She smiles at you and the worst part is that you have to smile back. You want to hate her. You should hate her, but you can't. She should be the evil witch from Cinderella—yes, you do know who Cinderella is, Parker made you watch it before she came—but she isn't. You need her to be, and even you've got yourself worked up to the point where you hate her, she says something and you just can't help smile. She's too likeable.
His eyes sparkle when she comes in the room. You watch as his eyes follow her when he doesn't think anyone's looking. You always see. His face is one big smile.
And you still can't hate her.
She has long perfectly curly, auburn hair and striking violet eyes. It doesn't make sense to you anthropologically that she would end up with these features, yet it happened. You have dull flat hair that you hate and a forehead that's too big. She's got laugh lines coming out of the corners of her eyes like crow's feet and dimples that make their presence known regularly. And you can tell that's why he loves her. She's happy. You're sad. She laughs at his jokes. You don't understand them. She can talk hockey for hours.
She is never blunt. She's friendly but in a way that you can't help but love her. She can talk to Hodgins, Angela and Cam without trouble. You're starting to think they like her better than you. She and Angela have girl talks all the time. They go dancing together. They double date with Hodgins and him. She's an easy person to be around. She puts people at ease.
She's a good Catholic. She goes to church with him every Sunday. And after, they go to the diner and share pie. She makes him laugh. She lets him drive. She has a good Catholic, normal suburban family from Detroit. You're his partner with the murdering father, dead mom, and brother who's gonna end up in jail anytime now. She has a grandma who bakes him pie and a family who treats him like a son. You grew up in the system. She makes him feel smart. You make him feel stupid, even though you don't try to. She believes in marriage. She wants seven children.
And he loves her.
She took him so far from you. Every week they're holding hands. Every week she's kissing him, gently, like they're the only ones in the world. His hand is on the small of her back as he glides with her towards the door. He walks on air.
From that early Thursday morning two months ago, you could tell he was going to love her. There was never a doubt in your mind.
But you still couldn't hate her.
She was never gonna hurt him. She was never gonna let him go. Because they loved each other more than anything in the world.
You eat with him at the diner for the first time in nine days. You counted. You smile when he tells a funny story about her. You ask how they are, and he tells you that he loves her to the stars and back. He sighs when he's with you, because he's thinking of her. He asks you what he should get her for Valentine's Day and you tell him. You tell him because that's what friends do. You hide how much it hurts, because, well…he's happy and that's all that matters.
You leave soon. I have to work. He protests, but not like he used to. Are you sure? We just sat down… But you can tell he's happy to go home to her. So they can snuggle up together and watch an old movie. One that they've both seen. One that they love so much that they always watch it every month. Probably one you've never seen or heard of.
You watch the SUV speed away and raise a hand to wave, but he doesn't look back. He's going to see her. He never looks for you anymore. He never asks you how you are. He doesn't show up with Thai food at midnight anymore. You can't knock on his door at two in the morning, because she's there. With him. In his bed.
You cry in the driver's seat of your car. You hit the wheel until your hands hurt. You take three deep breaths and your fine. You compartmentalize. Your glad that no one can tell when you've cried. That would raise some questions you don't have answers for. And you pull out of the parking lot. And you drive back to work. And you work until three in the morning.
You sleep in your office. Your happy when you get two hours of sleep. That's more than you've gotten in a month. You put on different clothes so Angela won't ask you about it. You put on make-up to hide the dark circles. You realize you forgot to eat all day. Except when you were with him. You don't eat much anymore. It's easier to keep going when you can think about work.
They walk in together, happy and in love.
She smiles at you and you smile back.