A/N: A friend of mine recently read this story and fussed at me for hurrying the ending. I read it and I realized that I could probably fix it. I edited every chapter, so that the story would fit the fix at the end of the story. I don't expect anyone to reread this story, but if you do, let me know what you think of it. I would appreciate it. Marie, I hope this is what you wanted. This was one of my early stories, so I made changes to it to reflect some of the things that happened on the show after I wrote this story in 2011.

This story is definitely AU and rated T for language.

I don't own Bones.

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Booth and Brennan had just started the interview when Booth thought he saw movement in the corner of his right eye. Turning his head he saw Stewie from the Family Guy sitting on a high chair waving at him. Puzzled and just a little afraid, he tried to ignore the fact that Stewie was actually in the room with them. Tearing his eyes from the impossible image, Booth had just started to speak when Stewie interrupted him. Filled with disbelief, he turned his head and protested what Stewie was saying to him. Cartoon baby or not, no one had the right to talk to him like that, no one.

Her concern growing by the second, Brennan witnessed Booth arguing with thin air and found it hard to ignore. When his voice rose and the witness demanded to know what was going on, Brennan knew she had to find out what her partner was up to. When he ignored her and continued to berate the air, Brennan realized that something was seriously wrong with Booth. Grabbing his arm, she hauled him from the room to confront him about his behavior. "Booth, you were seeing something in there. What were you seeing?"

Puzzled about what had just transpired in the room, Booth shrugged. "Stewie, you know . . . the baby from The Family Guy."

Now really concerned, Brennan grabbed Booth's arm. "You saw Stewie, in there? In the interrogation room?"

After talking further with Booth, Brennan realized that her partner and friend was in serious trouble. "We're going to the hospital."

Not sure why Brennan was upset, Booth pulled from her grasp. "It's no big deal, Okay?"

Rattled, Brennan tried to remain calm so that she could get Booth to cooperate. Once more she grabbed his arm and looked intently into his troubled brown eyes. "Trust me something is wrong . . . Trust me."

Tugging his arm, Brennan forcefully led Booth to her car and drove him to the hospital as quickly as she could. On the way to the Emergency room, Brennan called Angela and told her what was going on. After she explained why they were going to the hospital, she asked her friend to tell everyone that needed to know, that she and Booth were on the way to the hospital. Booth overheard the conversation, but since he wasn't sure what was going on he remained silent. He trusted Brennan and if she said that he needed to go get checked out then he would.

After they arrived at the hospital, Booth was examined by the doctor in Emergency who questioned both Booth and Brennan. Told that Booth was hallucinating about cartoon characters, Dr. Anderson ordered up an MRI for Booth. At first Booth protested that everyone was making too much out of nothing, but no one listened to his complaints and they insisted that the MRI was necessary. Once the MRI was done and a neurosurgeon had had a chance to look at the results, Booth and Brennan were informed that Booth had a small brain tumor, cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma. The word tumor scared the hell out of Booth as it is and the three fancy words didn't help either.

Visions of brain cancer popped into his mind. His aunt had died of leukemia and he had always worried that he might die the same way. The surgeon, aware that Booth was in a state of shock was quick to explain that the tumor was very likely non-malignant. Because of his past history with hospitals and doctors, Booth didn't believe the surgeon. He needed to understand what was going on and Brennan was the only doctor her really trusted him to tell him the truth. Turning towards her, he asked her if that was true. Brennan knew Booth's history and she knew that when he needed confirmation about anything medically related, he turned to her. Brennan agreed with the doctor and this seemed to calm Booth down a little. If she said it wasn't malignant then that was good enough for him.

Shortly afterward, Booth was taken into surgery. The operation was a success, but unfortunately for Booth, he reacted to the anesthesia falling into a coma.

The coma frightened Brennan. Most surgeries are a risk, but never in her wildest dream did she think that Booth would go to sleep and not wake up. While he slept, she worried that he might have brain damage or that he may have life altering problems when he finally awakened. Sitting vigil in his room, Brennan decided to read to him from a novel she had been working on. She had fairly good reviews with the last book she had published and she had started working on a new one when Booth became sick. Since she had nothing to do while she waited for her partner to wake up, she continued to write her story, using her unconscious partner as her sounding board.

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After three days long days and equally long nights, Booth finally woke up. Grateful that Booth was awake, Brennan stood up, walked across the room, leaned down and kissed Booth. She was so relieved that he was awake that she had to kiss him to prove to herself that he was really back in the land of the living. While kissing him, Brennan felt Booth tense. Breaking the kiss, Brennan looked at Booth with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong Booth? There's no reason for you to worry. The surgery was a success. You're going to be alright. As soon as you're well enough, I can take you home."

His troubled brown eyes boring into his partner, Booth shook his head, trying to figure out why his partner was acting out of character. "Why were you kissing me, Bones? Are you trying to hide something from me? . . . Oh my God, do I have cancer or something? I'm dying right?"

Confused with Booth's behavior, Brennan placed her hand on his harm. "No Booth, the surgeon was able to remove the tumor from your brain. It wasn't malignant. You're going to be fine . . . You know I would never hide anything from you . . . um . . . Booth, why did you call me Bones? I don't understand."

Her question didn't help his confusion at all. "What do you mean? I always call you Bones?"

Slowly shaking her head, Brennan pressed her fingers into his arm, unaware how tightly she was holding him. "No you don't Booth, you call me Bren. Why would you call me Bones? That seems very . . . creepy?"

In a daze, Booth realized that his partner was was behaving very strangely and he didn't like it. She wasn't acting like her normal self and if he couldn't rely on her then what could he rely on? He didn't know what was going on and it was starting to scare him. He tried to understand what she was saying, but it didn't make any sense to him. He'd always called his partner, Bones. It was who she was. Now, she was saying that he never called her Bones and she thought it was creepy. "Bones, something's wrong. I never call you Bren. Why are saying that?"

Worried that Booth has sustained brain damage, Brennan removed her hand from Booth's arm much to his relief. "Booth, do you know what my name is?"

Her look of fear more than unnerving, Booth felt his heart rate increase. "Temperance Brennan."

Relieved, Brennan smiled. "Do you know what your name is?"

Grateful that he'd answered the first question right, Booth answered with confidence. "Seeley Joseph Booth."

Calmer, Brennan nodded her head and placed her hand on his chest. "Yes, that's right. I think you're just a little disoriented. You've been through major surgery, Booth. You're bound to be a little confused after being asleep for three days."

"Three days?" That bit of news was unsettling and unwelcome. "I was asleep for three days?"

"Yes, you reacted poorly to the anesthesia. Now that you're awake, you should recovery fairly quickly."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Booth glanced around the room and noticed that it was a private room and they were alone. " Bones, did anyone let Pops know about me? I hope they didn't tell him I had cancer or something. I don't want to upset him."

"Yes, Booth. I called Hank as soon as you got out of surgery." Brennan had waited to call Hank as long as she could, but when Booth didn't wake up, she had called him and told him about Booth, his condition and his apparent coma. "Your brother Jared brought him to see you the day after your surgery and he's come by every day since then to see you. I promise you, he knows what the problem was and no one has mentioned the possibility of cancer." Concerned about his new nickname for, Brennan kissed his cheek before protesting it's use to take away the sting. "Booth you need to quit calling me Bones. It doesn't make any sense to call me that. I don't like it."

His confusion back, Booth glared at Brennan and tried to figure out what her problem was. "What do you mean? You work with bones. It's what you do. I've been calling you Bones for years."

With a look of amazement on her face, Brennan stared at Booth and finally formulated a response. "I don't work with bones, Booth. I'm an accountant and your my business partner. Since I'm also your wife, you know you can trust me on these facts. You don't call me Bones, you call me Bren."

"Oh my God," Booth whispered. " I must be dreaming. This can't be real." Shaking his head, Booth closed his eyes. "I have to be dreaming."

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Curious? I hope so. Let me know what you think. Reviews would be very nice.