AN: This story will be told in alternating points of view; Booth will have odd numbered chapters, Brennan will have even. Hope you enjoy!

AN2: Thanks to Meagan for providing information on DC hospitals.

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Up until the moment I got the call from Cam, I was having a really good day.

After breakfast at the diner, I had gone to court to testify against a guy Bones and I had arrested a couple months back; He'd murdered his first wife five years ago and was living happily with wife number two. My testimony went perfectly, and after only a few hours the jury returned a guilty verdict. Caroline took me out to lunch to celebrate. After lunch, Hacker summoned me to his office for a performance review and showered me with praise. A couple hours later, Becca called and told me I could have Parker the following weekend. After work, I'd returned home and found that Hannah had made dinner. We enjoyed a great meal together and then we…well, we enjoyed each other and went to sleep.

Then the call came. After that, nothing else mattered.

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"Seeley," Hannah said, shaking my shoulder. "Seeley, wake up. Your phone keeps ringing."

Reluctantly opening my eyes, I looked at the clock on my bedside table. The glowing red digits told me it was 10:47 P.M. Why couldn't people ever find dead bodies at a decent hour? I was still half asleep, so it took me a couple tries to grab my phone and open it. "Where's the body?" I grumbled.

"This isn't a work call, Seeley."

I had been expecting the voice on the other end to belong to an agent, so I was surprised to hear Cam. "Then why are you calling so late?"

"It's about Dr. Brennan." Cam let out a deep breath. I had known her long enough to know that that was her way of bracing herself to deliver bad news. "She's in the emergency room at George Washington University Hospital."

"What happened?" Feeling a sudden burst of adrenalin, I leapt out of bed and began grabbing the clothes I'd tossed on the floor a couple hours earlier, putting them on with one hand while I held the phone in the other.

"An intern on his way home found her bleeding and unconscious, the apparent victim of an attack, in the Jeffersonian parking garage. He called 911 and then he called me. I'm at the hospital now, and I just talked to one of her doctors. He said she suffered internal injuries, so they're prepping her for surgery."

Internal injuries? Surgery? Oh God, please let her be okay. "I'll be right there." I hung up the phone and continued getting dressed. It was much easier now that I had two hands free.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asked.

I didn't bother turning to face her as I answered. "Bones is in the emergency room. I'm going to see her now."

"The emergency room?" Hannah repeated. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"She was attacked," I snapped, still unable to look at her. I was furious with myself that I'd been lying in bed with my girlfriend while someone was hurting my partner.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Hannah sounded taken aback by my temper. Understandable. She'd never seen me angry before.

"No. You can go back to sleep." I raced out of the apartment and to my car.

As I drove to the hospital, I had the siren on all the way.

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"What room is Temperance Brennan in?" I demanded when I sprinted into the hospital lobby and up to the nurses' station.

"Are you family?" A nurse asked.

Her detached tone irritated the hell out of me. "I'm her goddamn partner," I said, flashing my badge. "WHERE IS SHE?"

"Seeley!" I turned to see Cam heading toward me. She was dressed up as if she'd been on a date. "They've already started the surgery."

No! Bones had been there for me before my surgery; I'd wanted…needed…to do the same for her and I'd failed. Feeling utterly defeated, I let Cam lead me to a chair in the lobby. "Do we know anything more about what happened to her?"

"Not yet, but the FBI was only beginning their investigation when I left for the hospital. I asked the Jeffersonian's best security people to assist them."

I clenched my fists so hard they hurt. "Where were the Jeffersonian's best when Bones was getting attacked?"

"Seeley." Cam put her hand on mine. "I know you're worried about Dr. Brennan, but yelling at me, yelling at nurses…yelling at whoever happens to cross your path…isn't going to help her."

I sighed, knowing she was right. "I'm sorry, Cam. When something bad happens to Bones, I get…cranky."

Cam laughed. "No, you get 'cranky' when you don't have your morning cup of coffee. When something happens to Brennan, you get crazy."

I remembered how I'd put a gun in Ortez's mouth after he put a hit on her. How I'd left a hospital after I'd been blown up to rescue her from Kenton. How I'd slammed Vega into a table and threatened to kill him after she'd been taken by the Gravedigger. "Maybe a little."

"I'd probably act the same way if it was Michelle in the emergency room. We all go a little crazy when someone we love is hurt."

"I don't love Bones," I said bitterly. "Not anymore. She rejected me and I moved on, okay?"

Cam's eyebrows jumped. "She rejected you? So you actually told her you loved her?"

I thought back to the night I'd screwed everything up. "Not exactly. But I tried. I asked her to give us a chance. She turned me down and I met Hannah. End of story."

"Be honest with me, Seeley. Are you really in love with Hannah?"

"Yeah. Of course." Why wouldn't I be? Hannah's attractive, intelligent, successful, dedicated, fearless, independent…

She's everything I love about Bones.

Whoa!

Am I dating Hannah because she reminds me of Bones?

And did I say 'love'?

I meant loved. Past tense. I love Hannah. Present tense.

Although from the moment I got Cam's call until just now, I hadn't thought about Hannah at all.

Am I just kidding myself about moving on?

Maybe.

Probably.

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Damn.

"Booth!"

I looked up to see Angela and Hodgins rushing toward me. Sweets and Daisy were right behind them.

"How is she?" Angela asked.

"They just started operating," Cam answered. "It could be hours and hours before we know anything. You guys should go home and get some rest. I promise to call you the second they give us an update on her condition."

"It's nice of you to offer, Cam," Angela said, settling herself in a chair. The others followed her lead. "But we're staying."

I was touched by the squints' loyalty…and curious as to why they were dressed up. Hodgins and Sweets were in tuxedos; Angela and Daisy were in fancy dresses. Just like Cam. I was about to ask what the occasion was when it hit me. "The Donors' Banquet! It was tonight, right? That's why you're all dressed up." The Donors' Banquet is this huge party the Jeffersonian throws once a year for all the people who give them money. There's a ton of food and some great wine, but overall it's pretty boring. I'd gone with Bones a few times over the years, but this year…Oh God.

"Dr. Brennan was there too," Hodgins said. "At least she was in the beginning."

"Do you think one of the donors attacked her?" Daisy asked me. "But why would anyone who donates to the Jeffersonian want to hurt one of its best scientists? It doesn't make sense."

"People's actions don't always make sense-not from an outsider's perspective, anyway," Sweets pointed out.

"Brennan didn't even want to go, but I made her," Angela said, tears running down her face. "It's my fault she got hurt."

Hodgins put his arm around her. "It's not your fault, babe."

"Hodgins is right," I said. "It's my fault."

"Don't blame yourself, Booth," Sweets said. "You're not the one who attacked her."

"But I could have protected her." I felt so disgusted with myself that I thought I might actually throw up. "Bones asked me last week if I would go to the Donors' Banquet with her. I told her that Hannah and I had other plans."

Bones was in the hospital because I'd chosen to spend time with Hannah instead of her. I'd chosen a substitute over the woman I really loved.

I wouldn't make that mistake again.

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Thanks for reading! All comments are greatly appreciated.