"May I introduce for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Seeley Booth." An older man in a tuxedo spoke smoothly into the microphone, and everyone in the proximity turned to take notice.
It was a perfect Sunday evening in May. A gentle breeze carried the scent of the nearby ocean through the party, and created just enough movement to annoy the hoards of women who'd spent far too many hours doing their hair that morning. Birds chirped in the trees and children dressed in miniature tuxes and gowns giggled as they chased each other around the botanical garden.
The wedding was perfect. Held in a church with the bride in white, the groom in black. The vows were made and a kiss was had. Perfectly perfect.
The reception was perfect. A jazz band played lightly, adding to the calming atmosphere. Butterflies abounded, as if drawn to the happy occasion, and smiles were exchanged as the small group of attendees watched, awestruck, as the happy couple took the dance floor.
The cake was perfect. The music was perfect. Everything was perfect.
Booth slipped his hand into that of his new wife and lead her out onto the dance floor, grinning madly.
"Ready?" He asked quietly.
His bride nodded, she'd been smiling so hard her cheeks were pained, but she couldn't help it. No one had ever made her feel the way Seeley did. And now she was his wife.
Leaning against the trunk of a flowering dogwood tree, Temperance Brennan watched Booth dance slowly with his new bride.
It's time to let you go
It's time to say goodbye
There's no more excuses
No more tears to cry
"Hey." Angela defined beauty in a knee length jade-green spaghetti strap dress, a black shawl draping easily between her elbows behind her back.
"You okay?" She asked gently. Brennan was smiling softly, but Angela could read the sadness in her eyes.
Brennan sighed and glanced at her friend, tears of emotions she neither wanted nor understood sat threateningly in her eyes.
"I waited too long Angela." She shrugged one shoulder and scanned the horizon. The sky above the setting sun was turning brilliant shades of red and orange that took her breath away.
"Oh Sweetie." Angela sighed, and let her gaze fall back onto Booth and the woman on the dance floor. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered something that made her laugh inappropriately loud. She awarded this action with a playful slap on his arm.
Angela smiled slightly, even she had to admit, next to Brennan, there was no one more perfect for Booth than her.
"I…just…" Brennan shook her head and looked at the ground. Her light blue, floor-length gown made her eyes seem impossibly blue. The dip in front and back of the dress had every man in attendance stealing glances at her. Every man except Seeley Booth.
"I just wish I hadn't been."
There's been so many changes
I was so confused
All along you were the one
All the time I never knew
"Been what?"
"Afraid. I was so afraid of what I might lose Ange. I never thought being safe would hurt this much."
"Oh, Brennan…I'm sorry."
"No. Don't be sorry. He's happy, that's what matters." She shook her head and looked upward, hoping the tears would rush back inside to their proper place. Somewhere deep inside herself where she would never feel them on her cheeks.
I want you to be happy
You're my best friend
But it's so hard to let you go now
All that could have been
Angela watched as the final stage played in her friends' eyes. She'd found that ever since Booth announced his engagement, her best friend was going through the five stages of dying. Not that anyone was dying, mind you, more like, something was ending. Booth and Bones were partners and nothing more. Two sets of 'I do's ago, that became a permanent state.
Denial was first, and very Brennan-like. Are you upset? No. Do you want to talk? What about? What do you think of her? Of who? Are you going to the wedding? I…um…I have a lot of work to do.
Anger was almost immediately after denial. Brennan gave Booth the cold shoulder for two weeks when she found out. She stopped allowing him to guide her by the small of her back, stopped responding when he called her 'Bones'. She exploded when he would enter her office unannounced, and intimate after work drinks at Wong Fu's ceased.
Then came bargaining. Brennan decided she would not talk to Booth unless he did not talk about his new love. She told Goodman if he agreed to 'force' her to work the day of the wedding, she would never again complain about benefactor Galas. She even told Booth in all seriousness that she would not go to the wedding unless he gave her a gun. But when the hurt look crossed his face, she immediately took it back.
Depression ensued just two days before the wedding when Brennan skipped work Friday to stay at home and torture herself with a small scrapbook Angela had made about the squints and Booth. Her feelings for her partner had finally been realized. Her timing was just off. Way off.
And now, Temperance Brennan had accepted it. She knew her chance with Booth had come and gone. They had missed their moment.
I'll always have the memories
She'll always have you
Fate has a way of changing
Just when you don't want it to
Angela sighed wistfully.
"I really hoped he'd wait forever."
Brennan shook her head and sniffed the last remnants of her emotional outburst away.
"He shouldn't have had to." She gulped down the rest of the champagne in her nearly forgotten glass before continuing, "He told me once."
"Told you what Sweetie?"
"That he loved me." Angela's eyes shot up to Brennan's face.
"Just when they were getting serious." She motioned absently toward the dance floor where Booth's arm was slid around her waist, keeping her close and gently swaying to the music.
"He came to my apartment and told me he loved me. That if I felt the same way, I had to tell him now because he was starting to fall in love with her. He was about to reach the 'point of no return' he called it. He said if I told him I loved him right then, he would break it off and it would be only us. Forever…I…I couldn't bring myself to do it Angela. I was so terrified of losing him as a friend that I couldn't see how wonderful it might be to have him as a lover."
Brennan cleared her throat and glanced at the dance floor where Booth was kissing his wife gently on the lips. She looked away, knowing those lips could have been hers.
"I told him I didn't love him." She whispered.
"You lied." It was more of a question than an accusation.
Brennen could only nod.
Throw away the chains
Let love fly away
Till love comes again
I'll be okay
"It was really great of you to come Bren. I know it means a lot to him."
"He's my best friend."
"Yes but…"
"And he asked me to come."
And I couldn't bring myself to deny him one more time.
Life passes so quickly
You gotta take the time
Or you'll miss what really matters
You'll miss all the signs
Angela looped her arm through Brennen's and started to pull her away from the tree, toward the parked cars.
"We've made our appearance. I think it's time to get you home."
"But I didn't wish him good luck, or congratulations." Brennen protested, though she fell into step easily with her friend.
Despite what she said, she wanted nothing more than to curl up on her couch with a tub of ice cream and one of those 'tear-jerker' movies Angela was so fond of.
"Don't worry Sweetie. He knows."
I won't give up
I won't give in
I can't recreate what just might have been
I know that my heart will find love again
Now is the time to begin
Booth's eyes left the dance floor briefly when he caught their movement out of the corner of his eye. His cheek rested against his wife's forehead, but his eyes watched Angela lead the obviously exhausted Temperance toward the cars.
He'd seen them talking beside the tree, and he forced the hurt in his stomach down. He knew how distraught she was, but as much as he wanted to, there was nothing he could do. Not anymore.
She'd made her choice abundantly clear, and he couldn't wait forever.
"You alright Seeley?" Her voice was soft and smooth, it always sent shivers up his spine.
He blinked and threw one more sorrowful glance toward his partner and her best friend before smiling down at her.
"Yeah, I'll be okay."
She will be too. She'll find someone one day. Maybe next time she won't hesitate so long.
I can't hold on forever baby
I'll be okay
Yes, i know it's angsty and I apologize...you know how The Muse can be, they just kind of do their own thing.