Booth ran through the airport. After a few steps, he glanced at his watch. He stopped a man on his cell phone by grabbing his sleeve as he passed. "Hey, buddy, you know what time the flight to Brazil leaves?"
The man gave him a blank look and pointed to the arrivals board.
"Thanks," Booth breathed. He ran to the arrivals board, but his steps slowed as he recognized the couple standing next to it. "Angela? Hodgins?"
Angela smiled, "Hi, Booth. Did do a little badge-flashing to get past baggage check?"
Booth gave her a confused look, eyes narrowing.
"What? Did you miss Brennan's flight?"
"Oh, dude. Wife's gonna be pissed," Hodgins laughed. The look on Booth's face told him he was not in a playing mood. "Sorry," he quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry, Booth. Didn't Brennan tell you what time her flight left?"
"Yeah," Booth said. He pulled a yellow Post-It from his pocket. "Six-fifteen. She... " She wrote it down herself.
Angela's face became sympathetic. "Oh. It--It left at five, Booth. I don't know why she told you the wrong time--"
"Sorry, man," Hodgins said. "Look, we're about to go out to dinner with Cam and a bunch of lab rats before we all split up for the summer. Wanna come? It's at the bar, so--"
Booth shook his head. "No... It's--It's alright. I'm--I've got things to do anyway."
"Booth..." Angela attempted to console him.
Booth shook his head and pretended to shake it off. "It's no big deal. I just must've misheard, that's all. I'll-- see you guys later, huh?"
He turned away, trying to hide a look of hurt on his face, but his shoulders slumped as he turned his back.
When he was out of ear-shot, Angela whispered, "Something happened."
"Like they slept together or something?"
"I was afraid this would happen if they hooked up."
"You have the heart of an angel," Hodgins whispered, kissing her cheek.
---
96 Hours Earlier
Angela knocked at Brennan's door. "Hey, sweetie."
"Hey, Ange," Brennan replied, not looking up from her work.
"Finishing up on your notes? I'm surprised that the judge didn't throw out your testimony. What, with the stealing of bodies and breaking of federal laws--"
Brennan glanced up for a second. "Perhaps there was something substantial to the fact that Jared was willing to lose his job and we all risked our lives to save Booth."
"Either way, I'm glad that this whole fiasco's about to be put behind us." Angela walked over and sat on Brennan's desk. "When does your flight leave?"
"Um... Friday." Brennan finished writing and looked up. "Why?"
"Well, I kinda wanna see you lift off, Bren. You know, say good-bye?"
"Oh. Well, I'll write it down for you so you can be there on time." Brennan stood and walked over to Angela.
"I'll miss you, sweetie. I hate that you feel like you have to run off to the other side of the world whenever summer comes around. Next year, you're staying here in DC and we're going to actually spend time together. Go shopping, hang out. Hodgins has this great beach house in Martha's Vineyard."
Brennan smiled. "That sounds lovely, Ange, but this year I've already committed to helping out the local government in BrasÃlia."
"You are quite the wild woman, Bren."
Brennan rolled her eyes. "There aren't that many Forensic Anthropologists; my skills are a sought-after commodity. This is important, Angela. "
"And hanging with the woman you consider your best friend isn't? C'mon, sweetie, take a breath, take a break. It wouldn't hurt you to rest a little--relax."
"I'll relax when Heather Tafett serving her sentence and I've finished identifying the BrasÃlian bodies. After that, is when I plan to relax."
"Please tell me that you're not going to come home and start identifying Korean War mummies. That's not relaxation. Relaxation is sitting on a beach, soaking up the golden rays of South Pacific and admiring a pool boy wearing nothing but a Speedo. That's relaxation. Not death. Take my word for it, sweetie."
"Actually, I plan on renting a cabin for the week before we come back, then I'm going to start doing the thing that I love most-- solving crimes with Booth, because that's what I do and that's what I find relaxing."
"Fine. As long as you find a lonely fisherman at the cabin and/or a stranded hiker. Preferably one with hypothermia."
Booth popped his head into the room. "Ready, Bones?"
"Well, I'll just see you guys at the courthouse. Hodgins and I are gonna have a quickie, then we'll go put that grave-digging bitch behind bars." Angela walked out of the room.
"Lunch?" Booth asked.
"Of course." Brennan replied. She stood and put her jacket on.
------------------------------
This will be more of a casey-type of fic, but I just had to write it. I couldn't help myself!!!
