Waiting Under The Tree Of Enlightenment

A/N: This will only be a one-shot. A Roxie/Angela pairing (femmeslash), nothing too graphic.

Rating: K

Genre: Romance/Humour

Summary: Set in season 5, the night before Christmas and Angela is putting presents under her tree, alone. She wonders what Roxie is doing for Christmas night, and then receives a text from her as she walks to the park. Angela ignores the text messages as they build up on her phone and sits under the huge Christmas tree decorated by the city annually.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

Angela ties a neat bow on a small gift for Booth and smiles inwardly. They were socks again, same as last year, but Booth never seemed to mind, as long as the pair she decided on were even more interesting and creative than the previous pair.

This year Angela had bought a pair of plain white socks that she smothered in silver glitter and decorated them by sewing red and green ribbon on, making sure they zigzagged carefully across each sock. After that long and tedious part had been done, she moved on, and glued little felt reindeers on the outer side of each. She finished off the pair with Santa-style white fluff around the rim and 'Merry Christmas!' slashed across the feet.

'Okay.' Angela said, consulting her Christmas present list, 'Booth is getting socks, and Zack is getting a sweater. Cam said she'd like a painting...so that portrait of her and Michelle will be appreciated. Sweets' will hopefully like that copy of "Avatar" I managed to pick up in Fiji, and Jack... well, I guess I could give him an ant farm, but I'm sure he'll like the "Encyclopaedia of Insects" more.'

Angela sighed, 'But...Brennan? She wanted...nothing. Nothing at all.'

Angela gazed around at her decorated flat, searching for some form of inspiration, when it hit her.

'Inspiration, inspiring. Words of wisdom.' Angela grinned and grabbed a piece of paper.

"Words of Wisdom from Angela Montenegro" she scrawled across the top of the page, doodling butterflies and flowers around the edge.

'Roxie always loved flowers.' Angela thought glumly, as she put the pad down and lay on her back, gazing at her brightly decorated tree through lidded eyes, 'She's probably out partying. '

Beep-beep.

'Ughh,' Angela groaned and slapped at the coffee table, fumbling for her cell.

She tapped the screen and 'ROXIE', flashed across the bright background, with a picture of Roxie hugging a tree.

Angela smiled softly and put her phone down.

She grabbed her thickest coat and pulled on her boots as she walked out the door, slamming it behind her and pushing her phone deeper into her pocket.

A cold blast of wind hit Angela as she trudged through the park, heading for the centre of the park where the giant tree that was always there was undoubtedly situated.

Beep-beep.

Angela ignored her phone and grimaced as she sat down beside the huge tree, realising that it was decorated but the lights were not turned on.

Beep-beep.

Angela leant back and tucked her knees under her backside, closing her eyes so as only to let a slit of light in and tucking her hands tightly under her arms. She pulled her coat tighter around herself and sighed.

'Do I get her a present?' she asked herself aloud, 'Or do I just...ignore her.'

Beep-beep.

'Oh for God's sake!'

Angela sat up suddenly and threw her phone at the tree, watching as it shattered against the trunk.

'Shit.' Angela hissed, getting up and walking over to the tree, frantically trying to piece her ruined phone together again. She growled and abandoned her lame attempt at hand to phone CPR, leaning back against the fir trees strong trunk.

Beep-beep.

Angela laughed, kicking her shattered phone further away.

Beep-beep.

Angela groaned.

Suddenly, Angela felt two cold hands cover her eyes.

'Guess who?' Angela felt warm a warm breath that somehow managed to send chills down her spine.

'I – I don't know.' Angela said, her breathing becoming ragged as the unknown person moved so her back was pressed against their chest.

'Oh come on, Ange!' the voice laughed, 'You have to know.'

Angela racked her brain, trying to remember who on this earth had a voice so beautiful, that made her feel so tingly inside.

'You clearly don't check your phone then.' The voice stated.

'I- um, broke it.' Angela frowned and lifted her hands to remove the hands that covered her eyes.

'Clearly.' The voice giggled, 'Nuh-uh. My hands stay here until you guess.'

Angela sighed, 'I truly do not know.' She insisted.

'Of course you do.' She laughed, Angela had now identified the voice as female, 'think back, to today, your phone. Think, Ange, think!'

'Okay, phone. Phone equals calls, messages, messages being texts. Uh, okay, who has texted me today?' Angela said to herself.

'I have.' The mysterious woman whispered.

'Wait...Roxie?!'

'Bingo.' Roxie removed her palms from Angela's face and sat on her knees facing Angela.

'But...how? Why?' Angela asked, confused as to why Roxie was here.

'I knew you were alone. And you always said,' Roxie moved so her forehead rested against Angela's, '"No one deserves to be alone, especially at Christmas."'

Angela moved her head so it sat lightly in the crook of Roxie's neck, she smiled against the pale skin.

'You said you couldn't be with me.' Angela kissed Roxie's neck, 'because I lived in the moment.

'Yeah,' Roxie laughed, 'and then I realised how ridiculous I sounded.'

'Ridiculous?' Angela asked, looking up at Roxie.

'Ridiculous,' Roxie confirmed, 'Because, I live in the moment too, occasionally.'

'Oh, occasionally, hey?' Angela chuckled, pulling Roxie down on top of her so they lay pressed up against one another.

'Yeah, occasionally.'

Suddenly, they were caught in a blinding light as the tree before them lit up in an almost ethereal way.

'Wow.' They both whispered simultaneously.

'Ange?'

'Roxie.'

'Why didn't you reply to my texts? I was really worried.' She asked, gazing right into Angela's eyes.

'I – I don't know.' Angela replied, trying to look anywhere but at Roxie.

'Yes you do.' Roxie insisted, sitting up so she was almost...straddling.... Angela.

'I...'

'Spit it out, Ange.' Roxie said, completely serious now.

'I didn't know what I'd say. You broke up with me, remember?'

'You still could've replied.' Roxie laughed humourlessly, 'but that's not the real reason, is it, Ange?'

'Well...no, but-'

'Then tell me why.'

Angela sighed, 'Why? Because, I had no idea what to get you for Christmas, I wasn't sure if I should even get anything... I still care about you Roxie, I still want to be with you, get a dog with you, live with you, even.'

'I'm a cat person.' Roxie laughed, 'or should I say lion person?'

Angela laughed but then sighed, 'I know, but... I wasn't sure what I could get you, if anything.'

'You should have read my first SMS then.' Roxie started to stand up, but was pulled down again by Angela.

'Why?' Angela asked, moving closer to Roxie.

'Because, I actually got you a present.' Roxie inhaled Angela's familiar smell, the smell of paint, canvas and charcoal, 'here.'

Roxie pulled a neatly wrapped package from her pocket and handed it to Angela.

'Can I open it?' Angela asked, a small smile tugging at the corners of her painted lips.

'Sure.' Roxie replied, running her fingers nervously through her own hair.

Angela gently tugged at the purple ribbon around her present, letting it fall loosely into her lap, and unwrapped the gift one corner at a time. Now unwrapped, in her lap sat a small black box, and Angela looked up at Roxie, eyes full of unspoken questions.

'What is it?' Angela asked, looking from the box to Roxie and back again.

'Just open it.' Roxie smiled, and shook her now-blonde hair so that it covered her face.

Angela opened the small box and gasped.

'Oh my God.' Angela's gazed at the gift, amazed.

'You like it?' Roxie asked, trying to comprehend what Angela's reaction meant.

Angela softened, 'Yeah, I like it.' She said, leaning in, she slid her hand up Roxie's face, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear and leant in.

Roxie closed the distance between them and grinned, revealing her teeth, 'That's good.' She said, before moving as close as possible to Angela, without touching her, 'No, that's great.'

And with that, they kissed.

Somewhere in the city a bell chimed, signifying Christmas day had arrived,, but Angela and Roxie were unaware of this fact as they sat passionately kissing beneath the tree.

The box fell from Angela's grasp, and a small Christmas tree-shaped dog tag rolled onto the grass, shining in the tree light. 'Chrissie', was engraved in swirling letters on the tag, it was red and little "x's" covered the front.

'I love you.' Roxie mumbled into the kiss.

'What?' Angela asked, pulling away and breathing heavily.

'I – I love you.' Roxie repeated, stroking Angela's face tenderly.

Angela grinned, 'I've always loved you.'

'Is this a moment?' Roxie asked, smiling, 'Is this the moment.'

'Yeah, it's a moment, but it's also the future, our future.' Angela replied, moving her head so it sat on Roxie's chest.

'Our future,' Roxie said quietly, 'but is it the moment, Ange?'

'The moment?' Angela asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

'The moment. The moment when we both understand each other completely, knowing not only what we want, but what we need, and we know, how completely and utterly in love with each other we are.' Roxie ran her fingers through Angela's hair, hoping desperately she would understand what she was saying.

'Oh.' Angela said, 'That moment.'

She leant up and kissed Roxie, then lay back and grinned.

'Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is it.'

As they both now realised, that every day they missed one another, no matter what. And that, sometimes, living in the moment wasn't always that bad...as long as you always remembered to look forward to the future, whatever it may hold.

So as they sat under that tree, they both knew, because after all, you can only learn new things under that particular tree.

Why?

Because that tree, that tree was the tree of enlightenment.