AN: So this, is another random thing that popped into my head in the middle of 2nd period. Isn't it wonderful how I spend my school hours. Hahaha! So yeah, I think this is ok, but I don't think it's AMAZING. And for warning, even though the title suggest something bad, no one dies...permantly. You're safe!

We all make our mistakes. We slip and we fall but life forces us to get up and keep going, only to have that same life disappoint you and throw you to the ground.

Temperance Brennan made her fair share of mistakes, and couldn't count how many times life stabbed her in the back and threw her to the ground, with a swift kick to the stomach on the decent.

But she never fell like this…

Seeley Joseph Booth, her partner, her friend, her…everything.

He was always there for her, hugging her when she was sad or scared, taking care of her when she buried herself in her work, making sure she was fed and slept, protecting her from crazy killers, and helping her through the slips and falls of life.

She never would have thought that he would be one to push her down.

She never would have thought that he would be the one to catch her before she hit the ground either.

What was the churning in her abdomen when he was close to her? What was the vice on her heart that appeared when he was sad? What was the skip in her heartbeat when he touched her?

What the hell was wrong with her?

Brennan spilled her symptoms to her best friend, but immediately regretted it she saw that mischievous gleam in her friend's warm brown eyes.

"Face it Sweetie," Angela said, keeping herself as calm as possible "Its love."

"Love, though associated with the heart and soul, is nothing but chemical imbalances of norepinephrine, serotonin-" Brennan rambled on, her cold scientist exterior acting as the wall that held her heart.

"Do you find happiness, sadness, fear or apathy irrational?" Angela asked, truthfully becoming sick of Brennan's skills of compartmentalization.

"No," Brennan answered "They are normal emotions that humans experience."

"Well, so is love sweetie," Angela spat, standing up and stalking to her best friend's desk.

"Every single emotion you feel can be measured through chemicals," Angela hissed, leaning over Brennan's desk predatorily "But how you feel, how you really feel, that can't be measure in your lab."

"Angela yes-"

"No," Angela interrupted with a cobra like hiss "That flutter in your chest, that churn in your stomach, THAT can't be measured in your lab."

"Angela," Brennan's eyes widened at Angela's unexpected vigor and anger "What is wrong?"

"This is wrong," Angela practically yelled, throwing her hands away from her body "How would you like it if Booth went out and dated somebody else? Agent Perotta for example?"

"It's his life Angela," Brennan stated simply, ignoring the prick of jealousy on her heart.

"Yeah, that he wants to spend with you!" Angela yelled, hitting her friend's desk with an open hand for emphasis. "But that's never going to happen if you keep fucking with his heart!"

"What if he dated her? What if he fell in love with her? Kissed her instead of you, made love to her instead of you, how the hell would you feel if that happened?" Angela hissed and yelled, Brennan's body betraying her as the wave of emotions that were drowning her heart, spilled from her eyes.

"Stop," Brennan whispered in a broken, tear laden voice "Please, stop."

"No," Angela spat again "You need this Brennan. Tough love is the only way to get you to give up the cold scientist bullshit!"

Brennan reached up, and wiped the tears from under her eyes, her chest quivering as she breathed in and out.

"How would you feel, if you were sitting in a church, watching as Booth slid a ring onto Perotta's finger giving away his heart forever? How much would it hurt?" Angela asked, spitting out the last three words through gritted teeth.

"Get out," Brennan hissed "Get out!"

Angela straightened and adjusted her lab coat, sliding her hands into the coat's front pockets. "When you wait too long," Angela began quietly and quite apathetically "and lose him forever, I promise not to say 'I told you so'."

Brennan chocked out a sob as Angela's footsteps receded, her eye lids fluttering as she tried to blink back tears. As expected, she failed miserably.

"Am I really that hard on him?" Brennan asked herself quietly, as she recounted Angela's words. In a nutshell, she was saying that Brennan was doing nothing but hurting Booth, and just that sheer thought made her heart slam against her ribs.

She absent mindedly pressed a button on her phone in her office, and listened to the message left for her, the one message she wasn't interested in…until now.

Dr. Brennan! This is Dr. Zahi Hawass calling from The Cairo Museum. I know we have worked very little in the past, but I have an opportunity for you! We uncovered a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, and recovered 4 skeletons. We believe one is to be a lost pharaoh from the New Kingdom, and knowing your love your ancient remains, I am giving you the honor of analyzing the skeletons. Please call me at the museum if you are interested.

Brennan looked to the piece of paper with the phone number for the Cairo Museum, and dialed, taking in a deep shaky breath as she asked for Dr. Zahi Hawass.

*****

Booth stormed into Angela's office, where the artist still drew fiercely. "Angela," he roared.

"What?" Angela asked, glaring at him from the corner of her eye before she continued her drawing.

"Where the hell is Bones?" Booth hissed, a letter clenched in his hand.

"How should I know?" Angela asked "We aren't exactly on the same grounds as of right now."

"Obviously, since she's gone," Booth growled.

"What?" Angela asked, lowering her notepad annoyingly.

"She's gone," Booth repeated, "She wrote me this letter saying she was sorry for all of the shit she put me through, and that she is leaving to work on ancient remains. She also said that you were the one who brought this forward for her. She's running Angela? What the hell did you say to her? Fuck, this is Guatemala all over again."

Angela sighed and recapped Booth on their conversation, feeling horrible as his eyes widened in horror "I'm sorry," Angela apologized "I'm just so sick of her ignoring it! It's been 5 fucking years Booth; don't you think it's time she gave up?"

"She has been," Booth said quietly "If you really saw how she has changed, you can see she's getting comfortable with everything, she's letting her walls fall, permanently, she needs time, she can't be rushed like that."

Angela shook her head "I'm so sorry."

Booth handed her the letter, and Angela read through it, her eyes tearing up as she stormed from her office and walked into Brennan's. The darkness sent a chill through her body as she was used to seeing the light emitting hopefully from her friend's office.

She looked over her desk and lifted her blotter, finding nothing. She sifted through her trashcan, and still found nothing; she leaned down and found a small piece of paper with a number scribbled on it.

Bingo.

Angela tried the number and hung up quickly.

"She's going to Cairo," Angela said.

"Cairo?" Booth screamed "Egypt is a fucking war zone! Especially northern Egypt, what the hell is she going there for?"

Angela hit a button on Brennan's machine, and listened to Dr. Hawass' message, "There's your answer."

"Thanks Angela," Booth said quickly, his phone already pressed to his ear as he called all of the airlines.

"Booth," Angela called, as he was walking away.

Booth turned and looked at Angela, closing his phone as he backed towards the door, frightened by how scared Angela looked.

"I've been to Egypt before Booth. It's not just sand, beauty, and ancient times. It can be scary. Please just, bring her home," Angela choked, tears falling down her cheeks.

Booth nodded and ran out of the Jeffersonian, jumping into the car and turning on his sirens before he sped to the airport.

*****

Her back cracked as she straightened, the shroud of the mummy already teased from the bones as she analyzed the body with the least amount of movement. She landed in Egypt hours ago and hopped into work, working on the first Valley skeleton. She already determined, race, age, height and sex. She determined that her bony boy, was indeed a boy, who died anywhere between the ages of 15-21, standing a good 5 foot 10 before kicking the bucket. But this bony boy wasn't a born Egyptian. He was a Ptolemy. His slightly smoother brow ridges suggested that this boy was born and spent a few years in Ancient Greece before making his way to the lands of the Pharaoh.

Jet lagged and suffering from the 7 hour time difference, Brennan yawned and realized that even though it was 8 o'clock in D.C. it was 3 in the morning in Egypt, and she was tired.

She rezipped the body bag of the skeleton and pulled the metal cover over the table before she left the cold basement of the Cairo Museum, muttering 'good bye' in Arabic to the guard before she slipped out into the cold Egyptian night.

She looked up and saw the pyramid standing majestically from Cairo, its face lit up beautiful to accent the purple and blue that colored the night sky.

She was staring at the beautiful stars, when the soft footsteps of an attacker came closer to her, but Brennan was too far from her mind, and only noticed the attacker when the chloroform rag covered her mouth.

*****

She was cold, so cold, when her eyes opened. It was dark, and she didn't know where she was. She tried to move, but found her muscles paralyzed, her lungs working hard to gain oxygen.

Two men in black were talking near the door, their feet crunching old soda cans as they rocked from side to side.

They spoke fluent Arabic, and Brennan only caught snippets of the conversation, but whatever they were talking about, it had to do with her, poison, the skeletons, and her demise.

Her eyes fluttered and her fingers twitched, pushing back another old can, and gaining the attention of the attackers.

The shorter of the two walked to her, looking into her eyes, while he squatted down. He spoke in English, but very accented. "Doctor Temperance Brennan. Welcome."

"Who…are you," she choked out, finding it hard to talk, along with breath.

"Allah's follower," he said with a smile "I take the dead that he wants and I give them to him, but unfortunately, you and your team found them first. I only need to get them back, and you would truly be the only person who would get in my way."

"You were injected with a poison," he said "That will stop your heart in an hour. The only pain you will feel is the pain in your lungs as you fight to breath. But in the next hour, you will be forced to think of all of your mistakes that you made through your life, along with everything you never got to do. You will die thinking of yourself a failure, as Allah wants. 59 minutes Temperance Brennan, 59 minutes."

Brennan's breath was ragged as it came out unevenly, air coming even more unevenly back into her lungs as she tried to fight around the feeling that there was a ten ton weight on her chest.

58 minutes.

She was never afraid of death, and she wasn't scared now. She didn't care what happened in her past; only two things came to her mind.

Angela. Her best friend. The last thing she ever said to her was to get out of her office, in a voice that practically screamed 'I hate you!'. She sighed as she thought how Angela would feel at her funeral, telling her coffin that she was sorry, and that she loved her.

"I love you Angela," she spoke to the air, irrationally willing her words to her friend thousands of miles away.

The second being Booth. Her partner and her friend, the man who did everything for her, was everything for her. Tears picked down her cheeks as she replayed what she thought the day earlier. Angela said it was love, but Brennan never thought it would take death for her to believe her.

45 minutes…

*****

"This woman," Booth growled, holding up picture of Brennan "She was here, when did she leave?"

The guard shrugged "3 in the morning, walked out into the parking lot."

"Her car is still there," Booth hissed.

"W-what?" The guard asked in horror.

"Her car is still in the parking lot," Booth said, dragging him to the car that she rented "This is hers."

The guard looked around and saw the rag, dirtied and threatening to fly away, before he stalked over and picked it up, sniffing it gently before he coughed and pushed it away from his face.

"Chloroform," the guard choked.

"Chloroform?" Booth asked "Someone took her," Booth said more to himself then to the guard.

They both stilled as a voice talked into the guards walkie on his shoulder, he listened and then responded in Arabic before turning to Booth, his eyes wide in horror.

"They've asked to step up the security on the skeleton your anthropologist was working on. Extremists are out to get it."

"Bones…" Booth whispered as he looked at her car again and saw a note.

"It's Arabic," he said, handing it to the guard "I can't read it."

"It says. The word of Allah is holy. His wants are our wants. His needs are our needs. He needs the Forgotten King. He wants your anthropologist. Both shall be given to him."

*****

20 minutes…

Her lungs felt like lead. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything, but wallow in her mistakes. She thought about her brother and her father, wondering how they would feel if she wasn't there anymore. She thought about Angela, and Hodgins, and Cam, and everyone else in the lab. They would find another anthropologist, they would move past her in time. She wondered about Booth, with him she wasn't so sure. She really didn't know how he would react if she died, but she was sure she would be hurting him. She was sure he would feel guilty.

15 minutes…

She coughed and hacked, working, forcing her lungs to breath in the oxygen, to help her live, just a little bit longer.

Her eyes squinted as light was cast into the room, the sound of footsteps nearing her, doing nothing to change her slowing heartbeat.

She heard a sob and hysterical breathing before she felt a strong hand on her arm, pressing her onto her back.

Her eyes adjusted to the light, and recognized the deep brown eyes looking down at her in pure concern.

"Bones, Bones, what's wrong?" Booth asked.

"P-poison," Brennan choked out "Ten minutes…"

"Tem minutes till what?" Booth asked "Come on baby what happens in ten minutes."

"Dead," Brennan answered.

"No," Booth said, tears spilling from his eyes as his hands clasped her bare skin "You're so cold," he said, taking off his coat and wrapping her in his arms, his hands running up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her up "You aren't going to die," he whispered.

7 minutes…

"I…it…hurts, to…breath," Brennan said weakly, coughing violently before she wheezed horribly in a pathetic attempt to hold onto life.

6 minutes…

"You'll be ok," Booth promised "I swear," his voice had went up an octave, he was hysterical, still rubbing her skin swiftly as he tried to warm her paper white skin "I called for an ambulance. You aren't going to die."

5 minutes…

"No…time," Brennan whispered "Have…to tell you…something," she finished on a breathless hack.

"What is it?" Booth asked, holding her tight to his chest as he rocked her back and forth.

4 minutes…

"I-" Brennan started, her muscles starting to relax as death's form loomed over her menacingly. Her lungs fought hard to keep her alive; they only had 3 more minutes left.

"I …love…you," she whispered, her head starting to spin, as she blinked multiple times.

2 minutes…

"No," Booth said shaking his head "No, you aren't going to die Bones. You're last words are not going to be those words."

"I'm sorry…for jerking you around…Booth…I love you," Brennan whispered, her whole body going limp in his arms.

Booth laid her on the ground and leaned over her, his fingers pressing into her neck. Her heartbeat was barely there as she looked up to him with clouded eyes.

"No, Bones don't leave me," he pleaded "Don't die on my Bones, please."

30 seconds…

She opened her mouth to apologize, but sucked in her last breath, and closed her eyes, her breath leaving her, as her eyes opened, and a single tear slid down her cold, pale cheek.

"Bones," Booth pleaded, shaking her shoulders "Bones! Temperance! Please, no, don't leave me," he said, his voice now coming as desperate sobs as he pressed his fingers into her neck constantly, trying to find a pulse.

There was none.

He cried and called her name, shaking her and trying everything to bring her back to him, not noticing when the Egyptian equivalent of EMTs ran into the room, gurney and defibrillator ready.

Booth was pushed out of the way, one of the men sliding a needle into her arm and injecting her with a clear liquid, before they tore open her shirt and set up the large contraption and put the paddles together, pushing the red buttons and saying 'Clear' in Arabic.

They pressed the paddles into her ribs and her back arched, only to return to a lifeless form on the ground.

They charged the paddles again, and the EMT pressed her fingers to her neck again, they spoke that single word and pressed them into her again, watching her arch for a full 10 seconds, before the EMT shook her head, and they pulled the metal from her lifeless body.

"No, no no!" Booth screamed "No, try again, just do it again! Please! One more time! DO IT!"

The EMT's looked between each other and looked at the small burns left on her ribs, they sighed and pressed the metal together, whispering 'Clear' before they positioned the paddles on her chest and pressed the buttons.

She arched and Booth grew hysterical, he stroked her hair and whispered in her ear "Come on baby, you can do this. Come back to me, please. Please Bones. I love you, I need you! Please come back to me!"

The paddles left her ribs, red marks stretched across her skin, the EMT's sat back, but the one at her neck held up her hand. She stared to the wall and pressed harder into her neck, nodding her head as she felt a faint heart beat against the doctor's neck.

*****

Three days later and Booth still hasn't left the hospital. He spent his time stalking the waiting room as he prayed to any sort of God to bring her back to him. She was unconscious now, but she was alive, and he was so thankful.

The lanky, gazelle like doctor walked from the double doors and called Booth's name, which Booth didn't recognize until his name was said again.

"Agent Booth?" Dr. Gazelle asked.

Booth raised his head. His skin was sickeningly pale, and his eyes were deep set into his skull, his dark brown eyes a faded brown now that were lined with purple circles "Yes?" he asked weakly.

"She's awake and asking for you," Dr. Gazelle said with a smile, craning his neck as he waved his hand and led him into her room.

Booth smiled as he entered the room, his hand palming his neck tiredly.

"You look like hell," Brennan rasped with a smile.

"You aren't one to talk," Booth said with a joking smile "But at least you aren't the color of a ghost anymore."

Brennan smiled and sat up, her breathing raspy as the oxygen tub in her nose restricted her movements annoyingly.

Booth slunk over to Brennan and rested his hip on the side of her hospital bed where the oxygen tube wasn't running. He slid his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest, running his fingers gently through her hair as his breath came out just short of a sob.

"Don't you ever fucking do this to me again," he hissed, the venom in his voice making Brennan want to curl in a ball and pull the blanket on her bed over her head.

"I-I won't have to, hopefully," Brennan whispered against his chest, uncertainty filling her own eyes as she looked into the curiosity in his own.

"You remember?" Booth asked quietly "Right before you-"

"Died," Brennan completed, "Yes, the whole point of the poison was to kill me slowly so I could think about everything I didn't get to do, it did nothing to inhibit my brain function other than the initial shut down."

"So you remember what you said to me?"

"If I didn't say it them, I'll say it now. Booth, I love you," Brennan whispered, gasping as his lips covered hers.

Brennan heard her heart monitor start to beat faster, her lungs starting to burn as their tongues battled, but damn didn't it feel so good.

Brennan stopped and pushed Booth away, coughing and rasping as she regained a healthy heart rate.

"Sorry," Booth whispered "I just couldn't help it."

Brennan smiled and inched to the right, giving him enough room to lie down on his back "Lay down," she whispered.

He complied and rested on his back, smiling as she unexpectedly turned on her shoulder and rested her head on his chest, her hand resting gently over his heart.

"I should be able to leave in a few days," Brennan whispered "I got someone to tell Dr. Hawass that I will be returning to DC after I'm released."

"Oh thank god," Booth sighed in relief, his arms tightening around her.

"I'm sorry for putting you through this," Brennan whispered "I'm sorry for putting you through everything that I've put you through."

"Oh Bones," Booth whispered, kissing her head gently "I don't care what the hell happened along the way, the only thing I care about is that right now, even though it's not the best circumstance, I love you, and you love me, and we have told each other that."

Brennan smiled and rested on her elbows over him, a blissful smile lighting up her features "We're in love," she stated happily.

"We're in love," Booth confirmed, wrapping his hand around her cheek and kissing her gently, and slowly, careful to back off when her heart rate machine screamed at them.

One of the nurses walked into Brennan's room and yelled at Booth in Arabic before throwing her hands into the air and storming off in a heat of fury.

Brennan chuckled "She said you were going to kill me, and that you make her job harder. She also told you to get out, but…I invited you into this bed, and you need to sleep."

Booth smiled and wrapped his arm around Brennan's back, playing with her hair as her eyes started closing.

"Sleep love, we'll be home soon," he whispered, kissing her forehead, and willing her to sleep.

Brennan fell asleep with a smile on her face, her hand gripping Booth's shirt lightly, while Booth fell asleep, his nose buried in her hair.

*****

Booth and Brennan returned to Washington DC 2 days later, jet lagged, sore, and hardly energized.

Booth walked Brennan to her apartment, and helped her with the small amount of luggage that she brought, and the two immediately stripped down absent mindedly and crawled into bed together, sleeping for a good 14 hours and regaining their long lost energy.

They returned to work, and kept their personal life separate. Angela wasn't aware what happened between them, but was happy that Brennan was back. Brennan apologized for her words, and her hard headedness, and told her best friend that she loved her, along with rewarding her with the inside knowledge on her position with Booth.

Brennan's ear rang all day from Angela's scream, but she was happy to be back to work, the normalcy of looking at her old and forgotten skeletons reassuring in a whole new kind of way.

Booth, like always, picked her up from work that night, the only thing that changed was the gentle kiss on her lips when she rose from her chair. They shared their fair share of smiles before they finally left the lab, and returned to Brennan's apartment.

That night, when they reached the threshold, their clothes had been shed between the door and her room, their pleasured moans, cries and pleas, echoing through Brennan's apartment. Her lungs still burned, but not as bad as before, and she had to admit that with Booth pistoning into her, even the smallest amount of pain, was unrecognized against the immense amount of pleasure.

Their sweaty bodies rested melded together, their breaths heavy as they held each other in their post coital snuggle, which Brennan found very uncharacteristic of her as she snuggled into his neck.

"Oh, Bones," Booth whispered against her hair "I love you so much."

"I love you Booth," Brennan whispered "And I'm sorry that it took me dying for me to realize it."

"As long as you are with me Bones, here, alive, and save, I don't care for the fact that death had to be your voice of reason," Booth whispered, kissing her gently, and covering her with his body.