She closed her eyes tightly as she lowered the shades of the conjugal trailer. "That was nice of him..." She heard her brother speak softly to his fiancee. She glanced over to her father, surprised to see him grinning still.
"What?"
He shrugged, "Nothing, really. It's just... sweetie, he got you a Christmas tree."
"Only because he knew I wanted to give you the big, proper family Christmas, and I couldn't do that without a tree. And he knew I couldn't give you a tree in here, so..." She was beginning to get flustered. Her father was still smiling at her. "Stop it, Dad. He's my partner. And my best friend."
"No matter what you think, he didn't do it for Dad. He arrested the man!"
She spun to glare at her brother, having to fight the urge to yell that he'd also arrested him--it would ruin all the hard work they went through to lie to the kids. Through gritted teeth, she muttered, "Booth respects him. He was just being nice. Can we please, please drop this?"
Not another word was spoken of the tree, or of Booth's gesture and what it really meant. But that didn't stop the Brennan men's knowing glances tossed to each other over Brennan's head. And it didn't stop her from questioning what it all meant.
She spent the time she should have been flying to Peru contemplating what she should do. Who she should ask for help. Usually it would be him. But it was about him, now. That wouldn't work. She was a direct kind of person, but at this point... she couldn't go to him like this. It would mean something. It would mean too much and it would be impossible to fix when it blew up in their faces.
Sighing, she uncurled herself and grabbed her phone, dialing Angela's number.
"I would say merry Christmas, but at this ungodly hour, there is no reason to be merry and this better be a damned emergency, or someone's going down." Angela's not-quite-cheery voice filled her head.
"It is. It's about Booth..." She took a deep breath and released it slowly, "I need someone to talk to, Ange. Can you maybe come over?"
"Gimme thirty minutes, sweetie. I'll be right over."
Brennan made a pot of coffee and, in case it was needed, put her small wine and liquor collection within easy reach. She sipped her coffee slowly, letting the warmth fill her as she contemplated what everything meant. She didn't know if she wanted to know, not really. Not when it could mean the end of everything that has held her together for the past three years. Not when she could lose the one man who had never let her down--the one man she could trust and confide in and depend on.
She jumped when she heard the sharp knock on the door. She strode to the door, throwing it open to reveal a disheveled, half asleep Angela. "Coffee. Now."
Smiling, she led the way to the kitchen and poured her friend a mug full of the steaming black brew. "Thanks again... He bought me a Christmas tree, Ang."
Her friend quirked an eyebrow, "Why?" she whispered into the mug.
"Because it was Christmas, and my dad couldn't have on in the trailer... He hooked up the lights to his car battery. It was... beautiful. But I don't know what it means."
"What do you want it to mean?"
She shrugged, "Honestly? I have no idea." She sighed, debating whether it was a bad sign that she wanted liquor this early in the conversation.
"Okay. What do you think that he meant by it?"
"I have no idea." She bit her lip. "Russ thinks that it's a sign that he's not just my partner. So does Dad. But I'm not sure."
"There's only one way to find out, Bren..."
To Be Continued