Hi, all. Here I am again with another Jack and Angela fanfiction, because I truly believe they're aren't enough out there. This story was floating around in my head for a while, but it only really came together when I heard Marry Me by Train, and everything kind of just fell into place. And this is it. So, as a disclaimer, I'll just say, I don't own Bones, and I don't own Marry Me, but I think it's a great song, and I hope you all enjoy this story. Oh, and I better let you know that this is an AU story, even though the song is so Jack and Angie anyway.

MARRY ME, FREE SPIRIT

Angela Montenegro was a free spirit. Her heart ran wild with the sun; it rolled with the wind; it could not be contained.

When she was younger and her father still called her by her birth name, she had a lot of friends, but she had no loves. She danced from one boy to the other, enjoying the sweet moments but quickly moved on. Her and her father moved too often for commitment and it became engrained in her bones to run at the slightest upset, to seek out reasons not to stay.

'Never mind,' her father once told her, 'that I've never found a reason to get hitched. It's part of rock and roll. But you, my baby doll, deserve better than that.'

But because she was a free spirit, she didn't hear, or she didn't listen, and she most definitely did not settle down.

Jack Hodgins was not a free spirit. His heart was burdened, and he couldn't love, but it was not for lack of trying. He tried desperately to meet the right girl, to feel the weight lift off his shoulders, to feel his feet fall out from underneath him.

He had tried countless times to attend the right clubs, buy the right things, and God knew he had enough money to pay for them. But money, no matter how good it is for buying material things, cannot buy you friends. Not real ones. And especially not real loves.

The first time Jack saw Angela, the cafe was crowded. He'd slipped into the only empty booth, ordered a latte, and settled down.

He liked this cafe, with it's close proximity to his work and the bustling crowd of people on the corner. It provided a glimpse into the world that he was unable to obtain from his large house in the outer suburbs. He likes watching the people pass and imagining what it was that made them who they are. Sometimes, he'd even dig deeper and think about what made him who he was, but it always ended in confusion and anger.

But the coffee was good here, and the way he could hide in the mass of people was soothing.

She had come in through the doorway with no flourish, barely opening the door enough to slip through the gap. Her wavy dark hair was pulled up into a bun, only the barest of locks falling down her cheeks and across her eyes. She had applied the barest of make up, but her tanned skin had a natural glow that drew his attention.

With a single look he could feel the weight lift away from him, and his feet fall from underneath him.

Forever can never be long enough for me
To feel like I've had long enough with you
Forget the world now, we won't let them see
But there's one thing left to do

When Angela was fifteen, her father gave her a piece of advice. She listened carefully, and she took it to heart, and even though it wasn't thought through, she never forgot it.

'Dad,' she had asked him as they sat in the Texas townhouse that they called home when they weren't on the road. 'Where's my mum?'

She had asked him this question more times than she could count, but the answer was never the same. It was never a location either. Her father was adamant on the matter that it wasn't for her to know, and that it wouldn't make anything better for her.

The answer this time, however, was different. This time, something hit home with her, and despite the fact that she never asked the question again, she knew she didn't need to. She had what she wanted to know.

Now that the weight has lifted
Love has surely shifted my way

'Angela,' Jack murmured as they sat alone in his living room. They'd been together five months, and for Jack, it seemed like all eternity. She was perfect, the embodiment of every dream he'd ever had. Her hands were soft as they slid over his skin, and when she whispered his name, it was like birds were singing in his ears. He had never felt this way before and he knew what made her special. She was his one.

'Yeah?'

'What do you see when you look into the future?'

It took her a moment to answer, and he waited patiently, the arm wrapped around her waist hugging tight. He was used to this, the way she avoided questions of the past of the future. She lived in the now, not wanting to delve into the shadows of her past or the wary unknowing of the future.

He'd tried to ask her about her father once, but she couldn't answer. It was like something was holding her back and stopping her from revealing that which led her actions.

'I'm not sure what i see,' she said slowly, leaning into him and enjoying his touch, but her mind was wandering, and he could tell she wasn't all there. 'What about you?'

He knew she was trying to avoid answering the question, but he indulged her request and answered with a sigh. 'I wish I could see my future clear as day. I know what I want, but I know how hard it will be for me to achieve. But I have faith that it will all work out. That's what love is.'

She turned around to look at him then, watching his face. 'What do you mean?'

'Nothing,' he said quickly. 'I love you, Angie.'

Marry me
Today and every day
Marry me
If I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe
Say you will, say you will

'No,' she said. Her hand was twisted into his, fingers melded together in a tight embrace, but her words were breaking him apart.

'No?'

'No. I can't. This isn't what I'm meant for, Jack.' She kissed his lips gently, but he didn't - couldn't - kiss her back.

'What do you mean, Ange? Who isn't meant to get married? I'm not telling you you have to cook every day, or dote on me. I don't want you to do that. That's not you. I just want you to be with me forever.'

She bit her lip, watching him. With a cautious voice she said, 'Why does that mean I have to marry you.'

Together can never be close enough for me
To feel like I am close enough to you
You wear white and I'll wear out the words 'I love you'
And you're beautiful

'Love is a dream. Commitment is a lie. Life is the only thing that you can be sure of.'

It was the answer she had been hoping for; the answer that saved her from the guilt of the many hearts she had left behind her. They all had flaws, and for that she was grateful, but she knew she had one too.

She was a free spirit.

And she didn't know how to be anything else.

Now that the wait is over
And love has finally showed her my way

Marry me
Today and every day
Marry me
If I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe
Say you will, say you will

Marriage had always been in the back of his mind.

People say that it's the girl that plans the wedding - the colour of the roses, the style of the dress, the people who need to be there and the food that will be served.

But for Jack, at least, this was not true. He'd planned his wedding day when he was twenty three, and his parents had died in a car crash. He had never respected them, or their money which had been passed from generation to generation, but their love had withstood the test of time. And so when the EMT's had handed him his mother's engagement ring, he'd slipped it into his pocket and kept it, for the moment that he knew he would remember all his life.

Promise me you'll always be
Happy by my side
I promise to sing to you
When all the music dies

Angela's heart was racing as he knelt before her for the second time. She wasn't ready. She didn't know if she would ever be ready.

'Jack,' she said cautiously, stopping him from speaking the words. 'I can't.'

'Tell me, then. Tell me why not.'

She tightened her grip on his hand, trying to draw comfort from his touch, but he was distant and cold, unable to understand her reasoning. In these moments, when her faith was put to the test, she sometimes couldn't understand her own reasoning.

Her mother had left her and her father shortly after she was born, and she'd never known her name. Her father had been her only parent, her only solace, and everything she knew, she'd learnt from him.

'I'm from a broken home,' she told him.

But it wasn't true. Her home wasn't broken. It was complete. It always had been. She was enough for her dad, and he was enough for her, but it wasn't a place to learn to build relationships. Relationships never lasted on the road.

In front of her eyes, Jack stood up, holding both her hands in his. His smile was back, the warm smile that made her feel as if her heart was melting.

The guilt flooded her mind, making her wish that she could say anything. Anything but 'no'.

'Angela,' he said slowly watching her. 'You're not from a broken home. You may only know your dad, but from what I can see, that's all you need. You don't need a mom to fuss over you that you don't want.'

She nodded, but she couldn't see where he was going, why his face had suddenly broken into a wide smile.

'What you are, Angie, is a free spirit.'

And marry me
Today and every day
Marry me
If I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe
Say you will, say you will
Marry me

'Marry me, free spirit.'

'I will.'

THE END.

Okay, so I agree. This was totally corny. But I had to do it, otherwise I would be wandering round with it in my head all day, and it would peeve me to no end. But here it is. I hope you enjoyed it. And review if you liked it.

xx Wynnie