A/N: So a few of you requested a follow-up to The Heart on the Line showing the Squints reactions to Booth and Brennan finally getting on with it. Since I work for the Catholics, and they give a lot of time off around Easter, I decided to oblige. Plus, it took my mind off all the spoilers floating around lately. I hope you enjoy!
Monday.
The lab was buzzing at its typical Monday morning pace, everyone trying to catch up on all the work that had somehow managed to accumulate over the weekend. Cam, Hodgins and Angela were gathered around a simulated map of the D.C. area from the 15th century, arguing over possible burial sites related to the Powhatan exhibit.
"Ugh, this is boring! I swear to God, if I'm asked to create a computer model of one more Native American hunting implement, I'm gonna...well...I don't know what I'm going to do, but it's going to be bad!" Angela stepped away from the map, rubbing her temples.
Hodgins laughed. "Don't worry, Ange. G-man's back. I'm sure we'll have a murder to work on in no time. Then we can tell the Native American Department to take care of their own busy work."
"People," Cam said in a warning tone, "must I remind you that you are actually employees of the Jeffersonian, not the stars of CSI?" She gave them a pointed stare, but secretly she agreed with Angela. If she heard the words "Powhatan Confederacy" one more time, she might take a chapter from Booth's book and shoot something.
"There you people are! Hiding back here with the computer screens. Hmpf." Caroline Julian marched into Angela's office with her hands on her hips, looking impatient. "I'm trying to find Morticia, and you better tell me her fool partner is with her."
Cam laughed and gave Caroline a quizzical look. "They're holed up in her office. She's lecturing him on all he's missed."
"Well, I'll just have to go check up on their progress." She turned toward's Dr. Brennan's office.
"I would approach with caution Ms. Julian," Hodgins warned. "We arrived at the same time this morning, and they were in full business mode. Dr. B. can be kind of unapproachable when she's like that."
"Oh honey," she laughed at the entomologist, "she'll be thrilled to see me." She walked off with a wink.
Two heads snapped up at the sound of Caroline bursting in to Brennan's office.
"Mmmhmm." Caroline took in the scene before her, Dr. Brennan at her desk, Agent Booth in a chair on the other side. They appeared to be signing huge stacks of paperwork. "Okay. I see that everyone here is fully dressed and seated at a respectable distance from each other." She glared at Booth. "I hope these are indicators of your commitment to professional decorum and not of your continued failure to be a man. I was not kidding about that belt buckle Friday night; I will take it and do unimaginably horrible things to it."
Brennan smiled shyly, and Booth flashed the prosecutor his most charming grin. "I would say we managed to work it out, Caroline."
"Uh,uh. I don't trust you, and I've never had patience for euphemisms. Spell it out, Seeley."
Booth hesitated just a second too long before responding, leaving Brennan with the impression that she should help him out. "If, by the phrase 'be a man', you were somehow making reference to Booth's sexual prowess. I am happy to reassure you that I now have evidence that he is very advanced in that area. His masculinity is definitely not in question."
Caroline gaped at the doctor in amusement, while Booth squirmed in embarrassment. "Geez, Bones."
"What? What did I do?" She looked at him all wide-eyed and innocent. "I was just trying to save your belt buckle. You love that thing, and it's not easy to replace. Did I do the wrong thing?"
"Oh no, Morticia" Caroline jumped in with a laugh, "you answered my question perfectly. See, Cassanova?" She turned to Booth. "That's what you get when you don't say what you mean. Well, I'll leave you two love birds alone. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't need to kick Seeley's ass." She smiled at Brennan on her way out. "Honey, I know you can handle him, but if he gives you any crap, you know where to find me."
Brennan smiled as she watched the prosecutor leave. She turned to Booth and said, "She likes me."
His heart clenched as he returned her smile. "Of course she does, Bones. Everyone likes you."
"Booth," she said in an warning tone. "Where are we?"
He sighed. "We're in your office, Bones. What, I can't be nice to you in your office?"
"Of course you can be nice," she teased. "You just can't look at me like...like..."
"Like I want to rip all of your clothes off and make love to you on your desk?" He stuck out his tongue. "Don't worry, Bones, I know the deal."
"Good. Are you ready to inform the others?" She nodded at the door.
"No time like the present, Bones."
Booth and Brennan walked in to Angela's office where their friends were gathered and closed the door.
Angela looked at them excitedly. "Puh-lease tell me we have a case."
"Sorry, Ange," Brennan replied. "We don't have a case, but we do have an announcement."
This got everyone's attention, and they immediately forgot everything else they were working on. Eyebrows raised, they settled in for an explanation.
"Now," Booth was the one to start, "we are telling you this in the interest of full disclosure. This is not a big deal. We are all adults, and I hope that everyone will keep that in mind."
Cam's eyes narrowed as she exchanged a suspicious glance with Hodgins. Angela leaned forward in anticipation. Whatever the announcement, it was bound to be good."
Brennan took over. "Yes, so our announcement: Booth and I are partners."
This time the looks that were exchanged were confused. Angela's shoulders sank under the disappointment of the anticlimactic moment.
Booth put his hand to his mouth and leaned over to Brennan to whisper, "They don't get how that's news."
Brennan looked back at him, not comprehending. She whispered, "What do you mean? I just told them...ohhh, I should be more clear." She nodded and turned back to her friends. "Before, Booth and I were just partners. Now we're partners."
Angela was the first one to catch on, and she let out a squeal of delight before running to hug Brennan.
Booth pointed at the artist. "Okay, that. That right there, that's what I mean. That is not mature behavior." Angela rolled her eyes at him and continued hugging her friend. "Nothing about our working environment will change. We are not...you." He said, pointing to Angela and Hodgins.
The bug man was hurt. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
"I believe he is referencing the fact that we will not be engaging in sexual intercourse all over the museum."
"Yes," Booth nodded. "Thank you, Bones, that is exactly what I am referencing."
"Well," Cam spoke up with a smirk, "allow me to express my gratitude to you for that....and I'm just so happy for you guys," she finished, beaming up at Booth.
Booth gave her a good-natured eye roll before continuing, "Yeah, yeah. There's one more thing. We need your assistance, and you owe us." His friends looked at him doubtfully as he shook his head, "Don't try to get out of it. Angela, you teased us mercilessly for years, and you-" he pointed to Cam, "told me I shouldn't tell her I loved her." Cam looked at the floor sheepishly, and Booth turned to Hodgins. "Okay, well you haven't really done anything, but I happen to know about your extra-curricular use of the Angelatron, so it's in your best interest to help us out."
"Excuse me?" Angela looked at Hodgins suspiciously as Booth grinned.
"Dr. B.!" Hodgins squeaked. "I thought that was just between us!"
Brennan looked at him apologetically and mouthed, "Sorry!"
Booth continued, "Okay, people. Here's what we're going to do...."
Sweets walked cautiously into the lab. Spotting Angela and Hodgins, he asked, "Have either of you seen Dr. Saroyan?"
Angela whirled around dramatically and practically shoved the psychiatrist off the platform. "You!"
"Hey!" Sweets just caught himself on the railing, barely stopping his fall. "What was that for?"
Angela glared at him with wild eyes. "What did you do?! You were with him for two whole weeks. What did you say to him?"
The sinking feeling that this weekend had not worked out for Booth and Brennan the way that he had hoped got stronger. Sweets swallowed hard and tried to look innocent. "What did I say to who?"
Angela shook her head and shoved a finger into the psychologist's chest. "Do not play dumb with me, you little baby doctor! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"
Now Sweets was really worried. In a small voice he asked, "Is...is Dr. Brennan okay?"
Before Angela could lash out again, Cam made her way to the platform. "Sweets! I'm glad you could make it on such short notice. Could we talk privately?"
Sweets followed, afraid to look back at Angela.
As soon as they were out of sight. Hodgins let loose with the laughter he was holding in. "Wow, Ange. That was pretty dramatic. You nearly knocked the kid down the stairs!"
She elbowed him in the side. "Well, since you were too busy choking back laughter to help, I had to pick up your slack. Besides," she glanced at him slyly, "I thought you were into over-the-top drama. I mean if your daily soap opera habit is any indication..."
"Hey! How did you find out about that? Can no one in this place keep their mouths shut?"
She laughed and patted his cheek as she left to find a better spot for eavesdropping. "Never underestimate my investigative powers!"
"Have a seat, Sweets." Cam gestured to a chair in front of her desk.
Sweets took a seat shifting nervously. "Uh, what did you want to see me about, Dr. Saroyan?"
"Dr. Sweets, did you know about this? Because, if you did," she continued before he could answer, "I would have appreciated a little notice. Surely you must understand the impact this will have here at the Jeffersonian."
Sweets couldn't stand the suspense any longer. "Cam, I think it's pretty safe to say I have no idea what you're talking about."
"So you were unaware of Booth's plan to propose?"
Sweets collapsed in the chair with relief. "Oh! Wow! Booth and Brennan are engaged? That's..wow. I had no idea. I mean...I hoped...but...wow...."
Cam gave him a pointed look. "Sweets, you misunderstand me. I said that Booth proposed, I did not say he proposed to Dr. Brennan."
He stood abruptly and shook his head. "What? How is that possible? I mean...who else?..." He paused as it hit him. No freakin' way! He slumped in defeat. "Catherine."
"Exactly." Cam said, watching as Sweets buried his face in his hands. "Look, they've been in her office ever since he made the announcement this morning. I would be lying if I didn't say I was concerned. I would go check on them myself, but with you being the professional...well I just thought it might be better if it were you."
"Sure," Sweets answered in a small voice, looking as though someone had just smashed one of his Star Wars figurines. "Sure, Dr. Saroyan, I'll go talk to them." He walked numbly out of the office toward his two favorite patients.
Cam felt kind of bad as she watched him go. She picked up her phone and dialed Brennan's extension. "The baby duck is crossing the pond. You're on."
Sweets felt wretched as he prepared to enter Dr. Brennan's office. He hadn't realized just how invested he was in his friends' relationship until this moment. This must be what it feels like to find out that your parents are divorcing each other to marry other people. To top it all off, he knew that he was partly to blame. Why couldn't I have just left well enough alone. He sighed, gave a sharp knock on the door, then walked dejectedly in.
Booth's arms were crossed as he leaned up against a wall. Brennan was typing rapidly, ignoring the agent. This is so not good. He cleared his throat and turned to Booth. "Umm, so, I hear you have some big news?"
"That's right Sweets. Congratulate me, I'm about to be a married man!" Booth gave him a smile.
Sweets snuck a glance at Brennan, who continued to be engrossed in her typing. "Oh, that's great, man. That's...totally...awesome."
Finally Brennan spoke up from behind her computer screen. "Yes, well, Sweets, you should be proud of yourself. It looks like you deserve quite a bit of the credit." Her tone was dry, and she spoke without looking at him.
His heart sank even further. "Oh yeah? How's that?" He faced Agent Booth.
"Talking to you on Friday night, I realized that you were right. Catherine has felt threatened by my relationship with Bones. I realized how close I was to losing her, and how devastated I would be if that were to happen. I saw then how much she meant to me and how important it was that I not miss our chance. You really helped show me what's important. I owe you one, Buddy." Booth smiled and clapped Sweets on the shoulder.
The psychologist glanced at Brennan who still wasn't looking up from her computer.
His eyes narrowed. "You went to Catherine's on Friday night?" No way he didn't go find Brennan after she left in tears. No way he was anywhere but with his partner. I don't know what's going on here, but they don't know who they're messing with. Just then, though, Brennan glanced up quickly. She caught Sweet's eye, only for a moment. The pain he saw there was almost unbearable. Oh my God. He didn't go after her. No way.
"Yeah, right after I left you guys Friday night. I didn't have a ring, but luckily that didn't matter. Sweets, I have to admit man, I thought you'd be happier. I followed your advice."
"No, I'm...I'm happy. I'm happy for you Booth." He hoped that sounded more convincing to Booth than it did in his head. He was having trouble holding it together, and he wanted to take the focus off of himself. "When I walked in to the office, Dr. Brennan, was I interrupting a conversation?"
"Yes, actually," She spoke briskly. His heart broke for her. "Booth and I were having an argument. I have decided to accept a position in Greece that a colleague has been trying to convince me to take for years. I leave in two weeks, but Booth is trying to convince me to stay for the wedding." She looked Sweets right in the eye, imploring him to understand. "Under the circumstances, considering the impact my presence is having on Booth's relationship, I believe this would be the wrong course of action. Wouldn't you agree?"
Okay, this is just heartbreaking. No wonder Angela is pissed. Not only is he marrying someone else, he's going to let her leave! He's breaking up the whole team! I can't believe this is how it's going down. Sweets could barely pull his thoughts together. "Umm, well, Dr. Brennan....you should ....you know...you need to do what's best..." Sweets' voice cracked and he began to tear-up.
"Oh, Booth, look at him!" Bones gestured to Sweets, her lower lip turned down.
Booth threw his hands in the air. "Come on, Bones! It hasn't even been five minutes!"
"But Booth! He looks like a baby animal when he's about to cry." She cocked her head sadly to the the side.
"I thought you were immune to baby animals. Isn't that what got you into trouble with Angela and the pig?"
"Guys," Sweets interrupted, looking from Booth to Brennan. "Guys? What's going on?"
Booth looked at the psychologist in disgust. "Ugh. Fine. You win. I'm not engaged to Catherine. You were right, Bones and I are completely in love." He flopped on the couch in a huff.
Brennan stood over him with her hands on her hips. "Well, don't act so happy about it, Booth."
Booth mock-glared at her. "You said we could trick him, but you totally caved! Is this how it's going to be when we have kids? One baby animal look, and you go all gooey?"
Brennan's mouth fell open, and she asked in a small voice, "Are we going to have kids?"
Booth smiled up for her, melting at the happy look on her face. "Well, I mean, you had said before that you wanted a baby, and..."
She smiled back at him.
Sweets stood back with a huge grin on his face, watching the scene in front of him with relief.
"What?" Booth and Brennan turned to him with their arms crossed, remembering he was watching.
His smile got bigger. "I'm happy for you guys."
"That's it?" Booth asked suspiciously.
"No gloating?" Brennan added.
"No gloating, I promise." He answered solemnly.
"We're not going to couple's therapy," Booth asserted.
"Understood," Sweets answered.
"No one's splitting up up," Brennan stated defiantly. "We're the best."
"Agreed," Sweets nodded.
"Fine," Booth clapped his hands. "Then I'll just grab a ride back to the Hoover with you. Let's go, Sweets."
"Wait. What?" Sweets was a little flustered. "That's it?"
"Yeah, I mean, Bones and her big ol' soft spot for you ruined all the fun, so that's it. We've been gone for two weeks- do you know how much work is waiting for us? Chop, chop, Sweets, lets move." Booth began shooing him out the door. He turned back with a smile on his face, "See ya at home, Bones."
She gave a small wave and said with a grin, "See you at home."
Fin