A/N: Yes, you did read the summary correctly. There is some Angela/Booth in here. Trust me. That's all I can say. This takes place sometime in season 1 and just ignore Tessa; I did. She doesn't exist in this fic. I'm sorry if you're reading Coed on the Quad or Seven Deadly. I'm going through writer's block on those in the worst way. As for P&P, if anyone's reading that, I needed a bit of a break from it, just to write something different. I'll be updating it at some point this week, probably towards the end of it. Enjoy!

Ladies Choice

Ok, enough was enough. She was going to do it. She was going to ask him out. She'd wanted to practically from the moment she saw him, but had tried to be a good friend and let Brennan have first dibs. Problem was, it had been months and her friend had yet to make a move. It didn't look like she was going to, and, in fact, she had stated time and again that she was not interested in him. So, that meant he was up for grabs, right? Right.

Just to be on the safe side, she decided to make her intentions known. Give Brennan one last chance to tell her not to.

"Sweetie, can I talk to you for a minute?" The brunette lifted her head from the paperwork on her desk and made a 'come in' gesture with one hand. Angela turned the handle of the door, entered, and sat down.

"So I made a decision today," she began.

"What did you decide?" came the polite response, eyes still focused on the stack in front of her. With a grin and a roll of her eyes, Angela's fingers found her friend's chin and drew it up so they were eye to eye.

"I decided…to ask Booth out," she said resolutely, scanning the face in front of her for a hidden response.

"Oh," was the reply. "On a date?"

"Yea! So, what do you think?"

She would have been completely assured of Brennan's lack of interest in Booth had it not been for the brief clouding of her eyes and the barely audible swallow she heard before the anthropologist responded. And then there was the response itself.

"Good. I think it's good." Not exactly a Brennan-esque answer. Angela inwardly wrestled on whether she should go ahead with this at all. She'd given Brennan plenty of time to put the moves on Booth. You snooze, you lose, she reasoned with herself. So why was she feeling guilty? Ugh. She shouldn't feel guilty at all. Brennan was still talking. Angela focused back in on her words.

"He's coming in later today to go over our latest case. You can ask him then."

One final chance, and then she was through feeling guilty. "Are you sure you're ok with this?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Getting the verbal confirmation she required, and ignoring the facial evidence that told another story entirely, Angela changed the subject. "So, case wrapped up then?"

"Yes, it was a rather difficult one, thanks to the condition of the victim's skull, if you will recall…"

That afternoon, she could see him enter the lab from her position on the platform. She'd decided to catch him as he was leaving, and so allowed him to make his way to Brennan's office with merely a friendly wave and a 'hi'. Hodgins was onto her, however, narrowing his eyes in her direction.

"What are you up to?"

She smiled coyly. "What makes you think I'm up to something?"

"We've been working together for how long? I know. What's going on?"

"Fine. Why don't I just broadcast it over the intercom system? I am going to ask Booth out."

"Like on a date?"

"Yes. A date. Dinner, possibly a movie, and maybe even some action. A date."

"I know what a date is," he said defensively. "Brennan's not gonna like it."

"Actually, she's ok with it." Well, maybe not ok ok, but she'd had ample opportunity to speak up. All she'd had to say was, 'Angela, please don't ask Booth out. I have feelings for him I haven't admitted yet, and I can't stand the thought of him with another woman. He's mine.' Well, maybe not those exact words, but something along those lines. And she hadn't heard anything of the sort. And until she did, Booth was available. Facial expressions and clouded eyes didn't count.

"Really? She said she was cool with it?"

"She did."

At that moment, her target emerged and headed for the door. "If you'll excuse me Jack," she said smoothly and glided down the stairs after him.

"Hey Booth! Wait up a minute!" He turned to her, surprise on his face. Angela stopped in front of him and took a deep breath, letting a bright smile touch her lips.

"I was wondering if you were free tonight."

Confusion on his face now. "Yea, why?"

"Do you wanna go out, maybe grab dinner?"

"Like a date?"

What was with these people? Was it that foreign a concept? "Yes, a date."

A pause. Then, "Yea, sure, that sounds great. Pick you up at seven?"

Her smile widened at the way he'd taken control of the situation. "Seven it is."

"See you then." He shot her a smile that made her weak in the knees before going through the doors and down the sidewalk. Angela let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She turned and trotted to Brennan's office to share the good news.

That night, at a quarter to seven, Angela studied her reflection in the mirror. Clothes…perfect. Make-up…perfect. Hair…well, perfect. Before she knew it, seven had come and gone. Not the best way to start a date. She was reminded of her senior prom date, who had been over half an hour late. The minutes ticked by, and finally, she heard a knock on the door. He was standing on the other side, looking sheepish and mumbling something about traffic. He met her eyes and gave her a grin.

"You look great."

She returned the smile. "So do you. Got anyplace in mind for tonight?" she asked, stepping through her doorway and locking the door behind her. "Cause, if not, I know this place across town."

"Ladies choice," he replied smoothly, a hand on her shoulder. "Just tell me where to go."

"Oh, so you're driving?" she asked with a laugh.

"Naturally."

"Whatever happened to ladies choice? Maybe I choose to drive," she replied, her smile telling him she wasn't serious.

Despite his initial tardiness, the rest of their date went very well. They talked about things that Booth happily deemed 'normal', meaning no squinty talk. Angela found it a relief as well, as she had thought he'd be talking shop the entire evening. She got enough of work talk at work. He was very easy to talk with, much to her delight, and she hoped he was thinking the same thing about her. When conversation did stray to work, she silently kept track of how many times he mentioned Brennan. It was quite a few; enough to give her something to think about.

After dinner, he drove her home and before she knew it, they were standing outside her door, her hand on the doorknob, his in his pockets.

"I had a really nice time," she said, meeting his eyes and looking for any indication that this wasn't going to end here and now.

"Me too." He looked uneasy, unsure about what to do next. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn he was her prom date, Ricky Stevens, the boy who had no clue what to do with a girl at the end of a date.

"Wanna do it again sometime?" she asked, taking pity on him.

"Sure, I'd like that." Seeming to get over the initial hesitation, he took over. "How about Wednesday?"

"Wednesday's good for me," she said with a smile and inched closer to him, her hand leaving the doorknob. Their eyes locked and he closed the distance between them, cupping her face and pressing his lips to hers. Angela eagerly returned the kiss, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around his neck, keeping him close. They broke apart slowly, neither breaking eye contact.

"Do you wanna come in?" she asked, leaving it up to him, knowing that her desire was evident in her voice.

He cleared his throat. "I'd better not." He made a show of checking his watch. "It's late."

Angela nodded. "Yes, it is. So, I'll see you Wednesday?"

"Definitely." Her heart sped up as he leaned down to her and brushed her lips once with his before shooting her a smile and taking his leave.

Once inside, Angela crashed on the couch, lights still off and thought. The evening had been wonderful, the kiss breathtaking, the promise of a second date exciting, but something was off. She thought back to their conversation. He had mentioned Brennan often, always in the context of their casework, but still, her name was there, which meant she was on his mind. She didn't blame him; it didn't irritate her in the slightest. And she didn't blame him for not taking the next step with her friend either. Brennan wasn't the easiest person for guys to ask out.

She'd try to get a better lead on Brennan's true feelings tomorrow. She knew she'd thought to herself that she wouldn't give up her blossoming relationship with Booth unless she heard Brennan admit her feelings, but she had an inkling that hell would freeze over first. Plus, her intuition told her that Booth felt something for Brennan, although it appeared he hadn't admitted it to himself yet.

Fully aware of what she would be giving up, Angela debated for awhile. Booth was a great guy; that was certain. But if she pursued this with him, she had a feeling that his heart wouldn't be in it all the way. He needed to admit his feelings as much as Brennan did. It was her choice, and as much as it sucked, she knew she couldn't stand in their way. But, she could help them along, give them a little nudge and hope they would go the rest of the way on their own. Resolved, she headed down the hall to her bedroom, a little smile gracing her face.

A/N: Ok, rough outline states this fic will have one other part, so stay tuned for part two!! Thanks for reading!!