Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, but I am obsessed!
Author's Note: My muse attacked my this morning, and this one-shot was the result. It is my take on a post-DitP episode, but ignores all future spoilers. I hope that you enjoy.
Spinning the Bottle
The group had just finished watching a movie in Hodgins' impressive and darkened media room. Hannah and Booth had snuggled together on a love seat, Cam and Paul had taken the expansive chaise, and Brennan had taken the third seat on a couch next to Angela and Hodgins. She had found herself perched near the edge, leaning on the armrest. The other two had seemed to morph into a single being at the other end, Hodgins' hand stroking his wife's very pregnant belly.
"So, Temperance, what did you think? Did you enjoy The Breakfast Club?" Hannah's voice asked in the darkness as the credits rolled.
"Yes, I think so. Of course it was nothing like my high school experience."
Booth chuckled, "Right, there were no axe murderers in this story."
"Booth, the Butcher of Burtonsville High was just a legend. We proved that."
"I know, Bones. But, next movie night, we are watching Carrie. Maybe our anthropologist here will identify more." The rest of the group laughed and Brennan sat there confused.
Hodgins had finally released his wife and was poking around the coffee table for the remote. He slowly undimmed the lights and everyone blinked, adjusting to the new atmosphere. Hodgins chuckled when he noticed the coffee table. It was covered with an empty bottle of scotch and three empty bottles of wine, as well as various glasses and several empty bottles of beer. Considering that only six people had been drinking, they had really partied.
Hodgins turned to his wife. "You know, I never had a party here when I was a teenager. I could have had a really decent kegger. Did I miss a right of passage?"
Angela, Cam, Hannah and Booth all laughed and spoke simultaneously, "Hell, yes." Paul chuckled at that.
"My parents never went anywhere, no opportunities for me to throw a party in high school, but I had some ragers in college. It's a miracle I got my head on straight and didn't flunk out. Of course I partied pretty hard in high school too. I still don't know how I got into college in the first place."
Everyone except for Brennan nodded, they all had had their moments in high school: sneaking out, drinking underage, and fooling around in backseats of cars.
Everyone took turns telling an embarrassing story of their typical teenage years. The police had once escorted Hannah home to her parents at three in the morning. She had been grounded for a month and it almost cost her going to the prom. Angela had partied with her father's groupies and roadies, and was partly responsible for the tragic demise of a cherished drum set. Cam talked about covering her high school rival's house in toilet paper along with her sister and her boyfriend at the time. Booth and Paul had eerily similar stories of girls underneath the bleachers and Hodgins talked about the time that he had destroyed the science lab with a prank that had gone awry, trying to impress a girl. His father had had to write a very large check in order to keep him from getting expelled.
Everyone turned to Brennan. It was her turn. "I don't have any stories like that. I focused on my studies."
Angela stepped in, "Come on, Bren. You must have gone to one high school party. Gotten caught in some janitor's closet."
"No. Well once, I was dissecting an animal in Mr. Buxley's office and the principal walked in, looking for a bucket because there was a leak somewhere. I had to see the guidance counselor every day for a month. She quit her job two weeks later. Does that count?" She looked at Angela, with a hopeful expression on her face. Angela just gaped at her.
"Not really, Sweetie. I meant more like getting caught by someone's parents while playing Seven Minutes in Heaven."
"I don't believe in heaven."
Hannah laughed, but Booth jabbed her with his elbow. She sobered and spoke up, "Temperance, its a party game. Like, Truth or Dare, or Spin the Bottle."
"I've never played any of those games. Although once, someone in high school stole my clothing and put it in the toilet during gym class. That was supposedly a dare, but I don't see how it's a game." The members of her team gazed awkwardly at each other, high school must have been awful for her, really, and she didn't even seem to know how bad it was.
Paul, the most outside of the group was struck with sudden inspiration. "Well, we've got empty bottles. Come on, Dr. Brennan, let us introduce you to the wonders of Spin the Bottle." Hannah nodded eagerly, it was always fun to let loose with the squints.
Booth frowned, "I don't think that's such a good idea. It's late. We should really get going. Angela, you must be exhausted." Angela scoffed, honestly, she was looking forward to it too.
Brennan was speaking, "Booth, I think I would like to experience this game. What are the rules? How do I win?" The group laughed again, as they all sat in a circle around the coffee table. Cam helped Angela to get comfortable. Hodgins moved the glasses under the table, and selected the scotch bottle for the game. He tilted it on its side, but Hannah made a grab for it.
"Temperance, this is a game where everyone wins. I'll go first." She expertly twisted the bottle and it spun multiple times before slowing. It ended up pointing at Paul. Hannah shrugged and leaned across the table, pecking Paul on the lips. He blushed slightly as the blond pulled away.
Brennan frowned, "So that's it? You kiss whoever the bottle points to? What is the point?"
Angela reached for the bottle and set it spinning, "The point, Sweetie, is that it was a way to kiss the person that you liked with no pressure or consequences. It was just a bit of fun. If you got lucky, that is. Sometimes you had to kiss Davey Watanabe. Oh, the acne." She chuckled at the memory as the bottle slowed its spinning. It landed on Cam.
Without hesitation, Angela turned to the woman next to her and planted a big wet one on the pathologist. She lingered for a moment before pulling back. Hodgins and Paul both sat with their jaws hanging on the floor. Booth grew red in the face, "Well, that was... that was..."
"Hot." Paul and Hodgins both spoke simultaneously. Everyone laughed. Except for Brennan, who was just confused. She began to form an anthropological explanation as to why two women kissing could be considered a turn on for their significant others, but Hodgins had grabbed the bottle, and she let it drop. They were all hypnotized by the spinning as the label swirled and eventually slowed. It bypassed Hannah, just barely and stopped right in front of Booth.
"Absolutely not, Bug Man. Spin again."
Cam shook her head. "Sorry, Seeley. Those are the rules." She and Hannah were laughing hysterically, while Angela had pushed her husband to his feet.
Hodgins stumbled over to the agent, and as quickly as possible, kissed his forehead, before scrambling back to his seat next to his wife.
Hannah called out, "Lame!" The rest of the group laughed, and even Brennan chuckled at seeing the absolutely red shade that had tinted her partner's cheeks. She was now starting to see the appeal of the game.
As Angela commented that Booth was maybe the "new" Davey Watanabe, Brennan grabbed the bottle and set it spinning. She had used more force than any of the others, and it twirled for a long time before beginning to slow. It passed Hannah and Booth, then Paul and Cam, then Angela and Hodgins, and finally it stopped, right on Brennan.
She frowned. "Am I supposed to kiss myself?"
Hannah waved her hand, "Do over. Spin it again, Temperance."
"Are those the rules?" To Brennan, it seemed fitting that the bottle had ended up pointing to her. She was alone, and even the bottle seemed to believe that it should be this way. She decided that she really hadn't missed much as a teenager, but she spun the bottle again, more slowly this time. It still seemed to skate on the table forever, before landing on her partner.
Brennan locked eyes with Booth. Angela's words echoed in her head, "Kiss the person that you like... no consequences... just a bit of fun." She couldn't do it. Instead, she grabbed his hand and grazed her lip on the knuckle, just the barest touch before throwing his hand back at him.
Paul made a face, "What is Booth, a leper? Poor guy can't catch a break." Hannah agreed.
"Come on, Temperance. Lay one on him. Have some fun. Come on, Seeley. Don't leave the girl disappointed." Hannah, the only person between Brennan and Booth scooted back. Then she pushed her boyfriend towards his partner. The duo stared at each other, not blinking as their faces approached each other.
They were both back in Booth's SUV. Her confession pounded in his ears as his gentle rejection reverberated in Brennan's head. Their lips were a mere centimeter apart when Brennan pulled back. She couldn't do it. There would be consequences in her own heart, the heart that she had tried to barricade and then ignore the existence of. Hannah was wrong, everyone else could win, but she was going to be the loser. She jumped to her feet.
"I have to go. I'm sorry, I forgot to e-mail my publisher about something she needed tonight. Thank you for the lovely evening. We will have to do it again soon. Good night." She sounded calm, but Angela could see the emotion in her face. Brennan then practically sprinted out of the room.
Angela shared a meaningful glance with Hodgins and before she knew it, Cam and Hodgins had read her mind and were helping her to her feet.
Booth looked down at the floor and Hannah and Paul just looked confused. Angela smiled a brilliant smile and lied, "I need to run to the restroom. This boy enjoys kicking my bladder all times of day. He is going to be a soccer star, ironic, since Hodgins and I are not athletes." She waddled out of the room as the rest of the crowd settled back on the couches, silent. Hodgins pressed the remote and a jazzy music filled the empty space.
Brennan had reached her car before realizing that she had left her bag including her keys in the mansion. She couldn't bring herself to back inside so she just leaned against her door, trying to calm herself. She had stood there for about three minutes before Angela caught up to her, holding the anthropologist's bag.
"Sweetie..."
"Don't Angela. I'm fine. Thank you for bringing me my things. I'll see you Monday."
Brennan began rummaging through her bag, growing more panicked at not being able to make her get away. "Dammit, where are my keys?"
"Clipped to your bag." Angela reached out and jingled the keys that were hanging limply on the side of the bag.
"Thank you, Angela."
"I'm always here for you, you know. If you ever want to talk."
"I know. You should go back inside, get back to the party."
"OK." Angela sounded wistful as she turned back to the house and Brennan unlocked her car door.
"I told him."
Angela whipped back around, and had to steady herself. "What?"
"During the Eames case. I realized that I had feelings for Booth. And I told him how I felt. It was stupid, I shouldn't have done it."
"It wasn't stupid, Sweetie."
"All these years, you kept telling me to open my eyes, that he wanted me. But I couldn't see it. Detective Pritchard could see it, the boy who murdered his father's mistress, even Booth's grandfather could see it. Everyone could see it, but me. And now it's all that I can see. It's Hannah holding his hand and kissing him, but when I close my eyes, it's me that's holding his hand, that is with him. I thought that I could adjust, but I can't. And that game. If I kissed him, everyone would have seen it. They would know what I know. That I love him and I can't have him. It would hurt him, and Hannah. They are happy together, I can't disrupt that. I just want him to be happy, even if it isn't with me."
Angela reached to her friend, grabbing her tightly, ignoring the pressure that it put on her enormous belly.
"I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't know. I mean I knew that you had this crazy chemistry, that you were ignoring it. I never realized that you knew that you loved him. I've been so preoccupied with my own life, I've been a terrible friend."
"No, Ange. I suppose I have learned to act. I didn't want anyone to know. I've been hiding it as best I can. I've gotten rather good at disguising my pain."
"By staying up all night in Limbo? By working yourself to death?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to run off to another dig? I know that the Egyptian consulate contacted you. I need you here. I'm about to pop, and I need my best friend to talk me off of the ledge after Hodgins passes out from excitement and fear."
"No, I'm not going anywhere. This is where I belong, in spite of everything else going on. I can handle it." Brennan released her friend, but squeezed her hand, reassuring her friend that she would be fine. Given enough time, she would heal. "Go back to your party, Angela. Play that Truth or Dare game, whatever that is. I'll see you later."
Angela gazed at her friend. "Should you be driving? You've been drinking."
"I'm fine. I had three glasses over a span of five hours. My senses are not impaired."
"Are you sure?"
"I'll be fine. Really. Thank you for being such a concerned friend." Brennan gave her friend one last smile and then sat in her car and closed the door. She waved to Angela as Angela stood in the doorway of her home, watching Brennan finally turn over the ignition and drive away. Angela sighed and returned to the media room, rubbing her abdomen and talking to her unborn child. "I really hope that you aren't a heart-breaker when you grow up."
Two hours later, Booth and Hannah had finally made it back to their apartment. Booth had been forced to leave his SUV at the estate and take a cab ride back, as he and Hannah were far to intoxicated to drive. She had tried to be amorous while in the backseat of the taxi, but Booth had just rested her head against his shoulder and stared out of the window. He had paid the rather exorbitant fee and led his girlfriend inside.
Hannah was still feeling tipsy as she undressed, putting on a silky little number that she knew Booth loved on her. It was her experience that he loved taking it off of her even more. She followed him into the bathroom where they both brushed their teeth. Hannah eventually spit into the sink and began speaking to her boyfriend.
"So, what was up with Temperance tonight? She left in such a hurry."
Booth rinsed his own mouth and shrugged. "Bones is Bones. She probably wouldn't see the point in acting out silly high school games."
"She seemed reserved tonight. Temperance is never shy. I mean I get that kissing your partner would be awkward. But seriously, even Hodgins kissed you." She laughed at the memory.
"Yeah, I guess that was it. She was shy about kissing me. It would be awkward."
"I guess a first kiss between partners after all this time, it would be weird."
The alcohol was still coursing through his system and he spoke without thinking. "Fourth."
"What?"
"It would have been our fourth kiss."
"Excuse me?"
Booth sighed. He'd stepped in it now. "We got drunk during out first case, when I had to fire her. We decided that since we no longer worked together we could sleep together. And then we went outside to wait for our cab and we kissed."
Hannah frowned and couldn't keep the anger out of her voice. "How could you never tell me that you slept with Temperance!"
Booth stammered. "We didn't. She changed her mind and got in the cab and drove off. We never talked about it again. The next day I hired her back, and it was strictly professional from that point on."
"OK. And the second one?"
"It was just a bribe, Hannah. Bones wanted a trailer so that she could have Christmas with her father and brother in jail."
"Wait, Temperance's family is full of criminals?"
"Well, yeah, but they're reformed. Anyway, Caroline told her that if she kissed me then Caroline would arrange for the trailer. It was just some mistletoe and it was over. She got her Christmas with her family and I was happy to help. It's what partners do."
"And. When was the last kiss?"
"Let's just go to bed. Talk about it later." He wearily sank down onto the bed. Hannah stepped in front of him and forced him to look into her eyes.
"No, we'll talk about it now."
"Last year, about a month before I left for Afghanistan. I kissed her. I told her that I wanted to give us a shot. She wasn't ready then. And she turned me down, and then she fled to Maluku. And I didn't hear from her for seven months. And I met you, and we clicked and I fell in love with you. Can we go to bed now?" He made puppy dog eyes at her and she nodded, but with a frown still on her face.
They both took their sides of the bed and moved under the covers. They didn't roll towards each other, as they usually did. Booth sighed as Hannah faced away from him in the bed.
"What did you mean by then?" She spoke, her voice a whisper.
"Huh?"
"You said that 'she wasn't ready then.'"
"Oh. It's nothing."
"Seeley, I'm a journalist. I can smell a rat." Booth sighed again.
"That case, with the doctor. The one that Bones thought was her. After she figured out what happened, I gave her a ride home. She told me that she got the signal, that she had made a mistake, that she didn't want regrets. I told her that I was with you, that I loved you. That you are not a consolation prize. And she understood. I thought that she understood."
"Well, now I see why she wouldn't kiss you tonight." Hannah sat up stared at a spot on the wall.
"Look, I know that I hurt Bones, but I love you, I'm not going to dump you because someone that I had feelings for once, a long time ago, changed her mind. I'm with you, all the way."
"Do you still have feelings for her?"
Booth took a deep breath. "Look, I will always care deeply for Bones. She is my partner and we have been through a lot together. We are family, but I would never cheat on you. Bones and I, we drew a line, a long time ago and we will stay on separate sides of it. We missed our moment. And you and I, we're happy together. Isn't that enough?"
Hannah sighed and began to get out of bed. "I don't know anymore."
Booth reached for her arm. "Stay, I'll take the couch tonight. We'll talk in the morning."
Hannah nodded, but when Booth awoke stiff and sore from his night on the couch, all he found was a note taped to the door, an empty bed and an empty portion of closet and dresser space. Nearly breaking his hand when he punched the wall, he stormed about the apartment, before sitting on the edge of his bed in resignation. He dialed a familiar number on his phone.
"You have reached the voicemail of Dr. Lance Sweets. I am not currently in my office, but if you leave your name and number I will return the call as soon as possible. If this is an emergency situation, please try the hotline..." Booth nearly threw the phone in frustration, but left a quick message for Sweets to call him back. He then crawled under the covers and fell back into oblivion.
Seven hours later, Booth awakened to a pounding at his door. He glanced at his phone as he groaned awake. He had missed nine voicemails and thirty-two calls. Rubbing his temples, he went to answer the door. He opened it without checking the peephole, he knew who it was.
"What do you want, Bones?"
"I came to check on you. You left Sweets an incoherent message, and then ignored calls from everyone, the Bureau and the Jeffersonian combined. And..." Her voice trailed off.
"And, what?"
"Hannah called me, we met for coffee this morning. She told me that she was moving out. She told me that she was sorry for interfering, and that she was sorry for just abandoning you. She thought it would be easier that way. I'm sorry that she left you. I know how you felt about her. She's already been reassigned to a post in the far East. I took her to the airport."
"Story of my life, Bones. I'm never good enough to make them stay. Didn't work with Rebecca, or Hannah, or you. And by my count, I've now sent two women to other ends of the globe instead of being with me. Paul was right. I am a leper."
"No, Booth. You are the best of men. Hannah is a fool to let you go."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I was a fool to let you go. She told me when it comes again, that I shouldn't miss my moment." She bit her lip nervously. "Look, I know that you probably want time and space right now. I just wanted to make sure that you were all right. And I brought you some coffee and something to eat. I'll see you later. Call me if you need anything. Or Cam or Sweets. Anybody that you think would help. We are all here for you. We all love you." She said the last line without any of her usual confidence and quickly handing him the packages that she had carried in, she swiftly walked out of the apartment, closing the door silently behind her.
Six days later, Booth and Brennan were slogging through a crime scene. Professionally, they were as together as always, but they refrained from mentioning anything personal. Still, as they wandered back into the Jeffersonian, Booth's hand found the small of her back and they smiled at each other.
Four days after that, the case had been solved. All of the squints had gone out to celebrate at the Founding Fathers, and while no one ordered any alcohol, they had still toasted to the greatest team in the world. Booth and Brennan had sat next to each other and at some point her hand had found his, and they had laced their fingers together under the table. She had leaned into his shoulder but had straightened her spine when Angela had winked in her direction. Angela and Hodgins left a few minutes later, exhausted as the baby's arrival was imminent. Cam, Wendell, and Sweets had followed shortly afterward.
Booth had offered her a ride home, and Brennan shyly accepted. Brennan stopped in the restroom, and was surprised when she returned that Booth had paid the remainder of the tab and was carrying something in a brown paper bag.
"What is that, Booth?"
"Don't worry about it. Let's get you home. It's been a long week."
He parked his SUV and walked her towards the door, his mystery package in one hand, and the other on the small of her back. He followed her into her apartment, without permission, but she didn't seem to mind. He uncrinkled the bag, and pulled out the bottle of scotch that he had purchased from his new favorite bartender.
"What is that, Booth?"
"I thought that was obvious. It's scotch. I thought we could try spinning a bottle again."
She tilted her head and stared at him. He was about to put the bottle back in the bag and sprint for the door when she smiled.
"I did enjoy that game. From what I hear, it's a game that everybody wins." She stepped towards him.
He then smiled at her. "And maybe, if you are up for it, I could show you Seven Minutes in Heaven."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "I've always enjoyed competition. Is it also a game that I can win?"
"Yes, Bones. It is."
"Good, I like winning." He nodded at her and closed the gap between them, kissing her lips softly.
He pulled back slightly, "I like to win too, Bones." And he closed the gap again.