A/N: Again with the awesome reviews, guys. And again with the fast update as a reward. Plus, we had no Bones tonight, yet again, so hopefully this will at least somewhat make up for our withdrawal. It's a pretty long chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Six

Wreck of the Day

Driving away from the wreck of the day
And the light's always red in the rear-view
Desperately close to a coffin of hope
I'd cheat destiny just to be near you
If this is giving up, then I'm giving up
If this is giving up, then I'm giving up, giving up
On love, On love

Driving away from the wreck of the day
And I'm thinking 'bout calling on Jesus
'Cause love doesn't hurt so I know I'm not falling in love
I'm just falling to pieces

Brennan opened her eyes, with what felt like great effort. She'd been dreaming, walking through the science museum where her father used to take her. In the dream, though, she wasn't a child, and Max wasn't with her. The museum was empty, but somewhere she could hear Booth calling her.

Even as she woke up, everything remained foggy. Her leg was numb, and the slightest movement of her head made her dizzy. It took a moment for Brennan to take in her location, remember why she was there.

Then, so distant she couldn't be sure it was real, she heard him. "Bones!"

"Booth…" Her voice was cracked and dry, and Brennan swallowed hard, desperately. "Booth!"

It was still too weak. For a moment, there was a silence, and Brennan began to doubt what she'd heard. Tears rose to her eyes before she could stop them.

"BONES!"

It felt as though her heart was swelling; there was no mistaking it this time.

"Booth…" It was involuntary, barely audible.

It had sounded like he was coming closer, and Brennan waited, but she didn't hear him again.

Closing her eyes against her unsteady vision, Brennan swallowed several times, breathing deeply, trying to gather her strength back so she could reach Booth.

~(B*B)~

Booth cradled his head in his hands, his grip tight as though he could keep himself from shattering.

This was the dying part. He was just waiting for it to be over.

"Booth…"

Everything inside him seized up, and Booth raised his head, eyes huge.

Cam, who'd been sitting beside him, silent tears rolling down her cheeks, seemed startled by the sudden movement. "What?"

"It's…it's Bones…."

Cam winced. "Oh, Seeley…"

He pulled himself to his feet, shaky. "No, no, I heard her…"

Then, louder, it came again. "Booth!"

"Oh, my God…" Cam murmured.

A gasping sob wrenched from Booth's chest, and he was already moving toward her voice, sparks flying in his chest.

He ran through the open doorway of the room where Greg Thomas had died. "Bones!"

~(B*B)~

After what seemed like an eternity of yelling with no answer, Brennan heard Booth's voice, calling her name.

She sagged against the wall in relief, a fresh wave of tears filling her eyes for a completely different reason.

"Booth!"

~(B*B)~

"Bones!"

Booth followed Brennan's voice across the room, frantically searching for some sort of door he'd missed.

"Booth!"

"I'm coming, Bones…" The words came out strangled, but before he could repeat himself, he saw the panel in the floor. Booth grabbed the handle and pulled, but something was blocking it. His throat narrowed, and he crouched down, urgently knocking his palm against the door. "Bones!"

~(B*B)~

Brennan realized seconds before Booth's knocking that he wouldn't be able to open the door right away.

"Booth…" It seemed his name was the only sound she was capable of making.

Brennan gripped the wall on either side of her, but as soon as she tried to stand the room tilted and spun. Her left leg felt numb and heavy, like an unnatural weight dragging behind her body. She fell heavily back to a sitting position, a frustrated moan escaping her.

~(B*B)~

Booth's heart felt like it might explode. He couldn't wait. Bracing his feet on either side of the panel, he seized the handle with both hands and wrenched at it.

After just a few seconds of pulling, there was cracking sound and the panel opened, sending Booth sprawling.

But he didn't care, because in the next second he was standing and pounding down the stairs, jumping the last three, and running across the room toward her, shoving aside everything in his way.

"Booth…" Brennan's voice was weak, but she was nearly crying with relief.

"Bones," he breathed her name, giving it more significance than any word he'd ever uttered in his life. It sounded like a prayer, a thanks, a declaration, and a million other things.

Then he was dropping to his knees in front of her and pulling her into his arms.

If Booth had to describe this feeling, of finally holding her in his arms, feeling the thump Brennan's heartbeat against his, reveling in this proof of her life after he'd been certain of her death…it was a happiness, a joy, so powerful that it hurt.

Tears dripped down his cheeks, falling into her hair as he held her close.

Brennan buried her face in Booth's shirt, breathing him in. There was so much she needed to ask him, so many things she should be remembering about the way they were now, but she was so tired. And she'd been so scared. And Booth's arms felt like the most comforting thing in the world. So just for this moment, she let herself sink into his embrace.

It was Booth who pulled away eventually, as his fingers drifted to the ground and touched a sticky wetness. He drew back slightly, face paling as he stared at Brennan's makeshift tourniquet. "He shot you…"

"It's not so bad," Brennan muttered, though for the first time Booth noticed how pale she looked, and how hard she was shivering.

He touched his forehead against hers, briefly, and said in a low, quiet voice, "You scared me."

"So did you," Brennan mumbled, voice weak. Her eyes were beginning to close, so Booth didn't bother questioning the statement.

"I'm going to get you out of here, okay? Everything's gonna be fine."

"Can't…walk…I tried…"

"It's okay..." Booth half stood, then gently guided Brennan's arm around his neck as he wrapped one arm around her waist, tucking the other under her knees. "I've got you."

When Brennan didn't protest, Booth straightened, and carried her across the room and up the stairs, leading her away from the nightmare of the dark, cold basement and the pool of her blood.

Somewhere, though, Booth had a feeling that this was a nightmare none of them would be leaving behind.

~(B*B)~

Cam was waiting for them at the top of the stairs. Booth emerged, Brennan in his arms and beginning to nod off against his chest.

Relief and concern flickering simultaneously across Cam's face, she approached them. "is she…?"

Booth cut his eyes downward, eyes widening in alarm. "She was just awake…" He jostled her arm the best he could. "Bones, c'mon, you gotta stay awake, alright?"

"'M awake…" Brennan murmured, her eyes fluttering.

"Let's get her to the hospital," Cam said in an undertone.

They moved through the basement, the other agents stopping their own search and staring as Booth walked purposefully past them, Cam leading the way.

Outside, Booth continued to talk quietly to Brennan, nonsense reassurances. "You're okay, Bones, I've got you. I'm right here, okay, just hold on a little longer…Cam, my keys are in my pocket. Almost over, Bones, stay with me, okay?'

"I'm fine…" Brennan breathed against his shoulder, just as Cam awkwardly extracted Booth's keys from his pocket and opened the back door to the SUV before jumping in the front.

Booth gently lay Brennan across the backseat, climbing in after her and letting her lean against him. "Cam, put on the siren…"

"I know-"

"You have to go fast-"

"Seeley, I was a cop, we're okay."

They sped through the streets. Cam glanced up at the rearview mirror to the backseat; Booth was stroking Brennan's hair, his eyes staring down at her with poorly disguised terror as he continued to whisper to her, as much for his benefit as her own, "You're okay…it's alright. I'm right here, I got you…'s okay, Bones…"

Brennan's teeth were chattering. She felt like the edges of her vision were slipping away. Laying the back of the car was disorienting, and all she could do was focus on Booth's voice above her. Dimly, she thought about how long it had been since he'd said her name that way.

"You okay, Bones?"

Brennan looked up, meeting Booth's eyes, warm and wet and full of fear. It took her a moment to realize he actually wanted an answer.

"Just…really c-cold."

Booth met Cam's eyes in the rearview mirror, his anxiety increasing. "We're almost there," he said, even as he leaned forward and, with difficulty, pulled his suit jacket over his head, draping it over her. For good measure, he rubbed his free hand up and down her arm.

"You're sh-shaking," stammered Brennan quietly.

For some reason this simple observation caused tears to rush to Booth's eyes. "So are you."

The car suddenly pulled to a stop in front of an ER entrance. Some of the tension in Booth's stomach uncoiled as he opened the door and again lifted Brennan into his arms. "Okay, Bones, we're here, they're going to take care of you now…"

She didn't answer; her eyes had closed.

~(B*B)~

Angela had been holding Hodgins' hand in a death grip for nearly an hour, but he hadn't once complained.

Her ringtone seemed shrill and almost obscenely loud after nearly thirty minutes of total silence by the four occupants of the office. For a moment, Angela was so startled by the noise that she didn't connect it to the source.

"Angie, it's yours," Hodgins reminded her quietly.

Her chest constricting, Angela reached for her phone and saw, as she'd been both dreading and hoping, Cam's name flash across her screen. Even as she fumbled to open it, Angela reached out to reclaim her husband's hand. "Hello?"

"We got her," Cam told her instantly.

Immediately, Angela burst in tears. Until that moment, she hadn't realized just how little hope she'd had of her best friend being found alive. Hodgins' eyes went wide with horror, but Angela shook her head and spoke through her tears, "They got her." Then, into the phone, "Is she okay?"

Cam's voice was soothing, "She'd been shot in the leg, but we just got her to the hospital."

Angela nodded, squeezing Hodgins' hand as she swallowed instinctual worry. Brennan was alive. She'd be okay. "We're on our way. Thanks."

She hung up and smiled at the rest of them, tears rolling down her cheeks. "She's alive." She twisted, looking just at Hodgins. "She's alive."

He was smiling, "I know, I heard."

"Is she okay?" Sweets put in.

"Um, Cam said she was shot in the leg, but…but that's no big deal. She'll be fine. It's Bren, that's not a big deal for her, right?"

Hodgins squeezed her hand again and stood up. "Let's go make sure." He looked at Sweets and Hannah, "You guys want a ride?"

"Definitely," Sweets replied.

Hannah, though, glanced down at the lab coat she was wearing. "I should probably change. This freaked Seeley out, I better not unleash it on the public."

The others exchanged looks. Hodgins could see the urgency in Angela's eyes that had erased all traces of her exhaustion. Luckily, Sweets spoke up quickly, "I can give you a ride to your place."

"You sure?" Hannah shifted uncomfortably. She'd spent the past few hours choking back guilt, surrounded by Brennan's closest friends and trying to forget about the fact that, for them, her being here and alive meant the worst possible news.

"Of course," he answered. "You don't have a car here, it's no problem."

Angela was already moving out of the room. Hodgins followed her, nodding at Sweets. "We'll see you guys there."

~(B*B)~

"Entry mid left thigh…"

"Her BP's dropping."

"There doesn't seem to be an exit."

"Did you see this, it feels like she's got cracked ribs…"

"Fingers are broken, too, and that's a nasty cut…"

"She's lucky the bullet didn't hit the femoral artery, it's awfully close…"

"She's lost a lot of blood…"

"O positive, she…she's O positive." Booth was hovering next to Brennan in the small trauma bay in the hospital, his hand over Brennan's, doctors and nurses moving around him.

No one answered, and something flared in his chest. "Do you people hear me?"

A young doctor appeared at his left shoulder, hanging a bag of blood. "We got it, Agent Booth."

An older doctor who seemed to be running the room glanced up and met Booth's. "You need to get out of here."

"No." Booth tightened his jaw and raised his head, eyes blazing. "I'm not leaving her."

The doctor started to protest, but another doctor, who had been getting an ultrasound of Brennan's thigh, got his attention by pointing at the screen.

"That bullet's in dangerous property."

"She's at risk for infection…"

"We need to get X-rays, get a better look at that femur."

The medical speak had a dizzying effect on Booth, who only gripped Brennan's hand a little tighter, his thumb habitually rubbing back and forth, as though he could comfort her. "I…I don't understand, she was awake before. Why isn't she awake?"

"She's lost a lot of blood, but we're taking care of that," the older doctor said in a distracted voice. After a moment, though he looked up and met Booth's gaze. "She's most likely going to need surgery."

"Okay." Booth nodded hard. "Okay, I…I'm her partner, I have medical power of attorney." He paused. "Or at least I did." The doctor's eyebrows lifted, and he hurriedly amended, "No, I do. I have been for years now."

"You'll need to sign a consent form…"

"Sure, of course," he answered dazedly. "Just…she'll be okay, right? She…she's going to live."

"We're going to do our best."

Too soon, Booth was being banished from the room, a room so crowded with doctors that he could only squeeze Brennan's hand in a goodbye.

As he moved unsteadily to find a waiting room, all Booth could do was think about how he didn't say he was sorry, for what happened to her, for what he said, for the past five months. He didn't say that he'd missed her, that he missed them.

He didn't say so many things.

~(B*B)~

Booth couldn't stand still in the waiting room. Cam gave up convincing him to take a seat after about five minutes of his manic pacing. He didn't stop when Hodgins and Angela arrived, or even when the doctor came to inform them they were taking her down for surgery.

He was still pacing when Hannah and Sweets got there, forty five minutes after Brennan went into surgery. Sweets sat down immediately, getting an update from Cam, but Hannah approached him, a hesitant look on her face.

"How you doing?"

"Fine," he muttered, eyes on his shoes.

"Is she going to be alright?"

"They're working on her leg."

There was a pause, and finally Hannah asked in a tight voice, "Can you please look at me, Seeley?"

With what felt like great effort, Booth met her eyes.

Hannah drew a breath. "I'm going to overlook whatever that was earlier, because I know how scared you were. I know…I know this is going to change things. I know it's hard. Just…don't shut me out, alright?" She wrapped her hands around his neck, looking imploringly up at him. "I'm here, okay?"

A muscle was jumping in Booth's jaw, and in as normal a voice as he could manage, he told her, "I…thank you. But right now, you don't have to be…you're the one who's been held hostage, you should be getting some rest."

"I'm fine. You're the one I'm worried about." Hannah studied him. Booth looked like he'd aged ten years in the past day. His eyes were bloodshot and haggard, the fear in them still active. "She'll be okay, Seeley. Temperance is tough."

Booth's shoulders dropped, a groan escaping him before he could suppress it. "Don't, don't…don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't talk like you know Bones, okay, you…I know Bones. You don't."

Dropping her arms from around his neck, Hannah narrowed her eyes at Booth, an edge in her voice. "I know her. I was in that room with her. I was the one who watched that guy beating her, smashing her face with a gun, I…I saw her willingly sacrifice her life. Even though you seem to have forgotten that I was there, too, I was. I saw how tough she is firsthand, so, yes, I know what I'm talking about."

Silence fell between them for a moment, as the others sat stock still, pretending they hadn't been listening. Booth rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm sorry. I…I'm just sorry. I'm having a hard time-"

"I know."

"Bones is in surgery, she could still die-"

"She won't."

Booth nodded once, looking away from her once again. "I can't do this right now. I can't handle…all I can do is wait for Bones to be alright. That is the one thing I can do right now. Please…" His voice cracked. "Please, Hannah, just let me do that?"

It took her a second, but Hannah heard the implicit end to that request, the alone he didn't bother to tack on.

"Sure," she agreed quietly, touching his arm lightly before taking a seat near the others. She knew, somewhere, that she should be angry at her boyfriend. She'd just been through a traumatic ordeal and he seemed almost angry at her, had spent the afternoon avoiding her or yelling at her to change and barely asking how she was.

But this man in front of her was nearly unrecognizable, so broken and lost that it seemed unthinkingly cruel to sustain even a mild annoyance in his direction. Looking at Booth now, all she could feel was pity.

~(B*B)~

Twenty minutes after Hannah left him alone, Booth felt like he was suffocating. He could feel his girlfriend's gaze piercing him, even as he determinedly paced with his back to her and the others, and he had no room for anymore guilt.

"I gotta find the chapel," he said suddenly, addressing the room in general and not waiting for a response before exiting the room.

It had just been a quick excuse to leave, but as soon as he was out of the room, it became very important for Booth to be in the hospital chapel.

After about ten minutes, he found it. Sinking into a pew, Booth cradled his head in his hands, suddenly longing for a confessional, the opportunity to unburden himself of the weight crushing his chest.

Not that he thought there was any penance in the world that could absolve his sins.

He couldn't face what he'd said to Bones before she'd been kidnapped, couldn't face that it had led directly to her being kidnapped. Bones wasn't the type to forget something like that, or to analyze the circumstances around it.

He remembered her face. She'd believed him, every word.

There were no words sufficient enough to take it back, not after what she'd done for him. Booth didn't think he could ever make it right.

And Hannah…God, even now, with Bones found, he couldn't look at her, not without seeing everything Brennan wasn't (safe and unharmed) and resenting her for it.

It felt like he was drowning again, in a world Booth barely recognized.

~(B*B)~

It was four hours later, long after Booth had made his way back to the waiting room and resumed his pacing, that the surgeon finally emerged.

Booth stopped moving for the first time in an hour, his lungs and heart ceasing to work on their own accord.

Until the surgeon smiled. "She's doing just fine." Sighs of relief cut away the tension and he continued, "We'll be keeping her in for the rest of the week, at least…we've still got to keep an eye out for infection, and there are other potential complications we need to be wary of. Barring those, she'll be ready to set up physical therapy as an outpatient fairly soon."

"Thank you," came Cam's voice from behind him.

Then, Angela asked, "Can we see her?"

"It's past official visiting hours, so I'd like to keep it one at a time. She's still out from the anesthesia, in any case, but she should be awake in a few hours."

His voice continued, giving room numbers and explaining visitor policies, but they rushed past Booth, inconsequential. He lifted is head skyward, eyes closed, thanking God for doctors, and for Bones and how strong she was.

He'd had no part in this. She'd saved herself. He was why she'd nearly been unable to.

"Booth." Angela's voice startled him out of his silent gratitude. "You should go first. She'll…" The artist cut her eyes at Hannah, but finished anyway, "You're the one she'll want to see when she wakes up."

At this suggestion, though, all the air whooshed from Booth's lungs; he could feel his chest tightening, panic bubbling to the surface.

Still, he was just as surprised as everyone else when he shook his head. "No, I…I can't."

They all stared at him, not comprehending. "What do you mean you can't?"

The memory of Brennan's face when he'd found her in the basement flashed in Booth's mind… unadulterated relief, and such pure trust that it broke his heart.

But she'd been scared, thinking she was dying. Losing blood and barely gripping onto consciousness.

Another memory wedged itself in front of Booth's eyes. The way she'd turned around before leaving the lab, right after his I don't need you. That shattered expression, tears streaming down her face, raw heartbreak palpable.

He'd done that. She'd forgiven him. She'd given up her life for him anyway, even though it had been a full year since he'd been there for her in any way that mattered.

And Bones thought she didn't have an open heart.

Booth shook his head. "I can't be here. I just…I can't."

Ignoring their expressions, a mingling of shock and confusion and anger, Booth pushed his way through the small know of his friends and left the room.

~(B*B)~

"Seeley. Seeley."

He'd made it outside the building before Hannah caught up with him. It was only when Booth realized he had no idea where Cam had parked his car that he forced himself to turn around and acknowledge her.

"What?"

Hannah gave him a helpless look, like she didn't know quite how to deal with him like this. "You aren't even going to see her?"

"No," he bit out in a clipped tone. "I'm not going to see her."

She stared at him. "She's going to want to see you." Something unreadable flashed across Hannah's expression for a nanosecond. "Trust me."

"Don't talk to me about Bones, okay? She shouldn't want to see me."

"Of course she-"

Booth was losing it. "Damn it, Hannah, you…you have no fucking idea what you're talking about! Okay? No idea. You don't know what I did, before she got taken, you weren't there."

Hannah's face hardened, anger finally emanating from every syllable she spoke. "No, Seeley, I wasn't. Because I was alone, in some cold basement having a gun waved in my face every half hour. So I'm so very sorry I missed whatever was going on, but I didn't have much choice in the matter. Good to know you were so concerned though."

"What the hell does that mean?" Booth felt a bitter, unjustified resentment swelling inside him. She claimed he didn't care when she was missing? When he'd been so damn scared and out of his mind that he'd yelled at Bones for no reason?

"I haven't asked for much. I stayed and helped with the case, I told them everything I knew. But you haven't shown an ounce of relief since I got back."

"What did you want from me, Hannah? You wanted me to take you off somewhere to welcome you back? Forget about the fact that Bones was alone with a killer…"

"Of course not. I wanted to find her as much as anyone. She saved my life."

He gave a harsh laugh. "Is that right? Well, that was really fucking lucky for you, wasn't it? She saved your life. And what did you do? You watched him beat her with a gun, watched him knock her around and break her fingers…"

There were tears in Hannah's eyes, and Booth knew her well enough to know she only cried when she was angry. "You unbelievable bastard. You weren't there. To use your charming phrase, you have no fucking idea what you're talking about."

"All I know is that you're fine. I found Bones with dried blood all over face and broken fingers and ribs and a fucking gunshot wound, and you don't even have a scratch."

"You're saying you're angry I didn't get hurt, is that it?"

"I'm saying you should have helped her."

"I was scared," her voice caught. "I'm not like you two, I don't get held captive all the damn time. I've been injured, yeah, but that's like…a glancing bullet wound, or burns from those explosives…I never had anyone after me. I was afraid, Seeley. You act like you're the only one who's having a hard time, but you weren't in that basement, I was." She paused, chest heaving, then added before he could, "And Temperance."

"But you let her go," his voice was softer now, though still strained and accusatory. "You let her just give herself up like that, you were probably relieved-"

"I didn't know what she was doing! I even told her you'd be angry at me for letting her do this, and she said, Oh, no, he'll just be glad he doesn't have to."

Something about those words made Booth's heart catch painfully. "Wh...I don't get it, what does that mean?"

Hannah pressed the heel of her hands over her eyes, pressing her lips firmly together for a long moment before answering, "I don't know, Seeley. We knew about the choice, he told us. She didn't want you to have to make it."

It felt like his chest was cracking open. Hannah hadn't exactly said it, maybe didn't even realize it, but suddenly, Booth couldn't believe he hadn't understood sooner.

Brennan had thought she'd known what his choice would be.

So she'd saved him from having to make it.

Bones thought he'd have left her to die.

And after five months of blowing her off, pushing her aside, slowly cutting her out of every aspect of his life that wasn't work related…after that last conversation, after his claim not to need her….who could blame her?

He was making small, involuntary gasping sounds. Hannah was staring at him, some of her anger and hurt giving away to alarm as Booth's face slowly crumpled, and he swayed unsteadily on his feet, the world tilting beneath his feet.

"Seeley?" The unease on Hannah's face was genuine, and she actually stepped toward him reaching, but Booth stumbled backwards, away from her.

"Don't. Please, please don't. Please." He made a choking sound, and briefly ran a hand over his face. It came back wet, though Booth wasn't aware of tears. "Please."

The muscles in Hannah's face tightened and she shook her head, his distress not enough to move her this time. "Fine." She turned on her heel and headed back to the hospital.

Three minutes later, Booth found the ability to move, and he stumbled around until he found his car in a parking garage.

He put his fist through the window before getting in and driving calmly away, shards of glass sprinkling a trail of destruction behind him.

~(B*B)~

Hannah found the others in Brennan's hospital room.

"Hi," Hannah said hoarsely as she entered, trying to push away her discomfort. She felt shaky and slightly sick after that fight, but she hadn't been lying; she wanted to see Brennan.

Angela frowned in her direction. "He really isn't coming back?"

"Um, no. I talked to him, but he left." Hannah flushed. "Sorry."

"Not your fault," Cam offered kindly.

Angela, though, crossed her arms and sent Hodgins a pointed look. "Well, that settles it. I'm not leaving."

Cam and Sweets looked pointedly away, while Hodgins sighed. "Ange, you're exhausted. You've been awake for days. You've been saying you don't feel well, and you've had enough stress to send a woman half as pregnant into preterm labor. You need to sleep. In a bed."

Angela shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not leaving Bren to wake up alone."

"I can stay."

Four pairs of eyes swiveled to stare at Hannah, who tried to maintain a casual expression even under their scrutiny.

Angela shot Hodgins an annoyed look, as if to say it was entirely his fault. She was trying to come up with a tactful way to refuse Hannah's offer, sure she was the last person Brennan would want keeping vigil…

Cam seemed to sense this. "You know, I can call Michelle and see if she can just stay the night at a friend's."

Sweets shook his head, "It'd be much easier for me to just cancel plans with Daisy-"

"I don't mind staying," Hannah interrupted, then amended, "I want to stay. She saved my life." She spoke the last bit almost defiantly, as though expecting an argument with them similar to Seeley's.

Finally, though, Angela just nodded. "Thank you. Tell her I'll be back first thing, okay?"

"I will."

"And tell her I wouldn't have left if I wasn't being forced to."

"Of course."

"Fine." Angela stood, putting her hand over Brennan's briefly before following Hodgins out of the room. Sweets left soon after, followed by Cam, who thanked Hannah again as she left.

And then they were alone.

~(B*B)~

It felt like she was swimming her way through a dense, foggy body of water. Brennan could hear voices, though they were garbled and indistinctive, and a distant beeping. Light reached her next, vague shapes drifting in and out of her vision.

It took a good five minutes of lying still, her eyes closed, taking deep, slow breaths, before Brennan clawed her way back to reality. This time, though, when she opened her eyes, her vision was only slightly blurred. She realized the voices were coming from the television.

And, as she turned her head to the side, she saw the last person she would have expected to be sitting alone at her bedside.

Brennan studied her for several long seconds before Hannah looked away from the TV and noticed her. "Oh!" She straightened up. "Hi."

"Hey," Brennan answered, then winced at the rough croaking that was her voice.

"Here…" Hannah was up, and filling a small plastic cup full of water. "Drink this."

Brennan did, eyeing the other woman, almost wary. She kept glancing at the door.

"He isn't here," Hannah finally told her.

"Oh." Brennan wasn't yet awake enough to pretend not to know who Hannah meant.

"He's, um…I don't know where he is." Hannah shook her head. "He didn't leave until we knew you were alright though."

"Well, it's not important," Brennan replied quickly. "Um, what about Angela?"

"She went to get some sleep. Only under extreme protest, though. She said to tell you she'd be back soon. Same with the others."

"Alright." Brennan stared down at her hands; there were bandages and splints around three of her fingers. She reached up, touching the cut on her face, then the one of her forehead. Bandaged, both, and she could feel stitches underneath. "You don't have to stay here."

"I know," Hannah answered. "I don't mind."

Awkward silence hung between them for several minutes, thick with everything that had happened in the basement.

After awhile of this, Hannah asked conversationally, "How do you feel?"

"Normal post-operative pain," Brennan asserted. "Though it seems they've got me on an adequate amount of medication."

"Uh…that's good." Hannah paused. "I wanted to thank you. For saving my life, and for what you did down there. I…I would have never been able to do that."

Brennan looked away. "It was nothing. I was merely speeding up an inevitability."

"What do you mean?"

"Either way, you were getting out…we both knew that."

Hannah gave a short laugh. "I'm not so sure…"

Glancing over, her eyes suddenly hard and intense, Brennan said quietly, "Then you haven't been paying very close attention."

A/N: Sooo, there you go. Brennan's awake and okay, but there's a lot of fallout to deal with, and in some ways, our troubles are just beginning. Keep doing what you're doing (long chaper, long review maybe? Yes? Really any would be great), and I'll do my best to update within a few days.