Disclaimer: All hail Fox, Hart Hanson, Kathy Reichs and anyone else with a finger in the pot that is Bones…the characters are not mine in the least so nobody sue me.
Spoilers: Anything through Aliens in a Spaceship as this is a post-ep scene to that episode.
A/N: Again with the procrastination…I should definitely be studying "History of Anthropological Theory: From Antiquity to Today" right now (and yes that is as thrilling as it sounds) but hey, what's a girl to do? I can't help myself…Hodgins and Angela are so much more fun! Anyways please read and review!
Angela's heart broke a little as she watched Jack fight back tears. She was slightly shocked when the words left her mouth, inviting him into her bed. When she'd told him they should remain friends it was because she could see herself falling for Jack and she was afraid of the abrupt and painful ending that most falls have. But seeing him like this, so broken and vulnerable, fixing that took precedence over her insecurities. She wanted nothing more than to pull him to her and hold him until he wasn't afraid anymore.
Since they were still in the lab Angela settled for caressing Jack's cheek and giving him a small, encouraging smile. Jack pushed his face into her soft palm and, for the first time since he'd been pulled out of that car, he felt safe.
"Come on Hodgins. I've had enough of this place for one day," Angela rose from her perch on the desk and extended her hand to Jack. Shutting down his computer for the night, Hodgins rose, taking Angela's proffered hand and limping off of the platform, leaning on a crutch. Seeing Jack, following her like a small, whipped puppy very nearly caused Angela to burst into tears. She took a deep, steadying breath and tried to seem okay when she spoke to him.
"Do we need to stop anywhere and get you anything?"
"No, I usually sleep naked," Hodgins said. The retort was meant to be witty, something to make Angela smile, but the tremulous quality of his voice only made her heart hurt a little more.
When they reached the parking garage Jack froze, a wave of fear washing over him. Angela kept walking, only noticing that he was no longer moving when she felt the tug of his hand in hers.
"Jack?" she asked quietly, turning to face him.
"I…What if…" Hodgins couldn't articulate the fear he felt but Angela seemed to understand. She gave into her earlier urge to gather him into her arms, feeling him tremble as she whispered into his ear.
"It's okay Jack. I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of," Angela told him. Slowly, the trembling subsided and Jack took a few deep breaths, leaving his face buried in Angela's hair. A few moments later, Jack pulled away, taking Angela's hand back in his.
"Okay. Let's go home," Angela told him, leading him to her car.
Once on the road Jack rolled down the window, needing to feel the fresh air. The night had cooled considerably and Angela shivered but didn't ask him to close it. The drive was short and she knew that she couldn't even begin to imagine how claustrophobic he felt, back in a car not unlike the one that had nearly become his grave. Angela leaned to the radio, clicking it on and letting the relaxing, bluesy strains of Colbie Caillat's The Little Things fill the car. She began to sing unconsciously and Jack turned his gaze from the rapidly passing scenery to the woman beside him.
"You have a beautiful voice Angela," Jack told her. Angela startled, taking her eyes from the road momentarily to look at him.
"Oh God, was I singing?" Angela asked, embarrassed. Jack smiled at her and nodded. He noticed that she was only driving with her left hand, her right sitting in her lap. Hodgins reached over and took her hand in his. Angela looked down at their joined hands but didn't comment, putting her focus back to driving. As they pulled into the parking garage at Angela's apartment complex, Jack's hand tightened in hers. Angela squeezed his hand reassuringly before releasing it to shift the car into park and to turn off the ignition. Jack swallowed hard and opened his door before rolling up his window. By the time Jack had closed the door Angela was at his side, taking his hand back in hers and leading him to the elevator.
"How's your leg?" Angela asked. Hodgins was leaning heavily on one crutch while Angela carried the other so that they could hold hands.
"Okay," he lied, wincing as he shifted his weight.
"Jack…" Angela could tell he was lying, the pain was etched on his face for anyone to read.
"It's okay. I'll take some painkillers when we get inside," he told her. The elevator arrived and they got in, Angela punching the button for her floor and Jack leaning on the wall to take some of the weight off of his bad leg. When the elevator arrived at Angela's floor, Jack pushed himself off the wall, the opportunity to sit luring him to push on the last few feet to Angela's apartment. Seeing the amount of pain he was in Angela handed him the other crutch, settling for resting her hand on his shoulder while they struggled down the hall to her door. As swiftly as she could, Angela opened the door, stepping in to turn on the lights. Jack followed, heading directly for her couch.
"I'm starving," Angela proclaimed as Hodgins settled in on the couch. She walked into her kitchen and pulled open a drawer that was stuffed with take-out flyers. Returning to the living room she stood in front of the couch and gave Jack his options, "Chinese, pizza or Thai?"
"Chinese, if that's okay with you," Jack told her. Angela nodded and returned to the kitchen to order. When she was finished she walked back to Jack who had turned on the television in her absence. Angela lifted a pillow from the couch and placed it on the table in front of Hodgins who looked at her inquisitively.
"I don't know…aren't you supposed to elevate injuries or something?"
"Couldn't hurt I suppose," Jack smiled and lifted his injured leg onto the pillow, wincing with the effort.
"Oh! Do you want water to take your pills?" Angela was feeling inexplicably flustered trying to attend to Jack.
"It's okay, I have to take them with food. How long will it be?"
"They said twenty minutes. What are we watching?" Angela asked, sitting down next to Jack, leaving a small amount of space between them. Having him here, in her apartment and knowing that later he would be sharing her bed was making Angela tense and nervous. Jack turned off the t.v. when he noticed how uncomfortable Angela seemed.
"Look Ange, if you're not okay with me being here I can go," Hodgins tried to hide the disappointment he felt.
"No!" Angela blurted out, throwing her arms around his neck. "Please don't. I'm sorry I'm just being a girl." Jack was surprised by the sudden outburst of emotion but recovered quickly enough to be able to wrap his arms around her before she could pull away.
"Okay I'll stay," Jack reassured her.
A small sob escaped Angela and she cursed herself for not being able to hold it together. Jack was the one who had been buried alive, not her and yet here she was crying. She pressed her face into his neck, inhaling the scent of him and hanging on to him as though her life depended on it.
"Ange? What's wrong?" Jack wasn't sure what to make of the tears he felt wetting the collar of his shirt.
"That clock. The whole time you were gone. It was just sitting there, counting down and taunting me. And then it got to…it got to zero and I thought you were gone!" Angela told him. "I was so scared Jack. I couldn't lose you and Brennan. I just couldn't! I couldn't have dealt with it."
"It's okay Ange. You didn't lose me. I'm right here," Jack soothed. After a few more moments Angela regained her composure and pulled away from Hodgins.
"I'm sorry Jack. This isn't about me." Jack reached out and carefully wiped away the remaining tears on her cheeks.
"It's as much about you as it is me. I may have been the one down there but I would have gotten the easy way out. You would have had to deal with losing me and your best friend," Angela nodded; glad he didn't see her as selfish. The delivery man chose to interrupt their tender moment with a sharp rap on her door. Angela rose from the couch with one last affectionate look at Jack, and headed to the door. Once she'd settled up with the delivery man she dropped the bag of food on the table and went to the kitchen for plates and drinks.
When she went back into the living room, Hodgins had taken the pillow and his foot off of the table and was arranging the various containers on the surface.
"Hey, aren't I supposed to be taking care of you?" Angela asked. Jack smiled at her,
"Well I'm not a complete invalid," he told her, "don't say it!" Angela laughed,
"What? I wasn't going to say anything!" She handed him a plate and a bottle of water and sat down on the couch beside him. They were quiet as they loaded their plates with food, both contemplating the events of the last days until Hodgins decided they'd done enough brooding.
"Got any good movies?" he asked. Angela set her plate on the coffee table and knelt in front of her tv. After she pulled open the glass doors to the cabinet below, she dropped down on all fours to read off some titles. Being a man who appreciated a fine female form, Jack found himself transfixed and distracted by a very nice ass.
"RENT, Dirty Dancing, Practical Magic, Pretty Woman, Notting Hill, Miss Congeniality, Legally Blonde, Moulin Rouge!, A League of Their Own, Virgin Suicides, The Da Vinci Code…" Snapping out of his trance Jack agreed to the last title she'd read.
"I haven't seen it yet," he told her.
"Really? A conspiracy buff like you? That's surprising," Angela said as she loaded the disc into the DVD player. "Jack you do know that I can see you staring at my ass, right?"
"What? I…uh…you….um…" Jack tried to find something to say. Angela laughed at his flustered stuttering as he attempted to explain himself. She gestured to the reflection in the glass door.
"Busted," Hodgins said, averting his eyes from her in embarrassment. Angela returned to the couch as the movie started to play and picked up her plate.
"I've got no problem with being appreciated," she said smiling, and started to eat her dinner.
Jack had taken a couple of painkillers during the movie and by the time it was over they'd begun to kick in, making him a little loopy and a lot tired.
"Okay," Angela said, rising from the couch, "time for bed."
Jack nodded and attempted to stand. Two hours on the couch had given his leg time to stiffen, making standing very difficult. He looked helplessly at Angela who reached out to him, taking both of his hands and heaving with all her might to give Jack enough momentum to get off of the couch. Angela handed him his crutches and began to clean off the table,
"You go get ready for bed. There's a spare toothbrush under the sink. I'm just going to throw this out and I'll be there."
Jack limped to the bathroom, finding the toothbrush and getting ready for bed as quickly as possible. Entering Angela's room was a little intimidating at first. This was her inner sanctum. Her place of refuge and she'd opened it to him. Pain and exhaustion won out over any sense of awe at the idea of sleeping in Angela's bed, let alone with Angela, and he took off his sweatshirt and pants, leaving him in boxers and a t-shirt.
When Angela entered the room a few minutes later she found Jack sitting on the side of her still made bed.
"What are you doing?" she asked, noticing how glazed Jack's eyes were from the pain, the drugs and exhaustion.
"Which side is yours?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter," Angela couldn't believe he'd waited to ask her that. "Just get in and go to sleep. I'm just going to change and I'll be back in."
When she returned to the room Jack was lying on his back with his eyes closed, presumably sleeping. Angela moved as quietly as she could, avoiding the floorboards she knew creaked, and lifting the blankets carefully to get into bed. Once settled she reached over and extinguished the lamp, allowing the room to settle into darkness. Tentatively she moved closer to Jack, unsure exactly how close she should be. Angela gasped when she felt Jack's arms close around her, pulling her body flush against his.
"Goodnight Jack," she whispered, laying her head on his chest.
"G'night," Jack mumbled, using his last remaining strength to place a kiss on the top of Angela's head before succumbing to sleep.
The flashlight battery was dead, leaving the interior of the car in pitch blackness. His breathing was laboured and he could feel himself getting dizzy and starting to fade into unconsciousness. He grasped his boss' hand and, using the strength he had left, said goodbye.
"It's been an honour, Dr. Brennan," he wheezed.
"Hodgins! Booth will find us you just have to hang on!" Brennan pleaded with him.
"It's over…"
Hodgins jerked awake, his breathing shallow and rapid. Angela was leaning over him, stroking his cheek and whispering.
"It's okay Jack. It was just a nightmare. You're safe," she told him.
"I was there…You guys didn't find us…" Hodgins choked out, pulling Angela down to him; needing to feel her, to smell her to know he was safe.
"Shhh," she soothed, "We found you Jack."
They lay awake and entwined for nearly an hour, each simply taking comfort in the nearness of the other. It would take weeks for the nightmares to stop and every night Angela was there to soothe away the fears. And then one day they just stopped coming. For days Jack slept soundly, with no hint of a nightmare and yet each night he still shared a bed with Angela. They were long past the point of friendship and yet still not in a relationship. What they had was indefinable and, for the moment, they were content.
A/N2: I am so going to fail my test on Wednesday…okay no more updates until I write my history of anthro theory test, then I'll do Headless Witch in the Woods and any others that inspire me! Press the little blue-ish purpley button! You know you want to!
PS: Oh and yes I totally stole the title for this story from Carrie Underwood's new cd (no particular reason other than I love Carrie Underwood and Angela says "carnival" in the first one shot). Colbie Caillat's The Little Things is a very cute and shippy song and I'm currently loving her album so that's why it got a mention.
