Hard To Reveal

When Brennan walks in on Booth and Cam hooking up in the lab, Booth and Brennan are forced to confront their feelings for one another. A high profile case tests allegiances and loyalties.

I started this story before the Howard Epps episode with the 'who will Booth sleep with' teaser, so this is unrelated.

Disclaimer – I own nothing related to the show. I'm just writing a fictional story to amuse myself.

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Brennan slowed and parked her car in one of the reserved spots at the front of the lab. Normally she wouldn't, but it was late and she was tired. Besides she was just running in to pick up a file that she had forgotten. It was almost 11 on a Friday night and no one would be here to yell at her for parking in the wrong spot. By no one, of course, she meant Cam. Her new boss whose main job seemed to be trying to keep her in line. That and stifling the scientific creativity of her and her team.

Sighing, Brennan grabbed the file she was returning and exited the car. It's Friday night, she told herself, I am not going to think about Cam. Brennan had started working even more on the weekends when it became apparent that Dr. Saroyan tried to avoid the lab at all costs between Friday and Monday. Lately, Brennan had had some company on her weekends in the lab as her other employees had discovered the boss' aversion to working on the weekend. Wouldn't want to get in the way of shots and poker, Brennan thought. Though they had come to a sort of truce recently, there was still something about Cam that Brennan didn't trust.

Waving at the night guard as she passed, Brennan entered the lab, her mind focused on the file she needed and the nice hot bath waiting for her at home and not on her surroundings. If she had been paying more attention she would have seen the black SUV and black BMW parked in their usual spots. Turning the corner and entering the main lab, she looked up from the file she was holding and promptly dropped it, papers spilling across the floor.

"Oh!" She said in shock and embarrassment as her brain tried to process what she was seeing. Booth's naked upper body. Cam's naked … well what appeared to be everything. They both turned to look at her when she dropped the file, the sound echoing loudly in the now silent lab.

Her face flushing a deep red, she bent down and desperately tried to cram all of the papers back into the folder. Once she had them all, she took a quick peek in the direction of the lab. Cam had grabbed her clothes and was quickly trying to put them on. Booth was standing with his shirt in his hand, but he made no move to put it on. Instead he stood watching her with a shocked expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," she stammered, "there was a file and …." Finding nothing else to say, Brennan took off down the hallway, hot tears pricking at her eyes. She wiped at them with the back of her hand, wondering why the hell she was crying. The hallway seemed excruciatingly long and she picked up her pace, practically running when she was sure they could no longer see her.

"Are you alright Dr. Brennan?" The guard asked before she could burst out door. She slowed, nodded her answer and stepped out into the cool night air, relieved to be out of the lab. Oh my god! She thought. I can't believe I just walked in on Booth and Cam. My partner and my boss. Booth. Reaching her car, she put a hand out on the hood to steady herself. She wasn't sure why it was bothering her so much. Angela had told her that Booth and Cam had been together in the past, and Cam herself rarely let an opportunity go by to remind her that she knew 'Seeley' in ways Brennan didn't. If they wanted to date or whatever, it's fine; I don't have any claim on him. What he does in his personal life is his own business. She tried to convince herself.

Feeling somewhat reassured that it was indeed none of her business; Brennan fished her keys out of her bag. Her calm betrayed by a tear that fell and left a small wet circle behind on the leather. "Shit!" She muttered as she angrily wiped at her eyes. What the hell is wrong with me? I must have gotten something in my eyes. Yes, that's it. It must be allergies or maybe I am coming down with something. I am not crying because Booth was having sex with Cam in my lab. Her lab now, a voice reminded her from somewhere inside, but she ignored it.

"Bones!" She froze at the sound of her name. She had stayed in the parking lot too long. Looking down at the keys in her hand, she considered driving away, pretending she had never heard him. Brennan unlocked the door and was reaching for the handle when she heard Booth come up behind her. Crap! she thought. Now he is going to see me crying and think that it has something to do with him.

"Bones," He began in a conciliatory tone, "I'm sorry. That was completely inappropriate." Brennan nodded her head slightly, but didn't turn around.

"Could you please look at me?" He requested.

Brennan rolled her eyes and then turned to face him. She stared intently into his eyes, daring him to mention the fact that she had obviously been crying. Wisely, Booth chose not to comment on it.

"You don't have to apologize to me. I would rather … that type of activity didn't take place in the lab, but she is the boss." My boss, she wanted to add.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like that … I was looking for you." Booth said. At his comment Brennan's eyes opened wide and Booth realized how what he had just said sounded.

"I, I didn't mean it like that." He stammered. "I was looking for you to ask about something completely work related and Cam was there and she…"

"I don't need the details Booth." She said shortly, cutting him off.

An awkward silence descended over the parking lot. Booth stared down at his feet and wondered what the hell he was doing out here. He had stood still for a few seconds after Brennan fled down the hall, probably out of shock. Cam was swearing under her breath and trying to get her cloths on, her haste making the simple task exceedingly difficult. Cam had called his name and he finally snapped out of his trance. He had thrown his shirt on and followed Bones to the parking lot, hoping to catch her. Now that he was here he wasn't exactly sure why. He had left one woman naked in the lab without so much as a word and ran after another woman to whom he didn't know what to say. Feeling like an idiot, he grasped for anything he could say to Bones.

"Cam and I aren't dating," He said lamely.

"Um, ok." Brennan said.

The awkward silence continued. Brennan's eyes flicked to the door of the lab. She definitely didn't want to run into Cam now, no matter what the status of Cam and Booth's relationship was.

"I better get going." She said breaking the silence.

"Yeah, right." Booth took a step back to allow her to open the car door. Say something, he urged himself.

"Bones," he called and she stopped and turned to him.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're ok."

Eyes narrowed, she glared at him and said, "I'm fine Booth."

He paused a moment before asking, "Then why were you crying?"

"I don't know," she answered quietly, her eyes focused on her hands. Quickly, she got into the car and was gone before he could respond.

Booth stood in the parking lot watching the taillights of the silver Mercedes fade into the darkness. Kicking at a rock on the ground, he launched it across the parking lot and took small satisfaction in how far it went. Women! He thought in frustration before slowly walking to his truck.

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The song on the stereo ended just as Brennan pulled into her parking space. She turned the car off and sat in the ensuing quiet and darkness for a few minutes. Resting her head on the steering wheel she asked herself, what just happened? Why had Booth followed her outside? Did he just leave Cam standing there? Why the tears? Realizing that sitting in her car wasn't going to help her sort anything out, she gathered her stuff and headed to her apartment.

The bath she had been looking forward to no longer sounded appealing and the clock told her it was getting late anyway. Brennan walked into her bedroom to change. Usually, she carefully put each piece of clothing in its proper place, whether it be the hamper or a hanger, but tonight she left everything in a pile on her floor. The green silk of her favorite pair of pajamas made her feel a bit better.

As she left the bedroom, her mind was racing, trying to analyze things she wasn't yet ready to analyze. She needed to focus her thinking on something other than Booth and Cam. Brennan poured herself a glass of wine, sat down with the scattered file and began to put it in order. Unfortunately, it didn't hold her interest enough to keep her mind from wandering.

Fine. She would admit, though only to herself, that it had upset her to see them together, and perhaps even made her jealous. But just a little bit and even that was completely irrational. Despite any other factors, and even if she wanted to be with him, they worked together. That was the bottom line. They were partners, even if they didn't have the same employer, it wasn't allowed. Of course, dating your professor in college is probably even more forbidden and she had done that. But this is different, she told herself, there is much more at stake now, personally and professionally.

Dropping the reorganized file on the table, she poured herself another glass of wine. It was definitely going to be uncomfortable around the lab with Cam after this. Especially if Booth had run off and left Cam with no explanation. Great. All they needed was more tension. The wine had the desired effect and Brennan could feel herself relaxing, she lay back on the couch and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing as her sensei had taught her so many years before. She began to drift off to sleep – until a knock on the door demanded her attention.

"What are you doing here?" She asked Booth when she opened the door. He was standing in the hall, his hands in his pockets, still wearing the same clothes he was wearing earlier.

"I don't know," he said echoing her earlier sentiment.

Booth stepped around her and into the apartment. He picked up the file on the table and thumbed through it absently before setting it down and turning towards Bones.

"I was just driving around and I ended up here."

"Do you want something to drink?" Brennan offered, unsure why exactly Booth was standing in her living room.

"No thanks." Booth said. He seemed to be considering something, so she waited for him to speak again.

"You know, my life was a lot less complicated before I met you." He said softly and Brennan was slightly taken aback. She wasn't sure if she should be offended; his words said yes, but his tone said no.

"Well this last year hasn't exactly been easy for me." She said annoyed. "Pretty much my entire life has been turned upside down! I've been shot at, I've shot people, been investigated for murder, and then my family…"

"I know." He said. "I didn't mean it like that. I just." Booth stopped and looked at her.

"Are you still seeing David?"

"No," She answered confused by his sudden change in conversation. "It's been over for a while."

"What happened?"

"The usual," Brennan gave him a rueful smile. "Me."

"What does that mean?" Booth asked.

"Oh," she said with a dry laugh, "You know, just that I work to much, have trust issues and am emotionally distant." She was trying to sound flippant, but Booth saw a flicker of pain pass through her eyes.

"I always said that David was an idiot." He reminded her.

Smiling, Brennan crossed the room and picked up her wine glass. She took her time taking a drink and tried to figure out what Booth was doing. She wished that she had his talent for reading people because right now she had no idea what he was thinking. The night had started out with her interrupting Booth and Cam having sex, and now Booth was standing in her living room calling her ex-boyfriend an idiot for breaking up with her.

"Booth, what's going on?" She asked finally.

"I didn't like seeing you with David," He said after a long pause.

"I didn't like seeing you with Cam." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Booth had been standing across the room from her, but at her words he moved closer.

"So what are we going to do about this?" He asked.

"Nothing. There is nothing we can do." Brennan replied firmly.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Cause I think we should kiss." Booth declared.

"What?" Brennan replied her voice high with shock. She took a step back from him, banging her leg on the coffee table in the process and nearly falling over. Smooth, she thought as she righted herself.

"Maybe I don't like seeing you with other guys cause I think it should be me. Maybe we are meant to be more than friends. Maybe we aren't."

Brennan swallowed hard and asked quietly, "And a kiss will tell us that?"

"I'll be easy to tell if there is nothing between us. Then we will know and we can just be friends. Friends who don't get jealous." Booth said, his voice low.

"And what about Cam?" Brennan asked.

Booth ran his fingers through his hair and said with a sigh, "That was just recreational."

"What is this?" She asked her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Scientific inquiry. Chemistry experiment."

She wanted to ask what they would do if it turned out there was something between them, but the question died on her lips and she found herself nodding instead.

Booth moved closer to her and put an arm around her waist. His proximity made her suddenly aware that while Booth was fully dressed; she was wearing only flimsy silk pajamas. The leather of his jacket was cool against her skin and Brennan knew that she was in trouble by the way her heart was already pounding. She didn't need to kiss him to know that she was seriously attracted to him, but she didn't move away. When Booth pulled her closer to him, she didn't resist. With his left hand he gently traced her jaw line before leaning in and pressing his lips against hers.

The kiss lasted longer than either intended and by the time they pulled away Brennan was having trouble catching her breath. The warmth from Booth's lips made her lips tingle and she resisted the urge to rub them.

"Ok then." Booth said, his voice slightly squeaky. Brennan didn't quite trust herself to speak so she just nodded. He had a strange look on his face and she was pretty sure that the kiss had affected him as well. Taking several steps back, his eyes never left hers.

"I'm gonna go." Booth said.

"Yeah." She agreed.

"Goodnight Bones," Booth said as he closed the door behind him.

"Good night Booth," She whispered to the closed door.

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Please review and let me know what you think so far. This is just the set up. The next chapter will have a case and squints and tension. Always the tension.

Happy Friday to All!