A/N – This chapter begins in Cam's office, just before Booth and Brennan arrive to take Olwyn (And it's from Angela's P.O.V.)

Chapter Nine – Something Beginning With Hope

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with...C." I said in a slight sing-song voice, as Olwyn looked excitedly around the office.

"Chair!" She exclaimed after a moment of thought, pointing at the chair Cam was sitting in. I shook my head.

"Nope, it's not a chair." She furrowed her brow.

"Computer?" She asked. I shook my head again.

"Nope."

"Cam?" The two of us laughed.

"No, it's not Cam." She frowned.

"I don't know what is." She sighed.

"Keep looking, sweetie." I encouraged her. She looked around again. Her eyes lit up like the metaphorical light-bulb above her head.

"Calendar!" She pointed at the wall behind Cam, sure she was right that time.

"That's right! Well done, sweetie!" She giggled.

"Now you turn, Cam!" Cam nodded, a smile upon her face. She hadn't believed me when I told her that Olwyn was a mini version of her mom, but there was no way she didn't now.

"Okay, I spy with my little eye, something beginning with...B." Olwyn's big brown eyes searched the office.

"Book!" She pointed at the bookcase. Cam shook her head.

"Not a book, keep guessing."

"Hmmm..." There was a click behind us: it was the door. We all turned our heads. "Boot'!" Olwyn squealed, hopping off my lap and running towards the door as soon as she saw her father standing there. It didn't matter if she was right or wrong anymore; she was too preoccupied with hugging Booth to care about a game of 'I Spy'. Cam and I looked at each other, neither of us able to contain our excitement. From the moment we found out that Brennan was pregnant with Booth's child, we'd waited impatiently for the moment when Booth finally discovered the truth. The sight of Olwyn running into Booth's open arms was heart-warming, and for a moment it felt like all was right in the world.

But then we both simultaneously caught sight of Brennan, still standing in the doorway, and we were reminded of the less than ideal consequences of this reunion. As expected, Booth had pretty much exploded when Brennan told him Olwyn was his, and it was difficult to see him forgiving her for that any time soon. She forced a smile for Olwyn's benefit, but I could see that she was hurting. It broke my heart that the two of them couldn't let themselves be happy together. Fate had brought them into each other's lives and made them soul mates, but since then it had also done everything in its power to keep them apart. It was hard to believe either of them had ever done anything to piss fate off that much.

"Hey sweetheart." Booth said as he picked Olwyn up. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck and he held her close, just like before. This shouldn't have been a new experience for either of them, he should have been holding her like that from the time she was born. That was why this was such a poignant moment. That, and the fact that Olwyn had no idea that Booth was her Daddy, but something told me that that wouldn't be the case for much longer.

"Thanks for watching her." Brennan spoke up from behind Booth and Olwyn.

"Not a problem, Bren." I smiled back at her.

"It was a pleasure." Cam added. It really was. Olwyn was the most gorgeous little girl. She was smart, and asked an endless amount of questions, but she was also remarkably well-behaved and mannerly for a two year old. Brennan was definitely raising her well, anyway.

"Yeah, thanks for everything." Booth's expression turned sour. This was the part I had been dreading: when he realised we'd been in on the secret, too. Both of us avoided his eyes, ashamed of what we'd put him through. Brennan wasn't the only one with apologising to do.

"See ya later, Bug." I gave Olwyn a little wave, trying to mask my nervousness. She didn't need to see all that. She was a child. The world was still fluffy and soft and inherently good in her eyes. If only we could all see the world through the eyes of a two year old again.

"Bye-bye, Auntie Angela, Auntie Cam!" She waved back as Booth carried her out of the room. I heard her ask Brennan where they were going once they were outside; they were going back to my office.

I looked at Cam.

"They make a gorgeous family, don't they?"

"Too bad they're the farthest thing imaginable from one." Cam sighed.

"Do you think they're going to tell Olwyn now?" I wondered aloud.

"That Booth is her Daddy? They better be. She deserves to know." I nodded. "I hope she takes it well."

"This is Olwyn we're talking about. She loves Booth." I smirked. "She's just like her mom."

"She is Brennan, just smaller." Cam chuckled. "I don't know how this is going to work, though. I mean, apart from the fact that they're living three thousand miles away from each other, Booth and Brennan have some serious issues."

"You don't have to tell me, Cam. I swear, I've spent more time trying to convince Brennan to try to work things out with Booth this year than I've spent planning my wedding. Even now, when my wedding's the day after tomorrow, I'm still more interested in their problems."

"You shouldn't be worrying about any of this, Angela. You should be getting excited about the happiest day of your life."

"Cam, the happiest day of my life was 18 months ago, the day Genevieve and Noah were born. This wedding is just a formality – I've felt married to Hodgins for three years now." I smiled. "I'm pretty excited about it, but I just think Booth and Brennan problems are a little more important. I have my happy family – I want them to have that too."

"It's hard to imagine Brennan and Booth playing happy families, but it's a nice thought all the same." She said.

"I think it could happen! Maybe not any time soon, but eventually…with a little help from their friends." Cam smirked.

"Correction: a lot of help from their friends."

"Good thing we're always more than happy to help, even if they don't think they need it." I laughed. "I'll probably be counseling Brennan in the middle of the wedding reception by the looks of things."

"A few years from now, they'll look back and appreciate all that you and Sweets have done for them these past couple of years. Right now they're just too proud to admit you're right."

"It'll be a cold day in hell before Temperance Brennan swallows her pride."

"Well let's hope that day comes soon, because I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. Or, more importantly, how much more of this Booth can take. That man has been torn up by all of this."

"He's angrier now than I've ever seen him before." I sighed. "And not just at Brennan, either."

"Yeah, I saw that look he gave us." She looked nervous. "I really hope this doesn't make things awkward or anything, you know, at work."

"Don't worry, Booth's just angry at the world in general at the moment. It won't last. I mean, we'll have to apologise to him of course, but Booth isn't really the type to hold a grudge, especially once he understands why we did it."

"I hope so." She nodded, though not seeming too convinced.

"Cam, hope's not a component here. He'll realise what's really important and he'll forgive us, just like he'll eventually forgive Brennan."

"You seem so certain."

"But I'm not, because very little is ever certain with those two. Remember that pool Hodgins started a few years back, betting on when they'd finally hook up? Only the ultimate pessimists are still left in the running. Actually, I think it's just Fisher that's left, and he doesn't even work here anymore. We were all sure they'd be together by the end of 2008 at the latest, now look at them." I smiled, remembering the day I'd placed my bet. I had been a little optimistic, saying they'd have sealed the deal by Christmas 2007, and though I'd heard some still unsubstantiated rumours that they'd been seen kissing (with tongue!) under the mistletoe, unfortunately I'd lost on that particular wager. "The one thing that you can count on is the inevitability of them actually getting together…eventually."

"Yeah, eventually." She said, her attention diverted by something behind me, something outside the room. I swiveled around in my chair, to see Olwyn leading Booth down the corridor. She was babbling to him about swings, and from what I could hear she was calling him 'Daddy'.

"Something tells me that her Mommy might need a shoulder to cry on right now." I said as I watched the two of them go past.

"I think that something might be right." Cam nodded. "You should probably go make sure she's okay."

"Yeah," I agreed, getting up. "This hasn't been a good day for her."

"Far from it." She shook her head.

"Maybe I'm being too optimistic, but I think we might be able to forge a happy ending from this sticky situation."

"How so?" She asked, as I made for the door.

"Oh, you'll see." I smirked. "You'll see." And I left her sitting there with a slightly confused expression on her face, as I strolled out onto the corridor. Barely an hour ago, I'd stood here as I watched Booth explode at Brennan, presumably moments after discovering he was the father of her child. I'd never seen Booth like that before – I doubted Brennan had either – and I have to say it was a little disturbing. This whole mess was screwing with all of us, not least of all Booth.

I meant what I said to Cam though. I was genuinely hopeful that those two would find their happiness.

They were going to need more than a slight nudge from us, though.

A/N – Hope you liked that one I got a little distracted while writing this…wrote a songfic one-shot called 'The Scientist' because I felt a bit inspired xD I know this is quite short; it was originally 5000 or so words long, but I split it into two chapters; I'm going to CTYI tomorrow so I won't be able to write as much over the next three weeks, and I wanted to make sure I had enough to keep updating while I'm away!

I want to thank you all for the great feedback I always get from you It really makes my day to get a review – even if it's only a few words, it's nice to know people enjoyed reading your work. So if you have the time, please do review – it's what makes all this writing so much more worthwhile!