Here is a short one shot that I wanted to do involving Booth and Wendell, taking place after Wendell and Angela get together. I hope you all enjoy it. Gregg.
Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
"Hey, Wendell," Booth said with a smile as he walked up to the bar at Founding Fathers. He was meeting Bones here in a bit for some dinner, and when he saw the young intern, who he really liked and thought of as a friend, he decided to get a beer and wait for Bones with the kid.
"Booth," Wendell said with that kind of sheepish smile that told a lot more about how young the guy was than anything else. "What are you doing here? It's a little early for you and Dr. Brennan isn't it?"
Booth chuckled. Normally when he and Bones came by the bar after work it was about 9 or 10 at night, so being here at 6 was a bit of a difference. "No cases today, so I asked Bones if she wanted to have dinner at a reasonable hour today," he explained. He looked at his watch. "She should be here any minute." He took a healthy drink of his beer when it was put in front of him. "Waiting for Angela?" he asked with a knowing smile.
"Actually I'm going over to her place in a little while," Wendell said with that same sheepish smile. "It's a little earlier than she said, so I decided to have a beer and see if I could catch any of the early game."
Booth looked up at the screen above the bar and saw that the Capitols were up 4 goals to 1 with only five minutes left in the game. He nodded and looked back at the younger man. "Not much of a game tonight," he commented. "Though I guess you aren't too interested in that."
Wendell chuckled. Booth was definitely the master at reading people and situations. It's what made him such a great agent, as well as great leader on the ice. "I've just got a lot on my mind," he replied.
Booth saw Bones walk in and he motioned to her that he needed just a few minutes and then he would join her. She nodded and went over to a vacant booth and began looking at a menu. He shook his head in amusement. She always ordered the same thing here, yet she always looked through the menu in detail before ordering. He turned back to Wendell.
"Wondering if being with Angela is the right thing?" he questioned carefully. It was a delicate issue. He thought the world of Angela, but he also knew that if someone as good as Hodgins hadn't been able to make it work with her, then it would be natural for Wendell to be worried.
"I really like her, Booth," Wendell said firmly, with real conviction. "But after she's been with someone as rich as Hodgins, what could she possibly see in someone like me who barely gets by each month?"
"Do you really think she's that shallow?" Booth asked, almost rhetorically.
"Well, no," Wendell replied. "But it's important to me."
"Let me tell you something, Wendell, and if you repeat any of this I'll beat the crap out of you," Booth decided to level with someone other than Sweets or Gordon Gordon. He looked over and pointed at Bones. "See that woman over there? She has it all, Wendell. She's beautiful, brilliant, talented, wealthy beyond belief, and has a heart that cares so deeply she doesn't even know how to express her feelings. I've loved her for years, and somehow, she has stuck by me, even though I don't have anywhere near the capacity to give her what she deserves. For a long time that worried me, but now I know she's waiting for me to pull my head out of my ass, and for the life of me, I don't know what she sees in me. Except for a date with that idiot supervisor of mine a while back, she hasn't been dating for over a year, and it's because of me. It took me a while, but I learned she doesn't give a damn about how little money I have, or how much smarter she is. Angela's the same way when it comes to someone she cares about. You're not a one night stand for her, Kid. If you were, she wouldn't be spending time with you and wanting to do things other than hitting the sheets. Accept it, and you won't be disappointed. She deserves better than to have the guy she cares about questioning her judgment about what's good for her."
Wendell had the feeling that Booth had admitted more about his odd relationship with Dr. Brennan than he ever had to anyone, outside of their therapists. "You're right," he said as he drained his beer. He stood up. "I only have one question, though. Doesn't Dr. Brennan deserve the same kind of respect from you?" he said as he patted the older man on the shoulder. He smiled as he walked away and out the door. Booth had given him some good advice, and now he hoped that the older man would just listen to his own words.
"What were you taking to Wendell about?" Bones asked when Booth joined her at the table. She had been making an effort to begin calling the young intern by his name, and she had to admit it made thinking about Zack a bit easier, not harder as she had originally thought.
"Giving him some advice about women," Booth said as nonchalantly as he could.
"What sort of advice?" she asked curiously. She'd been as patient as she could with him in the last few months, and she was honest enough to know that her one date with Andrew had been a serious mistake as it had damaged the personal progress that she and Booth had made since she returned from her ill advised trip to Guatemala, so she was understandably intrigued at the idea that Booth would give advice to her young intern about women, and most likely about Angela.
"That he should trust that Angela knows what she wants when she decided to begin dating him," Booth replied. He looked at Bones with a serious expression on his face. "I think it's advice that I should have been listening to for a long time now, huh Bones?" He looked into her eyes, trying to read her as well as possible. "I'm right, aren't I Bones? You've been waiting for me to realize that you're ready for us, haven't you?"
Bones didn't run, and she didn't gasp in shock. She knew she'd taken a serious risk in not challenging his "atta girl sorta way" qualification when he told her he loved her when she returned from Guatemala, but it had just paid off. Instead of saying anything now, she simply nodded her head in agreement.
Booth decided that there was no time like the present to put his advice into practice. He took her hand in his. "Then how about we consider this dinner our first real date, and then we go back to your place and talk? I think we have a lot to talk about, Bones. About the past, and about where were going with this."
Bones smiled. "I think that's a great idea, with only one minor change," she replied. She continued when she saw Booth raise a brow in question. "You stay for breakfast?" she added.
Booth would have been shocked if not for the fact that he'd decided to trust Bones with anything having to do with their relationship. "I think that's a great idea," he told her with a smile.
Bones held up her wine glass. "To us," she toasted, and felt a sense of real happiness when she said the word "us".
Booth held up his own drink. "To us, and good advice," he added with a smile. He'd have to thank Wendell when he saw him next for opening his eyes. He now knew the meaning of the old phrase "good advice is hard to come by".
A/N: I know it's short, but I wanted to put something out there that utilized Wendell, and also open Booth's eyes to what his "lie" really was: less respect than Bones deserves. I am almost ready to post a new chapter to Booth's Lie, the next chapter for Friend's With Benefits (I had to massively rewrite the next chapter because of the fillers that I added), and a new story for Christmas called Whose Present Is It? I hope you enjoyed this one. Gregg.