June 29th (Thirteen days until Brennan's due date)

"Is this your camp, Booth?" Lieutenant Oliver asked.

"Yes, sir. That's our camp. Sir, I can't thank you enough for all you've done for us."

"It was our pleasure, Booth. You and Corporal Parker even helped us a bit. That strategy of yours was genius."

"Corporal Parker? Booth? Holy shit! They told us you were alive but we didn't really believe it!" Private Jensen said as Booth and Teddy emerged from the British humvee.

"Believe it, Private. Where's the Colonel?"

"In the mess tent. Damn, you two look like a hot mess."

"Thanks, Private," Teddy said wryly. Booth and Teddy turned back to the British soldiers. "Really, thank you for everything."

"No problem, boys," Oliver said, "We need to head back to our own camp. Take care."

The two rescued Rangers said their goodbyes to the men who saved their lives and made their way to the mess tent to find their commanding officer.

Booth was walking almost normally now, still limping just a bit. He was still in pain, but from the help of the British medic, his feet had been patched up, just waiting for a doctor to look at them.

"Parker! Booth!" The cries came from the soldiers in the mess tent. People were cheering for them, glad to have at least two of the four missing soldiers back.

The colonel noticed their entrance and met them half way.

"Glad to have you back, Parker, Booth," The colonel told them. "We found Hatting and Radford. Their bodies have been sent home. We're going to get you two to the main US base in Baghdad to be checked out by doctors and from there, we'll send you up to Germany before going home."

"We're going home?" Teddy asked.

"Yes, after what you two have been through, you are not expected or required to stay. I'm actually recommending that both of you be sent home. Go grab your stuff and we'll have someone drive you to Baghdad. If your injuries aren't too severe, you may be back in the states for Independence Day."

"Wait! What's today?" Booth asked.

"June twenty ninth," someone supplied. Booth grinned and started laughing.

"Someone want to tell me what's going on?" The colonel asked.

"My wife's due date is the twelfth. I might be home by then. Maybe I can see my kid come into the world after all."

The colonel smiled at him. "Go pack up your gear, soldier. Let's get your feet fixed up and back to the states."

"Yes, sir," Booth called as he and Parker went back to their tent. They folded back the flaps to their cots. Sitting on his one last time, Booth picked up the stack of letters he found on the end of his bed. They were all from Brennan. Worried by the amount and the frequency of the postmarks, Booth tore them open. They all said the same thing for the most part. There was the constant I-love-yous and I-miss-yous but the more letters he went through, the more he noticed how sad she sounded. But when he came to the letter that told him about her being bed ridden, he immediately felt guilty. She told him she was stressed and that is what caused the preterm labor. She didn't say it, but he knew the stress was over him. She needed to know he was safe. She needed to know he was coming home.

"Corporal Booth? Corporal Parker? Are you ready to leave? I've been instructed to drive you to Baghdad. It'll take about a day to get there."

"I'm ready. You ready, Seel?"

"Uh, yeah, give me a sec," Booth told them. He pulled down the pictures from the side of the tent. They were the pictures of Bren and his friends and family and the sonogram pictures. After making sure he didn't leave one thing behind, he limped out of the tent to the humvee that lead to home.


The next day (July 1st)

They arrived at the main camp in Baghdad and went straight to the medical unit. They had their own buildings set up. The buildings weren't in the best condition, but it was better than a tent. Teddy was taken back first and had his hand checked over by a doctor, who immediately recommended he be sent up to Germany for surgery after reading Teddy's hand x-ray.

"I'll wait here for ya, bud. How much you wanna bet you're coming to Germany with me?" Teddy said, as the doctor escorted Booth back.

"Corporal Booth, I'm Major Tomlinson. It's your feet that has been the most afflicted, am I correct?"

Booth nodded and let the doctor examine his feet. With just one touch, pain shot through him and Booth knew this wasn't good. Tomlinson took his other foot and once again, he was in pain. After Booth was sent for x-rays, the doctor told him he would need surgery and intense physical therapy to recover from this trauma. Realizing what that meant, Booth asked, "Will I be able to take care of my family? I have a son on the way. I need to be able to take care of him."

Tomlinson nodded. "I don't expect your recovery to take a very long time but you will need help walking again for a while. It will be painful. But you can plan on teaching your kid to play football or baseball. You'll recover in no time. You're young, you're healthy, and you're going to be just fine. I'm going to make the arrangements to fly you and Corporal Parker out of here by tonight. You should be in Germany by morning. You can expect to have your surgery right away. They'll need to re-set all of your tarsals but you'll be out for it. Something that painful, you don't need to be awake for it."

"When do you think I can be back home?"

"Well, I'd say by maybe the fifth or sixth, assuming your surgery goes as planned, with no complications."

"That's perfect, sir. Thank you."

"Of course, Corporal. Let's get you two on your way."

"Major, can I ask a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Is there somewhere I can call my wife? I haven't talked to her in months."

Major Tomlinson smiled at him. "If you ask Captain Lewis, I'm sure she can get you all set up with a phone while we get your transport ready."

"Thank you, sir."

Booth made his way back to where Teddy was waiting for him and asked the soldier putting files away for Captain Lewis. The young man led him and Teddy back to another exam room.

"Captain, these men are looking for you," the young soldier said. Captain Lewis was a tall, tan woman who had a formidable look about her.

"Ma'am, I was told by Major Tomlinson that you could help me get in contact with my wife in the states."

"Sure! Why don't you follow me," she said. She lead them down a hall to a small open area. It looked like a lounge, with other wounded soldiers relaxing in the quiet room.

"There," she pointed to a pay phone attached to the wall. "Do you have a calling card?"

Booth's face fell. "No, I…I've been on a smaller base. We don't even have a phone."

She smiled and pulled a small card out of her pocket. "Here, use mine."

"No, I don't want to take your minutes off of it. I'd feel horrible if you couldn't talk to your own family."

"My daughter sends me probably two cards a week. I have enough to last me a while. Please, take it. Talk as long as you want."

Booth smiled at her and extended his hand. "Thank you, ma'am. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem, Corporal. I'm glad I can help you," she said, shaking his hand.

Booth took the calling card and walked to the phone. After dialing all sorts of numbers and codes, he heard the phone ring. For some reason, he felt nervous. He was worried about her. He was worried about her worrying.

"Hello?"

"Bren?"

"Booth?"

"Hi, babe. How are you?"

"Oh my god, are you okay? Where are you? What's going on?"

"I'm in Baghdad. I'm okay, but I'm going to Germany with Teddy. How are you? How's the baby? I got all of your letters. Is Angela making sure you stay off your feet?"

"Yes. She's being very annoying about it. The baby's okay, but I'm ready for him to be here?"

"Did Angela ruin your surprise?"

"Angela, Jack and you did. You three were not every conspicuous about hiding the truth from me. You only sent back your thoughts on boy names, Jack left a shopping bag full of boys clothes right by the front door and Angela had blue paint in her hair from painting the nursery."

"I'm sorry, babe. Next time, we'll keep it a secret together."

"Next time?"

"Well, he's going to need a little sister."

"Why are you going to Germany?"

"Nice change of subject, Bren," he said, laughing, "I, uh, I need surgery."

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm not going to lie to you but I don't want you to worry, okay?"

"I will do my best to keep my stress level down for the baby."

"Teddy and I were taken captive for a while. That's why you didn't hear from me. But they broke the bones in my feet and I was there for so long that they didn't set properly. I have to go to Germany for better equipment. But I get to come home, babe. I could be home in time to see our little guy."

There was no answer for a long while and he didn't pressure her to say anything.

"When are you leaving for Germany?"

"Soon. Teddy needs surgery too. We're going to get that taken care of as soon as we can."

"I miss you, Booth."

"I miss you, too, babe. I'll be home before you know it. I love you so much."

"I love you, too. Will you let me know when you get to Germany?"

"I'll do my best, Bren. Keep the little one safe, okay? I'll see you soon."

"I can't wait, Booth. I love you."

He smiled. It was so good to hear her voice but he knew he had to leave soon. He knew the sooner he left, the faster he could get home to her.

"I love you, too, Bren. I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay…bye."

"Bye." Hanging up the phone made him hurt but he was ready to go to Germany. Major Tomlinson appeared in the lounge as he hung up and told them they had a plane ready to take them to their first destination.


July 2nd

"Corporal Booth, I'm Dr. Graham. I'll be performing your surgery. I know a few other doctors and nurses went over the procedure with you but do you have any questions for me?"

"Just one: Could you call my wife when it's over? She's not going to believe me when I say it went well. She'd take it a lot better if she knew someone like you saying that things went well."

The doctor laughed. "I can do that, Corporal. No questions about the surgery itself?"

"No, sir. I'm ready to get it over with and get out of here. No offense, sir."

"None taken. I'll have them prep you for surgery and we can get started soon."

A few hours later, after a successful surgery, Booth was back in his hospital room.

"Dr. Graham, he's not waking up," a nurse said, worriedly.

After checking Booth's vitals, the doctor said, "He's had a bad reaction to the anesthesia. I still need to call his wife. What time is it in the states?"

The nurse looked at her watch. "It's after midnight on the east coast."

He nodded. "I'll call her in the morning. She's probably already asleep."


"Bren, they're not going to call tonight. Get to bed. You can keep the phone by you just in case they do call."

"I really don't think I'm going to be able to sleep. I'm still so worried about him."

"Sweetie, he's out of a war zone and he's coming straight back here. All you need to do is be excited that he's safe and that he'll be here soon."

Brennan sighed, knowing Angela was not going to give up on this.

"Fine, but make sure I don't sleep too late."

Angela smiled. "Okay, sweetie. Just rest up. You're going to miss your sleep once the baby comes."

"He's not coming for at least another week. I'll be fine. Don't forget to wake me up!"

"Okay, Bren. I'll make sure you're up. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Angela."

Brennan went into her room and changed for bed. As she climbed into her bed, she reached to her nightstand and picked up the phone. She layed her head on her pillow and set the phone next to her, waiting to hear his voice again.


A/N: Yay for a long update! :) I just realized how close we're getting to the end of this story! I'm not sure how many chapters are left but it's not much! If you have a moment and feel inclined, please leave me your awesome, kind words!