The Collector by CheeseBK posted 18/09/2007

Posted 03/03/2008 12:36:53 AM
by BGWGscienceteacher

Wonderful chapter. You never disappoint, and no cliffy! Great job!!!!!!!!!! PPS

Posted 03/03/2008 04:53:40 PM
by A2BOREANAZ

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh cheesie...........i finally got caught up.......oh how wonderful.........she seems to be on the mend........but i still dont trust you.......you could do something to them......so can i jump for joy......is it safe.......awwww heck.....i am going to do it anyway............whoooooooooo hoooooooooooo i loved it cheesie.........so long with this collector.......oh and the tears i had when she thought booth was just her imagination.......oh how terrible..........for both of them...........so glad angela let him go in......but she wouldnt have it any other way........cheesie.....loved loved loved it...........whooooooo thanks so much for posting

Posted 03/03/2008 06:02:30 PM
by magicstar

i dont know what to say cheese, i love this fic so much. Hope you are feeling better x

Posted 04/03/2008 09:43:41 AM
by CheeseBK

thanks sweeties! I will try to update tomorrow! and I am feeling better, thanks

Posted 04/03/2008 10:00:33 AM
by nane

Hi cheese, you are doing a perfect job here with all the suspense and now relief and further on some fluff (??!!). And good to hear you are feeling better now.

Posted 04/03/2008 11:48:55 AM
by Turi ray of sunshine

OH Cheese I hope you do feel better soon and we get to finally see some fluff in here!!!
TAKE CARE!

Posted 04/03/2008 12:53:33 AM
by ToZiKa

I'm sorry that you were sick and I hope you feel better now.
Maybe even good enough for a really fluffy chapter....
you know, with all the angst in this story we need some fluff now.
Can't wait to read the next chapter!

Posted 04/03/2008 01:17:43 PM
by Turi ray of sunshine

I think we have forgotten about the fact that the 'Collector' escaped? see a2b you are right in not trusting Cheese... 'cause there can still be things that could go wrong!!.

Posted 05/03/2008 08:51:13 AM
by ToZiKa

We could just pretend for a little fluffy chapter, that the collector was hit by a bus or something like that....

Posted 05/03/2008 03:15:38 PM
by CheeseBK

Thank you again for your reviews! This chap is set right after the last one!

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Chapter 32:

Booth followed Dr. Harp, eager to see Bones with his own eyes, to know she was alright... to be able to touch her hand, just hold it.... to feel a pulse, to know that The Collector had not taken her away from him. And suddenly a thought popped up in his mind and he groaned, when he noticed he had not even considered the possibility before. He stopped and shuddered at the mere thought of voicing the question, that was coursing through his brain. Asking it, saying the words aloud would make it seem more... real. Unable to move or utter a single word he simply stared at the doctor who was still walking.

After a few steps Dr. Harp noticed that the man who was supposed to follow her had stopped and she turned around, giving him a questioning look. She saw how different emotions were showing on his face, shock, horror, fear.... or something similar.

Booth swallowed hard and looked straight into the physician’s eyes. “I... “ he stammered and had to stop. Then he took in a deep breath again, braced himself and asked. “She was kidnapped and held hostage for six days. Was .... Did you find anything indicating she was.... raped?” He nearly choked on the last word.

Dr. Harp gave him a sympathetic look. “Normally I would not be allowed to talk about this, Mr. Booth.” “Special Agent Booth.” He supplied, hoping mentioning his rank would help.

She smiled, shook her head lightly and said. “I would like to stick with Mr. Booth, since this is not an official information, we won’t bring in official titles, okay? You seem to be very concerned about Miss Brennan.” She saw him nod eagerly and continued. “When the women were brought here we were informed where they came from and what they possibly went through. Miss Brennan’s condition was – and still is - serious, but there were no signs of sexual abuse.”

Booth closed his eyes and felt how relief washed over him, his knees threatening to buckle. “Thank God.” He murmured barely audible.

“Would you follow me now?” Dr. Harp asked and he nodded and joined up with her.

________________________________________________________________


One hour later, Booth was sitting beside Brennan’s bed, holding her still too cold hand in his. His fatigue finally had caught up with him and despite all the noisy beeping of the machines, he had fallen asleep, his head resting against the wall.
But then his subconscious reacted to a change in the former steadily beeping of the machine and after a moment of disorientation, he found out why the sound suddenly had quickened.

Bones seemed to be having a nightmare... the quick beeping was her pulse. He looked at her pale face and saw that her eyes moved rapidly behind her eye lids.
“Sh, Bones” He whispered in a soothing voice. “I am here.” But that did not seem to calm her at all, no it seemed to agitate her even more.

Booth looked at his partner, at a loss for what to do. You can’t shake somebody tofresh out from surgery to wake her up, can you?

And then he suddenly remembered how she had reacted only to her given name when he had found her, not the nickname he used to call her with... how she had whispered: “You are real. You called me Temperance.”

“Temperance.” He said. “I am here. You’re only dreaming. You’re safe with me, Temperance.” He gently squeezed her hand and felt how she reacted to him. Her breathing evened and only a few moments later the beeping sound of the machines monitoring her heart rate slowed down a little again.

He whispered her name again and again, repeating himself, telling her that she was safe with him and that he would be there for her when she woke up.... and a few minutes later he felt her hand stir in his.
She did not yet wake up, but he saw that her face seemed to have a little more colour now and he was sure her hand had warmed a little. He sighed, relieved that he had brought her out of her nightmare into something he hoped was a relaxing sleep.

“I am so glad we found you.” He whispered to the sleeping woman, his voice barely audible, but did it matter? She was still sleeping anyway. He sighed and in a low murmur he continued: “I don’t know if I could live without you. I would not want to try.”


She dreamed it again. Her nightmare, her very personal nightmare. She should be used to it already, but she was convinced nobody could ever get used to such a nightmare.
Dreaming that somebody – no, not only somebody, but Booth... Booth - was here to rescue you when in fact there was no spark of hope left .... that was not only a nightmare it was torture. Far more inventive and effective than anything The Collector could come up with.

His voice echoed in her brain, the nickname he had given her and she had got used to by now. “Bones” He said. “I am here.” And her fingers touched cold concrete again.
But then something changed.... a new variation of her nightmare?

She felt something warm, something holding her hand and words – his voice - evaded her mind. “Temperance, you’re only dreaming. You’re safe with me, Temperance.”

And she accepted it. Booth was here, holding her hand talking to her and everything was going to be alright... The cell, the concrete walls... the grey and cold images faded and she felt herself relax, the sound of his voice bringing her peace and finally lulling her back into a dreamless state of sleep.

________________________________________________________________


Please let me know if you liked the chapter....

Reviews would be AWESOME!

Posted 05/03/2008 04:44:21 PM
by BGWGscienceteacher

Loved the chapter (as usual). I'm glad she is at least subconsciously hearing him. PPS

Posted 05/03/2008 05:21:04 PM
by magicstar

as if you need to ask if we all liked it, silly cheesey. Keep it coming woman!

Posted 06/03/2008 10:34:08 AM
by ToZiKa

I loved this chapter.
It's nice to read something without angst again.
And I liked how you described Bones' thoughts(or whatever you call it when someone is still unconscious)....just hte thought of Booth being there for her calmed her down in her sleep.....
It is still not as fluffy as I would like (thinking about the fact that she is still sleeping that's probably the best I could get), but I loved this little fluff part nonetheless.

Posted 06/03/2008 10:35:48 AM
by Turi ray of sunshine

AWWWW she doesn't have nightmares anymore 'cause Booth is there!!!... of course who would have bad dreams with such a man right by her side?

Good job chickie.... but I still don't trust ya!!! the collector is still out there and he could strike any moment!

--Last edited by Turi ray of sunshine on 2008-03-06 10:36:10 --

Posted 06/03/2008 10:57:41 AM
by CheeseBK

thank you so much for your reviews...

Posted 06/03/2008 03:59:13 PM
by nane

So glad to see that she is finally at the hospital and both can rest a bit. And no wonder she is getting a faster heart rate with Booth being so close..... And he can certainly make every nightmare go away. So she will have sweet Boothy dreams like we have every night. But big difference....when she wakes up Booth will be by her side. And that is good!!!! for her.....

Posted 06/03/2008 04:18:20 PM
by magicstar

not only good for her nane but us too! oh cheesey where are you and your next chappy? x x

Posted 10/03/2008 10:04:03 AM
by CheeseBK

Hi again!!! Sorry for the delay, but that was one hell of a weekend, I tell you! My BF and my mum both were ill and I had to play nurse ... and then I finally had time to get online and duh! - my computer made problems... but now, here we are again

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 33:

“Mr. Booth?” A voice from the doorway startled him out of his dozing state and he looked up, squinting a little bit at the light. A nurse was standing there “Here is somebody to see you. A Mr. Cullen.” Booth’s eyes widened slightly and he nodded. He looked down at Brennan’s pale face, her closed eyes and bit his bottom lip. He did not want to leave her, but he was sure the talk with Cullen was not going to take long... or at least he hoped so. But leaving her alone? What if she chose exactly that moment to wake up – alone, afraid, not knowing where she were?

The nurse seemed to understand his inner debate. “I can stay with her, if it doesn’t take too long.” Booth gave her a thankful smile. “That would be great. I don’t want her to wake up all alone. She’s been alone for too long.” The nurse nodded, although she did not understand the comment and moved towards Brennan’s bed and Booth quickly rose and hurried towards the door to meet his boss.

Cullen took in Booth’s dishevelled and tired appearance when he emerged from the room for a long moment, then - with nothing more than a nod for a greeting – he asked. “How is she?”

The younger man answered in a tired voice. “She should wake up any moment, Sir. They had to remove part of a muscle in her leg, she had an infection. But .... if things go smoothly, she should recover completely.”

Cullen nodded slowly. “Good... Good. And ... how are you holding up?”

Booth was taken aback by Cullen’s concern and stood in silence for a moment, then he sighed. “I’ll feel a lot better when she is awake. You know, talking me down with her scientific squint-babble. I am actually looking forward to that.” Booth said with a wry smile.

His boss nodded again and said. “I won’t keep you from her for long, Booth. I know she means a lot to you.” It wasn’t a question, so Booth did not comment the statement.
Cullen continued. “I think you will be glad to hear that we arrested Roberts.”
For a moment Booth had the feeling as if the world had stopped turning, as if every living being had paused for a second to acknowledge these words.
“Thank God.” Booth exhaled. “How? Where?”

“We found a trail of blood in the wood. Not much, but since we knew you probably shot him, we looked closer. He had a car parked on a lodging road near the exit... only a few yards through the thicket, but the... uhm.... nature of his injury made riding in a car kind of uncomfortable, I think... so he soon tried to flee by foot. Needless to say that wasn’t his smartest idea. Our people tracked him down and arrested him about an hour ago. He did not even fight, he just whined about getting the bullet removed. It is amazing.... that bastard did the most cruel things to these poor women, but one bullet wound and he turned out to be whinier than a toddler.” Cullen mused.

“So I did not miss him? That’s good. He deserves pain. A lot of it. ” Booth said with a grim face.

“Oh, yeah, you got him. I bet he regards you as his very personal pain in the ass now. And I don’t mean it as a figure of speech. You really shot him in the arse, Booth.” Cullen could not suppress a chuckle.

“I did?” Booth asked, recalling how he had fired into the dark shadows of the entrance to the wine cellar, but then he smirked. “Yeah, well.... can’t say I feel sorry for him.”

“Me neither” Cullen grinned “Of course, we had no ambulance handy to transport him to the hospital to get the bullet removed. He complained a lot during the ride, but Morris told him that he should have thought about that before injuring so many women we had no ambulance left for him.”

Booth quirked an eyebrow. “How many ambulance cars were still there?”

“Two.” Cullen grinned back. “Yeah, well..... what a pity my walkie-talkie did not work. How should I have known?” They exchanged a conspiratorial glance.

Booth smiled a little and nodded slowly. “Wow. I.... can’t believe it’s over. After all those weeks we worked on that case...” He swallowed hard. He would not quite believe it until he saw Roberts in jail with his own eyes.

Cullen nodded and was about to say something, when the nurse appeared in the doorway. “She seems to be waking up, Mr. Booth.” Booth whirled around to hurry inside, but then he remembered that his boss was still standing there... He could not just leave like that, could he? He turned around again to find Cullen giving him an understanding look. “Go.” He said. “She’ll be happy to see a familiar face.”

“Yes. Thank you, Sir. Also for telling me about the arrest.” Booth gave his boss a short nod, then hurried inside the room again, to make sure the first thing his partner was going to see was indeed a familiar face.

________________________________________________________________

Something was.... different. Her eyelids felt heavy and her head as if stuffed with cotton wool. And there was something in her mouth and her throat felt kind of sore. But there was no pain... no pain at all and that was something new. And she did not feel cold. Not hot, either. Was she too feverish to even feel her body anymore?

She felt numb, peacefully numb... what had happened? She remembered hazy pictures of how The Collector had told her to wash herself, but she had passed out. Then he had tortured her with cold and hot water. There were parts of the memories missing, when the fever had blurred her brain too much to be able to store the things that had happened. But the memories, nothing more than snippets, were enough.

She was quite sure that there had been some odd ringing.... The Collector had said something and had thrown the bucket away. Then darkness had claimed her. But what had happened then?

And then she remembered... her nightmare had returned... only that this time it had not been a nightmare. The sudden knowledge that this time she had not only been dreaming of Booth coming to her, rescuing her, but that he really had been there hit her with full force. The shock – albeit a positive one – let her gasp. Or at least she made the attempt.

The thing in her mouth was a tube and made it impossible for her to gasp. But she managed to open her eyes, she had to blink a few times until they adjusted to the light.... but even though her gaze was blurred and her head felt light, she immediately knew who was standing next to her bed. She did not need to see him, did not need to smell his scent or feel his warm and strong hand holding hers. She did not even need to hear his voice. She just knew he would be there. Because he was Booth and he would always be there for her.

He was talking to her, she realised, her still somehow numb brain processing the information that it was his voice, although she did not yet grasp the meaning of the words he was saying. She blinked again, slowly this time, and her vision cleared a bit. And she saw his face, his dark brown eyes, that always showed how he was feeling even when he managed to keep his face blank.

And now his eyes were filled with tears.

And finally her hearing returned... or rather her ability to connect the dots between the noises she heard and the words they were supposed to form. Somewhere mid-sentence she started to understand his rambling “..... and you’ll be alright. You’re strong. You’ll be fine.” Then he paused and when he continued something in his voice had changed, its tone had become more tender. “I was so scared, Temperance. Scared of losing you. I can’t lose you, you know. I need you.”

Tears started to fill her eyes and she wanted to tell him that she needed him too.... that he was the one person who anchored her, that he meant so much to her, but she could not say a word, the tube in her mouth effectively stopping every sound. So she only squeezed his hand and looked at him, stared into his eyes, trying to convey her feelings with nothing more than the expression on her tired face.

Booth looked at her and saw that her eyes glistened with tears too, felt how her hand squeezed his and he knew she had understood his words and the meaning. He gently wiped away her tears with his thumb and whispered. “’Oh, Temperance.”

She closed her eyes, when he said her name, she was still tired, so tired and she had to sleep.... and the sound of his voice saying her name was her safety net, keeping her from falling into another nightmare, making sure she stayed in a healthy, relaxing sleep. Her breathing evened again and the grip on Booth’s hand loosened.

“I love you.” He whispered.

________________________________________________________________

Dun-dun! What do you say? Did you like it? Was it worth the wait? It was a longer one, this time

I know the arrest of The Collector was somewhat unspectacular, but sometimes it is just like that..... And I daresay, we are all far more interested in what is happening with Bones thatn with Roberts, right? Oh, and I wanted him to be all whiny about the wound, cause that’s just how many bullies are. Give them control, somebody weaker than them to dominate and they think they’re the strong ones, but in fact if you take away all that, they often are just wimps.

Reviews would be super-awesome!

Oh and be prepared for the inevitable: The story will come to an end soon. I think there will be one more chapter and an epilogue.

--Last edited by CheeseBK on 2008-03-11 10:07:55 --

Posted 10/03/2008 02:14:47 PM
by A2BOREANAZ

cheese....everything was wonderful.....from beginning to now.......i love him wanting to be at her bedside.....so she wouldnt wake up alone.......awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww love it.......well done cheese.......cant wait for another

Posted 10/03/2008 02:22:28 PM
by vanessaaaaa

love that! love you! you rock!

Posted 10/03/2008 03:19:02 PM
by CheeseBK

aw, thanks a2b, thanks vanessaaaaaa, glad you liked it!

Posted 10/03/2008 05:55:30 PM
by fanofbones

OK Cheese, I spent Saturday reading all the way through it..
YOU ROCK WOMAN...THIS IS FANTASTIC
WELL WRITTEN AND WONDERFUL

The Collector is creepy scary...good job
The torture scenes with the water...mother of god...I was holding my breath for her scared.
Booth's rescue was good and sexy....sexy man with gun and all...and hell yeah that he shot the bastard....
Sweet in the hospital...
Loved Cullen at the scene sending Booth with Bren and his hospital scene checking on them both
Great job girl...
this is delicious

fab

Posted 11/03/2008 10:09:59 AM
by CheeseBK

Hi again!!! Thanks for your review, fab!!!
I am so glad you people still like this story!!!

_________________________________________________________________

Chapter 34:

His voice had guided her into a dream. A wonderful dream.... her body did not hurt and she felt wonderful, as if floating in warm water. And he was there with her, not only his voice, but he himself. He was holding her in his strong arms and told her that he loved her. And for once her analytical mind did not question, just accept... and she decided to enjoy her dream for as long as it was going to last.

_________________________________________________________________

Two days later Booth was sitting beside Brennan’s bed once more. Only that it was a different bed now. She had been moved to a normal hospital room 24 hours after her surgery, since she had been recovering satisfactorily.

But she had spent most of the time asleep and when she had woken up then it had only been for a few moments, barely enough for the doctors to remove the tube and ask her some basic questions. Exhausted as she was she had been asleep again only ten minutes after she had woken up.

The doctors had told Booth that it was a good sign she was sleeping that much. The medication worked and she was recovering better than they had anticipated. But he longed to hear her voice. He felt somewhat selfish for his silent pleas for her to wake up long enough to actually talk with him, but he could not help himself. He needed her.

He had only left her side for two hours, when he had driven home to eat something, shower and change clothes. For these two hours, Angela had been watching over her sleeping best friend. The artist had suggested that Booth should spend a few hours at home, get some sleep, but he had refused. And Angela had given him a long look and had said: “I understand.” Then she had given him a brief hug and had left.

And there he was sitting now, beside her bed, holding her hand and watching her sleep, wishing she would wake up for just a moment to let him see the clear blue of her eyes.

And as if her subconscious had decided to obey to his silent plea, the rhythm of her breathing changed slightly and her eye-lids fluttered open. She blinked several times, but when she spotted his face, his smile, recognition dawned and a tiny smile crept on her face.

“Hey.” She said, her voice a little rough. “Hey yourself.” Booth murmured huskily.
“How long have I been asleep?” She asked after a moment and he gave her a wry grin.
“In total or since the last time you’ve been awake?”

“Both?” She asked, uncertain.

“2 days in total. Ten hours and twenty minutes since the last time you’ve been - more or less – awake.” He quickly reported... not that he had been counting every single minute.

“Huh.” She made, taken aback by the detailed information. Her gaze quickly moved to the infusion beside her bed and she murmured. “Antibiotics?”

“Yep. And pain killers.” Booth confirmed. She briefly closed her eyes and sighed. “No wonder I slept that much.”

“You seem to be more..... lucid now.” Booth commented. “The last time you were awake you barely recognised me.” There was a hint of hurt in his voice.

She shook her head slightly. “I knew you were here. Thank you for being here.”

“Temperance.... there is no other place I would want to be right now.” His voice was husky and so full of emotion and tenderness her eyes widened and she wondered if all the things she had been dreaming had really been dreams. Had he been holding her? She dismissed the thought immediately... of course not, she was lying in a hospital bed, had had surgery. He would not risk hurting her. But.... had he been saying those words.... only in her dreams?

“Hey? You still there?” Booth asked and she blinked, realising she’d been staring at him for some time now. “Sorry.” She mumbled. “I was wondering if....” She stopped herself just in time. What the hell had that been? Had she really just been about to ask him if he had said he loved her? Now if the answer was no, that would have been just a little bit mortifying. But... the question was still there... nagging at her.

“Please stay awake for some time.” He suddenly blurted out, watching her.

She raised an eyebrow, a tiny movement that was so part of her usual behaviour he could have cried over it. “Okay.”

“I missed you.” Booth said, squeezing her hand. “Bones.... Maybe this is the wrong time and place, but I ... need to tell you something.” He hesitated, searching her face for a reaction.

She swallowed hard upon hearing the serious undertone in his voice and simply nodded encouragingly, not trusting her voice.

“Bones... I missed you so much. I was so scared of losing you.” His voice was a whisper.... he lifted his hand to touch her cheek. “You mean so much to me. More than I ever thought possible. I...I love you, Temperance.”

Tears sprang to her eyes upon hearing those words, the same words as in her dream. “Booth.” She whispered... unable to utter another word she just turned her head a little, until her lips rested against his palm and placed a soft kiss on the smooth skin of the inside of his hand. She heard how his breath hitched, before he murmured. “Losing you would have killed me. Thank you for staying alive until I found you. Thank you for fighting.”

Her body suddenly went rigid and she turned her head away from him, from his touch.
Shocked, he just stared at her for a moment, then he choked out. “What?.... What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong? Bones?”

Upon hearing her nickname, she started to sob, only barely audible first, but soon she cried openly, the sound of her sobs tearing at his heart. “Hey... hey... I am here. Come on, hush....You are safe with me, remember?” He tried to comfort her, his hand caressing her cheek, although she still looked into the other direction, sobs shaking her body. “Bones.... talk to me.” He whispered. “What’s wrong?”

Between sobs she choked out. “What’s wrong? You thanked me for fighting. But I didn’t... I gave up, Booth. I gave up. I... just wanted to die... I... I...” Another crying fit shook her and he gently stroked her hair, but she stubbornly refused to look at him. “I wanted him to kill me. I was weak.”

It took him a moment to process the information, to understand what she was telling him. And he was shocked that she had been so desperate. But not surprised. And not disappointed either.

For a moment, he thought of how to respond... and he knew that being honest was his only option. He took her face in his hands and gently turned her head, so that she was facing him. She was ashamed of herself, he could see it in her eyes. She squirmed under his gaze, made a weak attempt to turn away, but he would have none of it, so she closed her eyes, to shut him out.

“Look at me.” He said, a gentle command and she swallowed hard, but obeyed him. “Do you think I am a man that gives up easily?”

“You don’t give up. Ever.” She said, a confidence in her voice that startled him for a moment. A wry smile tugged on his lips and he shook his head slightly. “You’ve seen my X-rays, Bones. You know I have been tortured.”

She swallowed hard again, her ever-busy brain supplying her with unwanted memories of the x-rays, of what techniques had been used on him. She nodded.

“Three days.” He said and she blinked, not understanding. “It took three days to break me, Bones. Three days and I had completely given up. I wanted to die, I just wanted to be dead and never ever feel pain again.”

Her eyes widened, both in astonishment and understanding and after a moment of silence she whispered: “What happened?”

“They brought in a buddy of mine. And I started to fight again. I would not have been able to fight for myself, but I was able to fight for him, Bones. He was younger than me, nothing more than a boy, really. But the point is, I needed somebody to get me out of that black hole I had fallen in. You had nobody there, Bones.... you were ill and you were in that cell for six days. Don’t blame yourself. Don’t be ashamed.” He looked at her, and she met his gaze and suddenly he saw something change in the depth of her blue eyes, that were still brimming with tears.

“I was so alone. I knew he would kill me. I only hoped he would do it quickly... not ..... rape me. I even hoped my fever was going to make me unconscious or kill me before he would come back again. I... was scared.” The words started to pour out of her as did more tears and he moved closer to her, carefully gathering her into his arms and held her tight while she sobbed against his chest. “I know, Baby.” He murmured into her ear. “I know.... but you’re not alone anymore and you ‘re safe with me.”

“I dreamed you would come to help me. But then there was no door... and you kept calling me and I could not come to you.” She sobbed and he stroked her back, tears in his eyes when he heard how painful and cruel her own dreams had been to her. “That’s why you thought I was not real.” He whispered after some time, only now really understanding.

“Mh-hm.” She mumbled against his chest, considerably calmer now. He placed a kiss on her hair. “If I tell you that I shot him in the ass, would that make you feel any better?”

She pulled back a little and looked at him incredulously. “Are you serious?”

He gave her a crooked grin. “They arrested him. He wanted to escape in a car, but a bullet in the ass can be pretty painful... especially if you try to sit on it. He tried to flee by foot, but they tracked him down.”

Brennan looked at him for a while, taking in the information and then she nodded. “Yes. I feel a little better. But... why didn’t you shoot him... somewhere else?”

“I did not actually plan to shoot him in the butt, Bones. It was too dark to see anything.” He smiled at her, glad that she seemed to have calmed down a little. He knew that there were going to be more nightmares and more tears.... but he also knew that he would be there for her and he hoped that he would be able to help her out of the dark hole every time it started to close in on her again.

Brennan looked into his face, at the tender smile he wore and she suddenly knew beyond doubt that she loved this man. “Thank you.” She whispered.

“For what?” He asked, frowning slightly.
She raised her hand and touched his cheek. “For being you.” She murmured and cupped his face with her hands, pulling him near. Kissing him.
And he kissed her back and for the next few minutes, she forgot about anything else except the man she was sure would always come to save her. Her partner.
_________________________________________________________________

Now, it is sad but true, this was the last chapter... but before you start to complain... there will be an epilogue... to tie up loose ends, so to say.

Please let me know if you liked this hospital scene....

Reviews would be super-awesome!

Posted 11/03/2008 10:27:57 AM
by vanessaaaaa

I love this. Aww. So sweeeet.

Posted 11/03/2008 01:33:24 PM
by ToZiKa

I couldn't review yesterday, because I was not online....
But I really liked both new chapters.
In the first one I liked how Cullen seemed to be so much like Booth and any other agent. I like it, when he is more normal and not so much Booth's boss.
And then he even understood, that Booth needed to be close to Bones.
In the last chapter above all I liked it when she nearly asked him if he told her that he loves her.
And the whole chapter was just awesome because they are so cute together and it is always nice to read how Booth reassures her.

Although I'm a little sad about the end of the story I can't wait to read the epilogue.