December 22nd

Brennan sat at her desk finishing up a few items before shutting down her computer, she finished the report and printed off the document, pulling it from her printer as she stood up and set it on her desk, signing her name quickly to the bottom. She could feel the stiffness in her neck, and hoped that it was just from spending too much time sitting at her desk. Though, from the scratchy throat she had all day long, and the lingering sinus headache she was fending off, she was very sure that she was coming down with a cold.

She looked up at the clearing of someone's voice in the doorway, and gave a polite smile to her partner. "Hey, Booth."

"Did you have that paperwork done?" He asked, nodding toward the paper on her desk, she looked down and back up at him.

"Uh… yeah, here." She said, handing it over to him. "That's the last thing you needed from me from the Crandall case, right?"

"That's right." He said, taking a step out of the door as he looked over the report. "When are you leaving for…"

"Niger?" She interrupted, watching his eyes meet hers. "Tomorrow afternoon. I'm finally able to take this trip. I've been looking forward to it for far too long. I remember back in…"

"Well, you have a good time, Bones." Booth said, looking up from the paper. She wasn't sure he had even been listening, she gave him a slight smile. "Have a nice Christmas digging up skeletons…" He said, taking a step out of the office, he was already turning toward the door to make his exit.

"Yeah, you too." She said, her brow furrowing as she looked back at her computer. She sat down and carefully turned things down, putting up messages to reroute her e-mail, and voice messages. She closed down the computer and looked up when she thought she heard someone in her doorway again, finding the doorframe empty of any visitors, she sighed as she watched the screen go black, as she grabbed her bag and made a quick exit into the now quiet lab, toward her car.

December 23rd - Morning

Waking up was rarely a problem for Brennan, and waking up wasn't the problem, really. It was staying asleep that had seemed to be the problem, and then it was time to get out of bed. She rolled to her side begrudgingly, letting out a pain filled groan at the sore muscles that screamed at her for moving. She felt tingly, itchy but not able to find the source of the itch as she curled into a ball beneath her blankets. The blankets felt far too warm suddenly, but when she pulled the covers to reveal her skin, the air of the room slammed into her skin like a thousand needles poking her repeatedly.

She groaned under her breath, feeling the stinging needles in her throat as well as she let out a low, growling moan. Slowly, she rolled to the edge of the bed, still wrapped in the confines of her blanket, she felt the heaviness in her chest follow her, as she sat up. Letting her foot touch the floor, she let out a pathetic whimper, feeling the coolness of the floor under her foot, she pulled it back as if it had been burned.

Her eyes blearily looked around the room, her breathing labored as she tried to find the clock, disoriented for a moment, she forgot which side of the bed she had sat up on. She turned her head slowly, feeling the deep stiffness in her neck as she shifted her entire body to see the clock, rubbing her eyes to make it clearer. She finally braved it and put her feet to the floor, feeling the cool concrete beneath her feet, she shifted them to the bedside rug and pulled herself to her feet. Instantly, she felt a wave of dizziness, and a sick feeling in her stomach that was pushing bile and whatever she had eaten for dinner up into her throat. She forced it down as she wobbled on her feet, feeling like a newborn foal, attempting to take its first steps, she found no strength, and sat backwards, landing back on the mattress with a groan.

Just when she thought the pain in her head couldn't get worse, the phone rang. A shrill, screaming ring that made tears develop in the corner of her eyes as she reached for the phone. She lifted the receiver to her ear. "Brennan." She whispered.

"Oh Sweetie! I woke you up!" Angela said on the other end of the line, having no idea how the squeak in her voice was slicing into Brennan's eardrum like a switchblade straight to the brain. "I just wanted to… well, Hodgins and I just wanted to call you up and tell you that we made it to dad's place. The weather is great here in Texas, by the way." She rattled on happily. "Enough spicy foods to keep the little one happy… Anyway. We just wanted to wish you well on your trip, and we hope that you have a nice Christmas… digging up bones or whatever it is you're doing out there in Nigeria… or… Nicaragua…"

"Niger." Brennan managed to croak out, hearing her friend's soft sigh.

"Whatever… you know what I mean. I love you, sweetie…"

"Thanks, Ange." She whispered.

"Are you okay, Bren? You sound like you're not feeling well?" Angela said, slightly alarmed, she listened for her friend's response.

"No, Ange. I'm fine… You just woke me up, that's all. Have a nice Christmas."

"You too, Sweetie."

"Bye." Brennan said, pressing the button on the receiver, she moved to replace it on the charger, but found herself flailing slightly, her coordination off as her head pounded angrily, the pressure in her sinuses almost unbearable. She let the phone drop to the mattress and grunted as she slowly moved to sit up again, trying to maintain some sense of balance as she forced herself to her feet. She let out a whimper, and took her head in her hands, feeling the heat of her fever radiating from her skin, she pushed off the bed and closed her eyes as she tried to maintain her balance.

She took a step, feeling all of her muscles pull and argue with her every step. Slowly she made her way into the bathroom, holding each available surface for support, as she made her way into her bathroom.

December 23rd Evening

Startled awake by the sound of the screaming telephone, Temperance grabbed at the receiver and pressed it against her ear. She mumbled what sounded like a greeting into the line, though she couldn't be too sure at that point if she was even awake.

"Tempe?"

"Dad." She mumbled.

"I thought you were going out of town for Christmas." He said into the line, listening to the crackle of the phone as she shifted in her blankets, he heard her groan and a slight whimper. "Tempe, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Dad." She said with an irritated mutter. "I'm just not feeling well."

"Do you need me to come over? Do you need me to bring you something, some medicine? Soup? Did you miss your flight?"

"Dad, stop." She groaned. "Just stop, okay? I'm fine. Where are you?"

"I'm at your brother's place."

"In North Carolina."

"Yes."

"I'll be fine, Dad." She mumbled. "There will be another trip. It's just a cold."

"Do you need me to call someone?"

"No." She said decisively, her voice almost back to normal. "I'll be fine. If you thought I was gone, why did you call me?"

"I just had a feeling, that's all, sweetheart." He said softly.

"Mmhm…"

"You're sure you're fine?"

"Yes."

"Get some rest." Max replied. "I love you."

"Mmhm…" She mumbled, flicking the off button on the phone as she tipped her head back, crying out in pain from the sudden movement, she felt the heat radiating off of her, as she leaned over and grabbed the thermometer from its resting space on the table beside her. She shoved it into her mouth and waited, looking at the clock, she tried to determine when the last time she took Tylenol was, but she couldn't remember. She pulled the thermometer from her mouth and looked at the temperature of 102 as she frowned at it, noting that it had only risen in temperature since that morning. Swinging her hand with the thermometer to the table, she let it drop, not hearing or caring when the fragile glass thermometer shattered to the floor. After a moment of thought about the medicine, she decided it could wait a little longer, and she grabbed her blanket and cocooned herself in its warm confines, and fell back to sleep once again.

December 24th

Brennan woke with a start, another fever nightmare pulling her from her exhausted sleep as she lie soaked with sweat, shivering as she stared blankly at the Christmas tree across from her, the lights seemed blurry, and nearly melted together in colors as she frowned at it. She thought of her father dragging the tree into her apartment, insisting that she have one, even if she were going to be out of the country for Christmas. Begrudgingly she had gotten one, and decorated it with him, but eventually it made her heart feel a bit warmer knowing that he cared enough to bring a little bit of Christmas spirit into her life.

She shivered again, knowing that it only indicated that her fever had risen even more in the night, and reached for the phone, she dialed the number of the only person she knew was in town. Someone she hoped could get her to a doctor, or the hospital.

"Booth." He grumbled into the line.

"Hey, it's me." She said, her voice was a bit raspy, the wheezing in her chest could only be heard by her.

"Bones, do you have any idea what time it is?" Booth grumbled. "Okay, I get it… your plane landed…in Nicaragua… or whatever, I'm going back to bed."

She paused for a moment tempted to tell him that she hadn't left, the words on the tip of her tongue. "Niger, Booth."

"Good. Good for you…" He grumbled into the line. "Is there any other reason you're calling me at four in the morning on Christmas Eve?"

She could feel tears in her eyes as she tried to express the pain she was in, but couldn't quite say the words. She was panting a bit and held her hand over the receiver. "I'm sorry." She said softly. She pulled her hand. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Yeah… it's fine… it's just that Jared and Padme are supposed to be here this morning, they still haven't met Hannah, and Parker is here, so we're having a big Christmas party tonight with some friends of Jared's." Booth rattled off as he sighed. "Call me later if you want, okay? Merry Christmas, Bones." He said, the phone clicking in her ringing ears as the line went dead.

"Yeah." She said, hanging up the phone, she found only the strength to throw it from her hands in frustration as she sat up quickly, suddenly stricken by a dizzy spell that quickly led to a coughing fit, and a flood of tears as she fell to the floor in a fit of sobs.

When she was finally able to recover from the wracking sobs of frustration, she trembled on the floor trying to make sense of her next move. Slowly, she pulled herself onto her knees, and then to her feet as she tried to catch her breath. She found it difficult to breathe without wheezing, her nose crusted with snot as she grabbed a tissue and swiped at it haphazardly as she stood awkwardly against the sofa, allowing it to keep her upright for the time being.

She leaned over to the table and picked up the bottle of Tylenol, shaking it in her hand she found it empty. She let out a guttural groan as she sent the bottle flying across the room, slamming into something on a table somewhere. She trudged with wobbly knees through the house to her bathroom, holding tightly to the door frame for support, she opened the medicine cabinet and searched its contents.

She could feel her body trembling with the ravaging fever, the aches of her muscles were more pronounced, and the soreness in her throat was causing a restriction in it that was making it difficult to breathe without her mouth hanging slightly open. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, her hair stringy and damp from sweat, her face drawn and pale, and her glands were visibly swollen on her neck. She closed her eyes against the reflection, and turned, shuffling her feet down the hallway toward her bedroom, she lifted her cell phone from the table and tried Booth one more time. She paused, waiting for him to answer, though it never rang once, and simply went to voicemail. She threw her phone on the bed and sat down, having no strength to change into jeans, she simply shoved a pair of tennis shoes onto her feet.

She stood up a bit more steadily now, the shoes offering her support that her aching feet could not, and she pulled on a sweater that was sitting beside her bed over the bulky sweatshirt she was already wearing. She shuffled into the kitchen, grabbed her coat and wrapped it around herself, tying the tie haphazardly, she grabbed her purse and dizzily stumbled from her apartment into the cold, unforgiving wind of the DC December.

She thought of taking her car, though imagining herself pushing the snow from its windshield alone made her shiver thoroughly, and she pulled her gloves onto her hands, guarding herself from the whipping wind of the northern wind. The drugstore was simply three blocks away, she told herself, knowing that she had made the trek many times, she trusted that it would be open on Christmas eve, though she obviously didn't think of the early morning hour.

Her feet crunched in the snow with each step, her face pressed into the scarf as the Christmas lights danced off the snow banks, and the street lamps lit her way. She was rounding the corner to the drugstore, seeing its 24 hour lights shining brightly in the distance. She didn't see the man in the dark coat and hat, and she wasn't sure if he had come from in front of her or behind. She didn't hear him or see him, but she felt the violent tug on her purse as she yelped out a plea of mercy. The feet slammed past her as the purse was wrenched from her hands, sending her tumbling, her ankle twisting in the broken pavement of the sidewalk as she fell forward onto the sidewalk. Her weakened state made it impossible to catch herself, as she landed on her side against the sidewalk, her face slamming forcefully into the icy pavement as she saw only black, and the pavement and snow was marked in scarlet.