'I still wish you hadn't done that Angela,' Brennan said.
'Sweetie, if nothing else I can tick being incarcerated off my list of things to do before I die.'
'I wouldn't have held it against you if you had testified. It's your job and therefore your duty to-'
'It's also my duty as your best friend to not help put a needle in your dad's arm,' Angela interrupted her, her tone wry. 'You can thank me by buying me that new pair of Manolo's I've had my eye on.'
'Purchasing shoes doesn't measure up to what you did.'
'Then you can buy me two pairs. There. Problem solved,' Angela replied with a flourish. 'Tempe, you got your father back. Just…be happy about that okay?'
'I am happy,' Brennan said definitively. 'But I'm also confused Ange. I've spent the last fifteen years of my life wondering if my father was alive or dead. And then all of a sudden he's here and burning the Deputy Director of the FBI at the stake. I just…I just need some time to get used to knowing that he's here now, that he's not going to just run away again.'
Angela bestowed an affectionate look on Brennan, looping an arm around her shoulder. The two friends sat in silence for a while, both reflecting on what had transpired.
'I heard about Booth's testimony. The one where your lawyer hounded him about whether you were capable of murder,' Angela started, prodding.
Brennan released a sigh. 'He's not very happy with me at the moment.'
'I wonder why,' Angela murmured sarcastically. Sometimes, she felt like tearing her hair out in frustration. Often, she simply found Jack and an available room but that option wasn't available at the moment.
'You shouldn't have done that Sweetie,' Angela admonished. Jack had told her of the look of agony on Booth's face, of the look of distaste that had lingered around the FBI agent when he had left the stand.
Brennan looked at her with surprise. 'I wouldn't have done it if I knew he wasn't capable of handling-'
'Not everyone can compartmentalize like you can Bren,' Angela told her. 'It's a great skill when you have to deal with bones and depraved human beings, but not a very good one when it comes to the ones you love.'
'He said he felt like he betrayed me,' Brennan whispered. 'I told him he didn't.'
'The man's stuck by through everything, you know that right?' Angela continued when she saw Brennan nod. 'He's seen the real you. Temperance, what's it going to take to make you realize that Booth's in love with you?'
'He's not in love with me-'
'He is,' Angela insisted, tightening her grip on Brennan's arm. 'That man has fought tooth and nail to make sure that you're safe everyday. He would take a bullet for you. I know its scary and frightening that he feels this way, but you can't jerk him around like that anymore.'
'I don't know what to do Angela.' The pain underlying her best friend's voice made Angela's heart break just a little. 'I can't stop him from feeling that way. I can't…I can't stop myself from feeling that way either.'
Angela felt her jaw drop in amazement. 'Excuse me?'
'I don't know what love is Angela,' Brennan said, turning to face her. 'What I've had with other men doesn't compare to what I feel whenever I'm with Booth. I understand that love can be equated with serotonin-'
'Oh don't even start with the chemical reaction thing,' Angela said, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture.
Brennan smiled thinly at her. 'The one's that I have formed an attachment to have left me. Michael left because he couldn't handle me being the superior one in the relationship, just like you said. David left because he said I wasn't emotionally invested enough. Sully left because I couldn't contemplate a life where it was just me and him.'
'Booth isn't going to leave you,' Angela told her.
'But what happens when he does?' Brennan asked her plaintively. 'When he walks away, I don't think-'
'If he leaves, not when,' Angela corrected her. 'You need to get rid of this idea that Booth is going to disappear without saying goodbye. He's stuck by you for three years.'
'It's awfully presumptuous that we're both assuming he feels sexually and romantically interested in me,' Brennan commented.
'Sweetie, trust me on this. He is. A blind man from Mars would be able to tell what Booth feels for you. We just need the man himself to buy a clue.'
'How can a clue be bought?' Brennan asked, confused. 'A clue is necessarily a hint and I doubt there would be any monetary value attached to such an intangible-'
'It's just something we say, alright Sweetie.'
'I told him that he wouldn't leave me,' Brennan told her abruptly. 'I told him he'd stuck by me when Dad and Russ left.'
'Maybe you should tell him about how he confuses you too,' Angela said softly. 'I think he deserves to know.'
'Booth told me once that there was a line that we could never cross. He didn't say it specifically to include himself and me, but just partners in general.'
'That's because Booth is a lot like you. He was trying to compartmentalize,' Angela retorted. 'I think its time the two of you stop running from something that could be become so much more, don't you think?'
'It isn't that simple Ange.'
'Maybe so,' Angela conceded, shrugging her shoulders. 'Or it could be that you're just making it complicated by thinking about it too much. You tend to overanalyze things just a tad.'
Brennan offered a noncommittal noise in response.
'The man is terrified of pushing you into something you're not ready to,' Angela told her. 'He knows how skittish you become when it comes to your feelings. Seeley Booth is not the kind of man to just sit back and wait. He takes what he wants. But because it's you, he's sitting back and he's waiting Tempe! But you can't expect him to twiddle his thumbs forever.'
'I know,' Brennan replied, her voice heavy. 'I'll think about it, alright?'
Angela sighed. 'Okay. You know I love you right? I just want you to be happy.' She pressed a kiss to Brennan's temple.
'I don't know what I did to deserve a friend like you,' Brennan repeated the words she had said earlier.
'Right back atcha Sweetie,' Angela said warmly.
'Oh. Hey Angela. I didn't know you were still here.' Booth's calm tone betrayed the uncomfortable demeanor that he had adopted. Standing in the doorway, he rubbed the back of his neck.
'I was just leaving,' Angela advised, catching his eye and hoping that he understood the silent message hidden beneath her look. 'We'll go shopping this weekend so you can start reminding me how wonderful I am, alright Bren?'
'Thank you Angela,' Brennan said sincerely, wrapping her friend in a hug.
'Just tell him,' Angela whispered, giving her a hard squeeze in return before leaving the room. She had done all she could, and hearing Booth's awkward greeting, she hoped she had done enough.