Regional Medical Center- Intensive Care Unit

Angela sat next to the Zack's bed, with Cam across from her. Hodgins stood at the foot of the bed, his hands resting tensely on the edge. Sweets remained off towards the doorway, leaning against the wall. Despite knowing Zack for quite a while, he'd just never entirely gotten used to him. Perhaps that was just how Zack was. As soon as Brennan had notified the squints that the doctors were now certain Zack would recover, they had all rushed to the hospital to visit. So far, they'd been waiting there for quite a while, jumping every time he turned a little in his sleep. No one could blame them, though; over the past several hours, Zack had lain deathly still.

His face had returned to a much healthier color, even though there were still dark shadows under his eyes, and the many bruises stood out clearly. An oxygen tube remained wrapped around his head, but his breathing was coming with such ease that they doubted he would need it for much longer. Calm, even beeps came from the heart monitor, which had been the first thing they'd noticed when they had entered the ICU room. It was quite a relief from the erratic sounds that had plagued them all throughout this horrid ordeal. But as of yet, Zack hadn't woken up, leaving them all to sit in silence.

As always, it was Hodgins who broke said quiet.

"Y'know, as much as I know how much he needs his rest, a part of me just wants him to wake up already." He announced.

"I know what you mean," Angela murmured. "Poor thing; he must be so tired." She reached out and smoothed Zack's hair affectionately. At her touch, his eyebrows twitched slightly, then frowned in an expression that, even in this state, was so utterly Zack-like they hardly dared to believe it. Angela froze, her hand still against his head and her breath held, just like the others. Everyone leaned forward slightly, waiting. Zack's eyes flickered open and he looked at them all, slightly puzzled.

"Why are you all staring at me?" At the sound of his weak, whisper-of-a-voice, the other occupants in the room exploded into cheers of joy. They were so happy and relieved, they completely ignored Zack's question; they were just glad he had the chance to ask it.

"Welcome back, Zackaroni!" Cam beamed at him.

"Dude, I swear, for a moment I thought you were gonna pull a Booth on us-!" Hodgins cut off his exclamation short. Booth's brain tumor, and resulting amnesia, had occurred while Zack was still locked up in the looney bin- er, McKinley Psychiatric Hospital. Of course, they had all told Zack what had transpired during this period; but it was unstable ground, to say the least, and was very rarely tread upon by the squint squad. But, Zack merely gave one of his soft smiles, which was unlikely enough as it was. After a little bit, the exclamations died down and they all settled back, broad grins still across their faces. Leave it to Cam, however, to have to bring everyone down.

"Zack… do you remember what happened to you?" She asked gently. As uncomfortable as it was, it needed to be asked. Sometimes, painkillers and anesthetics caused amnesia in patients, and she needed to be sure this wasn't the case. Zack paled slightly, but other than that remained emotionless.

"Yes; Dr. Brennan helped remind me of the events during her visit." He replied. Was it just them, or was there a slight break in his hoarse voice?

"Hey man, don't you worry; everything's gonna be alright now." Hodgins reassured, reaching out and patting him somewhere around the ankle. Zack winced slightly and Hodgins quickly pulled away, apologizing and saying he would get a doctor.

"No, it's alright, you didn't do anything; my chest, it just hurts a little." Zack gasped.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Sweets asked. Zack started to shake his head, then stopped, visibly turning green.

"I'm fine; I'd rather not have any more painkillers. Drugs give me bad dreams." He explained. After that, the team remained mostly in a companionable silence, occasionally punctured by talk of things that had happened at the lab or at home while he had been unconscious (not that they'd been really interested with such things at the time, and with good reason). For the most part, Zack just listened. They'd almost forgotten what a good listener he could be, even if he didn't understand half of what they were talking about and sometimes asked way too many questions. He was too weak to say much, remaining propped up against the pillows while he listened. It just felt good to have him there, awake at last.

They were somewhat surprised when this moment was shattered by Booth and Brennan's arrival. The two stood in the doorway, looking somewhat disheveled.

"Dude, what the hell happened to you two?" Sweet exclaimed, and was quickly silenced by a look from Booth. The way he saw it, things were stressful enough as it was without having to explain what had occurred; they would just have to wait their turns like good little squints.

A smile broke out on Brennan's face as she rushed to join her team. Angela squealed and pulled her into an overjoyed hug. When they broke apart, the two women traded places; Brennan sitting down in the chair and Angela going over to stand next to Hodgins, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"How are you feeling?" Brennan asked softly.

"Depending on the amount of time it takes for my injuries to heal, I should be able to return to work within a few weeks." answered Zack.

"That's not what I asked," She said sternly.

"I'm a little sore," He admitted, in what was perhaps the biggest understatement of the year. Nodding, she reached and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"You just need to rest, and you'll feel better soon." She assured.

"Hey, when was the last time anyone here got anything to eat?" Booth queried, surveying the room full of squints. They mumbled a little and looked around sheepishly.

"Umm… what day is today?" Angela asked. Booth laughed. "That's as good an answer as any. C'mon, the kid's gonna be fine; go get some food!"

"Fine," Hodgins grumbled, but not denying that he was pretty hungry. "Angie and I can go and get some take-out for everybody."

"You should all go, I'll be fine here," Zack said quietly. Everyone turned to look at him, surprised. "If it's alright, I want to ask Agent Booth something." Their gazes shifted from him to Booth, who was equally stunned.

"Um, yeah, sure thing Zack," He answered after a moment. "You squints can go out and eat, he's not going anywhere." At first, they had every intention of objecting, but Zack had a determined look in his eyes that they didn't usually see. Whatever he had to ask, it must have been really important.

After the team, including Brennan, filed out, Booth sat down in one of the chairs. Observing the young doctor, Booth realized just how much Zack had grown as a person since they had first met. What he'd told Brennan was right; Zack wasn't the awkward grad student she'd taught anymore. He wasn't the young man who went to Iraq in an effort to prove something to others, and to himself. And he certainly wasn't the same person who'd been tricked with logic by a madman.

"So…," He began awkwardly. "What's up?" Zack took a deep breath; he looked just as nervous as Booth.

"Is it alright to be scared?" He blurted out, then quickly turned his head away, as if ashamed. Booth suddenly felt concerned for him, something which he usually didn't feel towards the squint.

"Hey, you heard the docs, they said you'll make a full recovery."

"No, it's not that." Zack bit his lip. "I couldn't ask anyone else, because they haven't gone through something similar to this."

"Zack, you're going to have to do some better explaining than this." Booth said, even as he started to feel the answer dawning on him.

"You're the only one who's also been subject to..." It seemed too difficult to get the word out, but Booth knew what it was. He was the only other person Zack knew who knew what it was like to be tortured. "While they were…, I knew I couldn't say anything, and I didn't, but…" He paused, looking unsure for once. He looked up at Booth, and there was real fear in his eyes. Booth recognized that haunted look; he'd seen it on plenty of other men back in the service. "I was terrified. I've never felt so scared in my life, knowing that I was probably going to die there. But, at the same time… I knew if I talked, he'd go after everyone else. I know it's over, but every time I close my eyes, I k-keep thinking… i-if I open them… I'll be b-back in there. I-it's completely illogical, a-and yet, I'm s-scared. I'm s-so s-scared." His hoarse voice was shaking and his dark eyes had a bright gleam to them. The look on his face was a strange mixture of fear and anger, directed mostly at himself for not being able to understand what was happening. He was always in control, always knew what was going on; except for now, of course.

"It's okay kid, everything's alright now," Booth said gently, and ruffled Zack's hair. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about; no one could go through what's happened to you and not be traumatized. And none of it's your fault. I know we don't always see eye-to-eye, so you might not be getting this; but the point is, it's okay to be scared. Give it time, kid, and things will start making sense again. Just don't shut out your friends, because that doesn't help anybody. You hear me?" Booth remembered how annoying he'd first found his new partner's brilliant student. Zack didn't talk often, but when he did it might as well have been in Swahili, and it never failed to make Booth feel stupid. He stared at him too much, studying him like a fascinating new puzzle, just as his teacher did. And he was so cut-off from the real world, from 'normal' people and emotions; if the FBI didn't have background checks on all the squints, Booth would've sworn Zack was from Jupiter. It never occurred to him that the grad student felt just as nervous around the agent as Booth felt around him; but along with that, respect and timid admiration. Maybe Zack had just needed time to grow; in whatever unusual way that was characteristic to him.

Moving his hand from Zack's head to his shoulder, Booth gave him a gentle pat. He wasn't really sure why Brennan had asked him to do that back then, but it obviously meant something to the young doctor. If the gesture pained him, Zack didn't show it. A cautious smile crept out onto his face, and when he spoke, his voice was steadier.

"Alright; your logic is sound. I'll remember what you have said," He stopped, as if thinking what he should say next. The confusion in his eyes cleared up as he recalled what the socially correct response was. "Thank you, Agent Booth."

Because one thing was for certain; Zack Addy fought for what he wanted, and he didn't give up so easily.