"For all the times you stood by me,

For all the truth that you made me see"

Brennan cocked her head and paused, wine glass barely ghosting against her lips.

"For all the joy you bought to my life,

For all the wrong that you made right"

Angela and Brennan were having a 'girls night'. Brennan understood the concept, and had undertaken this ritual many times with Angela. As far as she could see, it was designed to be a bonding ritual, and she enjoyed it very much. Angela understood they way Brennan's mind worked, and Brennan enjoyed the fact that she felt more like a normal person during these evenings.

"For every dream you made come true,
For all the love I found in you"

Tonight they were drinking wine and sorting through several boxes that Angela had got out of storage, and apparently later was going involve ice cream and someone called Bridget Jones. Brennan wasn't sure who that was; she imagined maybe one of Angela's friends was coming over.

"I'll be forever thankful baby
You're the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through, through it all"

The boxes had turned out to be a collection of memorabilia that had Angela shrieking with laughter.

"Oh my God, sweetie! Leg warmers! Tell me you wore leg warmers!"

"I do recall a winter where I wore leg warmers every single day, yes" Brennan grinned. "I had a neon pink pair that I loved – I made my mum wash them every night so I could have them for the next day!"

"You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak"

"Oh no, I can't believe I've still this!" Angela was waving a CD around in the air.

"Ange, what is it?" Brennan laughingly made a grab for the CD.

Angela groaned in shame and buried her head in a throw pillow. "Celine Dion". She groaned again. "It's from my romantic, tortured artist phase. I dreamt of living in a squat in Paris, having a passionate all-consuming affair and dying of consumption at 25."

Brennan wrinkled her nose. "That doesn't sound very enjoyable."

Angela laughed. "No, but at the time I thought it sounded romantic."

"You were my eyes when I couldn't see,

You saw the best there was in me"

"I don't believe I've ever heard of this singer. Would you object if I played the CD?" Brennan was examining the back of the case curiously.

"No, sweetie, go ahead. I'm just going to go and get some more wine, and try and regain some street cred".

"I don't know –"

Angela smiled indulgently. "Expression, sweetie. Just don't tell anyone I've got that, ok?"

"Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me"

"Ange?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Are you finding motherhood fulfilling?"

Angela's expression softened immediately. "Oh yeah, God, it's just amazing. It's so fulfilling, y'know? It's like, you know that everything you do is going towards creating and shaping a whole new person, who was created out of love." Her expression slowly changed from that of a serene Madonna to something more mischievous. "Plus, having a totally besotted husband who is willing to take the baby away for the night so I can have a night with my best friend and a lazy day in bed helps majorly!"

"You gave me wings and made me fly,
You touched my hand I could touch the sky"

The two friends chatted easily for a while, until the shrill insistent ring of the phone interrupted. Brennan stretched back luxuriantly on the sofa and sipped at her wine, listening to the music.

"I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all"

Brennan cocked her head and paused, wine glass barely ghosting against her lips.

"I'm grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you"

She felt something start to stir inside her. Dammit, could she not go even one evening without thinking about Booth? The point of this evening was to forget about him and allow Angela's boundless happiness to lift her spirits. She was sick and tired of trying to make sense of her feelings towards Booth. Seven months in Maluku hadn't helped, Booth's return from Afghanistan with a girlfriend hadn't helped, even his subsequent break-up hadn't helped in any way to clarify her feelings.

"You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me"

Sitting on Hodgins' sofa, her mind dulled slightly by several glasses of wine, Brennan allowed the music to wash over her. Listening to the lyrics, she could feel the cogs in her brain turning. She allowed it to happen, not wanting to think tonight, wanting to be able to just feel, like everyone else.

"Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me

You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You've been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you"

Brennan felt a warmth washing over her. If it wasn't such a ridiculous notion she would swear she could feel her heart growing with a sudden realisation. At that moment, Angela came back and sat down heavily on the sofa, clutching another bottle of wine and a cheese plate.

"Sorry about that, Hodgins called. Apparently, Willow had a major poo explosion all over his shirt. I don't know what he expected me to about it, I think he just wanted someone to sympathise. Sweetie? Sweetie are you ok?"

"Booth loves me, Ange."

"Yeah, sweetie, he does." Angela smiled wistfully.

"I believe, despite my previous assertions to the contrary, that I love Booth."

Angela's smile turned into a beam. "Yeah, you do. I could'a told you that years ago!"

Brennan toyed with the rim of her wine glass, running her finger slowly round the rim. "I find myself uncomfortable with expressing the emotion. I am not able to quantify my feelings in any meaningful way, but I believe… despite that, I know it to be true." She looked up at Angela bashfully, to find her best friend's eyes filled with tears.

"I am so proud of you Brennan. Really, I am." Angela covered her friend's hand with hers, knowing that Brennan was uncomfortable with more demonstrative displays of affection. "I hope that one day soon you'll be able to tell him that too."

"It's too soon, Hannah only returned to Iraq two weeks ago"

"Bren, do you know why he ended things with Hannah?"

"He told me it was mutual, because of her career."

"Wrong. I know you struggled to even like her, but Hannah and I became friends of a sort. We went for a drinks a few times, just casually. When she said she was going back to Iraq, we went for a final drink. She told me that the reason it ended was because it's obvious to her that Booth is still in love with you, and she didn't want to be second best."

"I hope she doesn't-"

"She doesn't, sweetie. Hannah knew that Booth had run from something in D.C., and it was obvious the moment she got here. It's the risk she takes, dating soldiers, and she knows it."

Brennan felt something blossoming in her chest, something suspiciously like hope. Angela smiled, she could practically see the cogs turning in her friend's genius brain.

"You can think about it later Bren, we're only halfway through our girl's night, and I know you'll need time to think this through. But I really hope that one day soon you'll tell Booth how you feel. He's opened your heart to so many things you denied yourself, and you deserve this, you both do. Sweetie, love may be ephemeral and fleeting, but that doesn't mean you can't be happy right now. If you can just know that you'll be happy today, and hope for tomorrow, the future will take care of itself. Be brave, sweetie, and you'll be happier than you ever thought possible."