Still don't own them...
East University Hospital June 15th, 2009
"Do you understand the options I've presented to you Mr. Booth?" Dr. Hypond asked, looking from her new patient to his friend.
"Yeah, I mean, what are the odds, percentage wise that I could get my sight back?" Booth asked quietly.
"With either of the surgeries, your chances increase with proper recovery, but I would guess the percentage to be about 35 in your favor, for either. Like I said Mr. Booth, Tempe, I've done at least fifty of these this year, and each case is different. I can't guarantee that your sight will return, or that it will return they way it was before..." She stated cooly.
"Lisa, do you think that he's a good candidate?" Bones asked, hopeful.
"I do. I believe that I can give you something back, even if it's very little, it would be better than complete darkness." Dr. Hypond said, her voice soft.
"When can we schedule it?" Booth said.
"I have a free schedule on friday, the 19th. If you would be ready that soon." She answered.
"Booth, do you want to think this over?" Bones asked him.
"No. Friday is great. The sooner the better Bones. Even if I don't get a hundred percent back, it can't be worse than this... Dr. Hypond, friday it is." Booth said, extending his hand.
"I'll expect you to be admitted Thursday evening, we'll monitor you overnight, and if all looks well, the surgery will be done at seven am friday. Any other questions?" The doctor asked.
"No, not that I can think of, but if I do I'll give you a call. Thanks Doc. We'll see you thursday night." Booth said, pushing his chair back to leave.
"I'll meet you in the hall Booth, I'd like to talk to Lisa for a moment." Bones said, her voice full of concern.
"Tempe, I know I can make this better for him, why are you so skeptical..." Lisa asked her when Booth was gone from the room.
"I know him, I know how much it took for him to even come this far Lis...if this doesn't work, I can't imagine what that will do to him. And just because he might get something, he doesn't know how difficult it could be to try and live with that... I just don't want to see him hurt anymore..." Brennan said.
"Listen, if I go in, and don't think that the return would be signifigant, I'll close him up, but if I see that I can make a difference for him I will Tempe...what is it with this guy, I've never seen you like this before." Lisa asked her.
"He's my partner, that's all. One of my friends." Bones answered, her cheeks hot.
"If you say so Tempe, but the way you look at him, the way you care for him, I'd guess otherwise. Now don't leave him waiting too long. I'll see you both on Thursday." Lisa said, walking her to the door.
"Jeez Bones, it took you long enough." Booth joked, smelling her perfume as she got closer.
"I was just catching up with my old friend. Is that such a terrible thing Booth?" Bones said.
"If that's what you want to call it... I'm tougher than you think Bones...it just takes me longer to get through things sometimes..." He said, having heard most of the conversation.
"How, I mean, did you hear us? You couldn't have..." Bones questioned, as they walked, her arm pressed against his, as they'd become used to doing.
He didn't answer her, it wasn't the first time he'd overheard a conversation of hers. And it wouldn't be the last. He wished that she knew what he felt for her, that he could just tell her. But life hadn't worked out that way for him, all the time he danced around her, leaving hints here or there, the looks across the table she gave back, the few times where he felt he was getting somewhere, all to be taken away. Now though, maybe he'd have the chance again...maybe he didn't need to see to be with her. Her words, actions and feelings had been changing over the last couple of weeks, he could tell.
"Take them off Booth. It doesn't bother me..." Bones asked, watching him lift the glasses he rarely took off, to rub his nose.
"Nah." He answered, in his mind he wondered what his eyes looked like, and could only imagine them rolling around in his head like pinballs.
"They don't look any different than they did before Booth." She tried, wishing that he didn't feel uncomfortable in front of her.
"Soon maybe we won't have to think about it." He said, giving in and removing them, folding them and hanging them from his collar as she drove out of the parking garage.
She didn't respond when he said that, her brain taking over and trying to rationalize the odds of recovery. She wanted him to be whole more than she'd ever wanted anything, and knowing the science wasn't helping her mind find peace. It wasn't that she didn't love him, it was that maybe she loved him too much, and even after the stay in rehab, and the counseling he'd gone through in the last month, she couldn't stand him hurting, even if he did act more normal than he did at first. She could care less if he could see or not, it didn't matter to her, he was still the man she loved, the only person who made her feel safe, the person she was meant to be with, even if he didn't know it. The weeks they'd spent apart after he lost his sight, were terrible for her, she felt like part of her was missing. And then one day out of nowhere, there he was in her office, looking as close to her Booth as she'd seen in months. After that day, she made sure that she didn't let him push her away, no matter how frustrated he got during his therapy. Even though they weren't working together, they made sure to get together one way or another.
"Bones, are you okay? You're too quiet." He asked, wondering what she was thinking.
"Yeah, I was thinking about this case... I think Hodgins might have missed something." She said, lying through her teeth.
"Oh, really? He's usually pretty precise Bones. What do you think he missed?" he asked.
"Something just doesn't add up." She said, thanking god that he couldn't see her face.
"What's really on your mind Bones... I can hear it in your voice..." He said, reaching out his hand toward her arm.
"We're almost at the lab Booth... do you want me to drop you off first?" She said trying to change the subject.
"Just drop me off..." He said in a huff, anger all over his face.
Neither said another word even as he got out of her car, but before he shut the door, he turned back to her, something that he would have done back when he could see her. "Bones... I thought you didn't want me to push you away, maybe you should take your own advice." He said fiercely and then slammed the door.
She watched him slowly enter his building, his hands searching for the door handle, and then he disappeared. Everything in her wanted to run in after him, but her rational side made her question if the threat of surgery was what heightened her feelings. She was torn and in agony when she made it back to the lab, her face flushed as she hurried straight to her office. She didn't know how much longer she could keep her feelings from him.
He slammed the apartment door, and counted out the steps to his refridgerator, he grabbed a beer, and headed to his couch to sulk. He couldn't believe her stubbornness. He was the one faced with the possibility of something, or nothing at all, and here she was pushing him away, just when he needed her most. Four beers later, he was asleep, sprawled out on his couch, head resting on the arm. He didn't hear her come in, or notice her watching him as he slept. Her hand softly brushed his cheek, and even then he didn't stir, not until she rested her palm against that same cheek did he wake.
"Who's there..." He yelled, grabbing defensively at the hand on his face, "Bones?" He asked, recognizing her scent, and the soft skin of her hand.
"Despite what you might think Booth, I don't like seeing you suffer..." She said, her voice sad.
"I know that Bones. But why is that relevant?" he asked her, rubbing his hand over his face.
"I don't believe that you don't know, that you haven't known for a while..." She said, losing her nerve.
"Are you drunk Bones? You aren't making any sense." he said, reaching out for her face with his hand, surprised to find it damp, was she crying?
"I care about you Booth... I have for a long time. I thought... I ... I thought you felt the same way, but maybe I was wrong..." She said trying to pull away from him.
Instead of answering her, he pulled her into him, holding her tight against his chest. All this time, all that waiting, and finally here she was, making the first move.
"Shhh... Bones I'm here, don't cry..." He tried to soothe her sobs, unsure if they came from her being scared or, unsure.
His hand continued to rub her back until finally she started to calm down, his shirt wet from her tears.
"Bones, why are you so upset?" He asked, wishing with everything inside him that he could look into her eyes.
"I,,, I've never felt this for anyone else Booth... it scares me." She said her chest still heaving some.
"It's okay Bones. I'm not going anywhere, you can relax. I wish you knew how long I've been waiting for you to catch up..." He said, his hands on her face, gently running his fingers across it, like they taught him in rehab.
"I know...I've known for a while now, but after you lost your sight I thought I was wrong..." she said honestly, pulling away from him and started pacing around his living room.
He shuddered, knowing that he'd pushed her away, and it had hurt her. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I just needed time to get through this Bones...It was killing me not being around you, not having you around. But I didn't want you to see me like that. I didn't want you to know that I was weak..." He said, getting irritated at her continued pacing.
"I tried to be there for you, and even then, you kept me away, why couldn't you let me in if you cared for me so much? I don't know much about relationships, but I know there needs to be give and take Booth." She said, slowing her pace.
"Could you stop for a second Bones, your making me dizzy." He growled, "Do you think I don't know that, that I don't regret those weeks I kept you at arms length? I do, I wish I could go back and change my actions, but I can't, I can only move forward, and learn from my mistakes...I need you in my life, this doesn't change that..." He pleaded, pointing to his eyes, that were open, but still only staring past her.
She sat next to him on the couch once again, taking his face in her hands, and leaning forward, pressing her lips to his. Neither one, moved to break the kiss, filled with passion and longing.