My third fanfictions, I hope you enjoy it... I am going to put up my other fanfictions too, might take a while I still have to find out how everything works here ;)

reviews more than only welcome!!!!

Red…. Right now, he hated the colour. He always had thought of red as the colour of love... now he knew he would never be able to think of it like that again.

Red... nobody had prepared him for what he saw now, for how it affected him.

Red... he would have given everything to not see that much of the colour right now.

Red... pulsing, vivid red... death bringing red... it blossomed like a flower on her white shirt, where the bullet had hit her.

Red. Her blood. It was warm against his hand, where he pressed against the wound to slow down the bleeding.

They had come here to question a suspect. Now he knew the suspect had been the killer... he had committed it, but then shot at Brennan in an instant. Booth had tried to throw himself before her, catch the bullet for her, but he had been to slow. Too slow...

He had seen her fall, he had hear her scream and it had nearly ripped his heart out of his chest. Then he had shot back at the killer, only a second before the killer could shoot him. He was dead now, covered in his blood. Booth's shots had been accurate. There was no comfort in this thought.

He removed his gaze from the dead body and looked down at his partner. He had already made a phone call, now he was waiting for help... but he was afraid she would not make it.

If only he could have caught the bullet... it would have been better to feel the pain himself, than be forced to watch her fighting for her life.

He had ripped off a part of his shirt to press it against the wound, but the cloth was already soaked with blood. With her blood... her life was simply flowing out of her and he could do nothing. He ripped another part off his shirt and pressed it against her wound. She winced.

"I know it hurts, believe me... but please stay strong, Bones..." he whispered and looked into her bright blue eyes. He could see her pain in them.

"You know more about the human body than I... is there anything else I can do, Bones?" he asked her, afraid of her answer, fearing she would say no. He wanted to do something... he needed to do something.

"Yes." She whispered. He looked at her in astonishment, then moved closer to listen to her, because her words were barely audible. "Booth... tell Angela, that I am sorry... and tell my father..."

"Stop it!" Booth interrupted her. "Don't tell me what I should do if you die. You are not going to die. I won't let that happen."

Despite her pain, her eyes showed a spark of amusement and she whispered "I fear that's not your decision."

"Since you don't believe in a higher being it must be your decision then... fight, Bones... I need you to fight. How am I going to solve my cases without you..." his voice was thick with emotion.

"You will... solve them." She managed to utter, when a wave of pain came over her.

"No... I can only solve them with you, Bones. I need your facts, your knowledge!" he answered.

"You've got Zach. He is a genius..." Brennan whispered back.

"I don't want Zach! I want you to fight, Bones...because I need YOU." He leaned a bit closer.

"It's not only about how I should solve my cases without you, Bones... I don't know how to survive without you... do you understand me?"

Her eyes widened a bit and he saw that she had understood, how deep his emotions really were... despite the line he had once drawn, despite their asseverations that they were partners, and partners only.

"Don't leave me, Temperance." He whispered in her ear. "Please don't leave me..."

The pain still was written on her face, but she managed a tiny smile. "I won't" she whispered.

His eyes widened a bit and he too smiled slightly. "You made your decision, then?"

"Yes. I will fight. There are things I still have to do..." She whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. "... but it hurts, Booth... it hurts..."

"I know... I know... I was not quick enough... forgive me... I would have taken that bullet for you..." Booth had to swallow hard. He would have taken a hundred bullets for her... but he had not managed to take this one.

She raised her hand, although it hurt to do so, and touched his cheek gently. "This is not your fault."

He moved his head a bit, feeling her hand pressing against his cheek. He briefly closed his eyes to only enjoy this very feeling...

Then he heard the sirens from afar. "They are coming, Bones..." he said and opened his eyes.

She lowered her hand. He heard that her breathing was shallow when she whispered: "I want to live...tell them..."

He briefly wondered why she would not tell them herself, but then he saw that she closed her eyes and he knew she had fallen unconscious.

Gone was the comfort of the piercing blue eyes ... the only colour remaining was the red blood on her shirt, on his hands. Red again.

"I will." He whispered back, although he knew she would not hear him. "You will live!"

Then the paramedics arrived.