Title: Every Little Piece
Chapter: 1 - Oh, Look At
Spoilers: The Parts in the Sum of the Whole 5.16
Pairing: Booth/Brennan
Characters: Booth, Brennan, Angela
Written: April 8, 2010
Author: thepinksnuffleupagus

She smiled the same heartbroken, confused smile as he made his way back down the stairs in front of her building, waiting for him to climb into his car as she hid behind the door. She watched him drive away before pulling the door open again and stumbling numbly to her car.

Her hands shook as she gripped the wheel, twisting the keys in the ignition, her not so steady for pressing on the gas pedal. She drove the familiar roads, her mind not forming coherent thoughts, but still trying to grasp the hurt and confusion the night had caused.

The key slid easily into the lock, the deadbolt clunking when she turned it. She had steadied now, the numbness spreading through her like ice in her veins. She dropped the cluttered key ring on the counter, and pulled out a glass and a bottle of wine.

She poured herself a generous amount, and made her way into the living room, kicking her heels off in the process. The wine glass clinked as she set it on the coffee table, and the couch squeaked in protest when she sat. she glanced at it, idle thoughts of her dislike of the old thing floating through her head. The silence in the apartment was deafening. Brennan stared at the wine, but did not touch it. The buzzing of her nerves chased away the impulse to drink until she forgot, forgot their past, forgot the look on his face when the walls around her heart came crashing down again.

The buzzing escalated, and suddenly all the emotions she had been burying came rushing back, and hit her at full speed.

The tears came slowly at first, then they streamed down her face as sobs wracked her body.

---

Angela fumbled with her keys, the dim light of the hallways making it almost impossible to find the one she wanted.

"Aha!" She grinned in victory as she jammed the elusive key into the lock, then stopped. Opening the door gingerly, she peered in.

"Bren, sweetie? Is that you?" Angela closed the door, sliding her coat off, and placing her keys next to the ones already on the counter.
"Brennan?"

There she was, sitting on the edge of the couch, shoulders shaking, sobs being ripped from her throat. Angela rushed over, and wrapped her arm around Brennan's shoulders.

"Oh, Bren, what's wrong?" Brennan gasped between sobs, trying to let the words spill from her mouth, but they wouldn't budge.

"Shh, sweetie, it'll be okay," Angela whispered comfortingly. Brennan pulled back. "No, Ange, it won't. It will never be okay." She slumped forward again, sobbing harder than ever. Angela smoothed Brennan's hair back, and sighed.

"What happened, Brennan." The bloodshot blue eyes flickered up.

"We…we went to see Sweets. About his book. He…There were things that needed to be fixed. He thought Cleo Eller was our first case." Angela frowned. "Why would he think that?" Brennan shook her head. "I have no idea. We explained the first case to him, because there were things that…happened."
Her friend's eyebrows shot up. "Things. That happened," she said, suspicious. Brennan gaped at her for a moment before continuing. "Yes. They greatly affected Sweets' analysis of our relationship. But he…he still believed in his conclusion."

"That you and Booth are in love."
"Yes. And then…"
" 'Then…' what?"
"He said one of us had to break the stalemate. Or, more specifically, Booth. Because he is a former degenerate gambler."
"Taking the risk a gambler would," Angela hummed under her breath. "Of course. But that doesn't exactly explain why you're bawling your eyes out on my couch, sweetie." Brennan looked at her. "I'm here because he listened to Sweets. He said he wanted to try, that he knew all along how - how he felt and…"
"And?"

"He kissed me." Angela's face lit up, and she laughed.

"Sweetie, that's a good thing!" Brennan looked at her sorrowfully, and Angela's smile dimmed. "Isn't it?"

Brennan shifted, trying to contain the tears that once again threatened to overwhelm her usually together eyes.

"I can't change, Ange. Every single relationship I've been in has ended up going wrong. I can't lose Booth like that. I don't know what I would do."

Angela stared at her, shocked.

"Bren…Seeley Booth has been in love with you for six years. Six years! A blind man could see that he always has and always will love you, no matter what. And if you hadn't noticed by now, Booth is different from all the other guys you've been with. He has always stuck by you.

"I bet even now he loves you enough to stay. He isn't running to some far off place to hide his heart because he knows you need him, whether you think you do or not. So you better give me a damn good reason why you shouldn't go over there right now and tell him you love him, and that you want to try, too."

"Because it's too late."

Angela frowned.

"Too late? Brennan, it's Booth. That man would wait forever if it meant having you. For gods sake, the man dreamt about being married to you and - and having a baby! How could it ever possibly be too late!"

Brennan stared at the wineglass again.

"Because. He said he couldn't wait. And that he had to move on. It's to late, Angela. I told him no, and now it's too late."

"Look, Bren. I don't give a flying shit about what he said, or what you said for that matter. I know him, and I know you. And I know that no matter what, no matter who he meets, you and Parker will always be his number one priority. Don't you dare Give up on this now because of one thing that happened. Don't let your fear of him leaving keep you from loving him. 'Cause trust me, you're doing more damage to this by holding back than anything else could."

Brennan sighed. "Thank you, Angela. But could I just stay here tonight?" Angela echoed the sigh, and hugged the broken anthropologist.

"Of course, sweetie. Do you want me to go get a few things from your place?"

"That would be very helpful."

Angela swiped her keys off the counter, and headed out, planning on fixing a few things before she returned.