As stated at the beginning of the actual chapter this follows about a week after Brennan had her nighttime revelations. I admit I had simply planned for Booth' side of the story but when I woke up at 7am this morning Angela was firmly lodged in my head and she would not go away until this was done. Thanks again to everyone that has taken the time to read, to review and to add me to their alerts, I am feeling very humbled by all of it and hope you consider this an adequate thank you!

For those of you that I promised there will be a positive outcome, I swear, there is! It's already mapped out but I can't deny other voices to be heard either so on with the story. Enjoy!

Oh, and something I forgot to do in the first chapter... this is entirely and completely dedicated to my two wonderful twitterfriends yvetteoz and pantherama. Without them there would be no story, trust me!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones nor will I ever own Bones. I love watching it, however!

Ties and Contracts, Part 2

A week had passed since they had closed the case on Richard Cole, the pretend rocker found in the industrial sized washing machine. And while Angela was indeed a bit preoccupied with her own emotions and dealings at the moment she still noticed that something was wrong with her best friend.

Come to think of it Brennan had been acting a little off for a few weeks now but for some reason the past couple of days had made it more pronounced than before. However, it was nothing that Angela could put her finger on, it really was more of a vibe than anything else.

Eyes narrowing the artist quickly pulled up the latest security logs from the lab and scanned them for Brennan's work hours. To her surprise there was nothing out of the ordinary there. No overtime or anything. Next she checked the identification files and reports her friend had submitted but their number was well within normal, too. Brennan was nothing if not consistent, if there was something troubling her she would have buried herself in work but judging by the data in front of her she had not. Which meant it was time for plan B - get it straight from the source!

Quickly, Angela stepped out of her office and checked the forensics platform but only saw Hodgins on there which meant that Brennan was very likely in her office. Perfect. She made her way over there and found her friend seated at the desk, staring intently at the computer screen in front of her.

Naturally, Brennan did not notice her lurking in the door which gave Angela the opportunity to give her a quick once over but again she could not find anything out of the ordinary so she finally asked, "New case?"

That startled Brennan out of her reverie and made her look up at her friend. "Hey Ange. Sorry, I didn't see you come in."

"Yeah, I noticed," Angela replied, grinning. "Are you okay?"

"Me? I am fine, thanks. Just doing some research for my new book. Very interesting."

"Already? You just had that last one published."

"It's only some preliminary ideas. But I don't think you came here to ask about that."

"Well, no. I was walking by and it occurred to me that I hadn't seen Booth all week and I was wondering what's up with that?"

Brennan frowned. "There's nothing 'up' as you put it. There's been no new case so I've been clearing up some of my backlog here at the institute. And Booth mentioned he had quite a bit of paperwork to catch up on as well. We've been having lunch at the diner every day though."

Angela smiled at that. "So... things are good between the two of you?"

"Yes, sure. Why wouldn't they be?" There was the tiniest amount of impatience in Brennan's voice causing Angela to do a mental fist pump. Score!

"I don't know, I was merely asking. I guess I am just used to Booth hanging around here all the time, case or not. And he wasn't this week so I thought maybe you had a fight or something."

"Booth and I do not fight. We...discuss things."

"Right. It's what normal people call bickering but I will let that one slide. So, how's Andrew?"

Brennan fidgeted in her seat. Bull's eye, Angela thought not quite expecting what came next.

"Good, I imagine. I am not seeing him anymore. Socially, I mean."

"Wait... what?"

"I said I am not seeing Andrew anymore."

"You broke up with Hacker? Brennan, why? It's only been a few weeks."

"Which is exactly why I didn't 'break up' anything. We've only gone on maybe a handful of dates."

"But last time we talked about him you were all excited about it. So what changed all of a sudden?" Angela asked, coming over to lean against the desk.

"I've come to the conclusion that Andrew would like to enter into a social contract with me. I do, however, not reciprocate that desire so I do not see the point of going out with him again."

"Social what? Contract? What in the world are you talking about? This isn't another one of your fancy codeword things, is it?"

"Codeword. No, of course not. It's a common anthropological term, a basic construct. Take Booth and Catherine, for example. They've gone out a few times and now she presented him with a gift, a tie in this case. In doing so she entered into a social contract with him, like a form of commitment to each other. When I told Booth that Andrew had given me a CD with some of his favorite music he pointed out that Andrew was doing the same with me."

"Wait a second here, you backed out because he gave you a CD?"

"And a subscription to Lapham's Quarterly, both very personal gifts. Just like the tie."

"Okay, let me get this straight. Booth got a tie from Catherine."

"Yes. With frolicking cetaceans on it."

"Frolicking what?"

"Ah.. dolphins..."

Angela's eyes widened at that. Of all the things to pick it had to be dolphins. No wonder Brennan used that tongue-twister term.

"So he told you about the tie?"

"Well, he was showing it off, kind of. So I asked him if it was new."

"Okay, with you so far. I take it that's when you told him about this whole social contract thing, right?"

"Yes, I did. He wanted to know why I found the whole gift giving process so interesting."

"Of course. And what did Booth say to all that?"

"He was surprised, I think, but that's normal, right? Since he is no anthropologist."

"Yeah, that's perfectly normal. He's still seeing Catherine? After you told him, I mean."

"Yes, I believe so. I haven't asked him about her again, it seems to make him uncomfortable, so I stopped mentioning her."

"And you also stopped seeing Hacker."

"Because unlike Booth I am not looking for a meaningful relationship with someone, Ange. It hardly seems fair to Andrew if I kept pretending I was."

For a moment Angela was too shocked to speak and that did not happen too often. Had her normally socially inept friend just said that? That she would willingly take a step back to spare someone pain over something that might or might not happen. Apparently Brennan had come a lot further than she had realized. A few short years ago things like this would not have mattered to her because she simply was not aware of them or did not consider them important enough.

"I guess you are right, it does not seem fair. And Booth still dating Catherine despite what you told him doesn't bother you at all?" the artist asked, anxious to hear the answer.

Brennan looked straight at her when she replied. "Why should it, Ange, he's my partner. And he really deserves someone nice."

Slightly frustrated with the anthropologist's rational demeanor Angela pushed away from the desk and walked to the office door. Once there she turned around and said with feel, "You *are* someone nice, sweetie, don't forget that."

What came next stunned Angela so completely that she barely managed to suppress a gasp when, for the fraction of a second, Brennan's usual composure slipped, and the pain she felt inside was reflected right there in her eyes and face as she said, "I just want him to be happy, Ange, that's all that matters to me."

With that she turned back to her research, clearly indicating that their conversation was over.

And for once Angela did not pry further. She had enough to think about as it was, she reflected as she returned to her own office.

TBC