Hello, all. It's been quite a while since I've written anything, and I've never really tried to tackle the character of Angela. But, thinking about the events of the end of Season 5, I really don't think that Angela would sit idly by without at least trying to stop her friends from hurting each other and themselves. And thus, this little fic was born. Honestly, I wish we could see of the friendship between Booth and Angela, because I think there's agreat friendship there to be explored. I hope it's not too bad and you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

Also, I apologize for any mistakes. Though I did proofread, it's three in the morning and I just went a little wild and wrote this on a whim.

Angela Montenegro didn't spend much time in the Hoover Building. In fact, she tried to avoid it as much as possible. It was too stifling. Too much order; too many suits. Everything regulated. It wasn't a place where artists could flourish. But today, today Angela was here under special circumstances. Her makeshift family was falling apart from the inside out; it was imploding. Her friends were hurting. She was worried. Very worried. And she fully intended on getting involved, thankyouverymuch.

As she rounded the corner to Special Agent Seeley Booth's office, Angela stopped in her tracks. The agent looked so…lost. In a way Angela had never seen before. He was twirling back and forth slowly in his chair, hands clasped, his usually bright, determined eyes dully looking at nothing and everything all at once without, Angela suspected, actually seeing anything. She had never seen this defeated Booth before, and she was pretty sure she didn't want to ever again.

She tapped lightly on the open doorframe, and watched as Booth tried to recover his façade, a poor man's version of his charm smile on his face as his still dull eyes met Angela's.

"Hey Stud, how's it going?" Angela began lightly, knowing that she had to proceed with caution. When it came to bottling up emotions, she knew Booth was right up there with Brennan. One false step, and she would be met with an impenetrable wall.

"Fine, Ange. What brings you by? Bones alright?" Angela had to carefully conceal her smile. Of course his first thought was Brennan. No matter how tense things were between the two, some things would never change. Which is why Angela knew it was important to intervene before it was too late.

"Yes, Booth. Bren's fine. I actually just wanted to talk. From the sounds of it, you've got a lot going on. I thought you could use a friend." Booth smiled softly, but Angela could see the tiniest hint of suspicion in his eyes. Yes, Angela was a wonderful friend, but she often wasn't without ulterior motives, a fact Booth knew well.

"Have a seat," he told her simply as Angela pushed herself off the doorframe and gracefully maneuvered herself into one of the chairs across from Booth's. "What is it you wanted to talk about, exactly?"

Not having the time to tip toe carefully around the Agent's feelings, the artist cut right to the chase.

"The Army, Booth? Really?" Angela saw his defenses shoot back up as she spoke. She wasn't worried though. She didn't plan to go down without a fight.

"How did you-"

"Bren told me. She told me that she's going to Indonesia and that the Army wants you back, to 'train soldiers' or some PR bull that basically means you'll be in a warzone and in danger. You've got to be kidding me. Aren't you two being a little extreme? Fleeing to opposite ends of the world because you're too scared to see what's right in front of you?"

"Angela, don't. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap, Sweetie. You two have been so deep in denial for so long you can't even see the surface. Something's changed in the last couple weeks. You know it and I know it. I don't know what the hell happened, but-"

"Angela." Booth cut in, his voice stern. "You don't understand."

"Understand what? That you love her? That she loves you?" She saw Booth wince, like she'd slapped him. Interesting. "That you're both dead-set on denying it, even to yourselves?"

"I'm not denying anything, Ange. But you're wrong. She doesn't love me," Booth told her simply.

"Bull."

"She told me, Ange. She told me that she didn't want me; didn't want this. Next thing I know she 'can't handle this' anymore. I tried. I tried so damn hard." Booth's eyes were focused elsewhere, a storm raging in them, like he was caught in a memory he couldn't quite escape; one that was tearing him apart.

"She-she said what? You did what?" Angela stuttered incredulously after removing her jaw from the floor.

"Just forget it. It's nothing." Booth had said too much already. He was, after all, talking to the gossip queen of the Jeffersonian. Word of Bones' rejection would spread like wildfire, and that wasn't exactly what he needed right now.

"It is absolutely not nothing, Booth. Look, if something happened, you need to tell me. You two are spiraling fast, and you're going to take us all down with you. Now, I know you. And I know you know Brennan better than anyone but if there is one person on this planet who knows her anywhere near as well as you do it's me. And I would like for you to tell me what the hell is going on so I can sort this out before someone does something stupid, like, say, I don't know, run off to war." Booth sighed. He might as well tell her. What did it matter? In a little more than a week he'd be gone. Bones would be gone. Their team would be defunct. Angela at least deserved to know why. It was all his fault anyway.

"Jeez. Fine. A few weeks back, we went to see Sweets about his stupid book. He had it wrong. He had the whole damn thing wrong. So we told him about our first case. About how we hit it off; how we kissed. He started rambling about me being the gambler, having to be the one to break the stalemate. So I did. We got outside and I told her that I wanted to give us a chance. That I knew, all along, that she was it for me. But Bones-she freaked. Told me that she couldn't do it. That she needed to protect me; that she didn't have an open heart. So she pushed me away and now she's leaving the country for a year because suddenly this is all too much for her. I blew it, Ange. I pushed her, and now she's leaving." He looked up to see what strongly resembled tears in the artist's eyes.

"Oh, Booth," she started, barely above a whisper, "I'm so sorry. Why didn't you say anything?"

"What was I supposed to say? She made herself perfectly clear. She wanted to be partners, nothing more. Now she doesn't even want that."

"You really believe that?" Angela asked. When Booth failed to respond, Angela continued. "Booth. Bren loves you. Whether or not she's ready to admit that; to commit to what that means, doesn't matter right now. She's scared. You know how she is.

Look, I may not have known Bren for long before you came along, but I can still see the effect you've had on her. It's because of you that she even believes in love at all. She may not believe in the forever kind of love yet, but she can. She will. But right now? Right now she's terrified. The last thing she wants is to lose you."

"I'd never hurt her, Angela. I'd never leave," he defended fiercely.

"You say that, Booth. And I know you mean it. But she's been promised 'forever' her whole life and the only thing she knows that comes along with it is suffering and abandonment. And she trusts you with her life, we all know that. But she's seen you blown up, kidnapped, shot. She's been to your funeral. God, Booth, she's seen you through a coma only to have you wake up and ask her who she is. She's come so close to losing you so many times. She told me, Booth. She can't do this anymore because she can't get through the day without being terrified that something will happen to you and she'll be powerless to stop it.

She's scared that admitting she loves you, on top of all of that pain, will only hurt her more if she really does lose you. But even worse that all of that fear is the fear of watching you walk away, after becoming so dependent on you."

"I'd never-"

"I know, Booth. But she doesn't think she's capable of the kind of love you're offering her. She thinks she'll push you away."

"Then what do I do, Ange? Tell me what to do to fix this."

"Honestly, Sweetie? I really don't know. She's stubborn, that one. She needs to prove to herself that she can stand on her own before she can fully allow herself to lean on you. And you, Booth, you need to be ready to catch her when she finally decides to fall. Because trust me, she will. I've never seen two people more destined for each other than the two of you."

Booth smiled, but it was a pain-filled smile. Angela knew this was a lot to take in. And she knew that this was probably a war he had been waging within himself for weeks now. Always the hero. Never show pain, never ask for help. It hurt Angela's heart to know that Booth had been suffering all alone all this time.

"She's still going to leave," Booth finally whispered. "You know just as well as I do that once Bones' mind is set on something, there's no stopping her." Angela smiled sadly.

"I know, Booth. But that doesn't mean you have to run off to Afghanistan and possibly get yourself killed. What good could that possibly serve? Indonesia may not be Disney World, but it sure as hell isn't nearly as dangerous as what you're doing."

"I won't be in direct combat." At Angela's pointed look, Booth continued. "Look, Ange. I can't just stay here while she's gone, okay? I can't just sit at my desk and go in the field and work with you squints and see reminders of her everywhere. I need to at least try to move on. Without her here, it just won't be the same. It'll be too hard. Besides, it's a done deal. I signed the papers with the Army yesterday. I leave next week."

Angela's eyes were filling again. She knew now that no matter what she said or did, her team, her family would be splitting up.

"Fine. So you leave. She leaves. You spend an entire year apart. Maybe you convince yourself you've moved on. Maybe you meet someone. But in a year, you come back. And so help me God, Booth, you had best come back in one, solid, studly piece. And when you come back, you'll have changed. Both of you. But I firmly believe, and I think you do too, that no matter what, in that year, you'll come back to each other. Everything that will happen, everyone that you'll meet will just prove to you both that this is it. There is nothing, and no one, better for the two of you than each other. You're meant to be together. I know you believe that. And I know that with time she will too." Booth smiled sadly again, but Angela could see the very beginning of hope flickering in his warm brown eyes.

"How can you have so much faith in us, Angela? When we don't even have it in ourselves?"

"You two may not have faith in yourselves, but you have all the faith in the world in each other. You've both suffered so much. In the end it will be worth it. You deserve each other. She's my best friend, and I want what's best for her. And that's you. This is just one more test the two of you have to pass before you can finally prove to yourselves what the rest of us have known all along."

"You really think this will all work out?" Booth asked, the flicker growing stronger still.

"I know it will. I have to believe that. We've all seen so much horror. What's any of it for, if not for love?" Booth sighed, rising from his chair and coming around the desk as Angela stood up too.

"I really hope you're right, Ange."

"Trust me, Studly, I'm right." Angela winked at him playfully, trying to lighten the extremely heavy mood as the Agent leaned forward and wrapped her in a strong hug. "You come back safe, Booth," she whispered in his ear, "for her, and for all of us."

"I will," he reassured her as he released her and pulled back. "Thank you, Angela. For everything."

"Anytime. And Booth?" He met her eyes. "Brennan is my best friend. But you're my friend too. You're the strongest man I know. But when you're upset like this? You can always talk to me. I hope you know that." He smiled softly as the artist leaned in a lightly kissed his cheek before heading for the door, as Booth thanked her again.

Maybe Angela was right. He knew one thing was certain. He loved Bones. And if he had to spend the rest of his life proving to her that they belonged together, he would do just that.

The next day, Angela was in her office when she heard laughter coming from the platform. She walked to her door and leaned again the frame as she watched Brennan try and fail to contain her smile as Booth outright laughed at something that, as usual, was only between the two of them. When the laughter ceased, Booth gently eased Brennan out of her lab coat and ushered her off the platform, a "C'mon Bones," carried by the wind to Angela's ears. She smiled softly as Booth's arm instinctively went to the small of her back and she leaned ever so slightly into his touch, likely without even realizing she was doing it.

To the naked eye, it would seem as if the two were back to normal. But to Angela, something was different. There never really was a normal, with those two. But as their laughter rang through the lab as they departed, Angela's smile only grew. Because she knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that what she was seeing was just one step of the journey. They, all of them, were a family. They would survive this and come out the other side stronger because of it. She knew that in the long run, all of this suffering would be worth it for the two of them, and they would find their way back to each other, and to the happiness they both deserved, together. Because journeys, even year long, opposite end of the world journeys, end in lover's meeting.

The End.

And that's all she wrote! I hope it wasn't too bad. Like I said, it's been a while. I'd really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review!