A/N - I apologize for the delay on posting this chapter, RL called for a while. This is a relatively short chapter - I promise the next one will make up for it!

I'm really enjoying this story and after seeing the 100th Episode I have an alternate ending in mind.

Big thank you to Jane for reading this over and to Kate for helping me with my writing and great beta'ing.

Hope you enjoy this chapter and I promise the next chapter won't take as long :)

Feel free to review - good or bad, I love them all!

The first thing Booth noticed was the peaceful quietness.

His eyes snapped open, taking in the sterile white walls, the beeping machines and the clatter of trolleys his ears had missed before.

He sat up slightly, his head pounding. Closing his eyes against the dizziness that came over him, he reached up to touch the bandage just above his right ear. His eyes opened to see a red stain on the blanket. He lifted it to reveal another bandage - this one wrapped around his lower ribs.

His head fell back onto the pillow, his body relaxing, while his mind raced.

Flashbacks...screaming....shots fired...Bones falling....his gunshot...

"Bones!"

He sat up fully this time and, quite unsteadily, leant over and started searching for his clothes in the bedside table, all the time his mind creating horror thoughts as to the condition of his Bones.

"God damn it! Where are my clothes?!" he yelled, pulling open drawers but not finding what he was searching for.

Reaching for the nurse button he pushed it over and over, calling out, "Nurse. Nurse!"

A stern faced nurse entered his room, unhooked his chart and tsked at his impatience.

"What seems to be the trouble, Mr Booth?" She asked, glancing through his chart, waiting for his answer. Getting none she finally looked up.

Booth, using his best intimidating look on the nurse, barked, "I want to get dressed and go see how my partner is doing." He flung back his blankets and got up, intent on taking out the IV stuck in his hand.

The nurse's steely grip covered his hand. "Do not remove that Mr Booth, you still have to have some tests done before we can allow you to leave."

Booth's gaze went from his hand to the narrowed eyes of the Nurse. He saw movement near the door and whipped his head around to face his Doctor.

"I do not HAVE to have those tests, Doc. I know my rights." He shook the nurse's hand off and tried again to pull out the IV.

"Agent Booth! Do not touch that IV!" Booth looked up, startled to see Caroline standing in the doorway. She shook her head as she walked further into the room, waving papers in his direction. "This is your medical authorization form from the FBI, listing your brother as your next of kin to make decisions for you in case of an emergency such as this. As you know, Jared is in India and no one has been able to contact him. The FBI is making the decisions now cher."

"But I'm fine, Caroline, and since I am awake now that form is no longer necessary right?" Booth reached out to grab the side of the bed, steadying himself.

"Wrong, cher. Until you get these tests done, and have been declared fit, those forms stand because you may have suffered brain damage from your head wound, or internal bleeding from being shot."

Booth had seen that look on Caroline's face before and knew he had no chance of getting around it. Which didn't mean he had to like it.

He shuffled back to the bed and gingerly lay down once more, then pinned Caroline with his interrogation stare, "Well in that case, Caroline, why don't you go and check on Bones for me?" He countered, indicating towards the door as if to dismiss her.

"Dr. Brennan is being cared for by the finest doctors, cher, you just concentrate on you."

"Caroline, find out what happened to Bones or I won't care what forms you have got there, because, I will be out of here!" Booth's voice increased in volume until he was almost yelling at the end.

"Calm down, cher. Fine. Anyone would think she was more than your partner the way you are throwing your damn weight around. But, if you get out of that bed again cher, our deal is off."

Caroline turned to the doctor, "Now, tell me where I can find the genius one before this one pulls a muscle."

Booth watched the doctor and Caroline exit the room, stopping to talk on the other side of the glass window. It frustrated him immensely that he could not hear them.

He knew they were talking about his Bones and he yelled out to the Doctor, but she just glanced at him then went back to her conversation with Caroline.

By this time Booth was livid and he tried to get up again. Suddenly several nurses came into the room to hold him on the bed. Booth had no choice but to watch helplessly as a needle was inserted into his arm. As the fight left him he heard the Doctor speak from far away, "It's for the best. He is going to need all his strength over these next few weeks, possibly even months. If he knew that.."

He struggled to hear more but the darkness over took him.

................

The next time he awoke, he was prepared. Pressing the nurse call button, he told himself to keep calm as a different nurse answered his summons. Calmly he asked the nurse if Caroline was still in the waiting room. He was informed that Caroline had gone, however Cam was there. He told them to let her in, knowing Cam would give him the answers he sought.

"I'm sorry Seeley," Cam said a while later, a pitying look on her face as she gazed at the anxious man in the bed, looking nothing like the confident FBI Agent she knew, "We aren't allowed to give you any information about Dr. Brennan, even if they'd given us anything."

She reached over and placed a hand on his arm, waiting until he met her eyes before continuing, "There is a hospital policy that information can only be given to next of kin. Technically, since you were the shooting officer, you are under investigation by IA - routine for a death. You know it's best to not have knowledge of any victims so the IA can't accuse you of 'revenge killing'."

Booth felt the blood drain from his face. He felt woozy and his head grew heavy. A second later he was leaning over the side of the bed, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the floor.

Cam jumped back in surprise and yelled, "Nurse!" as she pushed Booth back onto the bed. The nurse came rushing in and looked at Cam for an explanation.

"He's just thrown up all over the floor and he doesn't seem to comprehend anything I am saying. I am telling him procedures he should know, but he is looking at me blankly. This is not normal and indicates to me something is wrong."

"He is scheduled to go in for a cat scan in a few minutes, we will know more after. He doesn't have a definitive diagnosis yet, tests are still being done. His partner told us about his brain tumor before she...uhm...well, we are fully aware of his medical history."

Booth just lay there, hearing the nurse's hesitation when she spoke of Bones and knew his worst fears had been realized.

At this moment he did not care whether he lived or died. He could not believe that his Bones had become a victim. That her next of kin had been called - most likely Max. How devastated he must be feeling, having just found his daughter again only to have her ripped away like this.

His gaze fell upon the flowers decorating the nurse's station beyond the glass window of his room. How can they be so beautiful and alive when his Bones....his Bones..... He could not even say it in his head and his heart constricted painfully. He felt tingling up and down his arm, his chest tightening with every breath.

He heard some nurses come into the room followed by the doctor. Felt them prodding and poking at him while he just lay there, letting them do what they wanted. His eyes closed, pictures of Bones flooding his brain, causing a faint smile to play on his lips as he remembered their first meeting, the way she had challenged him and how her and the squints had managed to get past his defenses.

Absently he heard Cam leave. He could hear her voice, but her words were gibberish to him. That was ok, he did not need her now. He felt his head getting lighter.

"Doctor! He's not responding! Mr. Booth, if you can hear me squeeze my hand!"

Booth could hear the voices faintly, but had no intention of obeying. He never wanted to leave the place he was at. His Bones was right there next to him, laughing at him. In the next instance she smiled and held out her hand to him

"Code!"