Chapter two:


Finally finished for the day Booth eased his truck out of the parking lot. Not in the direction of his home however, but rather in the direction of the Jeffersonian. He knew Bones would still be there, caught up in her work as usual. He figured he would drag her out of the lab and get some dinner into her. Seeing if he could gather a clearer picture of what Angela was up to at the same time.

Brennan was sitting at her desk, her fingers madly flying over the keys, when she became aware she was not alone. Glancing towards the doorway she greeted her partner with a smile. "Hi." She glanced at the clock and when she saw the time she knew he was here to drag her out to dinner before the words had even left his mouth. "Just let me finish what I am doing before I forget and I will grab my coat," she told him.

Booth took a seat on the couch in her office and let her go about finishing what she was doing. He watched with awe as her hands caressed the keys, no doubt filling the screen quickly with text. His mind drifted towards wondering what else those hands might be good at when he was snapped back to reality by Bones standing up and announcing she was done. He chastised himself for his thoughts as he stood and followed her out the door. She was his partner for goodness sakes.

They fell into a comfortable rhythm as they made their way towards the diner, and after the initial pleasantries about their respective days conversation soon turned to Angela and her party.

"I suspect that Angela is up to something," she began.

"Oh?" he responded. He was sure she was up to something but was interested to hear Bones take on the situation. Lately her intuition had been coming on in great leaps and bounds and he was proud to see her starting to use her gut a bit more rather than relying solely on what she got from the facts.

"She is organising a Christmas party. In July. Doesn't that seem a little odd to you."

Booth chuckled. Maybe he had been a bit too quick with the praise.

"What?" she challenged. "You don't find it odd that she is choosing to celebrate an occasion that is nearly as far in the future as it is in the past?"

"Celebrating Christmas in July isn't a new concept Bones. Lots of people use it as an excuse to have another party. Even some of the stores are starting to get in on it this year. And you know what Angela is like better than anyone. She doesn't need much of an excuse to throw a party. Is that the only reason you think she is up to something?"

"Not the only reason, no. But is still seems odd to me. You don't find anything odd about this at all?"

"I didn't say that," Booth quickly responded, "I agree with you wholeheartedly, she is definitely up to something. I was just interested to hear your views on what it was."

"Ah, I see." Bones felt better knowing that he shared her feelings. She continued, "Well aside from her insistence on it being a Christmas party, I find that her behaviour in relation to the subject unusual. She is being secretive, she is clearly very proud of herself, and she is far more insistent that I attend than is usual for such get togethers. She even wants to take me shopping for an outfit to wear. I can't really describe why, but something about it is eliciting a response from my nerves."

That was his girl. Booth smiled a wide smile. "Your gut is telling you that something isn't right. I am impressed Bones. You really are getting better at reading people. Soon we will be unstoppable. Between your gut and mine no case will ever go unsolved again."

Bones blushed and attempted to divert his praise. "I thought we were already unstoppable?" She didn't know why his words affected her the way they did. She knew she was the worlds leading anthropologist, an award winning, renown author. She was brilliant, and beautiful, yet a few small words of praise from her partner made her blush. More than that is made her feel warm inside, and science was telling her that this should not be the case. She focused her attention on the path before her and hoped he wouldn't notice the added colour to her cheeks.

He did notice however. He couldn't help it as the blush spread over her face giving her a warm glow against the dark night and the amber streetlights. "Snap out of it Seeley for goodness sakes. This is your partner you're looking at."

He directed their focus back to their colleague and he upcoming party. "Angela was very insistent in making sure I was coming as well. She even went as far as to offer to ring Rebecca for me and get her to swap weekends with me so I would be free."

"But that isn't your weekend with Parker? Or had you swapped for a different reason?" She knew his routine almost as well as he knew it himself.

"Well I told Angela I wasn't sure if I was free. She was pushing me so hard to come that it was making me think agreeing to do so was a bad idea."

"Oh," came the distant reply.

They continued in silence for a while, reaching the diner and claiming their usual table. Orders we placed, drinks came and still she seemed to be caught up in a world of her own. Gears had swung into action in that gorgeous head of hers. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Pardon?" she glanced up confused.

"It's a saying Bones. You were lost in your own little world and I was asking what you were thinking. Did I say something wrong earlier? You have barely said a word since we sat down."

"No, no, nothing wrong," she drifted back into her thoughts again.

"Come on, let me in, I know there is something ticking around in there," he pushed gently.

A large part of her was telling her to keep quiet, but when she looked up and found his deep brown eyes locked on hers, her resolve melted. "It's probably nothing," she told him, "But when Angela first told me about this party I got the impression that she was trying to use it to set me up on a blind date."

"And now you are wondering if the date isn't so blind after all?"

Bones looked confused again. "A blind date does not imply either of the parties are visually…"

Booth cut her off. "I know what a blind date is Bones. What I meant was that you thought maybe she wasn't trying to set you up with a stranger, but with someone you already knew." Things were starting to make a lot more sense now.

"Possibly," Bones nodded. "I certainly wouldn't put it past her."

"Nor would I," Booth agreed, "I think your gut just cracked the case."

"But we're not working on a case at the moment?"

Booth couldn't help but laugh at her. For such an incredibly intelligent woman she could be very daft at times. "I mean that I think you just figured out what Angela is up to," he told her. Then raising a glass for a toast he continued, "To your gut."

Bones laughed, colouring again, and clinked her glass against his. The conversation shifted to lighter banter and they enjoyed the rest of their meals in comfortable harmony. Booth silently congratulated himself for steering the conversation away from the awkward. They could decide what to do about Angela another time. He felt better knowing what she was up to, and after a long day he really wasn't in the mood for where that conversation may lead them.


Angela was sitting on her comfy sofa. A glass of red wine in one hand, a pen in the other, madly scribbling in a notebook balanced on her knee. She had most of the mundane details organised, the food, the alcohol, the decorations. Now she had turned her attention to the much more enjoyable parts of her plan. The Kris Kringle, and the challenges people would have to complete in order to be allowed to open their presents. Everyone would have to buy a gift for one of the others attending, and she would take custody of all of the gifts. Everyone would also select a challenge out of her Santa hat. That way they couldn't blame her for what they had to do as they had chosen themselves. And only once they had followed the instructions to her satisfaction would she let them have their present.

She just needed to work out how to make sure that Bones and Booth chose each other from her hat. And that they got a nice juicy challenge to perform each. Well that and she needed to convince them to play along, and everyone else for that matter. But she was getting ahead of herself. She needed to finish her list.

She already had challenges picked out for Bones and Booth, and she had two in mind for the other guests, 'Accept any drinks offered to you at the party', and 'Grab the ass of another party guest.' She needed two more. That way there was one for everyone, and if by luck Daisy was unavailable she would take the one that was remaining.

Inspiration came and she scribbled madly on her notepad once again. Yes, they would do perfectly. Now it was just the logistics of making sure that the right people got the right cards from her hat. She knew this when against the spirit of a lucky dip, but she was sure the party Gods would forgive her. Her friends may take a little longer to come round, but it would so be worth it.

She switched her attention to her sketch pad and drew up the invitations for the night. When she was satisfied that she had the right mix of both important information and festive cheer she put her work aside for the evening, thrilled with her progress. She would make copies of the invitation tomorrow and send them out, then when she saw them in person she would let them choose their challenge and person to buy for.

Calling it a night, she crawled into bed and soon drifted off into happy dreams as her mind played out what she hoped would follow.


TBC

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