Just a short ficlet. It is a bit of a tease for shippers and otherwise a nice fluffy friendship with innuendo type of a deal. No they are not mine...but I do like to play with them! Feeback is like gas in my engine:)
Temperance massaged her temples as the next fan made his way toward her. She had been signing autographs for the past three hours and had regretted agreeing to the signing as soon as she stepped into the crowded Barnes and Noble. But her agent had called relentlessly and she finally agreed because somewhere in the back of her head she could hear Angela telling her that it was a good idea. But as she examined the fan in front of her (a gawky, drooling, man-child) she couldn't help but question whether Angela would have actually encouraged her current circumstance. Of course, there was no way to know what she would have said, because she avoided telling any of her friends about the signing.
She maintained her choice: "They would have made too big a deal out of it."
She snapped out of her daydream to realize the same fan was staring at her.
"You are so hot. My friends will never believe I actually met you."
"Thanks" She said it dryly as she scrunched her brow at the stranger. "Who should I make it out to?"
"Sam….Of course there is no way you can actually be as smart as you're character…You're too hot."
If she were not so tired, she was sure she would have corrected his irrational thinking and probably kicked his butt. Instead, she decided on a scowl as she forced the book back in his hands.
As he pranced away, she found herself wishing she had told her friends about today's event. Their support was something she could use right now. For some reason, being around so many people at once took all her energy. She hated it about herself, but she just got flustered when dealing with the living. And currently the only comfort she found was the Judy Garland song being piped through the store: 'Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you…'
The song lulled her back into her thoughts: "I wish Booth were here to hug me….whoa! Where did that come from Temp? Get yourself together. But things really are better after his hugs. Stop it. You can't do this again."
Thankfully, the next fan saved her from her thoughts. "Ummm…Dr. Brennan?"
"Yes?" The shy young girl standing in front of her seemed much less creepy than the last guy.
"I am one of your biggest fans. Your books have made me want to be a forensic anthropologist and umm I am just so glad to meet you!"
Temperance smiled a rare smile of genuine surprise. "Well, I am very glad to meet you. Now, make sure you study very hard."
"Oh, I will!" The girl grabbed her signed copy and practically skipped off.
After another hour of signing, the crowd finally died down. The manager came to thank her for her time and promised that her agent had taken care of all the expenses. She felt that her energy had been sapped as she struggled to rise from the chair. As she leaned down to gather her belongings, she heard a familiar voice:
"Excuse me Dr. Brennan, but I'm just dying for an autograph!"
She turned to see that her imagination was not playing tricks on her.
"Booth! What are you doing here?"
"I heard about your big signing, and I wanted to come. Thanks for telling me by the way." He noticed she was struggling to hold all her belongings, and came around the table to help.
"Wait a minute. How did you hear?" She handed him some of the things without thinking.
"Google, Bones!" He placed a hand at the small of her back to steer her out of the store.
"You googled me?
"Yeah." He noticed some of the lurking male fans glaring at them both. She stopped in her tracks to face him.
You googled me?" She repeated the question, still trying to figure him out.
Now he looked a bit sheepish. "Yeah, I…it's what friends do."
"I don't understand, do you google me very often?"
"Don't say it like that Bones, people might get the wrong idea. No I just…it is just this google alert that I signed up for. Whenever your name pops up in the news it sends me an email. I saw you had this signing and decided I'd come."
He couldn't read her current expression because he'd never seen it before. "Are you mad at me Bones?"
She swung her arms around him, hitting him in the head with the heavy bag she had been carrying.
"Ow!"
"Oh, I'm sorry Booth! I just…you don't know what it means to me that you came today!" They both rubbed the back of his head. She was not even sure what it meant to her…but she had an overwhelming sense of joy and realization that someone actually cared about her.
"So, you're not mad at me?"
"No…of course not!" She tried to reassure him with a beaming smile. He relaxed into her arms as he finally figured out the look she had been giving him before was simply one of sheer admiration. Suddenly, they both pulled out of their hug as they realized how intimate their embrace must look to the gawking people.
He returned his hand to its familiar resting place at the small of her back and led them both out the door. "Well, I'm glad you're not mad…but I think you're squints might be a bit peeved that you didn't invite them!"
"You told them?"
"Sorry."
"Booth!"
He simply pulled her closer to his side as they walked down the street.
What do you think?