Okay so I wrote this story months ago and never took it past the first chapter. I got some inspiration and decided to continue it. When you get to the end you'll see I've left it open for another chapter but I'm not sure what this will be yet. I hope you like what I've done with this chapter.

"I didn't catch your cold." Brennan states. She stares at Booth and the stupid grin on his face for a moment then steps back from the door to let him in. He steps inside tentatively at first, knowing full well he's entering her inner sanctum, somewhere not a lot of people have been. Brennan shuts the door after him and pulls the chain over. A small smile tugs at Booth's lips when he realises she listened to what he told her some time ago about locking her doors.

"I don't know Bones." Booth shakes his head as he walks to the kitchen. "You've got the pale complexion, glassy eyes…" he trails off as he puts the soup in the fridge.

"I don't get sick Booth." Brennan sighs as she pads back to the couch, dropping into the seat. Booth laughs and walks over, hovering by the couch.

"So what do you call this?" he asks as he looks down at her, waving his hand to gesture to her current state.

"I'm just a little…" she stops. "Booth, why are you here?" she suddenly asks. Booth walks over to the CD player and Brennan's CD collection and starts looking through it.

"Angela told me you came home sick. I felt a little guilty since you caught it from me." Booth keeps his back turned to her. He fidgets with the CD's then turn back to her.

"So, you need anything else?" Booth asks as he walks back over to the couch.

"No." Brennan states.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll be going then." Booth hovers, not sure whether to just leave.

"Fine." Brennan is focused on the screen of the laptop sitting on the coffee table.

"Right, uh, I'll see you later then." Booth backs to the door. As he gets to the door Brennan suddenly leans around and calls to him.

"Yeah?" Booth asks.

"Thanks for the soup." She smiles. Booth grins back and pulls open the door.

Brennan rolls over in bed, her palm pressed to her throbbing head. Why do I always get migraines when I get sick? She wonders. Groaning she picks up the phone that won't stop ringing.

"Hello." She croaks.

"Hey Bones, it's just me." Booth sounds cheerful.

"What do you want Booth?" she groans.

"I just called to see how you were." He says.

"No, you called to say 'I told you so'." Brennan replies.

"Are you admitting you're sick?" Booth asks, smiling to himself.

"I'll admit that right now I'm not feeling…" Brennan doesn't finish her sentence. A sudden wave of nausea caused by the intense headache sweeps over her and she drops the phone to run to the bathroom.

After retching into the toilet for a minute, Brennan slumps against the cold ceramic, sweating and shaking, not caring that Booth was and possibly still is on the phone. Finally gathering enough energy to get off the bathroom floor, Brennan staggers into the hall. But she only takes a few steps when she leans her back against the wall and slides down, her knees coming up to her chest. Leaning forward she rests her pounding head on top of her knees and closes her eyes.

Brennan is still sitting in the hall, somewhere between awake and asleep when there is a loud knock at her door. She knows exactly who it is and while part of her is glad he's come because she is sick, another part of her knows just how awful she must look and she doesn't really want him to see her like this.

"Bones?" he calls through the door. "Bones?" he repeats his call. When she doesn't reply Booth gets worried.

"Bones, I'm coming in okay?" Booth hopes Brennan didn't get up and put the chain over the door after he left the previous night. Relief washes over him as the door swings open. Stepping inside, Booth takes a look around then stops in his tracks. Sitting on the ground, curled up in a ball is Brennan.

"Bones!" he gasps as he runs to her side. She lifts her head a little as he reaches her side.

"Booth." She whispers as she lifts her head.

"Hey, it's okay." He pulls her hair back from her face.

"What are you doing here?" she whispers.

"You left me hanging Bones, I was worried." Booth smiles. "With good reason."

"I'll be okay." She replies.

"I'm sure you will." He strokes her hair. "But how about you let me help you, you know, return the favour." He suggests with a smile.

"Booth." Brennan sighs.

"Bones, you're sick. Please, just let me help." He pleads. Sometimes Brennan can be too stubborn for her own good.

"Fine." She agrees weakly.

"Okay, lets get you up and back to bed." Booth takes her arm to help her up but Brennan doesn't seem to have the energy to make a move. Realising this, Booth scoops her into his arms and stands up, holding her securely. Booth can tell by Brennan's lack of protesting at what he's doing that she really is very ill. As he steps towards her bedroom, her head rolls into his shoulder and she moans softly, her eyes drifting closed.

A few minutes later Booth has Brennan settled in bed, the sheets pulled up around her and he is sitting on the edge of the bed, his fingers running through her hair gently, brushing it out of her face.

"Booth." Brennan's eyes remain shut as she talks.

"Yeah Bones?" he leans down a little.

"Can you get me some water?"

"Sure." Booth rises quickly. "What about some painkillers or something?" he asks. Brennan nods.

"Cupboard above the microwave." She whispers.

When Booth returns from the kitchen minutes later Brennan is still curled up on the bed. Her eyes are closed and Booth doesn't think he's ever seen her look so vulnerable. Sitting next to her he places the water on the nightstand and strokes her cheek, waking her.

"Bones." He says quietly. Brennan heaves herself up and with a shaky hand she takes the pills from his and swallows them. She then reaches out for the glass of water Booth holds out for her. Clasping it tightly Brennan brings the glass to her lips and sips the cold liquid. After a few sips she is exhausted and hands Booth the glass. She then slumps down and closes her eyes.

"Get some sleep Bones. I'll be down the hall if you need me." Booth says softly. Brennan merely moans in response and rolls her head to the side. Booth reluctantly rises from the bed and steps away from her, pausing in the doorway to watch her for a moment. In all the time he's known Brennan, he's never seen her this weak and it is somewhat unsettling. He wonders if she felt like this when he was sick just days earlier. He knows he was pretty out of it with the fever. Something she'd never really seen before.

Booth is dozing on the couch when he hears a smashing sound. His head snaps up and he turns his head towards the bedroom before getting to his feet and padding down the hall.

"Bones? You okay?" he asks as he enters the room. Brennan is sitting on the bed with her legs hanging off the end. The glass of water that was on the nightstand is lying shattered on the hardwood floor.

"I uh…dropped the glass." Brennan whispers. She seems a little disoriented and Booth realises a fever has gripped her like it did him.

"It's alright Bones." Booth smiles and walks in. "Watch you're feet." He adds as he sees her bare feet dangling dangerously close to the broken glass. She draws her legs up and rests her feet on the edge of the mattress. She watches Booth as he carefully picks up the large pieces of glass.

"Don't move, there's still broken glass on the floor." Booth instructs. "I'll be right back." He rises from his crouched position and hurries to the kitchen with the broken glass.

Twenty minutes later the floor is dry, the glass disposed of and a fresh plastic cup with ice cold water is on the nightstand. Booth is sitting on the edge of the bed, his palm pressed to Brennan's burning forehead.

"You've got a bad fever Bones." He says softly. Her body is shaking and she seems to be drifting in and out. "I'm going to call a doctor."

"I am a doctor." Brennan mumbles, making Booth grin.

"Yes you are Bones, but I'm talking about a medical doctor." He laughs.

"No." Brennan insists.

"Okay, but if you're not better in the morning I'm calling one." He tells her firmly. Brennan nods her head and relaxes into the comfort of the bed as Booth rises to his feet.

"Get some rest." He whispers from the door.

Booth is on his cell when Brennan's home phone rings. He quickly ends his call and picks up.

"Uh Temperance Brennan's place." He answers awkwardly.

"Booth?" Angela's unmistakable voice is on the other end.

"Angela?"

"Yeah, what are you doing at Brennan's?"

"I stopped by to ask Brennan some a few things and she's really sick, fever and everything." He explains.

"I knew she wasn't well but Brennan never gets really sick, is she okay?"

"I'm not sure, she's sleeping right now." Booth continues. "I was going to call out a doctor but she doesn't want me to."

"Of course she doesn't." Angela sighs.

"Don't worry, if she's not better soon…" Booth pauses to choose his words carefully. He doesn't want Angela to know he's planning on staying here with Brennan until she's better like she did for him. "We can call someone" he uses 'we' so Angela so she doesn't realise he plans on being the one to make the call.

"Okay, just tell her I called and I hope she feels better soon. I'll maybe stop by after work." Angela adds. She smiles to herself knowing that if she does she's likely to find Booth still there taking care of the woman he won't admit he loves.

"I will." Booth adds before hanging up the phone. He goes back to his work, mentally reminding himself to check on Brennan soon.

Brennan tosses and turns in her bed, throwing the sheets off her body then pulling them back on as she suffers from fever and chills. Her whole body aches and she just wants it all to stop. As she rolls over to get more comfortable her stomach cramps up and a wave of nausea floods over her.

As Booth flicks through the channels on the TV having become bored with reading the file he had with him, he hears a thud then the pattering of feet and a door slamming closed. When he walks down the hall to find out what Brennan is doing he hears the distinct sound of her throwing up in the bathroom. He waits for her to stop before knocking on the door.

Drained of her burst of energy Brennan slumps against the toilet seat and closes her eyes. When will this end? She wonders. I can't take much more. A knock at the door brings her round a little.

"Bones?" she hears Booth on the other side of the door and he sounds worried. Brennan can't reply so she just sits limply and waits for Booth to open the door himself. He only takes about ten seconds to do so.

"Forget the doctor, maybe I should take you to the hospital." Booth says. "You're really ill Bones."

"No." Brennan sighs. "I just need to sleep it off." She tells him.

"I don't know Bones, you're pretty sick." Booth tells her as he crouches at her side and runs his fingers through her hair, pulling it away from her face.

"Please Booth, I just want to go to sleep." Brennan lifts her head to look into his eyes.

"Okay, but if you're still this ill in a few hours I'm taking you to hospital." Booth insists. "Come on." He pulls Brennan to her feet and slips his arm around her waist. Walking her slowly across the hall into her room, Booth sets Brennan down on the bed. She lies down and rests her head on the pillow.

"Angela called." He tells her. "She's worried too. Apparently you never do get sick." he smiles. A small smile crosses Brennan's face but her eyes remain closed. "She said she might stop by after work." He adds. Brennan merely mumbles something and nestles into the pillow. Booth thinks she's fallen asleep but as he rises to leave Brennan grasps for his hand.

"Stay." She whispers. Booth isn't sure why she wants him to stay but he isn't about to say no so he nods and turns himself so he can lie on the bed beside her. He sits upright with his back against the headboard, stretching his legs out in front of him. His arm slips around Brennan and pulls her close to him, his fingers rubbing circles on her shoulder. Her head rests on his chest and for the first time since he arrived she seems peaceful. In the darkened room Booth soon finds his eyes drifting closed and that's just how Angela finds them when she arrives at seven to check on her friend.

Standing in the doorway of Brennan's bedroom Angela has a goofy grin slapped on her face. But a sudden movement on her part stirs one half of the sleeping couple and Booth opens his eyes to see Angela grinning at him.

"Angela, hi." He tries to disentangle himself from Brennan without disturbing her and appearing too guilty.

"How is she?" Angela asks, the grin still on her face.

"I think she'll be fine, she finally got some sleep." He explains as he gets off the bed.

"I think I know why." Angela mutters to herself.

"What?" Booth asks, not hearing what she just said.

"Nothing." Angela sings. "Anyway, I just stopped in to make sure she's okay but since you're taking such good care of her I'll just go." Angela walks down the hall with Booth following her.

"I'm not really, I mean I just thought since she was so ill that someone should…" he babbles, trying to explain his presence.

"Booth sweetie, you don't have to explain anything to me." Angela grins. "I know you're just returning the favour since she looked after you when you were sick." Angela lets him know that she knows.

"How did you?" Booth looks confused.

"Brennan is not a very good liar and she had to catch the flue from someone." Angela winks and heads for the door. "Goodnight Booth." She calls as she leaves.