatoes?"

"Are you going to make enough for me too? Whoa, wait! Would Bren even eat the bacon?"

Angela smiled. "Yeah! You haven't seen her eat a burger, have you?" Jack shook his head. "She's been eating meat for the baby. I'm not sure she likes it but she's doing it for the nutrition. I can say, the minute she stops breastfeeding, she'll probably quit her meat habit."

Jack laughed. "I'm sure you're right. But, seriously, are you going to make enough for me to?"

"Only if you help," she told him, a mischievous look creeping up on her face.

They made their way into the kitchen and, in between romping around and being unable to keep their hands off each other, they made breakfast. They were busy attempting not to burn the pancakes when they received a knock at the front door. When Angela finally pulled herself away from Hodgins, she pulled the door open.

"Are you Dr. Temperance Brennan?" There were two men, both dressed in service uniforms. They were both tall, taller than Booth, but neither were Rangers. The ribbons on their uniforms were few and far between and the amount of tabs above the ribbons was slim as well, indicating both were probably relatively new to the service.

"Uh…no. I'm not…I'm-ˮ Angela stammered.

"I'm Dr. Brennan," Bren said, standing half way up the stairs. "What's going on?"

"Dr. Brennan, I need to speak with you. May we come in?"

Brennan nodded and shot a nervous glance to Angela. She returned the look and guided Bren to the living room.

"Sweetie, you need to lie down. I'll bring you your breakfast," Angela told her, walking to the kitchen.

Brennan and the soldiers sat on the couch and Brennan put her feet up on the ottoman. "I'm on bed rest," she explained. The first man nodded and smiled gently at her.

"I'm not supposed to be under any stress," Brennan continued, as if challenging the man to do just that. She looked him over and noticed he was fidgety.

"Ma'am, I'm Private First Class Metcalf. This is Private Eberle. We have something to tell you. About your husband."

"Oh, my god!" Angela said, walking back with Brennan's plate of food. She set it down on the coffee table and sat next to Brennan. "Is Booth okay? I mean, he's okay, right?"

"Corporal Booth has gone missing in action. He was sent on a mission to find another soldier and has not returned to base camp. We found the bodies of two other soldiers he was with but we have not found him. We will let you know as soon as we know something. I'm so sorry, Dr. Brennan," he told her.

She nodded and shook off the tears that were threatening to fall. "I expect to be kept informed. The minute you know something, the minute you find him, I expect at least a call," she demanded, her voice losing its shakiness and gaining the tone when speaking to one of her students.

"Of course, ma'am. I'm very sorry, but we need to head back."

Brennan didn't say anything as Metcalf and Eberle stood and let themselves out.

"Sweetie…" Angela was at a loss for words. Jack stood in the kitchen doorway, staring at the two of them.

"Angela, will you hand me my plate? I am quite hungry."

"Bren, are you okay? Do you wanna talk?"

"No. As far as we know, he's still alive. I'm fine. Will you please hand me my plate? And can I have a glass of orange juice?"

XXX

A/N: Thank you to Alyj for your pointers. My mistakes have been fixed!