AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Daisy190, Caravida, GGjunkie33, ElLivFan4Ever, future mrs. jim halpert, Serienjunkie 91, Celia Joy Booth, and CSI-4077. Special thanks to redrider6612 who helped me whip the end into shape. It wouldn't have been as fluffy without her. Hope you enjoy the rest.
After two weeks of watching Brennan carefully and seeing no change in her behavior, Angela began to wonder if the conversation had been a daydream. She walked into work Thursday morning wondering dispiritedly if maybe she should give up on trying to get Booth and Brennan together.
Brennan darted out of her office when she saw Angela walk by. She grabbed her friend by the arm, pulled her into the office, and closed the door behind them.
"I did what you said," the anthropologist.
"Huh?" Angela said, confused. "And whatever happened to 'Good morning' or 'How are you?'"
"Oh right. Good morning, Angela. How are you?" Brennan asked.
The artist sighed. "Fine, sweetie. Now what were you saying?" she asked, despairing of getting her friend to remember the pleasantries.
"I did what you said," Brennan repeated.
"I tell you things all the time, Bren. Which particular set of advice are you talking about?" Angela asked.
"You know," Brennan paused, a bit embarrassed, "the experiment about Booth?"
"That was two weeks ago and you never said anything, so I figured that you'd decided not to do it," she said.
"Oh," the anthropologist said, momentarily surprised. "In order for an experiment to be successful, it must be repeatable. While this doesn't exactly meet the criteria of a true scientific experiment, multiple repetitions were necessary in order to successfully test the hypothesis."
Angela rolled her eyes. "How about skipping the details of however you designed the experiment and give me the results?"
"Ange, experiment design is critical for obtaining valid test results," Brennan objected.
"I agree, sweetie, but you're a good scientist so I'm sure you designed it well, which is why I don't need the details," replied the artist. "So, how about those results?"
Blushing a little, she answered, "Several times I deliberately told him where I would be, in case he wanted to hang out. Once he said he was busy, and I was disappointed. Twice he said he'd see me later and then he showed up later. The other two times, he didn't say anything and I spent time anticipating his arrival. The time he didn't come I was very disappointed and then I wondered what he was doing."
She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I also cataloged other things. My heart rate increased by an average of twenty-five beats per second the first time I saw him during any particular encounter. Every time he called me Bones, I felt like smiling. He gave me two guy hugs and I didn't want him to let me go. Since you told me to just experience things, I realized a few things. Sometimes he makes me feel both happy and mad at the same time. When I'm near him I feel safe, even though sometimes being around him is dangerous, especially when we're chasing a suspect. Sometimes when he touches me, I can't seem to think straight and a couple times I was nervous about what he'd think when I told him something. A couple of times I knew when he entered a room before he said anything. Once I might have felt nauseated, but that could have been bad food."
'I doubt that. It was probably butterflies. I can't believe she can be this analytical about her feelings,' Angela groaned inwardly. Angela wasn't sure if allowing Brennan to stay in analytical mode was a good idea, but she responded best to logic.
Out loud she said, "So you analyzed your physical and emotional reactions. Have you come to any conclusions based on your findings?"
"I don't know," Brennan replied. "I don't recall ever having this same combination of reactions to another person. Booth is physically attractive, and anthropologically speaking, a good candidate for mating, but I'm not sure about being in love with him."
Trying a different approach Angela said, "Name a person you've been in love with."
"Um… I'm not sure," Brennan answered, unable to think of such a person. "I remember having crushes on guys when I was younger and I've found a number of men to be sexually appealing, but love?" She shrugged.
"So you could be in love, but might not recognize it, not having experienced it before?" the artist pushed her friend.
"I suppose so," she answered.
"Then take it from me. As someone who's been in love before, the way you described your reaction to Booth? That sounds similar to how I felt about Kirk and how I feel about Hodgins now. What you described are the symptoms of being in love, sweetie," Angela said with a huge smile.
A pensive look crossed Brennan's face as looked as she mentally debated whether or not to believe her friend. Angela had never lied to her, but she was always trying to push the two of them together.
Her decision made, she asked, "I'm not sure if I'd call it being in love, but I definitely agree it's something. So what do I do?"
The artist bit back a squeal of victory and put her mental happy dance on hold to reply, "You've never wanted my advice on men before, sweetie."
"I know," Brennan said, "but this is Booth we're talking about and there's a lot more at stake."
"You're right. But there's also potential for this to be something so much more, so much better, than any other relationship you've had before. None of the guys you've ever dated have known you well. Booth already knows you and likes you. I think your partnership is a great foundation for a relationship between you two. You may not need a piece of paper to prove your commitment, but you do have to have someone to be committed to, and I think Booth could very well be that person," Angela answered soberly, still suppressing her inner glee.
The artist saw her friend's thoughtful expression and slipped quietly out of her office. She took a walk in the Jeffersonian's gardens where she let out her pleasure with a loud squeal and a happy dance around the fountain, attracting very odd looks from some of the tourists.
Later that morning, Booth strode into his partner's office flipping his lucky poker chip and whistling a jaunty tune. As usual, she was at her desk giving her keyboard a good workout. However, she normally scolded him about his whistling in her office, but today she didn't even seem to realize he was there.
"Hey, Bones," he said, trying to get her attention, "I came by for those files you told me were ready."
She stopped typing momentarily to point to a stack of files on the corner of her desk and then returned to whatever work was absorbing her attention. He grabbed the files and sat down on her couch to review them and sign on the appropriate lines. He pulled out the documents destined for the FBI and placed them in a separate folder.
When he was done, he returned the slimmer stack of files to the corner where he'd found them and said, "So, Bones, you wanna do lunch?"
"Hm…" she responded, inattentively.
For a moment, he thought about teasing her but then he had a better idea.
"Can I have a millions dollars?" he asked her slyly,
"Hm…" she replied the same as before, still typing furiously.
He tried again, "So, when are you going to let me read the lastest chapter of the new book you're writing?"
"Hm…" she started to say, and then midstream her brain processed the question. She looked up from her computer and fixed him with a stare.
"Booth!" she exclaimed. "You know I won't let you read it. You just have to wait for it to come out just like everyone else. About lunch, sure, and…"
Angela sailed into Brennan's office at that moment, thrust a drawing pad into the anthropologist's hands, and said, "I finished the face of our latest limbo case. I'm running it through the missing person's database now. Oh, and Zach wants to consult you about some bone anomaly. Hi, Booth."
Booth grinned and said to Brennan with a wink, "Well, now we know how long Angela can talk before she needs to take a breath."
Brennan glanced at the picture and said "Nice work" before standing up and moving toward the door.
"Oh, Booth," she said as she exited, "I forgot that I'd already made plans with Ange for lunch. And we can talk about the other question later."
Then she and Angela headed for the platform.
Booth stood rooted to the spot, momentarily stunned. 'She'd think about giving me a million dollars?'
Then he hurried after them. By the time he was a few steps from the stairs, the women were already on the platform.
Unable to contain his question any longer, he called out, "You'd seriously think about giving me a million dollars, Bones?"
She turned to look at him and answered, "If you had a good use for it? Sure. It's not like I'm using the money."
Their gazes caught and she couldn't look away. For some reason it suddenly became important that she decipher the expression in his eyes. She tuned everything else out and examined his face with the attention she usually saved for her bones. He stood stock still, under her weighty gaze, caught in her brilliant blue orbs. As her gaze lengthened from a few seconds into almost a minute, he began to blush at her intense scrutiny.
As though all the tumblers of a lock clicked into place, Temperance finally realized that Angela was right. She was in love with him. What she had been looking for wasn't in his expression, but her heart.
Keeping her eyes locked on his, she walked toward the stairs.
"Dr. Brennan," Zach started to say, still wanting her to look at his bone anomaly.
Half a second after words began coming out Zach's mouth, Angela had her hand over it, shushing him in a firm whisper.
Brennan walked down the stairs and to her partner's side, unaware of the alarm sounding behind her. She slipped her hand around his arm, standing very close to him. He looked at her, a question in his eyes. She stretched up and brushed her lips against his. A flash of heat surged through him and he stared at her with wide eyes.
"Booth?" she said.
"Yeah?" he replied, dazed at her unexpected action.
"I love you," she confessed softly, before kissing him again.
She felt the surprise ripple through his body as his muscles tensed for a moment. Then she tugged on his arm gently, to pull him out of his daze. A small part of her brain was in shock at her boldness, but the rest of her sighed in satisfaction that she'd made her move.
As they walked slowly toward the exit he relaxed and she snuggled just a little bit closer. A few steps later he said, "I love you too, Bones." Then he pulled her into his arms for another longer kiss. And then after a pause, "So, lunch?"
"Yeah, I don't think Angela will mind being stood up," she answered with a smile that lit up her whole face.
Meanwhile, Angela listened carefully trying to hear as much of their conversation as possible. As soon as they were far enough away not to be disturbed by conversation, Angela took her hand away from Zach's mouth. He began to scold her about letting Dr. Brennan getting away, but Angela eyes were glued to the backs of the departing couple, a dreamy expression on her face. She was so glad that she hadn't given up.