Ok, I haven't written anything in FOREVER, simply because I had no urge to write. Then however I had an idea for a one shot in my head and started to write. Problem is that after page 12 and no end in sight I decided to split the OS up into several chapters.
I think the main reason I wrote this is because I love the couple and I am frustrated with the lack of FFs abou them out there. So if you read this and say "I can do better and I don't agree with your ideas" then please o ahead and write! I can't wait to read some FFs about them. Then I can stop writing again ;)
Chapter 1
Arastoo closed the door behind him and stuck the key in the lock from the inside. He let his bag slip off his shoulders and just left it next to the door. It had been an exhausting day at university and at the library. He had stopped by at the gym afterwards to get a workout. He hadn't been at the Jeffersonian in two weeks and slowly it was getting to him. Another long week to go until he would be back and be able to see her again. Of course he knew that it was crazy that he missed her, but his heart was not listening to his head.
"And here I go again," he muttered, frustrated that he just couldn't stop thinking about her. A moment later he heard his cellphone beep and took it out of his jeans pocket.
He saw her name pop up on his cellphone screen when he checked it for the message he knew he had got. As always he felt his heart speed up when he read her name, even though he knew that all of her texts were strictly business. The first time he met her he was surprised. He knew that his direct boss Dr. Brennan was young but he never expected her boss to be equally young. And not only was she much younger than he expected, she was also incredibly pretty. Dr. Camille Saroyan she had introduced herself and he had found himself struggling with the accent for a second. He had felt stupid for faking it because something in the way she had looked at him made him want to tell her the truth. His first encounter with the entomologist Dr. Hodgins taught him though that the accent was needed if he wanted to survive in this lab.
"Hello Arastoo. We need you to come to work this week, not next week. I had to change the rotation. Does that work for you?- Cam" he read and took a deep breath to fight down the disappointment. How he wished she would send him private messages- not that there was a reason why she would do that. She didn't know that he had a crush on her. How could she? For her he was just the strange Muslim intern who prayed five times a day and had faked an accent for a while.
'No problem, Dr. Saroyan. Eight as usual?" he replied and sat down on his sofa, keeping his cellphone close. It was a stupid question, but he wanted to keep talking to her. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Sure, he had had a crush on someone and yes, he had been in love. However he had never fallen for a woman so out of his reach- his bosses boss.
She fascinated him. She quipped and had this dark sense of humor on one hand, but he just knew that behind that shell was a really sensitive woman who had an incredibly soft heart. She had taken in the girl she had once raised and hadn't seen in over ten years. From what the others had said that girl was also the reason why Cam never had her own kids. She loved that girl so much. When he first heard the story from one of the other interns he had barely known Cam, but he had been incredibly impressed. Who knew the tough Dr. Saroyan had such a soft heart?
"Sure. See you tomorrow Mr. Vaziri. Good night" came her quick reply. He couldn't help himself when he sent the next text message. His fingers flew over the keyboard and he knew that she wouldn't understand, but he had to tell her. If she asked he would just say he had sent it accidentally to the wrong number because he had been chatting with someone else at the same time.
'What does 'دوستت دارم' mean?' She wrote back a minute later.
He wasn't sure how to reply because his plan suddenly seemed stupid. He wasn't willing to lie to her though so he chose another way.
'Good night,' he wrote back, hoping he would get out of it that way. He could not only make her angry, but he might as well lose his job.
'Good night to you, too' Cam replied once more and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.
As Cam walked back from the restrooms in direction of her seat at the stadium she found once more that it hadn't been a good idea to seek the bathroom out during the break. Constantly someone bumped into her, she had waited forever in line and she had met one of her former colleagues who she really didn't want to meet- especially not the second she realized her cigarettes were empty.
Finally getting nearer she walked towards the hot dog stand and thought about buying one out of sheer frustration. It weren't the hot dogs though that caught her attention.
"Arastoo, that is a nice surprise," Cam greeted him surprised but happy. She was actually quite surprised herself just how happy she felt to see him again. The second she had recognized him she had become all giddy inside. It had nearly been a year. Way too long, even though he had sent her postcards from time to time.
"Dr. Saroyan," he smiled back. "I didn't know you go to baseball games."
"I do. Not regularly, but sometimes," Cam replied and just couldn't wipe the dopey smile of her face. "But what are you doing here? I thought you were in Baghdad," she went on.
"I was. I am back now. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to," he admitted with a slight shrug of his shoulders and bit in his hot dog.
"What happened?" she wanted to know, her face going from happy to concerned in a split second.
"It's a long story," he sighed. "Now I wished I stayed after Dr. Brennan left," he admitted. And after you presented your boyfriend, he thought but of course never said it out loud.
"You know that Dr. Brennan is back. You could come back as well," Cam replied.
"Are you offering me back my intern job?" he grinned and threw the napkin into the nearby trashcan.
"You know I can't do that. That's Dr. Brennan's decision. However I think she might not be opposed to you coming back," she hinted.
"I'm going to switch my master back anyway so I think I will contact her," he agreed, still smiling. Damn he looks good, she thought.
"So, tell me about your time in Baghdad," Cam said, because she didn't want this conversation to be over yet. Out of all the interns she had missed him the most- that much she was willing to admit. Even though she had been wary about him in the beginning the more she had learned about him, the more he intrigued her. Behind every comment she had freaked out about had always been an incredible story. While the other interns all had their story it was usually Arastoo who shared the details of his life with her first. He had told her about his believes, he had let the accent slip with her and he had told her how he had shot another human being in self-defense while he had worked as a translator. And no matter how ignorant or silly she acted because of his religion or heritage he was always understanding and never really angry with her. Behind every little quirk there was always a reason and still he never judged anyone at the lab.
"Uhm, break is over. Where are you sitting?" he asked her and pointed to the field. The way they were standing they would get in trouble quickly because other spectators couldn't see anymore.
"Over there, 15th row. You?" she replied and pointed to the far left.
"Other direction," he told her and pointed to the right.
"Hey Cam, are you coming back?" Michelle walked up to them.
"You remember Mr. Vaziri?" Cam asked her daughter and pointed to the former intern.
"Sure, hi," Michelle smiled and gave him a small wave.
"Hello, Michelle," he replied. "You're enjoying the game?" he wanted to know.
"Not really. It's kind of crap," the teen shrugged.
"Michelle," Cam said disapprovingly because of her language.
"I have to agree, though," Arastoo grinned. "It's a crappy game."
"See!" Michelle jumped in immediately.
"You wanna get out of here? There's a diner a few blocks from here," she asked her daughter.
"Oh yes, finally!" the girl exclaimed.
"You wanna come Mr. Vaziri?" she asked him and felt her heart speed up. Since when was the intern making her that nervous?
"Yes, thank you," he laughed and together they walked out of the stadium both with he smiles on their faces.
Once they got out of the diner again it was close to midnight. Cam couldn't remember when she had last had so much fun just sitting somewhere talking. Arastoo's tales from Baghdad had been sad but they had moved on quickly to gossip about the Jeffersonian and tales from there and Michelle had added her usual smart-ass comments. They had bother exchanged stories about funny encounters with Brennan, Hodgins and the other squints as well as Michelle and they added stories about their own teenage time. At one point she had laughed so hard that she had to go to the bathroom and wash the black tear tracks off her face.
With a smile on her face she unlocked the door to her condo and heard her cellphone beep. She placed the keys on the small table and fished her phone out of her bag.
'You got home safely?' she read and her smile widened eve more. He really was a sweet guy.
"Yes, thank you. Hope you, too," she replied.
"Of course. Good night! دوستت دارم!' his next message read. She knew the shape of the letters even if she couldn't read them.
"Good night. Sleep well," she replied and then switched her phone to silent. She had to laugh again when she walked into her bedroom, remembering a story Arastoo had told her about his first encounter with Hodgins. Michelle watched her through her open room door and grinned. There sure was trouble in paradise ahead for the good Paul.
"I talked to Paul today," Cam said as soon as she sat down at the table. He had arrived at the diner shortly before her and had already ordered them something to drink.
"And how did it go?" Arastoo asked her because he knew that she wanted to end it with her doctor boyfriend that day. They had become closer these last few weeks and had shared several long phone conversations and talks over lunch and dinner.
"I'm not sure he really got what I was saying," she sighed and took a sip of the drink he had ordered for her. Arastoo remained silent and just waited for her to continue. "He insisted that we could spend more time together so that I saw him more as my boyfriend and less as my daughter's doctor," she went on.
"What reason did you give him for ending it?" He asked her then, knowing her well enough by now that there might be more to it.
"That it was not working for me anymore because I still find it weird that I am dating my daughter's ob/gyn," Cam let him know and took another sip.
"But he is not Michelle's doctor anymore," Arastoo pointed out.
"I know," she nodded.
"And Michelle doesn't have a problem with it," he went on.
"She doesn't," she confirmed and wrinkled her forehead as she narrowed her eyes.
"And it wasn't weird enough that you didn't start dating him." He had barely closed his mouth this time when she interrupted him.
"What are you his lawyer?" She snapped angrily.
" No, I am merely pointing out that if that is the only reason you gave him why you don't want to date him anymore that he is understandingly not buying it," Arastoo replied and didn't back down.
"I don't have to give either of you any reason why I don't want to date him anymore. I am just not in love with him, isn't that enough?" She was still angry and it was audible in her voice.
"Yes, but you never said that," he smiled a little as he pointed it out. "And you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want. I am merely here as your friend offering my advice."
"I know, I'm sorry," she sighed.
"Don't be. Just be honest. If you don't want to tell me that's ok," Arastoo pointed out and couldn't help but look her in the eyes. He longed to take her hand, to pull her into his arms and kiss her, but he knew he couldn't do that. He loved her, but if he overstepped boundaries she would eat him alive.
"I broke up with him because I am interested in someone else and I thought it unfair to string him along," she admitted without breaking the eye contact. Arastoo wasn't sure if he was imagining things but the way she looked at him... She was talking about him, wasn't she? Without thinking too much about it he placed his hand on top of hers on the table and gave her fingers a soft squeeze. It could be interpreted simply as a friendly gesture... Or not. Her eyes softened and he could see the vulnerability she usually hid at all costs. Her professionalism and her quips were a good way to hide it and she was damn good at it. However he knew her and he knew that she loved deeply and would do everything for her friends and family. She was empathetic and warm, even if she hated to show it.
"Can we now please change the topic?" she asked then, broke the eye contact and pulled her hand away.
"Of course," he nodded and snapped out of his Cam induced daze. "I was meaning to ask you if I could have next Monday off," he said then after taking another deep breath.
"I don't think that's a problem. You have an appointment because of your thesis?" she asked.
"I have an appointment, but not because of my thesis," Arastoo said and Cam didn't miss the fact that he became slightly nervous and avoided answering her. It was too good an opportunity to let it go by.
"So who are you meeting with?" she grinned teasingly.
"I have to answer otherwise you won't let it go, will you?" he sighed.
"Not a chance," she laughed.
"I am meeting with my publisher about my new book," he finally admitted and steeled himself for the reaction.
"You're a writer?" she asked surprised.
"Kind of," he tried avoiding a real answer again.
"Please tell me you're not writing crime novels like Dr. Brennan," she begged jokingly
"I'm not," he shook his head, but didn't elaborate.
"Arastoo," she grinned and raised her eyebrows. There was no way she was letting him off the hook until she knew everything.
"I'm writing poems," he sighed, suddenly feeling really exposed.
"Really? What kind of poems?," she wasn't done.
"Politics, fear, death, love…" he trailed off.
"I'd love to read some," Cam immediately declared.
"They're in Farsi," he played his last trump.
"Oh… that means Arabic letters, right?"
"Yes," Arastoo confirmed and Cam pouted for a second.
"Can you write my name in Farsi?" she asked suddenly.
"Of course," he agreed. "Do you have a pen?"
She rummaged through her bag for a moment, then pulled out a pen and handed him her unused paper napkin. "Here you go."
كاميل he wrote. And then added: دوستت دارم
„So, that's my name right?" she asked and pointed to the first word.
"Yes, that means Camille," he nodded seemed strangely flustered all of a sudden.
"And this I recognize from the text messages," she went on and pointed to the next two words.
"Yes," he simply nodded, unable to look her in the eyes.
"That means..." she didn't get to finish her sentence before he jumped up and interrupted her.
"I need another drink. You want something as well?" he asked hastily.
"No, thanks, I'm good," she shook her head and looked down at the words. 'Beautiful' she thought and then watched Arastoo as he ordered his drink.
TBC
Last words: I am pretty sure about the Arabic script because I speak Arabic. I am working without a beta though so I know there are mistakes in there. Sorry for that.
